BILL CADY Word Count: 149,227 - At My Friend's Place

Bill Cady, The Early Years … by Bill Cady 314
owned, the friend had an ice chest full of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. I was in awe when
Unc picked up the first one, a twelve ounce bottle with a twist off cap, and drank it all in
one huge swig. He had two more in the next ten or fifteen minutes before we left.
As we drove along in the Willy‟s he‟d borrowed from Mom, Unc took out a pack
of cigarettes and handed „em to me. Then he told me to light one for him. I wasn‟t too
big on the idea of being disobedient, especially with him, but I simply had to refuse. He
wouldn‟t believe me at first, saying he knew I smoked already, but I held fast to what I‟
said. He eventually lit his own, which made me pretty damned glad.
He came to our house once when Mom and Dad were fighting. Verbal only. One
more mark to the prick‟s credit was he never hit Mom. I would‟ve taken him on, no
matter what my age, if he ever did that. However, they were still going at it when Unc
arrived. He may have even had a couple by then, since it was already dark.
In any event, my old man said something pretty nasty to Mom, I guess, and Unc
went running out to the kitchen. I saw that big, muscular arm cock back. I watched his
huge, hammy fist descend toward my old man‟s face. I heard the thud, like a raw roast
landing on a cement floor, when his fist landed. I can‟t say if my old man made any
noise, or not. All I could hear was Mom‟s screech, “Darrell, you son-of-a-bitch! Leave
him alone!”
We were at the cottage one weekend, my folks, that David thing, me, Unc, and his
wife at the time. I think that was Helen, but I‟m not sure. Unc and Helen slept out on the
screened in porch, where a bed was made from a fold-out couch.
It was Saturday. On Friday night, they all went into Lake George, 1.7 miles away
on a sandy road. It was the closest thing to a town for twenty miles in any direction.
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