Slim Randles'  Home Country

A lesson on life and love, flash and substance

Part 1: The arrangements

[July 03, 2009]  ^"Cuppa tea, please, Mavis," the voice said, behind us. We knew who it was, because Marvin Pincus is a rarity here in the central headquarters of coffee drinkers of the western world, better known as the Mule Barn coffee shop. He likes tea, and he doesn't come from England, either.

"Hey there, Marv," we said, and he sat.

Marvin came in on our coffee No. 2 this morning, so we were liquefied up pretty well and had our brains ready to come up with the perfect answers to the world's greatest dilemmas. As always.

"So, as I was saying," Doc said, "there should be some way to turn that kid's head so he could understand what makes a good and proper girl and not some fly-by-night who judges a young fella by his car."

Marvin had a sip of tea and looked at Doc. "The Jones kid?"

"Yes. What he sees in that Marcia Fleming, I swear I don't know."

"Eyesight going bad, Doc?" Steve grinned. "You know darn well what he sees in her. And so does every other young man in the valley."

"Oh ... sure. She's a cutey ... but he's just wasting his life trying to get her attention. She can't see him for sour owl soup."

Randall Jones is a really decent young guy who loves his horse, his family, his community and Marcia Fleming. But not in that order. His adoration of Marcia is second on our local list of obsessions only to Del Chin's compulsively clean kitchen down at the Gates of Heaven Chinese joint.

Del's kitchen could teach a few things to a hospital's operating room. And it smells better.

"I think maybe I can help," Marvin said.

Marvin Pincus has the reputation of being an old fly tier and reprobate, so this took us by surprise.

"Somebody call him and tell him to come by my place after chores today, will you?"

Dud shrugged. "Sure. I have his number. What are you going to tell him, Marvin?"

"That you catch more fish with substance than with flash."

Well, we had to ask, didn't we?

[Text from file received from Slim Randles]

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