Quick Thinking Can Mean Wrong Thinking

The other day I filled up the tank and naturally was grimacing at the price.

Then, I pulled up to the highway and was waiting for a break in traffic to pull out. A guy in a green pickup truck turned in and shouted something at me. I don’t know what. He wasn’t smiling. “How rude!” I thought. Then, I saw his truck ‘s rear window. It had two Bush stickers on it.

I immediately wondered how did he know my political leaning, I don’t have any stickers or anything on my truck I should have shot have the finger I thought.

I turned and went down Canton Road a few blocks and turned into a shopping center and went into Doctor No’s Comic Book Shop. Sometimes when I am in that area I drop by and check out what new comics I might be interested in.

From time to time I buy THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN for several reasons. It is good art, a the dilemmas Peter Parker or SPIDERMAN finds himself in is well, mind bending, and my first cousin’s husband, Mark Bagley is one of the artists…. Or he was. His name has not been on the cover on any of the issues lately.

The owner of Doctor No’s was there, Cliff Biggers. I asked Cliff was Mark Bagley still with Marvel Comics, I haven’t seen his name on the covers lately.

The reason I asked Cliff about Mark is that Cliff helped get Mark started as a comic book artist and Mark has had autograph signings there from time to time.

Cliff said Mark is now with DC Comics – they gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. The second-in-command joined in and said Mark will be doing the art for a new comic book which will be produced (or published) weekly. Cliff added, “weekly for a year, then it will stop.” One of them said the name of the new weekly comic book will be TRINITY.

So, now I know. About the only family events I get to go to are funerals and luckily for us, they are not that often - so, I only see Mark about every other year or so.

I said, “ I’m curious because he is my wife’s first cousin.”

And I left.

Walking to my truck I saw that my gas cap flapper lid was opened and the gas cap dangling on its cable.

So! That was what the guy with the Bush stickers was trying to tell me! Oh me.

Then as I was backing up the last sentence I said to Cliff Biggers surfaced in my brain’s on-line section: “I’m curious because he is my wife’s first cousin.”

Wait! I got it twisted! I meant to say, “I’m curious because he is my first cousin’s husband.”

Damn! Should I go back and tell Cliff and his second in command that I was wrong, and tell him my real correction version? And make a fool of myself?

Then I remembered, there is no need. I am invisible or the type who’s statements most easily and instantly forgotten. Before I got to my truck they had already forgot about me and what I thought to myself.

Having the knack of blending with the wall does have it advantages at times.