Page 96

By Jack Joseph Smith

7 You see Frost, you learn mathematics and the duel direction of infinity by standing herein our presences Ha hae Remember Frost, no more social activity; It's bad for the heart, We don't mean the heart that everyone is afraid of dieing from, We mean the heart that lives in laughter even when the candy store is closed Even when your late for ice cream, Tonight we gamble late Frost; You ar@ welcome at our table of prickly grass ,nder the imortal Lincoln and his chisseled face; Remember Frost, always keep your eyes away from the words written under images, they never mean what the image doesy Yes sir, a good puff of smokes That old house had to go anyways There putting you away for a sincere contribution to progresses “a hag That goes to show, you can't truet sincereity when its muttering beneath a uniform, Ha hay its been iron out before you meet it, What's your confirmation name Frost? John, I had answered, Ha hay Jack is a nick name for Johns We ought to call you Jack Frost, the All American boye In just doing my duty, I said faintly laughing. But that's not going to happen to youy‘is it Froat? I thought of the first time I had taken a ride with my mother and father through the getto, I was real little and I felt atrange and space like, peaking my eyes over the window of our fancy car as we honked our way through children with broom sticks for bats and dog chewed rubber balls for baseballs, I+ was colorful though and the feeling of orange raced across my eyes as I laughed with them in solid assumption of my bumdom, Forevers We won't call’ you Jack Frost, how about Harlem Jack, The getto returned in a stream of color as he said thiss That‘s the name that looks like yous; Your a good ballplayer Frost. You move like a dandy, How long can you keep that hooper spinning on your finger

Original Scan

Page 96

AI Interpretation

GPT

The corner talk keeps unfolding into nicknames, smoke, jokes about John and Jack Frost, memory of the ghetto from a fancy car, and praise for Michael's basketball grace and budding bum identity.

What stands out is how easily race, class, and style are absorbed into neighborhood naming, with Harlem, bumdom, and hoop skill all folded into one developing self-image. The boys are not just teasing him but drafting him into a social mythology bigger than school or family.


Claude

In the garbage-can dark behind Beverly Road the Lincoln bums turn chorus: nice fire Frost, must have cost them a couple thousand to put it out, and they begin to lay out the arrest that is already in the papers.