{"id":14299,"date":"2022-09-15T11:24:24","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T16:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/?p=14299"},"modified":"2025-11-15T11:24:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T17:24:47","slug":"keep-times-good-or-the-league-to-save-the-good-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2022\/09\/15\/keep-times-good-or-the-league-to-save-the-good-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Times Good (Or the League to Save the Good Times)\ufffc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Keep Times Good (Or the League to Save the Good Times)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Joe Farley<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rex liked to have a good time. Rex liked to ensure everyone else was having a good time. Rex liked to keep times good. He played the towns centennial party. He played the townie bars, the basement bangers, the Knights of Columbus and the local VFW. If you graduated from any school in Bergen or Hudson County over the last decade, he probably played your prom. Hell, he even played your sister\u2019s birthday party. Think back to anytime you were anywhere and a howling madman tried to grab your attention with a loud guitar and call to arms\u2014that was Rex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">As for me, I\u2019d recently flamed out at Vanderbilt, lost my baseball scholarship and part of right hand. Recently meaning three years ago, time flies when you\u2019re properly pickled on painkillers. I\u2019d been living in my dear mom\u2019s basement in Hoboken telling everyone who\u2019d listen I was still destined to play in the major leagues before I tested her patience too many times and was tossed out on my ass with a small stipend. It must have had something to do with the time I sold her car. Or the time I rented out her room when she was on vacation. I offered to split the money with her, 50\/50, but she wasn\u2019t interested, which was strange because I did all the heavy lifting and to her it was all profit. It was a long time coming but still it all felt very sudden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">So, I was on my way out of town, catching a train from Hoboken station to parts unknown when I dropped my rucksack on Rex\u2019s guitar case. Rex didn\u2019t look up at first, he just kept on playing as a few bills floated from the case and out onto the train platform. Between songs he said, \u201cYou gonna pick that up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I scrambled up and down the platform, scooping bills and stuffing them into my pockets before a conductor told me to show him my ticket or back up. Since I didn\u2019t have one\u2014wasn\u2019t yet sure where I was going\u2014I scurried back and forked over to Rex what I could. \u201cThink I got most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rex took the money without counting it. Then, he shook my hand warmly while looking me over. \u201cGetting out of town?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIn a way,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou look familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cClass of &#8217;03,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201c&#8217;99, but you already knew that. Need a place to stay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cJust like that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSure,\u201d Rex said. \u201cI\u2019ll start you on bass straight away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI don\u2019t have a guitar. Plus, this.\u201d I held my right hand up to the light like I was examining a hundred to see if it was real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cComes with the room,\u201d Rex said. He grabbed some bills from his guitar case and snapped it shut. \u201cWe can work around the bad mitt, you\u2019ll see. Go for a taste?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I looked in my wallet and found it thin, and for a brief moment considered knocking on the door of my high school girlfriend and begging for a place to stay, I\u2019d even take the couch and assure her of absolutely no funny business. In the end, I said, \u201cI\u2019m not exactly liquid. Not sure I can swing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cRelax, that\u2019ll all come later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rex started out of the train station and I tucked tail after him. Even though he was playing music on the street, Rex still had the charisma and presence of a seasoned rock star speaking to the crowd between songs\u2014you hung on his every word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">Before I ran into Rex I spent most nights out on mom\u2019s balcony with a sweating Coors and my press clippings. They read like a one man wrecking crew. Everyone in the county, hell the <em>state<\/em>, wanted a quote from me after we won the 5A state championship. <em>Sawyer this, Sawyer that, Sawyer saves the day<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">After I met Rex I stopped pretending like I was ever going to play baseball again, like my big comeback was right around the corner. I even stopped <em>watching<\/em> baseball. I grew my hair long and began developing a pouch from a steady diet of cold pizza and cheap beer. My hand hurt like hell but I practiced that damn guitar from sun up to sun down, learning the chords out of a book Rex himself was writing. It was part philosophy and part instructional guide, a manifesto on how to Keep Times Good. To me, it was a revelation, and I couldn\u2019t stop wondering why Rex wasn\u2019t