Section 7 and Section 8 Summary and Analysis

Section 7 begins on page 37 with the words "those were the nights, the old days at the Olympic.." Bukowski describes the nights at the boxing ring, where he and his lady friend would drink along with everyone else, and choose which fighter to bet on. One night, he is watching his favorite, Watson Jones, when he is astonished to see a man named Enrique Balanos win the fight. He later admits to Jane, his friend, that the better fighter won. He and Jane make love, and awaken to find themselves soaking wet, since they fell asleep near an open window. The two laugh, and Bukowski goes to work. In this piece, Bukowski is comparing the existence of a regular working man and those believed to be of a higher order, such as boxers. As he notes toward the...