Any real names, non-original content, or likenesses of celebrities are used in a fictitious and parodic manner.
CHAPTER SEVEN: FOUR MINUTES. OR, IN WHICH EVERYTHING JUST FUCKING ENDS, OKAY?! NO? WELL, YOU MAY HAVE TO KEEP READING AFTER THIS CHAPTER TO KNOW FOR SURE, RIGHT?"This is the end..." - Jim Morrison, lizard king.
“Four minutes?” everyone asked.
Kevin let out a deep sigh. “Sadly yes. And in such a time, I found the appropriate tune to take us out from the end of one world and the birth of a new one. The second-last song on Roger Waters’ 1987 hidden gem ‘Radio K.A.O.S.’ – ladies and gentlemen I present to you ‘Four Minutes’.”
The first part of the song was spoken dialogue between a quadriplegic Welsh kid named Billy who hacked his way into a computer and was conversing with an American radio DJ named Jim:
"Four minutes and counting." Billy said
"O.K.", Jim replied.
"They pressed the button, Jim."
"They pressed the button Billy, what button?"
"The big red one."
"You mean THE button?"
"Goodbye, Jim."
"Goodbye! Oh yes, this ain't au revoir, its goodbye!”
Around this time, Kevin found an Edmonton radio station to overlap before the rest of the song.
“…. It’s a beautiful balmy autumn day here in the City of Champions” the male DJ was saying. “It’s a warm nineteen degrees… what? I said ‘balmy’, guess I could have said ‘bomb-y!’ Ha ha ha! Anyways, with about four minutes to go, let’s make the most of it. Over at Commonwealth Stadium, its near the end of the fourth quarter and the Eskimos have a 45-42 lead over the Saskatchewan Rough Riders, and those of you looking to go fishing tomorrow, well, too bad…”
The song began to play as everyone reflected on key parts of their lives as lines in the songs trigger memories.
“After a near miss on the plane
You swear you'll never fly again
After the first kiss when you make up
You swear you'll never break up again”
Kevin thought about Gloria more than everything else. She might have been the one who he could have finally settled down with. She could have been the one they could have raised a lot of children and feed them on peaches and let them try and find Jesus on their own. Maybe had he not smudged her dog to death by accident, he could have put behind the years upon years of one night stands and casual sex. Maybe he should have done more to hold onto her. But that all seems insignificant right about now, was Kevin’s final thought.
“And when you've just run a red light;
Sit shaking under the street light
You swear to yourself you'll never drink and drive again.”
Life wasn’t fair, Karen was thinking back to her sister’s death. The driver of the other car that ran into her lived and she practically died there in the middle of a fairly busy intersection. Later Karen found out the driver was indeed impaired. He gets to live and what, lose his license for a year? Spend some time in jail? And after he had paid his debt to society, it still didn’t take.
“Sometimes I feel like going home
You swear you'll never let things go by again
Sometimes I miss the rain and snow
And you'll never toe the party line again
And when the east wind blows
Sometimes I feel like going home”
Dean knew after today there was indeed no more going home. He had tried to make things better between he and his father ever since Karen came into the pictures. Dean hoped that his family would at least read the letter he left on the gates. Between all of the talks of war and destruction, Dean had composed the letter, expressing his regrets of his end of the falling out between him and his father. He probably wrote sorry many times and wished things were better between them in the event that Karen could be the one Dean chose to marry. Their loss, he figured, as Karen would have been a wonderful addition to the family.
Everyone was surprised when Ariel sung the next part of the song, which was done by a female vocalist "Goodbye little spy in the sky; they say that cameras don't lie.
Am I happy, am I sad, am I good, am I bad?"
Maybe living years among such a paranoid man had made Ariel a little crazy. Maybe being forced to wear restrictive clothing so as not to arouse her retarded brother caused her to run away from home and let random men explore her body, even though she both enjoyed and craved that kind of attention from men. Ariel was surprised when she had come home that the Beardo took her back, but by that time, he was spiraling further into his own paranoia and forbade her to ever go out into the outside world again.
“You saw first hand how sick our world is.” Those words from the Beardo will forever haunt her.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven…”
Kevin muttered to himself. “Gloria. I miss you so much.”
