DAY 25 OF FLASH AUGUST FICTION. Want to get a better handle on what I am doing this month? Here is a description and some ideas about Flash Fiction. Here is Flash Fiction February. Today I contemplated about baseball, and jogged my memory quite a bit about hitting. I could get my bat on some real cheese. I got looks and everything in the system. There are some things relating to those reflexes and the subconscious mind. Sometimes our conscious minds have to catch up to our physical reflexes. I feel like reflexes and our subconscious minds have some interesting commonalities. What I think I’m going to do is have good ‘ol Antler Pestle have a conversation with an old baseball buddy.
Reflex Writing
Some Hits Are Different Than Others
826 WORDS WRITTEN IN ABOUT 45 MINUTES.
Antler was re-organizing the truck box. All the tools were out of place after a run to the old end of town, where the A-Frame, wooden houses are. He hears the phone bell coming from the firehouse office. Landlines are still important in firehouses.
“Hey Antler, what’re ya doin’?” Says a vaguely familiar voice on the other end of the line.
“Who is this?” Antler says. “Sorry, I don’t recognize the voice.”
Antler always screens these call because he gets a lot of junk calls to this line from cold-callers feigning that they know him.
“It’s Jesse, buddy, I’m about 5 minutes away.” I’m at the overpass down the road. I figured I’d call to see if you’re around.”
“Jesse Will?” Antler inquires enthusiastically.
“Yeah, dude, what’s going on?” You busy?”
“Get yer butt here!” Antler exclaims. “I hope you have time because I got a brisket smokin’.”
“Shoot, I’ll make time brother, see you in a few.”
Antler rushes to the kitchen and puts on a pot of coffee. He wipes the table down, and gets out the good mugs. He heads back to the truck to close up the big door and postpones the rest of his chores. Then he waits out front for his old baseball buddy, Jesse Will.
Jesse pulls in with his rental car, and the two embrace, exchanging greetings.
“Man, I don’t know how you do it, Antler. You look 20 years younger than me, and you’re five years older.” Jesse tells him.
“Estrogen suppression.” Antler says. “It’s all over the place, in everything, you gotta keep it clear, or it’ll take over, and you’ll get tits. Let’s get to the kitchen.”
In the kitchen, Antler pour him a coffee and they sit.
“I’m just taking a drive, man, that’s all I’m doing. I just want to get out and drive around. Sometimes I just like the road these days.” Jesse explains. “I’ve been all over. I Saw Randy, and Buckster, and I visited the Skips widow.”
“What’re they doing?” Antler asks.
“Pretty much the same as us. Trying not to get fat, staying busy. Buck’s doing some play-by-play for that local International League team by him. He’s having a riot. Randy and Martha opened up that antique store. It’s already driving him nuts. Skips wife has her sister living with her. That’s really good. I’m glad she’s not alone.”
“Life goes on.” Antler says. “It really does.”
Jesse replies. “This place looks great, you’re keeping it up well.”
“Not much else to do.” Antler says. I putz around here till there’s an emergency, otherwise I just hang out with Diane, and do my writing.”
“How’s that girl doing?” Jesse asks.
“She’s good, she’s down at the store working as usual. Busiest person in town, easily.” Antler answers. “She hides out here. People no better than to bother her here. She’s fixin’ to move it pretty soon.”
“That is good, brother, I’m glad.” Jesse says. “What’re you writing these days?”
Antler responds. “I’m just trying to figure out what I’m trying to tell myself.”
Jesse laughs. “You lefties are a hoot. What does that even mean, AP?”
“It’s kinda similar to hitting, really.” Antler says.
“How is writing like hitting? What?” Jesse inquires.
“You know, when you react to the cheese? You know that your body must see it, because you hit it, right?” There’s no way to hit it without seeing it. It’s the reflexes in gear. Just like we learn early. ‘It takes ten years to learn how to swing, and ten pitches to find out if you’re a hitter’?”
“That’s the truth we know, we are freaks like that. We knew guys with perfect swings, and they could rock the off-speed stuff, then when some heat came by they were two seconds behind the pitch. We said so long to a lot of dudes. That’s the thing, those reflexes.” Jesse said.
Antler continues. “Then when you get one of those in play, you get to the base, and your brain shows you what you just did at the plate… the delay?”
“Yeah” Jesse says. “Of course, our brains can’t process the reaction as fast as our bodies can react. It’s kind of like we see it as a memory, but for the first time.”
“Writing can be like that.” Antler says. “Sometimes I’ll write some quick little story, and I won’t have any idea what the heck it means when I write it.” I’ll put it in my folder, then go back and look at it a month later, and it makes perfect sense. “It’s like my subconscious mind is trying to tell my conscious mind something it knows, but my conscious mind is not taking it up yet.”
“You lefties are a hoot.” Jesse says.
“Let’s go out back and get that brisket out of the smoker and let it rest.” Antler says. “And I got some scotch to go with that.”
Jesse chirps. “Bring the hard stuff, let’s go!”
The End.
It’s one of those things where if you know, you know, and if you don’t, you don’t. 4% of the human population have the reflexes to be able to do that. That’s why “It takes ten years to learn how to swing, and ten pitches to find out if you’re a hitter.” It’s weird like that.
Thank you to all the independent, non-corporate media people out there. I hope I can give you some light entertainment once in a while. Thank you so much for listening, or reading. This is the Smell the Inside of Your Nose. Do it Right Now podcast. I hope you might get a free or paid subscription, or buy me a coffee, or donate some bitcoin. I wish you the best. I’m Herschel Sterling, and I’m here to help.
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