SLIGHTLY USED

The cars are in town. Slightly used. Described by the decade they were put together on the assembly line by workers who knew the value of precision. Price tags don't show, but some are not as expensive as you think they might be and others call for pocket change that only a sheik would carry around - if he had pockets. Old men remember days of their youth when they envied their daddy-rich buddies who woke up the day of graduation to find one of these shiny new sports cars sitting in their driveway, resplendent with big bow and a key fob bearing the maker's logo. They still stand around, beers in hand, talking about cars. Only now, they've saved up their retirement money and have come with bid sheet in hand. If they're lucky, they'll go home with one of these carefully preserved memories. Funny how the slightly used women come out of their distant garages for this event as well. Also described by their decades, many of them are assembled with the precision of a runway model, most are put together with the detail only a circus could appreciate. Like the cars, you can tell how expensive it is by how well kept it has been. Old men still stand around, checking out the slightly used models - wondering if they can afford it, too afraid to ask how much. No bid sheets here, just a glance, a nod, and a meet and greet behind the fountain. If they're lucky, they'll wind up with one of these slightly used, but still good for some action, memories. Monterey has a seedy side to these glamorous events. Hotel bellboys keep lists of local hookers and get a kickback when one of them is summoned by some guy with money to burn. The big hotels have the better lists. A call down to the concierge can get you

just about anything you want in a matter of minutes. Many of the girls working the hotel lobby as greeters are actually high-priced call girls. It pays that ridiculously high rent that is charged on the peninsula. The prettier girls stand inside the lobby or sit at the hotel bar. The broken ones walk the street or sit at the bus stop. These are secrets that the local visitor's center doesn't want you to know. Prostitution in Monterey is just about as old as Monterey itself. In the 1870 census, sixty percent of the women listed in Monterey were ladies of the evening. Many of them were Chinese immigrants kidnapped, sold into debt peonage, and forced to service the rail workers, boatmen, and other laborers here along this beautiful coastline. Today,seedy memories are relived in seedy motels all up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. In the twenty-first century, Mexican immigrants, with nothing to harvest in the summertime, are sold into prostitution slavery along the Peninsula. Not much has changed in nearly 150 years. The cars are in town. So are the girls. Along with these baubles for sale, come the bored with wads of cash to burn. Most won't ask the price, but many of them will go home with a slightly used memory of Monterey.