the Buggle Brothers

As is the way in all villages, there are those who stand out and those who make very little impression on their home at all. Once in a while the usual blind eye turns to the bungled and botched and an amazing story unfolds to those who do

There is a house on the upper tier of my home, overlooking the entire Village. My home is a strange place, unlike any other, the rich of the Village gather by the river and beach of the Valley while the poor were forced up the slopes. The further up the slopes the less desirable one was.

This house stood on the very edge of the Village, one of the poorest houses. The occupant rarely ever ventured out of his home and when he did, it was to gaping eyes and bewildered souls.

His name was Alphi Buggle and he was, in his youth a great racer. It seems that Alphi and his brother Porti were racers in the days of four cylinder engines and no safety equipment.

It was a time when men would don simple coats and goggles, hop in jalopies and make haste at breakneck speeds of fifty miles per hour. They began their careers in a four piston steamer on a dirt track outside of town.

They became the greatest racers the Village ever knew and moved on to the city on the far side of the shore line. There they raced every Sunday, winning most of their races and becoming legends throughout the entire Valley.

Alphi and Porti Buggle were the talk of the few towns there were in the Valley. They began to sell things for people, sponsoring things and endorsing products, they even began a school for young racers trying to get into the circuit. They were very popular indeed.

One race however, their fortunes changed and so did the outcome of their lives. It was a rainy day in the Valley and the greatest race of all was about to begin. The race wound around the entire Valley three times and the winners of the race would be set for life.

Alphi Buggle felt strange the whole day and tried to talk Porti out of the game, but Porti wanted no such talk. He was certain they could win and with the one last race under their belts they could live the rest of their lives in luxury on the shores of the Sea of Despair.

The first lap of the race found the Buggle’s in first place and the lead was growing wider by the mile. Porti drove like a man possessed, as Alphi navigated through a raging rain. Just outside the great city on a curve known to be slippery when wet, a crowd had gathered to watch the racers as they sped by, it was a formula for disaster.

The Buggle’s came round the corner at break neck speeds when Porti lost control of the car. Alphi was thrown from the car, but it slammed into the crowd and rolled several times.

Porti was killed on impact, three entire families died several people were injured and Alphi himself was hospitalized for four months. The impact of the crash rang out for years.

Alphi never got behind the wheel of a car again. The loss of his brother scarred him for the rest of his life. He lost all his money, all of his fame, and some say he lost his mind.

The nightmares kept him awake for days on end, the faces of the dead never left him. He became a recluse and rarely ever left his house. On the off chance that he did, he would find himself in the path of someone related to the deceased or injured and the maimed.

It was in his later years that I went to him and asked his story, even then he still couldn’t get through the entire tale. I could see he had been stricken to his very core and felt sickened for asking him to recount the saga.

Slowly he ushered me out of his house and asked me to not return, however just before he closed the door, he handed me a trophy of his last win before the crash. I would like to think it was his way of thanking me for taking the time to notice him, but I’m certain it was a bribe.

I still have the trophy in my room in a window, it reminds me that all people have some value, some intrinsic power to last beyond their deaths. One out of an entire generation will be marked by history, one will live forever for their works, but those works are laid on the foundation of the millions who endeavor every day to become the one who will live forever

It is my hope that you are one of them to live forever…