Categories > Celebrities > Slipknot > Pain Lies on the Riverside
Welcome Back
0 reviewsDue to "ridiculous" circumstances, a man is forced to return home to Des Moines where he meets new friends (and their stories) as well as dealing with his past.
1Original
The Fishing Village was a growing seafood restaurant located in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the brainchild of a man named Tom Merriman, who had dreamed of opening a new seafood restaurant since his college years. Soon, in 2004, he was able to invest and open a restaurant. He hired cooks, fishermen and others to help it thrive. But in 2009, that all started to change for the worse. But before we get to what happened there, I should point out that Tom was a very hardworking man, but he was also dishonest. He underpaid certain workers, and he soon became pretty cheap with the equipment fishermen needed. He even overpriced the dishes.
Still, for a time people came and dined, and his employees still worked for him.
But what the customers—and his employees—didn’t know was that some time in 2008 he harbored even bigger dreams. Yeah, suddenly he wanted it to be as successful as Long John Silver’s, which was located a couple blocks away. And he knew with the profit he earned before, it was not going to work. Plus a couple workers were demanding a raise. So he made a mistake and got a crime family to help him out. Now, this went all well until he got desperate around summer 2009.
He stole the money that was going to be sent to another crime family, and caused uproar. One of the don’s brothers stormed in Tom’s house and demanded the money. So this is what Tom said, and here’s the kicker; “I heard some of my workers talking about stealing the money a couple weeks ago!”
Did you all get that, readers? He pretty much framed his own workers. And this is where the story begins.
Two cooks and a janitor turned up missing soon after, and everyone else were starting to get worried. One tall fisherman was just coming back to his house when he found out that a neighbor was killed in her own home. It turned out that the cohorts got the wrong address. The guy was even more worried about what was going on. Soon a fellow fisherman, having recently found out the whole story, told everything to the tall man.
There was only one thing for him to do; get the fuck out of Jacksonville until this whole thing blew over. That was what his co-worker was going to do anyway, but to New York.
The tall guy, James Donald Root would go there too, except he didn’t know anyone in the Big Apple. So, and he hated this, he had no choice but to go back to the state where he grew up in—Iowa.
James (or Jim) found out that his parents were living in Des Moines, and he (and he really hated this) asked to stay at their house until he found somewhere to live. He didn’t dare tell them the truth because his dad wouldn’t let him stay had he did (plus his dad loved /The Sopranos/). Only that a tropical storm destroyed his house. And they believed them. They were gullible people anyway (his mother is now very senile), and that wasn’t surprising because Jim never told his parents what he was doing all that much anyway.
It must have been humiliating for Jim, to be a grown man in his mid-thirties living in his parent’s house. He couldn’t stand his parents, and he still can’t. It was one of the reasons why he moved away to Jacksonville in the first place. He often thought of his life there, doing what he loved—fishing. He also played in gigs with a band in local bars and clubs. That and fishing for seafood restaurants provided income for him. In Des Moines, he finally got a job working at a car shop for now.
Months had passed and Jim decided that he couldn’t be near his parents any longer. No, they had to pressure him about getting a wife. His mother even set up blind dates. Yeah, that was the signal to find an apartment.
This brings us to the first chapter of this story. Jim is downtown, having just stopped by for lunch at Subway. He figured that it’s okay to splurge a little. He is frustrated as well, because he is unable to find any openings for any apartment at the moment. He also wishes that he had his car. He left it back in Jacksonville because then those cohorts would get suspicious, at least that’s what the other guy told him.
He is just crossing the street, trying to think of what he’s going to do with his life back here, when a car suddenly rushes through the street, frightening everybody. The car speeds down Jim’s direction, and before he knows it, the driver honks his horn, trying to get Jim to get the fuck out of the way. Jim hears it, and his eyes widen. He swears and quickly moves out of the way, and the car screeches, stopping over to its right.