a household name. I figured he ought to be on the daytime shows selling the shit out of the thing. That\u2019s not to say that living with Rex was easy. He was erratic, prone to flights of extreme fancy, and for a minute I considered begging mom for my spot back in the house, but instead, I got better at bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Somehow, Rex owned a house. It was in a very undesirable area out in New Jersey\u2019s industrial flatlands, but it was a house nonetheless. It was dilapidated and spacious and painted bright red\u2014in short, the thing was an eyesore. By summer, we had another guy living with us. His name was Slater and he\u2019d recently got out of prison. He played drums pretty well. He hit the kit like he was trying to bring rain with every whip thrash of his sinewy, prison inked arms. Slater and I got along like gangbusters from day one. When Rex brought him to live with us I got a good vibe; like this was the final piece to whatever puzzle we were putting together. \u201cYou\u2019ve been to jail?\u201d I asked him, noticing his ink and shifty manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cPrison,\u201d Slater said. \u201cYou take drugs, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cCorrect,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">And we laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Initially, Slater and I were unsure how Rex made money. He had the house, plus he was always coming and going with new musical equipment, not to even mention how he kept the fridge full of beer and the coffers full of drugs. Rex never slept. He didn\u2019t ask us for any monetary contributions, only excellence and an undying commitment to the Mission. He\u2019d taken to calling the Mission the<em> Sound<\/em>, and we were still deep in the process of looking for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">One night, not too long after Slater joined us, Rex sat us down and told us we were ready. I wasn\u2019t sure, I\u2019d only just learned the basics, and the pain from my hand shot up and down my arm like a pinball. He scored us a gig and we were to play under the moniker the League to Save the Good Times. Rex was relentless as the big day approached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThis gig is big,\u201d Rex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI thought it was a bar and grille in North Jersey,\u201d Slater said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDon\u2019t be thick, \u201cRex said. \u201cWhile it <em>is<\/em> a bar in North Jersey, it is one frequented by industry types, A&amp;R men, maybe some podcast people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Slater nodded in agreement, picked up his drumsticks started tapping the hi-hat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHow much does this thing pay?\u201d I asked<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cPlease,\u201d Rex said. \u201cThat all comes later, this is significantly more important than cash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I started to talk but stopped myself\u2014he was referring to the Sound. Rex counted us in and we continued rehearsing. As I played through the pain in my right hand, I saw stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">In early July, a few days before the big to-do, I ran into Rex behind the house. He was tending to the garden. \u201cJersey Tomatoes, these are worth serious cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Huh, I had no idea. Tomatoes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNow, they need a good six to eight hours of sun\u2014<em>per day<\/em>.\u201d He picked some off the vine, examined them before biting a large hunk. \u201cThese are perfect.\u201d Rex tossed me one. \u201cBe sure to wash that off first, otherwise they\u2019ll taste like chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I put the ripe tomato in my pocket. \u201cChemicals?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThis is still Jersey,\u201d Rex said, pointing to the smoke stacks in the distance. \u201cCome over here, let me show you how\u2026 it can be quite lucrative, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I shadowed Rex while he dug, planted, mostly moved dirt around. Further in the backyard there looked to be another garden, but this one was larger and covered with a blue tarp. \u201cWhat\u2019s growing there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAll things in time,\u201d Rex said and went back to his tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The day of the show we got another guitar player, rhythm. And a keyboard player showed up, along with some mustached man to work the special effects, effects we did not yet have. Also, there were three girls I\u2019d never seen whose sole job it was to sell band merch. Believe it or not, Rex said, merch is a critical aspect of the Mission. They carried a cardboard box full of black t-shirts that said \u201cKeep Times Good\u201d in white lettering with a lighting bolt beneath. We all drove over to the gig together in the back of Rex\u2019s new Econoline. \u201cKiller deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Eventually, we arrived at a suburban bar &amp; grille. Rex parked the van right out front, told me to go ask them where they wanted us to set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThis is it?\u201d I looked around, the parking lot was sparse. The neighborhood already looked asleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat did I just say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Without another word I was out of the van, walking through the front door. I approached the hostess, asked her where the band should set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cBand?