he stood pat
she was late
but she had a three miles walk to meet
him at the coffee shop they usually got
to spend better than an hour before he had to be at work
all he had to do was catch a bus come to town then walk five blocks
he entertained and distracted
himself during his walk with those characters who also disembarked from the bus depot the homeless pushed
out of shelters by seven the panhandlers and the youthful panhandlers who were
playing the Im homeless game
among those he cultivated one adversary who threatened to kick his assthreatened to assembly a gang – never happened -- to beat him senseless
among those he cultivated one adversary who threatened to kick his assthreatened to assembly a gang – never happened -- to beat him senseless
that was his fault
though he liked to think he was provoked he wasnt
usually rude
the panhandler was aggressive maybe that worked for himmaybe he was able to intimidate
donations
he told him he was barking up the
wrong tree
If youre hungry as you say you are he eyed the guys dog it wore a brandnew red
bandanna around its throat he didnt much like dogs then Id suggest you eat your dog He looks like hed be good for a couple of weeks
of meals
he laughed at his joke ofcourse he would it tickled him to tell the punk something he probably
didnt know allegedly William Randolph
Hearst said WHO? William Randolph Hearst he owned the castle on US 1 heading out of Cambria
allegedly he said Give me a magazine cover with a beautiful
girl, a dog, or a baby on it, and I’ll give you a magazine that sells.”
although his
recollection might be somewhat sketchy altered suffered by shrooms he ate in the
Heartbreak Hotel in Missoula Montana the quote appeared on the cover somewhat perverted
by National Lampoon whose function was
to lampoon American culture Right. What’s lampoon? Fuckin look it up
the kid hopped around him menacingly drawing attention to himself the dog barked but the kid wasnt interested in getting his
nose brokenjaw broken or was his dog
interested in getting thrown over the wrought iron fence into the swift running creek
beneath the intersection
maybe the kid thought panhandling
adjacent to the Mission would soften people up
he was atheist
God and His bleeding heart cohorts
could feed the kid and his dog
he looked at the illuminated clock
on the wall
she wasnt going to make it
he bought a cup of coffee and
walked out the door
the shops manager followed him out
the door Excuse meshe said excuse me
excuse me
he didnt think the voice was calling
to him so he crossed the street
Excuse
me!
he was almost startled but he was aware of someone at his back
reaching the sidewalk so they wouldnt
be in the street he turned to her Yes
I ah I wanted you to know that I’ve had some complaints
about you and your ah friend.
Complaints
Yes.
Shes not my friend Shes my girlfriend
I know that.
Yes I know you know Youve been serving us nearly every weekday morning
the past month or better
Yes.
What complaints
P – D – A.
P D A
Yes.
Simply yes
Well, yes.
Youll have to excuse me I dont know what P D A is
one would have thought he asked her
to show him her tits not that he would be
opposed to seeing them she was endowed she was likely the reason so many business men
downtown went there for coffee a blouse
isnt worn at halfmast in the morning like a bartenders blouse at night if it
isnt wore to trump up business com’on
she
blushed
the colour looked good on her
he smiled
he tried to disarm her
embarrassment
an embarrassment that she suffered for him
he never let his ignorance embarrass
him
he was always willing to learn something newthe
error of his ways
PDA.
Repeating it over and over isnt
telling me anything
You really don’t know? You’re not
teasing me?
I despise acronyms Yawant me to know what your customers
complaints are then you need to spit it outBut before you do as an issue which particularly gripes me Why didnt they approach me
I don’t know why they didn’t
approach you. That said, PDA means, public display of affection.
he howledsplit a gut
she stood there listening to
him witnessing his evident humour
when he finally gathered himselfcomposed
him to speak he said If those complaints continue you tell them you said something An then tell them I said if they have an
issue with my affections they can approach me an say so
Fuck
em
he smiled at her Thank you for advising metelling me something
I did not know Ive learned something new
today If we dont learn something new every
day then were not living right Thank you
she returned his smile
If I didnt say so this morning that’s a handsome blouse Im a big fan
1636, Friday,
25 1. 19
1419, Day-between-Two-Ts, 3 6. 20
Aerosmith Walk This Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c8O2n1Gfto
