4189. ALL THE DEALS AND TASKS

ALL THE DEALS

AND TASKS

The situation grows : all along the

wharfside piles of bottled beer get

emptied and somehow an empty

pile grows. These guys talk and

drink like birds pecking at bread. I

have a headache just watching.

-

Just down the ramp, where I sit about,

my Huck Finn demeanor has my feet

up, perched on a drayage wagon filthy

with straw and old tomatoes. I never

understand such rural feelings in the

middle of a large, teeming city like this.

-

Twelve bucks a day gets me going. All the

deals I can have for the picking - wristwatch,

record player, shoes or a hat. When a young

kid starts working, the eyes go blind with the

expectation. I really need a bicycle, but I

can steal one quicker than buy.

-

Now I rise up and see a noon-day sun blaring

down on me. I have ten things to do; that list

this morning was large, but it's going OK. I

see two dogs playing kettle by the leaking

hose. The water runs down the ramp, dropping

listlessly into the harbor. no one seems to

mind nor notice. Least alone me, in need

of a reason to go on to the next.