't hire me for any routine detail. He has men for that. His
object in taking me on was to develop for him my plans for
fabricated housing.

TED. Sounds fine.

KEN. Christ, Ted, do you realize what it means, after you've wasted
years, to get back and do _real_ work?

TED. Must feel _great_.

KEN. Ted, why don't you get a job?

TED. I haven't turned down any.

KEN. But have you been going about it in the right way? Of course I
realize you haven't any real professional training. But you know
the rare books racket. There must be a lot of money in publishing
limited editions. What's wrong with that business?

TED. Unfortunately, the people I know don't consider me a business
man.

KEN. What you are and how you're considered isn't important. It's
the way you go after things.--The trouble with you is you got
started down and just kept on going down.--Oh, I know how that is.
It looked that way for me once. Things were awful.

TED. They've changed for you, haven't they?

KEN. Sure. They've changed for everybody. The whole spirit of the
country has changed. Man, don't you feel it?

TED. I can't say that I do.

KEN. We've turned that famous corner, and it's time for you to wake
up and get out of your rut.

TED. All right. You know how. Suppose you tell me.

KEN. You still think there's something wrong with the world when
your troubles are purely personal.

TED. My troubles are ... All right. What about the other millions
of unemployed?

KEN. They're incompetents. Common laborers and workmen in
industries that died--like soft coal mining. And maybe some
technological unemployment. But you're not in any narrow technical
field. As a matter of fact in not being specialized you actually
have an advantage. All you've got to do is go after things.

TED. Easy to say.

KEN. Easy to do. Part of your trouble is your environment.

TED. My environment?

KEN. Sure. Tippy here is make-shifting--but that's all right. It's
something. Martin's radical, living off his wits. That's not your
style. Neither of them can help you.

TED. They have helped me.

KEN. They've weakened you. For Christ's sake, Ted, snap out of it.
Get away from here. Get away from it all. Make a break. You won't
starve. If you can't get a real job, go on relief.

TED. Relief!

KEN. I know relief isn't pleasant for a man like you. But hell,
it's better than ...

TED. Let's not discuss it.

KEN. It's high time you did discuss it. You can't go