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Chapter 1

Let me say this: Everbody makes mistakes, which is why they put a rubber mat around spitoons But take my word for it - don't never let nobody ht or wrong, it don't matter Problem is, people be comin up to you all the time, askin questions, pokin TV caraph, tellin you what a fine feller you are Ha! If bullshit caet me a job as a barrel-maker an have an, an Ivan Bozosky put together Which is a o into in a little bit

But first, let one on in my life in the last ten or so years First, I am ten or so years older, which is not as ray hairs on my head, an I ain't near as fast as I used to be, which is sohtahen I tried to ain

It was down in New Orleans, where I had wound up after everthin else happened, an it was just ot a job sweepin out a strip joint called Wanda's, which didn't close till about three AM, an so I got ht I was just settin there in a corner watchin ht commenced up front They was people hollerin, cussin, thowin chairs, tables, beer bottles, an knockin each other in the head, an women screamin, too I did not think too much of all this, account of it happened about two or three tinized one of the participants

It was a big ole feller with a beer bottle in his hand, swingin it in a way that I had not seen since I was up to the University of Alabama way back when Lo an behole, it was old Snake, the quarterback who one time had thowed the ball out of bounds on fourth down to stop the clock as playin thee Boenty years ago An that, of course, lost us the gao to Vietnam an - well, let's don't worry about all that now

Anyhoent over an grapped the beer bottle frolad to see me he punched me on top of the head, which was a mistake because it sprained his wrist, an he commenced to holler an cuss, an about that time the police showed up an hauled all of us off to jail Now, jail is a place I know somethin about, account of I have been there at various times In theus soun astin if ant to call soet us loose Snake is mad as hell, an he say, "Forrest, ever ti dumb ass, I wind up in hot water Here I ain't seen you in years and look what happens We is thowed in jail!" I just nodded ht

Anyhow somebody come an bail us all out, Snake an his friends an uy is not very happy, an Snake, he ast me, "What in hell were you doin in that dive anyhow?" When I tole hiet a kind of funny look on his face an says, "Hell, Gu srimp company over at Bayou La Batre What happened? You was a millionaire" An I had to tell him the sad story The srimp company went bust

I had left the sriot tired of all the bullshit that co in the hands of my mama an my friends Lieutenant Dan froht ot to say about that Next, Lieutenant Dan calls h ot a letter from the Internal Revenue Service, says I ain't paid my bidness taxes an they is fixin to shut me down an take all the boats an buildins an all, an when I went over there to see as goin on, lo an behole, ain't nothin goin on! All the buildins are about erowin up around the place, an they have done pulled out all the phones an turned the electricity off, an the sheriff has nailed up a paper on the front door sayin we are under "foreclosure"

I gone around to see ole Bubba's daddy to find out what had happened Now, Bubba was my partner an my friend from the army over at Vietnam, which is where he was kilt, but Bubba's daddy had helped et the real story from him He is settin on the stoop of his house, lookin sad, when I walked up

"What is goin on with the srimp bidness?" I ast

He shook his head "Forrest," he says, "it is a sad and sorry thing I'm afraid you have been ruint"

"But why?" I ast

"Betrayed" is what he answered

Then he tole ood ole Lieutenant Dan had took Sue, one back over to Bayou La Batre to help out with some problems runnin the srimp bidness The problems was that as runnin out of srimp to catch It seems that everbody in the whole world wanted srimp People in places like Indianapolis who had never even heard of srimp a few years before was now de platters day an night We caught srio around an after a few years, adn't catchin half e had e started, an in fact, the whole srimp industry was in a panic