JR (61 page)

—Get the phone, it's sliding off the…

—Could I help it if every one of them was a … hello?

—Hurt your head Dan?

—No it's, it's all right I'm, I was just trying to pick up all these papers…

—Hello? Are you… who?

—I'm sorry, I squeezed the button when I caught it and…

—Who the, how did that happen. Somebody calling you here, White- back. He must have hung right up in my face.

—Yes excuse me, hello? This is Mister… Pecci?

—He tells me I'm imagining a conspiracy and then hangs up in my face, how do you like that.

—Yes no Mister Pecci isn't here no, no he should be here in a … in the newspaper this morning yes, the smear story that is to say, of course the … no your name wasn't mentioned, it just said the Town Board yes, the… yes Ganganelli, call Ganganelli, he … who? No, no Glancy hasn't shown up, no we thought he was out sick but they said

his car isn't standing in his drive where he usually … oh he did? Yes well we've had some inquiries about it down to the bank, all bills he was sure that he'd paid yes, he showed me the stubs but the checks have never come in for payment, of course his wife had withdrawn nine hundred and eighty-three … Mrs Glancy yes, she… yes well of course I should be talking about this on the other telephone here, the line to the bank that is to … yes no don't call back, no, call Ganganelli…

—Did you hear that Whiteback? Tells me I'm accusing them of a conspiracy and then hangs up in my face, what did I tell you that day he was in here. Not a word out of him, he just sat there taking it all in, am I right? Look at their face and you don't know what's going on inside, am I right? Talking about racial overtones, whose insurance company does he think he's working for, am I right Dan?

—Maybe he meant, when they take you to court maybe he meant you should…

—Take me to court? Who's taking me to court.

—Well I heard, I think I heard Buzzie's family was…

—Taking me to court? I'll take them to court, what do they think they, you saw that kid Whiteback, one look at his face and you could see he was so hopped up before he ran out of here…

—Yes well of course the ahm, communityrelationswise that is to say we ahm, excuse me … hello? Oh, yes Gottlieb just called, yes, I told him to call you, he… Yes no simply because he was sitting on the Town Board when you presented the Flo-Jan offer to lease the town dock and he thinks they're trying to make some connection between him and ahm, the loan, the connection between the bank's directors and the unsecured loan to ahm, to embarrass us down to the bank that is to say, he … what? No not that loan no, yes no of course that suggestion of seizing the assets if his Ace Transportation defaults on its loan is just an attempt to embarrass me as ahm, seizing the school buses that is to say, as a … to Pecci yes, Mister Pecci, of course as he said in his statement anyone who tries to serve the public must expect smear stories but… in public office yes but of course the attempt to embarrass me as … yes no I'm not running for anything, no …

—Hello? No he's on the other phone here, he … wait here he is.

—Yes hello… ? Yes well classes should start at any ahm, as soon as homeroom is over that is to ahm… yes I heard the bell too but of course the … no it's the Constitution, the United States Constitution yes, yes do you happen to know how long it… hung up yes, Dan? Can you tell how many pages he still has to go there? look like you're following it pretty closely that is to …

—No I was, I was looking at his suit.

—Yes well it's a nice enough suit of course but the sleeves don't seem to ahm, when I saw him come in this morning his pants hardly reached his ankles that is to say, yes which is all right of course but it made the old straw slipper he was wearing on one foot look like he'd

ahm, more like he'd ahm…

—Been on a bender, look at him! Do you need color tv to see how red his eyes are? And the muslin wing flapped heavily in the direction of the image just then paused to preen a crease and raise the dirt line on the pocket handkerchief square into view, —been on a bender with that friend of his that cut off his ear with a pencil, look at him! If there's one thing I'm going to see while I'm still on this school board White-back, it's to see him fired.

—Yes well of course we ahm, can you turn that up just a little Dan? see what Article he's up to? Of course if we tried to fire him now we ahm, in terms of the ongoing situation anything that might touch off the ahm, precipitate a strike that is to say, Dan you were going to feel out your ahm, your wife's ahm…

—Touch it off then, why not! The budget was just voted down wasn't it? Let them strike. Lock the doors, turn off the heat and save some money, see it at the corporate level all the time. What do you think U S Steel does when a new contract's coming up? Goes into full

production, builds a big inventory, no contract no work and they're out on strike, would have had to fire half of them anyway. By the time they've sold out their inventory these red unions are banging down the gates to get back in, just like these parents will eat up your budget and march their kids back in just like Vern said they would. Somebody at

the door there.

