three days on a chain gang / part 3

three days on a chain gang / part 3

fiction
edward w pritchard

The second day I was working on the " chain gang" under the supervision of deputy Watkins I had to do double duty; I had to pick up trash like everybody else out along route 30 near Louisville, Ohio and I had to carry water to the five other guys and Coach Watkins. Still it was a very enjoyable day, despite the hot sun, despite bending over and picking up all sorts of garbage and debris along the roadside, and despite wearing a bright orange shirt that said Stark County work farm on it. Everyone that drove by knew that work farm was a euphemism for prison.

I learned the word euphemism from another member of our work crew, an old guy named Ed Williams. He is quite an intellectual and on the day I had to carry water for being argumentative I  was fortunate to be able to work along side of Williams that day in the blazing sun, twenty plus long years ago.

Williams was one of those guys who reads a lot of great books but never got anywhere in life for all his study and learning. He was however interesting to be around because no matter what happened he had an example or little story to embellish what had just really happened. For example suppose someone cut their hand open on a bottle working our trash detail team, Williams would say to me, " You know a similar thing happen to Goethe in Venice in July of 1774, or Dante cut his wrist actually when he was leaving Florence after He was ostracized, well not ostracized, more like...." You get what I mean, Williams was always living in the past and was so busy reading about other people that he seldom had time to live himself. But, if you had to pick up trash for 7 hours in the hot sun he was a good guy to work along. He gave me a bit of good advice...
end part 3