Pp. 29-50 Summary

Chinaski remembers his childhood in "education." In school he has difficulty with words and falls behind the other children. His teacher, Ms. Simms, calls his mother in for a conference. She says that Chinaski is not trying to learn, and Chinaski's mother begs her to give him another chance. On the way home, Chinaski's mother laments that his father will be very angry, and Chinaski resolves to learn nothing in school.

In "downtown L.A." Chinaski is drunk in a hotel room with a prostitute and breaks a window. This is the type of night that produces his best work. He sweet-talks the prostitute, saying that she is not like the other whores. He decides not to have sex with her, and they drink together. The next morning, he wakes up to her going down on him. They check out and...