(Karl, a business man, has asked Prescot what he does for a living.)
So. Prescot Marmaduke. What do you do? What line of work are you in?
Who? Me? Well Karl, I like to think of myself as an organ. But not just any organ. The heart. Specifically, I'm the heart. You see, there's the whole human condition, and if you picture it like a body, you've got the hands- the people who chose to make things- you know, the makers of things- blue collar construction men, the farmers, the nitty gritty we listen to John Cougar Mellencamp heart of America people, and then you got the feet people, Karl. The people who go places, who cover the world- the explorers- then you have the eyes- and that's easy, painters, and ears are musicians, but there are combo people- you know, most people are combo people- you get a crappy musician, and he's just an ear, but you get a man that is an ear, a foot, a mouth, eyes, and a heart , well then you get Jimi Hendrix.. But let's see, other basic straight shooters...psychologists are the mind, psychiatrists, the brain- two very different things Karl, if you haven't realized, and even though they would like you to think they are also brains, doctors are actually intestines, and let's see, politicians are the assholes- you know, the little puckered doors that get to decide exactly how much shit gets let out, and well, I could go on, but basically, Karl- I'm the heart. I keep the blood pumping. I keep the veins alive, and everyone's connected to me, as much as they don't want to admit it, as I am connected to them. It's a hard job, Karl, a hard job, and there's no two week vacation. That's the bitch.
So...what do you do?
Of course, that's what I call myself. Most people call me a bum. (notices Karl's confusion) I don't work. I eat when I can where I can. I sleep, sometimes on benches, you can actually see mine from your window. Um. Yeah. I'm a bum