\u201d She said. She was clearly in high school, some kid trying to squirrel away some extra cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYeah, band. We\u2019ve got a lot of shit, is there a back entrance maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">She hurried away from me like I was some guy under a bridge, said she needed to ask her manager. Passing the buck, this kid had no ambition, less heart. Things didn\u2019t look promising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rex came through the doors next, lugging gear. The merch girls opened up a folding table right in the main dining room. Rex turned to me, said, \u201cIt\u2019s more of a guerrilla show, I guess I forgot to mention it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">No shit, but I too was unloading gear, tuning up my strings. Before long the young hostess was back, wanting to know what the hell we are doing. I ignored her, was a bit nervous\u2014my first real live performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The crowd was stiff at first, unsure of what was happening, why there was a band playing loud music over the clink of their silverware and the wolfing of their veal parmagiana. Rex plowed ahead, and soon enough, maybe halfway through the third song, he worked them up into a lather. They were having a good time. That\u2019s when the police showed up. We skated before they could slap on the bracelets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">There was no denying Rex on stage, or the collective feeling that was inside the room. The crowd looked on with a mix of worry and wanting\u2014it was spread across their thick faces. We ducked out to avoid total disaster, but not before getting a ticket for disturbing the peace or whatever. Doesn\u2019t matter because we tossed it out the van window as we ripped back towards the compound. Lately we\u2019d began calling it the compound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The next day four guys and a girl knocked at the compound door, begging to be let in. Rex let them in, good help was hard to find. They said they could play so they joined the band, pending a tryout and a yet undetermined evaluation period from Rex himself. I wasn\u2019t sure how many people could be in one band, but around that time we started referring to our band as a <em>collective<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I began helping Rex sell the tomatoes. We made some money but not enough. Rex showed me how to grow things besides tomatoes, how to properly shake and bake amphetamine. I wasn\u2019t sure about it at first but these sorts of things grow on you Rex told me. We began selling that stuff and then we had more money than I\u2019d ever seen. Rex started paying me\u2014a lot. We didn\u2019t work out a specific payment rate or schedule, instead I\u2019d simply find knotted rubber bands of cash under my pillow sporadically. I kept my mouth shut and didn\u2019t count it. Why would I? I had knack for planting, a head for sales, and shit, I was even improving at the guitar. I\u2019d mostly forgotten about my hand, I was on the right path, and nobody on the planet could tell me I wasn\u2019t well on my way to fulfilling the Mission, I was keeping times good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Later, we built a legit stage in the backyard of the compound. We hung lights and large speakers with the hefty price tags still on them. It was important that we get people out to these shows, Rex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou\u2019ve seen Wayne\u2019s World 2?\u201d Rex asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cOnly the first one,\u201d I said. Rex said it didn\u2019t matter, we\u2019d watch it later that night. Then he put me in charge of outreach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">Outreach was a lot like recruiting. Luckily, a friend of Slater\u2019s was ex-Mormon so he knew the drill. We all hung back and followed his lead those first few days. His name was Cameron, and he said the name of the game was being friendly, congenial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cCongenial? Fuck is that?\u201d Slater said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cJust follow the leader,\u201d Cameron said. And we did. Although, none of us were very <em>congenia<\/em>l, most of us wore black, loathed small talk, considered comprise death. Still, we followed, we learned, and by weeks end we had more than a dozen new faces back at the compound, helping with the work, setting up for the show that was promised, no, f<em>oretold<\/em>, to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Thing was, a lot of these new recruits were young. How young? I couldn\u2019t be sure, and when I asked Rex, he told me it didn\u2019t matter, they were here to help. They were to cook, clean, support the band, even sell t-shirts. Around this time, there had to be more than two dozen people living in the house full time, and space was tight. Still, Rex kept us focused on the big show being planned for the compound, it was to be a festival that would take place over the long Labor Day weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThis is when I really need you to focus,\u201d Rex said. Rex walked me out behind the house, the moon was high and bright providing all the light. He handed me a beer, told me to sit down. \u201cI need complete commitment these last few weeks, you understand that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSure I do,\u201d I said. I was a pretty good guitar player by this point, knew most of the songs by heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNow is the time to really push,\u201d Rex said. \u201cWe need <em>more<\/em> people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHow many more?