the fossil record

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Ask Frank, he'll remember
My eldest sister was in love 
with a recently returned Green Beret,  
a skittish fellow, red-haired and twitching. 
He was, I suppose, super-cool to her, 
but my father always referred to him only 
as "Ding-a-ling" or "that squirrel". 
 
I liked him.  He gave me his tiger-striped 
camouflage shirt and hat.  I  was hugely 
impressed.  They were a great advantage 
in the neighborhood wargames. 
 
He taught me how to play chess, 
and we played often and badly. 
He drove a ridiculous metallic-green* 
Barracuda when he wasn’t riding his Harley. 
 
My sister went to a concert 
in San Francisco with him.  Hendrix  
played that day.  Many years later, 
I asked my sister how it was 
to  hear Hendrix.  She said, "Loud."
 

*The car was actually a rust color, 
according to my sister.  It  seems I 
conflated the real Barracuda with 
one of my not so prized Hot Wheels.
Todd Young