Tom laughed uneasily. “Well, maybe like Casy says, a fella ain’t got a soul of his own, but on’y a piece of a big one — an’ then–”
“Then what, Tom?”
“Then it don’ matter. Then I’ll be all aroun’ in the dark. I’ll be ever’where—wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. If Casy knowed, why I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’ — I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build — why, I’ll be there.”
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. Viking Penguin, 1939, 1976. p. 537
In case you’re wondering why I’ve been so sullen as of late, it’s because I’ve found a new/old punch in the stomach – John Steinbeck. I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without reading any of his work before. Shame on me. And shame on all of us for creating a world that would prompt a book like this to be written.
I hate bankers.
Grapes of Wrath, John Ford, dir. Henry Fonda, Per. 1940
Ballad of Tom Joad, Woody Guthrie. 1995. [lyrics, roughly]
Ghost of Tom Joad, Bruce Springsteen. 1995. [lyrics]
oregano 