sammy davis jr. jr.
“Aw, look,” Yossarian says, stopping in his tracks to squat down next to a pile of black feathers. “It’s a bird.”
Mikal stops, too, and stands looking over Yossarian’s shoulder. “Is it dead?”
Yossarian picks up a stick and starts poking at the bird. It twitches and squawks. “Nope.” The kid unwraps his scarf from around his neck, lays it flat on the ground. “I think it’s hurt, though.” He gently lifts the bird onto the fabric, then wraps it up and cradles the bundle to his chest.
“Dude!” Heidi shouts, spying Yossarian from the corner of her eye. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m gonna fix the bird!”
“Put it down, Yossarian,” Seth says casually, glancing over his shoulder.
“Why?”
“It’s probably got, like, a disease or something-fuckin’ rabies or whatever,” Mikal tells him.
“It doesn’t have rabies!” Yossarian exclaims.
“Whatever,” Heidi hisses. “Just put the bird down and let it die.”
“No! It’s my pet! I named it and everything!”
“You named a dead bird?” Julian, now, and he sounds stupefied by this.
“Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr. isn’t dead!”
“You named a dead bird Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.?”
“He’s not dead!”
“Alright, alright!” Julian says, throwing his hands up in the classic ‘I surrender’ stance. “Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr. isn’t dead.”
“Exactly. He’s hurt and I’m gonna make him all better.”
“Oh, for the love of…” Heidi rolls her eyes and stomps over to Yossarian, yanking the bird from his hands.
“Heidi, no! Gimme back Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.!”
“Sammy Davis Jr., Jr.,” she snarls venomously, pulling the scarf away from the bird’s body with a flourish and causing it to caw and squirm in her hands, “is dead.” She grabs hold of the bird’s head and snaps it viciously at an unnatural angle. The bird stops moving immediately, and she lets the corpse drop to the ground.
“No!” Yossarian screams, falling to his knees to scoop the body up and hold it protectively as Heidi spins on her heel and storms off. “Not Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.! I loved Sammy Davis Jr., Jr.!”
“Get up and get over it!” Heidi yells over her shoulder, not breaking stride.
Yossarian does get to his feet, utter dejection as clear on his face as if it was written there with black marker as he walks with the bird nestled in his arms. He falls into step beside Astrid, looking up at her with his big, dark eyes only made bigger by the magnifying magic of glasses.
“We should have a funeral for Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.” he tells her, his voice a bit shaky as if he’s on the verge of tears.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious! Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr. was an important figure in my life! I loved him! We should respect and honor all the good he did!”
“It was a bird…” Astrid says slowly, fighting to choke down the snort of laughter threatening to bubble up.
“He was more than a bird! He was my best friend!”
“You had him for less than five minutes…”
“So? The briefness of his life only makes his death more traumatic for me.”
“Whatever you say…”
Yossarian sneers at her before running ahead a little ways. When he’s almost out of sight, he stops, dropping to his knees, digging a hole in the thirsty desert earth.
“What’s he doing now?” Heidi groans.
“He’s burying the bird.”
“Oh. My god. That kid is a piece of work.”
The remaining five approach Yossarian just as he’s placing the bird into the shallow grave he has dug and is gently covering it with dirt. “Would anyone care to say a few words?” he asks.
“Not really…” Seth tells him.
“Fine! I will do the honors!” Yossarian clears his throat dramatically and puffs out his chest as he delivers the eulogy. “Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr., I did not know you as long as I would have liked to. You were taken from this world so tragically,” with this, Yossarian shoots an acid glare at Heidi, who crosses her arms defensively across her chest, lets out an annoyed breath of air, and exaggerates the rolling of her eyes. “I just…” Yossarian continues, returning his gaze to the grave. “I just would have liked to have been able to say goodbye. I loved you Sammy Davis Jr., Jr.” He takes a black feather he must have plucked from the bird before he buried it and places it gently over the grave, straightens up, and salutes the bird, saying: “You will be missed.”
“Alright, great. Wonderful ceremony, I’m moved to tears,” Seth says sarcastically. “But can we go now?” He starts to make his way down the road without even waiting for any sort of response, leaving it up to everyone else to follow him.
About five minutes later, there’s a shout of: “Hey, look!” as Yossarian bends down and picks something up off the ground. “A penny!” His sulking mood has completely dissipated.
“What are you, four?” Heidi takes it from his fingers and throws it over her head.
“Dude, that was worth one wish!”
“What about his broken heart over Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.?” Astrid asks Julian in a whisper.
