"A VIOLIN" j
By A1 Stein I
|A SHORT SHORT STORY: - |
He preferred a leather eatch band to j
| the expansion type* He liked all types j
I of music and his home was full of books j
ihe’s never read* He did enjoy reading j
! once he became engrossed in a book* The \
jhard part was getting enough , desire to |
jget interested. . j
He appreciated a light, white wine j
iwhen it came to alcoholic beverages* He j
: seldom drank, though,he really hated the j
: hangovers more than he enjoyed getting I
| drunk. Cigars turned his stomach, but !
; cigarettes tempted his desire to forget j
; tobacco altogether. He smoked often,but j
; he used a filter device. j
He liked dark women, with dark hair j
: and darker eyes. They filled an empty j
: place in his brain, like they were the j
; only type of women that existed * He was :
j satisfied to be loved by a fair skinned j.
I woman, with pale eyes and thin lips* She j.
: loved him enough to control his .desire i
:for other women. She was his woman* In \
I the dark he would just pretend her skin j
was a little darker, Her eyes - didn’t ■;
matter in the dark because they sparkled j
He liked to dress in fresh clean clo:-; i
ithes that smelled of laundry soap. When j
ihe was alone, it didn't matter..what he I
iwore, he could be comfortable. He had a' !
! favorite sweater that he liked to wear ;
iwhen the weather was cool. It was an j
:Ivy League type sweater. Course, heavy, j
|dark brown sweater, it had.a.tweedy ap- j
ipearance. He seldom spent money in large j
: amounts but he always managed to dribble i
lit away in snail purchases• He didn’t \
mind giving a dollar to a bum when the !
ibum had asked for a dime. He almost j
iwj.shed it were ho on the receiving end j
I of so generous a handout. . - j
His parents had left him a eight room I
ihouse when they passed away. He occupi- I
jed only one medium sized room. It gave j
itbe impression that he was a casual man* \
iScmelines neat, sometimes messy, but on j
| the average about half - neat and half i
jmessy. No, I believe.messy is the wrong ;
|word. A shirt hanging on a door or trou-.j
sers flung over the bed; waste baskets I
full and a dozen ash trays filled to the j
brim. What would you call that? He was j
not a very lonely man, but he knew the i
loneliness of a man who lives alone. He j
enjoyed other people, whether they were- ;
actually boring or not, he managed to j
find something about each of them he ad- j
mired- lie wasn rt sorry he was beginning I
his thirtieth year as a bachelor for he !
had the intention of marrying his fair j
skinned girl, \
Some people who didn’t know him would j
think him an ugly man. They would have )
to know the man beneath before they re- j
ally knew. His friends all liked him j
very much and his feelings were always - i
mutual toward them. They respected him'
for his self taught arrogance and charm.
He was talented and ingenuitive. HE
could play a few tunes on the trumpet
and' the piano (to a certain,extent)• He
was a good master of cermonies,so he was
always invited to the parties given by
his friends.
• He liked to hunt, but never, shot to
kill. 'He found his satisfaction in wat
ching the animal make his escape from
the situation. His favorite singer was
a little ’skinny man who’s voice was mel
low like his own. He had two pets in
his home, a dog and a cat, The dog was
named.after a famous comedian and the
cat after a famous songwriter. Movies
were only interesting to him if they' were
the ’’school of the dirty shirt”, type,
He had small eccen'oricilties like not
smoking^ until after., breakfast and having
his alarm clock sot,an hour m advance
of the time he wanted tc arise. The lat
ter giving him time to lye in bed and
think,. His life was pretty much of a
pattern except **or one thing. His new
problem. A friend had sent him a violin
from•Italy,.and he would never be able
to play.it. Of course the friend in
Italy, knew nothing of his.predicament.
He had lost an arm in an auto accident
but still wasn’t satisfied with life.