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"The metropolitan dive, jammed with
your colleagues, the derelicts; the
skyscraper, owned by your twin, the
pimp of gymdrops and philanthropy;
the auditoriums, packed with weeping
creditors, your peers; the morgues*
tenanted by your friends, the free_
dead
A war and a depression have made
this veteran a mental cripple at
forty. There are deep furrows in
his thin big -boned face and his
hands tremble. AU behilipcaleft
thst-vas
klembimx2A3 a wicked ssiehtimental
leer in the pale blue eyes. He
was lying on the grass in Central
Park with a derelict crony and
yes-man. A "Worlds Fair broad"
passed by and he straightened up,
quickly,put on his hat, coat and
tie and went off to "make" her.
From the back', he looked dapper
and jaunty even if his clothes
were creased.
diA
Form to be Filled out for Each Interview FOLKLORE
STATE
NAME OF WORKER
ADDRESS
DATE
SUBJECT
FORMA
Circumstances of Interview
Herman Partnow
557 West 114 Street
June 7, 1939
Fringe folklore
1. Date and time of interview
dune 1, 1939
2. Place of interview
Central Park meadoW
3. Name and address of informant
Anonymous
4. Name and address of person, if any, who put you in
touch with informant.
NEW YORK
"9
--2:3,7—i—j-7Z6
5. Name and address of person, if any,,accompanying you
6. Description of room, house, surro dings, etc.
Sunning unemploy d, thick damp grass,
cops' whistles.
(Use as many additional sheets a$ necessary, for any of the forms,
eauh bearing the proper headinL and the number to which the material
refers.)
He who shuns wine, women and song 1.0 lust a fool
IhAI 101, 14,401 Trel"
his whole life long/. fkattz Omar Kayyamx.=
Mitt/ 'thin
WOMMOOMM.i. goraistkaiatz World's Fair broads passin up and
down, real blousers, and I got a. lay on the grass an watche
Aim!. Ixkatamtix I 1take a stroll ta Wall Street and
draw some dough but it's too damm tar. I tried to hock the
Chrysler Buildin ickffrm but they wouldn't take it. Then I
sold the Essex House but I couldn't collect. Now all I got
is this dime and I'm lookin for its brother. If I don't find
_ hCatt,
it before tonight, I'll just Imulp.to go up and sit down by
the window erg+ 1 sten:et, the radio. Xxxwas±txdax:M I ain't
used tcke Imuumizka zimilegx, furnished rooms4 gtarazxkka
IF421.1.0114 since iimiaxedzwitlamayzwtfexamt tastes heaven
ftntneo.
Player piano, books, radio. Pull icbox stea s,
chops, the best. All she asked me taAdo was stay home and take
care of the house. When she come home at night she always
threw a coupla packs of ci,c_Arettes on the table. Hell, I
couldn't stand it. I felt like a housemaid, a goddam domestic,
One mornin she left ninety cents,w20111MMie. For my lunch and
the kid's, crackers when she come home from school, and a
show. Well, I hocked the redio and bought a quart for the boys
(Ow dQLi4LDde
and we went to work ori\-fikkerS ottle en wit woke up next
mornin they wuz gone.
11)
I like layin on the grass
too much. Tough work an long hours you an early grave,
A
don't it? Like my old mandmiwActlayin unCer the ground
ilimiellayin there and laughin. Son, he's sayin, you co ahead
now, I'm layin dowr an rest. I dien'tAgive im a pxxxamtxfax
Fathers Da;- present week before he died. I figured it's
comrercialism, anyway, it don't matter. Bmwmrif yett/ktplti
ain't got the guts to remember your mother and father every
day in the year and ya gotta depend on phoney commercialism
y4Mfdon't deserve a mother, xm ya deserve ta be born from a
pkg pig, a whole litter, goddam it, a whole goddam litter.
If my daughter ever trie brirgin me candy on Fathers Day
I'll kick er in the can. If she an her mother come back, I
mean. But I keep my soul full of hope. I ain't layin down
like my old man an take a rest. 1 read in the papers some
idle rich guy shut himself up in his room, it w z the Essex
House, and stuffed up the windows and the door and got imself
too
gassed up. Must of been/dark xitxxigki so he decided to find
044 IL
his waymmifte lit a cigarette. He found his way out all
right. Him and th- whole room there blew outa the window.
0 time, o time, turn back in thspxikip thy flight
and make me a kid again just for tonight.I ever suuttald
decided
toisort of take a rest a know what I'd do Take a long swim
out in the ocean. Afte a while I'd get tired but I'd keep on
swimmin and then 710 get so tired I couldn't lift my arms at
all. Then I'd get scared and turn around and swim for shore
but I'd never reach it, see? I'd try like hell tcto get back iilmA
044.0
I'd go under tryin. It'd be like ya
that way, pm* wanna live
but ya gotta die
life
Listen, ya sure ya can't gimme the brother ta
this dime? Or do I hafta go down tsi the river bank and
draw a coupla breaths of air? .Ya just as broke as I
am? .Talkin sure gets ya nowhere fast.
I gotta amscray outa herex quick. This grass
city is only a paradise fer pigeons.