It showed up first in the spelling bees, where he began to insert irrelevant A’s and inadvisable S’s and once, memorably, let loose a very...unfortunately timed P. The competition was over almost before it had begun, and by the Christmas holidays I stood alone, head and shoulders above the rest of my class. Of course, the worst thing about standing out in a crowd is that it makes aiming at you much, much easier. Everyone who hadn’t made fun of me in fall because of my ineptitude. "Honey, I'm home! Aj, you here? I have something to share with you." "Mom's out right now, what's going on?" "I found you a job." "Really? Where at?" "Right down the street, at our neighbor's house. They're friends of ours and they said they were looking for someone to do some work around their place, mowing the lawn and shit." "Mowing the lawn and shit? Yeah, I think I'll pass." "Well that's too bad because I told them you'd accept. You start tomorrow." "Thanks old man, can't wait." *The Next. “Sorry about Freddie, Con, I really liked him.”I played Sunday golf with her husband Freddie Evans until seven years ago. He told me that he was diagnosed with a virulent strain of cancer and worried about leaving Connie alone after he passed. They couldn’t have any children, so she had no-one to care for her if she needed help. Connie’s ex-husband beat her almost to death while she was heavily pregnant with what would have been Freddie’s child. I promised him I’d keep an eye on her. I did, but. Later as he sat at his Aunt’s large Art Deco maple dinning room table he asked Alice who was sitting opposite him what she was doing at the moment. Getting the obtuse and flat answer from the frizzy haired woman, ‘What right now? Visiting your Aunt and Uncle.’ ‘No what I meant was what do you do for a job. You know work, career.’ ‘Oh. I see. Work….’ ‘Yes, what do you do?’ His Aunt answered for her, ‘Alice is a clerk at her father’s depot.’ Nodding she told him, ‘It’s over in the Meat Packing.