It will need some editing (All in fun)

The next novel I write, which will actually be the first novel I write, which will probably never get written, will be a crime thriller set in San Francisco during 1937. It will be inspired by the photographs of Ken Cathcart, whom I wrote about in the previous post, and will be in first person format. The protagonist will be on the run, either hiding from the police, the mob, or the United States Treasury. The novel will open up in Chinatown, just the place for my hero to hide who’s being pursued by the police for a murder he didn’t commit, or the mob for skimming money, or the United States Treasury for absolutely nothing; I haven’t worked that out yet. The following is a working draft of my novel.

{I headed for Chinatown. I had friends there and was certain that I could lay low until the heat was off. As I headed up Grant Avenue to California Street, I approached a young lad holding a shoe shine box.

“Hey, mister, let me shine your shoes or I’ll shoot you!”

I began to wonder if I may have come to the wrong place.}

{My destination was the Lee Building at 109 Waverly Place. When I approached the temple I spotted the lookout on the second floor. He was called a “lookout” because if you didn’t look out when you were around him, you could vanish! It might be a good place to hide, but it also may be more trouble than it was worth. I decided to move on.}

{My next stop was the Six Families Building on Stockton Street. The families associated with this building had a history of assisting people in need. When I asked them if I could find temporary shelter in the building they asked me which of the six families who owned the building was I a member of. When I asked them who the names of the six families associated with the Six Companies Building were, they replied, “Kong Chow, Ning Yeung, Sam Yup, Yeong Wo, Hop Wo, and Yan Wo.” Being Irish, I wanted to be very careful about which family name I selected. While I was trying to decide which one to pick, they quietly closed the door.}

{The Free Mason Building in Spofford Place; just the place to hide! After all, they hid Sun Yat-sen from assassins at 36 Spofford Alley while he was in exile trying to raise money for his revolution; although the current tenants here probably aren’t aware of that. I knocked on the door and a man answered. I told him I was in danger, and asked him if I could hide out here for awhile.

“Who do you think you are, Sun Yat-sen?” he replied, and slammed the door in my face.}

{I stopped to rest at the corner of Columbus and Kearny. I wondered if I’d shaken the people who were after me, I wondered if I could find a place to sleep, I wondered how much money I had, and I wondered if those really were female impersonators at Finocchio’s up the hill.}

{Ah, the International Settlement on “Terrific Street”, a “terrific” place to hide out! Why, even “Baby Face” Nelson came here to hide out in July of 1934; except he died four months after that. That’s not encouraging.}

{Well, at least I can get a meal at Diana’s Café; the food stinks, but she doesn’t charge much. She said to me when I left, “Don’t complain about my coffee, you’ll be old and weak someday too.”} *

* I swiped that one from Mad Magazine: Author

{Diana had told me that there was a place on the corner of Sansome and Jackson Streets  where they would put me up for the night, no questions asked. However, shortly before I arrived there, the building was blown up in a terrific explosion! I knew that the bomb was meant for me. I was frightened thinking about the violent type of people who would go this far to get me. I was filled with rage over thoughts about innocent people who may have been hurt because of me. But most of all, I was absolutely delighted that I wasn’t in the building when it exploded.}

Well, this is as far as I’ve gotten with the outline of my novel. Maybe it’s best that I stick with taking pictures instead. (Photograph source, ‘Gold Mountain, Big City’ by Jim Schein)