Too Much Information

This morning down at the barbershop Ludlowe Turnip was telling jokes and had us all laughing up a storm. Billy Brownshoe, the guy who builds things out of toothpicks and always has one in his mouth, in a fit of laughter accidentally swallow the toothpick. He coughed a little bit but it went straight down and he seemed fine.

"You better get that checked out. That's what killed Sherwood Anderson, swallowing a toothpick," said Ludlowe

"Whose Sherwood Anderson," asked Wilmore Leanard.

"He was that guy on that old Gary Moore show," chimed in Millard Fullerstill.

"That was Durwood Kirby," said Ludlowe.

"It killed him?" asked Billy.

"Graveyard dead," said Ludlowe.

"I think you ought to eat a lot of bread, that's what you do when you swallow a fishbone," said Millard.

"Bread can make you fat," said Ludlowe. "Just stand on you head and cough ten times. That got the marble out of my youngest kids throat."

Billy went to the corner and managed to get his feet up against the wall with the help of Ludlowe. He coughed real hard about twenty times. Nothing.

When he came right-side-up Billy had a fearful look in his eye and headed for the door.

"I got to get x-rayed. My dentist has a machine. Y'all pray."

I reckon he's all right 'cause I saw him later this morning coming out of Barney's Quick Stoppe with three loafs of bread and two six packs of beer.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle