First list for John Englestuch

office

desk : like all the others;

reddish-brown, not blue nor green;

in the middle of the day, reflects a distinct and painful yellow--reminds him of ammonia;

mahogany finish;

peg-legged;

scuffed-chrome feet;

six drawers: three left and three right; two small, top drawers with dividers for pens, pencils, surplus staples, small, various-sized paper clips, rubber bands, a small space for a transparent blue thumb-cover good for flipping through files, envelopes, papers, but mostly invoices, and another space for tacks, push-pins, and two very old sticks of Dentyne;

two medium-sized, middle drawers;

two large, bottom drawers with unorganized files;

four scratches;

two graffiti marks: w/ Exacto (NO) and w/ spent ball-point (EMPT);

position: placed just so slow walkers in hallway cannot see him sitting behind it; so he can leave the door open half-way without being seen;

clock: black numbers; sweeping, red, second-hand; "Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind" trademark; John thinks, the blind make the clocks to sell in exchange for things the blind need for everyday support and often considers what the blind would need that he doesn't to simply get around:

canes

glasses

dogs

Kleenex

gloves

plenty of bus fare

talking appliances

plant : Chlorophytum comosum; small, brown, plastic pot; small, copper, bee-hive-shaped watering can

bookcase : dusty; very dusty; metal; photos on top shelf; stacks of work and manuals on others arranged to look orderly and used

carpet : industrial for high-traffic; gray; John thinks, it takes all the colors to make it gray because there is not possibly anything gray on its own except through confusion and purposeful mess and he stares at the carpet and imagines pulling from it all his favorite colors and separating the colors and floating in them like he used to float in the pool down the street from his house when he was eight

windows : three; tall, thin, recessed, floor-to-almost-ceiling; too-thick glass; light-changing; sound-altering; fishtank-like; John thinks, if buildings are engineered with specific goals in mind, if architects consider what design and structure means, that engineers and architects must see him and his fellow employees as fish in a fishtank; there they float in their own filth--his goldfish live in their own urine and get bigger every day; his saliva turns brackish; he thinks of New London and bluefish.

walls : off-white; dust-webs in each corner; blank.