CarrollBlog

a letter from a friend:

Today I visited my aunt in her fabric shop. We were sitting having coffee when the door suddenly opened and a bum entered. We were both totally astonished and wary. My first thought was he either came in to warm himself or to steal something. Why else would such a filthy, disheveled, repulsive man enter an elegant shop? He came over to us, took off his woolen cap and showed his few teeth in a wide smile. Then to our surprise, he asked whether we sold blue velvet for a suit. He started describing the kind he wanted, telling us that he possesses a huge collection of smart, expensive suits that he loves to wear on all occasions. He was behaving as if he were a very important, wealthy person. So we treated him like one. The baron had entered the store and so we gave him the royal treatment. It was a funny and sad few minutes. He was trying to create for himself or us (I couldn't tell which) an image of a normal successful life and for a while we sort of believed him. For a while we saw a normal, elegant man instead of a worn flat bum. Unfortunately, there was no blue velvet in the shop and the man said that maybe he would buy a suit instead of getting one made. Before he left he said he would go next to the most expensive men's shop in town. A few minutes he later he was gone.