church of GUI and man with bear head

This time, the notice was posted Saturday instead of Sunday - near the crack in the window of Miles Cafeteria and Restaurant. I did not have a camera (old picture above) but here is what it said...

He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man.

We'll meet at 6:00 at Miles then go see Lincoln.

I had to look this quote up. It is from the last paragraph of Crane's Red Badge of Courage.

I went into Miles. The little man whom I thought had a bear's head was sitting at a table near the window. Twisting his bent neck my way he said in a soft baritone, "Join me."

Maybe this was the preacher. I sat down.

"So," he said, "How are you?"

"I'm OK. And you?"

"The head of Ursus is not so heavy today." He laughed, "I read blogs too."


He looked at me for several seconds. The waitress came over; he waved her away. "Have you ever heard that alliteration soothes a mad man's soul?"

"Ah..."

He commanded, "Alliterate for me."

The silly thing I wrote 50 years ago popped into my head. By now thoroughly outside of myself, I intoned, "Heap high the horse shit Harry, the hounds of hell are howling."

The man made a child's clapping gesture. "Very good, Are you soothed?"

Before I could answer, he straightened his head and said in a serious manner, "Remember when you screw up it might not be your age, you might be nervous - it accumulates - or you could simply be incompetent."

"Are you...?"

Putting a dollar beside his half empty plate of hamburger steak he got up, lightly like a younger man. It struck me that he might be dangerous. Nodding to the note taped crookedly to the window, "The preacher? Nope - but I belong to the church."

Walking out the door his head was bent forward, once again a man with the head of a bear. .