Unnecessary Words

Unnecessary Words

It was hot summer. The juice was orange, the age was you show me yours and I'll show you mine. A big dollop of ice cream in a chipped cone. Dad just received a letter with no return address. The letters were dangly and square, each with its own character. Dad said the newspaper man cut them that way to make us laugh. Mom's attempt to smile went awry before too long. My sister put on one of her records. She was capable of doing that without anyone's help and had permission under the circumstances. Then mom and dad were gone for a while. My sister and I were ourselves on Halloween, and they were on TV. Dad said it was a damn shame and a disgrace and mom didn't say anything. Then, the newsman said you sure don't want to ruin your sentence with unnecessary words and laughed.