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Doc: Doc is the owner and operator of the Western Biological Laboratory. Doc is rather small, deceptively small, for he is wiry and very strong and when passionate anger comes on him he can be very fierce. He wears a beard and his face is half Christ and half satyr and his face tells always the truth. It is said that he has helped many out of a trouble and into another. Doc has the hands of a brain surgeon, and a cool warm mind. He tips his hat to dogs as he drives by and the dogs look up and smile at him.
Furthermore he can kill anything for need but he could not even hurt a feeling for pleasure. He has one great fear, that of getting his head wet, so that summer or winter he ordinarily wears a rain hat. He will wade in a tide pool up to the chest without feeling damp, but a drop of rain water on his head makes him panicky. Over a period of years Doc dug himself into Cannery Row to an extent not even he suspected. He became the fountain of philosophy and science and art. In the laboratory there is often music played by the old record player.
Doc would listen to any kind of nonsense and change it for you to a kind of wisdom. His mind had no horizon and his sympathy had no warp. He can talk to children, telling them very profound things so that they understand. He lives in a world of wonders, of excitement. In addition to that he is concupiscent as a rabbit and gentle as hell. Everyone who knew him is indebted to him and everyone.
who think of him thinks next, \"I really must do something nice for Doc.\" Some other things we know about Doc are his weakness for beer and his devotion to his work.
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