Earl Pritchett -
“Charlie Pratt is a rat bastard sunovabitch. You can take that any damn way ya like an’ you can tell ‘em isme that said it too! I bet he give ya a big ol' laugh. I betchyu’d be standin’ at the front porch, tellin’ em what it was I said an’ he start chucklin’ like a damn goon, flashin' them piss stained Chiclets a’his, all jammed up in that ass-hole he kiss ‘is momma with. Him an’ that mouth breathin’ Herschel Maybelle carryin’ on. Oh, I bet they’d have a real time of it too…on me! Laughin’ ‘n’ jokin’, jawin’ back ‘n’ forth ‘bout what they done. Yeah, I’d betchya.
‘Bout all I got t’say ‘bout that is, good…real good. Only fittin' it’d be me givin'em a smile.
Herschel…I guess Herschel ain’t got nuthin’ ta worry ‘bout. Shit, ya can’t blame that boy anymore n’you could blame a shadow fer hangin’ ‘round. If you don’t know ‘bout Herschey, I ain’t gonna be the one ta tell ya nuthin’ ‘cept, you want gossip, you can drag yer ass t’town an’ stay there. I don’t spread rumors an’ I don’t wanna hear ‘em neither. You can save that mess fer them trash whores in town, Cheryl Timms and her like.
You ever wanna see a beat up ol’ catfish squawk like a chicken, ya take yerself down to Jude an’ 1st. I bet she’s down at Carl’s right now, preachin’ dirt ta that yappy flock ‘a’ crows followin’ her around all day. I bet she ain’t peeled her ass offa that stool since the sun come up. Sippin’ black coffee and spewin’ out filth. I swear, them booths is more crowded than a church pew on Sund'y. Pastor Lewis cut his sermon down to 16 minutes now so’s he can get over an’ catch the whole town dumpin’ they garbage. Don’t matter t’me none, he ain’t never said nuthin’ I couldn’t read maself an’ I don’t go t’town no more anyway. Can’t even move ‘round there without an eyeball on ya. That Timms witch is ev’rywhere, castin’ glances an’ I bet that ain’t the only thing, her an’ e’rbody gone that same way.
Ain’t nobody done a thing since that mouth an' her come t’town. Talkin’ back ‘n’ forth, e’rbody worried ‘bout e’rbody else, ain’t nobody worried ‘bout they own stink…an' I smell ‘em all! Hell no I don’t want hear ‘bout what Jim Cedars done last night. What the hell Jim Cedars got to do with me? ‘Less I need some ‘shine or some roofin’ done. She even got that snake tongue stuffed down the Sherriff’s ear, must be true ‘cause he ain’t heard shit I said yesterday.
Ev’ry night them hell fires been kickin’ on an’ all that trash gets ta smolderin’. Timms an’ her lot start runnin’ ‘round the streets, stokin’ up fires ‘til the whole town gets swallowed up in smoke an’ soot. Maybe Sherriff’s right, maybe I can’t see through that smog, but I ain’t dumb an’ I ain’t never seen a cloud that black ain’t gotta storm brewin’ in its belly. ‘Sides, come sunrise, the wind sweeps the valley an’ sends that dust cloud barrelin’ up the mountain walls, straight over my doorstep an’ I can smell what they been doin’. It’s hot ‘n’ musty an’ creeps up an’ burns yer nose like sulfur, smells like…smashed bottles an’…shame...rotted shame. Soon’s it blows by I gotta get down t’the stream and rinse it offa me.
Uh now, see! Lookit there, you got that same dumb-ass look th'Sherriff was wearin' when I said the same to him. Well, I ain't got the time or the care ta esplain maself again. Fall’s runnin’ out an’ I ain’t runnin’ down t’the god damn stream all wint’r long. An’ after yesterday, I ain’t livin’ through another day without makin’ it right. If nobody’s gunna do nuthin’, then it’s gunna be me do sumthin’ ‘bout it. So have yerself a drink an’ a smoke, soak up that sun an’ polish off that full Christian name, Chuckles. ‘Cause Charles Archibald Pratt……you gon die t'day!”
Charlie Pratt -
“Huhhuhuh huhuhuh, oww man! Huhuhuh! You tell that old man, Charlie Pratt says good luck and tell him I’s wonderin’ if that sow’s been keepin’ him warm at night? HahaHAAA......!
Herschel Maybelle -
“Charlie says he worryin’ ‘bout yer hawg Mr. Early. Charlie says he give ya good luck!”