“Six, five, four, three…”
Dean held back tears. “Dad, Mom. I’m sorry.”
“Two, one…”
“Tracy, hope to see you soon.” Karen said quietly to herself.
“Goodbye, Billy…”
Kevin let out a deep sigh. “Sadly yes. And in such a time, I found the appropriate tune to take us out from the end of one world and the birth of a new one. The second-last song on Roger Waters’ 1987 hidden gem ‘Radio K.A.O.S.’ – ladies and gentlemen I present to you ‘Four Minutes’.”
The first part of the song was spoken dialogue between a quadriplegic Welsh kid named Billy who hacked his way into a computer and was conversing with an American radio DJ named Jim:
"Four minutes and counting." Billy said
"O.K.", Jim replied.
"They pressed the button, Jim."
"They pressed the button Billy, what button?"
"The big red one."
"You mean THE button?"
"Goodbye, Jim."
"Goodbye! Oh yes, this ain't au revoir, its goodbye!”
Around this time, Kevin found an Edmonton radio station to overlap before the rest of the song.
“…. It’s a beautiful balmy autumn day here in the City of Champions” the male DJ was saying. “It’s a warm nineteen degrees… what? I said ‘balmy’, guess I could have said ‘bomb-y!’ Ha ha ha! Anyways, with about four minutes to go, let’s make the most of it. Over at Commonwealth Stadium, its near the end of the fourth quarter and the Eskimos have a 45-42 lead over the Saskatchewan Rough Riders, and those of you looking to go fishing tomorrow, well, too bad…”
The song began to play as everyone reflected on key parts of their lives as lines in the songs trigger memories.
“After a near miss on the plane
You swear you'll never fly again
After the first kiss when you make up
You swear you'll never break up again”
Kevin thought about Gloria more than everything else. She might have been the one who he could have finally settled down with. She could have been the one they could have raised a lot of children and feed them on peaches and let them try and find Jesus on their own. Maybe had he not smudged her dog to death by accident, he could have put behind the years upon years of one night stands and casual sex. Maybe he should have done more to hold onto her. But that all seems insignificant right about now, was Kevin’s final thought.
“And when you've just run a red light;
Sit shaking under the street light
You swear to yourself you'll never drink and drive again.”
Life wasn’t fair, Karen was thinking back to her sister’s death. The driver of the other car that ran into her lived and she practically died there in the middle of a fairly busy intersection. Later Karen found out the driver was indeed impaired. He gets to live and what, lose his license for a year? Spend some time in jail? And after he had paid his debt to society, it still didn’t take.
“Sometimes I feel like going home
You swear you'll never let things go by again
Sometimes I miss the rain and snow
And you'll never toe the party line again
And when the east wind blows
Sometimes I feel like going home”
Dean knew after today there was indeed no more going home. He had tried to make things better between he and his father ever since Karen came into the pictures. Dean hoped that his family would at least read the letter he left on the gates. Between all of the talks of war and destruction, Dean had composed the letter, expressing his regrets of his end of the falling out between him and his father. He probably wrote sorry many times and wished things were better between them in the event that Karen could be the one Dean chose to marry. Their loss, he figured, as Karen would have been a wonderful addition to the family.
Everyone was surprised when Ariel sung the next part of the song, which was done by a female vocalist "Goodbye little spy in the sky; they say that cameras don't lie.
Am I happy, am I sad, am I good, am I bad?"
Maybe living years among such a paranoid man had made Ariel a little crazy. Maybe being forced to wear restrictive clothing so as not to arouse her retarded brother caused her to run away from home and let random men explore her body, even though she both enjoyed and craved that kind of attention from men. Ariel was surprised when she had come home that the Beardo took her back, but by that time, he was spiraling further into his own paranoia and forbade her to ever go out into the outside world again.
“You saw first hand how sick our world is.” Those words from the Beardo will forever haunt her.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven…”
Kevin muttered to himself. “Gloria. I miss you so much.”
“Six, five, four, three…”
Dean held back tears. “Dad, Mom. I’m sorry.”
“Two, one…”
“Tracy, hope to see you soon.” Karen said quietly to herself.
“Goodbye, Billy…”
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