Authors: Jamaica Kincaid
Talk Stories (15 page)
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Command: Find a new Little Miss Marker.
Question: Who is the new Little Miss Marker?
Answer: The new Little Miss Marker is a little girl who is six years old. Her name is Sara Stimson, and she is from Helotes, Texas. She has dark hair and dark eyes, and she has a line of little girls' clothes named after her, a doll that looks more or less like her named after her, and a fruit punch for anybody who wants to drink it also named after her. Her mother, who goes with Sara wherever Sara goes, carries in her pocketbook a can of Band-Aids, a small bottle of Mercurochrome, a jar of baby aspirin, a tube of medicated ointment, and packets of Baby Fresh towellettes. Sara's mother's name is Dana. Dana says, “We are from near San Antone, Texas. I was working as a secretary at the V.A. hospital when a friend of mine came in and said they were interviewing little girls for a movieâa modern remake of the old Shirley Temple movie
Little Miss Marker.
You know, if you have kids, you like to expose them and you want to see if they have a talent
for something. I told Sara to get dressed and comb her hair, and I would take her and see if she wanted to talk to these people. Well, when she got there, she just chatted with them and really opened up. They videotaped her and sent the tape to Universal Studios. Universal liked it and asked us to come for a screen test. It will be a year ago tomorrow that we went out to Hollywood. When they asked us to come out, I thought it would be an adventure for Sara. She had never flown before. Now she has flown a bunch. There were eight little girls tested that day. We went back home and waited, and then they called us one Tuesday and asked us to come back on a Sunday. Of course, you lie in bed and you say, âWhat is this going to be? Are you going to end up with a Judy Garland or a Marilyn Monroe?' I would like to see Sara have a normal life. That's what's important to me. The money? I don't care about the money. It took them three months to make the movie. Now comes the big publicity. She has done Dinah Shore, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas. She is an extremely bright little girl. She has good manners, and she is very unselfish. She is just the furthest thing from self-centered that you can find. She cleans up around the house, makes her bed, plays with the neighbors. She likes applesauce, chocolate ice cream, Twinkies, bubble gum,
I Love Lucy
. She goes to public school and is in the second grade. She's never had an acting lesson, and she has no problems learning her lines. On the set, she liked everybody. It's as if God said, âWhere can we find a kid who will be just great to play Little Miss Marker?'”
Little Miss Marker.
You know, if you have kids, you like to expose them and you want to see if they have a talent
for something. I told Sara to get dressed and comb her hair, and I would take her and see if she wanted to talk to these people. Well, when she got there, she just chatted with them and really opened up. They videotaped her and sent the tape to Universal Studios. Universal liked it and asked us to come for a screen test. It will be a year ago tomorrow that we went out to Hollywood. When they asked us to come out, I thought it would be an adventure for Sara. She had never flown before. Now she has flown a bunch. There were eight little girls tested that day. We went back home and waited, and then they called us one Tuesday and asked us to come back on a Sunday. Of course, you lie in bed and you say, âWhat is this going to be? Are you going to end up with a Judy Garland or a Marilyn Monroe?' I would like to see Sara have a normal life. That's what's important to me. The money? I don't care about the money. It took them three months to make the movie. Now comes the big publicity. She has done Dinah Shore, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas. She is an extremely bright little girl. She has good manners, and she is very unselfish. She is just the furthest thing from self-centered that you can find. She cleans up around the house, makes her bed, plays with the neighbors. She likes applesauce, chocolate ice cream, Twinkies, bubble gum,
I Love Lucy
. She goes to public school and is in the second grade. She's never had an acting lesson, and she has no problems learning her lines. On the set, she liked everybody. It's as if God said, âWhere can we find a kid who will be just great to play Little Miss Marker?'”
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March 17, 1980
March 17, 1980
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We saw a beautiful nine-year-old girl named Machelle Sweeting win the Colgate Women's Games VI eight-hundred-metre run, at Madison Square Garden. She ran so fast and she ran so gracefully that at times she seemed to be not a little girl running in an arena but a young, long-limbed animal running on the veldt. The other day, we went up to Harlem and called on Machelle Sweeting. With her in her family's living room were her mother, Mary; her father, Eddie; her sister, Elizabeth; her brother, Glenn; and her seventeen-year-old track coach, Kevin Moore. Machelle at first appeared shy, so her mother, a handsome and expansive woman, said, “Machelle has won around thirty races in the last year and a half. She has only been running for two years, and competing for less than that. I cannot believe it. She was born with a dislocated hip, and the doctors thought that she would never be able to walk at all. I discovered her dislocated hip when she was three months, and when I took her to the doctor they wanted
her to have an operation. I said no, she was too young. They designed a special brace for her, and she wore it until she was thirteen months. She started to run because her sister Elizabeth was running. I didn't want her to runâI was always afraid she would do something to her leg. But Kevin, who was also Elizabeth's coach, kept encouraging her. In a year and a half, she has won fifteen first-place trophies, one for third place, and one for fourth. She is part of a relay team that is No. 1 in the country for girls nine years and under. That one over there is my favorite of all her trophiesâthe East Coast Invitational. She broke the national record on her first day, and on the second day she broke her own record. She is a very bright girl. She has won a Kiwanis Science Award for an electricity project. She painted a shoebox blue, put a light bulb in the top, connected two wires to a battery and the light bulb, and made the box light up. She writes poetry and has won a special award from the World Poets' Resource Centerâit does a lot locally to promote student poetry. She is in the third grade, and is her class president and an honor student. For one of her class projects, she wrote a book called
How the Zebra Got His Stripes
. Her reading score is 6â9.”
