A Facility For the Poor and Demented

Fred visits Bill every month at the facility he’s been in for years. Age and booze brought Bill there. He's still strapped to his bed so he can't go wandering again when he gets a taste for a beer. Bill calls Fred by name this time and asks if Jim has found a job. Fred tells Bill no but doesn't remind him their cousin is dead. All three would go fishing as kids for bluegill, crappie and catfish with cane poles in summer. There’d be a big family fish fry. Bill says he’s going home soon but there is no home to go to. His trailer was sold long ago to help pay the bill at the facility where every so often nurses turn him to avoid bed sores. The state checks for those. A license can be suspended. Donal Mahoney