Conversations With Lawrence (St.), Part I

I was locking up my bike at the local supermercado. It is
across the street from the Admiral Theater, which is not a
movie theater. Exotic dancing might be more appropriate
description, and I don't mean a troupe of Canadian acrobats.

A woman approaches.

"Sir, Sir, can I ask you a question?"

Sure. You can ask me anything.

"Are there any more gentleman's clubs around here besides this
one?"

My mind's racing.... does "around here" mean, like, between
here and Las Vegas? Within walking distance? In the city?

Not really, I answer. What exactly are you looking for?

"Well, I am a stripper, and I just quit my job today because
there was too much grinding. So I'm trying to find a new job
and am looking for gentleman's clubs."

One supposes before venturing forth, a bit more research on her
part would have been helpful. But I'm also guessing she didn't
keep a current copy of her CV before she decided to quit.

I suggest picking up a copy of The Reader to find addresses of
other places. It occurs to me after it's too late that the
back page of the sports section in the Sun-Times would be
helpful too.

But why is it that you always thing of the right answer 5
minutes after the conversation has ended?

She continued down Lawrence, with a boy (boyfriend?) escorting
her along. I go into the supermarket and to buy my salsa, and
turn my thoughts towards fresh vegetables.

Sometime exotic entertainment is anything but exotic. I should
have mentioned to her that I recently saw in the paper that
the same club was looking for a bathroom attendant. I wonder
what kind of benefits that gig offers?