A Good Man Is Hard To Find Writing Assignment

It was a hot summer, and the blinding sun shone down on the quiet grey pavement in the front of the house. Tommy May sat on the curb of the road across the street, engaged in a staring contest with a watermelon. Sadly, the watermelon was winning. For you see, though he knew the people living in the house, and that the watermelon was meant for the ill tempered woman who would sometimes come out and yell obscenely at him, he also knew it was really hot and had been a little while since he last had food. Like a mirage in a desert of concrete, the watermelon seemed to good to be true, yet he knew that there it was, staring unblinkingly at him like a forbidden fruit he could not have. And so he sat. And so the watermelon sat. The sun sat as well, on his chest, taking the breath from his lungs and the wind from the sky. Why was it that he did not take the watermelon? It was not from any regard for the woman intended to have it that he hesitated. Rather, it was because of the cars that passed through the street and the people he was sure also stared at the step, watching to see what he would do next. A minivan drove by, stirring the dust on the street, and as it cleared, he caught a glimpse of the melon’s final play. Three gleaming letters sparkled up at him, clear as day. E.A.T. With a gracious sigh, and a tip of his hat, he accepted defeat. The watermelon had won. Yet, his defeat was only bittersweet, for you see, that watermelon was the best he ever had.