What doesshe carefor theatom bomb,the bed
bugs,the cancerrent, FriendlyFinance waitingto re-
possessherdelinquentflesh....Sweetdreams,Panto-
pon Rose."
Thereal sceneyou pinchup someleg fleshand make
a quick stab hole with a pin. Thenfit thedropper over,
not in thehole andfeed thesolution slowand careful
soitdoesn't squirtout thesides.... WhenI grabbed
theRube's thighthe fleshcame uplike waxand stayed
there, anda slowdrop ofpus oozedout thehole. And
I never touched a living bodycold asthe Rubethere in
Philly....
I decided to lop him offif itmeant asmother party.
(Thisisarural Englishcustom designedto eliminate
agedandbedfastdependents.Afamilysoafflicted
throwsa"smotherparty"wheretheguestspile mat-
tresses on the old liability, climb up on top ofthe mat-
resses and lush themselves out. )The Rubeis adrag on
the industry and should be led out intothe skidrows of
the world. (Thisis anAfrican practice.Official known
asthe"LeaderOut"hasthefunctionoftaking old
characters out into the jungle and leaving them there. )
TheRube'sattacksbecomeanhabitualcondition.
Cops, doormen,dogs, secretariessnarl athis approach.
TheblondGodhas fallento untouchablevileness. Con
mendon'tchange,they break,shatter --explosions of
matter in coldinterstellar space,drift awayin cosmic
dust,leavetheemptybodybehind.Hustlersofthe
world,thereisoneMarkyoucannotbeat:TheMark
Inside....
Ileft theRube standingon acorner, redbrick slums
to the sky, under a steady rain of soot. "Going tohit this
croakerIknow.Rightbackwiththatgoodpure drug-
storeM....No,youwaithere--don'twanthimto
rumbleyou."Nomatterhowlong,Rube,waitforme
rightonthatcorner.Goodbye,Rube,goodbyekid....
Wheredotheygowhentheywalkoutandleavethe
body behind?
Chicago:invisiblehierarchyofdecoratedwops,
smellofatrophiedgangsters,earthboundghosthits
youatNorthandHalstead,Cicero,LincolnPark, pan-
handlerofdreams,pastinvadingthepresent,rancid
magic of slot machines and roadhouses.
Into the Interior: a vastsubdivision, antennaeof tele-
visiontothemeaningless sky.In lifeproofhouses they
hover overthe young,sop upa littleof whatthey shut
out.
In lifeproofhouses they
hover overthe young,sop upa littleof whatthey shut
out.Only theyoung bringanything in,and theyare not
youngverylong.(ThroughthebarsofEastSt. Louis
lies the dead frontier, riverboatdays.) Illinoisand Mis-
souri,miasmaofmound-buildingpeoples,groveling
worshipoftheFoodSource,cruelandugly festivals,
dead-endhorroroftheCentipedeGodreachesfrom
Moundville to the lunar deserts of coastal Peru.
Americaisnot ayoung land:it isold anddirty and
evil before the settlers,before theIndians. Theevil is
there waiting.
Andalwayscops:smoothcollege-trainedstatecops,
practiced,apologeticpatter,electronic eyesweigh your
carandluggage,clothesandface;snarlingbigcity
dicks,soft-spokencountrysheriffs withsomething black
andmenacinginoldeyescolor ofa fadedgrey flannel
shirt....
Andalwayscartrouble:in St.Louis tradedthe 1942
Studebakerin(ithasabuilt-inengineeringHaw like
theRube)onanoldPackardlimousineheatedupand
barelymadeKansasCity,andboughtaFordturned
out to be anoil burner,packed itin ona jeepwe push
toohard(theyarenogood forhighway driving)-- and
burnsomethingoutinside,rattlingaround,wentback
tothe oldFord V-8.Can't beatthat enginefor getting
there, oil burner or no.
Andthe U.S.drag closesaround uslike noother drag
intheworld,worsethantheAndes,highmountain
towns,coldwinddownfrompostcardmountains,thin
air like death in thethroat, rivertowns ofEcuador, ma-
lariagreyasjunkunderblack Stetson,muzzle loading
shotguns,vulturespeckingthroughthemudstreets--
andwhathitsyouwhen youget offthe MalmoFerry in
(nojuicetaxontheferry)Swedenknocksallthat
cheap, tax free juice right outof youand bringsyou all
thewaydown:avertedeyesandthecemeteryinthe
middleoftown(everytowninSwedenseemstobe
builtaroundacemetery),andnothingtodointhe
afternoon,nota barnot amovie andI blastedmy last
stick of Tangier tea and I said, "K.E. let's getright back
on that ferry."
But there is nodrag likeU.S. drag.