APB (All Points Bulletin)
He was last seen driving
a burnt sienna 1985
Pontiac Parisienne
Brougham.
I am forever looking for him.
He always sports clean
New Balance sneakers.
He loves clean shoes,
a clean car,
a clean cut.
When he dresses up
he wears a classic
English Ascot cap.
When he dresses down,
a Dallas Cowboy hat.
He was last seen wearing
a handlebar mustache and
looks a lot like Otto von Bismarck
or King Mark (Matti Salminen)
from Wagner’s Tristan & Isolde.
He has a perfect basso profundo
voice and a thunderous laugh.
He could have been an opera singer,
but chose the art of plumbing instead.
You will know him by his whistling songs,
leisurely yet confident stride,
Winston in hand,
and a smiling compliment on his lips.
If you see him in your travels
buy him a beer or glass of
chardonnay.
Whatever he prefers.
They were the last drinks
he ordered before his departure.
Then challenge him to a game
of chess, the game he loves best.
He was last heard saying,
“I love you baby!
Pray for the whole world!”
—Debora Susan Shon
This article appears in March 2017.