Two police cars follow suit and the other car crashes into a pole. Everyone is just looking over at the scene now, chattering at what just happened. Three of the folks are jut staring in disbelief as the police officers arrest the criminal. The older woman gasps at where Jim is just getting off the ground, looking disoriented. “Oh my god! That stupid car hit that man!” Two younger men look up at her.
“...no it didn’t!” one replies.
“Yes it did, Charlie,” she mutters. “Stop being so blind and let’s help him out.” She crosses the street. Her son rolls his eyes and follows. The other, whose arms are covered with tattoos, scratches his head and follows them.
“Pretty sure he moved out of the way,” he says quietly to himself.
The woman and his son Charlie Dillon walk over to Jim, and the woman asks, “Oh my god, honey, are you okay? How bad did the car hit you, honey?” Jim still feels a bit disoriented and in disbelief, and he just now realizes that there are people talking to him. So this isn’t a nightmare after all. His heart stops beating rapidly after a moment.
The only thing he can reply to her question is, “What?” Charlie and the other guy sigh at this.
“How bad did the car hit you?”
Jim makes sure his glasses aren’t broken or anything, and then he looks over at the scene. He shakes his head, dusting the dirt off his pants. “I...I don’t think that car hit me at all.”
“Oh nonsense! Yes it did and you’re badly hurt.”
“Mom, the car did not hit the guy,” Charlie mutters.
“Shut /up/.”
“Do you at least have any scratches on you?” the other man asks.
Jim shrugs. “I don’t know yet.”
The woman sighs. “We should get him in to emergency. Sid, can you call 911?”
The man known as Sid Wilson simply stares at her. “Lorraine, the guy isn’t injured! He might have scratches, though.” He turns to Jim. “Where do you live, man?”
Jim stares at all three of them, wondering why the hell they all are up in his face. He’s fine. He knows he’s fine. He’ll check out his knee when he gets home. He offers a reassuring smile. “You know, really guys, I’m fine. I just gotta get home.”
Lorraine doesn’t listen. “Okay, he’s delusional. Let’s get him into the hospital.”
Sid rolls his eyes. “I’ll just get him into my house and see if I have something to fix anything.”
Lorraine scoffs. “Are you a doctor?!”
“No.”
“Then leave it to the professionals. I’ll take him to the hospital and you two go on and do whatever you were doing.” She pauses. “What were you two doing?”
“We were showing you that new bar.”
“...really?”
“Oh god.” Charlie rushes over to Sid and whispers. “That medicine’s getting to her. Just say you’re taking him to the hospital and go home. I’ll take her home before she gets even more disoriented.”
“Gotcha.” Sid turns to Lorraine and says, “All right, Lorraine. I’m taking him to the hospital.”
“Well finally,” Lorraine mutters.
Jim sighs, wondering if they’re ever going to get the message. “Guys, I really don’t need to go to the hospital.”
Sid looks over at Jim. “Yes, you do need to go to the hospital.” He winks at the tall man, trying to get the guy to play along. When Sid realizes that he doesn’t, he walks over and whispers, “Just agree that you’re going to the hospital. I’ll take you to my place and we’ll see if you have any scratches.”
Jim blinks at that, looking over at the fretting Lorraine, and he whispers, “I really prefer to do that over at my own house.”
“Well, I’ll take you home, then. But just agree to go to the hospital so we can go already.”
“Fine.” He walks over to Lorraine and speaks, “Ma’am? Um, ma’am?” He taps her gently, and Lorraine turns to the tall guy. “I just want to say—”
“How did you get so tall?” she asks.
“...um, I just want to say thank you for being concerned with me. I’m going to got to the hospital right now and see what the doctor has to say.”
Lorraine grins at that. “Well, good. Now what’s your name again?”
“James Root.”
“Well, James. I’m Lorraine.” She jerks her thumb at Charlie. “This is my son Charlie,” and she gestures to Sid, “and this is our friend Sid Wilson. He’s the one that will take you to the hospital.” Jim nods at everybody and Sid sighs.
