In my experience, people can be there for you when you need it. But not always.

I began working at Scotty’s pizza in 1989, It was a local place that had been bought by one of the formers cooks.

Can you guess what his name is?

Yep Scotty. Scotty was a big boy. 6 foot 3 and 450 pounds. Not pertinent to the story, but I think worth mentioning.  He was the kinda guy where if you were making a pizza, he’d push on your arm to screw you up.

In other words, I liked working there. It was a motley crew and there were only two people besides scotty that could handle a huge dinner hour. Rick and me.

We had a time. There were many nights we would close the place up, make ourselves a chicken sandwich and then play pinball for hours and hours. We’d prop up the legs to make it really easy to play. So we would be in the place by ourselves, playing pinball and chewing tobacco.

Several times we would take his dad’s pontoon boat out to fish with a case of beer. We would sit and talk and drink.  One time we got hungry and we went to this very nice supper club, but they wouldn’t serve us. I’m not quite sure why, but it might have something to do with the fact that we tried to dock the boat and both fell into the water. I can’t believe they would turn away customers just because we were two soaking wet drunk guys with no shoes on.

Oh we thought we were so cool.  One time we had all of our empty bottles hidden in paper bags. His dad stumbled down to meet us so we got lucky. Until his dog jumped up to greet Rick and ripped the bags.

At a certain point we moved in together. Those poor neighbors. All of our furniture except our couch was made out of empty cases of beer. We’d get drunk and play bowling with them.

We just got along. Our conversations were not the deepest, but we did talk about serious stuff.  We valued each other. I remember working a second job at fleet farm.  He came up to me as I was getting carts and said. I saw Tim this morning. He said I should apologize for being a jerk to you last night. He didn’t remember what he did, but I didn’t either. We were always okay.

I have not see him in decades. The truth is after I finished college, we lived in the same city for a year and he did not want to spend time with me anymore. In my mind I always kept something he said, “She said we should still be friends. I told her got enough friends.”

So we do not have each others information. I doubt we will ever see each other again. I miss him and need his friendship. Yet he has been a big influence on me. It is the basis for my short story, The Good Times.” Information on it is below:

“The Good Times” (originally published in Flora Fiction) is a short story featured in Thomas Cannon’s multi-genre anthology, Alternate Forms of Life & Other Stories.

True to the collection’s hallmark style, the story explores the grounded, messy realities of everyday human experiences. Rather than leaning into the fantasy or magical realism elements that appear toward the end of the collection, “The Good Times” acts as a realistic character study anchored in themes of memory, perspective, and human connection.

Core Themes & Elements

• Nostalgia vs. Reality: The narrative focuses heavily on how individuals reflect on their past, often examining how memory shapes, softens, or alters what people collectively look back on as “the good times”.
• Character-Driven Conflict: Like many pieces in this literary grab-bag, it values unique personal quirks over rigid labels and explores how individual differences can create both humorous friction and deep emotional resonances between characters.
• The Ordinary Made Extraordinary: The story takes inspiration from a single, simple facet of everyday life—a hallmark of Cannon’s writing process (similar to how other stories in the anthology were inspired by real-world observations like someone throwing a cigarette in the same spot or catching a glimpse of a broken manufactured home).

The piece serves as an integral part of the book’s broader mission to celebrate the fun, chaotic greatness of humanity’s flaws and the enduring hope that connection brings.

• Author: Thomas Cannon (Contemporary American author and Poet Laureate)
• Anthology Title: Alternate Forms of Life & Other Stories
• Original Publication: Flora Fiction (Spring 2023)
• Literary Format: Realistic fiction / Short story character study
• Geographic Relevance: Midwestern literature (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)