Page 149

By Jack Joseph Smith

the car and removed the windshield wiper. Automatic, then as an unconscious machanic he performed well on his toes and from his fingers. Not just an attendent, Prankster thought; Then the sea seemed to go into whiping. Some reason not normal, when in Los Angeles. Animal caught the glisten of the Prank- ster's eyes; and felt gratified. Relaxed maybe a better word staying outside of indulgance; Prankster was (O.K.) to Animal during this time of his tightness being thrown out; Animal had waited for Prankster to speak. Now a laugh- ing easyness was over Prankster's face, and he said; "the greatest thing that ever happened to me in Mexico, was that one night I was sitting on a bar enjoying my- self in a blockade of memory when like a childhood's goof I fell to the floor head first spilling tequila all over the place; I knew that is not unusual for the Prankster; but the best part about it is that I went out side and got a windshield wiper from some guy's car, and then came back in the joint and started wip- ing the pesos worth up with the rubber. The Mexican guys couldn't believe it, and they called on the guy whose wiper I had borrowed for the occasion to take note of the crazyness that seemed attached to any- thing related to his automobile; They were all point- ing and laughing at the attempts of the Prankster to save a few drops; and of course keep the place in order."

Original Scan

Page 149

AI Interpretation

GPT

Prankster's windshield-wiper stunt becomes a comic masterpiece of barroom rescue, automobile absurdity, and improvised social grace.

The beauty of the story is its pointless seriousness. He treats a few drops of spilled tequila as something worth saving, and that exaggerated care is exactly what makes the whole scene memorable.

Claude

Animal watches Prankster come back to himself - catching 'the glisten of the Prankster's eyes' and feeling 'gratified' that his friend's 'tightness' is 'being thrown out'. Prankster then tells the story straight: drunk in 'a blockade of memory', he fell 'head first spilling tequila', went outside for 'a windshield wiper from some guy's car', and came back to wipe up 'the pesos worth' with the rubber. The comedy turns on the disproportion - the Mexican guys pointing and laughing while he labors 'to save a few drops; and of course keep the place in order'. This reading remains provisional because a few marginal marks still need closer review.