Lost the sight in my left eye. Ya can’t tell nothin’ by lookin’ at me. Still moves same as the good one. Happened from drinkin’. I had me some rub-a-dub ‘n hooked up with this guy, Herb. Herb had him some red port, ‘bout a half gallon. We mixed ‘em t’gether, figgerin’ the rub-a-dub’d give that port some kick ‘n climbed on the SP outta Sparks. Both of us started drinkin’ that shit.  We had us a weeks groceries. Was gonna jungle on the river outside Truckee; do some fishin’.  Nice spot up there. Hike up the river away from town, ‘n nobody bothers ya.

We was on the rear end a this grain car, getting’ drunker ‘n shit; ridin’ through the mountains drinkin’ that mix. I ‘member pullin’ into Truckee. The tracks run ‘long the river there, ‘n I could see the water. The train stopped ta set off some cars. Don’t ‘member ‘xactly how long we was there, might a been ‘n hour. Usually takes ‘em ‘n hour ‘fore yer movin’ again. Well, I”ll be a son-of-a-bitch if I couldn’t sober up enough in that hour to get the hell off the train. Both of us drunker ‘n shit, ‘n I couldn’t move. Herb was pullin’ at my arm tryin’ to drag me off the car, but he wasn’t in too good a shape hisself, so we never made it off. After the train started pullin’ again, Herb got all pissed off ‘cause we gotta ride on into Roseville to get us another train back to Truckee. The last thing I ‘member was ‘pologizin’ ta him. I was layin’ there pissin’ all over myself, pissin’ in my pants ‘cuase I couldn’t get up, ‘n ‘pologizin’ for not bein’ able to get the fuck off the train.

Next thing I know it’s three days later, ‘n I’m in a hospital bed in Sacramento. Still don’t know how I got there. One a the nurses, she tol’ me they brought me in from the railroad yard. Said they couldn’t wake me for nothin’. Out col’ for three days. This needle was stickin’ in my arm.  They’s givin’ me transfusions, ev’ry goddamn thing. No one knew nothin’ ‘bout Herb. He musta been OK. I dunno, mebbe he’s the one got ‘em to get me ta the hospital. My one eye was all out. Nothin’, jus’ all black. They said it was that rub-a-dub did it. It got better some. Got so I could see daylight. That’s ‘bout how it is now. Can’t make out any figgers with it ‘less they’re b’tween me ‘n the sun.  It’s all blurred.

‘Sides that, I been OK. I pass out ev’ry once in a while. Figger mebbe some a that poison is still in my system. It’s the damnedest feelin’. Happened once when I was getting’ into a boxcar in Pasco. I was halfway in ‘n blacked out. Fell out backwards like a cement slab. Couldn’t a been out too long, ‘cause when I come to, the car was still there.

70.