— It’s not okay! that, dabbles at the ivories my father’s a prominent conductor on the look how could anybody be a prominent conductor on the Long Island Rail…
— No but that’s what you told me once hey and besides…
— Besides what! I never told you such a grotesque thing in…
— No but besides you never let me finish about that hey wait up holy, my whole sneaker got wet hey wait up!
— For what wait up for what! finish about what! Your suave young exec’s teetateet with look you know it’s not real any of it!
— No but wait I know it’s not real hey! I mean it’s just this neat idea I had where this here naked girl picture I read you it on the train where they got this gossip calumnist to like fix you up with her hey Bast? I mean just this once see where this whole Teletravel thing see once it gets like operational I mean she’s this here whole heiress of these two hundred thousand shares of Diamond Cable hey Bast? where she gets these rights to them once you marry her to vote them when we make this here tender offer hey? then you get this divorce just like everybody hey Bast? Look out…! Headlights swept down the highway’s unkempt shoulder where it parted on the ruts of a dirt road — that shit boy! he splashed all over my, hey wait up I can’t even see where you, did you hear me? Just this once hey? Then we go after Western Union we get this whole complex of this cable travel going they think they can screw me out of everything boy I hardly even got started, I mean we get these here banks going we get this energy complex going with this here big gas deposit and this mineral one where you just fixed up this here neat deal with these Indians we get this here whole education market by the ow! Ow ow ow…! The wind held his hair on end hunched down on one knee there, lights loomed a shadow back over him, dropped it as they passed — oww…
— Well what happened.
— This busted sidewalk sticking up I hit my ankle I mean everything’s getting wet holy, I mean couldn’t you even carry this here tape thing it keeps bumping my…
— All right but where! what do you…
— I mean I couldn’t even see you ahead of me just then did you hear what I said? I mean just this once no wait! or I mean what’s, like what was it all for!
— That’s what I’ve been trying to tell…
— What tell me what! I mean you’re telling me how neat the sky looks you’re telling me listen to this here music you even get pissed off when I…
— I asked you what you heard! that’s all, I…
— What like it lifted me out of mysel…
— Not what I said no you! what you heard!
— What was I suppose to hear!
— You weren’t! you weren’t supposed to hear anything that’s what I’m…
— Then how come you made me lis…
— To make you hear! to make you, to make you feel to try to…
— Okay okay! I mean what I heard first there’s all this high music right? So then this here lady starts singing up yours up yours so then this man starts singing up mine, then there’s some words so she starts singing up mine up mine so he starts singing up yours so then they go back and forth like that up mine up yours up mine up yours that’s what I heard! I mean you want me to hear it again?
— No!
— See I knew you’d…
— Never want you to hear it again I never want to hear it again myself! you, everything you ruin everything you touch!
— Wait wait hey quit…!
— Think I could ever hear it again without hearing your, everything everybody! you destroy whatever you…
— Quit kicking it! you, it’s smashed what did you…
— Why not why not smash everything! Charley Yellow Brook in that smashed Cadillac waving a pint bottle telling me the earth is his mother telling me corn is a god talking about water water thanking me for trying to, Mooneyham weeping in his omelette before his heart attack George Wonder hanging onto me when the police took the gun away from him I can trust you Bast you’re the only friend I’ve got if there’s one thing I know it’s brewing they’re pushing me out, it’s all I’ve got Bast you’re the only friend I’ve got and that, that poor Brisboy you’re all we have left smash all of them! Union Falls wipe it all out but your cemetery that simple minded Bunky there selling your purple plastic daffodils to help him out help everybody out everything everyplace there’s nothing you can’t destroy even, even music a glorious piece of music I thought it could rise above anything even your, even you I thought maybe you’d hear something there some speck just a speck in you somewhere might wake up might be exalted for an instant you hear me? Even an instant!
— Boy after all I did for you…
— All you did there’s nothing you haven’t done for me nothing wherever I go I, that junk pocket radio there was one station with decent music the only station left on the radio anywhere it came on one night noises screaming pounding noise brought to you in this new popular format by the J R Family of Companies bringing America its full share of of holy shit!
— No but…
— No but nothing! that was you too wasn’t it? even that it was your idea wasn’t it?
— Okay what’s so…
