Well I could suppose Im a bit of a Svengali he said

I don’t know what that is.

Shit he thought how am I explaining that to a neophyte an of-age nymphomaniac who hasnt scratched the surface of knowing or learning except for her most base basic desires and as shes revealed she said My desires have brought me this far. which is the foreign sedan in her name the upscale condo in her name jewelry boxes burgeoning with expensive jewelry an immense walk-in closet filled with racks of clothing shoes pegs of workedleather handbags

  again  could suppose 

                         why not test it out kick the tires   Hey   Yes?   Know this   What?   Its not wha . .

. . What you know, it’s who you know.

Well shit he thought got that nailed to the cross 

Esmeralda. 

             he could scarcely believe his ears when she said so  Agnes 

Esmeralda.

Victor Hugo

I don’t follow.

Esmeralda  nee born Agnes  a character from Victor Hugos The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Yes. I know. I saw the Disney movie.

The book

The book?

The French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo  written in 1831

A book. Sounds boring.

Okay  Whadaya think of the movie

I really liked the movie.

So why would the book be boring

It’s a book.

Ah A book I liked Hugos Toilers of the Sea Liked that he introduced octopus to the French as pieuvre which was Guernsey Norman French rather than as it was known  poulpe

Guernsey? Norman?

Guernsey An island off the coast of France Norman an ethnic group that became  nee  was from the Norse Vikings and indigenous Franks Germanic people and Gallo-Romans Gauls Celtic tribes  Normandy perhaps you might know for the beaches of Normandy where American and Allied forces hurled themselves at the Nazis beginning the end of the Second World War

No.

 

hed drop the Svengali act  though it was an interesting line

he didnt want to mesmerise her

he didnt want to have a damn thing to do with her

now she didnt have a damn thing he was interested in 

                                                           I think Ill call it a night 

Wait. I thought we were getting along so well.

So well for a bit

                 But I must say so long  Its been interesting

Has it? she brought a champagne cocktail someone had sent over to her up to her lips

I couldnt begin to explain how interesting

she smiled 

            a wide beatific innocent smile  it was truly something to behold

he wondered what shed do when it didnt work any longer

had to drop the Svengali

which was alright

it was more a gabtag

incited conversation

promoted laughter

Oh well  Oh well  Ohwell 

                            Vonnegut Dresden Slaughterhouse Five or The Childrens Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death

A book       

0108,  Thursday,  18  2. 21

1726,  Thursday,  18  2. 21

 

lefthandedness

               either innate or it aint

of his immediate family grandparents aunts and uncles sixtysix cousins he was the only one who was lefthanded

obviously  not genetic 

                      wanna get bitchslapped suggest it

hed dare ya

his tabula rasa was scribbled all over

his memento mori -- an emblematic objet a reminder of death – misplaced 

                                                                              I swear to Christ I just set it down right here

You shouldn’t swear to Christ.

How can I say this nicely I cant Fuck you

                                             his lefthandedness was scribbled all over him

his grandmother saw it his parents and he lived with her when he was a boySHE saw it and when his mother went out his father working she bound his hand shut in a fist with torn cloth so he couldnt use it

she wouldnt say how long it had been going on when his mother came home earlier than expected and found him in the playpen bound

she would say that she was right

she said in Polandfrom where she immigrated a lefthanded child was an evil child 

Christ wouldnt even give her grandchild the benefit of just being bad  had to be evil

when he heard that story being older being incorrigible being set in stone it figuredfigured to him

he sought his grandmother

he told her he was not evil

religion casts people as Good and Evil God perceived people as Good or Evil 

                                                                                 Well Grandma I dont believe in God

Its a bunch of malarkey

his mother wanted him to apologise

If I apologise I will be dishonest So would you prefer Im a liar or an atheist

where did this nonsense come from she wanted to know

he didnt find it credible

that wasnt his word 

                     but in the so many words he used because he wasnt sophisticated yet  although he did speak better English than his grandmother  his mother followed his simple reasoning

it would have been easier had she accused his lefthandedness his separateness from virtually every child every adult around him 

                                                                                                                              he didnt met another lefthanded child until he was in high school she too was Polish they became fast friends initially by sole virtue that they were same handed

                                              then later because their sexual curiosityacuity piqued simultaneously and groping their hands didnt deflect each other they went directly at the heart of the matter 

heart was a poor choice of words

they werent interested at all in the others heart 

then losing their virginity together 

                                     all was right in the world

      

2255,  Mundaye – or not,  15  2. 21

1500,  Thursday,  18  2. 21