Winter 1974, Eila came over on a cold Sunday to help pick pictures for the Househook. It is freezing in my house -- sixty degrees to keep the heating bill down. She huddles by the stove, which is blowing dry gassy heat into the room. Out of cigarettes, she wants to walk to Cahaly's three blocks away. In this cold'! For cigarettes? Cancer, I remind her virtuously, like a good friend. She can't concentrate on my images; all she's thinking about are her ciggies. Finally, I remember that Charles Olson once sent a taxi for cigarettes when we were having supper in a restaurant which didn't have his brand. If Charles can, so can we. I call an Ambassador cab.


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