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Show Anting Alone Page 2 14 out somewhere down around Tehuantepec; after saying goodbye to his committee in that particular fashion, he could assume that he would have no more in-structorship tomorrow (even the intercession of Dr. Abraham couldn't remove pukestains from cheap tweed); he had no car to sell (he'd been deceived by that beachcomber/metaphysician in Escondido); and, ever since passing the quarter-century mark, Sam had begun feeling guilty about threatening his mom with suicide and making her cough up more than a thousand or two. He had been born without an upper lip, so early on grew accustomed to just lying back and having his sustenance pumped into him slowly and warmly through a rubber tube. He'd been born with nothing in which to house the striving instinct. And now, here in the Mini Mart parking lot, he began to see the injustice of the whole Plan of the Universe: the whole uncivilized, animalistic Scheme of Things angered him. The anger made him feel strong for a second. But still his poor barf-exhausted lungs could not on their own hock up any sort of respectable lunger to flop in Bouncy's eye - as was the original plan of action' formulated this morning. So Sam began speaking in guttural German to help his lungs along. He spoke a currently voguish phrase that bristled with self-assertiveness and anger, an incantation which could have the effect of a testoserone shot on big men savvy enough to use it. Sam began to repeat this phrase in rhythm as he marched toward Bouncy. He said, "Was nicht mich ge-something ge-something, macht mich starker. Was.nicht mich ge-something ge-something -" "Touch me first, just touch me first," Bouncy was almost pleading. And Sam continued on across the lot toward what he was sure would be |