Business was good, but then mortuaries seldom have slack periods. I was taken in and learned the trade after Dad went to prison. It was a shock to the family when he was convicted as a contract killer, but Uncle Mort gave me a home. His son, my cousin Marvin, didn’t smile when I moved in. He liked it even less when my uncle started taking me to work.
After a while the grisly procedures became routine; the liquid dripping in the stainless tubs and the smell of formaldehyde were just part of the job. Uncle Mort said I was a natural, and he openly praised my progress.
“You’re going places, Jake,” he said. “I’m opening another shop, soon. You or Marvin will be running it.”
“That’ll never happen!” said Marvin, when we were alone. “I’ll put you in a box, first!”
So I made plans to visit Dad, for professional advice.
Al Carty retired from a California beach town to the high plains of New Mexico, where he roams the pinyon-juniper hills and writes about the thoughts that come to him there. Since accepting the hard truth that rewriting is the key to publication, he has seen his stories and poems in ezines and in print. Now back to work.
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13 Responses to “A FAMILY MATTER • by Al Carty”
Comments
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December 8th, 2008 at 12:47 am
One hundred and fifty two words, huh? And a funeral director named Mort? What’s Dad’s name? Todd? Al, you’re killing me here.
Sweet little story, BTW; great debut! Gave you a five.
December 8th, 2008 at 3:23 am
My kind of story, Al. Not a word wasted. Like KCB I was tickled by the Mort name. In a second rate story it would have been tacky, but not in a first rater like this. Dead funny… Ooops! (sorry)
A five from me, too.
December 8th, 2008 at 4:23 am
Heh, that was short and sweet. Kind of figured he was going to get killed at first, but it was still cool to read about it.
December 8th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Wow…creepy, strange mini-good.
December 8th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Great story, Al. I liked “Mort.” Marvin is menacing. A great example of how less is more.
December 8th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Enjoyed. Short and to the point.
December 8th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Superb.
December 8th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Nice last line!
December 8th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Great read.
Cheers
Mark
December 8th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Enjoyed the casual, conversational way this story is told.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Fantastic.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:52 am
March 18th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
AL CArty IS FUNNY, AND HIS WRITING IS RIGHT ON… HAVE READ LONGER STORIES AND WANT TO FIND A SOURCE FOR ALL HIS MAGAZINE PUBLICATIONS. HIS COUSIN IS A DEAR FRIEND AND THAT’S WHERE I GOT TO READ 2 STORIES WHICH SHE HAD SAVED FROM WHO KNOWS WHEN. LOVE THIS GUY’S STYLE AND REALISTIC LOOK AT TIMES PAST. MY NURSING HOME RESIDENTS WANT TO HEAR MORE. ANYONE GOT ANY INFO??