Please forgive the format of the following story. I wrote it on my computer, so it will most likely look a little "choppy"
This is just something that I have been working on here and there for quite a while. It is a story in the works, complete fiction, but something we can all relate to in some fashion.
The Blues of Summer
I had a bit of trepidation running through my veins after the weekend I had just
experienced. Christ, this is a shitload of money. I need a miracle to save my ass, and those
are obviously reserved for others. I picked up the USAToday on the way to work, and
was sweating already. ?What the fuhk are you doing?? These words echoed and repeated
over and over again in my head since I tabulated my losses last night. I was in the parking
lot at the office, and had no idea how I had gotten there. A half hour drive, and I don?t
remember any of it......?What the fuhk are you doing??
Once in my office, I ripped through the paper. I re-checked yesterday?s scores as if they
were going to tilt to my side today. God, how could I have been so stupid? Flipping a coin
would show better returns! It would have to! Piss on it.....it was now merely sports
history. I need to concentrate on the here and now. Flipping to today?s games, I found one
early start. Rangers at Yankees -200. Perfect! One game, and it?s a clean slate. Since this
was the last day of the ?week?, I had no more room for errors. Win, or.........?Fuhk
you!?....?Don?t even think about that!? This was it. I?d bet the Yanks at -200, and call it a
great week. I wouldn?t make a dime, but I wouldn?t face the consequences either. Shit,
-200......they gotta win, right? 9:10 now, the game starts at 12:05, I?ll be out of the hole
by quitting time today! What if they lose? God, that?s so much money, and I don?t---
?Mr. Richards? Excuse me sir, but you have a call. Would you like me to transfer it in to
you??
?Than you, Joyce. Yes.?
It was to be a busy week at work, so I would manage a respite, now and then, from the
angst that this current gambling slide had me in. I used to like my job more than I do now.
In fact, I liked life a whole lot better than I do now, and all the misery seems to stem from
gambling on sports. What began as a novel whim with friends, has turned into a foray
against my common senses. Simple wins for the fun of it, have been replaced by necessary
wins to keep from getting my face busted by people you don?t wish to get acquainted
with. So far, I have managed to keep my head above water, but the whole thing has my
head spinning now. Yes, work offered a break from constantly checking, and re checking
scores of games in progress. A break from the ?rush? that comes with winning and loosing
at fever pitch paces. But, now? Now, I can?t even shake the agony for a moment or two.
Not with the debt hanging over my head as it is. Yes, what started as bets for fun, has
turned into something I have never imagined. For thousands in my shoes, the story is far
too familiar.
Everyone gets turned on to gambling by a ?friend of a friend?. You?re sitting at the club,
or at a bar, or any of a hundred other places, when your buddy starts in on how he made
some easy cash this weekend. ?I made a couple hundred on the 49ers, and keep kicking
myself for not calling in $500.? Of course the talk of ?bookies? and off shore sites begins
to drown out the din of the place, as you get drawn in to the tales spun by the fellows
sitting around you. Well, you know that you have always seemed to have a knack for
picking winners, and your co-workers always ask your help when filling out pools, so you
say, ?Why not make a few bucks?? The next thing you know, you are calling your buddy
on Sunday and asking if you can place a wager, too?......That?s how it starts.
?So......If I win the bet, I get paid that amount. If I lose, I owe that amount, plus another
10%??
?Yeah........Simple enough, huh??
?And we settle up when??
?The week runs Tuesday through Monday, and you settle up on Thursday. Once football
season ends, the week goes Monday through Sunday, but settle day is always on
Thursday.?
So, a few games played, a few more winners than losers, and WHAM! You are hooked.
?Yeah...?
?Hey. What?s the line on the early game??
?Yankees -250 Rangers +180?
?What!? That?s bullshit! The Yanks are -200/+180!!?
?Not with me, they aint.?
?What the hell gives??
?Listen. Every guy in town who owes me money from this weekend will be trying to bail
out on the Yankees. And what do you know.....you are in deep, and about to tell me you
want the Yankees. It?s business, man. If you find another place to play this game at -200,
be my guest.?
?I?ll get back to you.?
?Don?t wait too long. The game goes off in twenty minutes.?
That fuhking prick. That takes some goddamned nerve. I was a pissed as could be, but
what the hell was I to do? He knew he had me over a barrel, and I knew it, too. I was
looking at a weekend of more losers than winners, and a debt of close to $3,000. To
some, this is not a lot, to others.....it?s a fortune. I fell in ?Middletown? on the scale. I
didn?t have the money on hand, but could scrape it together if I had to. The thing is, I
didn?t want to. I just knew the Yankees would win with ?The Rocket? on the hill at home
verses a shitty Texas team, but I still can?t believe that bastard was jacking the price that
high. To erase that 3 dime hole, I would need to risk $7,500, meaning a loss would have
me five figures deep in shit. My shovel couldn?t dig me out of that hole, and I would risk
moving from ?Middletown? to the projects in a real big hurry.
11:57am
?Yeah??
?What?s the line??
?Same....-250/+180?
?Gimmie the chalk for 3 dimes.?
?That?s another $7,500 if these guys go tits up on you.?
?I already did the math.?
?Yeah? Well, I did the math too, asshole! You don?t make that kind of scratch, and it
worries me a little bit.?
?I can cover it.?
?I hope so, Richards, because if you don?t. I sure the fuhk won?t have a hard time
covering you......? <CLICK!>
What the hell was I getting into? This was so unnerving, that I could barely function. I
hope the game goes fast. I left my office, and headed for the parking lot. Lunch hour
would not be for eating today, but sweating. Sweating out this game. Sweating out the
outcome. Sweating out the possibility of owing some Neanderthal $10,000+! Where did
my life go?
