The History Of My Coat

If I were going to teach writing, I would

start off by saying it doesn't matter where 

you start, because everything is connected,

not just in imagination, but in reality itself.

You could start with: "Why do I bite my 

fingernails?" and quickly jump to the

meaning of life: "What is the meaning of life?

Is it so that I can bite my fingernails?"

So, we're not just six degrees of separation

from everyone else on the planet; we're only 

a few degrees of separation from the whole 

universe. We're not even a few degrees 

separated from the mites that live on our eye

lashes..in fact, I see them as my brothers...

(or, at least, distant relatives.)

What does this have to do with my coat?

 Well, everything, you see, or, do I have to

draw you a picture?  OK.

The lining of my coat was replaced maybe 

twenty years ago by a Nepali woman, the wife

of a friend who was once a US Marine. He sold

LSD on his base in California. He got busted, 

thrown in the brig, and beaten up. but he got a 

lifelong pension out of the ordeal. So, he 

decided to go to Nepal and find a wife, the 

woman who repaired my coat.

The coat was a gift from a woman who was one 

of the loves of my life, a woman who wanted to

have a child with me. Since I'd just left my 

marriage and child for her, I wasn't prepared to

do that again. She was a strong minded woman,

and, since I wasn't ready to impregnate her, she

fell in love with a doctor in a grocery store, right

in front of me. I watched it as it was happening.

I realized that this fellow was going to be a father.

Luckily, I already had the coat.

The coat is charcoal grey, a rough weave a little

primitive looking, impregnated with threads that

barely show red, yellow and blue dots, which 

makes it a really groovy coat.

I also have another coat, Wilson leather, given to

me by another lover and dear friend. She wanted 

to get serious with me. She wanted to get serious 

with me while she was on hiatus from her husband,

but I knew their relationship was so complicated,

aside from their two kids, that it would never really 

go away, so, I balked at the seriousness.

Nevertheless, I have two really nice coats. Does 

this make the beginning of this piece make more 

sense?

I wear the grey coat as part of my human costume 

lately... that, and one of two green silk ties that I 

alternately wear loosely, as if I'd just gotten off
some important job and wanted to relax..which
is actually true: the job is called life, (see what
I mean?)

It's Carnival in Tepoztlan. I walked down from my 

casita this morning for coffee and cigarettes. I had

the charcoal coat on and one of the green ties. 

There was a man sitting on a bench in the Zocalo,

who looked as if he'd been run over by dirt. He 

smiled at me and said: "corbata", meaning necktie.

and he pointed to my coat.  then he said in English:

"Very nice." So, I'm correct, not just about the
clothes, but also about the premise of this
whole story.