Table of Contents
The 1970s
In the Back of the Motel Clerk's Mind, the Key Rack 3
The Motel Clerk's Son Writes His Lover's Name on the Marquee 4
On the Drive to the Motel, Sohios 5
Greetings from Across the Counter 6
The Motel Clerk's Son Falls in Love While Buildings Fall 7
Swings, 1970 8
Sound Check, 1979 10
"Do we have any rock and rollers out there tonight?" 11
The Approach of Water 12
Actual Afternoons 13
She Understands More Than She Lets On 14
The Motel Clerk's Son Steps on the Glass 15
The Motel Clerk's Son Drives Out to Check on Business 16
Migrations
The Line Moves at the Laundry 19
Greetings 20
Arriving 21
An Early Morning 22
Inheritance 23
The Motel Clerk's Mother 24
The Laundryman's Mother 25
Arriving in Canada 28
The Jewish Cemetery at Youngstown 30
What It Sounds Like from Here 32
From the Back Room of the Laundry 33
The Merchant Marine's Daughter 34
The Long Turn
The Motel Clerk's Granddaughter Restocks the Beer Cooler 37
Dead Language 38
The Line Speeds Up 39
Greetings from the End of the Line 40
The Motel Clerk's Sons Take Over the Business 41
Language Loosened Back 42
Falls in Love, or Reads Spinoza 43
At the Laundry After 44
The Marquee Is Empty at the Big Rig Saloon 47
Silence 49
Walking Far from Home with Charles Reznikoff 50
The Heart of It All + A Free Beer 51
Cleaning Motel Rooms at Night 53
Another Dayshift 54
The Great Bearer of Keys
In the Back of the Motel Clerk's Mind, the Call Bell 57
The Motel Clerk Has Heard It Before 58
Night Portrait of a Motel Clerk 59
A Conversation with America About Small Businesses 60
Song of the Dead Office 61
10-4 62
The Motel Clerk's Son Gets Bad Reception of Cleveland 100.7 FM 63
Line Study of a Motel Clerk 64
Family Tree 67
Notes 69
Acknowledgments 73
