The Cigarette-Smoking Man
There were two men waiting in my office. As I walked in, they stood. My secretary mouthed, "I have no idea."
These guys were odd. Together, they would have made one 6'6" bald guy with large hands and a warm heart. Individually, a different story. Tall, balding and skinny hands said, "Benson." Not-so-tall, bald, and large hands said, "Hedges." Both sounded half-hearted.
"What can I do for you gentlemen?" I asked. My left nostril was blocked, and I hadn't had my morning coffee yet.
"We'd like to know..."
"... what we should know..."
"... as the new head... "
"... of the Fortress."
Yeah, they had that irritating complete-the-other-guy's-sentences thing.
And then I woke up. Something about Benson, Hedges, cigarettes, and consonantal and vowel shifts drifted out of the dream and left before I could catch it.
But it got me thinking. What to tell the non-cigarette non-smoking man?
These guys were odd. Together, they would have made one 6'6" bald guy with large hands and a warm heart. Individually, a different story. Tall, balding and skinny hands said, "Benson." Not-so-tall, bald, and large hands said, "Hedges." Both sounded half-hearted.
"What can I do for you gentlemen?" I asked. My left nostril was blocked, and I hadn't had my morning coffee yet.
"We'd like to know..."
"... what we should know..."
"... as the new head... "
"... of the Fortress."
Yeah, they had that irritating complete-the-other-guy's-sentences thing.
And then I woke up. Something about Benson, Hedges, cigarettes, and consonantal and vowel shifts drifted out of the dream and left before I could catch it.
But it got me thinking. What to tell the non-cigarette non-smoking man?
Labels: Odd Thoughts, Story
etched with acid at 11:10:00 pm
2 Comments:
It's funny, I actually had officers named Benson and Hedges in the first few months of NS...
See, it is all a conspiracy. Which in its original sense, meant 'a breathing-together'.
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