...in the pocket was a whole bunch of stuff. At the bottom of it was $150 I'd forgotten about or given up for lost. It brought to mind this poem, which comes to mind often....
"I’ve Always Had Problems With Money"
Charles Bukowski
I've always had trouble with money
This one place I worked, everybody ate hot dogs and potato chips in the company cafeteria, for three days before payday
I wanted steaks
I even went to the manager of the cafeteria and demanded that he serve steaks, he refused
I'd forget payday, I'd had a high rate of absenteeism
And payday would arrive and everybody would start talking about it
"Payday?" I'd say, "Hell is this payday? I forgot to pick up my last check"
"Stop the bullsh*t man"
"No no I mean it!" I'd jump up and go down to payroll and sure enough there'd be a check and I'd come back and show it to them
"Jesus Chris I forgot all about it!"
For some reason they'd get angry
Then the payroll clerk would come around
I'd have two checks "Jesus," I'd say, "Two checks?" and they were angry
Some of them were working two jobs
The worst day it was raining very hard
I didn't have a rain coat so I put on a very old coat I hadn't worn for months
And I walked in a little late while they were working
I looked in the coat for some cigarettes and found a five dollar bill in the side pocket
"Hey look," I said, "I just found a five dollar bill I didn't know I had, that's funny"
"Hey man, knock off that sh*t"
"No, no I'm serious really, I remember wearing this coat when I get drunk in the bars. I've been rolled too often I've got this fear, I take money out of my wallet and hide it all over me"
"Sit down and go to work"
I reached into an inside pocket, "Hey look, here's a twenty! God there's a twenty I never knew I had I'm rich!"
"You're not funny, son of a b*t*h"
"Hey, my god, here's another twenty! Too much, too too much. I knew I didn't spend all that money that night, I thought I'd been rolled again"
I kept searching the coat
"Hey here's a ten and here's a fiver! My God!"
"Listen, I'm telling you to sit down and shut up"
"My god I'm rich I don't even need this job!"
"Man, sit down"
I found another ten after I sat down, but I didn't say anything
I could feel waves of hatred and I was confused
They believe I plotted the whole thing, just to make them feel bad
I didn't want to, people who live on hot dogs and potato chips for three days before payday, feel bad enough
This one place I worked, everybody ate hot dogs and potato chips in the company cafeteria, for three days before payday
I wanted steaks
I even went to the manager of the cafeteria and demanded that he serve steaks, he refused
I'd forget payday, I'd had a high rate of absenteeism
And payday would arrive and everybody would start talking about it
"Payday?" I'd say, "Hell is this payday? I forgot to pick up my last check"
"Stop the bullsh*t man"
"No no I mean it!" I'd jump up and go down to payroll and sure enough there'd be a check and I'd come back and show it to them
"Jesus Chris I forgot all about it!"
For some reason they'd get angry
Then the payroll clerk would come around
I'd have two checks "Jesus," I'd say, "Two checks?" and they were angry
Some of them were working two jobs
The worst day it was raining very hard
I didn't have a rain coat so I put on a very old coat I hadn't worn for months
And I walked in a little late while they were working
I looked in the coat for some cigarettes and found a five dollar bill in the side pocket
"Hey look," I said, "I just found a five dollar bill I didn't know I had, that's funny"
"Hey man, knock off that sh*t"
"No, no I'm serious really, I remember wearing this coat when I get drunk in the bars. I've been rolled too often I've got this fear, I take money out of my wallet and hide it all over me"
"Sit down and go to work"
I reached into an inside pocket, "Hey look, here's a twenty! God there's a twenty I never knew I had I'm rich!"
"You're not funny, son of a b*t*h"
"Hey, my god, here's another twenty! Too much, too too much. I knew I didn't spend all that money that night, I thought I'd been rolled again"
I kept searching the coat
"Hey here's a ten and here's a fiver! My God!"
"Listen, I'm telling you to sit down and shut up"
"My god I'm rich I don't even need this job!"
"Man, sit down"
I found another ten after I sat down, but I didn't say anything
I could feel waves of hatred and I was confused
They believe I plotted the whole thing, just to make them feel bad
I didn't want to, people who live on hot dogs and potato chips for three days before payday, feel bad enough
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