“Okay, let’s go. Car’s this way,” he says to Jim as they leave out.
Lorraine and Charlie watch them go, and the woman giggles. “James Root. Has a nice ring to it. I think he’s very cute. Don’t you think so?”
Charlie slowly turns to his mother, disturbed by that remark.
Still, for a time people came and dined, and his employees still worked for him.
But what the customers—and his employees—didn’t know was that some time in 2008 he harbored even bigger dreams. Yeah, suddenly he wanted it to be as successful as Long John Silver’s, which was located a couple blocks away. And he knew with the profit he earned before, it was not going to work. Plus a couple workers were demanding a raise. So he made a mistake and got a crime family to help him out. Now, this went all well until he got desperate around summer 2009.
He stole the money that was going to be sent to another crime family, and caused uproar. One of the don’s brothers stormed in Tom’s house and demanded the money. So this is what Tom said, and here’s the kicker; “I heard some of my workers talking about stealing the money a couple weeks ago!”
Did you all get that, readers? He pretty much framed his own workers. And this is where the story begins.
Two cooks and a janitor turned up missing soon after, and everyone else were starting to get worried. One tall fisherman was just coming back to his house when he found out that a neighbor was killed in her own home. It turned out that the cohorts got the wrong address. The guy was even more worried about what was going on. Soon a fellow fisherman, having recently found out the whole story, told everything to the tall man.
There was only one thing for him to do; get the fuck out of Jacksonville until this whole thing blew over. That was what his co-worker was going to do anyway, but to New York.
The tall guy, James Donald Root would go there too, except he didn’t know anyone in the Big Apple. So, and he hated this, he had no choice but to go back to the state where he grew up in—Iowa.
James (or Jim) found out that his parents were living in Des Moines, and he (and he really hated this) asked to stay at their house until he found somewhere to live. He didn’t dare tell them the truth because his dad wouldn’t let him stay had he did (plus his dad loved /The Sopranos/). Only that a tropical storm destroyed his house. And they believed them. They were gullible people anyway (his mother is now very senile), and that wasn’t surprising because Jim never told his parents what he was doing all that much anyway.
It must have been humiliating for Jim, to be a grown man in his mid-thirties living in his parent’s house. He couldn’t stand his parents, and he still can’t. It was one of the reasons why he moved away to Jacksonville in the first place. He often thought of his life there, doing what he loved—fishing. He also played in gigs with a band in local bars and clubs. That and fishing for seafood restaurants provided income for him. In Des Moines, he finally got a job working at a car shop for now.
Months had passed and Jim decided that he couldn’t be near his parents any longer. No, they had to pressure him about getting a wife. His mother even set up blind dates. Yeah, that was the signal to find an apartment.
This brings us to the first chapter of this story. Jim is downtown, having just stopped by for lunch at Subway. He figured that it’s okay to splurge a little. He is frustrated as well, because he is unable to find any openings for any apartment at the moment. He also wishes that he had his car. He left it back in Jacksonville because then those cohorts would get suspicious, at least that’s what the other guy told him.
He is just crossing the street, trying to think of what he’s going to do with his life back here, when a car suddenly rushes through the street, frightening everybody. The car speeds down Jim’s direction, and before he knows it, the driver honks his horn, trying to get Jim to get the fuck out of the way. Jim hears it, and his eyes widen. He swears and quickly moves out of the way, and the car screeches, stopping over to its right.
Two police cars follow suit and the other car crashes into a pole. Everyone is just looking over at the scene now, chattering at what just happened. Three of the folks are jut staring in disbelief as the police officers arrest the criminal. The older woman gasps at where Jim is just getting off the ground, looking disoriented. “Oh my god! That stupid car hit that man!” Two younger men look up at her.
“...no it didn’t!” one replies.
