I was born in the city of b—————, in the country of s——————.
my parents were honest, hardworking people. they went to work every day and came home at night. when i questioned them about the nature of their jobs, because i was a moderately curious child, they were never able to give me what i regarded as satisfactory answers.
when i was old enough i was sent to school. i did nor find schooling to be an interesting or edifying experience. as i can red and write, and have a functional, if rudimentary grasp of mathematics, i assume i learned these things in the school, but have no memory of actually doing so.
i did not make friends with the other children. i was big and looked strong (but was not nearly as strong as i looked) and i was shunned but not tormented. the male students walked past me without seeming to notice me. the females often shrank back and rolled their eyes and shuddered.
all through my youth i had one idea - to get away. i do not remember that i had any particular destination in mind - i just wanted to get away.
at last the day came. i was no longer required by law to attend school. i was free.
free to do what? and go where?
one day when my father was out of the house - probably going down to the corner store to buy the newspaper - his one form of relaxation - i told my other i was leaving home and asked her if she would give me a small sum of money.
to my bewilderment and embarrassment she began to cry . but she quickly dried her tears and gave me a small amount of money (i had secretly hoped for a larger one) and i was on my way.
the sign in the storefront window said “soldiers of fortune - recruiting station”. i went inside.
a little man behind a desk said, “so you want to be a soldier of fortune, eh?”
“i just want a square meal,” i told him.
“well, there is no reason you can’t have both,” he replied.
i got my square meal and found myself on a ship bound for the continent of c————.
the first thing i heard when i got on shore was a voice saying, “look at this fellow. he looks strong enough.”
i was taken to a warehouse behind the wharf. i spent the next twenty years - or was it thirty? - lifting bales and other heavy objects.
during this period i had a great deal of time to think about things, but did not make such great use of it as i might have.
when my period of enlistment was over, i wandered back down to the docks. i decided to become a beggar. i prospered at this trade for a few years.
one day a uniformed official informed me that the city had been ceded to another country or empire and that under their laws i could 'no longer simply beg on the streets, but that i might continue to solicit money as long as i was a “street performer”.
i purchased a small bear and taught it to “dance”. while the bear danced i recited epic poems which i had composed in my head during the long years in the warehouse and sitting in the street with my paper cup. in this way i got along for another ten years or so.
the bear, whom i had christened bismarck, never stopped growing and this proved a problem. eventually we could not make enough to feed both of us, so we parted ways.
i decided to explore the interior of the continent of c————, on whose shore i had spent so many years.
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