Poppy.

It is 10:30 am on the road of Crows, it is a gloomy cloudy morning with a slight drizzling rain that softly beats down on the pavement in front of her car, as she makes her way east towards Brighton, near Junction 26. Her name is Sandra Kinnard, and she has heard some wonderful stories about the amazing wildlife that lives here on Crows Crossing Road, she is especially curious about the birds in particular, and even a dreary morning such as this cannot curb that curiosity.

She has driven all of the way from the big city of Covington, a distance of two hundred miles, three hours behind the wheel, for one opportunity to photograph just one perfect Crow. Ahead she spots a likely candidate, perched on a wooden post amongst the remnants of a barbed wire fence that once descended down into the empty field that lye green and still beside the woodlands. She takes her eyes off of the road for a mere second, and a large man running in the rain enters into her peripheral vision. She slams on the brakes to avoid hitting him, she looks up and the man has disappeared. But the Crow has landed on the front fender of her vehicle.

Past Imperfect.




January 25th 1972.
No one ever really knew what had brought former heavyweight boxer Joey “Poppy” Pappas to the small town of Brighton in the fall of nineteen seventy two. He kept to himself mostly, and could often be found jogging outside the city limits along Crows Crossing Road, Though most of the adults that understood who Poppy was, they knew why he talked with a slow seemingly deliberate slur, and why he stammered a bit from time to time. Most of the high school kids just thought he was mentally retarded and often found ways to amuse themselves by harassing the simple giant, with their childish name calling and taunts, mostly Poppy was just trying to get in a little jogging and would just smile at them and continue on his way giving little thought or attention to the tantrums of youthful hooligans.
It was true that fighting in the heavyweight division for thirteen years had made him a bit slow in the thinking department, but Poppy still knew the difference between right and wrong, and if you were a man and a young lady needed help you gave it to her. Period.




It is on a cold drizzling late afternoon when Poppy finds himself jogging once again along Crows Crossing Road, in the distance he sees a single car pulled off of the road near the trees, as he draws near he can tell that there are two occupants in it, one of them lets out a scream that immediately draws his attention, he approaches the vehicle to see a young man holding down a girl in the back seat trying to force himself on her. Poppy, without a second thought opens the door and yanks the young man from the vehicle throwing him some twenty feet into the weeds. The boy is stunned to see him, and even more stunned to hear him speak.
“That’s quite enough son, the little lady said ‘No’ so its no.” go home and sleep off that booze that’s got your head on crooked boy, before ol Poppy turns your spoiled behind over his knee.”
He helps the young girl from the vehicle and wraps her up in his coat, allowing the boy to get in the car and return home, while Poppy walks the girl back to Brighton.

Revenge.



For all of his sixteen years, Chad Telfa’s parents had rarely told him no, High school jocks of the area usually got whatever they wanted, and Chad Telfa was team captain of both of the boys varsity football and basketball teams. He always got what he wanted, right up until the time he ran into Joseph “Poppy” Pappas. Jennifer McClendon wasn’t even on the cheer leading squad, and Chad Telfa’s only interest in her was the fact that she was another boys girlfriend. But now something else had Chad Telfa’s interest. Revenge. Revenge on Poppy. He sees Poppy walking down the street carrying a sack of groceries, and along with two of his friends attempts to taunt the ex boxer. He ignores them until the vehicle rolls to a stop, and Chad Telfa gets brave and gets out , he strikes Poppy but doesn’t even budge him. Poppy grabs him by the shirt and lifts the boy off of his feet. now looking him square in the eye.
“Boy.. You’re heading to a bad place, and you best straiten yourself up before you get there.”
He embarrasses Chad Telfa in front of his peers, and instead of heeding the older wiser mans warning the youth becomes even more angry. And now begins to plot his revenge.



One night later he and two other male friends are driving on a rainy afternoon on Crows Crossing Road, they have been drinking and partying all afternoon, and it is here that Chad Telfa gets his chance at revenge. Ahead in the misty light rain Poppy is out for an evening Jog, an angered Chad Telfa has decided to put a scare into him, and steps on the gas, but the alcohol and the slippery pavement impedes his judgment and his car strikes Poppy doing 55 mph. he is thrown some twenty yards into the grass beside of the road, not realizing that Poppy is dead he turns the heavily damaged car around and begins to cheer, the three drunken teenagers continue back onto Crows Crossing Road. But Chad Telfa doesn’t realize that he is now driving on the wrong side of the road and around the next turn, he pays the price, as a fully loaded logging truck hits his damaged vehicle head on, killing all three boys instantly. The car is thrown aside as the logging truck slowly screeches to a halt. The truck driver gets out and sees the vehicle laying on its side beneath a billboard for a local church. On it there was written but a single word.. Repent.

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