—Did he say two? He can't only be up to, come in? How many do

you think there, oh come in come in Senator… and the door fell ajar on the flurry of cloth, introducing silk in the muted iridescence of a

famous name suit, —we were just discussing the United States ahm, Hyde, you remember Major Hyde on the school board and, yes no this is Major Hyde here Senator, that's Dan our ahm, Dan diCephalis, our psycho… and the flurry subsided. —Maybe you read about their accident in the papers?

—Smear stories, the papers … and the flurry renewed in newspaper streamers from an inside pocket —I say it myself right here in my statement, smear stories, they find the Cultural Center is a rider to my highway bill so they smear me because they stoop to nothing to smear Paren-tucelli. Look, right here they try to tie his state contracts to my highway bill through Flo-Jan Corp but right down here they admit Catania Paving pays Flo-Jan Corp eighteen cents every yard of asphalt landed at the town dock, minimum five hundred dollars monthly, you see? They stoop to nothing.

—Yes well of course in terms of the ongoing situation down to the bank we ahm, excuse me… hello?

—Because he is represented by Ganganelli, Pecci and Peretti? Because

he is Italian American he should not have the best legal counsel?

—Yes well of course I know it doesn't make you look good Vern but of course we ahm…

—This teacher woman from your television sues him for a million dollars, he is not entitled to defend himself?

—Yes well of course she's suing the school too, she … what? Oh yes, Vern? Yes I'm sorry I was listening to something else, we ahm… yes to bring you solutions of course but in terms of the ahm… that you didn't want to hear about it yes, but of course we … Yes no Mister Pecci is right … No no right here that is to say, he dropped in to discuss the ahm… want to hear about it, no I … no I'll tell him, yes…

—That Vern, Whiteback? Here, I'd better just speak to him about the

…

—Yes well he ahm, he hung up.

—Well what was that he wanted you to tell me.

—Yes well it was not you, no, no he wanted me to tell Mister ahm, tell the Senator here to ahm, of course I can't repeat it but he seemed quite put out at the reference in the newspaper story to what Mister Parentucelli did to his yard as ahm, as a gift.

—What I said? they stoop to nothing? Because Parentucelli tries to make a gift they smear him with the District Superintendent?

—Yes well of course I don't think it was a gift that Vern especially ahm…

—So to say there is no gift he sues Parentucelli for damages? Parentucelli comes to do a nice job, maybe too much enthusiasm, all his work to do the nice job, all the trees out, all the blacktop, how does he offer to settle? Free, no bills, nothing. You take out one tree, one elm tree, one oak tree seventy feet, eighty feet high, how much it costs to take out one tree? Two-inch pressed blacktop the best, indestructible, no grass to mow, nine thousand square feet no more grass to mow, no leaves to rake all the time, he parks the car anywhere, no trees to smash the fenders, no birds shitting the Simoniz…

—Yes well of course Vern ahm, since all Vern had in mind was a small driveway I think that seeing the newspaper refer to all the ahm, all Mister Parentucelli's fine work that is to say as ahm, of course he did a fine job on the addition he put on over to our place that is to say even though the French doors don't open exactly the way we'd ahm, don't open yes but of course that has no connection with his bid for thirty- two thousand dollars for blacktopping the studio parking lot and replacing the ahm, the stone lintel over the main door for twelve ahm, it's right here somewhere in those papers you just picked up Dan?

Something the Citizens Union people circulated just before the budget referendum in an attempt to embarrass right under there yes, The Citizens Union on Neighborhood Teaching wishes to call your attention to no, no this was something about an example of the smut circulating in the junior high they said they sent me but I haven't seen anything that might be ahm, anything supporting the Senator's campaign that is

to say, Stamp Out Smut for…

—Quart of glue two fifty-one for which the school pays three fifty- seven, masking tape one forty-nine for which the school pays two…

—Yes that's it Dan, just a, Dan? The Senator's handing you an SOS button to ahm, yes thank you Senator it's ahm, it's a catchy design, the SOS against the background of stars and be careful Dan you're spilling all those checks.

