Roth shook his head and continued to trudge... 681
Roth shook his head and continued to trudge through the sandAbsorbed in thought, his chin rested almost on his chest and it emphasized the misshapen humped appearance of his back
The great rain cloud that had spread over them that morning had blown away and the sun was very hot on his green fatigue capHe stopped, and mopped his foreheadThis tropical weather is uncertain, he told himself, very unhealthy, it's miasmalHis legs and arms ached from the labor of carrying the boxes from the boat to the dump, and he sighedI'm too old for this kind of thingIt's all right for someone like Wilson or Ridges or even Goldstein, but it's not for meA wry smile played over his mouthI figured that Goldstein out wrong, he said to himself, for his height he's built very well, he's a strong fellow, but he's changed, I don't know what's the matter with himHe's very gloomy all the time, he's got a omega aqua terra watch chip on his shoulderThere's been something the matter with him ever since that first squad came back from the front; it's the combat, I suppose, it makes changes in a manBut when I first met him he was such a cheerful fellow, a regular Pollyanna, I figured he could get along with anyoneFirst impressions, it doesn't pay to follow themSomeone like Brown, he's too sure of himself, he goes on first impressions, that's why he has it in for meJust because I stayed on guard too long one night; if I'd tried to cut off a few minutes for myself, then he'd have a case, but this way I think he just has it in for me
Roth rubbed his nose and sighedI could be friends with them but what do I have in common? They don't understand me and I don't understand themTo pal around you have to have a species of confidence I don't possessIf it hadn't been the depression when I got out of collegeBut what's ladies omega watches the use of kidding myself, I'm not the aggressive type, I never would have been much of a successYou can kid yourself just so longI can see it here in the Army, all they know is that I can't do as much manual labor as they can so they look down on meThey don't know what goes on inside my head, they don't careWhat are finer thoughts to them, intellect? If they'd let me I could be a good friend to them, I'm matureI've had experience, there're things I could tell them, but would they listen to me? Roth clicked his tongue in frustrationIt's always been this way with meStill, if I could get a job which fitted my qualifications, I could make a success of myself
He passed by the strip of beach where the kelp had washed ashore, and curious, he went over to examine itGiant kelp, I should know something about that, it was my major only I've forgotten it allThe thought made him chanel diamond watches bitterWhat's the use of all that education, when you can't even remember it? He looked down at the kelp, and held the head of one in his handIt looks like a snakeSuch a simple organismIt's got an anchor in its tail where it fastens onto a rock, and it's got a mouth at the top, and a connection between themWhat could be simpler? A basic organism, brown algae, that's what it is, if I were to try it would all come back to meMacrocystis something, that's what it was called, common name Devil's Shoelace, or is that something else? Macrocystis pyrifera, I remember we had a lecture on itMaybe I should do something with my botany yet, it's only twelve years since I had it, I could refresh my memory and there'll be better jobs now in thatIt's a fascinating subject
He dropped the head of the kelpThat's an unusual plant, I wish I could remember more about itAll those marine plants are well worth shop prada handbags studying, plankton, green algae, brown algae, red algae, I'm surprised at how much I rememberI'll have to write Dora and ask her if she can find my botany notebooks, maybe I should start studying it again
He walked back, examining the seaweed and driftwood along the beachAll dead things, he thought, everything lives to dieAlready I can feel it, I'm getting older, thirty-four, I'm probably through half my life already and what do I have to show for it? There's a Yiddish word for it, Goldstein would knowStill I'm not sorry I never learned any Yiddish, it's better to have modern folks the way I did
Oh, my shoulder aches, why don't they ever leave us alone for a day? In the distance Roth could see the men, and he felt a pinch of anxietyOh, they're all working againThey're all going to be making cracks and what can I tell them, that I was looking at some kelp? They wouldn't tiffany toggle necklace understan
