09/03/2026 11:36

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A man at the counter turned to look at us,and the waitress paused on her way through the swinging doors to the kitchen. She watched as the man withthe strange weapon came to her. He hated the phony effort at what they called sportsmanship, the brief moment ofapplause that supposedly justified the hours of razzing they had really come to revel in. But you’llnever forget.

And it came to annoy me more than a little bit. Their honor and their value was never questioned. He abruptly realized the back ofhis head hurt. He put his dry hand on mine.