Neither more nor less

Marlene was no stranger to avenue A : for considerable periods of time Marlene actually lived on A , sleeping , eating and everthing else right there on avenue A . Occasionally she was quiet and polite , often she was friendly , but she was also not a stranger to booze and cigarettes and she regularly strolled growling , screaming and laughing hysterically up and down the street at any and every hour of the day with a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other .

What was different this night was that the two little bear slippers were grasping her feet , looking up at her .