LJ F&R 0: Introduction
Nov. 18th, 2015 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpI was sound asleep when the phone rang. I picked up the handset.
"Uhh.. yeah?" I began, and remembered to say "Hello?"
I was rewarded by a scratching sound that ended in a hiss, followed by the subtle, short rustling sound a cigarette makes when it's lit. I was well acquainted with that sound, but I was still half asleep.
"Hello?" I repeated. "Sam? Is that you?"
"The one and only, at your service," came Sam Spade's voice over the line, followed by the sound of a deep drag. "How's tricks?"
"You caught me asleep, Sam," I said, and then I realized something.
"You're calling me?" I said. The realization pushed me completely awake. "What's going on?"
"Don't get your panties in a bunch," said Spade. "I simply figured turnaround is fair play, what with all the times you've called me in the past," he said. "As it turns out,..."—and here there was a pause while my interlocutor did something that made the sound of fingernails being brushed over a five-o'clock shadow—"... I need your help."
"Well, to the extent I can help a fictional character from a book released in 1930," I said, "I'm all ears."
Spade gave a short chuckle and lit another cigarette.
"It's like this," he said. "I have a case coming up that will probably require me to work in a team with some other shamuses, and I figure the right thing to do is introduce myself to them."
"And...?" I said.
"And that's where you come in, old man," said Spade. "Between you and me, I have no problem trading barbs with cops like Dundy or Polhaus or telling the D.A. where to get off, but ever since the O'Shaughnessy broad bumped Miles,... well, I haven't been much of a social animal among the private gumshoes in this burg, if you get my drift."
"Usually it's me who beats around the bush," I said. "Get to the point. What do you want me to do?"
"I don't want to go in there with a spiel that sounds like I cribbed it from a high school yearbook," said Spade. "I want to let people know what they're getting into if they work with me."
After a moment, I said: "I don't really know where to start, Sam. As far as your background is concerned, all I have to work with is that book about the bird and the Bogart film that came out of it."
"Fair enough," said Spade, after a brief pause. "So why don't you tell me how you'd introduce yourself to a bunch of people so as to give them an idea of what it'd be like to work with you?"
I gave the question some thought as another match was struck at the other end of the line, and then said: "Well, in my case, I'd let them know that at the beginning of the year, I had to drop out of a writing competition because I had to get an operation. And then just a couple of months ago, I had another operation that also sidelined me for a while."
I heard Sam give a whistle. "No kidding?" he asked. "You okay now?"
"It is what it is. I have to scare up a bunch of work to pay bills, so that'll be a priority. If I were rash enough to sign up for, say, another round of competitive writing, I might have to drop out at a moment's notice. I'll take it day by day. After all, in the end, we are—all of us—merely souls propping up a corpse."
"Hmmm—Marcus Aurelius quoting Epictetus," said Spade. "I didn't realize you read the Stoics."
"We're even, Sam," I said. "I didn't realize you did, either."
Another chuckle came over the line. "So, you're basically telling me I should let the other gents in the group know—what's that nutty expression you taught me?—'where I'm coming from', eh?"
"Yeah, pretty much," I said.
"Well, I'll give it some thought. Thanks for your time," said Spade. "Call me any time you need advice—and stay healthy."
"Sure thing, Sam. Will do," I said, and then we said our goodbyes and the connection was broken.
"Uhh.. yeah?" I began, and remembered to say "Hello?"
I was rewarded by a scratching sound that ended in a hiss, followed by the subtle, short rustling sound a cigarette makes when it's lit. I was well acquainted with that sound, but I was still half asleep.
"Hello?" I repeated. "Sam? Is that you?"
"The one and only, at your service," came Sam Spade's voice over the line, followed by the sound of a deep drag. "How's tricks?"
"You caught me asleep, Sam," I said, and then I realized something.
"You're calling me?" I said. The realization pushed me completely awake. "What's going on?"
