the New Haven, CT, fire department, 1973

I consider the New Haven, CT, fire department of 1973 a suspect in my continuing bad luck.

I had a fire in my off-campus apartment at 35 Trumbull Street in New Haven in 1973. I fraternized with the firemen in the burnt out remains afterwards.

I grabbed my spider plant babies off the fire escape, exclaiming "Life continues!" or something like that. They weren't amused.

I pointed to the charring on the kitchen floor, saying that was where I had lit a candle before leaving the apartment for the library. I said it must have burnt to the wooden stool it was on and caused the fire. They weren't amused.

The next day the owner of the building asked me for a list of my losses. He said he would be good for them.

When I came to his office later with the list, one of his people took me aside and told me that the firemen had come to the owner and had said something about the young hippy type with long hair who had the fire having caused the fire himself. The offer of being good for the losses was retracted.

I became mentally ill one year later.

I didn't tell the firemen that the reason I lit the candle was that I was having trouble with the girl I loved at the time and wanted to reflect. I got very depressed and forgot to extinguish the candle when I left the apartment to study at the library.