Working it Out It began to rain— a midsummer New York storm— as a tall, lanky, forlorn figure walked out of an industrial building. Robert Johnson had just been turned down for another job opportunity, the third one this week. This would have been a well paying elite office job. But of course he didn’t get it, in retrospective it was almost foolish of Johnson have tried. He thought of Mr. Smith, his would-have-been boss staring at him with disgust, “I can’t give you this job, that’s the end of it…” He had said He pulled his thin coat around his body; it didn’t offer much protection. Office workers in well-cut suits gave him dirty looks as he walked down the busy street. Johnson quickened his pace and headed for the subway to catch the A train and go home. He grabbed a damp discarded newspaper off the station floor from that morning. At 125th street he got off the train and walked slowly for a couple blocks. He came up to a dark, depressing apartment building. Inside that building his family was waiting in apprehension, hoping he would come home with good news: a new job that paid reasonable money. They would have heating, food and new clothes. Johnson stopped for a minute, staring with an expressionless face at the front of the rundown building, and then walked on. He reached the local park, sat down and sighed. A tear rolled down his handsome but careworn features as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cheap bottle of bourbon. The liquid burnt his throat, it was like drinking fire. He closed his eyes, leaning against the plastic bench as the rain persisted to pour down. Robert glanced down at a sodden piece of paper in a puddle on the ground. He picked it up; Dr.Martin Luther King speaking at the Antioch Baptist Church 125th street: Sunday August 16th, 1967. A large picture of Dr. King’s inspirational and familiar face was blown up in black and white. Johnson felt a surge of joy in his heart. A man walked by, his young daughter tugging on his pant leg. The stranger scooped the child up into his arms,
40 Pillars of Salt
