I
truly spent a night in the Heartbreak Hotel
in
Missoula Montana high on mushrooms with a bearded ape who told me he was
dangerous
I
was impressed by his revolvers and knives
we
met through a temporary job agency
I
landed a gig with an inventory service that serviced small businesses throughout
the state and Idaho and Canada
it
was run on a shoestring
but
successful
Cliff
the business owner told me to take the bus up from Corvallis and I could spend
the night at his righthand mans place Bruce Hell be expecting you
he
shared the address
I
scribbled it furiously on a piece of paper
it
was evident he wasnt a man kind to repeating himself
disembarking
the bus in Missoula I interrupted a newsboy hawking papers and asked him if he
knew the street
he
pointed across railroad tracks Continue across the river three four blocks down
On your left I think
walking
up onto the address I saw a shingle hanging from the front porch eaves before the
entry Heartbreak Hotel painted in black letters
inside
beyond the foyer pass the staircase up the hall I rapped on a weak door #6
I
saw something on the other side of it darken its cracks
it
creaked open You Joe
Yah
Youre Bruce
the
ape nodded his head Come in Had food Were on the road tomorrow at five
Ate
on the bus
he
nodded as I followed him in shutting the door behind us You get stoned
we
were going to be alright I do
he
pulled a plastic bag out of a drawer in a dilapidated bureau shrooms he said Corvallis
Yah Out of Chicago You
Idaho
Ya wanna beer taste like shit I need a
beer he said as he turned from the bureau to an aluminum Igloo cooler at the
foot of the Murphy bed
Sure
I owe you one
Nah
Cliff covered us Youll like this cat
he
came to Missoula a few months earlier looking to set things straight between
him and a man who caused him jailtime Miserable
muthafucker sang like a little bird Fingered me A man dont do that He takes it eats
his timeWhen
I find im Im going to kill im
Im
gonna shove his head into a toilet bowl shoot him flush his brains away
You
can count on it
I
didnt know him from Adam
I
had no reason to doubt him
we
had beers and whisky atop the mushrooms
his
room had a café table two ladderback chairs a hotplate and a recliner
when
I asked he said the bathroom was down the hall
I
excused myself
the
bathroom door was closed
I
knocked
no
answer
I
went in
a
woman was taking a bubble bath
fetching
Excuse
me
she
said no apologizes were necessary
I
was too loaded and laden to leave
I
said I need to use the toilet
she
said Help yourself
I
called her bluff began unbuttoning my pants
she
wasnt bluffing
I
urinated hard
she
curled up near the bathtub spigot within reach of me
when
I finished I asked her if she wanted to give me a shake
she
smiled I can oblige you
we
laughed
she
gave me quite a shake
dont
think Ill ever be shook like that again
she
asked if Id like to share her bath
I
almost missed my five oclock ride
Twosday, 20 9.
11
transscribbled
1036, Thursday, 1 12. 16
Elvis
Heartbreak Hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da2F8iyM2wM
and All Shook Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rQEbQJx5Bo
