Book Excerpt for the Day

my neighbor gives me the key to his house

when he goes on vacation.

.

I feed his cats

water his flowers and his

lawn.

.

I place his mail in a neat stack

on his dining room table.

.

am I the same man who planned to

blow up the city of Los Angeles

15 years ago?

.

(from Charles Bukowski's "The Old Anarchist")

.

I once vowed that I would blow up various Valley National Bank locations in and around Tempe. It had to do with them charging a $10 ISF fee when I was trying to close out my account at the end of a college year. I miscalculated (or they steered me wrong), and missed by 39 cents. For that I was penalized the ten dollars.

.

It felt good to vent to all my friends and acquaintances, and threaten VNB with explosive catastrophes. Later on however, it occurred to me that if anybody ever really did start vandalizing VNB banks, I would instantly become the prime suspect.