© Bruce Goodman 27 April 2015
My son has just won a Julliard Scholarship to study piano in New York. I paid for him to go to New York at the end of his studies as a vacation and as a reward for doing well at school. Then he comes home having gone to an audition unbeknown to me. Anyway, he gets a letter saying he’s been accepted for a piano course and won a scholarship.
I’m not happy about it. I’ve four sons. I hoped at least one of them would follow my footsteps and take over the family business. But instead he wants to be a piano player. There’s no future in that, I told him. There are only a dozen or so decent piano players around the world and it’s a dead cert he wouldn’t be one of them. I always wanted him to learn guitar. That way he could play at parties and stuff. Nothing would make me more prouder. People like it a lot more than piano.
I’ve always insisted my kids learn a trade first. That way, they’ve got something to fall back on. So I’ve fixed him up as an apprentice at the local car mechanic’s. I’ve always been interested in cars and stuff, and even though it’s not the family business, it would be handy having a mechanic in the family to fix any vehicle that breaks down in my transport industry.
I told him if he wants to do any of that queer music shit he can do it after he’s finished his apprenticeship. I’m not working my guts out so someone can play honkey-tonk all day. There are more important things to spend money on, because even though he got a scholarship it’s still bloody costly.
I’ve four sons, as I said, and four daughters. The girls are all married off now; what a job that was. But this is the fourth son that’s wanted to go off and do his own thing. They say kids break their parents’ hearts more often than not. Well I’m certainly getting my share of it.
This one’s the youngest of the eight and the only one left that will have anything to do with me. Kids these days are so ungrateful.
Why ruin a perfect record? Cut the ingrate off!
Done! With the stroke of a pen!
May your son —even in the hardship it may be without your blessing—accept his scholarship and go wherever that takes him, loving his life and his music. And may he understand and forgive you some day, even if it be your dying hour.
Thank you, Cynthia. They all say never to write flash fiction in the first person, but it can be fun!
Brilliant ending Bruce
Thanks Derrick. My end hasn’t been complimented with such enthusiasm for many a year!
May you live on, my friend
High time he caught the A Train.
But it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
I was certain the parent was going to end up being an ageing rock musician who can’t stand the fact his kids aren’t into Black Sabbath. You always surprise me.
Damn it. I always enjoy the twists you suspected were going to happen, and I think, why didn’t I think of that!
We could go halves. You could write the start and I’ll write the last sentence, or the other way around, of course….
You’ll be far too busy in your new job, and there’ll be all these endings with no beginnings!
that’s true…damn.
This one had me hooked, Oh, what a character! I’ve always loved your longer stories, haven’t I?
Sometimes I should make more of an effort to create longer works… like yourself. And to write with style. When writing short things one often edits out the style…
I’d love to read your longer works. It’s about time.
It might take some time to get into it, but:
http://stagebarn.com/links/passingshower.pdf
I will read that first thing tonight.
I downloaded it today!
Thank you. That’s a thrill, but be patient for the first 30-50 pages. And then I don’t care if you criticise the hell out of it. Except, if you do, send it to bbgoodman@hotmail.com rather than spread it in the public forum. Or am I being picky?