her to have an operation. I said no, she was too young. They designed a special brace for her, and she wore it until she was thirteen months. She started to run because her sister Elizabeth was running. I didn't want her to runâI was always afraid she would do something to her leg. But Kevin, who was also Elizabeth's coach, kept encouraging her. In a year and a half, she has won fifteen first-place trophies, one for third place, and one for fourth. She is part of a relay team that is No. 1 in the country for girls nine years and under. That one over there is my favorite of all her trophiesâthe East Coast Invitational. She broke the national record on her first day, and on the second day she broke her own record. She is a very bright girl. She has won a Kiwanis Science Award for an electricity project. She painted a shoebox blue, put a light bulb in the top, connected two wires to a battery and the light bulb, and made the box light up. She writes poetry and has won a special award from the World Poets' Resource Centerâit does a lot locally to promote student poetry. She is in the third grade, and is her class president and an honor student. For one of her class projects, she wrote a book called
How the Zebra Got His Stripes
. Her reading score is 6â9.”
By then, Machelle wasn't feeling so shy.
We asked her what she liked to do besides running.
She said, “I like to sing television commercials and I like to mimic my mother.” She proceeded to sing a television commercial for the Broadway show
Peter Pan
and one for the Broadway show
Evita,
and she sang the song in the Trident sugarless-gum commercial and the song in the commercial
for Sasson jeans. Then she mimicked the voice of her mother, just home from her job at an Off-Track Betting office and tired, on the telephone with a friend. Then she said to us, “I like spinach, I like carrots, I like peas and rice, I like steak, I like celery, I like ice cream, I like chocolate, and I like to paintâespecially with the color blue.”
Peter Pan
and one for the Broadway show
Evita,
and she sang the song in the Trident sugarless-gum commercial and the song in the commercial
for Sasson jeans. Then she mimicked the voice of her mother, just home from her job at an Off-Track Betting office and tired, on the telephone with a friend. Then she said to us, “I like spinach, I like carrots, I like peas and rice, I like steak, I like celery, I like ice cream, I like chocolate, and I like to paintâespecially with the color blue.”
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March 31, 1980
March 31, 1980
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“Well, here we are at a party celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the first of the Nancy Drew mystery books!” exclaimed Pam.
“Yes, here we are,” said her friend Bess, with a short toss of the head.
“Yes, here we are,” echoed Sue, Bess's younger sister, and then, with a challenging look at her two companions, “So now what?”
“Some stairs,” said Pam, pointing and then leading the way. “Let's take these stairs.”
“Oh, oh, oh,” groaned Bess as she slowly followed Pam up the steep marble stairs. “Instead of stairs, I want some refreshments immediately.”
“Do I have to come with you?” asked Sue, with a touch of the querulous little sister in her voice.
“I like looking down from the tops of stairs at people who are just milling about,” said Pam, ignoring her companions
and dashing up the stairs two at a time. Then, reaching the landing, she turned and looked down on a room filled with people who were in fact milling about and who also held glasses in their hands.
and dashing up the stairs two at a time. Then, reaching the landing, she turned and looked down on a room filled with people who were in fact milling about and who also held glasses in their hands.
“Refreshments,” said Bess, licking her lips thirstily. “I wonder where those people got their refreshments.”
“Shall I go all the way down and ask them for you?” asked Sue, with more than a little sarcasm. “And then shall I come all the way back up and give you the information?”
Suddenly, Pam's body tensed; her fingers grew taut as she clutched at the balcony rail. “Look!” she exclaimed in a soft but hoarse whisper. “Look,” she said again, and this time she pointed a finger at something or someone down below.
“Oh, oh, oh,” said Bess, her eyes growing large and her face turning first a ghostly white, then a vivid red.
“What?” asked Sue, peering at the swirling mass, her head bobbing up and down confusedly.
“But it can't be,” said Pam.
“I don't believe it,” said Bess.
“What?” asked Sue again, this time with a small stamp of the foot.
“How vile!” said Pam.
“How vile, to say the least!” said Bess.
“ ⦠But ⦔ said Sue.
“How bilious!” said Pam.
“How bilious indeed!” said Bess.
“I ⦠I ⦠I ⦠don't know ⦠what you are talking about,” said Sue, with an almost prehistoric whine in her voice.
“Shall we?” asked Pam, turning to Bess and grabbing her almost roughly by the shoulders.
