by Jack Kerouac
CODY.—ah East High, and ah, and ah, I ah, used to run the service station from two-thirty till seven and then the other partner came on, ran it five hours while I slept
JACK. What kind of gas?
CODY. Oh, ah, man, some off brand, ah, see some off brand (Jack laughs) ah, and then from midnight till eight we worked recappin tires at Firestone, see, and I lived with Kriloff the Bulgarian at that time, but instead of sleeping from seven to midnight, from seven at night till midnight, five hours, why I had a girl, couple girls, and so I was going out with girls instead, see, so I never got my rest so after six weeks I fell…apart completely, and gave up the gas station, and had to quit my job at Firestone, and quit school, and laid around doin something or other, but I never laid in the sense that…we’d lay around or, people in New York lay around, I was doing something all the time, I never laid around until after the poolhall, which was—
JACK. One of these days tell me about the poolhall—
CODY. The poolhall was much different. I really can’t approach that yet, ’cause I don’t know anything about it…
JACK. So you met your father on Larimer Street
CODY. He said, ah, “Come on let’s batch together” I said: “What you got in mind?” he said “Well, ah, they’re building a construction camp, they’re building a great steel mill, Columbia Steel Mill, Provo, Utah, and ah, so they’re startin to build it and we can go to work up there.” So he had some money, for a change, forty, fifty dollars so I said “Alright I’ll go with you.” Provo, Utah, yeah, that’s a big steel mill; very dead of winter, so we went up there, it was just about Christmas time, and ah, so we went to Provo, and ah he got his job of course and we got all ironed out, took us a day or two, so I was all hired and everything except inadvertently I said I was seventeen, would be eighteen in a month, see, February eighth, you know, my birthday the guy said “I’m sorry, can’t work until you’re eighteen,” so, that was a hangup; but, at the same time, we went through a lot of other difficulties like, ah, well the inability to get liquor there, and I, I saw that I’d just be making runs for my father all the time, and things like that, see you got—they give you a ration card, a permit in Utah, like in other states similar to that, I think Oregon is one of ’em, but at any rate, so, why, ah, at the same time by the time we got to Provo I was all hot nuts to get to L.A., see, ’cause L.A. was my mecca then, and I’d already been out several times before, and so I couldn’t resist you know what I mean? So, semi-against his wishes and partially not, why, I told him that I was going to go to L.A., and ah, managed to have just enough money—now that he had his job he wasn’t—so he gave me all his money, and I got a bus and went to L.A. from Provo on
JACK. He gave you all his money
CODY. Yeah, well he had capital, I mean it wasn’t froze, so, as far as that goes—
JACK. What, wa, what was your—what happened?
CODY. Well when I got to L.A.—previously I—had been in trouble there a couple times before, I’d get all involved talking about that and…so—
JACK. No I mean what happened when—with you and your father, personally?…going from Denver to Provo—
CODY. Well I can’t remember much, it seems to me we’d sit and talk on the bus, I was embarrassed by his stupidity and that people could dig, you know, and perhaps by his appearance, and I remember it was very cold and everything was awful because one of the buses broke down—
JACK. He wrote in his letter about it
CODY…. Yeah, but, ah, at the same time already I was reminiscing about him and thinking about him or concerned about him but I wasn’t—ah, really considerate and careful or anything of that nature, but at the same time there was no outward, ah, there was no rupture ever or anything of that nature, we’d never argued except, ah, over women that I was screwing and he was screwing, like Mrs. Blood, but, but there’s no, ah, difficulty that way, except that it was a drag to me, personally, see, because he’s content just to lay up in a hotel room and get drunk and then go to work those eight hours a day he has to…. It wasn’t really anything that I can talk about because ah, it was just a bus trip, I ‘member him reminiscing himself ab—a little bit about the past, but he’s always doing it now, whenever he’s with me, he says “You remember the time boy that we did this, or that?” and I usually don’t
JACK. You usually don’t!?
