Dear Trout Fishing in America: I met your friend Fritz in Washington Square.
He told meto tell you that his case went to a jury and that he was acquit-ted by the jury. He said that it was important for me to say that his casewent to a jury and that he was acquitted by the jury,said it again. He looked in good shape.
He was sitting in the sun.
There'san old San Francisco saying that goes: "It's better to rest
Washington Square than in the California Adult Authority. "How are things in New York? Yours, "An Ardent Admirer"Dear Ardent Admirer:
It's good to hear that Fritz isn't in jail.
He was very wor-ried about it.
The last time I was in San Francisco, he toldme he thought the odds were 10-1 in favor of him going away.
I told him to get a good lawyer.
It appears that he followedmy advice and also was very lucky.
That's always a goodcombination. You asked about New York and New York is very hot. I'm visiting some friends, a young burglar and his wife.
He's unemployed and his wife is working as a cocktail wait-ress.
He's been looking for work but I fear the worst. It was so hot last night that I slept with a wet sheet wrappedaround myself, trying to keep cool.
I felt like a mental patient. I woke up in the middle of the night and the room was filledwith steam rising off the sheet, and there was jungle stuff,abandoned equipment and tropical flowers, on the floor andon the furniture.
I took the sheet into the bathroom and plopped it into thetub and turned the cold water on it.
Their dog came in andstarted barking at me. The dog barked so loud that the bathroom was soon filledwith dead people.
One of them wanted to use my wet sheetfor a shroud.
I said no, and we got into a big argument overit and woke up the Puerto Ricans in the next apartment, andthey began pounding on the walls. The dead people all left in a huff. "We know when we'renot wanted, " one of them said. "You're damn tootin'," I said. I've had enough. I' m going to get out of New York.
Tomorrow I'm leaving
Alaska.
I'm going to find an ice-cold creek near the Arcticwhere that strange beautiful moss grows and spend a weekwith the grayling.
My address will be,
Trout Fishing in Ameri-ca, c/o General Delivery,
Fairbanks,
Alaska. Your friend, Trout Fishing in America
