The Wages, An Illustrated Story | 11. Masterstroke | Vanity Of Vanities
Another man's voice bellowed, “Help! Lester’s Flooring is overstocked and it’s driven us insane! We’ve slashed prices like crazy!”
I worried about Lester and his staff’s sanity before I realized that he was just paying for the airtime for my song. I turned toward the cash register and felt like the store continued to spin when I stopped. I whispered, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
I hurried and paid for the antacid and the hairbrush while the radio described the weather and traffic. I marched out the door to the opening chords of ‘Afternoon Delight’ and began my walk back to the tiny bungalow on Christie Street. I could not wait for everyone to get home, so I could tell my family that I had heard myself on a pop station when I hadn't even heard myself on country radio yet!
Crystal's drums were on the air with me. She seemed so in control of her contributions, while I felt like I had built a runaway train around myself and forgotten to add the brakes.