CODY. No I usually don’t…. See, that’s why I say, instead of sending this to Carl what I should do, see, ’cause this prologue is all nothing I know anyhow and it’s not necessary or anything to begin with…what I’m saying, if I could get him out here he could sit down, he could tell me, he could tell me, on this recorder he could tell me, see? all the different things that I don’t know and have no idea of—
JACK. But the things you remember he doesn’t
CODY. Perhaps…yeah, oh—course now his mind probably is so bad he…won’t even remember
JACK. We’ll get him out here
CODY. I’d like to, of course Evelyn…won’t, but one, while—
JACK. Imagine, it’s like getting my father out here! (cackling)
CODY. Yeah, that’s what I say, goddammit, that’s what I say we’ve got to do that, a while back—
JACK. While he’s still alive—
CODY. Yeah, that’s what I say; so finally she consented to say that, “Well we could have him for a visit at least…or something,” so, that’s alright, so, we’ll do it, that way, but ah, what worries me is the transportation plus the fact—here is the point: Buckle’s in Denver now, right? Buckle is there, he has a pass in his pocket that he’s not using, remember that hangup he’s talking about the pass Henry Wunderdahl gave him?—over different railroads?—and so here he’s got this pass that my old man could use, see, and at the same time even if he didn’t use the pass Buckle could bring him back with him, see? he could come back with Buckle, even if it means layin out some cash somehow see, but instead of that I asked Evelyn today what Buckle’s address is and where he is there, course I didn’t ask him like a dope, and she didn’t know either of course so there we are, we don’t know where Buckle is
JACK. We’re gonna be high in another ten minutes…ten more minutes kid
CODY. Oh it’s funny—does this hit you, or not?
JACK. (mumbling) Yeah, it…sure…
CODY.—but at any rate—
JACK.—four grains of benny—
CODY.—that’s the problem, how you gonna—how you gonna get him out here, that’s the problem, we haven’t got—unless the obvious way to do it, how are you going to find Buckle? see? and tell—
JACK. See when we’re all working…(CODY, Yeah)…we can very well support that old guy!!
CODY. Yeah and he can take care of the children, but of course Evelyn is worried about the kid—because—
JACK. He can’t because he’s too drunk…
CODY. Yeah, well that’s what I say…I know that but here’s what I’m sayin…Evelyn won’t have him in the house if he’s drunk, see…well that’s what I want to know, if he could control himself for awhile, we’d have to see, we could get him a little place…
JACK. Get him to Frisco
CODY. Get him to Frisco, that’s right, get him a little place down on Third Street—
JACK. That’s right—
CODY.—that’s the thing to do, exactly the thing to do…. Alright, well we’ve got to—
JACK. Or a room, on Mission Street—
CODY. Alright, how are we going to get him out here? we’ve got to get in contact with Buckle, write to Buckle; now, we don’t know where Buckle is, right? Okay, so—
JACK. I know where Buckle is!
CODY. Where? In Denver? no you don’t
JACK. Yes I do
CODY. He’s given you his address? Given you his phone number?
JACK. Well, he’s at his sister’s
CODY. Which sister, though—he’s got several
JACK. Jo…Josephine
CODY. Josephine. Alright, wh
ere does she live?—I, I know where she lives geographically, she lives in a school—across the street from a school in south Denver, but I don’t know where—but if that fails, I—it seems to me we got a letter recently, from—a postcard it was, or a Christmas card, from, from Earl Johnson see, so that’ll have Earl Johnson’s address—
JACK. Is he back?
CODY. Yeah he’s in Denver now…so we’ve got to write to Earl Johnson to look up Slim Buckle, see?
JACK. (showing address book) Yeah (nonchalant)
CODY. Where is it? That’s it by God!
