Das Hier #6

Stop!

So says the hand, Dear Virginia, but not to you of course, for we want you to continue as deep into the decade as you would like to, which we hope is in its entirety, which is so far down the road that we shouldn't be thinking about it.

Only we are because we are always thinking about everything, even when it doesn't look like it at all.

To that end, want the goodly little Writer, who we have failed to capture an image of, which has nothing to do with his handsomeocity, or what his detractors would say, lack thereof.

Though they would surely say that they are not necessarily detractors as many of them don't even know him, or care to.

Or ever will, because the likelihood of him ever making it out of his little bubble of ineffectuality is minimal.

And yes, we like him and are for his success. We just don't believe in him much.

To say at all would be crazy and we're not crazy. 

We're just realistic and it doesn't look at all realistic that he will escape this bubble of his own making through his formative years.

We'd think differently if he had taken the pencil up thirty years ago, when education was realistic and not improbable.

Okay, it's impossible, but because we're in a mood due to the newness of the decade, we'll let it got at improbable.

Though we won't say that that improbability means he would learn much of anything from any kind of educating in drawing.

Or anything else.

At least not formally. He's long since been tired of formal education, which has much to do with him never taking any beyond High School.

Lucky for him he graduated when he did and could have made the most of that then.

He didn't, but even without making the most of that, he could have had a much better life if he had just kept his nose to the grindstone.

Fool that he is, he hasn't done this and so we come to the current 

state of this man, whom we have failed to capture an image of.

We don't have any care that we haven't captured an image of the man, so we will never regret this.

Not that you, dear Virginia are saying that we regret this, or would regret this yourself because you can't possibly be interested in him as anything more than the creator of our slowly unfolding adventures which finally gets us back to the Stop.

We want him to stop starting new branches of the same tree, that of Das Hier.

Though we admit that there is a strong likelihood that he will ignore us and keep drawing new branches that just end in the beginning because that is his seeming want.

And surely that can't be what you want as a reader Virginia.

But we had to offer up this stop even if what we feared is going to come to pass as early as tomorrow, that he will ignore us and begin a new branch like this never happened.

So while we have you here, dear Virginia, we want to give you our apologies for him because we know he never will.

And in case this is the last time that we see you, not that we have seen you, but we feel your presence still, we would like to thank you for coming here at all.

As you can see, not many have come along and fewer have stayed.

So thanks for stopping by.

To be honest, we're not sure what kept you here as long as you were, or will be, because we don't know for certain that you will leave, it's just a possibility.

Was it the writing or was it the art?

Or dare we say it, both?

It could be both.

Though how much does that matter since neither one is drawing anyone in.

Statistically speaking that is.

Oh well, we've said enough.

Or me, since the still living thumb has seen fit to remain silent.

I was busy doing things other than going to see a movie tonight and right now, I wish that I had because then I wouldn't know what I know now, that the once great and glorious, well, it's been a very long time since they were that, though they still have the historical bragging rights of that time and will for as long as that league continues since I don't see any of its members playing as well as they did for as long as they did, size of membership aside.

The haters can hate it as much as they want, but them's the facts.

What are you talking about thumb?

Where have you been all these years FaceyLegs? Just because he doesn't write about it as he writes about other things doesn't mean he is not a fan of Nos Glorieux, even if their last brush with glory ended painfully and wasn't as glorious as their old glories, it was their best effort since the last great effort, that ended at the same stage.

Oh, them. Aren't they having a dreadful season that is going to end as their last two have, on the outside looking in at the Great Torunament, which many say is the greatest of tournaments because it is the gruellingest of struggles that only the bravest of the best can muscle their way through?

Yes, they are having an absolutely wretched time of having just lost their 7th contest in a row following somethign of a resurgence after their first set of wretched contests that lasted for 8 straight contests. I thought that the last period of wretchedness would continue for 13, but was relieved it ended when it did and even saw them back in contention for the great tournament as they were in and out a couple of times.

And then this latest wretchedness befell them yes?

Indeed. And I don't know when this one will end as they can't even beat the few teams that are still having worse seasons than them. That was what the first wretched period was built on as they had played to the heights that only their fans surely thought that they could and were seeded high in both their Conference and the League before the first floor fell out from under them.

So it was just terrible that they couldn't beat these also rans. Some of whom are now doing better than them, which begs the question who's the also ran now?

They are, clearly.

