March 20th, 2020
“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is lost. The best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity.” – W.B. Yeats
Hans called me from Texas today to wish me a happy birthday.
We talked for a while. Hans was calling from his car. He was bored. It was raining outside. His wife, Gabby, was in the clinic for her physical therapy session. Hans was hanging out with their fifteen month old son, Weston.
I asked Hans, “Did you get your shotgun?”
He replied, “No, they didn’t have the one that I wanted. Instead I bought a short-barrelled model that holds five shells. It’s really easy to use. You just have to point it.”
“How many shells did the other shotgun hold?”
“Fifteen.”
“How long does it take to reload the gun you bought?”
“Hmmm, maybe two seconds.”
“That’s not bad.”
“No.”
Then Hans went on, “I got the house set up.”
“How so?”
“Well, the shotgun is by the washer, so it’s close to both the front and back doors. But it’s not out in the open, where somebody breaking in might find it.”
“Okay.”
“The .40 is in a cabinet in the kitchen.”
“Yeah.”
“I got my Glock in my nightstand. The .45 is in Gabby’s nightstand.”
“Are any of these guns accessible to Weston?”
“No.”
“Good answer.”
Hans said, “Even if they were, none of them have a loaded magazine in them. I got the magazines separate.”
“Okay. So, you’re ready for the zombie apocalypse.”
“Yep. Dad, you ever watch any of those zombie movies?”
“Uh, no.”
“You know what usually starts all that trouble?”
“No.”
“In the movies they run out of toilet paper.”
“I guess a lot of people have been watching those movies.”
“Yeah. You know what else is strange?”
“No. Tell me.”
Hans told me, “Well, some of my liberal friends are calling me up to ask me what kind of guns to buy.”
“You have liberal friends?”
“Well, they’re not exactly friends. They’re, you know, acquaintances; people that I talk to to maybe once a year.”
“I guess they know your area of expertise.”
Hans said, “Yeah. It’s a little late for them to be shopping for guns. There aren’t many left out there.”
“True.”
Hans went on, “I got the .357 in my truck. Whenever I drive our car, I bring along the Glock.”
“Why?”
“Well, you never know. People might get crazy.”
Hans, “They already are crazy.”
“You know what I mean. I mean like the crazy in New Orleans after the hurricane (Katrina).”
“Well, you’re ready.”
“Yep.”
Frank is Emptiness 