Sunset Boulevard '75

Harry scanned the headlines

and the sports, then burrowed deep

into the personals ads while he waited

for Wilbur, his business partner, to arrive.

They split a carafe of hi-octane java

on the streetside patio with a strategic view

of the sidewalk while they discussed

the straight-to-video deal they were cooking up.

Harry's got Sandy, a 19-year old from Carson City

he spotted at the Rexall pharmacy last week

stashed in the Starlite Motel down the street.

Figures she'd be great for the baby sitter role.

Back at the motel, Sandy couldn't finish her burger.

it had been three days since Harry, that

producer at Melvin & Jones Productions

had promised to let her know about the part.

Maybe she had been too easy.

She crushed the cold half eaten burger

into the orange paper wrapper

and tossed it in the trash can.

She'd been sitting in that motel room

about as long as she could stand it

waiting for the call. If Harry didn't call

before tonight, she was going to take

the dancer job at the Top Hat Club.

She took the flyer that she'd peeled

off a utility pole out of her purse

and looked it over for the hundredth time.

200 dollars a week. plus tips.

She could afford a real decent place

making that kind of money.

..................

Edna and Mabel were making

their customary noon walk

on a sunny but cool

January day in Hollywood,

so they wore the customary

sensible warm coats they had

purchased soon after the war.

Their husbands, Bob and Abe,

had both been killed two weeks

after the liberation of Paris.

Bob had heard a kitten

mewling in an abandoned farmhouse.

Abe had joined him looking for the cat

when the booby trap exploded.

Today was Rexall day.

Edna bought a box of epsom salts,

and Mabel slipped a tube of her favorite

coral red lipstick into her pocket.

Ted, the sales clerk at Rexall,

saw her do it in the security

mirror over the aisle

but decided to let it slide.

He knew the sisters were

living on widow's pensions.

Besides, they paid for most things,

most of the time.

..............

Frank hosed some fresh oil

off the slab next to the pumps

at the discount gas station.

The shabby Rambler that the girl

selling the oversized teddy bears,

fluffy dogs, and camels

at the corner of the boulevard

drove, had a serious leak.

He told her she should get it fixed

before the motor seized up.

She started crying.

said she didn't have the money

for repairs. Nobody was buying

teddy bears or shaggy dogs lately.

He offered take a look at it,

see if it was something simple.

If she was lucky it might

just be a valve cover gasket.

Said he could fix it Saturday

in the parking lot at his apartment.

It was just around the block.

Frank nodded to Edna and Mabel

as they sailed gracefully by the station

arm linked in arm. They waved their always

properly gloved hands, smiling and speaking

together in a melodious unison

- good afternoon, Frank.