Plaid shirts, Levi’s, and hightop boots are
a fashion statement. You won’t find them
on the racks in Paris or Milan. They are the
uniform of the good old boys.
They sit in the park playing checkers, soaking
up the sun. A six pack of Bud lasts the full day.
The game proceeds between sips. There is a
moment of delight when someone wins; nobody
keeps score.
Why do they while away the hours? Is there
something more to life than an old friend and a
checkers game? Getting a king is there daily
excitement. One old codger observed, “It doesn’t
get any better than this.
Mike Berger is an MFA, He is retired and writes poetry and short stories full time He has been writing poetry for less than two years. His work appears in seventy-one journals. He has published two books of short stories and five poetry chapbooks, He is a member of The Academy of American Poets.