Steinbeck used to get people to tell him their stories.
He’d pay them a buck, and they’d talk to him.
That’s where he got his material.
Me, I go up to homeless people at the corner and offer them a buck.
They thank me, and tell me to get out of their way so they can collect more from the people in their cars stopped at the light.
So, I follow them home, and it’s a home, not some camp or flophouse.
A home with a basement, where I tie them up.
And ask them to tell me their story.