October 31, 2024 • 14 mins
This week we meet The Kid. The Kid just wants to shoot some hoops. Get in some practice before his school team tryouts next week.
But inside the old dairy barn out back where his father has hung a hoop, the kid runs into a spooky stranger. The unexpected encounter will have consequences neither of them can imagine.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator, and author. We hear at the ten
minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet the Kid. The kid just wants
(00:47):
to shoot some hopes get in some practice before his
school team tryouts next week. But inside the old dairy
barn outback were his fire has hung a hoop, the
kid runs into a spooky stranger, and the unexpected encounter
(01:07):
will have consequences neither of them can possibly imagine, to
hell and back. The kid loves hoops, loves watching it,
loves playing it. The Knicks or his favorite team, even
though they stink year in and year out. He hopes
(01:31):
one day to play point guard for the Tar Heels,
his father's alma mater, but he knows he needs more
speed and way more height. Right now, he's just worried
about making his middle school basketball team. Tryouts are next week,
right after Thanksgiving break so, even though it's cold outside
(01:54):
and dark and he'd rather chat up Fiona or play
some Fortnite with his buddies, he laces up his nikes
and heads down to the barn to work on his
crossover dribble, left handed layup, and mid range jumper. A
couple years ago, when the kid's interest in hoops really
(02:15):
started to soar, his father converted the old ramshackle dairy
barn out back into an indoor basketbaul haven. He tore
out stalls and hay lofts, installed a new wooden floor,
and put in modern lighting on par with Madison Square Garden.
(02:38):
It's so dark outside the kid can hardly see his
hand in front of his face. He worries about monsters
and aliens and stuff he hasn't even thought of yet
grabbing him in the dark and dragging him into the
woods or down some rabbit hole. Mostly, though he has
conquered his fears brought his imagination under control. Every single day,
(03:04):
several times a day, the kid's mom and especially his
dad assure him he has absolutely nothing to worry about
and nothing to fear the world son, his dad says,
giving him a hug is your oyster fear and horror
play no part. You can have it all, son, You
(03:27):
can have it all, achieve whatever you desire. Your road
ahead is paved in gold. Yes, these are the kinds
of lie's fathers tell their sons. The kid's father never
made the tar heels team, tried every year he was
(03:47):
an undergrad, but never came close. The kid's father never
really had his own father, just a ghost father. The
kid reaches the barn, feels around in the dark until
he finds the big iron door handle. He pulls open
the tall sliding door, waits a nanosecond for something to
(04:10):
spring out and get him grab his face, but the
fear passes, and he steps inside onto the smooth wooden
floor and turns to his left and feels along the
wall for the light switch. Really really dark in here,
pitch black, crazy, scary black. He wonders if he'll always
have fear, if he'll always be afraid. He feels himself shudder,
(04:35):
a ripple down his spine. Finally, he finds the light
switch and flips it up, and instantly the black cavernous
space fills with light as bright as noon on a
sunny summer day. The kid smiles and feels light on
his feet again, but then a low, gnarly voice shouts,
(04:57):
what the fuck. The kid screams and leaps straight up
off the floor, his highest vertical leap. Ever, his instinct
is to bolt, run like the wind, back up to
the house to mom and dad. But kids are curious cats.
They can't help themselves. They're still in awe of the world,
(05:19):
even the scary shit, maybe even the scary shit the most.
So before he bolts, he turns, and he quick takes
a peek, and sure enough sees over in the far corner,
sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, a basketball
in his lap, A man, an old man at least
(05:40):
the kid thinks he's old, greasy gray hair, lines on
his cheeks as deep as ravines, ratty looking clothes. The kid,
his voice trembling, asks who are you? Who am I?
The old dude grumbles, well, what the fuck are you? Ah?
(06:00):
The kid? The kid, Robert's kid. Yes, well, kid, I'm
your grandfather. WHOA what that's right? You're old man's old man?
