Bill sat on a stool and ordered a beer, as he drank he scanned the familiar surroundings of the Logger's Shack bar and grill. It was like the town; a bleak affair, dimly lit with the barest of fittings. Spartanly decorated save for a few moose and bear heads and numerous pictures of loggers astride gigantic felled trees. Sam, the man mountain of an owner, grizzly as the grizzliest of bears, save for his shiny bald head that shone out from a face otherwise covered with a thick beard. He wore a checked shirt like almost everyone else in town.
'What's up Bill, you ain't your usual self today?'
Aw, nothin' really. Me and Jack had a few words, that's all, like ah say, nothin' to worry about, it's done now.'
You and jack was arguing? That's not like either of you, jeez, you two's like molasses in a jar. What brought that on?'
'The circus’ comin' to town.' Bill answered wearily, Sam's face bore a look of thoughtfulness, then of recognition.
'The circus! God, that's right, didn't his Paw have some kinda trouble there one time, I was outta town, loggin' up in Canada round that time, never did hear what really happened.'
Bill, paused before answering, then began, 'I suppose Jack wouldn't mind me tellin' you what most of the rest of the town knows already. You remember years back, circus used to come here right regular and everybody looked forward to it cause it came right along at the same time as the end of the logging season. Well me an' Jack used to love it all, really lap it up, all the fun, the freaks, the girls, well when we was 'bout, ah dunno, late teens, maybe 16 or so, the circus comes and we all went down. Jack's paw, big Jack he came too, left his momma at home, cause she had a cold. Well all was goin' well until, Big Jack says he's goin' for a look in one of the burlesque freak stalls, but we couldn't get in so we go off somewhere else, and when we go back, we see that his paw ain't there, and some goon says he went of with some lady. Jack got real mad and started tearin' about tryin' to find him, sayin' he's gonna git him for cheatin' on his dear old momma.
But thing was they never did find him, not least alive at any rate, all they found was just, God , man bits an' pieces, like a slaughtered hog or somethin'. The police, the national guard, all them folks even the Feds, you know the FBI, was there, them boys took what was left of Jack's paw away to the city came back and said he'd spontaneously human combusted, you know, exploded, blew up, they say it can happen, but nobody believed it, not least Jack or his momma. His Momma thought it was somebody else, and that he'd ran away with a gypsy. And Jack he had a plum crazy notion that some kinda weird beast from the circus killed him!'
What like a mountain lion or somethin?'
'
Hell no, he reckoned it was like Bigfoot or somethin' crazy like that, cos they never could trace the broad he was with. The whole thing destroyed their lives. His momma when real crazy cuckoo and ended up killin' herself in the state asylum. And jack he was just as bad, he went wild in the city then volunteered for the Marines and got sent to Vietnam, and came back crazy after what he'd did and seen. Took to the hills and as you know he's been there ever since, sometime I think he's up there because he thinks one day the thing that he thinks got his Father is gonna come back and he will be ready.'
'Sounds all kinda sad and mad to me, Bill, Jack always seems so normal, quiet, but you know, decent , okay.'
Yeah, he is, but he just don’t like no circus' comin' to town no more.
Tell my story why don't you...
I lived with the circus as a kid.. it was hard work but still a good memory..
As a young man I hitched through the States a few times and always ended up inthe hills with vets like Jack...
The country wasn't that bad, especially in Oregon and Northern california where most vets ended up - maybe with a VW microbus and copious spliffs and some redwood bi-products - many had come via haight Ashbury in SF.
Paranoid maybe - but good guys