-Borough-

Well, the couch made it here in one piece. Sitting around half the day waiting for it didn't seem like such a chore when the two delivery men deftly eased it in the torturously small entryway. (They were less deft with brick wall outside, but that's my landlord's problem.)

This challenge conquered, I decided to spend the rest of the day exploring this economically disadvantaged town to which my job has taken me. Try as I might to keep an open mind, I saw disillusionment and decay everywhere. The favorite drug seems to be Jesus.

Of course, Jesus is the healthy part of the godfearer's theological regimen. But I don't need to consult my Clergyman's Desk Reference to worry about the effects of using Jesus in conjunction with proselytes, Kinko's and right wing cinema. In this incarnation, the older faithful squatted around one of the many active religious store fronts. The young trolled the main street seeking extra theater-goers. The young doing the bidding of the old - sounds like every religion, every politician's MO, outside of Inuit territory.

I think it was the volunteers' eyes that unnerve me the most - they seem to move independently from what they're saying. It makes you wonder what they think they're reading on your forehead.