That's me, No way. The old man laughs, lifts the
pint of cheap bourbon off the floor and swigs a snootful.
(06:22):
I am who I am, Kid, I am who I am,
and not a fucking thing on God's green earth can
change that. Shit happens in life, and no amount of lies,
no amount of drugs, no amount of distortions can alter
those facts. If it happened, kid, it happened. Oh that's
(06:43):
a mouthful, Yeah, that it is. If you're my grandfather,
Where have you been to Hell and back? Kid? That's
where I've been, to hell and back. I've been where
no one wants to go, where no one wants to talk,
where the battle between good and evil rages and evil wins.
(07:07):
I think I better forget my father, my boy Robert Bobby.
You know, I was a regular Joe when he came
into the world, a goofy, fun loving kid like yourself
who loved riddles and practical jokes. But unfortunately, that poor
devil drew a particularly shitty selective service number. The bastards
(07:31):
drafted him into their army to fight their stinking war. Well,
just before I went, Bobby showed up. I got to
bounce him on my knee and roll around on the
floor with him for a few months before the bastards
flew me to Nam and put an m sixteen in
my hands. You fought in Vietnam, YEP, where I massacred
(07:58):
women and children, lined him up and mowed them down
in the morning, just after dawn, December second, forty six
fucking years later, Kid, I still see their tortured faces
and hear their terrible screams. Murdered them all because one
of them, Hell because one of them might have been
(08:20):
a VC informant. Never clear, never really clear, never confirmed,
but orders or orders, Kid, I don't think you should
be telling me this stuff. I came home, kid, and
I did my best for my wife and son, for
the women and the children. But my best wasn't anywhere
(08:41):
near good enough. I'd been, I'd been rearranged, brain all twisted, chattered.
My old man told me to buck up, told me
to be a man. He's an old World War two vet.
He knew, he knew, told me to buck up. And
the hell I try? Hell, yes, I did. I tried,
(09:01):
couldn't do it, fell to pieces, couldn't get over what
I'd done. I turned to drugs and booze. Kid, drugs
and booze. Slit wrists and more than one attempted hanging
from the rafters. I gotta tell you, this is all
new to me news, right, kid? News? The best news
(09:22):
is no news. No no, no, no, no, not news new.
The stuff you're telling me, it's all new. I didn't know.
The kid trails off. You didn't know your grandfather was
a homeless bum living on the streets. You didn't know
that in and out of VA hospitals and looney bins
from coast to coast. So you really are my grandfather
(09:46):
in the flesh? Kid, my dad's dad. What is this?
Any questions? The kid sees something in the old man's face,
something familiar. Maybe maybe it's the eyes. He hesitates for
several seconds, then slowly crosses to the middle of the
smooth wooden floor. Well, now that you've come, he asks,
(10:13):
Now that you've come, are you going to stay? I
just came to die, Kid, just came to die. You're
not going to die. You're not going to die now,
Like hell, I'm not. The kid steps a little closer.
He's scared, feels all that old fear and dread, but
he also feels something else. He's not sure what it is.
(10:38):
Sadness or maybe kindliness, maybe love, but definitely something besides fear.
Any remaining fear lifts like mourning fog as the kid
steps right up to the old man and kneels in
front of him. He reaches out and hugs the old
man the same way his dag hugs him. Instantly, a
(11:03):
cascade of tears wells up in the grisly old buck's eyes.
