TOUGH
Apr. May 2005 • fiction Tough by Phil Jones Ask people about their hometowns, and they'll roll it out for you, thick as asphalt. Maybe the hockey team slogged their way to the nationals, or a local bone bunny landed a bit part in some movie. Whatever the shred of glory, they'll blow air up its ass until it's bigger than a Goodyear blimp . That's just the way people are. I don't even try to fool myself. My hometown is a hole. The hockey team's not good for much, and no one from here ever showed up on TV or the big screen. The only thing Charlton River is known for is a bad temper: a place where full-grown men brawl like sea lions on the downtown streets. So far they've just been stories, but that ends tonight. Tonight we find out for ourselves. After the lies are told and dark has fallen, my best pal Ricky Knowles and I start for town. The trip is dicey. Two young kids are easy picking for gangs. We keep to backroads and alleys, diving...