390
SUSAN SONTAG
or Carlsbad Caverns. Once she spent two whole weeks in a little
cabin in the Ozarks, catching up on back issues of the
Saturday
Evening Post,
sleeping twelve hours a day, and occasionally yielding
to the advances of George, the proprietor of the Friendly Ed Motel
in the nearest town.
She knew some other work would be less strenuous than hustling.
A telephone operator or a clerk at a J. C. Penny's or a waitress had
it easier than she. It was not just the risk of disease but
all
the
standing, and even worse, the walking; her feet swelled and it was
hard to find attractive heels that didn't pinch her corns. But, really,
she wouldn't have changed her life for any other. It had brought
her a peace of mind, a vitality and an aplomb, she'd never known
before. She who had often flagged in her daily tasks as a fully
mechanized suburban housewife with only three children, two of
them school age, now found herself always on the go, full of pep.
Truly the power of sex, even though discovered late in life,
is
a
magical one.
So great was her energy that when she first encountered both
Mr. Obscenity and Inspector Jug at the same time-it was a deserted
street, lined with warehouses, on the near north side of Chicago–
she had the presence of mind to call the police and have them
arrested for molesting her. Actually, they hadn't gotten around to
that yet. Mr. Obscenity, monocled, clad in a parka, corduroy pants,
and high rubber snowboots, was leading Inspector Jug by some sort
of harness. That's what I call a sick relationship, she thought.
The Chicago police are not noted for their courage or their in–
corruptibility, but they did not seem in the least fazed by the odd–
looking pair which Miss Flatface consigned to their care.
"I bet that's not the last of them," Miss Flatface reflected
aloud, as she left the station, after the disreputable twosome had
been booked. Mingled with anxiety, there was a wistful note
in
her voice.
8.
Mr. Obscenity and Inspector Jug, usually singly, rarely
in
tandem, accosted Miss Flatface no less than 174 times within the
next five years, by telephone, telegram, and personal appearance.
Often the interruption was very embarrassing, and Miss Flatface
