Bud
Copyright© 2015 by Bill Offutt
Chapter 12
Bud sat in the far corner of the back row and took notes furiously, seldom looking up to see the professor. He had learned to outline in the sixth grade as part of the school's efforts to improve his reading and now those skills came back to him in a rush. He labeled the top of the page "Causes of the Civil War" and was now on his third row of indentations as the teacher discussed economic factors.
Bud nodded; sure he was not missing any of the main points and wrote very rapidly, using abbreviations wherever he could. When the teacher was well into his description of the railroad systems of the North and the South, Bud raised his hand.
The lecturer stopped talking and looked down at his seating chart. "Mr. Williams? Is that right?"
"Yes sir," Bud said, "would you explain again about which way the railroads ran? I think I missed something there."
"Certainly," the teacher said and he pulled down a big wall map. "In fact I was just about to show you the causes of that problem." He pointed to the railroad lines marked in red. "You see here, all these line running east and west, most of them through Chicago?"
Bud nodded and drew a sketch map into his notes.
Shortly after Jeanne threw him out, Bud lost his job at Ryan's Bodyshop and also stopped working as an assistant coach at the high school. He took a civil service exam and accepted the first job he was offered, a GS 2 temporary appointment as a clerk for the Veteran's Administration.
The job at Ryan's ended with a drunken brawl about a month after the blow up with Jeanne. One or more of his fellow workers had found out that Bud and his clothes had been thrown out of his home and through a slip of the tongue Bud had discovered that a part time worker had told Jeanne about Darlene Winsor. One thing led to another, name calling escalated to shoving and then to punches being thrown and men wrestling about on the floor. In the process, a windshield that was standing on end was knocked to the floor and broken.
Ray Ryan hauled Bud to his messy office, paid him what he was owed and told him to get off the premises. Bud wiped his bloody nose, tried to say something, shook his head and left with his tongue probing at a loosened tooth. Later he found out that the young man he had been punching was the boss's nephew.
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