JACK. Three fifty-four West Third Street
CODY. That’s it!—that’s Denver, doesn’t that say city Denver? it does doesn’t it! That’s the number, we can call him up right now…Race six two seven-o, there you go…
JACK. See? That’s me
CODY. That’s it, Three fifty-four West Third Avenue, that’s what I told you, in south Denver, see, that’s—West Third Avenue? No, it should be west of Alameda, south of—I think that’s the wrong one—
JACK. That’s where he lived with Helen
CODY. Oh, well that’s not it, oh no, see that’s not it (snapping fingers) Damn! No it’s a—see, Third I confused with Alameda ’cause Alameda’s three hundred south, that’s Third Street only it’s just six blocks’ difference between ’em, ’cause zero, see, three and down to zero and then three hundred south six blocks—but that’s alright we can take care of that, if ah, we’re going to do it, and that’s the thing I think that’s necessary to do, especially since—
JACK. Oh God, you know what, we know what to do!—we’d write a letter to Justin Mannerly—
CODY. No, no
JACK. Call—I’ll write a letter to him
CODY.—No I’ll write—simpler, it’s simpler -
JACK. “— Call up Slim Buckle immediately at Josephine Buckle’s house, his sister’s”—
CODY. No. Yeah. No wait a minute—
JACK.—“find out where his sister lives, what her number is, tell him that Jack and Cody said to Val, to Slim, to go down to Gaga’s barbershop—”
CODY. No here’s what we’re gonna do—I’ve got, I’m going to write—
JACK. ’Cause I mean, you know, Mannerly, boy, he’s my boy—
CODY. Yeah I know but Mannerly’s not—doesn’t have to be brought into this, because ah, what I’m sayin is, besides he doesn’t know Slim or anything…
JACK. Yes he does
CODY. He knows Slim, he knows how everybody is like “Who’s that big guy?” or somethin see
JACK. Well I introduced them to each other
CODY. Yeah. What I’m sayin what we’ve got to do is write to Earl Johnson—
JACK. Earl Johnson? Where is he?
CODY. He’s in Denver
JACK. Same address?
CODY. (annoyed) No, we’ve got his recent address, we’ve got it here, he sent us a postc—a Christmas card, see, so we got his address, I’ve got to find it though…write to Earl Johnson—
JACK. Listen…could Earl Johnson beat you running?
CODY. N-o-o-o-o!
JACK. He said he could
CODY. He said that hunnerd times, a hunnerd times a night I’d prove it to him, he doesn’t even know what he’s talking about, ’cause I could beat him in everything
JACK. I bet I can beat him running
CODY.—sure, see, but what I’m sayin is Earl…is workin for his father there, see, that, ah, distributor for Old Forester whiskies or something, lots of money, see?
JACK. In Denver?
CODY. Yah and so Earl—Oh he’s been there for years, yes—stepfather has loads of money, they live in that ritzy joint out there, Twelve fifty-four Fairfax, I already remember his parents’ address, just like that
JACK. By God…Ed Gray’s a—address, Fairfax Manor…
CODY. Yeah, Fairfax Manor, that’s right, yeah, that’s what it’s from—
JACK. Where Minko and I stayed in Ed Gray’s…pad, for the summer—
CODY. Yeh that was across the street sort of but down the road awhile, but that wasn’t where it is—I remember Minko’s pad, yeah, I remember Minko, I remember Ed…
JACK. You know Ed Gray is really great?
CODY. Oh, ar, I—
JACK. He came to New York and I didn’t—man, I was so busy, and so drunk, and so hungup on the few cunts I had, and so many things to do, that I didn’t even spend enough—half enough time…with Ed Gray…
CODY. Hm hm, yeah, Oh he’s great
JACK. I know that he’s very sad about that
CODY. Yeah
JACK. I know that I am very sad about that
CODY. Yeah…. Ed’s, ah—
JACK. Ed is one of the greatest…men that ever lived
CODY. Yeah, that’s…right, that’s right—at the same time the reason he’ll knock you out so is that he’s completely normal. completely—I mean he’s, well you know—isn’t he? He’s not, you’ll never catch him goin off on some, ah, hangup, or saying—you know what I mean, you know, he—that’s the amazing part of him, in fact, he’s so, ah, relaxed and normal that…he can be a drag, you know what I mean?
JACK. (laughing) Yeah
CODY. Just because—like if you got suddenly excited or somethin, see, well he’d go along with you and all that, see, but he’ll never manufacture the excitement himself, or feel it himself, you know, like s’far as…comin out, right?
JACK. (singing “Them There Eyes” upflip riff) How does it go? (repeats) Sing it—sing it elaborately—
CODY. Hm hm. That’s right…. I can’t though—alright (but sings it)
JACK. It didn’t go like that!
CODY. That’s the way it goes though
JACK. (sings it again, as Cody chuckles) Now sing it!
CODY. That’s right
JACK. Sing it…. (Cody sings it) No! you gotta go way up there!