For the moment, they are. But I haven;t given up hope and because I didn't go and see the movie tonight like I wanted to, my resolve not to pay them any mind wavered and I tuned into the game and saw the kind of results that have been most prevalent this long season. They were down by a goal and I said to myself, thumb, I just have to see it play out.

Why would you do such a thing thumb?

Well, I'm a fan and I haven't given up on the hyope that they can straighten out and fly right as they save their season and qualify for the greatest of all the tournaments because they have beaten some of the better  teams, one they even swept out of the season series.

So I don't get the wretchedness of their results.

The proof is in the pudding thumb. They are bad.

So the proof was in the pudding when they were good then too? To say anything it was anything else is hypocritical.

That was surely luck and the other teams not playing well.

You hypocrite! You can't have it both ways like a politician.

Don't call me a politician, that's the most insulting thing that you could call me thumb.

Now, now boys settle the heck down or I will wash the both of you off your perches with two quick blasts from my trunk!

You wouldn't dare Elephant, we are your betters and to dare attack us would be to earn yourself nothing but trouble.

Oh shut up FaceyLegs!

Ha FaceyLegs, I like the little elephant as he just put you in your place, like you deserved to be for talking aginst Nos Glorieux like you did.

You shut up too thumb, Nos Glorieux were having a good season, but that was in November and this is January, a whole new decade and they suck, even if they only lose by a goal, they are still losing and don't look like they'll be back to winning anytime soon as they now have to win a stupidly high amount of games. I don't see them stringing together the number of games that they'd need to get back into the running for the great tournament. They're not as lowly ranked as the last champions were at this time last season, but that's not going to happen a second season in a row.

Well, I don't like what you're telling me, but at least you're not a hypocrite like FaceyLegs who needs to get off me because I don't want anything more to do with him. 

All because I dared to speak the truth about Nos Glorieux? Dammit thumb, that's just silly. Nos Glorieux haven't been anything more than just another club in the league for more than 40 years and I don't know when they're going to win again. Certainly not this season.

No, because you were an ass about Nos Glorieux and I can't be certain that you aren't a hater and those are the worse because they're just jealous of their history of success that their own clubs can't possibly match because to do what they did took 78 seasons. So they've earned the right to sit atop the pyramid of greats of the four leagues.

Even if it's been 26 years since they last won and to say it won't be another 26 is not the most unreasonable thing to say?

25 seasons, there was the lockout year which knocks the count of seasons off by one from the count of years. And while I'd be a foool to say that was the year that they would have won it all, they were a playoff team in the two seasons surrounding that most unfortunate year which is fair to say for any team that was playing then.

Spushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

And just like that the foolish little elephant blasted both of us away from the dead fingers of thumb's hand, making good on his idiotic promise to blast us with the water in his trunk

He was going to pay for that, I can tell you that in no uncertain terms.

Ha ha ha! I don't like it, especially since the water's as cold as it was, but I like you little elephant, I really do

And thumb laughed like the fool that he was, seeming not to care in the respect that the elephant should have shown us because we are higher up on the evolutionary chain than him.

I warned you little elephant, you're going to pay for that, mark my words!

Oh shut it FaceyLegs, we both got more heated than we needed to be and he did warn us. We didn't listen so we got what we deserved!

I glared at thumb, who was no doubt as happy to be away from me as I was from him. 

Far be it for me to tell you how much freedom to give the lower rungs of the ladder, but you're a fool if you think that this little elephant shouldn't pay for what he did to us.

But you're not going to tell me how to treat the so called lower rungs eh? You're even worse than I thought you were the moment that you started to talk smack about Nos Glorieux.

Spushhhhh!

And I laughed out loud as the little elephant blasted him alone this time.

I didn't think that I had to say it thumb, but it seems that I do, the topic of Nos Glorieux is out of bounds for the rest of the day okay? And of you think that I don't have enough water to keep blasting the both of you, then you're only fooling yourself. Am I being clear enough for the both of you uprungers?

Hey, don't lump me in with that fool. I'm not the one that was saying shiite about you, that was FaceyLegs. And I like you little elephant, unlike him.

I don't pay no never mind to jerks like him thumb, he can't help it lacking hands and arms as he does. I'd actually hate to be him and don't mind my place on the ladder at all.

Charles Petrie

Date
01-07-20

Time

20:53-23:59=186 Minutes

Word Count

2135