L'argent est vraiment une grande puissance, il faut simplement savoir s'en servir.
Witold GOMBROWICZ


Day 42

am (Cold then Hot)

pm (Fog then cool)

Rides = nil
Arrival = San Francisco
KM travelled = nil
$ spent = $5.50 (Youth Hostel and food) + $6. stolen
Time passed on the road = nil
km walked = 10



Skyscrapers Shake, but Not the People
Click here to read the whole article

The night was not over yet. After I left the apartment of the transvestite, I thought that I could get a some sleep at the Greyhound station. There were quite a few people waiting for buses to leave town. I chose a seat away from the ticket area and got myself into a comfortable position. As I was dozing off the sound level of people talking seemed to get louder and I would wake up nervously with my heart pumping so hard that I thought I would die. I was falling back and forth between exhausted sleep and this state of high alert. I didn't have the chance to go into deep sleep mode before a guard came by and shook my shoulder. He asked to see my ticket and then indicated clearly that I had to go outside.

The air was really cold. I walked around the block a few times to get warm and to think about my options. Unfortunately there were not many. In one of my loops I noticed a big hotel a block or two away. I thought that maybe I could sneak up and find a little cubby hole. I walked into the lobby with confidence and quickly moved in the direction of the elevators. I scanned the panel of buttons to see if there were any facilities open, like the swimming pool. I chose the one that read laundromat. It was close to the elevators on the fourth floor. The lights were dimmed, it was empty. The heat from the gas dryers felt amazingly good. I looked around and I spotted a nice little space between two dryers. After putting my packsack against the end wall, I managed to squeeze my body in there. I fell asleep with my legs hanging out into the walkway. Ten minutes later somebody was kicking the hell out of me. I stood up at once. The guard was asking me questions and threatening me with jail time and hefty fines. I traded the warmth of the hotel for the outdoors. It felt even more cold after having experienced the heat of civilization. I started to walk again, my right leg was sore.

Maybe I should have spent some money on a room at the YMCA. It was getting a bit ridiculous. In any case, it was too late for regrets now. It must have been 3 or 4 in the morning. The streets were quiet until a guy approached me and said something with a loud voice. He had a steel bar in his hand. I said: "What?" He repeated more clearly: "Give me your money!" I realized that I was in hot water and gave him the $6. I had saved by not taking a room at the Y. He took the money and walked away. After 20 feet or so he stopped and came back. He was reaching for something in his pocket. He said: "Take this, it is some hash." He had given me a little square of hashish for my 6 dollars!

Finally I made it through the night. It was nice to see the sun. Today I was supposed to meet Adam at the public square. I was there well in advance. I slept on and off until noon. I looked around for Adam but in vain. He never showed up! It sent shivers through me when I realized that if the Moonies had taken me, he would not have given the note to anybody.

I finally found a place to sleep. It was a youth hostel that only charged $2.25 a night, and I could sleep for 8 hours.


- Daniel




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