Militant Hick got into the family car, your father's Oldsmobile, to go out to the beach, on assignment.
It started.
He had his Chinese YSL fanny-pack with his digital camera
in it, his earplugs, to block out passive conversation, and some loose sheets of
paper, to write on.
Nothing hears so much silliness as a quilt in a quilt
expo.
Hick carried his fanny-pack over his shoulder, like a purse.
* * *
He and Brenda made a quilt their first winter in New Orleans, on a Singer
portable sewing machine they bought on credit. Their first purchase on credit.
* * *
The only quilter he knew was Martha Bishop.
He liked Martha's quilts,
though.
Who was Hick on assignment for? Was he on assignment for The New Yorker
magazine, like Truman Capote, in the movie, Capote?
"I want
to cover the quilt show. Now."
He was on assignment for The Daily
Bulletin: A Newsletter on the State of the Culture, or, How To Write World Literature
From Parker, Florida.
If you write world literature from Parker, Florida,
you'll have to publish it yourself, on the worldwide web.
Who do you think
you are--Truman Capote?
* * *
He couldn't find the place the show was being held, so he ate lunch at Sweet
Basil's and drove home.