The tears run down his tortured face, through the ravines
that dominate his cheeks, and onto his chin, where he
wipes them dry with a ratty shirt sleeve. If you're
going to die, grandfather, says the boy who tonight has
(11:24):
journeyed for the first time to the promised Land. You're
not going You're not going to die alone. The damaged
old cuss weeps like Madonna at the Crucifixion. Thanks for
(11:50):
listening to this original audio presentation of To Hell and Back,
narrated by the author. If you enjoyed to story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
(12:10):
com for additional information about the author and to view
his extensive canon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Pleglici and Josh Colotney and as part of the
Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with iHeart Productions. Until
(12:31):
next time, this is Bill Simpson, your ten minute storyteller,
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator, and author. We hear at the ten
minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet the Kid. The kid just wants
(00:47):
to shoot some hopes get in some practice before his
school team tryouts next week. But inside the old dairy
barn outback were his fire has hung a hoop, the
kid runs into a spooky stranger, and the unexpected encounter
(01:07):
will have consequences neither of them can possibly imagine, to
hell and back. The kid loves hoops, loves watching it,
loves playing it. The Knicks or his favorite team, even
though they stink year in and year out. He hopes
(01:31):
one day to play point guard for the Tar Heels,
his father's alma mater, but he knows he needs more
speed and way more height. Right now, he's just worried
about making his middle school basketball team. Tryouts are next week,
right after Thanksgiving break so, even though it's cold outside
(01:54):
and dark and he'd rather chat up Fiona or play
some Fortnite with his buddies, he laces up his nikes
and heads down to the barn to work on his
crossover dribble, left handed layup, and mid range jumper. A
couple years ago, when the kid's interest in hoops really
(02:15):
started to soar, his father converted the old ramshackle dairy
barn out back into an indoor basketbaul haven. He tore
out stalls and hay lofts, installed a new wooden floor,
and put in modern lighting on par with Madison Square Garden.
(02:38):
It's so dark outside the kid can hardly see his
hand in front of his face. He worries about monsters
and aliens and stuff he hasn't even thought of yet
grabbing him in the dark and dragging him into the
woods or down some rabbit hole. Mostly, though he has
conquered his fears brought his imagination under control. Every single day,
(03:04):
several times a day, the kid's mom and especially his
dad assure him he has absolutely nothing to worry about
and nothing to fear the world son, his dad says,
giving him a hug is your oyster fear and horror
play no part. You can have it all, son, You
(03:27):
can have it all, achieve whatever you desire. Your road
ahead is paved in gold. Yes, these are the kinds
of lie's fathers tell their sons. The kid's father never
made the tar heels team, tried every year he was
(03:47):
an undergrad, but never came close. The kid's father never
really had his own father, just a ghost father. The
kid reaches the barn, feels around in the dark until
he finds the big iron door handle. He pulls open
the tall sliding door, waits a nanosecond for something to
(04:10):
spring out and get him grab his face, but the
fear passes, and he steps inside onto the smooth wooden
floor and turns to his left and feels along the
wall for the light switch. Really really dark in here,
pitch black, crazy, scary black. He wonders if he'll always
have fear, if he'll always be afraid. He feels himself shudder,
(04:35):
a ripple down his spine. Finally, he finds the light
switch and flips it up, and instantly the black cavernous
space fills with light as bright as noon on a
sunny summer day. The kid smiles and feels light on
his feet again, but then a low, gnarly voice shouts,
(04:57):
what the fuck. The kid screams and leaps straight up
off the floor, his highest vertical leap. Ever, his instinct
is to bolt, run like the wind, back up to
the house to mom and dad. But kids are curious cats.
They can't help themselves. They're still in awe of the world,
(05:19):
even the scary shit, maybe even the scary shit the most.
So before he bolts, he turns, and he quick takes
a peek, and sure enough sees over in the far corner,
sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, a basketball
in his lap, A man, an old man at least
(05:40):
the kid thinks he's old, greasy gray hair, lines on
his cheeks as deep as ravines, ratty looking clothes. The kid,
his voice trembling, asks who are you? Who am I?
The old dude grumbles, well, what the fuck are you? Ah?
(06:00):
The kid? The kid, Robert's kid. Yes, well, kid, I'm
your grandfather. WHOA what that's right? You're old man's old man?
That's me, No way. The old man laughs, lifts the
pint of cheap bourbon off the floor and swigs a snootful.
