------------------------- ----- > -------------------------------------------   "Your story sucked, by the way.
The one you read in Chicago."



-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Thank you."



------------------------------------------------------
"No, I mean it. It was peinlich and literary and only had a couple of real-sounding lines at the end."



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------ very - dark - sky - becoming  ---------------------------------------------- "I said thank you.
Where's my gun?"



-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"My dear Rob, could this indeed be
the famous 'tornado weather'
of which you spoke?"
  ----------------------------------------------------------
"You can write
better than that."



-----------------------------------------------------------
"Thank you.
Bang."



------------------------------------------------------
"Yeah, could be tornado weather. Only if it starts raining, though."
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How many people
in this car
write, in part, to fulfill a parent's unfulfilled art dreams?"



---------------------------- two - hands - up - immediately - go --------------
----------------------------------------------------------------- plop  ------------------- "Uh-oh."



------------------------------------------------------ a - third - hand - halfway - up - sneaks --------------
ploopity













-------------------------------
---------------------------------------- "I count 2 and 1/2 hands."



-------------------------------------------------------------
spleep






-------------------------------------
------------------------------------------- "Torna-DO! Torna-DO! Come, on! Torna-DO! Clap your hands now, Torna-DO! Torna-DO! Everybody! Torna-DO! Torna-DO!"



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tina - with - tape - recorder - from - the - back - seat - cheer - leads 
  --------------------------- storms - Tina - loves ------------------------------------------ "How many in this car
hate what they usually hear at poetry readings?"



--------------------------------- enthusiastically - four - hands - up - rush ---------------
------------------------------------------ pittering ---------------------- pattering ------------------------------ pounding - a - son - of - a - bitch - like  --------------------------------------- Dierk - his - fountain - pen - as - his - sword - wields ----- "Have at you, peinlich poetry reading demons!"
  ------------------------------------------------- lightning ------------------------------- kaboom  ----------------------------------------------------
"What? Will I actually be fortunate enough
to die in an American tornado?
Can life hold such glory?
Cool-0-sweet!
  ------------------------------------------------------------------  
--------------- "How many in this car
write as well as they talk?"



--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------