David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "confederate-flags"
Opioid, Indiana
OPIOID, INDIANA is a literary novel based on the trial and tribulations of an orphan named Riggle. His father was a truck driver killed in an accident; his mother committed suicide. He is handed around various guardians on the border between Mexico and Texas until his uncle in Indiana agrees to take him.
At first it's like being on another planet for Riggle. Everybody seems to be on drugs, including his uncle, and people are flying the Confederate flag in a Midwestern state, which really offends Riggle. It offends me too when I see them do it in Minnesota.
Then Uncle Joe disappears and Peggy, his sexy girlfriend, is worried about the rent. Riggle just happens to get suspended from school at the time for a week. He has one talent that he's aware of, making the perfect omelette. He applies for a job at an upscale restaurant; he cooks an omelette for the Chef; she eventually gives him a job as a dish washer at ten bucks an hour. It's hard work but he gains a great deal of pride in doing a good job.
There are a couple of weirdos hanging out in downtown Opioid, one called the Bicycling Confederate. This guy has a few screws loose and doesn't even know why he's flying that demeaning flag, but Riggle punches him out and steals his bike. Coincidentally one of the waiters knows his uncle and gives him a hint as to where he might be. He finds him. Guess what. At least he has the rent in his wallet, which is Riggle's money anyway.
There's also some weird stuff going on about hand shadows; Riggle's mother used to tell him stories about how the days of the week got their names. She does it using a hand shadow named Remote who looks like a goose. Throughout the book Riggle is weirded out when he sees other people use the hand shadow gesture.
Right away I was reminded of a low-rent Holden Caulfield and CATCHER IN THE RYE, but this kid seems to have a work ethic Holden didn't seem to have, that I remember anyway, and if I had to predict what was going to happen to Riggle in ten years, I'd say he'll either be a chef in that restaurant or he'll own it. As far as Indiana goes, it seems to be circling the drain. But this is where Dan Quayle was from, and they somehow never got over it. Remember him criticizing Murphy Brown for being an unwed mother on a sit com? That's all there is. It was a short book and I'm not sure what the author had in mind or if he knew what it was.
At first it's like being on another planet for Riggle. Everybody seems to be on drugs, including his uncle, and people are flying the Confederate flag in a Midwestern state, which really offends Riggle. It offends me too when I see them do it in Minnesota.
Then Uncle Joe disappears and Peggy, his sexy girlfriend, is worried about the rent. Riggle just happens to get suspended from school at the time for a week. He has one talent that he's aware of, making the perfect omelette. He applies for a job at an upscale restaurant; he cooks an omelette for the Chef; she eventually gives him a job as a dish washer at ten bucks an hour. It's hard work but he gains a great deal of pride in doing a good job.
There are a couple of weirdos hanging out in downtown Opioid, one called the Bicycling Confederate. This guy has a few screws loose and doesn't even know why he's flying that demeaning flag, but Riggle punches him out and steals his bike. Coincidentally one of the waiters knows his uncle and gives him a hint as to where he might be. He finds him. Guess what. At least he has the rent in his wallet, which is Riggle's money anyway.
There's also some weird stuff going on about hand shadows; Riggle's mother used to tell him stories about how the days of the week got their names. She does it using a hand shadow named Remote who looks like a goose. Throughout the book Riggle is weirded out when he sees other people use the hand shadow gesture.
Right away I was reminded of a low-rent Holden Caulfield and CATCHER IN THE RYE, but this kid seems to have a work ethic Holden didn't seem to have, that I remember anyway, and if I had to predict what was going to happen to Riggle in ten years, I'd say he'll either be a chef in that restaurant or he'll own it. As far as Indiana goes, it seems to be circling the drain. But this is where Dan Quayle was from, and they somehow never got over it. Remember him criticizing Murphy Brown for being an unwed mother on a sit com? That's all there is. It was a short book and I'm not sure what the author had in mind or if he knew what it was.
