'TAGE 4, CADRE, DEC. 1

OPEN HOUSE

Once upon a time, on a cold Friday morning, Igor rode out from his sanctum sanctorum to his local hangout. Usually his hangout was filled with people traveling hither and thither. But this morning was different. ’It was

‘. more closely.

quiet because the hangout gave the hangers—out, a holiday. Only a few peo- ple could be seen about the hangout, and for the most part they were busy in preparation. Igor, wondered, "In preparation for what?" So he went around looking at these preparations.

As he walked about, he saw some packages im- pressively wrapped, some neatly wrapped, and some wrappings were pretty \_ shoddy. But the point was that all the packages were wrapped as best as could be. But Igor couldn't understand why, because usually nothing was under

wraps around the hangout. Usually things were what they were and nothing more.

So Igor sat down with his usual inhailant, with a cup of the local black brew, and thought about what he had seen.‘ "Well," he thought, "they are not gifts to be given because » we all have paid for the packages that are wrapped." so he thought some more, and some more.

Well Igor sat for some time, but the answer.would not come. It was then that he decided to walk around again and look a little Thus he walked, and walked........

listening and looking all of the way. And what he saw reminded him of a carnival, or a market place, and the novel "Vanity Fair" came to his mind. (Have you ever read "Vanity Fair"?)

VHurry, hurry, step right up" reverberated from every nook and cranny of the hangout. "See what I have to offer." "For just a little money down (and years to pay it back) you can have this, or that, maybe you would like this." Igor had all that he would take so he went back to his seat for another cup of brew. He knew now that everyone was about selling their product, and they were trying their damned best at that. It was dis- gusting to him, and he won- dered where the regular hangers-out were. He questioned why they were not here to show the other side of things. But he knew that, for the most part, the hangers-out had passively allowed themselves to be put out of the way by the hangout. And those that were not put out were actively' helping out in selling.‘ With all this in mind, Igor sat drinking, watch- ing the buyers......alone.

-Phi1 Marnik

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Aunt-Coon . . . . . . . . . . . . ..