(no subject)
the air was cool and crisp on that early summer evening and if you could magically see through the walls of benjamin siegel's home you would witness him sit down to watch his favorite television show while eating junior mints, his favorite candy. unfortunately for mr. siegel he had one of those faces that seemed permanently sad, but when he watched george and jerry and elaine and especially kramer, his face would light up like illegal fireworks on independence day. actually, george was his favorite because he reminded him of his father.
it was friday night, and with benjamin being a member of the tribe, it was his day of rest. he wasn't observant and in fact had many problems with organized religion, but when his mother brought out the white table cloth and fine china and lit those tall twin candles everyone seemed to look nicer and the food seemed to taste better, and this weekly event had, at the very least, instilled in him a sense of culture and belonging. benjamin had recently become interested in philip roth's works, but when he read "goodbye, columbus" he found it to be a wonderful collection of writings, but too jewish. instead benjamin favored talents like jon stewart. late last year he became aware of a campaign to elect jon to the presidency, and had even heard speculation that there were sightings of "jon stewart for president" t-shirts.
oddly benjamin then recalled a memory from the previous summer, when a girl he had met asked him if he was popular in high school. his answer was "of course," spoken slightly sarcastically in the typical benjamin siegel tone. but now looking back on his response, he wished he wouldn't have lied. he wished he had told this girl that he was proud not to be in that group of guys, whose members would undoubtedly grow up to live in the suburbs with their status symbol automobiles and their trophy wives.
then suddenly another memory came to him from the same summer, of another girl named laura who at the time he thought he loved. he recalled that special night they spent together in that field, as if they were the only two souls inhabiting this wondrous earth. for someone whose memory was certainly not up to par, these quick remembrances felt like a rush. it was like steady prices on furniture all year and then walking into art van furniture to find out that it's their christmas in july sale! benjamin could barely contain his excitement.
an overwhelming sense of passion invaded him and created a feeling of enlightenment. he felt the need to do something productive while he was in such high spirits. he turned his music player to an obscure scottish folk singer, and began the only thing he knew how to do. he picked up his pen and pad of paper and recorded the thoughts from his ever expansive imagination. almost immediately distracted, he turned on his television. the channel was set to cartoons, and with slightly more than a hint of irony, benjamin watched as bonnie and clyde made their famous getaway, loaded with bags of money, off into the sunset.
it was friday night, and with benjamin being a member of the tribe, it was his day of rest. he wasn't observant and in fact had many problems with organized religion, but when his mother brought out the white table cloth and fine china and lit those tall twin candles everyone seemed to look nicer and the food seemed to taste better, and this weekly event had, at the very least, instilled in him a sense of culture and belonging. benjamin had recently become interested in philip roth's works, but when he read "goodbye, columbus" he found it to be a wonderful collection of writings, but too jewish. instead benjamin favored talents like jon stewart. late last year he became aware of a campaign to elect jon to the presidency, and had even heard speculation that there were sightings of "jon stewart for president" t-shirts.
oddly benjamin then recalled a memory from the previous summer, when a girl he had met asked him if he was popular in high school. his answer was "of course," spoken slightly sarcastically in the typical benjamin siegel tone. but now looking back on his response, he wished he wouldn't have lied. he wished he had told this girl that he was proud not to be in that group of guys, whose members would undoubtedly grow up to live in the suburbs with their status symbol automobiles and their trophy wives.
then suddenly another memory came to him from the same summer, of another girl named laura who at the time he thought he loved. he recalled that special night they spent together in that field, as if they were the only two souls inhabiting this wondrous earth. for someone whose memory was certainly not up to par, these quick remembrances felt like a rush. it was like steady prices on furniture all year and then walking into art van furniture to find out that it's their christmas in july sale! benjamin could barely contain his excitement.
an overwhelming sense of passion invaded him and created a feeling of enlightenment. he felt the need to do something productive while he was in such high spirits. he turned his music player to an obscure scottish folk singer, and began the only thing he knew how to do. he picked up his pen and pad of paper and recorded the thoughts from his ever expansive imagination. almost immediately distracted, he turned on his television. the channel was set to cartoons, and with slightly more than a hint of irony, benjamin watched as bonnie and clyde made their famous getaway, loaded with bags of money, off into the sunset.