I've missed the neighbors the last couple months. They've been on an extended road trip since January.
From Meat's random texts, they've been from Vermont to Key West to New Orleans. They made a quick stop home for Valentine's and helped Meat's downriver cousins with flood cleanup for 3 or 4 days. But Tater had him back on the road as soon as the hard part was done.
So I was tickled a couple mornings ago when the travellers barged through the front door with a fresh pot of coffee. I'm guessing it was their third of the day.
Meat cut straight to it. "How's the stock market treating you, SJ?"
"Good to see you, too, ole buddy. I've got no stocks, it's treating me just fine."
Tater's smile kind of dropped. "What do you mean you've got no stocks?"
"None. I've got none. Tell her Meat." Meat gestured the pot toward Tater. "You need more coffee? He's got no stocks."
"But you asked how the stock market was treating him." Puzzled was stamped across her face. She thrust her cup toward him.
Meat snorted. "Old joke. Maybe you had to be there."
In our younger days, Meat and I both lived in the Lexington area. He was selling used cars for his uncle and I was writing by day and bartending most nights. We were both making enough to pay our rents and not a whole lot more.
We'd meet at Keeneland once a week during the spring and fall meets and smoke cigars and drink bloody mary's and act like we had just as much money as the people sitting in the private boxes comparing portfolios. When one of our uninformed and outlandish $2 bets produced a winning ticket and the booty collected, "How's the market treating you?" was the preferred return boast. It was best accompanied by waving a wad of bills.
Like he said, maybe you had to be there.
Tater sipped her coffee. She wanted to ask a question but Meat had his own tangent.
"Man do you think there's a marketing campaign coming? Kentucky--the Disaster State?" Tater nearly spit coffee. "You know the whole state has flooded from end to end since the inauguration," Meat continued. "We've had tornados out west and in central. Landslides and earthquakes. Everywhere you look, it's recovery."
"That's what we are," I offered, "The Recovery State. We're always recovering from something. It may be what Kentuckians do best. Recover."
Meat grinned. "That's right. Beats the alternative."
"How about you SJ?" Tater asked. "How's recovery in today's climate?"
That's a good question. Tater, like most of my best friends, suffers from empathy for her fellow human.
"The random numbness in my feet is still driving me nuts. I'm just rolling with the day to day craziness and feeling stronger by the day. And whoda thunkit? Turns out Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul and I share the same views on tariffs."
At that Meat jumped up. "Dang how obvious? Every country but Putin's country. Somebody gets paid in rubles."
"Amen" chimed in Tater.
What a pair. Who wouldn't miss that?