Good afternoon. It is Thursday once again and I Gigi the parti poodle am here to introduce chapter nine of my story Corn Maze. This week has been hot. Dare I say sweltering. My novelist thought it would be a good idea to go for a walk in the late afternoon. I assure you this was a mistake. I panted most of the way and I could not stop panting once we returned home. My novelist gave me water, put me in a cooling vest which is too big for me, and stuck me in the bedroom which is the coolest place in our home. She herself did not fare well from the heat and learned a valuable lesson: walk your dogs in the early morning. And so, we fixed that little faux pas, and we are both the better for it. As you probably guessed, being from the northwest, I am a huge Fraiser fan, and the show is apparently getting a reboot. I came across this video, which is not, I repeat NOT the trailer for the new reboot but it is rather amusing just the same so I thought I would share it with you. Now here is chapter nine of Corn Maze. Nasoloditisya!

Corn Maze

by

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Nine

“Let me get this straight, boys,” the head of the corn maze committee said. “You two want to do a race to see which one can get through the other’s corn maze first.”

“That’s right,” Farley said.

“And you want this dog and pony show to be a part of this year’s annual corn maze competition.”

“Right again.”

“And you think this should be a paid competition. In other words, you want us to sell tickets to this hootenanny.”

“With all the proceeds going to help fund next year’s corn maze festival,” Harley said.

“Well, that’s mighty philanthropic of you two.”

“We’re dedicated to putting money back into the community,” Farley said.

“That’s mighty kind of you boys. But Farley, I can’t remember you ever being philanthropic. In fact, I can’t remember you ever being at a single money raiser your entire life.”

“I’ve grown up a bit, Roy.”

“Uh, huh,” Roy said looking from Farley to Harley and back again. “If I remember correctly, you boys had a falling out in high school.”

“That’s right,” Harley said. “We did.”

“As I recall it wasn’t a small thing. In fact, it was the talk of the town.”

“I suppose it was.”

“And from what I recollect, Harley, you left. Saw you a couple of times during summer break and maybe Christmas and that was about it. So, I’m a bit perplexed about you wanting to put money back into the community and all.”

“I grew up here. It’s home.”

Roy grabbed the baseball off its stand, propped his feet up on his desk and tossed the ball from hand to hand. “I’m going to have to think on this one. I’m not saying no, mind you, but I do have to think on it.”

“We appreciate it, Roy,” Farley said. “Thanks for seeing Harley and me today. We know you’re a busy man.”

“Thank you kindly, Farley. Harley, it’s good to have you back in town. The committee and I will look over your proposal and we’ll have an answer for you boys by the end of the week.”

Farley and Harley left the office and headed down the hall. “What if the committee turns this cock and bull idea down?” Harley said.

“They won’t,” Farley replied. “I give the committee too much support for them to turn us down.”

“Why doesn’t Valerie want to marry you?”

Farley’s face turned red. “That’s a bold question!”

“Just trying to make conversation.”

“Are you going to marry Mallory?”

“I’m planning to.”

“After I bang her that is.”

Harley grabbed Farley by the collar and threw him up against the wall.

“You think that’s smart, Harley?” Farley said as Harley breathed in his face. “Starting a fight right here in the courthouse over your beloved fiancé’s honor?”

“You’re a reptile,” Harley said seething. “You always have been, and you always will be.”

“At least I’m not engaged to one woman and pining for another.”

“Valerie has no business being your fiancé and we both know it.”

“You sure of that, Harley? Because I didn’t force her to take my ring and say yes.”

“No, but she was thinking “what choice do I have?””

“A better choice than marrying a loser like you.”

Harley shoved Farley back. “I’m not losing to you anymore, Farley. This time, I’m going to win.”

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and the five installments in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!!!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: PARIS, TEXAS (1984)-HBO Max

Winner of the 1984 Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival as well as the BAFTA for best director Wim Wenders, this Indi masterpiece still holds up great today. The film has a stellar cast with Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clement, Hunter Carson, and a stunning Nastassja Kinski. Written by Sam Shephard it is one of the most outstanding reconstructionist pieces from the 1980’s.

Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) wanders through the Texas desert. We don’t know how he got there or why. He traipses into a rickety establishment wearing demolished shoes and passes out from heat and exhaustion. After being tended to by a small-town doctor his brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) who lives in Los Angeles and works in the billboard business receives a phone call and heads out to Texas to retrieve Travis. But by the time he arrives, he finds out his brother wandered out that morning. Walt pays the doctor bill and finally hunts Travis down by the side of the road to find him tattered and mute.

Walt drives the two of them back to the airport where they board a plane, but Travis disembarks and refuses to fly. The two brothers continue back to Los Angeles via rental car, the exact same rental car they were in originally and arrive at Walt’s home where Walt’s wife Anne and Travis’s young son Hunter (Hunter Carson) live. Slowly Travis begins to acclimate back into the land of the living and weaves together a plan to find his estranged wife Jane (Nastassja Kinski).