It suddenly occurred to me that true believers in hard-driving jazz—Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor—could never become owners of cleaning shops in malls across from railroad stations.

“So many dreams, so many disappointments, so many promises. And in the end, they…”

“Reiko set the ball on the ground and patted my knee. "Look," she said, "I'm not…”

“Everything was too sharp and clear, so that I could never tell where to start- …”

“Time had the power to cancel all changes wrought by human artifice, overwriting…”