Trailer Park Quarterly
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TRAILER PARK QUARTERLY ISSUE FOUR 2014 EDITED BY DANIEL CROCKER REBECCA SCHUMEJDA DESIGN BY ERIN ELIZABETH SMITH 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Nicholas Watts-Fernandez Dead Man’s Cap 05 Senses from Abroad 0 Caleb !ankersle# the lo$e of saints 10 Ch%rch &ells 1' Mark Allen (enkins Forkli) !attoo 1* (ohn +rochals"i man boobs 15 a%t%mn in new #ork '0 C- &ledsoe (immy Said .t Wo%ld '* ' (ohn /omas Menesini Another 0ne from When . Was *1 2eather &ell -etter to 3risoner .455* '0 '1 *6 !ony +loe77ler Crossin7 5' (ohn Dorse# Mary 8llen 55 2arold 51 Sarah 59 &ill +ainer /e -east of /o%7hts 5 /e First Fi$e -ines of a &l%es Son7 50 :e$in -eMaster Makin7 3ork 51 * (;D; .sip 3romotion 5* !etman Callis S%permarket 55 :e$in <idgewa# What +randpa -e) &ehind 51 &iographies 5 S%bmission +%idelines 1* 5 Nicholas Watts-Fernande! Dead Man’ Ca! A pilot on m# last ship le) his co$er (his cap) on the ship a)er he transferred 2e ne$er called to as" abo%t it I "ept it stashed in m# loc"er waitin7 for the da# ,hen he’d call for it bac" 8$ent%all# 5 I started ,earin7 it .t was nice and ?t m# s"%ll better than m# old beaten stained co$er from indoc !,o #ears later the cap is still pristine tho%7h I ,ear it on special occasions I 7ot ,ord a #ear a7o that the pilot ,ho le) the cap was "illed in a car wrec" 2is DD was dr%n" and ran into 1 a pole 2is cap ?t so ,ell I still ,ear it tho%7h I "no, he will ne$er call to as" for it bac" /at his life li"e the name in the cap has been scratched thro%7h and m# name scra,led in its place; 9 Sen es "#$m A&#$ad When I hear #o%r tears fallin7 from tho%sands of miles the# so%nd li"e 7lass breakin7 shattered @akes hittin7 pa$ement and I wish I co%ld s,eep them awa# ,hen I smell #o%r fears creepin7 %ncertainl# thro%7h space malodoro%s on the wind nose wrin"lin7 scent of anAiet# I wish to b%rn it with incense of m# hope When I feel #o%r smile stretchin7 wide across horizons it calms the ra7in7 sea of m# dreams I wish to ne$er wake When I see #o%r la%7hter rin7in7 across three continents it 7leams li7ht thro%7h raindrops on s%n @o,ers I wish ,o%ld ne$er dr# %p When I taste #o%r "iss lin7erin7 on m# lips across time @a$ors of happiness cherr# blossoms and chocolate I am home and I wish to ne$er lea$e a7ain 6 Caleb Tan#ersle$ '(e )$*e $f a+n' Ro%ndB milk# slices of s%shiB the 3abst co%ldn’t 7ar7le down; +rains of rice slitherin7 thro%7h m# teethB .’m tr#in7 not to embarrass #o% as .’m 7a77in7 in front of a cro,d; 2app# St; Calentine’s Da#; -aterB spoonin7 on the bedB .’m cho"in7 on h%midifed $od"a. Cod"a li"e s,eatB $od"a li"e colo7ne settlin7 into a thin la#er across #o%r slic"B milk# s"in; I can taste the inconsistencies crac"lin7 open li"e <%ssian dolls; 10 3racticin7 -atinB acta sanctorum,D .’m s,%n7 li"e a batB sendin7 invisible baseballs @#in7 into chic lamps #o% admit are too 7ood for #o%; /e chan7e in li7htin7 "illed the moodB omnes una manet nox.DD &%t #o% don’t listenB 7ar7lin7 down the last #o%’ll e$er taste of me with the clear s#r%p that s%stains #o%B barel# and someho,; Dacta sanctorum E Fthe acts of the saintsG DDomnes una manet nox E Fthe same ni7ht awaits %s allG 11 C(,#-( Bel) When I hear ch%rch bells drawin7 o%t their so%nd I can’t help b%t wish the#’d eAplode; .’d li"e to hear the risin7 pitchB the dome propelledB clan7in7 to the streetB ?re b%rstin7 o%t the doors and windows rainin7 shards of stained 7lass !r%st meB +odB it doesn’t make #o% an# less of a manB e$er# once in a ,hileB to clean ho%se 1' %ar# Allen Jen#ins F$#.)