the laptop life. full of mobility and words at the ready. a flood could follow. pecking on screens is for the brief. to the point. which has it's place. but production of a fully formed idea needs keyboards and speed. pages per day days. strictly structured or strictly random. needs to add up. either or. instant reactions and immediate stories. like the ones about the doctors of the old days. about the mexican workers of the forties and fifties. one had to be sent back for every ten. back on monday morning. tired from the long bus ride back through the endless south texas brush. lawman has to do his job. round up another one the next farm over the next day. the immigration rotation. the farmers picked out the laziest for the bus ride. time to think about their work ethic. automatic motivational process. complete with mercy and second chances. tons and tons of cotton to pick. fields and fields to hoe. rows and rows of corn. this was before the massive machines of modern farming. before techniques became exponentially more efficient. hands and earth days. the good hands camped on the outer edges and smoked weed til late at night. for days and months they worked for texas farmers. the black dirt of the trinity region. the mexican boss man handled the money. during the fall harvest they planted seeds for the spring return. on creek banks, in culverts, near the cacti. something to relax their nights. beer and whisky led to loud behavior. raucous and violent. the drunks got sent back to mexico on a bus. the smokers looked at the stars and understood peace. the skies huge and bright. ahh, the laptop life. neon green and thin. makeup already scars the keys. those girls! already slept on, despite the rules. up and running now. words to follow.