Read Online The Most Beautiful Woman in Town by Charles Bukowski - Free Book Online

rubber dolly sex ad. I am trying to forget everything.
    what would you do?

THE GUT-WRINGING MACHINE
    Danforth hung the bodies up one by one after they had been wrung through the wringer. Bagley sat by the phones. “how many we got?”
    â€œ19. looks like a good day.”
    â€œshit, yeah yeah. that sounds like a good day. how many did we place yesterday?”
    â€œ14.”
    â€œfair. fair. we’ll make it good if the way keeps up. I keep worrying they might quit the thing in Viet,” said Bagley of the phones.
    â€œdon’t be foolish — too many people profit and depend on that war.”
    â€œbut the Paris Peace Conference …”
    â€œyou just ain’t yourself today, Bag. you know they just sit around and laugh all day, draw their pay and then make the Paree nightclubs each night. those boys are living good. they don’t want the Peace Conference to end anymore than we want the war to end. we’re all getting fat, and not a scratch. it’s sweet. and if they settle the thing somehow by accident, there’ll be others. they keep hot points glowing all over the globe.”
    â€œyeah, I guess I worry too much.” one of the three phones on the desk rang. Bagley picked it up. “SATISFACTORY HELP AGENCY. Bagley speaking.”
    he listened. “yeh. yeh. we got a good cost accountant. salary? $300 the first two weeks, I mean 300 a week. we get the first two weeks’ pay. then cut him to 50 a week or fire him. if you fire him after the first two weeks, we give YOU one hundred dollars. why? well, hell, don’t you see, the whole idea is to keep things moving. it’s all psychological, like Santa Claus. when? yeah, we’ll send him right over. what’s the address? fine, fine, he’ll be there pronto. remember all the terms. we send him with a contract. bye.”
    Bagley hung up. hummed to himself, underlined the address. “get one down, Danforth. a tired, thin one. no use shipping out the best on first shot.”
    Danforth walked over to the wire clothesline and took the clamps off the fingers of a tired, thin one.
    â€œwalk him over here. what’s his name?”
    â€œHerman. Herman Telleman.”
    â€œshit, he don’t look so good. looks like he still got a little blood in him. and I can see some color in his eye … I think. listen, Danforth, you got those wringers running good and tight? I want all the guts squeezed out, no resistance at all, you understand? you do your job and I’ll do mine.”
    â€œsome of these guys came in pretty tough. some men have more guts than others, you know that. you can’t always tell by looking.”
    â€œall right, let’s try him. Herman. hey, sonny!”
    â€œwhat’s up, pops?”
    â€œhow’d you like a nice little job?”
    â€œah, hell no!”
    â€œwhat? you don’t want a nice little job?”
    â€œwhat the fuck for? my old man, he was from Jersey, he worked all his damn life and after we buried him with his own money, ya know what he had left?”
    â€œwhat?”
    â€œ15 cents and the end of a drab dull life.”
    â€œbut don’t you want a wife, a family, a home, respectability? a new car every 3 years?”
    â€œI don’t want no grind, daddy-o. don’t put me in no flip-out cage. I just want to laze around. what the shit.”
    â€œDanforth, run this bastard through the wringer and make those screws tight!”
    Danforth grabbed the subject but not before Telleman yelled “up your old mother’s bunghole …”
    â€œand squeeze ALL THE GUTS OUT OF HIM, ALL OF THE GUTS! do you hear me?”
    â€œaw right, aw right!” answered Danforth. “shit. sometimes I think you got the easy end of the stick!”
    â€œforget sticks! squeeze the guts out of him. Nixon might end the war …”
    â€œthere you go talking that nonsense again! I don’t think you been sleeping good,