"good sh*t"

I used to go out to the dump when I was a teen and into my twenties to a degree. It was always a good time. Bruce Fish would show me all the "good shit", as he called it, that he had pulled from the dump. He had a vast collection on this "good shit": microwaves, stereos, books, furniture and a big whack of comics. He'd let me take a look, but he'd insist that I listen to a couple stories and read a passage or two from the "good book".

Bruce Fish loved the book of Proverbs, so I always felt a little wiser when I left the dump; and his stories were funny and odd, but I loved them. Bruce Fish always talked about how he could sense the dump; he knew what was out there in the heaps. He'd say things like: "I even know what animals are coming and going - I know when they live and die, or move on to another dump".

I don't see Bruce Fish as much today, but he has gained a popularity like never before. Bruce Fish only ever had few scattered friends in his younger days. Most kids at school just wanted to bully him. They'd look for Bruce Fish to get a cheap laugh. Today people drive by the dump to see what art display he and Rose have created. Bruce Fish puts up amazing pieces of wild dump art; people slow down along the highway to see the sights, or maybe even catch a glimpse of the crazy dump man and his wife working away.

This past summer he had a huge teddy bear in a lawn chair, with dozens of other stuffed animals gathered around his feet. Bruce Fish added to this display week by week. When I saw him he was putting a sombrero on the teddy bear.

I had to pull in. It had been many years but it was great to hear his stories, discuss a couple of verses from the Bible and sift through some of his "good shit".

posted to http://canvaschild.blogspot.com/2011/03/imperfect-prose-on-thursdays-on.html