(06:22):
I am who I am, Kid, I am who I am,
and not a fucking thing on God's green earth can
change that. Shit happens in life, and no amount of lies,
no amount of drugs, no amount of distortions can alter
those facts. If it happened, kid, it happened. Oh that's
(06:43):
a mouthful, Yeah, that it is. If you're my grandfather,
Where have you been to Hell and back? Kid? That's
where I've been, to hell and back. I've been where
no one wants to go, where no one wants to talk,
where the battle between good and evil rages and evil wins.
(07:07):
I think I better forget my father, my boy Robert Bobby.
You know, I was a regular Joe when he came
into the world, a goofy, fun loving kid like yourself
who loved riddles and practical jokes. But unfortunately, that poor
devil drew a particularly shitty selective service number. The bastards
(07:31):
drafted him into their army to fight their stinking war. Well,
just before I went, Bobby showed up. I got to
bounce him on my knee and roll around on the
floor with him for a few months before the bastards
flew me to Nam and put an m sixteen in
my hands. You fought in Vietnam, YEP, where I massacred
(07:58):
women and children, lined him up and mowed them down
in the morning, just after dawn, December second, forty six
fucking years later, Kid, I still see their tortured faces
and hear their terrible screams. Murdered them all because one
of them, Hell because one of them might have been
(08:20):
a VC informant. Never clear, never really clear, never confirmed,
but orders or orders, Kid, I don't think you should
be telling me this stuff. I came home, kid, and
I did my best for my wife and son, for
the women and the children. But my best wasn't anywhere
(08:41):
near good enough. I'd been, I'd been rearranged, brain all twisted, chattered.
My old man told me to buck up, told me
to be a man. He's an old World War two vet.
He knew, he knew, told me to buck up. And
the hell I try? Hell, yes, I did. I tried,
(09:01):
couldn't do it, fell to pieces, couldn't get over what
I'd done. I turned to drugs and booze. Kid, drugs
and booze. Slit wrists and more than one attempted hanging
from the rafters. I gotta tell you, this is all
new to me news, right, kid? News? The best news
(09:22):
is no news. No no, no, no, no, not news new.
The stuff you're telling me, it's all new. I didn't know.
The kid trails off. You didn't know your grandfather was
a homeless bum living on the streets. You didn't know
that in and out of VA hospitals and looney bins
from coast to coast. So you really are my grandfather
(09:46):
in the flesh? Kid, my dad's dad. What is this?
Any questions? The kid sees something in the old man's face,
something familiar. Maybe maybe it's the eyes. He hesitates for
several seconds, then slowly crosses to the middle of the
smooth wooden floor. Well, now that you've come, he asks,
(10:13):
Now that you've come, are you going to stay? I
just came to die, Kid, just came to die. You're
not going to die. You're not going to die now,
Like hell, I'm not. The kid steps a little closer.
He's scared, feels all that old fear and dread, but
he also feels something else. He's not sure what it is.
(10:38):
Sadness or maybe kindliness, maybe love, but definitely something besides fear.
Any remaining fear lifts like mourning fog as the kid
steps right up to the old man and kneels in
front of him. He reaches out and hugs the old
man the same way his dag hugs him. Instantly, a
(11:03):
cascade of tears wells up in the grisly old buck's eyes.
The tears run down his tortured face, through the ravines
that dominate his cheeks, and onto his chin, where he
wipes them dry with a ratty shirt sleeve. If you're
going to die, grandfather, says the boy who tonight has
(11:24):
journeyed for the first time to the promised Land. You're
not going You're not going to die alone. The damaged
old cuss weeps like Madonna at the Crucifixion. Thanks for
(11:50):
listening to this original audio presentation of To Hell and Back,
narrated by the author. If you enjoyed to story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
(12:10):
com for additional information about the author and to view
his extensive canon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Pleglici and Josh Colotney and as part of the
Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with iHeart Productions. Until
(12:31):
next time, this is Bill Simpson, your ten minute storyteller,
Host
Bill Simpson
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