out of pocket
i want to tell you about my brother's friend Mike. i met him the other day. a strange yet extremely familiar day. mike lives in a house that should not only be condemned but demolished. he pays $300 a month in rent which is easily $250 too much. when you are inside, you feel like you are outside, everything coated in a fine yet seemingly purposefully arranged dust. the bathroom is intact but upon entrance, one feels immediately as if they are in an escher induced diorama as the corner floor joists are so hopelessly dilapidated that the rooms seems to shrink and sink away. the backyard (if you could call it that) is filled with such an array of trash and ephemera that it looks staged. i notice a single pink and glittered flip flop overturned near the gate. when i point out that cinderella has lost her slipper i'm met with groans from my audience. seems that "cinderella" is in fact the "anti-cinderella" and her story is meant for another time and is not told to me. mike himself is easily in his 50's. he is at once jovial and generous, telling me whatever i want from the fridge is mine. he's a stocky guy with a serious buddah beer belly yet in no way obese. his chin has a fine white stubble, his chest and arms are covered in white curly fur yet his flesh is a deep tan. testament to his habit of sitting outdoors, chatting to neighbors and passersby. his hair is a curly unkempt mass of salt and pepper, his eyes so vibrantly blue they look almost like ice. but mike's most striking feature is hidden by his bushy mustache. he has a severe hair-lip. he has a tiny white chihuahua, an immaculately clean animal with a giant bell attached to his collar. he is very social and loving and has an affinity for slim-jims. when i ask the dog's name, mike says "cee-ko". chico? "no CEEE-KO...ceeek-ko." my brother whispers, "cisco." but everyone calls the dog "sicko" because that's how mike says it. just then an ice cream truck went by playing a distorted muffled tune, a warped and disturbing version of some mexican lullaby that comes across as sinister yet hypnotic. i light another cigarette and wait to see what happens next.