Harrison Potter
Stalking Paper
English Literature
9/12/04
Narrative of the Evening of Bob, a Sternwheeler Festival Attendee
Saturday evening innumerable townsfolk gathered down by the river in the small
community of Marietta. Its famed Sternwheeler Festival was in full swing and myriad
interesting individuals pursued their own entertainment, wandering around amongst the
masses. One such personality, a middle-aged man who may be called Bob, mingled
amongst his fellow countrymen.
Out for an evening of relaxation to relieve the stresses of his work week, Bob
dressed to fit his character. Brown hiking boots with dark brown leather laces exuded his
workingman’s spirit. The trials and tribulations of years of arduous labor showed
through in his battered jeans. These jeans showed their age not only in their
discoloration, as all old clothes eventually do, but the desecration of the left back pocket,
worn down to its white sinewy core, also gave testament to the great labors completed by
the owner of the jeans.
In order to complete this caricature of a workingman in his person he wore an old,
faded, gray flannel collared shirt with none of the buttons buttoned. While it managed to
cover the gaps left by his sagging jeans, the shirt could not completely conceal his gut.
Although it was a pleasantly cool evening the man was sweating bullets. What a shame
that his short brown hair had to be matted down with such salty brine; those soft brown
locks must have accentuated his youthful vigor only a few years prior.
Since Bob had come to the fair alone he took it upon himself to speak at length
with all of the men in sight whom he knew from work. As he lazily dangled a lit
cigarette from his right hand he spoke first with a shorter stronger man with black hair.
Bob spoke with such a pronounced southern drawl that it was a wonder his listeners
understood a word of what he said. Lazily slouching as he stood, Bob did not appear
very alert. On one occasion he almost fell over while putting out his cigarette. He never
even noticed the two very well-built men in whose way he had stumbled.
Such a lack of alertness led him to simply speak whatever happened to be on his
mind in a most unintelligible manner. Shortly after beginning the conversation he
managed to recollect one of his most brilliant ideas: rather than choose between sex and
Monday Night Football he should just set up the television in front of the bed so that he
could do both simultaneously. Both men agreed that such a situation would be ideal, and
they reveled in the very thought of it for quite some time. As the conversation progressed
Bob came to speak of many other things as well, including the 150 song lyrics he had
written to popular melodies, all of which were far better than those that they replaced.
Unbeknownst to Bob, however, his friend was no longer laughing as whole-heartedly as
he had before; his smiles were only grins; his laughs but chuckles.
This went on for a long while, until a flash of light from the shoreline startled
Bob, instantly making him confused and curious. Leaving his friend to investigate, Bob
ascended a nearby hill with gargantuan strides in order to better view the waterfront.
Gazing about with a solemn look on his face Bob spotted the cause: one of the
sternwheelers had a searchlight mounted on its deck which was waving about.
Immediately Bob’s demeanor changed from investigative back to jovial. Quickly
returning to where he had been only a moment ago Bob found that his companion had
abandoned him, disappearing into the crowd. Perturbed in no slight degree, as evidenced
by a distinct frown which had suddenly coalesced on his countenance, Bob was left alone
once more.
While wondering where his friend could have gone, Bob managed to spot another
coworker. A taller, paler man with glasses, this friend was not as similar to Bob as the
last man had been; this man had a family. As this man was trying to keep his young
children quiet and satisfied until the fireworks began Bob approached and began talking.
After initially giving Bob a pleasant greeting, this new man quickly realized that Bob
intended to talk to him for quite a while, for his welcoming smile transmuted into a look
of concern. In an apt demonstration of quick thinking the man told Bob that it had been
nice seeing him, but he really had to go and find a good seat for the fireworks with his
family; you know how much kids love fireworks.
Bob naturally felt obliged to let his friend go with his blessing, but his expression
of dismay made it clear that he felt dejected. As if a switch in Bob’s psyche had been
flipped, Bob was suddenly introspective, apathetic to all that was going on around him.
No longer did he seek companionship from those around him, but merely glanced around
with disinterest and isolation in his eyes.
As his glance fell upon the Lafayette Hotel Bob began to slowly make his way
over to the building’s entrance. Upon entering the building he took a seat in the hotel’s
restaurant and ordered a few beverages. As he sat there enjoying his solitude, staring
through the table to some deeper plane of reality, he could hear the fireworks display
beginning outside. This background noise seemed to disturb him, for he no longer stared
at the table, but at all those around him, occasionally glancing out the window.
Appearing to be in a state of great agitation due to the fireworks display, which he
could neither completely ignore nor avoid, Bob quickly downed his last glass and got up
from the table. He left the hotel and began to make his way through the thick mass of
spectators. Still no longer interested in further discourse Bob headed off to a section of
the festival farther down along the riverbank. As he moped along with an uneven step he
never even bothered to glance up at the brilliant flashes which were silhouetting every
tree leaf and telephone wire. Even the sonic booms from the largest explosions, which
managed to set off car alarms halfway down the street, failed to daze the indifferent
fellow. As the finale lit up the clear night sky, eclipsing all of the stars in heaven, Bob
could be seen walking along towards his final destination.