Paul Tisdale/DN
Linden in Lincoln: Linden
grinds as comrades move
By Mark Nemeth
Staff Reporter
Linden was in Rue de la Grind.
He felt that he was feeling what no
one else felt. He was alone and in
Lincoln, fiscally challenged and
without a job. He was in school, or
with school, before or beyond
school. His next class was a night
class. He was frustrated with his
life’s lack of creativity or lack of
creative productivity. He was stifled
by the seeming lack of sophistica
tion and complexity in the city, yet
comforted by the simple negative
energy of the Midwest. He was
confusing many things with his
feelings about Jill.
Like a loner, Linden looked down
at the table when Gloria Hyest,
once Linden’s lover, walked into
Rue de la Grind, wet. Now he
wished to avoid her.
“Lame,” Linden said out loud to
himself.
Linden drank nothing from a
cup once having held coffee. Human
Sexuality was at 7 p.m. He thought
about the Human Sexuality films
he watched during class: elephant
sex, horse sex, cat sex . . .
Jill was gone. She was with
Ghevec, he thought.
He lelt a sense oi exnnaration
and sadness at the thought of Fred,
Max, Kdlin, Piper and Jennifer
moving to San Francisco; sad be
cause he would miss some of them
and exhilarated because he thought
the local social puzzle might fit dif
ferently. Like the removal of some
pieces from the game Tetris, the
changing of local cliques created a
temporary promise of possibility.
Linden’s sense of love .., "Oh,
1 have no sense of love,” he said
out loud to himself.
“Linden,” said Groover, in the
vicinity.
"Groover," Linden said, looking
UP
"Hey man, you’re communicat
ing witn yourself. I always do that,’
Groover said.
Linden laughed.
“Maybe all four of us can gel
together man," Groover said, sit
ting and laughing.
“Hi Linden," said Gloria, hei
recently purchased cup of coffct
dripping down the side of the cup
“Hi," Linden said.
Gloria sat.
“Gloria, this is Groover," Linder
said.
Groover smiled.
“Hi Groover,” said Gloria, he
eyes squinting. “You look familiar
Have we met?"
“You both went to high school
together,” Linden said.
"Southeast,” Gloria said.
“Southeast High School,” Groover
said, nodding his head briefly in
agreement.
Gloria smiled, bonding vaguely
with Groover as if they had just
discovered that they both owned
the same type of bicycle. She couldn’t
remember him.
“Are you going to Lincoln Uni
versity?” asked Gloria.
“Man, I’ve got to tell you. Yes, I
go there. But I’m moving to Tellu
ride, Colo., to teach English,”
Groover said.
“Really? 1 didn’t think you’deven
graduated, Groover!” Linden said.
“Yah, man, I’ve got a master’s
degree, and taking classes has just
been a hard habit to break,” Groover
said.
Gloria smiled and turned her
head slowly toward Linden.
“Hi,” Gloria said.
Linden thought she had asked
him if he felt like he was a failure.
He was silent.
“Everyone’s moving,” Linden
said.
Yan, i neara rrea, Max, cujih,
Piper and Jennifer were moving to
San Francisco,” Gloria said.
“Minneapolis,” Groover said.
“I heard San Francisco," Linden
said.
"They changed their minds,
Groover said.
“Oh," Linden said
“Did Cute Peter go with them?"
Gloria asked.
"I do not know," Groover said.
Linden stood up and walked
toward the counter of the Rue de la
Grind, filled his coffee cup and put
a quarter into the fish.
“Hi," Linden said tt> the woman
with long hair and a bag of coffee
grinds in her hands.
“Hi, Linden," the woman said.
"Are you going to the benefit?"
“Tonight? I don’t think so. I have
a class," Linden said.
“You should skip it, Linden; eighl
bands ? ndpoetry readings. Il’sonly
$3,” the woman said.
* “Maybe I’ll sec you there," Lin
, den .said.
Linden smiled and walked bacl<
to Gloria and Groover.
“Let’s drive,” Gloria said.
l “Where to?" Linden asked.
“I’ve got something for you,’
Gloria said. “Let’s go.”
r
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