Volkswagen Blues

Jack and La Grande Sauterelle cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco and drive along the wharves. They take refuge from the tourists on a small beach that offers a view of Alcatraz prison. While the island reminds Jack of the movie Birdman of Alcatraz and Burt Lancaster, one of his brother’s favorite actors, for the girl it recalls a failed Indian effort, in 1969, to reclaim the island as their territory.

Jack drives in the direction of North Beach, which he associates with Jack Kerouac, whose novel On the Road was listed in Théo’s police file as among his possessions. Having read the book long ago, Jack remembers it told of “a journey that seemed a continuous party” (194). They visit Washington Square Park. According to Jack’s reading, Kerouac often came to this park, and, as they imagine his presence, the place “was filled with ghosts of the past” (195).

Mindful of finding Théo, they stop at a nearby library to ask if he is a cardholder. The librarian “bore a strange resemblance to La Grande Sauterelle, except that her features were half-Chinese and half-Mexican” (196). Although she doesn’t find Théo’s name in her records, the kind librarian recommends they speak with the owner of the Café Trieste, who knows everyone.