From Nerve Cowboy #14 Fall 2002

 

 

Kentucky Derby Day at My Aunt's House

 

Michelle Brooks

 

Explaining why he took his girlfriend

back after she slept with his best

friend, my cousin said, I'm like Don Coyote -

I just keep charging after windmills. I

tried not to laugh and resisted the urge

to correct him. Taking another sip

of my Mint Julip, I thought, You're more

like Wylie Coyote, hammered with the same

bullshit schemes every time, but I have

been both Don and Wylie enough times

not to make the distinction. The Mint Julip

tastes sweet for a second, then the bitter

kick of bourbon. Each year our family

argues about how to make them, each

year they taste the same. It's a tradition,

my mother says, you can't watch the Derby

without drinking at least one. It doesn't matter

if the mint leaves are bruised or crushed, I can't

drink enough of other things to get the taste

of the drink we all share out of my mouth.

 

 

 

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