"Don't get your panties in a bunch," said Spade. "I simply figured turnaround is fair play, what with all the times you've called me in the past," he said. "As it turns out,..."—and here there was a pause while my interlocutor did something that made the sound of fingernails being brushed over a five-o'clock shadow—"... I need your help."
"Well, to the extent I can help a fictional character from a book released in 1930," I said, "I'm all ears."
Spade gave a short chuckle and lit another cigarette.
"It's like this," he said. "I have a case coming up that will probably require me to work in a team with some other shamuses, and I figure the right thing to do is introduce myself to them."
"And...?" I said.
"And that's where you come in, old man," said Spade. "Between you and me, I have no problem trading barbs with cops like Dundy or Polhaus or telling the D.A. where to get off, but ever since the O'Shaughnessy broad bumped Miles,... well, I haven't been much of a social animal among the private gumshoes in this burg, if you get my drift."
"Usually it's me who beats around the bush," I said. "Get to the point. What do you want me to do?"
"I don't want to go in there with a spiel that sounds like I cribbed it from a high school yearbook," said Spade. "I want to let people know what they're getting into if they work with me."
After a moment, I said: "I don't really know where to start, Sam. As far as your background is concerned, all I have to work with is that book about the bird and the Bogart film that came out of it."
"Fair enough," said Spade, after a brief pause. "So why don't you tell me how you'd introduce yourself to a bunch of people so as to give them an idea of what it'd be like to work with you?"
I gave the question some thought as another match was struck at the other end of the line, and then said: "Well, in my case, I'd let them know that at the beginning of the year, I had to drop out of a writing competition because I had to get an operation. And then just a couple of months ago, I had another operation that also sidelined me for a while."
I heard Sam give a whistle. "No kidding?" he asked. "You okay now?"
"It is what it is. I have to scare up a bunch of work to pay bills, so that'll be a priority. If I were rash enough to sign up for, say, another round of competitive writing, I might have to drop out at a moment's notice. I'll take it day by day. After all, in the end, we are—all of us—merely souls propping up a corpse."
"Hmmm—Marcus Aurelius quoting Epictetus," said Spade. "I didn't realize you read the Stoics."
"We're even, Sam," I said. "I didn't realize you did, either."
Another chuckle came over the line. "So, you're basically telling me I should let the other gents in the group know—what's that nutty expression you taught me?—'where I'm coming from', eh?"
"Yeah, pretty much," I said.
"Well, I'll give it some thought. Thanks for your time," said Spade. "Call me any time you need advice—and stay healthy."
"Sure thing, Sam. Will do," I said, and then we said our goodbyes and the connection was broken.
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no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 08:40 pm (UTC)And I'm not exactly out of the woods, health-wise, either. Then again, to one degree or another, none of us are, in the long run.
Glad you enjoyed my little mental aberration. :^)
Cheers...
no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 08:50 pm (UTC)But until we know for certain, I'm embracing optimism there. Keeping my fingers crossed all the way. :)
no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 08:53 pm (UTC)Cheers...
no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 08:42 pm (UTC)I do what I can, and continue to look for a way to knit what I do into something... more substantial (perhaps in more ways than one).
Cheers...
no subject
Date: 2015-11-20 02:05 pm (UTC)Liked the way you went about it..enjoyed reading this. Take care.:)
no subject
Date: 2015-11-20 03:20 pm (UTC)Thanks for the kind words.
Cheers...
no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 06:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 08:28 pm (UTC)Cheers...
no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 03:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-21 08:29 pm (UTC)It's at the top of the to-do list (next to getting translations done on time, :^).
Cheers...
no subject
Date: 2015-11-22 02:19 am (UTC)And Good Luck! Here's hoping you don't have to drop out this time.
no subject
Date: 2015-11-24 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-23 12:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-24 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-23 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-24 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-24 01:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-24 07:40 pm (UTC)Sounds like fun!
no subject
Date: 2015-11-26 11:02 pm (UTC)Enjoy playing LJI this season!
no subject
Date: 2015-11-29 12:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-06 02:03 pm (UTC)