-----More to come, at a later date!
This is just something that I have been working on here and there for quite a while. It is a story in the works, complete fiction, but something we can all relate to in some fashion.
The Blues of Summer
I had a bit of trepidation running through my veins after the weekend I had just
experienced. Christ, this is a shitload of money. I need a miracle to save my ass, and those
are obviously reserved for others. I picked up the USAToday on the way to work, and
was sweating already. ?What the fuhk are you doing?? These words echoed and repeated
over and over again in my head since I tabulated my losses last night. I was in the parking
lot at the office, and had no idea how I had gotten there. A half hour drive, and I don?t
remember any of it......?What the fuhk are you doing??
Once in my office, I ripped through the paper. I re-checked yesterday?s scores as if they
were going to tilt to my side today. God, how could I have been so stupid? Flipping a coin
would show better returns! It would have to! Piss on it.....it was now merely sports
history. I need to concentrate on the here and now. Flipping to today?s games, I found one
early start. Rangers at Yankees -200. Perfect! One game, and it?s a clean slate. Since this
was the last day of the ?week?, I had no more room for errors. Win, or.........?Fuhk
you!?....?Don?t even think about that!? This was it. I?d bet the Yanks at -200, and call it a
great week. I wouldn?t make a dime, but I wouldn?t face the consequences either. Shit,
-200......they gotta win, right? 9:10 now, the game starts at 12:05, I?ll be out of the hole
by quitting time today! What if they lose? God, that?s so much money, and I don?t---
?Mr. Richards? Excuse me sir, but you have a call. Would you like me to transfer it in to
you??
?Than you, Joyce. Yes.?
It was to be a busy week at work, so I would manage a respite, now and then, from the
angst that this current gambling slide had me in. I used to like my job more than I do now.
In fact, I liked life a whole lot better than I do now, and all the misery seems to stem from
gambling on sports. What began as a novel whim with friends, has turned into a foray
against my common senses. Simple wins for the fun of it, have been replaced by necessary
wins to keep from getting my face busted by people you don?t wish to get acquainted
with. So far, I have managed to keep my head above water, but the whole thing has my
head spinning now. Yes, work offered a break from constantly checking, and re checking
scores of games in progress. A break from the ?rush? that comes with winning and loosing
at fever pitch paces. But, now? Now, I can?t even shake the agony for a moment or two.
Not with the debt hanging over my head as it is. Yes, what started as bets for fun, has
turned into something I have never imagined. For thousands in my shoes, the story is far
too familiar.
Everyone gets turned on to gambling by a ?friend of a friend?. You?re sitting at the club,
or at a bar, or any of a hundred other places, when your buddy starts in on how he made
some easy cash this weekend. ?I made a couple hundred on the 49ers, and keep kicking
myself for not calling in $500.? Of course the talk of ?bookies? and off shore sites begins
to drown out the din of the place, as you get drawn in to the tales spun by the fellows
sitting around you. Well, you know that you have always seemed to have a knack for
picking winners, and your co-workers always ask your help when filling out pools, so you
say, ?Why not make a few bucks?? The next thing you know, you are calling your buddy
on Sunday and asking if you can place a wager, too?......That?s how it starts.
?So......If I win the bet, I get paid that amount. If I lose, I owe that amount, plus another
10%??
?Yeah........Simple enough, huh??
?And we settle up when??
?The week runs Tuesday through Monday, and you settle up on Thursday. Once football
season ends, the week goes Monday through Sunday, but settle day is always on
Thursday.?
So, a few games played, a few more winners than losers, and WHAM! You are hooked.
?Yeah...?
?Hey. What?s the line on the early game??
?Yankees -250 Rangers +180?
?What!? That?s bullshit! The Yanks are -200/+180!!?
?Not with me, they aint.?
?What the hell gives??
?Listen. Every guy in town who owes me money from this weekend will be trying to bail
out on the Yankees. And what do you know.....you are in deep, and about to tell me you
want the Yankees. It?s business, man. If you find another place to play this game at -200,
be my guest.?
?I?ll get back to you.?
?Don?t wait too long. The game goes off in twenty minutes.?
That fuhking prick. That takes some goddamned nerve. I was a pissed as could be, but
what the hell was I to do? He knew he had me over a barrel, and I knew it, too. I was
looking at a weekend of more losers than winners, and a debt of close to $3,000. To
some, this is not a lot, to others.....it?s a fortune. I fell in ?Middletown? on the scale. I
didn?t have the money on hand, but could scrape it together if I had to. The thing is, I
didn?t want to. I just knew the Yankees would win with ?The Rocket? on the hill at home
verses a shitty Texas team, but I still can?t believe that bastard was jacking the price that
high. To erase that 3 dime hole, I would need to risk $7,500, meaning a loss would have
me five figures deep in shit. My shovel couldn?t dig me out of that hole, and I would risk
moving from ?Middletown? to the projects in a real big hurry.
11:57am
?Yeah??
?What?s the line??
?Same....-250/+180?
?Gimmie the chalk for 3 dimes.?
?That?s another $7,500 if these guys go tits up on you.?
?I already did the math.?
?Yeah? Well, I did the math too, asshole! You don?t make that kind of scratch, and it
worries me a little bit.?
?I can cover it.?
?I hope so, Richards, because if you don?t. I sure the fuhk won?t have a hard time
covering you......? <CLICK!>
What the hell was I getting into? This was so unnerving, that I could barely function. I
hope the game goes fast. I left my office, and headed for the parking lot. Lunch hour
would not be for eating today, but sweating. Sweating out this game. Sweating out the
outcome. Sweating out the possibility of owing some Neanderthal $10,000+! Where did
my life go?
-----More to come, at a later date!
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