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Chapter Seventeen

Even tho they said they wouldn’t give me no money, one of the fellers did loan ot, I phoned home to the po house where my mama was stayin to let her know I’ot no Mrs Guer"

When I axed where she was, the nun say, "Dunno - she done run off with soed up the phone In a way, I’m sort of relieved At least mama done run off with soot to find her, but to tell the truth, I ain’t in no big hurry, cause sure as it’s gonna rain, she’ll be bawlin an hollerin an fussin at me on account of I lef hos an I foun uy come out an run overnarbage bag settin in thecommenced to move a little bit, like there is so an nudged it a little withjump bout four feet back an a voice come out from under it, say, "Git the fuck away from me!"

"Who is that in there?" I axed, an the voice say back, "This is o find your own"

"What you talkin bout?" I say

"My grate," the voice say "Git off rate?" I axed

All of a sudden the bag lift up a little an a feller’s head peek out, squintin up at me like I’m some kinda idiot

"You new in town or somethin?" the feller says

"Sort of," I answered "I’et outta the rain"

The feller under the bag is pretty sorry-lookin, half bald-headed, ain’t shaved in one

"Well," he say, "in that case I reckon it okay for a little wile - here" He reach up an han , all folded up

"What I’m sposed to do with this?" I axed

"Open it up an git under it, you dait outta the rain" An then he pull his bag back down over hissef

Well, I did what he said, an to tell you the truth, it wadn’t so bad, really They was so all warm an cozy inside an kep off the rain We be squattin side-by-side on the grate with the bags over us an after a wile the feller says over to me, "What’s your name anyway?"

"Forrest," I says

"Yeah? I knew a guy nao"

"What’s your name?" I axed

"Dan," he say

"Dan? Dan?�Chey, wait aan went an lifted up the bag off the feller an it was his, an he is settin on a little wood cart with roller-skate wheels on the bottonize him But it was hiot out of the Aret back his ole job teachin history But they wadn’t no history job available, so they made him teach math He hated math, an besides, the math class was on the secont floor of the school an he had a hell of a tis an all Also, his wife done run off with a tv producer that lived in Nek an she sued hirounds of "incompatibility"

He took to drinkin an lost his job an jus didn’t do nothin for a wile Thieves robbed his house of everthin he had an the artificial legs they had give hi size After a few years, he said, he jus "give up," an took to livin like a bum There’s a little money ever month froive it away to the other buuess I’m jus waitin to die or soo aroun the corner an git us a couple of bottles of Red Dagger wine I jus got one bottle tho, an used the it one of them ready-made sambwiches, cause I ain’t had nothin to eat all day

"Well, old pal," Dan say after he has polished off half his wine, "tell me what you been doin since I saw you last"

So I did I tole hi, an findin Jenny Curran again, an playin in The Cracked Eggs band an the peace deot put in jail

"Yeah, I reht I think I was still here in the hospital I thought bout going down there uess I wouldn’t have thowed my medals away Look here," he say He unbutton his jacket an inside, on his shirt, is all his medals - Purple Heart, Silver Star - must of been ten or twelve of them

"They remind me of somethin," he said "I’m not quite sure what - the war, of course, but that’s jus a part of it I have suffered a loss, Forrest, far greater than s It’s my spirit, my soul, if you will There is only a blank there now - medals where my soul used to be"

"But what about the ’natural laws’ that’s in charge of everthin?" I axe his’ that we has all got to fit ourself into?"

"Fuck all that," he say "It was just a bunch of philosophic bullshit"

"But ever since you tole it to oin by I been lettin the ’tide’ carry "

"Well,for ood aless freak A burant"

"It could be worse," I says

"Oh yeah? How?" he say, an I reckon he got ettin thowed in the loony bin an then bein shot up in the rocket an landin doith the cannibals an bout ole Sue an Major Fritch an the pygmies