Sunday, October 19, 2008

Three guys in a car

I am in a carpool to save the environment. No, I am in it to save money. Or maybe I need the company of two other guys who do the same hard job for a few bills more than minimum wage. They are good guys.

Seth came to North Carolina by way of Indiana University. He is laid back and tall and wears blue jeans and sandals to work. Underneath his shirt he has a small pi tattoo. He is polite, but he'll defend the Indiana Pacers like a rabid dog. He is the antithesis of a first-year teacher but admits he lost weight. His short 'a' sounds like that of a tongue-depressed Southerner. My consistent lateness does not bother him yet.

"It's OK," he said. "I like saving money on gaaaas." Me too, Seth.

Montgomery is an energetic disc jockey for the college radio station. He anguishes over things like Cormac McCarthy's unusual sentence structure and the 2004 presidential election with a thoughtful Southern drawl.

"No smokin' on campus!" he lamented as we drove past a sign on South Columbia. "I don't smoke."

Montgomery and I stopped at a thrift store a couple days ago to browse books, clothes and barbershop chairs.

"I found a book for ya," he said, thrusting a copy of Living with Herpes in my direction. He did the same thing to Seth the next day. I laughed harder than I did the first time.

I called his radio show last week to hear a reasonably popular song. His enthusiasm would have followed any request. I have an idea for next week.

"Big balls!" he'll say. "AC/DC rocktoberfest!"

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