I backed the car into one of the garages andgot
out. They fake it up with some kindof composition and then paint it over. One thing
Ive noticed about the human mind is that it goes injerks. The new sign was kind of
artistic-looking.
The barber on the cornerhad come out on to his
doorstep to have a look at them.
Doyou notice how dark they always manage to make it
in these artytea-rooms? I wanted a drink, but the bar didntopen for another
half-hour. But where had I got the idea that grown-up mendont go fishing? Home-made
withmargarine and egg-substitute.
Nor in the same classas Havent I met you somewhere
before?
Mother Wheelers little window hadbeen bricked over.
It seemed as if the whole town hadgot a new population.
Grimmetts was still a grocers, but it hadbeen taken
over by the International.
Well, of course they mostly work at the factories.
And it was bitter, right enough, too bitter, a kindof sulphurous taste. Down at the
bottom the road turns offand runs parallel to the towpath. And all that time I never
ran across a soul that knewme. Do you know that type ofmiddle-aged woman that has a
face just like a bulldog? Also for a moment I was in a deadly funkthat she might
recognize me. When I got to the church I saw why theyd had to have a
newcemetery.
Still abarbers, though the name was
different.
I strolled up to the market-place and turned to the
left. You are sensitive, affectionate, and always loyal toyour friends. And yet it
was thesame face, Id have known it in a million.
Elsie wasnt even particularly fat, she wasmerely
shapeless. She told me the name ofthe combine that had taken over the
brewery.
Besides, I was hungry andlooking forward to a spot
of lunch. And yet there was nothing to identify,only that vague something which I
knew Id seen before. Idthought of him as an old, old man, and after all he wasnt so
veryold.
It seemed as if the whole town hadgot a new
population.
Living in a different world from me, like ananimal.
When I got to the church I saw why theyd had to have a newcemetery. I was
seeingghosts, but on the whole I was enjoying it.