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Our Nation As A Melting Pot

Our Nation As A Melting Pot image
Parent Issue
Day
19
Month
November
Year
1975
OCR Text

One eyed Egyptian with katsup race down the starboard rail with many gestures of annoyance in hot pursuit . He's a thief. He's an immigrant. Many immigrants started coming to America after the period of Reconstruction. We were called the Melting Pot because of this. Egyptian man with katsup jumps outa boat kicking a few foots & saying, "yeeow!" with a bluebird on his shoulder and a heartbeat in his soul. He swam rest of way to America with wet back and lump in throat like crazy. Down there in Lower Manhattan he landed and pulled himself from the water like a Chinese rat and started asking directions.

"Yes. sir?" said the officer in blue. "What do I do now?" the Egyptian wanted to know. "Down the street," said the cop pointing. "First right on your Ieft. Can't miss it!" Egyptian man with old smelly underwear buys San Diego Stretcher Bar with katsup bottle and plays Mister Frog Went A Courtin ' in Central Park. "Mister frog went a courtin', he did ride," he sang, "Ah-ha! He rode up to Miss Mousie's house. Ah-ha. Ah-ha."

Old Egyptian folk song. he tells the folks gathered in starchy lhigh-collared pomposity as he passes magician's top hat around the square. Wise guy drops a rabbit in the hat and pretty soon there were 3869 rabbits there and Egyptian man he ran. He ran to Brooklyn and beat off in candy store by lemon sours, bought a kilo of Real World Hashish and found old room with flowered wallpaper and painted brass bed, one sink.

"Oh," he moaned in the little room alone. Life in this great Melting Pot was a struggle. He sat back his bed smoking the Real World Hashish and felt a rush move through his body like his river Nile. He was the Nile. He was the heart and soul of his homeland. The awesome power of that river flowed through his veins right now, but yet here he was in a flop house.

"It say anybody here can grow up to be President. That a lot of shit!" The Egyptian smoked his pipe and felt warm and good. After a bit, he got up with stalk of bananas on his shoulder and pretended he was a South American unloading some crazy Gypsy ship. That didn't work and he spent the next four days in a tap dancing show, in tails and a butterfly tic. staring at the laces below the lights in front of him. He worked down at the fish market but quit when on a sunny day in June he was tossed off the pier for no reason at all.

The one eyed Egyptian was having trouble adjusting to this vast Melting Pot country and suddenly he had a brain storm. He bought a alligator suit and a huge glowing car. He opened a chain of restaurants along the great American highways & byways.

THE EGYPTIAN'S MALTS ONION RINGS BURGERS FRIES DOGS TACOS SHAKES was the name of his restaurants and there were one hundred of these everywhere and the Egyptian was making the dough and living in the nice part of town.

She took the frozen hamburger patty from the icebox and dropped it on the grill and it started to sputter, and then she look a handful of potatoes from a sack and dropped them in the fryolator and lowered the basket in the hot grease. Then she picked up the hamburger roll and sliced it in half and squirted some mustard & katsup on it and some onion, relish and special Egyptian sauce. Then she picked the hamburger patty off the grill and she dumped the french fries on a white plate and put the hamburger next to the french fries. She drew a glass of Coke for the customer and set the plate of food and the Coke in front of the customer. The customer said thanks and then he started eating.

Bill Hutton's History of America was published by the Coach House Press, Toronto/Detroit. Copyright © 1968 by Bill Hutton.