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.