life rattle show no. 1259

Presented on THURSDAY, june 6, 2013

Hosted by virginia ashberry

featuring

"Stoker"
and
"The Blower Incident"

by Mike Faye

tonight's Show

Tonight, Life Rattle Number 1259, features two classic stories in a series about a summer job written by Life Rattle writer Mike Faye.

Mike Faye was born in London, Ontario in 1980, the youngest of five children. The family moved to Oakville when Mike was just a few months old. He grew up and went to school in Oakville, then move on to studies in the Communications Culture and Information Technology program at the University of Toronto.

Last month, on Life Rattle No. 1254, I played two of Mike’s stories about a university student looking for summer employment. The narrator finds work with Brock Landscaping, a shoddy outfit run by the rough, loud, bossy owner with no use for university students. He puts the narrator to work on a team with Jim, a guy in his forties and Kris, the boss’ wife. Jim and Kris seem to want to do as little work and smoke as many cigarettes as possible. The young narrator soon adapts to the lethargy.

In the first instalment of Mike’s stories, Brock added another member to their team in hopes of increasing their work output, a sixteen-year-old who started the day with enthusiasm that irritated the rest of the crew, then was found in the afternoon, sprawled unconscious across the front seat of the company truck, overdosed on cocaine.

Tonight's program includes the next two stories in the series: "Stoker" and "The Blower Incident," perfectly droll, honest and finely paced stories about the summer job experience of a University student.

I think half our listeners will have shared this kind of hell, and the other half may be living it right now.

Either way, everyone will enjoy a guilty vicarious thrill listening to Mike’s experience.

Please note: tonight’s stories, written for and about adults, include language that some listeners may find offensive. Parental discretion is advised.