Reading?: kiss a long goodbye to stress

IN HIS line of work, Philip Marlowe had taken some blows. This latest one hurt, but not physically.

It hurt because the guy who threw it, Marlowe had counted as a long-time friend. "Sorry Marlowe," he had said with eyes harder than a whore's heart, "I can't pay you no more. Recession." And he had slammed the door shut. That was it, and it hurt.

Disregarding a pile of bills with raging red numbers he couldn't pay, Marlowe turned to the day's newspaper. Some broad calling herself a doctor was saying that when times were tough, reading a good book could ease the pain. Maybe. A library book could be cheaper than aspirin, Marlowe reasoned.

But the list didn't inspire him. A thriller by some crime writer topped the list. Marlowe decided he didn't want to read about a tough guy private eye with a moral streak. Real life wasn't like that. The list went downhill - bees, parachutes, love poems, and a guide to the soul.

Marlowe laughed. The clients who hired him mostly had bees in their head but their cases usually led him to people with no souls. He was cheered by this thought. Maybe he didn't need book therapy, just the newspaper. Pouring himself three fingers of whisky, he settled down for a good read.