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In Our Own Words
Living With Literature/Writing Our Stories
SELECTION THREE
In response to “Chef’s House,” by Raymond Carver
“Saturday Night There Was Sure To Be a Fight.”
As a young kid I lived down the street from a bar called The Spots. A dangerous place to be on a Saturday night. People would come from all over town to party at The Spots.
On the outside of the bar there would be drinking, smokin’ and sellin’ drugs. Sometimes gambling. For some strange reason there was a lot of tension in the air. There was sure to be blood spilled tonight.
Inside the bar it sounded like a carnival. People were dancing, talkin’ loud. As I looked across the street, two men were standing in the doorway of the bar arguing about something.
All of a sudden, shots rang out and the crowd dispersed.
People were duckin’, screamin’ and runnin’ immediately. I started running home. My mother kept me in for the rest of the night.
The next morning came. My mother sent me to the store for some milk, but to get to the store I had to walk past the bar. As I looked down, I thought someone was playing with chalk. There was an outline of a body.
Later I found out that someone was killed. And that’s another typical night at The Spots. (Based on a true story.)
by GR