Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
And the Death
Before Dishonor Confederate Flaming Skull of Death Motorcyclist Cigarette
Lighter
At a gas station beside a small homeless encampment and an
overpass I paused in my adventures for gas, coffee, and a break from the road.
The windows weren’t barred, which is always reassuring.
Gas stations sell gas, of course, as well as beer, sodas,
snacks, and sometimes brass knuckles and big ol’ knives.
Yes, in a lovely display case there was a festive
selection of brass knuckles and large knives, just the sort of things a traveling
Bible salesman might want to pick up in case he accidentally left some of his
weaponry at home.
One set of brass knuckles featured the letters “B,” “O,” “S,”
and another “S” on each of the four primary presentation knuckles.
Advertising the fact or presumption that one is the BOSS
is perhaps a psychological comfort to the operator, but in a dust-up one does
not imagine that the recipient of the blow has time to read the legend or, if
he (or she; I must remember all the pronouns) does have time to read it or to
meditate upon the significance.
After all, if the bearer of the BOSS knucks is indeed the
boss, shouldn’t he (or she) stand upon his (or her) authority without resorting
to bashing someone?
Another set of metallic knuckles appeared to be made of
stainless steel, and the legend thereupon was “KING,” the three consonants and one
vowel again distributed appropriately upon the salient features of this engine
of control.
So, then, does a king wear stainless steel knuckles that
advertise his royal status? Indeed, does a king need to wear stainless steel
knuckles at all? He has an army to wreak violence upon his enemies, and some
shiny medals to impress the ladies.
There were also large knives for sale, one of them
featuring a naked lady. I don’t know why. The knife was large but seemed inadequate
for skinning a deer or splitting kindling. Maybe it was a weird Alfred Hitchcock
thing.
I was going to take a discreet picture of the arrangement
of knuckles, knives, Death Before Dishonor Confederate Flaming Skull of Death Motorcyclist
cigarette lighters, and other Ya Say Ya Want a Revolution tchotchkes but the
clerk was looking at me as if I need to buy some of the scary stuff or move
along, so I moved along.
A gentleman always avoids distressing a lady, especially
one whose stock in trade includes brass knuckles and large knives.
-30-
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