Red Rock Diary: Labor Day Part 4, The Limping Man

I would like to say that we arrived at Speedee-Mart without incident but such was not the case. When I announced that we had missed the driveway of the gas station-convenience mart by half a block, Mr. Magoo made a sharp U-turn in the middle of a four-lane road with a lethal proficiency that caused images [...]

Red Rock Diary: Labor Day Part 3, West by Northwest

I make a purpose-driven exit from the Rapid Cash and back into the cab with Mr. Happy the Blind Driver. It dawns on me that if I just think of him as Mr. Magoo, then everything will be benign; nothing bad ever befalls Mr. Magoo, he simply makes bad things happen to other people. “If [...]

Red Rock Diary: Labor Day, Part Two

In the Rapid Cash store I hobble up to the bulletproof cashier’s window on my cane to cash my meager check from my client. I’m greeted pleasantly by Crystal, the buxom Latina manager with jet-black hair down to her waist. She asks if I’m working today, on Labor Day, while she processes my check. “I [...]

Red Rock Diary: Labor Day, Part One

The journey began badly. It was going to be a long round-trip to the Rapid Cash store because the ferret-faced cabbie with telescopic bifocals was not the talkative type; he was too busy keeping his face pressed to the windshield so he could see where we were going while keeping a lead foot on the [...]

Red Rock Diary: The Terrible Herbst Incident

“Hey! How come you’re bringing us less stock than usual?” The woman’s voice, bellowing out from behind the cash register, was harsh and accusatory with more than a hint of masculinity and naked aggression; not to mention the fact that she was conducting business with a convenience store vendor in a less than discreet fashion [...]