.
Pahn ..........somewhat uncomfortable
is sitting at the table
in the house
of the man
elderly
foreign
of unknown ethnicity .....who is talking
of unremembered things
when the man gets up to make a point
about the vagaries of chance .....saying
“I bought this bread twenty years ago”
Pahn wonders what this means
He begins to speculate—
is the bread worth money now?
Is he saying.......................
you never know
.................what’s going to go up in value?
Pahn asks...............................
“What does that mean?”
“I bought this bread twenty years ago, you see?”
Pahn doesn’t understand
“Well, I bought this bread long ago
and now I am here”
Pahn says
“I don’t understand the significance of what
you are saying”
The man leans in close to Pahn
and repeats himself slowly ...as if
Pahn has not understood the words
Says Pahn... “No
I mean I don’t understand
the significance of it
What are you saying about the bread?”
The man gets up again .....goes to a cupboard
brings out a bread bag ...and a plate
and lays out the sliced loaf of nut-bread
in a single stroke
“You see? I bought this bread twenty years ago”
Pahn imagines.............................................
the old man ...as a young man
buying this bread ...in Turkey
on his way ...to the United States…
…Someone brings a telephone to the table...........
and hands the receiver to Pahn
It is a call from his daughter’s school...........
The woman on the line says
“Eeunks was caught eating brownies at school”
Pahn assumes she means........................
marijuana brownies
He asks.... “should I come get her”
“Yes” the woman says…
…Pahn goes outside to find his car
but not seeing it .....he thinks he must have walked
So he starts toward his house on foot
but soon finds the neighborhoods ...unfamiliar
He remembers... that the town is cut
by the railroad tracks ...and there are only
two crossings ...He is trying to get to
the main street that crosses the tracks
on the south end of town ...near the school
but he is confused ...by the strange streets
and decides to turn west .....He takes
a slice of nut-bread from a cloth sack
and eats it
He goes through a neighborhood in the dark
without lights
that leads to a major thoroughfare
and finally to a street running north
where he feels like....
he’s going the right direction
But this street is strange .....He thinks
he has somehow ended up ...in San Jose
on the El Camino Real .......He passes buildings
of uncertain function
stadium?
........parking garage?
mall? ....
There is a strange conveyance .....resembling
a ski-lift ...and Ferris wheel
The buildings ...are mostly new
The last building he remembers ...appears
half finished ...with irregular levels ...and ranks
of seats .....and all the while
he has been eating the nut bread
and being glad that he has it
on this long walk
that finally is beginning
to seem like home
.
is sitting at the table
in the house
of the man
elderly
foreign
of unknown ethnicity .....who is talking
of unremembered things
when the man gets up to make a point
about the vagaries of chance .....saying
“I bought this bread twenty years ago”
Pahn wonders what this means
He begins to speculate—
is the bread worth money now?
Is he saying.......................
you never know
.................what’s going to go up in value?
Pahn asks...............................
“What does that mean?”
“I bought this bread twenty years ago, you see?”
Pahn doesn’t understand
“Well, I bought this bread long ago
and now I am here”
Pahn says
“I don’t understand the significance of what
you are saying”
The man leans in close to Pahn
and repeats himself slowly ...as if
Pahn has not understood the words
Says Pahn... “No
I mean I don’t understand
the significance of it
What are you saying about the bread?”
The man gets up again .....goes to a cupboard
brings out a bread bag ...and a plate
and lays out the sliced loaf of nut-bread
in a single stroke
“You see? I bought this bread twenty years ago”
Pahn imagines.............................................
the old man ...as a young man
buying this bread ...in Turkey
on his way ...to the United States…
…Someone brings a telephone to the table...........
and hands the receiver to Pahn
It is a call from his daughter’s school...........
The woman on the line says
“Eeunks was caught eating brownies at school”
Pahn assumes she means........................
marijuana brownies
He asks.... “should I come get her”
“Yes” the woman says…
…Pahn goes outside to find his car
but not seeing it .....he thinks he must have walked
So he starts toward his house on foot
but soon finds the neighborhoods ...unfamiliar
He remembers... that the town is cut
by the railroad tracks ...and there are only
two crossings ...He is trying to get to
the main street that crosses the tracks
on the south end of town ...near the school
but he is confused ...by the strange streets
and decides to turn west .....He takes
a slice of nut-bread from a cloth sack
and eats it
He goes through a neighborhood in the dark
without lights
that leads to a major thoroughfare
and finally to a street running north
where he feels like....
he’s going the right direction
But this street is strange .....He thinks
he has somehow ended up ...in San Jose
on the El Camino Real .......He passes buildings
of uncertain function
stadium?
........parking garage?
mall? ....
There is a strange conveyance .....resembling
a ski-lift ...and Ferris wheel
The buildings ...are mostly new
The last building he remembers ...appears
half finished ...with irregular levels ...and ranks
of seats .....and all the while
he has been eating the nut bread
and being glad that he has it
on this long walk
that finally is beginning
to seem like home
.
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