Trim the Fat

By James L. Dodd

Dedicated to my wife, Bobette, who wanted me to tell this story that we had discussed numerous times.

Bobette passed away before she could see the final print and publication of Trim the Fat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781984572714

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Copyright © 2019 by James L. Dodd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 12/18/2018

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A short story by James L. Dodd

It was an unforgettable awakening when the doctors told me I had been in a coma for 14 years. I was 6 years old when the accident happened on a rainy, slick part of a Texas highway in June 1990. My adoring loving parents and I were headed to Galveston Island for a week of vacation. The image of a tractor-trailer coming straight for us will never leave my mind. I remember the crash and being put in an ambulance and then I blacked out until now. I was told by the doctors that my parents were killed upon impact and the brand new 1990 Cadillac Escalade had been completely destroyed. They also told me that the trust fund that was set up for me had been paying all the bills for the hospital stay. I asked them how much that had cost and they just said substantial. What had happened to the business that my mom and dad had started in 1940, what had happened to the enormous house and land that my dad had purchased after making it good in the stock market, what had happened to all the help that it took to take care of this large estate?

I was told to see our family attorney for all the questions and I should be able to get the answers, but first I had to go through therapy to learn how to walk and talk again after 14 years.The therapy was to start on a Monday and I was told it was Sunday so I had a day of rest to think about all the above events. Questions raced through my mind and I became very tense just thinking about my condition.

Monday morning started out with a large black man awakening me and asking if I was ready to get started. I asked him for what. Jake as