Princeton, TX, 2008
The first summer I visited you at your momma’s, the air smelled of fresh mowed onion scapes. We stood in her backyard and watched Bailey chase the chickens. Ollie nearly lost her comb when she tried to peck leftovers from B’s dog dish. You were mid-throwing your sweet tea, to save the would-be burglar, when Miss Liz—puffed up like a tawny thunderstick—made a bee-line for B’s beagly little butt. We laughed our cheeks magnolia, as we watched the roles reverse, the hens seizing the chance to play bully.
That day, you told me that the difference between rural and urban, was the percentage of a town’s roads that are paved. You said that anything above 40% was urban. Anything less meant that you could keep farm animals on your property, but I always thought that was just a hand-me-down family story your mother told you, so that you wouldn’t have to feel lonely after her divorce.
The first summer I visited you at your momma’s, the air smelled of fresh mowed onion scapes. We stood in her backyard and watched Bailey chase the chickens. Ollie nearly lost her comb when she tried to peck leftovers from B’s dog dish. You were mid-throwing your sweet tea, to save the would-be burglar, when Miss Liz—puffed up like a tawny thunderstick—made a bee-line for B’s beagly little butt. We laughed our cheeks magnolia, as we watched the roles reverse, the hens seizing the chance to play bully.
That day, you told me that the difference between rural and urban, was the percentage of a town’s roads that are paved. You said that anything above 40% was urban. Anything less meant that you could keep farm animals on your property, but I always thought that was just a hand-me-down family story your mother told you, so that you wouldn’t have to feel lonely after her divorce.
df parizeau is a multi-disciplinary, Pushcart nominated writer, who still has all of his wisdom teeth. Despite an aptitude for procrastination, df's work has been featured or is forthcoming online and in print by a smattering of publications including: Funicular Magazine, Open Minds Quarterly, Soundest, and Thin Air Magazine. He spends a modest amount of time trying to get others to find him as funny as he finds himself, on Twitter, @belowtheeaves.