BENEFITS OF AMERICAN LIFE
27
hours of raw jokes and humor about when they would have
their first wedding night, until sex-crazed, both of the newlyweds
went temporarily out of their heads, and the girls screamed until
she was dragged off the floor. Disqualified they were out of
the marathon, and new wishful humor sprang up. Another day,
a girl had an abscessed tooth extracted on the floor, and im–
mediately afterwards, she rejoined the endless walking proces–
sion that tramped around and around the floor in this ever
dullening stupor. Another day, an Italian boy, who with his
wife had entered the contest because they were both unemployed
and had been evicted required crutches, and ran a high rever.
With his eyes intent from the fever, with dogged suffering im–
printed on his haggard face, he hobbled around and around.
And at the end of the twelve hour period, he was forced out
of the contest by the judges because of his worsening condition.
Again and again, Takiss wanted to quit, and satisfy himself
with the incidental money he had taken in, and as repeatedly,
he would doggedly go on. Like the others, he would fall into
that lumbrous sleep, and external means would be required to
awaken him so that he might continue. The male nurses would
slap him in the face with wet towels, put his shoes on the wrong
feet, strap him into an electric vibrator machine, poke their
fingers into his throat, tickle his calloused soles. During one
period his cough developed into a chest cold. For another period,
he was not out of his stupor for three days. And Marie, his
partner, suffered the same tortures. They went on. Days and
nights, and days and nights, with the field narrowing to thirteen,
ten, eight, five, and finally two couples. Then, Marie collapsed,
and was carried off the floor and shipped to a hospital, and
Takiss was disqualified. They each collected the two hundred
and fifty dollars second place money.
After recuperation, Takiss entered other dance marathons,
and became a professional. He secured a copy of
Yes If/e Have
No Barzanas
with a Greek translation of the words, and this,
with his dance stunt, became very popular. He was able with
both stunts, and with a growing audience of fans, to earn from
ten to fifteen dollars a day in extra money. Even when he was
forced to retire from marathons or was disqualified, he departed
with added money. Again the desire to return to his homeland,
like a rich American, grew upon him, and now his bank account
increased. He was something of a celebrity in this new world
of his. He was entertained by prominent Greeks, and his pic-
