5 Enjoying the preseason? This is what happened in a preseason past, after the reporter slipped a “Mickey” into things. But you know what? That gave me a “reasonable and even” view of a game I only ever had watched. 1/8

The night-long conversation was bizarre. The orange bear, @ 1st, made more sense, her/his/its voice quite mellow. The bear’s pal, no more than 3 feet tall, was swaddled in brown rags and only grumbled. The TV was tuned to a traveling team of acrobats from China. 2/8

A barker said he had “all the answers” & gave 800 numbers to order things. The beer tasted metallic & the bear chuckled & the bear’s pal spoke of the meaning of existence & singularity and acrobats, all while sitting in the team’s complex. 3/8

The TV went to a documentary about prisons, but the remote switched to a commercial for “new improved Epiphany!” When eyes roll back into one’s head, do they always see acrobats & clowns & jugglers & acrobats & high-wire artists & acrobats? 4/8

Then came martial arts followed by football formations in “pro” sets. Arms & hands & voices took hold. A giant mattress delivered deep sleep. Acrobats & martial artists controlled the dreams that followed. I saw the patterns. Only needed timing and kicks. 5/8

Out of the fog (& into the smog) something rang, then rang again. Fog cleared & the phone next to the bed became a stark fixture & rang once more. I grabbed the receiver & said hello. By now I knew Debi’s voice. 6/8

“You ready for the press conference in 30 minutes?” (Huh?) “The one you announced last night. You said you have the answers.” All of it came back to me as though I’d never remembered it. I was as resolute as a desk in The Oval Office. “I’m ready.” I stumbled to find the shower. 7/8

When I think about all the lines I heard that season, or the lines that crossed that desk, I see the importance of telling the story. c. 2021 by mark small. This is a work of fiction & even the fictional characters want to disavow any connections w/ it. 8/8