Word: alleys
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...busy day, "Junkyard Alley"--as the Columbia-Webster streets district is nicknamed--looks like the Haymarket, with shoppers working their way from yard to yard, looking for the best quality and lowest-priced merchandise. Comparative pricing is as important in this line as anywhere else; experienced junkyard buyers know that prices on identical used parts may vary by 200 per cent in adjacent yards...
...JUNKYARD ALLEY has a crew of regulars who match any pool hall or bar gang for devotion. Curb space along the side streets is often at a premium because these diehards use the curbs to elevate one side of the car so they can get underneath to do their work on the spot. And it's not easy to break into the select group who know the owners and always manage to get wind of the best deals and the latest tips on the wrecked 'Vette coming in tomorrow...
Most who wander into the alley are bewildered victims of the brutal ongoing warfare between Cambridge cars. If they're lucky, one of the yards will have a fender to match the make, model and color of the car; if not, the choice may be between a blue fender on a red car for $25 and a new blue fender...
None of the operators are crooks but they don't exactly stress caveat emptor either. A smart buyer knows how not to get stuck with a bum part. Every yard on the alley will test any movable part upon request and most are proud to explain the special one-time guarantee--the part will be replaced free of charge if it fails to work up to and including the first time it is used after installation...
...owners and operators of the yards are the real characters of the alley. They cover the entire spectrum of stereotypes. There's the beer-bellied, loud-spoken bigot--"See that guy, he just got off. Happy as shit. Killed some fuckin' nigger the other day, runned him right over. Hadda go ta court today. We got 'im clean though; fuckin' judge lives right down the street from me. I spent Saturday afternoon over his house, lookin' at his car. Guy runned right over that nigger, but the judge lives down the street from me. Jeesus, he's happy...