“Yes it did, Charlie,” she mutters. “Stop being so blind and let’s help him out.” She crosses the street. Her son rolls his eyes and follows. The other, whose arms are covered with tattoos, scratches his head and follows them.
“Pretty sure he moved out of the way,” he says quietly to himself.
The woman and his son Charlie Dillon walk over to Jim, and the woman asks, “Oh my god, honey, are you okay? How bad did the car hit you, honey?” Jim still feels a bit disoriented and in disbelief, and he just now realizes that there are people talking to him. So this isn’t a nightmare after all. His heart stops beating rapidly after a moment.
The only thing he can reply to her question is, “What?” Charlie and the other guy sigh at this.
“How bad did the car hit you?”
Jim makes sure his glasses aren’t broken or anything, and then he looks over at the scene. He shakes his head, dusting the dirt off his pants. “I...I don’t think that car hit me at all.”
“Oh nonsense! Yes it did and you’re badly hurt.”
“Mom, the car did not hit the guy,” Charlie mutters.
“Shut /up/.”
“Do you at least have any scratches on you?” the other man asks.
Jim shrugs. “I don’t know yet.”
The woman sighs. “We should get him in to emergency. Sid, can you call 911?”
The man known as Sid Wilson simply stares at her. “Lorraine, the guy isn’t injured! He might have scratches, though.” He turns to Jim. “Where do you live, man?”
Jim stares at all three of them, wondering why the hell they all are up in his face. He’s fine. He knows he’s fine. He’ll check out his knee when he gets home. He offers a reassuring smile. “You know, really guys, I’m fine. I just gotta get home.”
Lorraine doesn’t listen. “Okay, he’s delusional. Let’s get him into the hospital.”
Sid rolls his eyes. “I’ll just get him into my house and see if I have something to fix anything.”
Lorraine scoffs. “Are you a doctor?!”
“No.”
“Then leave it to the professionals. I’ll take him to the hospital and you two go on and do whatever you were doing.” She pauses. “What were you two doing?”
“We were showing you that new bar.”
“...really?”
“Oh god.” Charlie rushes over to Sid and whispers. “That medicine’s getting to her. Just say you’re taking him to the hospital and go home. I’ll take her home before she gets even more disoriented.”
“Gotcha.” Sid turns to Lorraine and says, “All right, Lorraine. I’m taking him to the hospital.”
“Well finally,” Lorraine mutters.
Jim sighs, wondering if they’re ever going to get the message. “Guys, I really don’t need to go to the hospital.”
Sid looks over at Jim. “Yes, you do need to go to the hospital.” He winks at the tall man, trying to get the guy to play along. When Sid realizes that he doesn’t, he walks over and whispers, “Just agree that you’re going to the hospital. I’ll take you to my place and we’ll see if you have any scratches.”
Jim blinks at that, looking over at the fretting Lorraine, and he whispers, “I really prefer to do that over at my own house.”
“Well, I’ll take you home, then. But just agree to go to the hospital so we can go already.”
“Fine.” He walks over to Lorraine and speaks, “Ma’am? Um, ma’am?” He taps her gently, and Lorraine turns to the tall guy. “I just want to say—”
“How did you get so tall?” she asks.
“...um, I just want to say thank you for being concerned with me. I’m going to got to the hospital right now and see what the doctor has to say.”
Lorraine grins at that. “Well, good. Now what’s your name again?”
“James Root.”
“Well, James. I’m Lorraine.” She jerks her thumb at Charlie. “This is my son Charlie,” and she gestures to Sid, “and this is our friend Sid Wilson. He’s the one that will take you to the hospital.” Jim nods at everybody and Sid sighs.
“Okay, let’s go. Car’s this way,” he says to Jim as they leave out.
Lorraine and Charlie watch them go, and the woman giggles. “James Root. Has a nice ring to it. I think he’s very cute. Don’t you think so?”
Charlie slowly turns to his mother, disturbed by that remark.
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