"FLETCH HAD WOKEN UP without an alarm clock at 5:30 a.m., give or take ten minutes, for so many years that neither Sunday off nor a bad hangover could keep him in bed past six. On this Sunday the hangover was worse than usual because he had been lucky playing cards last night at Mel's Tavern, putting together a rare string of winning poker strategies. Twice he drew successfully to an inside straight. At stud, in the largest pot of the evening, he bluffed Jensen into folding three visible kings in deference to his own two aces up, even though he had only a junk deuce down. And more often than not, he folded the two pairs on which he habitually raised — and lost. When the game was over, Fletch walked away from the table almost $50 richer, most of which he spent setting up whiskey at the Cowboy Bar down Main Street.
Fletch rarely drank hard liquor, which made his first gesture this morning tentative — but right on time. Or so he thought."
Click link above to read story. Perhaps my most popular short story, at least in these parts.
I wrote this during a summer spent in Joseph (1985, I think), working on a commissioned play that became my first hyperdrama. I hung out at Swede's Tavern and soaked up stories from the locals. I rented a cabin on the lake for a ridiculously low price, a gesture "supporting the arts" by the owner. Several times a week lunch was delivered to me in a picnic basket on the porch. The cabin came with a rubber boat and I would take my lunch on the lake. It was a great time.
Fletch rarely drank hard liquor, which made his first gesture this morning tentative — but right on time. Or so he thought."
Click link above to read story. Perhaps my most popular short story, at least in these parts.
I wrote this during a summer spent in Joseph (1985, I think), working on a commissioned play that became my first hyperdrama. I hung out at Swede's Tavern and soaked up stories from the locals. I rented a cabin on the lake for a ridiculously low price, a gesture "supporting the arts" by the owner. Several times a week lunch was delivered to me in a picnic basket on the porch. The cabin came with a rubber boat and I would take my lunch on the lake. It was a great time.
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