Pp. 175-194 Summary

Chinaski describes the cafes of Paris in "Gay Paree." He says they are exactly as one would imagine, snobby and expensive. The food, he declares, is under-spiced. Paris is a lovely city full of cowards, like the world in general.

"I thought the stuff tasted worse than usual" is a classic joke. Chinaski drinks with Jane until 3 a.m. At 5:30, he goes to work at the post office. A coworker saying he smells like gasoline, and Chinaski asks him not to light a match.

In "the blade" Chinaski is working at a post office and can never find a spot. He ends up parking by a slaughterhouse and, every night, he watches the workers at the abattoir pushing the pigs toward the blade. After a while, he stops going to work after watching the pigs. Eventually, he parks at a Chinese...