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAlways more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">Next morning I was in town outreaching with Cameron and Slater when cops picked us up. The F-150 we were riding around in wasn\u2019t registered. Truth was the thing didn\u2019t even have tags\u2014I hadn\u2019t notice until the officer mentioned it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The cops separated us at the station, drilled us all individually about Rex, the state of the compound. I couldn\u2019t even come up with Rex\u2019s last name. They kept asking me about<em> girls<\/em>, were there girls, how many girls, how old were these girls, etc. I tuned out because I didn\u2019t know. Girls were girls. We, at least I, never asked for hometowns, what year they graduated whatever shit high school they attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">They told us to stop lingering around and approaching people, and then they let us all go. But not before they took me aside and had a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWe need your help,\u201d this one cop, Rizza said. I wish he were a fat doughnut eater but he was fit, could have caved my head in without thinking twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWith?\u201d I tried to look as tough as Rizza felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThe situation, shithead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI can\u2019t help you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou know, I\u2019ve spoken with your mother.\u201d At this, Rizza looked cockier than ever, like he\u2019d just made his girlfriend cum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201c<em>What<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cShe\u2019s looking for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">And that\u2019s when I left, even mustering the courage to call him a rent-a-cop and a stooge of the state. He simply gave me a crooked smile, like he\u2019d seen my Internet search history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">When we got back from the police station we all did a thing we never did\u2014left Rex out of it. Slater and I said it didn\u2019t matter, and we had rank at the compound. In private, to each other only, we thought maybe it mattered a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">A few days later my mom showed up looking for me, telling everyone within earshot that I was unwell, something about my need to be medicated. I never saw her, Slater told me Rex got to her first. She was threatening all kinds of shit, how she was going to inform anyone and everyone just what was going on over here. She left without major incident. Not long after she left, Rex informed everyone that we\u2019d have to move the timeframe up. When we asked how far up, he told us the following weekend, at the latest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">That night I had a drink with Cameron out by the tomato garden. He wanted to know what I knew. I wanted the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNo more than you,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">He was right, he\u2019d barely been with us a month. Cameron impressed though, he could sing harmonies like a choir boy\u2014Rex put him in the Collective almost immediately. I asked Cameron what he wanted. He looked at me like I was crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHow should I know?\u201d He patted me on the shoulder, told me he needed to catch some sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">Everything was being ratcheted up, amplified. Rex wouldn\u2019t stop talking about good and evil during the following days. I wasn\u2019t sure which we were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThe law has nothing on us,\u201d Rex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI\u2019m not concerned with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSo what then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat\u2019re we even doing here anymore?\u201d I pointed to all the random people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rex looked hurt. \u201cYou are my best friend. We started this together\u2014no?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I thought back to the train platform, to oblivion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWill you do this for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">What could I say? I was ready to keep times good, had been for longer than I even knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">Two days later I was in town picking up a few baker\u2019s dozen, it was my turn to grab morning bagels. I got the bagels and was having coffee on the bench outside the place when a car screeched up. Out came the same cop from the station, this time the smile was gone. Turns out he was a detective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSorry about the other day,\u201d Detective Rizza said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cIt\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYou know, I saw you play back in the day,\u201d Rizza said. He came over and sat next to me on the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I considered offering him a bagel but decided not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cMan, could you hit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cMy younger brother played for Tech, played you in the 5-A state championship. What did you go? Four for <em>four<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cFive for five,\u201d I said, then snapped my head away from him. \u201cI get what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cDo you really have a brother?