Bassett Park, 1983 Sure, we fought among ourselves. Sometimes tempers flared due to friction and over-familiarity, close walls. But let an outsider mess with any one of us? Every quarrel went on hold. The persecutor faced a big problem with the entire neighborhood. United in mutual defense. Tommy Ridenour cut another boy with a knife, there at Bassett Park. Damn near bled out. That delinquent would mess with anyone, without apparent rationale. Months later police came for him on an unrelated matter, appearing in force at his door. The kid Tommy cut improvised proactively, made a distraction, cover enough that his attacker got away and over the river. Neighborhood to the Nth degree. Old School style. Todd Mercer (who writes because it’s cheaper than drugs) was nominated for Fiction and Poetry Pushcarts last year. His collection Ingenue was published in 2020 by Celery City Press. Recent work appears in Praxis, The Lake and Star 82 Review .
Like the title says.