Trilobites

The place is empty, and I rest in the cooled air. Tinker Reilly's little sister pours my coffee. She has good hips. They are kind of like Ginny's and they slope nice curves to her legs. Hips and legs like that climb steps into airplanes. She goes to the counter end and scoffs down the rest of her sundae. I smile at her, but she's jailbait. Jailbait and black snakes are two things won't touch with a window pole. One time I used an old black snake for a bullwhip, snapped the sucker's head off, and Pop beat hell out of me with it. I think Pop could make me pretty mad sometimes. I grin.

1977

Breece D'J Pancake

Posthumously nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake. Born South Charleston, West Virginia.