And as Joel pulls from the underbrush, he thinks of the middle-aged woman. Big, powerful gasps, purging her lungs. He begins to feel queasy, so he drops the top down and lets his hand stray out the window. He shakes his head violently. He puts tape three in now, How to Win, How to Conquer: The Life Lessons of William Reed, by the wealthy self-help guru, the Texan who struck gold recounting his undistinguished plan for success. It’s a ten-tape set full of vague ideas that are more than enough for Joel’s vague ambition. More than enough to keep him looking up toward some speck of a goal on the horizon. To keep him stalking around at funeral homes. And he turns the volume up. Loud.
“You tell it, Billy,” he croaks, turning onto the highway.
He honks. He sighs. He merges.
Matt Longo is currently an adjunct instructor at CCNY, where he can be found rambling on about existentialism, and other pretentious concepts. Although he primarily thinks of himself as a songwriter (www.sexduringwartime.com), he is finishing up his first novel. He was recently called “the voice of his generation” by his mother.
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