Golf

“You heard me say it, right?”

“I mean, yeah, I think so.”

“Dude, I always say it.”

“I don’t know if you always say it. But, you, you usually say it, yeah.”

“I absolutely said it this time.”

“I honestly can’t remember if you did or not.”

“C’mon, man. That might not be good enough. What if you have to testify or some shit?”

“Testify??”

“Like in the worst-case-scenario, you know? You say that I said it and then it’s an unfortunate accident.”

“Under oath and everything? You think I’ll have to swear on the Bible?”

“Dude, you’re agnostic!”

“I know, but still. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Lying under oath.”

“Look. I said it. I said, “FOUR!” and then I hit the ball. I didn’t know dude was down there and even if I did, that’s on him, man. After I said, “FOUR!” and I definitely did, it’s on that motherfucker to get out of the way.”

“How bad do you think it is?”

“Well, he ain’t moving. But we’ll have to walk over there to see.”

“Which balls were you using?”

“What? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Were you using those practice balls? The ones that weigh more?”

“…yeah. But still, that shouldn’t matter.”

“Aren’t they illegal?”

“In tournaments, dude! In tournaments. Not to just use on the golf course for practice. They’re practice balls!”

“We should probably walk over there.”

“Yeah, it’ll look bad if we don’t.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no. You know who that is, don’t you.”

“Yeah, I see who it is.”

“Didn’t he.”

“Yeah, he did.”

“He’s the one you saw with your wife and–“

“Dude. I know who he is, ok.”

“This looks bad.”

“Look at me, dude. Right here. Look at me, man.”

“This is bad.”

“Look at me, man. I said, “FOUR!” ok. I said it, you heard it, and we didn’t know who that was when I swung.”

“This isn’t good.”

“It was an accident!”

“I can’t go to jail. I can’t. Whoa, dude. What are you doing with that club?”

“FOUR!”

Title

His name was The Grand Supreme Leader Of Everything That Is, Was, Or Will Be.

He promised us inner peace, knowledge of things heavenly and worldly, a profound sense of purpose.

We could have all of this, The Grand Supreme Leader Of Everything That Is, Was, Or Will Be said, if we just trusted him completely.

That trust, he said, could be earned easily, quickly, and with a few strokes of a pen.

Just sign on the dotted line. Don’t read the document, just sign.

And so we did.

After two weeks of intense seminars, meditation, fasting, we signed.

And now we are the proud owners of a pristine beach-front property.

In Kansas.

Origin

“Good evening and welcome to another episode of Voices of Villians. Tonight, we’re very happy to have our guest, Fast Foe, join us in the studio. Welcome, Fast Foe.”

“Thanks for having me.”

“So, as our viewers probably know, you’ve been quite busy lately. What drives you to your acts of villianry?”

“You, know Chuck, I think it’s just sort of a passion. Like, you have to really like what you do. And, like they say, find something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. I think I can say that’s true for me.”

“And for me, Fast Foe. And for me. Very true words. So, I have to ask a question that is definitely on my mind and I think on the minds of a lot of our listeners too.”

“Ok.”

“Why or how did you choose your specific targets? Why fast food chains like McDonalds or Dairy Queen? Is this some sort of health crusade? Which would be a little odd for a villian.”

“Haha. Yeah, I think that would be a little weird, Chuck. And that’s definitely not the case, not the reason. I think, like most villians, my main motivations all go back to my origin story. I think that’s true for a lot of us.”

“Interesting. And what, may I ask, is your origin story?”

“Glad you asked, Chuck. A lot of my fans seem to be confused.”

“Oh, so you have a strong fan base?”

“I do. I just hit 30 followers on Instagram.”

“Well, that’s not–“

“Like I was saying, and to answer your question, it all goes back to my origin story. You see, some years back, I was driving back home from a really long road trip. Like 8 hours straight, or something. And, boy, it was hot that day. Like 90 degrees. And I didn’t have AC in my car at the time. I do now, but anyway. I didn’t have AC then and it was hot and it had been a long drive, like 8 hours or something, and at this point all I really wanted, like what I was really craving, was a milkshake from a McDonalds.”