CODY. (laughing, as Jack demonstrates) Oh I see. Yeah, that’s right…
JACK. (singing words now) “I fell in love with you, the first time I looked into, them there eyes…They make me feel so happy—” Okay, I’ll play some record while you talk
CODY. (chuckling) Or else you could turn on KWBR—
JACK. Them there eyes!—
CODY.—he’s real crazy; he never talks, you know, that KWBR…thirteen-ten…except, dammit, we might get a little buzz out of it—
JACK. You don’t realize how I’m feeling real drunk
CODY. Are you really? (laughs) Geez I’m not. You remind me of some—some—ah—
JACK. See? where in the middle there, talking, now you tell me about what you did with Vicki, ’cause that’s a…worldshaking cunt
CODY. Well you know I never dug her, like the first night I told you—
JACK. You dug her as a worldshaking cunt—
CODY. No, you and me both dug her as a big sloppy gal, you remember that talk, you remember, man, she’s all very hep and very fine and everything, but talking about appeal, attraction, you know, she, you know, she—you don’t keep gettin…creamed over her—
JACK. Oh yeah…Oh no…. Yeah
CODY.—’cause you know her completely, see, she’s just a big woman, right? you remember our conversations about Vicki, you know, so for that very reason I never was, ah, really…. No I think you got—no, that, he would never play that, see?, now watch, that’s KW—that’s KYA, twelve-sixty, see we gotta go to fifteen-ten, watch (dials radio)
JACK. There it is!
CODY. No—that’s KWBO
(“Just One of Those Things” plays on air, Jack sings, hums idly to it)
CODY. I got it soft enough so we can hear even our smallest monosyllable, at the same time you and me personally can hear it, see, right? (Jack sings)…What are your good reasons for being lush? You know the only reason I’m not a lush?
JACK. Hmm?
CODY. You know the only reason I’m not a lush?
JACK. Why?
CODY. Because I really don’t enjoy the…
ah, the—if, you know, I mean I—to, you know—it doesn’t, ah, of course I’ve got drunk quite a while…and I’ve been very drunk…see I’ll bet I’ve been drunk six months straight, see, with Watson? see…
JACK. Tom Watson?
CODY. Oh yeah I spent—he had a, he made a great killing in poker, and also an insurance check or something and he had over five hundred dollars? and so, ah, we, it took us six months to spend it, ten dollars a night, we’d sit and drink, he spent it all on me like that, see—
JACK. Where?
CODY. In Lloyd’s of Denver, a bar…it’s a kinda fag bar now, in fact it always has been, really, but it’s more fag, you know usually just a bar with a few fags, but now it’s faggish
JACK. Yeah?
CODY. But—yeah—we sat there every night, and played things like, oh Maurice Rocco, stuff like that see…Charley Spivak
JACK. The guy that stands up—
CODY. Charley Spivak, which I really don’t—’cause there was nothing else…at that time we both liked the trumpet instead of the saxophone, and everything…in fact we were very young, in fact at that time—
JACK. I went into, ah, MacDougal’s Cafe…but…go on, “in fact at that time”…
CODY.—I was talking all the time continuously, philosophically, questionings and reasonings about certain things, statements about everything, which I’ve completely forgotten now and yet the words I said probably—a million words, more, more than that, for three years straight but I mean that was the end of it, there…but finally, I remember, finally, near the end I can remember a certain thing, like, like I’d talk for two hours and I was, ah, and everything was real crazy, real gone, and finally the guy—one of the guys I was talking to, the cabdriver, he said “Well that’s all real good, and real fine, and real great, Cody, but ah, but ah, you don’t have any MONEY,” or somethin like that, he showed that every thing I said was just nothing, just wasn’t right, but, that wasn’t the point. That’s one thing I’ll never be able to recall, all the things I said, all the things I speculated about, which were so—the way I did it, or, the voice, or something, or at any rate—so that, like I told you earlier probably, why, these friends of mine like, like Tom Watson, and other guys around there, other guys—guys I’ve never…told you about, a kid named Joe, ah, Joe—Gooley or somethin like that, not Gooley ’cause there’s another kid named Gooley, but Joe somethin, but at any rate, the other boys they’d bring down whenever they’d meet a strange girl, or couldn’t make it, they’d bring her down to my house so I’d lay there and talk to them all night…get her on top…so they could screw her and all that…but I can’t remember—see talkin about—