Thursday, February 16, 2012

Kerry


"self portrait" by Kerry Magann



The passage below is one of the last stories entered into Kerry’s black notebook.


It was Tuesday night and I was home alone.  It was too cold outside and too warm inside.  Charlie Parker was playing the saxophone and I was playing with the various forms of hair I could find on my body. 


I had dreadlocked the hair on my toes, a few patches on my legs, and my big pubic mop, and had begun focusing on my nipple hairs.  They stood coiled black, and obscenely proud, strewn across the death pale backdrop of my Irish potato skin.  It was an embarrassing scene.  I felt like reaching for a shirt though nobody was inside my apartment, and I thought about my days of cigarettes, and watching clocks, and T.V., and masturbating to early morning workout shows, and how I ever even managed to hold conversations with people, and how sad it all really was.  


And then I lit my nipple hair on fire.  I started on the right side lighting individually at the ends, watching them flam and fizzle out in an orderly fashion.  I was brushing the ash into my belly button, and everything was going fine until about midway through the left nipple when one hair got rebellious and decided to spread across the remaining forest.  That mother-fucker took a good chunk of my nipple (long pause) which made me fall backwards, hitting my head on the table behind me, which knocked me out and caused a loud sound which made my landlady call the police, who called the paramedics who, upon finding me on the floor, brought me here to this hospital, with doctors and nurses that proceeded to laugh uncontrollably, while calling every psychiatrist in the city down to see me.      
 


Happy 33rd Birthday Kerry

Lots of heartache here.  I trust you are in a better place.  

Love, Ma




My Dad cheering Kerry on.  Kerry with both feet off the ground

Kerry's Junior Prom.  Lindsay was so proud of her big brother


Kerry and Jackson

22 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I do believe I owe you a beer Marty! It's that time of the year :)

      Delete
  2. Kerry was quite a character, huh? He was funny and able to laugh at himself it seems. A good writer too. A lot like his mom.

    Shannon, my heart is with you today and all these days of heartache.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you Myrna! He was able to laugh at himself :))))))) and he was honest.

      Delete
  3. A difficult day for you and your family -- hugs to all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Birthday Kerry, wherever you are, you are celebrated fondly by people who never met you but can appreciate your sense of humor and acute irony. Hugs and love to your mom, who will keep you clearly present in the minds and hearts of many, most importantly, Jackson.

    Love always Inky

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Inky!!!! thank you xoxoxo (((((love you)))))))

      Delete
  5. Is it wrong that I was laughing about him setting his nipples on fire?

    Really?

    It reminded me of when my friends from high school shot roman candles at each other. It was hysterical watching them duck and weave the colorful balls o' fire.... until one actually landed on one of their chests and instantly STUCK to his shirt burning a large hole through it, melting it into his skin.

    Not so much fun, but still hysterically funny.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NOOOOOO... sooooooo glad you laughed its exactly what he wanted (I believe)

      xoxo

      Delete
  6. He was a wonderful writer, like his mother. Happy Birthday, Kerry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank YOU! I love his words... he taught me how to keep it simple and real.

      Delete
  7. I cannot stop staring at the picture of Kerry and his grandDad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know..... its beautiful and to know that they are together now...... it comforts me and at the same time...

      Delete
  8. It occurred to me I can no longer remember when my son Nick's birthday was. He died thirty five years ago. I know he would bee about forty now. I can't decide if I'm happy or sad about it. Weird. Kerry was a good looking kid. You're right there is a lot of heartache. I commend you for not blocking anything out. I remember I went through a divorce and my mom and my dad's mom died that year. Sounds a little familiar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear this way too often... in my case, Dad had a stroke and died.. and then I got divorced...

      ~shoes~

      Delete
  9. Thank you for sharing Kerry's writing Shannon.

    MG

    ReplyDelete
  10. This made me laugh, and then I cried.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey Monkey... I LOVE that self portrait!!

    How wonderful...

    *huggles*

    ~shoes~

    ReplyDelete
  12. Heartaches. They come but do not go sometimes. I admire you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful. Big hearts and strong feelings run in your family. That is a blessing.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That was wonderfully hilarious and sad at the same time:) Happy Birthday, Kerry!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for encouraging my JOY of writing. By reading and commenting you are feeding my soul, stroking my heart, and in the end...making me a better writer.

Thank You For Encouraging My Joy of Writing

Thank You For Encouraging My Joy of Writing
greenmonkeytales@live.com

Shannon E. Kennedy

***

Photo by Joan Harrison