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cYeah,\u201d I said, looking him in the eye. \u201cI get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWill you help us?\u201d Detective Rizza rose from the bench and loomed over me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHelp you? With what?\u201d I was starting to become bothered, I\u2019d done nothing but get great at bass and grow tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWe, <em>I<\/em>, believe you\u2019re on the inside,\u201d Detective Rizza said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAre you high?\u201d I leapt from the bench, started to pace. \u201cSo\u2026what\u2014you want me to wear a <em>wire<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Detective Rizza cracked a half-smile. \u201cThis is a county investigation, it\u2019s not that involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I didn\u2019t know which way to go. What Detective Rizza told me didn\u2019t make zero sense, but still, he was a cop, a liar in the first degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Back at the station I couldn\u2019t think straight, couldn\u2019t connect strings, decipher the reason. As I was being interrogated they drugged me with coffee and didn\u2019t let me eat any of my bagels. It lasted ten minutes or ten hours, I wasn\u2019t sure. Detective Rizza asked about the event, the Mission. I couldn\u2019t speak, I dropped my head to the desk, worked on my triads: 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 3<sup>rd<\/sup>, 5<sup>th<\/sup>, 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 3<sup>rd<\/sup>, 5<sup>th<\/sup>, 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 3<sup>rd<\/sup>, 5<sup>th<\/sup>, etc. I tapped my fingers on his desk like code until he told me to quit it. Then he gave it to me straight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cCameron works for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNo way,\u201d I said. This didn\u2019t make a lick of sense. I didn\u2019t react responsibly, I flailed. \u201c<em>Cameron<\/em>? Fuck you! You a Latter Day Saint or something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">At this Rizza finally cracked. \u201cKid, really?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">Cameron couldn\u2019t be trusted. I wanted to tell Rex right way but couldn\u2019t. For some reason, I still had an affinity for Cameron. I quickly thought about what I had, my entire life\u2014it didn\u2019t add up to much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI think we should get rid of some of these people,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cGet <em>rid<\/em> of who?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cJust the non-essential\u2019s, like everyone who doesn\u2019t play an instrument\u2026some of the girls?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of people,\u201d Rex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWell sure,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat\u2019s this really about?\u201d Rex put a caring hand on my shoulder. \u201cYou know, they say these things happen in your early twenties\u2014are you experiencing some sort of break?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Had he been speaking with my mom behind my back? \u201cBreak from what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cAll of this,\u201d Rex said, seeming to suggest the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;Who is Cameron?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Suddenly Rex slapped me across the face. \u201cYou know what I\u2019ve done here? <em>We\u2019ve<\/em> done here. This is our place, our sanctuary\u2014we built it from the ground up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThe cops\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cPigs,\u201d Rex said. \u201cThey want me out of this house, is all. Ghouls want to sell it for double. Someone is leaning on them for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cThey\u2019re tapping our shit, trust me. We\u2019ve been <em>infiltrated<\/em>. Listen, talk to Cameron\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cEnough,\u201d Rex said. \u201cYou\u2019re my best friend, I\u2019ve never had a friend quite like you, but I won\u2019t hear of it. Cameron is one if us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Suddenly I noticed Rex was drunk, I\u2019d seen him drink a ton but had never once even seen him buzzed. \u201cAre we going to be taking any more young girls?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cBrother,\u201d Rex said, grabbing my face between his hands, \u201cwe are keeping times good, remember? It\u2019s all part of it.\u201d Rex stumbled back, turning for the house. Just then I noticed his fly was down. Part of me wanted to hurry over and help him zip it back up, he still had that power, that sway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\">Sometime in the night Rex woke me from a dream. He was standing over me panting with his teeth chattering. He grabbed me out of bed with force, and at once we went on with the festival preparations. \u201cIt\u2019s been moved up!\u201d Rex was going in many different directions. \u201cIt happens tonight!