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JOHN She’d probably been sitting in her apartment, just like me,
wondering when we d get a chance to tangle again. How
'
COURAGE LIVES romantic. She was banging with both fists now. hollering at
the top of her lungs. I answered the door, as before, with the
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 55. sax still in my hands. But this time, Trane laid his hand on my
brow once more, and I didn’t need paltry words to reply.
She put her foot half on the doorsill and half on the carpet, “I told you about that racket - ”
leaning in “Don’t use that language and tone with me. young HONK !
*
man! ' “I ’ m not going to put up with any more of
“Don’t try to barge into my apartment like that, I didn’t HONK! HONK! HONKHONKHONKSQUACKSQUONK!
tell you you could come in here! You’re trespassing!’ “Will you put that damn thing down and listen to - M
’
We were both getting a bit crazy now. We had been dream- SQUEEEE-ONK! SHKR1EEEE! GRRUGHRRGLONK-
-
ing of this confrontation for months, though I was gone much EE ERNK!
of the time, attending drunk parties in Los Angeles. She I advanced on her with it, backing her out the door, pausing
served: “I thought I’d got you outa here, you young scamp!” only for breath. She turned and fled. “All right, " she gasped,
“Well, you old bitch ," I cackled, my eyes fairly popping running to the door of her apartment and opening the screen.
out of my head. “You didn’t!” “I’m gonna call the police. "
“Ooohh,” she seethed, waving her pallid little fist and brit - I don ' t know what got into me. Partially it was the booze,
tle old arm in the air, “I, I, I 'll smack you!” partially the dream I’d had the night before, partially pure
“Go ahead!” 1 howled. I was really starting to get into it. I inspiration and rage at the abridgement of my inalienable right
could sec myself now, suing a crippled 78 year old woman for to jam. I chased her down the balustrade, wailing all the way,
assault and battery. and right into her apartment. I ran up to her as she was dialing
“I’ll call the police!" the phone, and smiled at the look of terror in her eyes as I
"On what charge?" I brayed. advanced on her blowing like a hurricane. Rock out!
“Disturbing the peace • • • disturbing my apartment house! " I stood right over her, jiving and honking in her face as she
“ Bullshit,” I said. “Anyway, why don’t you just shut up leaned farther and farther back , dropping the phone and
and get outa here and stop bothering me. I m leaving in two grimacing in fright. She never lost her cane, though.
’
weeks and then I 'll never have to look at your ugly face “What’s the matter here, ma ’ am? **
again. " It was Butch Dugger himself, standing in the doorway in his
“I give you three days to get out!” shirtsleeves with a half- eaten tuna sandwich in his hand, roused
“Fuck you, you can’t do that!” from TV on his day off from work.
She was really frustrated;she began to reach for things. “I 'll “This boy,” she panted, “he ’ s attacking me! He ’s like a mad
tell your mother what you do!” dog!Get him off!”
“ So what? "
“Right away, ma ’ am,” said Butch through clenched teeth,
“I’ll get my son to come up here and beat you up!" laying his tuna sandwich next to a porcelain tulip on her living-
“Ahh, your faggot son won ’ t do nothin’,” I snarled, and room table. And he came up and strong- armed me from
slammed the door. She left, and I went back to the phone behind, grabbing my arms and twisting them up behind my
where Candy waited in perplexity: “What was all that?” head so that I dropped the sax with a clatter on her carpet. As
“ Nothing,” I laughed. “ My landlady is really crazy. "
Though I was certainly not in the best shape myself. My hang- he was pushing me out the door, I saw her go to the kitcfien,
over had me trembling all over, and there was a slight tremor get a napkin and put it under the sandwich. And I heard him
tell her to call the police station and tell officer Betancourt
in my voice. that officer Dugger said to come out.
But I knew everything was going to be all right. I didn’t He pushed me down the stairs and face first onto the lawn
play the sax any more, though as I kept drinking I ran through
endless fantasies of further confrontations with her. Eventual- and I felt his knee in my back. As I lay there chewing crabgrass
I heard a screen door slam; his wife was bringing him his hand-
ly Roger and Tim arrived, and we went out for more booze, cuffs. Still keeping his knee in my back , he put them on me
although Tim was back to his old regimen of reds and whites. and then got up. 1 could see Roger and Tim across the street,
In fact as he proudly brought his stash out to show us he moving quietly in the direction of their car. They weren’t
fumbled , dropping the bag. The little pills rolled and scattered looking at me. I didn ' t blame them.
everywhere, and in his condition he only managed to retrieve A minute later a gold-fleck patrol car came roaring up, two
about three- foujlhs of them. I made a note of the ones that cops jumped out and ran over, as if there were some major
rolled under the couch and the chair, planning to gather them emergency. One had his nightstick out. Mrs. Brown must have
later. made quite a phone call. Dugger spoke: “Here e is. Assault
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After putting what he found of his stuff away, he picked up with intent to commit bodily harm, maybe attempted rape,
the sax. I had already told them about the scene with the maybe something else. Watch out for ' im. he s a sick one. I
'
landlady, and Tim blew a few farting honks. Roger jumped on think he ' s been taking LSD. I'm gonna go down and get a
him: “Don 't do that, man. we don ’ t want a hassle here.” warrant - I think I’ve smelled marijuana fumes cornin ’ outa
“
“Yeah ” I said , what are you gonna tell my landlady if she that apartment before. **
comes back to the door?" So they took me and they booked me, for assault and
“Why, hand it to her and say, Here, if you think you can eventually possession of dangerous drugs, and threw me in the
play any better, go ahead and try! " tank. I sat down and lit a cigarette, and a tough looking black
“No,” we both yelled at him. “no! Let’s just be cool. " And dude about 30 years old bummed one from me. “Whut you in
being cool, he and Roger started a quiet jam on guitar and for? ’
*
flute. I listened at first, sipping my Jack’s and water, but the “ Being ahead of my time. "
more I listened the more I wanted to play too. and finally, He just looked at me. For a second I thought he was going
siezed by the muse and drink, I yelled “Fuck it!” And picked
up the sax and started to wail. to laugh, but he didn ' t. “Yeah, " he said. “Me too.”
It took her even less time to arrive this time than the last.
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