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I Was a Punk Before You Were a Punk |
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| Two days later, we took a bus back to LA. We left the bus station and, after declining several offers to buy cocaine and heroin, walked the streets looking for a hotel.The air tasted hot and gritty, a toxic potpourri of chemicals and fumes.My skin felt blow-dried and my underwear clung to me like seaweed under a dock.Skyscrapers towered above, daring an earthquake to suck them into the drink."Should we try to stay at Mark's?" wondered Rita."I dunno, I think we should give him a bit of rest.We've already overstayed our welcome.Why don't we just find a cheap hotel, get drunk, and phone Mark tomorrow.Look, there's a liquor store!"Two minutes later, with bags full of booze, we were even more of a target for local muggers.I was tired and willing to settle for considerably less than the Hilton."How 'bout that place?"I suggested, pointing across the street to a fleabag hotel.Red paint curled from a sagging but elaborate faade.A faded sign in the window advertised: Rooms $20. |
| A faded sign in the window advertised: Rooms $20.Rita wrinkled her nose.She was good at it."Hmmm, I bet the place is full of bums and drunks.I can smell them from here.""That's probably me yer smelling.I could use a shower."The desk clerk didn't even look at us, and I suspected that an entire terrorist cell armed with LAW missiles would've had no more difficulty renting a room than we did."Room 526," he said, shoving a key across the counter.The elevator smelled, unsurprisingly, of piss and vomit.I pressed a button melted courtesy of a Bic lighter and read a warning scratched into the paint: Abandon all hope ye who enter here.This was the farthest I'd ever been from home, yet I was underwhelmed by the familiarity of it all.If given the opportunity to travel to Mars would I find the same graffiti?The space buggy would reek of pee, and broken beer bottles would crunch under the red dust.There was no escape from "civilization." |
| There was no escape from "civilization." |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 July 2008 )
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