it was too early to be so angry

the cars sat parked on the highway

angry faces glared into mirrors at angry faces staring back

somewhere ahead angry men shouted at angry men and held up the whole works

the angry wail of sirens filled the unmoving roads

soon angry men in uniforms would make angry men move broken down vehicles so angry men could make it to work late

there angry bosses would angrily bemoan the angry customers

instead i enter a quiet bar

eggs and greasy bacon from the stoic bartender and a tall glass of beer with a short shot of whiskey

he watched the angry newswoman report the news that made everyone angry

the weatherman in his brightly colored suit showed a radar of an angry storm threatening the coast

i ate and watched and drank and watched and ordered more

eventually the cars started moving outside

i kept drinking

ignored the news and kept my head down

the bartender didn’t care

i like him

everyone is so pissed off these days he muttered as he pulled the handle and filled my glass

like they all forgot how to smile

i nodded and set some bills on the sticky bar

he poured himself a shot and raised it to me

here’s to getting drunk and not turning out like them

i could drink to that