Rose VanDusenberg, parts 998 - 1001

998. Coromo was not asking for bread, he was asking for art supplies. Asking for bread had a certain validity about it, but asking for art supplies struck him as a little superfluous, but he pushed the thought from his mind, including the notion that millions of very devout people had starved to death asking God for bread. When he went to work in the morning he picked up a small stone in the road, and carried it in his pocket. 'Perhaps He will give me the stone instead', he thought.

999. Carrying a stone in your pocket, a stone you endow with special emotional significance can have a serious effect on the course of your life. If you want a good example of this just watch Fellini's movie called La Strada, where the character Gelsomina clutches a little stone given to her by the "Fool".  That situation lead eventually to her death, but we will hope for a better outcome for our painter friend.

1000. I have neglected to tell you an important thing that was happening outside of the resort facility, during  the time Coromo was dealing with Rose and the manager, putting up his paintings and selling them. All this took about two months during the height of the tourist season, and outside of the resort, day by day an odd transformation was going on.

1001. First let me describe the situation. The resort was on the coast, all by itself about half a mile from the nearest coastal village. In general the tourists stayed in the resort compound, hardly ever venturing outside, both because of an unjustified anxiety about the poverty-stricken natives, and also because there was nothing of interest outside the resort grounds.