centre of manufacture

the valley is filled with industry. a landscape he's known since youth. smokestacks have stopped coughing up clouds and the rumble of factories has been replaced by the sound of the wind sliding through fall leaves.

hundreds of workers are picking up this same weekend and heading out to one of the larger cities. they've heard there's work for the willing. in a week or two most of them will have found these rumours to be false, moving on towards the next centre of manufacture.

they drive by the bloated corpse of a cow at the same time one of the children asks the perennial question. the result is a twist of words that comes out as "are we almost dead yet?". the father, having put his life on autopilot, responds "almost".

[07/07/04]