Indiana Problem (List, 1983)

Our neighbor said the glass bottle

would make sparks if you threw

it on the cement hard enough. It

didn’t but Will cut his hand

on the glass. The cat loved popcorn

so much she would eat a piece

of Styrofoam if offered. Teddy,

the hamster, was willing to walk

on the green carpet of the basement

if he was wearing a leash we made him

out of yarn. My Bodyguard was a movie

you could watch on the one free week

of HBO. I was scared of one of the boys

in it but I can’t remember why. HBO

stands for Human Body Odor. After

watching the Brady Bunch that opens

with the girls jumping rope, I took

my jump rope to the driveway to jump

until one of two cars pulled into

the driveway. We found a can of Kroger

pop and drank it warm in the garage. Lee

Ott peed in a bucket behind the shed.

The secret club was called Vikings.

The dirt bike club was called Nanu

Nanu. Birds don’t like jelly beans but

will occasionally eat French fries. On

the morning the turtle went missing, my

stolen roller skates appeared in the yard.