Ham on Rye

by Charles Bukowski

All a guy needed was a chance. Somebody was always controlling who got a chance and who didn’t.

So, that’s what they wanted: lies. Beautiful lies. That’s what they needed. People were fools. It was going to be easy for me.

“He must pass his exams,” she told me. It never occurred to her that maybe the books were wrong. Or that maybe it didn’t matter. I didn’t ask her.

You can forgive a fool because he only runs in one direction and doesn’t deceive anybody. It’s the deceivers who make you feel bad.