Wiping off tears from his bloodshot eyes, he excused his raggedy appearance. He looked at his reflection in one of the glass-framed photographs on the wall, and joked that he’s still better looking than the average roadside guest. Sporting the same clothes for the week, he changed on Saturday before going to the laundromat. Never tying the shoelaces on his sneakers, he refrained from combing his stringy hair, thus completing the Bohemian look. Generously scented with nicotine and alcohol, his clothes made the statement of a typical motel guest, but with a flair of a would-be writer.
Despite a deliberately frenzied appearance manifesting his beleaguered spirit, more than once he was condescending toward motel guests and ridiculing them with jokes beyond their grasp. When Elmer the truck dr
