Hillbilly Elegy

inside the pharmacy.
“I can’t,” Jimmy told his father.
“Why?”
“I just can’t.”
“Tell me why right now.”
He pointed at the store clerk. “That
man got mad at me and told me to leave.
I’m not allowed to go back inside.”
Mamaw and Papaw stormed in,
demanding an explanation for the clerk’s
rudeness. The clerk explained that
Jimmy had been playing with an
expensive toy. “This toy?” Papaw asked,
picking up the toy. When the clerk
nodded, Papaw smashed it on the
ground. Utter chaos ensued. As Uncle
Jimmy explained, “They went nuts. Dad