Goodman
Comes now the story of Goodman.
Goodman was a young man who lived in a big city. Like most young people in a modern urban setting, Goodman spent much of his time out. By out, he was out working, out at clubs, out with women, out dining, just out.
But in a big city, being out costs money. For Goodman, this was no exception. He enjoyed being out and having fun. He enjoyed spending time with women.
But given that such activities cost money, he had to make a living. He had a college education and like many people his age, he was wracked with student loan debt. His degree didn’t come with privileges of a high-paying job.
Goodman knew that his only way of keeping his lifestyle meant that he had to find a hustle.
He prayed to the moon and asked for advice about what he should do. The moon warned Goodman that he had to be careful about his brash and hasty behavior. He should temper his desires and be more mindful about how he spent his time and money.
Goodman ignored the moon. He wanted to live the way he wanted.
So he scoured around the city and came upon a man standing outside an alley. The man stood on the sidewalk and behind him in the alley was a foldout table with a cloth draped over a heap of something or other.
Goodman asked the man what was under the cloth and the man said that it was his product.
Without asking, Goodman reached over and pulled the cloth off. On the table sat a pile of gold watches.
The man, angered at Goodman’s insolence, told Goodman that he sold fake watches. Goodman said that wasn’t an honest living and the man responded that it was honest because he told his customers that the watches were not genuine.
Goodman asked if he could join in the man’s business. The man gave him a suspicious glance but then nodded his head. He said Goodman could partner with him but to prove his worthiness, he had to run a job for him.
Eager to show that he could be trusted, Goodman accepted. The man smiled and said that he needed Goodman to pick up some inventory for him.
But it wasn’t just any inventory, the man said. It was a load of stolen watches. The watches were kept by another man who lived in the sketchy side of the city in a tin shack. The police were familiar with the watch peddler so the man said he could no longer go to get the watches as he usually did.
Goodman was unknown to police and he could easily go in, get the watches and then leave, the man explained.
So Goodman accepted the task and then left for the tin shack. He took the train to the neighborhood rather than drive his car. He did not want risk getting pulled over in the area and have his license plate numbers registered with police.
So he arrived at the tin shack on foot and went inside.
An old man greeted him at the door with a smile. Apparently, the watch peddler had warned the tin shack dweller about Goodman coming to see him.
The man shook Goodman’s hand and then walked away into another room. He returned with a shoe box and handed it to Goodman. The box was light and rattled. It felt like something small and metallic. The box was closed with tape.
The man told Goodman not to open it. Goodman ignored him and pulled open the box. Inside was a single watch.
The man grew angry. He reached under the cushion of his ragged couch and pulled out a gun.
The man reminded Goodman that he said not to open the box.
Goodman pleaded with the man and asked his forgiveness.
The man did not hear any of it and then pulled the trigger, striking Goodman in the chest.