Baltimore.

Baltimore. The sun comes down through the empty raindrops, through the leaves on the main street as the soft cries of children arise up to meet it. Outside the birds’ chirping signals the beginning of a new day. The siren song of the coffee pot down stairs begins its revelry with the sound of erupting steam. My wife has already been up for three hours. Baltimore. Everyday this monotony continues. My blonde wife chortles with laughter as our French bulldog licks her face. The children scream with hilarity, their laughter rippling off the walls in primary colors. The wall-paper shudders beneath it as I do.

I am not of this world; Baltimore. I remember that today is Tuesday.

Tuesday is the day of ties. I work in the research and productions department of a retail clothing store. I research the latest trends among white middle class teens and compare them to the latest trends in Japan. Japan dictates all of our professional decisions. My name is Murphy. I’ve changed it three times now. But, I believe Murphy will stick. Anyway, back to Japan. The teenie boppers of Japan are 5 to 6 years ahead of American teenie boppers. As a result, studying the latest trends of Japan gives our research and development team a heads up on the competition. We must stay ahead of the competition. Frankly, I don’t give a shit. Frank, shit, that used to be one of my other names. Of course, I had to change that one as well. Luckily though, I have never had to change my job.

There is within the course of one’s day an underlying structure of events that dictates the gravity and perhaps, though I have not yet convinced myself of this completely, the meaning of one’s life. My life is shit quite frankly. Frank, shit, that used to be one of my other names. I am, and always have been, completely conscious of this structure within my life. And have worked to keep this structure, as it may be, defining my life as shit, quite frankly. I do enjoy a good shit especially on Friday. Today is not Friday. It is Tuesday.  I will wear the yellow tie. I always wear the yellow tie on Tuesday. It defines my life as shit as it is a part of the underlying structure of my life that I have worked so hard to maintain all these years. Baltimore.