Henry: This is a world where everybody’s gotta do something. Y’know, somebody laid down this rule that everybody’s gotta do something, they gotta be something. You know, a dentist, a glider pilot, a narc, a janitor, a preacher, all that.
[sighs]
Henry: Sometimes I just get tired of thinking of all the things that I don’t wanna do. All the things that I don’t wanna be. Places I don’t wanna go, like India, like getting my teeth cleaned. Save the whale, all that, I don’t understand that.
Jim: You’re not supposed to think about it. I think the whole trick is, not to think about it.
–from Charles Bukowski, Barfly
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[RH Editor’s note: This piece was first published on the OAF Front Page in 2018 by a different editor. It is presented again as a reminder of the rich history of Open Arts Forum]
