He’d been one of the great drinkers of the Village, even when he was at CCNY. Alcohol made him colder and more compassionate and more penetrating than ever. When he arrived at the state which in others would be drunkenness, the last veil of illusion was torn from him. At such moments he saw nothing to life but a grisly round of eating and sleeping and talking to others until your heart stopped beating. His huge physical charm heightened under alcohol. He’d hold himself up like a locket before the dazzled eyes of whomever he was with. And then he’d excuse himself and go away to sleep. He never
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