Indeterminacy 93

A young man who was concerned about his position in
society and who was about to get married made his
wife-to-be promise not to indulge further in
kleptomania. (She had, for instance, once gone into
the Piggly-Wiggly, taken a number of items,
attempted an exit without paying, been stopped and
told item by item what she had stolen, given up
those mentioned, crossed the street, sat down on the
curb, and eaten a jar of peanut butter the attendant
had failed to notice.) She promised her
husband-to-be she would never steal anything again.
But years later, when they were getting divorced,
she told him that when they went to the jeweler’s
to get the wedding ring, she had left him for a
moment while he was considering the relative merits
of two rings and, not being observed, had acquired
a wrist watch. ¶ This particular girl was a great
beauty. When a friend of hers who had been a tutor
in the Japanese royal family was giving a lecture
in Santa Maria, California, she was at the back of
the capacity audience standing on a table, wearing
high heels, fur coat, and a red rose in her black
hair. At one point in his lecture, when the
speaker’s eye fell on this girl in recognition, she
opened her coat, showing herself to be stark naked.

- John Cage