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Everyone was hopping around the house, setting up the stage; tuning guitars. Slater handed me a large green pill, I swallowed it dry. I was the only one who seemed panicked. Cameron didn\u2019t seem to be around. Troubled, I asked Rex for his whereabouts. Rex told Slater to show me where he was, he didn\u2019t have the time. Slater took me to the basement stairs, told me he was down there. \u00a0As soon as I took a step down, Slater closed and locked the door. \u201cSorry brother,\u201d Slater said, \u201cbang if you see the devil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I was alone in the dark. I heard clanging and footfalls above, my head pounded, sanity was knocking. I sat down on the cold cement, hugged my knees to my chest. I heard myself repeating a mantra: Keep Times Good, Keep Times Good. Cameron wasn\u2019t down here. Eons later I heard the door open, creaking on the basement steps. It was one of the t-shirt girls, Mary something or other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cHurry up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I followed her back up the stairs, my vision spotty, eyes burning as they met light. Once my vision cleared up I saw Rex in front of me holding a rucksack. He pressed it to my chest. \u201cSorry brother, had to be sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">That\u2019s when I saw Cameron tied up in the corner. His face was roughed up, looked like he\u2019d been worked over pretty good. \u201cJesus,\u201d I said. \u201cThe hell?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cNo time,\u201d Rex said, \u201cwe are adapting. Our friend here hipped me to some information\u2014festival is off. Time to take this thing of ours on the road. Big tour, all fifty states, well, forty-eight. But we\u2019ve got to leave <em>now<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I had no time to think, even if I could, would that have helped? I threw the rucksack over my shoulders, grabbed my guitar from my room. \u201cWhat do we do with him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Rex pondered this for a moment. \u201cLeave him, cut him loose\u2014is there a difference? Either way, it\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">There was a funny, sweet smell in the air. I pulled Cameron loosed from the ropes, told him there was no hard feelings. He looked at me like I had two heads and sprinted for the front door. I followed him out, the van was loaded up and waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Mary something or other tossed me a t-shirt. It read: \u201cRex &amp; The Good Timers, The Manifest Destiny Tour.\u201d On the back there were tour dates. \u201cYou work fast,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cI\u2019ve got my own silk screening gear.\u201d She smiled and got in the van, pushed her way to the front and climbed on Rex\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I stood there looking back at the compound. Most of the equipment was still rigged in back, in fact, the lights were on and a song was blaring over the speakers. That\u2019s when I noticed the house was on fire. It happened that quickly, there was loud popping and snapping as the roof caved in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I jumped into the van and slammed the door. Slater gassed it, kicking up gravel as we banged down the entry road. \u201cListen gang, I get that was drastic, but we needed to act fast. Sometimes, it\u2019s more important to feel good than to be good.\u201d Rex took out his acoustic and started picking. \u201cThat\u2019s a lesson, brothers. Now, we are still a community, all future decisions will still be made collectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">As we crested the hill on the byway that led to the still distant Turnpike, I could faintly hear sirens over Rex\u2019s gentle strumming. And just then as the morning light began to push into the darkness, I recognized the real tour started now. Up ahead I could already see the kaleidoscope of lights, all reds and blues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Joe Farley<\/strong> is a writer and teacher from North Jersey. His fiction has been published in <em>Bridge Eight, Brilliant Flash Fiction, The South Carolina Review, Weber<\/em>\u2014<em>The Contemporary West<\/em>, among other places. He lives in Denver, where he was selected a Denver Literacy Fellow. He has taught reading and writing to underserved sections of the Denver Public School System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2022\/06\/22\/upon-returning-from-a-leadership-convention-in-hawaii-the-superintendent-addresses-the-school-board-of-carlson-county-pennsylvania-by-neil-connelly\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2022\/09\/15\/two-lone-voices\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Keep Times Good (Or the League to Save the Good Times) Joe Farley __________ Rex liked to have a good time. Rex liked to ensure everyone else was having a good time. Rex liked to keep times good. He played the towns centennial party. He played the townie bars, the basement bangers, the Knights of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[243,135],"tags":[75,134,133,26],"class_list":["post-14299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boudin-2022","category-boudin-september-22-edition","tag-boudin","tag-joefarley","tag-september22edition","tag-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14299"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21328,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14299\/revisions\/21328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}