Mention in Philadelphia Weekly
Check this out:
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=12249
The Ambidextrist, by Peter Rock
Context Books, 2002
Peter Rock's third novel follows the life of Scott, a drifter who earns money as a medical test subject and resides in the dilapidated Water Works complex, among other places along the Schuylkill River. Scott develops relationships with other interesting characters who live along the waterfront, creating episodes that are sometimes amusing and at other times disturbing.
Scott walks past the dried-out fountain, under the overpass. This is the safest time of the day, when the dealers are gone, wherever they go to get their only sleep of the day. There are no men under the trees, and there are no women here-only the occasional college girl in running shorts, moving too fast to catch, screaming if anyone looks her way. Homeless women stay away, and those who do come around don't last; for them it is safer in the shelters.
A train sits motionless on the tracks, as if resting, deserted. Dipping a rag in the river, he scrubs the front and arms of his jacket as he walks down the gravel of the bank. He slides his pack around and takes out half a bagel from the day before, a jar of baby food. Whipped yams. He's heard people say insanity leads to homelessness, but he knows it's the other way around-the lack of sleep, the poor nutrition, the worrying-all that drives people beyond. He watches himself. Slugging water from a glass jar, he swallows a handful of vitamins.
On a recent day a man in a lime green shirt stands motionless behind drooping leaves just east of the Schuylkill River Park trail, in the area that will soon be a skatepark. He's barely visible to the astute observer. Most of the people jogging, biking and strolling by must not even see him. Other men are also hidden in the brush-a few talking to each other, a few watching the rush hour crowd on the asphalt path.
Still, Rock's gritty 2002 novel about the homeless and transient characters living along the Schuylkill seems like it's from another era. The river trail is attractive and landscaped now, and improvements are steadily pushing forward. The dry fountain near the Water Works that Rock mentions is being renovated.
Changes are happening daily. A once bountiful grove of trees along the river has been felled. A handful of stumps still covered in sawdust remain, surrounded by chocolate colored dirt that leads down to the water's edge. Only a few trees still stand, a blue "S" spraypainted on their trunks.
With new shrubs planted, plaques set in stone and the shiny Cira Centre reflecting the sky in the distance, there's an illusion of safety. (G.W. Miller III)
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=12249
The Ambidextrist, by Peter Rock
Context Books, 2002
Peter Rock's third novel follows the life of Scott, a drifter who earns money as a medical test subject and resides in the dilapidated Water Works complex, among other places along the Schuylkill River. Scott develops relationships with other interesting characters who live along the waterfront, creating episodes that are sometimes amusing and at other times disturbing.
Scott walks past the dried-out fountain, under the overpass. This is the safest time of the day, when the dealers are gone, wherever they go to get their only sleep of the day. There are no men under the trees, and there are no women here-only the occasional college girl in running shorts, moving too fast to catch, screaming if anyone looks her way. Homeless women stay away, and those who do come around don't last; for them it is safer in the shelters.
A train sits motionless on the tracks, as if resting, deserted. Dipping a rag in the river, he scrubs the front and arms of his jacket as he walks down the gravel of the bank. He slides his pack around and takes out half a bagel from the day before, a jar of baby food. Whipped yams. He's heard people say insanity leads to homelessness, but he knows it's the other way around-the lack of sleep, the poor nutrition, the worrying-all that drives people beyond. He watches himself. Slugging water from a glass jar, he swallows a handful of vitamins.
On a recent day a man in a lime green shirt stands motionless behind drooping leaves just east of the Schuylkill River Park trail, in the area that will soon be a skatepark. He's barely visible to the astute observer. Most of the people jogging, biking and strolling by must not even see him. Other men are also hidden in the brush-a few talking to each other, a few watching the rush hour crowd on the asphalt path.
Still, Rock's gritty 2002 novel about the homeless and transient characters living along the Schuylkill seems like it's from another era. The river trail is attractive and landscaped now, and improvements are steadily pushing forward. The dry fountain near the Water Works that Rock mentions is being renovated.
Changes are happening daily. A once bountiful grove of trees along the river has been felled. A handful of stumps still covered in sawdust remain, surrounded by chocolate colored dirt that leads down to the water's edge. Only a few trees still stand, a blue "S" spraypainted on their trunks.
With new shrubs planted, plaques set in stone and the shiny Cira Centre reflecting the sky in the distance, there's an illusion of safety. (G.W. Miller III)
posted by Russ Campbell at 2:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home