The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued

Page 361

High School

"The Last Bell of '67"

Harold Whitman, seventy-six and mostly forgotten by the town he once knew like the back of his calloused hand, dozed in his creaky recliner as the late autumn sun spilled across the living room rug. The television muttered something about rising interest rates, but Harold was already slipping into the soft amber of memory.

In his dream, it was 1967 again. The world smelled of Brylcreem, gasoline, and rebellion. He was seventeen, standing in the parking lot of Lincoln High, his letterman jacket slung over one shoulder, the keys to his '56 Chevy jingling in his pocket like a promise. The Beatles had just dropped Sgt. Pepper, and the air was thick with the scent of change; though Harold, in his neat bang cut and tight jeans, didn’t yet know what kind.

The Schoolyard Theater

He saw himself walking past the lockers, where Judy Marlowe; queen of the debate team and his secret crush, was arguing with Mr. Feldman about the Vietnam War. Harold had never dared speak to her beyond a mumbled “hi,” but in the dream, he leaned