Bud Longinteger page 6

Even when I was younger I never payed much attention to people. If I had friends or not it did not matter to me.

I suppose I did have friends but, I never consciously said I want someone to be my friend. I never cared if I had friends or not.

And for that matter I did not miss anyone when they were gone. Missing from school for a day or two. It did not bother me.

I did miss Varenica though. When I was around her I felt so alive. Nothing could make me feel sad.

I was never close to my parents. There were more into work. Dad always worked one hour a day. So we never saw him much.

And mom would work two hours a day so we never see her at all. I pretty much raised myself.

OK, that is all a lie. My parents doted on me. I was their favorite child. And the fact that I was their favorite child is not lessened by the fact that I was their only child.

Writing the above made me realize that Varenica is not only my imaginary friend she is also my imaginary sibling.

I wonder what it would have been like to have a brother or sister? Maybe I don’t want to know. But, sometimes the question rises up in my brain.

Bud Longinteger, page 5

It took me a long time to get comfortable around Varenica. At first I could hardly talk to her.

I would hold my breath when I saw her and my heart would race. A woman I can’t talk to a woman. I suppose Varenica was a girl. She was and still is the same age as I am. I suppose we grew up together.

It took me several minutes each time I went to the pool area to catch my breath and say hi Varenica. I always got so excited to say hi to her. She is so cool. She never gots upset with me. I suppose that is how you know a friend is imaginary.

I never worried about looking weird taking to no one. I am sure people looked at me funny when I would talk to Varenica because they could not see that I was talking to anyone. But, they are not my friends so I ignored them.

Every time I left the pool area I feared that I would never see varenica again. I would be elated that I had spent time with Varenica and a few minutes after I left the pool area my stomach would be in knots thinking about how I might never see her again. And if I never saw her again i would be sad.

Bud Longinteger, page 4

I remember how we met as if it were last year. And it was 20 years ago that I first met Varenica.

I bet it’s more impressive to say that I remember our first meeting like it was last year instead of saying I remember our first meeting like it was 20 years ago.

So let me set the scene. My mother had sent me to the pool area because I was reading a book about music theory.

My mother saw me and screamed there will be no making loud music in this house as she ripped the book away from me. As she did that i began to cry. “Why can’t I learn to make music I sobbed.” Sometimes my mother could be so cruel.

I already said why you could not make music. Why don’t you ever listen to me. You never listen to me.

Because I can’t hear you I said.

Why can’t you hear me she asked.

Because you whisper. She screamed at me to go to the pool area.

“Why?”

“Don’t talk back to me she screamed. Now go to the pool. And so I went to the pool while thinking that I had the worst mother in the word.

And it was there in the pool area bored and lonely out of my mind that I met my best friend for life Varenica.”

I have always been shy around women so I wonder why I chose a women for a imaginary best friend instead of a boy my own age. Some times life throws me a curve ball. And things don’t make sense.

Bud Longinteger, page 3

Thinking about all the times I got sent to the pool in the apartment complex that my parents lived when I was growing up reminds me of a friend of mind.

For the record I have never been much for relations. Either romantic or plain old friendship. I have always put work before any of those things.

Which makes me wonder why the grades I got in school were so bad and why I have been such a failure as an adult in terms of money.

I mean I adore money. Money smells so good. Why hasn’t anyone invented money perfume. You smell like a million bucks someone would say to me at a party. And I could say you are right its the new perfume I have on. Isn’t it fabulous.

Who would not want to smell like money. Maybe people would not want to smell like old money but, newly minted money my gosh I would love to smell like freshly minted money. Wow, wee.

Where was I. Oh, yes when my parents got mad at me they set me to the pool area. And I met an amazing person there. One of my life long friends actually. We are still friends today.

Ladies and gentlemen I am talking about my imaginary friend Varenica

Bud Longinteger page 2

It was not long before my parents got separated. As the song goes first comes separation then comes divorce. Or maybe i have the song wrong. I am not much for song lyrics.

Enough about me. This chapter is about my parents. When my parents got divorced its usually the children that blame themselves. In my case my parents blamed me. They said I dove them apart.

When I asked then how I could drive them apart when I did not know how to drive a car or even have a drivers license then sent me to drivers training. OK, they did not send me to drivers training. They sent me to my room.

I really don’t know how I survived my childhood and grew up to be a maladjusted adult.

I raised me. My parents would disagree I know. Not a moment went by in my childhood that my parents would let go bye without reminding me that I was at fault for their divorce.

Of course eventually after their divorce they moved into different apartments across the hall from each other in the apartment building. It was hell.

I would stay with my father one day and the next day would be spend at my mothers apartment.

Most kids when they get in trouble or do something wrong they get sent to their room. My parents sent me to the pool. I detest swimming and I detest water.

Bud Longinteger page 1

Its hard to know where to start. I don’t think anyone wants to hear about my childhood.

I believe that my childhood is a boring as my adult life. i must start at the beginning. So here it goes. One two, three this story has liftoff.

I was born to Bud and Daisy Longinteger. A married couple most Assuredly not in love. If there is such a think as out of love my parents were surely it.

I knew there was trouble because my folks were always whispering. Lots of quietly shut doors. Most people yell and slam doors not my folks. Just the opposite.

I did not know theirs was a troubled marriage even thought I never saw them sit on the couch and watch TV together.

Mom was a sports woman. She always watched computer city baseball. The sports channel was always on on her TV.

And dad was liked his reality TV. Mother could not stand reality TV.

I should have known something was wrong in their marriage because the had his and hers TV’s.

Maybe before they got married they should have watched TV together. But, maybe its good they got married because now the world has me Bud Longinteger.

Bud Longinteger, Acknowledgments

The author of a little read blog has on his or herself to thank. So I think myself for coming up with this idea. Actually I had written a story called Adventures of Bud on another blog so I thought why not write it on this blog. So I don’t have to write spaceWoman all the time. Now I have another story to write. Thank you to myself. So again I wish to thank myself. And I also wish to say that I am sure I will regret writing another fiction story. Oh, well.

Bud Longinteger Introduction

I have always wanted to get my life down on paper so that other people can see what not to do. Maybe it could be titled how not to live your life by Bud LongInteger.

I have lived a long and uneventful life so I must have done a few things right. But, maybe you the reader think a long uneventful life is not a life you want to live. Which is fine. Think what you want.

Sometimes I wish I had been an astronaut or a entomologist. But, I can’t go back in time. I am old now. Those are professions for a young man. So they are not for me.

I hove you find my life more interesting then I do. I must say my life was not very interesting. And I am sure it will put you to sleep reading about it. But, I wanted to write a certain about of words a day so I came of with this harebrained idea.

By the way I am in my retirement years looking back on a life of mediocrity Enjoy.