2001-03-28 | 11:40 p.m.

corduroy licorice always kept his eyes on the prize. he had found it in a box of cracker jacks the summer of 1985. it was a plastic ring with the face of a dog embossed on it. the ring never left his finger...or his range of vision.

***

tonight i got to leave work at 8 p.m.! glory hallelujah! those working late tried to get me to partake in the dinner they had ordered in, but i had some strange compulsion not to indulge...for if i did eat on the company's tab, that would mean i was staying late again and i couldn't face that. tv zero and ascension have been working late a lot, too, so i'm not the only one under the gun. but i just had to have one night "off." just one. tomorrow i will bite the bullet again if necessary.

as i shuffled out to my car, i noticed near the back right tire there was a chicken bone. under the opposite end of the bumper was a flattened newport cigarette box. i imagined that perhaps someone had left these objects to send me a message. some koo koo roo voodoo-type telling me i needed to get more non-filtered enjoyment out of life. that i needed to indulge in water sports with mouth-agape people wearing terribly bright tank tops. at least i think that's what they were trying to tell me.

***

speaking of koo koo roo, i brought something up at lunch with some coworkers as we noshed on terrific fast food mexican. this billboard near our work is advertising the koo koo roo restaurant chain, known for serving supposedly healthy chicken meals. on the ad, a little, winking, illustrated chicken says into a cartoon bubble for people driving by to read: "i like your car...and i'm not just saying that so you'll buy more chicken."

this billboard has always bothered me. why would a chicken want people to buy more chicken? is he genocidal or a self-hating fowl? what the funk? i was greatly comforted when my co-workers seconded my complaint. it's good to be heard and understood, yo.

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