I remember how once there was this bald guy
at the Faculty Center where I was a waiter
and his head was all shiny and waxy and
there were all these dents and bumps all over it
which were really sticking out
and what I remember is how somebody I was talking to
said how the bald guy got mugged walking in Central Park
while he lived in New York City
and that's where all his dents and head bumps came from
so I wondered, " Where were you when you overheard that
conversation?"
but otherwise I never really thought about the bald guy much
until one morning I read in the paper how a
famous Hollywood movie star died the day before
and she had been especially famous for the last
fifty years for being a total recluse in New York City
which was pretty remarkable
considering how the whole world loved her
but instead of a picture of the famous dead movie star
the local paper had a photograph of the bald guy
with the dents and bumps all over his head
which at first it was hard for me to recognize him
though I knew I knew him from somewhere
but the picture in the paper was from straight on
instead of from the top looking down on his
waxy head
which is how I always thought of him
and the article about the famous movie star
was all about how the bald guy
who lived here now
was such a close friend of the dead movie star
and they said he was her companion
during the years while he lived in New York City
and how they used to hang out together
in the Village
browsing through antique shops together
when she used to tell the bald guy
all the famous stories about her personal life
which, now that she was dead, he could take
all of his notes and put into a book
because they were such good friends and all
but what I really wondered was
did he ever take her walking in Central Park?

James DeFord
July, 1996