—These? I thought it was just…

—Yes well of course they're wadded up and dirty because the youngsters seem to have carried them around in their ahm, their attempt to embarrass the school by paying for lunch with a thirty cent check, but of course if we permit them to bring lunch to school we lose the federally subsidized cafeteria lunch program and in terms of the ongoing budget sit …

—Mention education and they grab for their wallets, was I right Whiteback?

—Yes well of course the figures Dan has there are ahm…

—Ladder eleven ninety-eight for which the school pays twenty- three…

—Yes sending their people out to ahm, sending them out dressed like spies that is to say making one shot purchases at Jack's Discount Appliance to discredit the school's policy of dealing with ahm, utilizing dependable, reputable sources of supply like Mister ahm, Gottlieb's brother-in-law is hardly fair to excuse me… hello?

—I think the school phone is ringing there Senator, could you reach the …

—Oh yes. Yes hello… ?

—Yes this is Mister Whi… what? Yes no not at the bank right now no, no I… No no yes it is the bank telephone line yes but… yes I have another call that, just a minute…

—He says it is urgent, he says to tell you the Constitution is two hundred and four feet long.

—Two… just a minute. What?

—Hundred and four. He says do you want the beam too? Forty-four feet eight…

—No no no just, hello? Yes just hold on a minute, let me…

—Built of live oak and red cedar…

—No just hang up yes, tell him never mind, thank no no not you, hello? Yes hello? Yes … yes well of course we saw it in the paper too but digging up a minor building variance he got three or four years ago just to make the point that he was represented before the town

board by Gangan … and Peretti yes, his attorneys, yes they just seem to have dug it up in an attempt to … Yes but of course the variance itself is so minor that… yes a matter of eight inches one way or the other can't be that … what? Oh. Oh yes no I didn't quite get your ahm… Yes

I never heard that one, it's quite funny yes … Yes well as a matter of fact Mister ahm, Assemblyman Pecci happens to be right here, I think he … Pecci, yes, his law form, his former law firm that is to say represents the builder who… yes I think he wants to say something…

—Hello? You're calling about this smear story in the paper look, these lies they print to smear me because they try to smear somebody higher up, you understand what I mean? This little variance they say the builder saved six hundred dollars every house, that's a lie. Twelve hundred houses they say, that's a lie, they print them to smear me because they try to … what? No, ask Whiteback the correct figures, Mister Whiteback. Here.

—Hello yes? Yes I just wanted to say that… what? Oh those yes, yes those figures are right here somewhere I just, Dan could you look under those ahm… Yes no but of course in terms of the ongoing situation down to the bank the inferences of a story like this one are ahm… Yes the suggestion of ahm, of an overabundance of bad home improvement loans and mortgage risks calculated to undermine confidence in terms of the ahm, investment confidence on the part of investors that is to say which is hardly fair to … and yes well in the case of home mortgages like these which are insured by County Land and Title there should be no … no yes I know the premiums are high but of

course the element of ahm… Yes no I wasn't going to say risk of course but County Land and here, here are these figures and apparently the builder saved only ahm, yes only saved five hundred and seventy-two dollars on each of one thousand one ahm, eleven hundred thirty-six houses that ahm, homes that is to say that ahm… Yes well no, no I would have called you of course if you… yes well no we wouldn't want anything like that to… no, no, yes thank you for calling, yes…

—Who's that?

—Yes well that was ahm, that was Mister Fedders Senator he just ahm, he just needed reassurance on this home mortgage situation because of course if anything suddenly precipitated a ahm, touched off a strike that is to say and forced the union to raise a strike fund by liquidating its ahm, trying to retire its home mortgage investments right after this ahm, this smear, this smear to use your phrase about this minor stud variance of course the ongoing situation down to the bank could become quite ahm, Dan, I think Dan was going to look into this, Dan? did you get a chance to feel out your ahm, feel things out?