10,661. AMONG THE MOST MEASURED OF FOOLS

AMONG THE 

MOST MEASURED 

OF FOOLS

I'm apt to ramble : nothing malicious,

mind you, just another way off the beaten

path. The corner of Bleecker, or Sullivan,

or MacDougal, it was one of them, just

down the street, where all the chess clubs

once were. Right now it's anybody's guess:

Used to be Russian guys, then the Jewish

guys, then the blacks. They run runs with

the chessboard. Slavs and Ukraines too.

Then they started timing the games  -  yes,

putting timers on the tables and it became

more speed-chess than anything. They do

that in Washington Square as well. I can't 

tell what it means. Timing chess just seems 

all wrong; like playing baseball with a 

90-minute rule. The whole idea is the

timelessness needed to make the mental

space  - the area where the 'playing field'

really is. I can't figure people out anymore.

I don't know what they want.