Antonino D'Ambrosio, �Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer�
Did you know there are places that will cash a $1200.00 check with no identification?
Yes, that�s right, whoever stole my second bag decided the haul inside wasn�t enough and upped the ante. Although I had just deposited my paycheck, I still didn�t have twelve hundred dollars in my account.
My bank was kind enough to use my overdraft protection and charge the remaining amount to my credit card.
Along with three other checks for $250 each.
So, my account is frozen while the bank tries to figure out what to do, I don�t get paid for another two weeks, and I have eight dollars and twenty-five cents in my pocket. I also have two credit card payments due along with a student loan payment.
Um... can anybody buy a copy of my book? I�m a little fucked here.
Actually, could you buy about three hundred copies?
I�m fucking sick of being handed examples of how shitty people can be to total strangers. I used to like the fact that when an old lady or somebody loaded with bags got on a crowded bus that I was on, I would be the first, and often the only person to offer up a seat, thereby making the rest of the passengers have to realize that the freak with the green hair was more considerate than they were.
Now I realize that most of these people didn�t give a shit.
Last week there was a guy in the bookstore who bought about two hundred dollars worth of cookbooks. After about 30 minutes, a cop came in saying they had just responded to a medical call, and the subject had a bunch of bags filled with cookbooks from our store. He asked us some questions to see if they could get an idea of what was wrong with him.
An hour later, I went down the street on a break to get something to eat. Outside of the deli there were three bags filled with cookbooks. Apparently, the cops or the ambulance wouldn�t let the guy take them with him, and so they just piled them up on the table outside.
I took the bags back to the store. I don�t know if the guy is even still alive, but if he is, and he comes back here, we�ll have the books he bought ready for him. Because I�m a nice guy.
And you want to know what�s fucked up? There were some books missing. This means people rifled through the bags and stole a few things for themselves.
I fucking hate people sometimes. I don�t know why I continue to be nice to them.
I will say this though � Just to show I�m not totally cynical, I discovered through this book that Joe Strummer seems very nice and Lester Bangs (who has a lengthy article in this book) is a great fucking writer, and seems very nice as well.
I would say, �So that�s two people other than me who aren�t total bastards,� but they�re both dead.