Julian laughs. “Forgotten already. I swear, that kid has a shorter attention span than an ADD chipmunk.”
xxx
from a story i've abandoned but still treasure
yes, the bird is named after the dog in "everything is illuminated."
july 2008
Mikal stops, too, and stands looking over Yossarian’s shoulder. “Is it dead?”
Yossarian picks up a stick and starts poking at the bird. It twitches and squawks. “Nope.” The kid unwraps his scarf from around his neck, lays it flat on the ground. “I think it’s hurt, though.” He gently lifts the bird onto the fabric, then wraps it up and cradles the bundle to his chest.
“Dude!” Heidi shouts, spying Yossarian from the corner of her eye. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m gonna fix the bird!”
“Put it down, Yossarian,” Seth says casually, glancing over his shoulder.
“Why?”
“It’s probably got, like, a disease or something-fuckin’ rabies or whatever,” Mikal tells him.
“It doesn’t have rabies!” Yossarian exclaims.
“Whatever,” Heidi hisses. “Just put the bird down and let it die.”
“No! It’s my pet! I named it and everything!”
“You named a dead bird?” Julian, now, and he sounds stupefied by this.
“Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr. isn’t dead!”
“You named a dead bird Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.?”
“He’s not dead!”
“Alright, alright!” Julian says, throwing his hands up in the classic ‘I surrender’ stance. “Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr. isn’t dead.”
“Exactly. He’s hurt and I’m gonna make him all better.”
“Oh, for the love of…” Heidi rolls her eyes and stomps over to Yossarian, yanking the bird from his hands.
“Heidi, no! Gimme back Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.!”
“Sammy Davis Jr., Jr.,” she snarls venomously, pulling the scarf away from the bird’s body with a flourish and causing it to caw and squirm in her hands, “is dead.” She grabs hold of the bird’s head and snaps it viciously at an unnatural angle. The bird stops moving immediately, and she lets the corpse drop to the ground.
“No!” Yossarian screams, falling to his knees to scoop the body up and hold it protectively as Heidi spins on her heel and storms off. “Not Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.! I loved Sammy Davis Jr., Jr.!”
“Get up and get over it!” Heidi yells over her shoulder, not breaking stride.
Yossarian does get to his feet, utter dejection as clear on his face as if it was written there with black marker as he walks with the bird nestled in his arms. He falls into step beside Astrid, looking up at her with his big, dark eyes only made bigger by the magnifying magic of glasses.
“We should have a funeral for Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.” he tells her, his voice a bit shaky as if he’s on the verge of tears.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious! Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr. was an important figure in my life! I loved him! We should respect and honor all the good he did!”
“It was a bird…” Astrid says slowly, fighting to choke down the snort of laughter threatening to bubble up.
“He was more than a bird! He was my best friend!”
“You had him for less than five minutes…”
“So? The briefness of his life only makes his death more traumatic for me.”
“Whatever you say…”
Yossarian sneers at her before running ahead a little ways. When he’s almost out of sight, he stops, dropping to his knees, digging a hole in the thirsty desert earth.
“What’s he doing now?” Heidi groans.
“He’s burying the bird.”
“Oh. My god. That kid is a piece of work.”
The remaining five approach Yossarian just as he’s placing the bird into the shallow grave he has dug and is gently covering it with dirt. “Would anyone care to say a few words?” he asks.
“Not really…” Seth tells him.
“Fine! I will do the honors!” Yossarian clears his throat dramatically and puffs out his chest as he delivers the eulogy. “Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr., I did not know you as long as I would have liked to. You were taken from this world so tragically,” with this, Yossarian shoots an acid glare at Heidi, who crosses her arms defensively across her chest, lets out an annoyed breath of air, and exaggerates the rolling of her eyes. “I just…” Yossarian continues, returning his gaze to the grave. “I just would have liked to have been able to say goodbye. I loved you Sammy Davis Jr., Jr.” He takes a black feather he must have plucked from the bird before he buried it and places it gently over the grave, straightens up, and salutes the bird, saying: “You will be missed.”
“Alright, great. Wonderful ceremony, I’m moved to tears,” Seth says sarcastically. “But can we go now?” He starts to make his way down the road without even waiting for any sort of response, leaving it up to everyone else to follow him.
About five minutes later, there’s a shout of: “Hey, look!” as Yossarian bends down and picks something up off the ground. “A penny!” His sulking mood has completely dissipated.
“What are you, four?” Heidi takes it from his fingers and throws it over her head.
“Dude, that was worth one wish!”
“What about his broken heart over Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.?” Astrid asks Julian in a whisper.
Julian laughs. “Forgotten already. I swear, that kid has a shorter attention span than an ADD chipmunk.”
xxx
from a story i've abandoned but still treasure
yes, the bird is named after the dog in "everything is illuminated."
july 2008