+ft Ta''$$ Sittin7 in this small, tornB vin#l seat I "eep starin7 at m# blan" bicepB thin"in7 abo%t a dr%n"en promise to needle an emblem of m# ,or" on itH a #ellow and blac" for"li) in a comet @ameB racin7 to another waitin7 semi; &%t will I alwa#s thin" so hi7hl# of a for"li)I /e variet# of l%mber li)ed dail#B the s"id of shin7les sho$ed into the bac" of so man# pic"%ps; 2ow man# times ha$e I felt the bac" ,heels li) oJ the 7ro%nd as I set a t,el$e-foot stac" of dr#wall on the top rac"; 1* I "now that slow moment bet,een @%idit# and ca%tionB the s%dden eAplosion of a load dropped crashin7 to the 7ro%nd; Wh# do I "now that there are 294 boards in a b%n" of 2 K 4sB that there are 42 ba7s on a concrete palletI Wh# do I ha$e so m%ch eAtra time to as" these L%estionsB to ima7ine this s#mbol of another loathed Mob on m# armI Somethin7 half for7otten #et fore$er emblazonedB to show that I "now ,hat ,or" is and the importance of p%ttin7 m# feet %p on the dashboard to wait for the neAt tr%c"; 15 John 'rochals#i man &$$& the ten #ear-old t%rns to me and points #o% ha$e man boobsB she sa#s then she 7rabs the ri7ht one and hon"s "ids sa# and do the darndest thin7s an ho%r a7o she 7rabbed and shoo" some of m# beer bell# a part of me thin"s this "id is t%rnin7 into a fat fetishist 15 b%t she’s ri7ht i do ha$e man boobs had them e$er since i was a child probabl# inherited them from m# 7randfather beca%se he had man boobs too i’$e tried to hide them most of m# ad%lt life ,earin7 b%tton down shirts and clothin7 a size bi77er than i needed i 7%ess i’m vain in that wa# b%t ,ho 7i$es a f%c" no,I i’$e been fo%nd o%t b# a ten #ear-old m# shame ca%7ht red handed m# di7nit# handed to me 11 b# a pair of stic"# hands all those #ears of hidin7 shot to shit i feel free in a wa# the "id’s mother la%7hs tries to discipline the child b%t she’s r%nnin7 aro%nd la%7hin7 at m# man boobs she’s sho%tin7 man boobsN man boobsN doin7 cart,heels on the pa$ement her face red and ro%nd 19 the pict%re of health s"ippin7 %p and down the bloc" i stand there and i watch this child m# arms crossed o$er m# man boobs as if hidin7 them matters no, i thin" abo%t how precio%s children are ,hat li7hts the# are in all of o%r li$es war and famine and o$er pop%lation i remember that this little precio%s sno,@ake of 7od’s lo$e and Mo# is bein7 ?tted for braces on frida# i ?7%re if i catch her ,hen her mother is not aro%nd ma#be i’ll 7et a little bit of re$en7e 1 i thin" ma#be it’s 7oin7 to be open season on that little metal mo%thed freak at least %ntil she starts to cr# 16 a,',mn +n new 1$#. it’s a%t%mn in new #or" and m# mother sa#s the hair follicle tests are costin7 m# brother one-?)# a pop he hasn’t e$en been able to aJord the %rine tests how m%ch are thoseI i as" ?)# a pieceB she thin"s b%t ,e’re 7ettin7 thro%7h itB she sa#s neAt month #o%r dad is 7oin7 %p there with him to see the bab# the#’re 7oin7 to brin7 p%mp"ins and car$e them at the famil# center '0 li"e real hallo,een ,e’re 7ettin7 the bab# a cost%me so she can ,ear it #o%r brother is 7oin7 to take pict%res and ma#be ,e’ll do face time ,hile the#’re there so that i can see her in the cost%me and see the p%mp"ins that the# car$ed ,e’ll that so%nds niceB i sa# it isB i 7%ess b%t #o%r brother is tr#in7 to 7et a second Mob so that he can "eep aJordin7 to 7o %p beca%se it’s hard with these hair follicle tests and now these %rine tests that she has him doin7 '1 e$en tho%7h he hasn’t to%ched an#thin7 in t,o #ears pl%s he needs a second Mob beca%se all of the mone# 7oes to 7oin7 %p there and seein7 the bab# beca%se #o%r brother has to see the bab# #o%r dad has to see the bab#B too he’s her 7randfather a)er all i mean it’s alread# the a%t%mn soon it’ll be winter and with this crazy ,eather ,e 7et no, ,ho "nows how lon7 it’ll be a)er this; '' CL Bledsoe J+%%1 Sa+d I' 2$,)d When he came o$er in the e$enin7sB the ,eatherman ,o%ld sit on the co%chB o%t with the "idsB ,hich was ,eird; Os%all#B !omm#’s friends 7ot ner$o%s aro%nd the "ids ,hen the# came to the ho%se; /e# ,o%ldn’t tell their namesB and !omm# had instr%cted the "ids ne$er to as"; Some of them ,o%ld a$oid e#e contact or e$en hide their faces; &%t the ,eatherman was diJerent; At ?rstB !omm# and :! ,o%ld sta# o%t with himB b%t the#’d L%ic"l# 7et bored and lea$e him alone with the "ids; 2e’d sit there ,ith a beer or a Moint in his hands or M%st twirlin7 his handlebar m%stache and tell stories or ,atch !C; And he ans,ered all of (oe#’s L%estions; F2ow do #o% tell the ,eatherI” was (oe#’s ?rst; F.