“Those can be quite refreshing.”

“They can! But, Chuck, and here’s the thing, I couldn’t get one.”

“There isn’t a McDonald’s in your town?”

“Oh no, there most certainly is, Chuck. But when I pulled up to the drive-thru window and tried to order, they told me their milkshake machine was down. Can you believe that? On a day like that? No milkshakes?!”

“That must have been disappointing.”

“That’s putting it mildly, Chuck. Putting it mildly. So it was then and there, sweating and unsatiated in my car, that I decided I would put an end to all of them. It was then that I decided to become Fast Foe.”

“Because you couldn’t get one milkshake?”

“Chuck. That’s not the point. It’s not about just one milkshake. Plus, I went to four other places that day. Four, Chuck! Four! And all of them, all of them, said their milkshake machines were down.”

“Still, it seems a little–“

“Chuck. Chuck. I’m not liking your tone, Chuck. This is my origin story. It’s mine. And I have my reasons for becoming Fast Foe. For becoming a Super VIllian.”

“I couldn’t help but notice–“

“Yes?”

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice that you added the word ‘Super’ in front of ‘Villian’ this time.”

“Well, that’s what I am, Chuck! That’s what I am. Fast Foe is a Super Villian. That’s what I am.”

“I think your ego may be a little Super-Sized there, Foe.”

“Chuck.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Look, I’m feeling like you don’t respect me. Like you don’t respect what I do. I think this interview is over, Chuck.”

“Oh come on now, Foe. Don’t leave. This is my first interview with a Super-Sized Super Villian.”

“That’s it! So help me god, Chuck. So help me god. You will never drink another milkshake from a fast food chain again. I’ll see to that!”

“I’m lactose intolerant.”

Summary

An open letter to the people of Waterstown, Indiana,

Listen, the long-and-short of it is that there’s nothing really to talk about. Things happened, as they are want to do from time-to-time. I mean, things happen every day, am I right? I don’t see why y’all have to make a big to-do over this.

Yes, I’ll admit that shit went down at Bob’s Bar on Main Street. We all know they did, so there ain’t no point in me trying to deny it or say otherwise. But, and I think y’all all know this is true, Bob’s been having it coming his way for a long time. A long god damn time.

I can’t say it was self defense or that I was defending somebody’s honor or that it was a wrong-place-wrong-time type of deal. It weren’t. It weren’t none of them things. Fact of the matter is, I just couldn’t stand that son of a bitch any longer. So, yeah, we got into it. I hit the man. More than a few times. The only thing I slightly regret is pouring that bottle of Glenlivet 18 year all over that man’s body. That scotch deserved better.

And yeah, since we’re being honest, we all know about Greg’s tractor. Hell, there’s photos on Facebook about the whole ordeal. Listen, since we’re being truthful, I don’t rightly have a good explanation on that one. In short, I may have had one too many, I saw a tractor, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I do apologize to Mary Walton’s mailbox, Steven Altman’s picket fence (lord knows he just finished painting that thing), and to little miss Julie’s dog (may that pup make a speedy recovery, God willing and the creek don’t rise).

And I’d like to issue a formal apology to Marsha Winston and her husband Mike. I know it weren’t right what I did. To stand out front of a married woman’s house at 3 in the damn morning holding up a boombox like in that John Cusack movie. Well, I know that weren’t right. And I should’ve left when I was asked to. I know that now.

But listen, y’all. The short of it is that nothing’s really changed. Yes, some things happened. Ok, yes, I done did some things I ain’t to proud of. But which one of us hasn’t?

Ain’t nothing really changed, folks. If you take a good and hard look at it. Our town is still the best in the whole of Indiana, our property taxes is low, and local businesses have been thriving of late (that reminds me, I will pay for the repairs to Ike’s Ice Cream Parlor on 5th. On my honor, I will).

So, for fucks sake, can’t we just all move on from this? Live and let live and all. I think it’d do our little town a world of good.

Sincerely,
William P. Hallstad
Mayor of Waterstown, Indiana