Only the corrupt departments

1.

Daniel came toward us, his retired military pace not quite a march, but also not a stroll in the park, and pulled out his ear buds. "Do you know what Gene Hackman's very first film was?" he asked. No. "Lilith!" I pulled an envelope out of my pocket to show him; I'd found it near the sign at the entrance. It was closed, but one side had a big heart scrawled on it, and words of love (and "even like") for "Papa." The impress of a boot was over it, but not strong enough to interfere with the sentiment. The other side of the envelope bore strips of post-it notes with asemic writing on them. The envelope was glued shut. Dan said he'd take the envelope to the desk. He ended with a joke about a woman and her carberator.

 

2.

At the Temple, Lilith and I peered around the closed-looking ticket shack, painted maroon like the temple. There were two men in the shack, the one who sits and watches cars (likely to fend off thieves) and another who sat at the desk. "No Uncle John?" I asked. "He's got the day off," said the first man. "Only works here on weekends." I said I know that he has a FEMA job during the week and I worry about his job. "Oh, he works for DoD," said the second man, glaring at me. "No need to worry." "But so many people are getting fired," I said. "Only in the crooked departments," he said. "They're people with families and bills to pay." "They work in the crooked departments," he repeated. "You're wrong," I opined. "OK, if you say so."

 

2.5

Lilith and I marched into the parking lot, between huge buses disgorging tourists and the rental cars that ferried others in. A couple was releasing their two Aussie sheepdogs from a car. "I like your hat!" said the tall man. Cardinals fan.