The city
1964 in the city -- the people were young and the buildings were old. Whores were harder to find, though maybe you needed to know where to look. Women had bigger asses and smaller waists [a change since 1944]; people worked harder and ate more potatoes. Most of the structures were decrepit but still crowded with offices or apartments. One day they would be demolished. Businesses: Typewriters, filing cabinets full of carbon-copies; small brokerages, private investigators, furriers, hat-makers facing bankruptcy, dealers in everything, quite a few printers, bakeries, laundries, lots of people with lots of little jobs. It was warm though slightly overcast. Couldn’t stand around and gawk unless you had friends to do it with; less chance of getting laid than beaten up. A few men in uniform -- must of been before August no thought of being at war; these guys were neither visible nor invisible; what everyone knew is that they didn’t have much money. Things were wild yet alive. The old was still OK even if taken for granted. If you could read and tell time and were willing to commute you could find a job,get a place to live and save for a car; if you had a High School education it was almost a lock. College graduates wore ties and worked slide-rules or adding machines or settled for less money and made their living by talking. Only the movie theaters were air conditioned. Fans blew everywhere. Despite the decay it was the richest city in the richest state in the richest country in the world. Things would change, they always do. The elevated trains were noisy.