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Literary
July 12, 1957
The Prison Mirror
Stillwater, Washington County, Minnesota
What is this article about?
Babe, a young woman from rural Sudden Valley, leaves home chasing a grand dream beyond her humble origins. She moves to Kansas City, but ends up working in a gin mill on The Tenderloin, selling her body in a disillusioning twist on her aspirations.
Clipping
OCR Quality
100%
Excellent
Full Text
Babe had red hair and long legs and the waxen curves even hand-me-downs can't hide from jealous or hungry eyes.
People talked. They always do.
Babe didn't care. She simply smiled and hinted at a dream. Said it wore a price tag too high for Sudden Valley, too high for its men. Said too that if it was to be a man, he wouldn't wear blue denim on Saturday night nor smell of corn whiskey and mules and such. Said her dream didn't include the valley, nor any of its people.
Babe meant it too, and one day she was gone. Took her dream and her red hair and her long legs, and little else, to K. C., where tall buildings are thrown against the sky and almost anyone can afford a dream.
She's there now, on The Tenderloin, working the front of the plank in a gin mill called Sad Sam's. Her dresses aren't hand-me-downs, that's for sure, and her long legs are even longer in spiked heels, but the price tag on that dream has lowered some.
You see, Babe's in the only business I ever heard of where you got it, you sell it, and you still got it.
Some business.
Some dream.
Clay Dean
People talked. They always do.
Babe didn't care. She simply smiled and hinted at a dream. Said it wore a price tag too high for Sudden Valley, too high for its men. Said too that if it was to be a man, he wouldn't wear blue denim on Saturday night nor smell of corn whiskey and mules and such. Said her dream didn't include the valley, nor any of its people.
Babe meant it too, and one day she was gone. Took her dream and her red hair and her long legs, and little else, to K. C., where tall buildings are thrown against the sky and almost anyone can afford a dream.
She's there now, on The Tenderloin, working the front of the plank in a gin mill called Sad Sam's. Her dresses aren't hand-me-downs, that's for sure, and her long legs are even longer in spiked heels, but the price tag on that dream has lowered some.
You see, Babe's in the only business I ever heard of where you got it, you sell it, and you still got it.
Some business.
Some dream.
Clay Dean
What sub-type of article is it?
Prose Fiction
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
Commerce Trade
What keywords are associated?
Rural Escape
Urban Dream
Prostitution
Disillusionment
Gin Mill
What entities or persons were involved?
Clay Dean
Literary Details
Author
Clay Dean
Key Lines
You See, Babe's In The Only Business I Ever Heard Of Where You Got It, You Sell It, And You Still Got It.
Some Business.
Some Dream.