History Rewritten

Funeral | Condemn | Distribution | Button | Sink | Art | Jealousy | Brain | Tax | Lover

It’s been a bit since I posted a microfiction, so as a quick recap: I have a book of prompts that gives a subject (which is the title of the story) and 10 keywords that must be included, but you don’t have much room to work; somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 words max. I get quite a few questions about how I come up with the story, and it always comes down to one keyword jumping out at me that I in turn build the story around. In this case, the minute I saw “brain” I knew that classic Chingy jam would be front and center. You know the one. Enjoy!

***

We strolled glumly into the funeral and prepared to say goodbye. A man sat on a stool adjacent to the alter, dressed in sensible khakis and a white collared shirt with the top button fastened, his acoustic guitar plugged into a small amp that balanced precariously on the edge of the sacristy sink. He respectfully played a stripped-down version of “Holidae Inn” by Chingy, giving every chord the dignity it deserved, as mourners filed in and seated themselves.

“Getting’ brain in the rental, I done did it again…”

Art Garfunkel loved that song, but he was gone now. After decades of feuding and jealousy, Paul Simon had literally put a knife in his long-term partner’s back, and was now sitting in a cell awaiting arraignment. Rumor has it Art was about to share some information with authorities that undoubtedly was going to condemn Paul to a lifetime in prison on tax evasion charges, but he didn’t get the chance.

I was never a lover of their music, but you can’t argue that Simon & Garfunkel were the voice of a generation. “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” “Mrs. Robinson.” “The Sound of Silence.” The eventual distribution of royalty rights to their musical catalog will be interesting indeed.