Venezuelan poet, Jinny Baker a former lover of mine, Allen Ginsberg,
Gene Pippin and innumerable others---“come over here man.” Neal came
bashfully over. An hour later in the drunkenness of the party with which
of course he had nothing to do he was kneeling on the floor with his
chin on her belly and telling her and promising her everything and
sweating. She was a big sexy brunette, as Villa said “Something straight
out of Degas” and generally like a beautiful Parisian whore. The next
day Neal was living with her; in a matter of months they were dickering
with Carolyn in San Francisco by long-distance telephone for the
necessary divorce papers so they could get married. Not only that, but
another few months later Carolyn gave birth to Neal’s second baby, the
results of a few nights understanding just before I got there. And
another matter of months and Diane had a baby. Together with one
illegitimate child in Colorado somewhere, Neal was now the father of
four little ones and didn’t have a cent and was all troubles and ecstasy
and speed as ever. Came the time when I finally went West alone with
some new money with the intention of sinking down to Mexico and spending
it there, and Neal---threw everything up and came to join me. It was
our last trip and it ended among the banana trees that we always knew
were at the end of the road.
BOOK FOUR:-
As I say, I came into
some new money and---once I straightened out my mother with rent for the
rest of the year---nothing to do, nowhere to go. I would never have
gone off again except for two things. One: a woman who fed me lobsters,
mushroom-on-toast and Spring asparagus in the middle of the night in her
apartment in NY but gave me a bad time otherwise. Two: whenever Spring
comes to NY I can’t stand the suggestions of the land that come blowing
over the river from New Jersey and I’ve got to go. So I went. For the
first time in our lives I said goodbye to Neal in New York and left him
there. He worked in a parking lot on Madison and 40th. As ever he rushed
around in his ragged shoes and T-shirt and belly-hanging pants all by
himself straightening out immense noontime rushes of cars. He
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