Saturday, March 04, 2006

 

Ned Foskey versus Charles Bukowski
by Ned Foskey

I was in a small, low-ceilinged warehouse, dim-lit, dark in the rafters and many black steel support posts all about. There were many people either sitting on the clean concrete floors or mulling around slowly, waiting for something to happen. Charles Bukowski was there with a couple of his pals and they'd been playfully baiting me with light insults. This continued for a while until Bukowski's insults started getting nasty and ultimately he challenged me to a fight. I resisted until one of words hit home with me and I got up and followed behind him a couple strides to a nearby area where the sun shone through the windows set in the ceiling. Ten yards further I could see that the warehouse building ended with a glass greenhouse extension and the blue sky could be seen through the windows. As Bukowski and I moved to this brighter open area, I said, "I can't fight that well but I know how to take a punch." I said this partly joking, but also satirically, remembering that I'd read Bukowski saying this in one of his poems or stories. He turned without saying anything and squared himself up with me. "Listen," I said more earnestly, "I don't want to fight with you," as I squared myself up with him, and then, without notice, unloaded a balled fist straight to his face. He stumbled back and came forward and we exchanged a couple punches. Mine was the last and it sent him down to the ground. He fell over as I grabbed a folding metal chair and bashed his head as he tried to get up again. With that, the fight was over and I dropped the chair and I looked around me. All around the group of people had circled around us to watch the fight and I realized that this was a youth group that was gathering in the warehouse and that Bukowski and I were to be leaders of the group. I leaned down to Bukowski, still slumped part on the floor and part on a dirty brick wall, and quietly said to him, "This isn't a good example for the kids here to be fighting…and that's what we're here for--the kids--isn't it?" In his eyes, he seemed to agree with me, but he made no motion to express his agreement or dissent. I stood up and broke through the circle of watchers and walked back into the darker area and sat down on a secluded couch embroidered with golden fabric. Suddenly a beautiful girl with dark hair who I'd never seen before walked up to the couch and sat down on the arm rest right next to where I was sitting. She looked down at me and gently touched my swollen brow. "Did you fall down," she asked quietly. I looked away and then back at her in slight confusion. She smiled, bringing her face closer, and said, "I was just kidding." I was immediately attracted to her beauty and thought to myself, "Is she one of the kids or an older girl?"

posted by Hog 9:02 AM