In a simple way, he is wise. “Some day, I want to go to bed and wake up dead.” Can’t argue with that, I said. We were listening to Sly and the Family Stone. “Sly was great, until he screwed up.” Can’t argue with that, I said. “An army of ants isn’t much of an army, unless you’re an ant.” Can’t argue with that, I said. There was a bit of a lull in our world discovery conversation, so with two fingers and a thumb I lifted the shot of dark amber and said, “Here’s to you and your ancestors.” Downed it, slammed the empty glass on the bar, and exited without another word.

used bookstore
a copy of Confucius
with pink highlighting

First collected in I’ll Tell You So by Jeffrey Winke (Ellison Bay, WI: Cross + Roads Press, 2010).