The Beggar's Daughter, parts 4728 - 4731

 4728. Concerning the tourist in search of his breakfast in Naples, you will notice that we have been referring to him as "You." He is not you at all; you and I both know this. So, if he is not you, just whom do you suppose it is? Perhaps it is I, the actual writer of this chronicle.

 4729. All along I have been writing about the tourist called, "You," and now we begin to suspect that it is actually myself. I am going to come right out and admit that he is not me, not at all.

 4730. I will tell you who he is, and then you will see why I have been calling him "you." He is the inner self of some person who has gone ahead and done a thing against his better judgment. For a whole year he has been saying to himself, "Listen you, you are not going to do that, you are not going down that road. I have told you a thousand times it is a mistake, so stop thinking about it right this minute."

 4731. This is how we address ourselves sometimes when we are giving ourselves a stern lecture. We become our own parent so to speak, and lecture ourselves, sometimes using our own names. A person named Jack might say in their mind, "Stop that Jack."

Lost In New York, parts 4724 - 4727

 4724. Even when that person comes to his rescue, and explains in detail what he must do, and how much it will cost to get himself into the 'City,' still Coromo is going to carry out the directions with trepidation, fearful of becoming hopelessly lost.

 4725. This fear, a version of his earlier fear of flying, had been exaggerated by the vastness of the cityscape he has seen from the sky just an hour ago. It was a view that created the impression that what lay before him was an infinite assortment of streets and buildings.

 4726. Many lifetimes would have to pass for him to work his way through the maze of the cities streets in search of God know exactly what it was he wanted to find. Picture to yourself a man who does not know the difference between some town out on Long Island, and Harlem. To him it is all a jumble. 

 4727. While we wait to see how Coromo deals with this riddle we will return to the man we left in the slums of Naples. Where he came from, and why he even exists I have no idea, but we must go back there and make sure he has his coffee and a pastry, and does not get run over or attacked in the process.

Lost In New York, parts 4720 - 4723

4720. Please do not think I have forgotten about Coromo. But we have some time to kill before he figures out how to get into the city. Like someone from the Midwest who does not even know the difference between New York State, and New York City, Coromo is trying to figure out what to do next.

 4721. He wants to go to "New York," that is his purpose, and that is why he has decided to spend every cent he has, plus run up his credit card to its limit, but the problem is, he does not know anything about "Manhattan." 

 4722. Manhattan is his actual destination, but until he figures out that the New York in his mind is never ever called "New York" by anybody, he is at a loss as to what to do. He has asked several people about it but he can't understand their explanations.

4723. "What?" he wonders, has a place called "Bronx," have to do with anything, and why would I go to The Brooklen, or The Queen. He is going to have to wait for a while until he asks one of those people from some obscure place, who, years ago gave up everything and went to the city to seek their fortune, and understands his predicament. 

Lost In New York, parts 4716 - 4719

 4716. Then the old man, dressed in a grey undershirt and grease covered wool pants with cuffs, comes out from the kitchen, walks up to his wife and shouts, "Tell him No". Then he turns around, goes back into the kitchen and continues his cooking, or whatever it was he was doing.

 4717. The look on the old lady's face tells you that you can't have your coffee the way you want because of the husband in the kitchen, who will not allow it. But why won't he allow it you wonder.

 4718. You figure it out in an instant because it is obvious; when you did not get off the bus at the right stop, you ended up outside of the tourist area, and the tourist area is where everything is like Disney Land, groomed and cultivated for your express satisfaction.

 4719. But now you are in some region where people like yourself are hated, and the fact that you have money to spend in their establishments only makes their disgust for you more intense.

Lost in New York, parts 4712 - 4715

 4712. You decide to give the old woman some useful instructions. You ask if she can provide you with tea, and she says that she can. You ask her if she can make you an espresso, and she says that she can do that also. 

 4713. "So," you say," completing your logical argument, "If you can make me a tea, and you can make me an espresso, all you need to do is make a tea with no tea bag, and pour the espresso into the cup."

 4714. All along you have been imagining that the problem is simply one of communication, and if you can just make yourself understood you will be able to sit down to your morning coffee, with something to go with it, and enjoy the first morning of your vacation.

4715. But you are wrong, as you are soon going to find out, because after your simple explanation, the old woman again declines to make you the coffee you desire, and all she has to say in a gravelly voice is, "No." 

Lost In New York, parts 4708- 4711

 4708. The owner goes in a little door at the back, and a little later what must be his wife comes out.  She is a short round elderly woman dressed in black, with a scarf on her head. She also pays no attention to you.

 4709. In your pocket you have a piece of paper you prepared in advance, on it are words and phrases in Italian, so that you can order an Americano when you are in Naples. You know everyone will be drinking espresso, but you find it too bitter, and gone too fast.

 4710. Timidly you approach the old woman who seems to be sorting silverware under the counter, and you say, "Vorrei un Americano per favore." The woman speaks some broken English, and explains that you can have an espresso, but not any Americanos.

4711. You point out that if she can make an espresso, certainly she can easily make you an Americano, since it is simply an espresso with a little more water, but still she politely and timidly declines.

Lost In New York, parts 4704 - 4707

 4704. You probably know yourself that the answer to the question is 'no.' Not only does going away some great distance not accomplish the task of forgetting a person; it positively makes the problem worse.

 4705. At first travel seems to work well in producing forgetfulness, especially if it is to a foreign country with an unfamiliar language. You get up in the morning and the first task is to have a cup of coffee, this in itself may perhaps take several hours to accomplish.

 4706. On the way to your hotel you saw a little café and you resolved to go there in the morning for breakfast. You are not sure how far away it was, but it was on the bus route that runs right in front of your hotel.

 4707. You board the bus in the opposite direction and then, looking out the window as best you can, in a crouched position, you look for it, but the little cafe never appears and you find yourself getting off the bus in some unfamiliar, even rather unpleasant place.