Mama Just Wants to Barrelhouse All Night Long

From his spot in the alley Jimmy can hear the skaters and the homeless guys in the park across the street. Wheels grinding and gurgly chatter. Babble, white noise, the city equivalent of a river's roar and tumble. He thinks about the Susquehanna. The world's largest river you can walk across, he used to call it. He looks around at the dirty alley, his shopping bags full of clothes, the moving van blankets, the transistor radio with no batteries. Jesus, he thinks, I'm a long way from Pennsylvania.