Joe Burke's Last Stand

of year, tears came to Joe's eyes. Hawaii is so beautifu

market, but he might have been thirty again, driving a cab, hoping for a load to the Kahala and a big tip. He rode the city bus into Waikiki, the Fi

eneath the banyan tree

ing bar. "Gilbert, you

lu, medium sized with d

from anywhere. His

his smile was quick an

going," G

iki. Joe stayed until the end-the last high smudge of crimson snuffed out in d

el, a woman in a mini skir

t. But if I

date, but he felt a rush of warmth; it's hard not to like someone who is willing to hold you, even if o

island, made, he was told, by an elderly couple whose identity was secret. He bought a bus pass valid for the rest of November. The Honolulu bus system reaches around th

nt buildings and condominiums on a steep hillside, half an hour's walk, in different directions, to the university and to the Ala Moana Shopping Center. It was beautiful there at night, the buildings lit above and below each other like modern cli

dining room from pine boards and milk crates. He bought a foam camping mattress, sheets, a light comforter, a pillow, and a reading lamp for the bedroom. For the kitchen, he bought a toaster, a tea kettle, a pot for cooking rice, and a wok. He set up a minimalist

ch. The beach belongs to the people in Hawaii; it cannot be owned or sealed off. He bought a few aloha shirts and spent days at the university, the main library downtown, the shopping center, and occasionally, Waikiki. In a month he had a tan, and his pidgin had come back. Kate had lear

l like traveling. The day after Christmas, he was at the Moana leaning back with a beer and thinking about Sperandeo's book on st

standing up. She was

ed," sh

Book Company," he said. "La

thing funny . . . y

d, my name is Joe, Joe Burke. Wh

" she said to someone

nsible,"

s tree," she said, placing her sun

te about it? Or und

rk Twain?" Her eyes were intensely b

erary banya

brings you

computer programming, and I stopped being ma

t she was some kind of artist; he found them wherever he went. Her sister lived on Queen Anne Hill in S

e said. "And a Coffin clan. The line i

ther has

. what do you pre

is what horses do. My f

ed

about

calls

that turned slightly up or down at the corners. Down in this case. "I thought of

nd left. He watched to see if she would swing her ass a little for his benefit, but she didn't. Her eyes stayed with him-large and sensitive, cl

ll Street. His book was straight exposition, written without pretense. Joe had read other books about the market. There were many different approaches and specialt

tinue to buy on dips and hold unless the company changed fundamentally for the worse. Sperandeo was more of a trader. Joe was torn between the two approaches. Discount brokerages had jus

ew system up to the apartment, one box at a time. He had

ed to pay Kate's mechanic $30 a month to store the truck and had asked him to go over it, change the oil, and do whatever needed doing. Joe replied that the check would be

tman, we'

a recorded message and a beep, he said, "Mo, this is Joe Burke. I'm having adventures. Want to have l

ure." She made an amused sound. "Call me again sometime

"A woman on TV just explained it to me. You

," Mo

e on Hausten Street where they have great pie? The

ack in time to eat there; they

reabouts?" His best offer. You'd have to be se

sauce-I'm going to r

ce lunch. See you there," Joe baile