Posts Tagged ‘salome

01
Mar
11

A Post For Salome

I always felt bad because when Stikey and I, at the tender age of about 15, decided to run away from home, we passed Salome in the street and lied to her about where we were going.

She could see that something was up. Two adolescent shit-kickers dragging a colossal tog bag up the road randomly in the middle of the afternoon. Not normal.

She asked us where we were going and I told her I was spending the night at Stikey’s place and not to worry about us and yes, our parents knew about it.

Then we high-tailed it up the street, jumped in a black taxi and drove to a Formula One hotel where we spent the night getting as wasted as humanly possible and freaking out completely that our parents were going to disown us.

We were asshole kids and we did a lot of asshole things, but lying to Salome like that, it never sat well with me.

I don’t remember if I ever apologised to her for that. To this day I still don’t know if my parents asked her if she’d seen me that afternoon and what she said.

I’m not sure it matters anymore. Salome died yesterday afternoon.

Let it be known, for as long as this junkyard site stands, that Salome was a  good person, that she went to church every Sunday and said her prayers, that she was a gentle soul and that she deserved to live longer and see her grandkids grow up big and strong.

Salome was young, younger than my mom is now when she died, too young.

She used to give the softest hugs.

I think that’s what I’ll remember about her the most. She gave the softest hugs and she had a great laugh that could always make you laugh.

And holy shit, she make the best goddamn chicken mayonnaise rolls you’ve ever tasted in your life! I swear to God, her chicken mayonnaise rolls were so good, I’d save them for the end of my school day and eat them on the rowing bus going back home with this big dumb smile on my face.

I’m older now and I understand that life is cruel, but why the fuck did it have to be so cruel to her? What the fuck did she ever do to deserve losing her daughter who died right next to Salome on the bed in the tiny room that Salome used to live in, what did she ever do to deserve that?

I remember one night she spoke to me about it, she came to me for answers, she wanted to know how the God she loved could do that, but what could I tell her? What the fuck do you say to  someone who’s been through that?

I hugged her because there was nothing I could say. I just hugged her for the longest time, until she’d stopped crying and I told her things would be ok, they would get better.

She used to give the softest hugs Salome, and if there is a God, she’s giving her daughter one of those hugs right now and they’re together in a world that’s much, much better than this one.

 

 

-ST

04
Feb
10

Salome’s first day

Hey party people.

This won’t be a long post. I’m feeling kinda down and don’t really know what to write about today. The day started out all sunshiny and turned to pouring rain and grey skies. More grey skies. Just when you think things are clearing up, more grey skies.

 

 

I guess it doesn’t help that I’ve been listening to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds all day, but I don’t know, I find solace in that crazy fucker’s music, the way he’s screaming mad one minute and singing heartfelt ballads the next. Reminds me of this one guy I met once in a crowded bar, drinking himself quietly to hell, writing poetry on paper napkins… I wonder what ever happened to those napkins…

I think about our maid Salome’s first day when she started with us and how I was on school holidays and went to make myself a bowl cereal at 2 o’clock in the afternoon cause I was hungry and lazy that day.

I remember how I paused when I reached into the fridge for the milk because the milk jug with the cartoon cows on it wasn’t there.

Instead I found myself staring at a Hunchback of Notre Dame milk jug. Identical in shape, but with a red cap instead of a white one and pictures from the animated Disney movie all over it.

I asked my mom later what happened to the milk jug and she told me that Salome broke it by mistake, but was too scared to tell anyone so she walked up to the Pick ‘n Pay on her lunch break and tried to buy an identical jug. They were sold out of cartoon cow ones, so she bought a Hunchback of Notre Dame one instead and just kinda hoped no one would notice the difference.

She burst into tears when my mom asked her where the cartoon cow jug was.

I don’t know, I think about Salome’s first day sometimes and how it must have felt to watch that milk jug slip out of her hands and smash on the floor.

It’s stupid, I don’t know why I think about that. I wish there wasn’t so much junk in my head sometimes.

Tomorrow will be better.

-ST