Mountains of salt

Saw a lone bartender the other night... Made me melancholic

Quiet night. Is there any other kind?
The dust is settling. Not quite what I like.

There he goes again — Ohtani to the plate. Why even bother giving him a decent pitch? Let him walk to first. That’s what I’d do. Give him ball after ball and let him walk to first. That, or risk a home-run. Do the kids watch baseball anymore? Do they dream of Koshien?

Who goes to sports bars anymore? Feels like I’m competing with a wraith.
Competing with dust mites.

Dry spell.
Been a while since I’ve had anyone to share a drink with.
Been days and weeks and months and years since the leather seats have been filled.
Might as well light a smoke.
The laws changed but there’s no soul here to say a damn thing about it.
Not a damned soul.
The Heineken bottle will do.
Good enough to hold that beer, good enough to be an ashtray.

Papers say Ohtani’s gonna be an independent contractor. With the way he’s playing, he can demand the bug bucks for his arm. Home-run after home-run.
Man, I miss hitting home-runs under the summer sun. Sweat rolling down my cheeks before the crowds of Koshien. Should have stuck to baseball. You’re laughing now, aren’t you, dad? Take school seriously, get that sport’s scholarship, make a name for yourself.

Asahi’s a superior beer.
Heineken, Budweiser, Tusker…
Tried them all and Asahi’s still takes the cake.
That’s why the venders charge an arm and a leg to have it on tap.
Yup… We got beer right.
Got baseball right, too.
Mevius Lights go well with Asahi. Though they go well with morning coffee, too.
Promised God I’d quit but…
economy, loans, silent nights… shit gets to a man.
Shit gets to a man.

Goddman. There ya go. Another home-run. What’s this fella made of?
Still got a few of the videos in my phone. Mom sat on the bleachers cheering on her star.
Man, I was a star.
A shooting star fading into oblivion.
Watch my dying embers obliterated in a Heineken bottle.

Ohtani is something else. Something else.

I should probably stand outside. Get some people to come in.
Should probably visit other bars and make myself known.
Lots of things I should probably do.
Lots of things that I’m not gonna do.
Aaaah! This fucking pain in my gut won’t let up, will it?
Not gonna go back to those doctors so they can jam a camera down my nose.
Same old thing. I know I’m fine. Just need to put down the smokes and I’ll be in tip-top shape.
Been years and years of this. This is who I am. The smokes make the man. I’ve been made but-but…

Might have to shut this place down at some point. Might have to lock the doors, default on loans and just-just go back to menial jobs.
Construction folks are looking for able hands, willing hearts.
Job ad said they’d pay ¥30,000 per day. ¥30,000!!!
Makes no sense. Who’s paying that much for anything?

They’re gonna put Heaney in as pitcher for this inning? Wouldn’t do it. Wouldn’t do it. Guess they need to let Ohtani rest up for the real game but then they risk losing it here. Can’t just depend on home-runs to win a game.
But the coach knows what he’s doing. Probably don’t want to have his shoulder fall off neither.

¥580 for a pack.
What do I need to sell now?
Running low on necessities.
It’s only Tuesday, though. If I hold out for a few more days then maybe there’ll be a customer, maybe two.
Just enough for me to buy a bag of rice, Mevius Lights and…

Oh, fuck!

Goddamn Heaney! He isn’t the pitcher for the job. Every single player in the league is training for Ohtani. These low-level pitchers are practice rounds for everyone in the game today. Don’t they get it? The Angel’s roaster are the only ones that don’t know how good of a pitcher Ohtani actually is. Why else would they swap him out for a Heaney… a Heaney.

Gonna apply.
Indeed.com. Indeed.
How is it that there are kids without jobs?
These autists have made this entire enterprise called life way too easy.
Indeed.com and fill out
name
age
address
certifications
aaand…
done.

They’re gonna pull a suicide squeeze… these guys aren’t taking this seriously.
Depending too much on the ace and his home-runs. These low-lifes are gonna walk all over them. I smell a disaster. Goddamn Ohtani! Your team’s about to let you down. Did you do your…

Salt. Salt.
Where’s the salt?
Haven’t checked on the morijio in…
Where’s the fucking salt?
Probably why I haven’t seen a customer in here.
Demons!
It’s the fucking demons.
Mom told me time and time again but I never took it seriously.
Not a single time and now…

Fucking Heaney. Fucking Heaney. I knew he wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Get Ohtani in there and just…

WHERE’S THE FUCKING SALT?