“Shall we? Shall we?” said Bess, trying to free herself from Pam's now firm grasp.
“Hypers,” said Sue. “Shall we what?”
Pam, now locked in indecision, turned back to whatever it was that had caught her attention so firmly before. Her face darkened in puzzlement, her eyes darting here and there furiously and fast. “It's gone,” she said. “Oh, dear! It's gone.”
“It's gone,” said Bess. “It is gone. Oh, oh, oh.”
“But what?” said Sue. “And now it's gone. And now I don't suppose you will ever tell me. You never tell me anything.”
â
May 12, 1980
May 12, 1980
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The other morning, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert and Princess Paola of Belgium, here to celebrate the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the independence of Belgium, were expected at a quarter past nine in the lower plaza of the McGraw-Hill Building to see
The New York Experience,
a film about how truly awful but truly wonderful it is to live in New York. At twenty-five minutes past nine, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert and Princess Paola had not arrived, and the publicity man for Trans-Lux, owners and operators of the film, was beginning to get nervous, because the film ran for a full hour, and at eleven o'clock three hundred schoolchildren were scheduled to see the show. Standing alone at the foot of the escalator, looking up quickly every time he heard footsteps approaching, he said, “If they are really late, I don't know what we are going to do.” He also said, “Ah, the vicissitudes of publicity. The TV people were to be here, but they're stuck in New Jersey. They had it on their books. I was on the phone with them this morning. But now they're in
New Jersey.” And he said, “I hear that the Prince and the Princess are staying at the Waldorf, and that the city didn't even give them a police escort around town. Can you imagine? Royalty and no police escort!”
The New York Experience,
a film about how truly awful but truly wonderful it is to live in New York. At twenty-five minutes past nine, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert and Princess Paola had not arrived, and the publicity man for Trans-Lux, owners and operators of the film, was beginning to get nervous, because the film ran for a full hour, and at eleven o'clock three hundred schoolchildren were scheduled to see the show. Standing alone at the foot of the escalator, looking up quickly every time he heard footsteps approaching, he said, “If they are really late, I don't know what we are going to do.” He also said, “Ah, the vicissitudes of publicity. The TV people were to be here, but they're stuck in New Jersey. They had it on their books. I was on the phone with them this morning. But now they're in
New Jersey.” And he said, “I hear that the Prince and the Princess are staying at the Waldorf, and that the city didn't even give them a police escort around town. Can you imagine? Royalty and no police escort!”
At half past nine, the publicity man looked up and saw twenty men, each wearing a dark suit, each with a little red-and-white card indicating that he represented the Belgian press, come down the escalator, and the publicity man sighed and shook his head. In the next fifteen minutes, a woman carrying a large shopping bag, a man wearing a golfing shirt, two women chatting in French, and a man wearing a pin-striped suit with a woman wearing a blue dress came down the escalator, and each time the publicity man sighed and shook his head. Then, at a quarter to ten, he looked up and saw a man followed by a large group of people come down the escalator. He said, “This must be the Prince.” And it was.
The publicity man held out his hand, tipped forward slightly, and said to the Prince, “Welcome, Your Highness.”
The Prince and the publicity man shook hands, and then the Prince started to move on.
“Where is the Princess?” asked the publicity man.
“Alas,” said the Prince, “the Princess could not come.”
“Oh,” said the publicity man. “I am sorry.” His face fell a tiny, tiny bit. But then, catching himself, he said, “Well, if you'll just come over here, I would like to have a picture of you standing in front of this poster.” The poster advertised
The New York Experience.
The New York Experience.
â
June
2,
1980
June
2,
1980
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ONE: The
Balletomania: A Quizzical Potpourri of Ballet Facts
,
Stars, Trivia, and Lore
, by Andrew Mark Wentink, party:
Balletomania: A Quizzical Potpourri of Ballet Facts
,
Stars, Trivia, and Lore
, by Andrew Mark Wentink, party:
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1.
Who wore combs in her hair at this party?
Who wore combs in her hair at this party?
a.
Patricia McBride.
Patricia McBride.
b.
Mme. Marie Taglioni.
Mme. Marie Taglioni.
c.
Birgit Cullberg.
Birgit Cullberg.
d.
The Duchess of L'an L'ing.
The Duchess of L'an L'ing.
e.
Marie Merchant.
Marie Merchant.
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2.
Where was this party held?
Where was this party held?
a.
At a friend's house.
At a friend's house.
b.
On the roof of a building.
On the roof of a building.
c.
In a private supper club.
In a private supper club.
d.
At the Vincent Astor Gallery in the library at Lincoln Center.
At the Vincent Astor Gallery in the library at Lincoln Center.
e.
I give up.
I give up.
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3.
At this party there was one woman who
At this party there was one woman who
a.
said in a loud voice, “This is Ruth Page.”
said in a loud voice, “This is Ruth Page.”
b.
blew kisses across the room to women she obviously didn't even know.
blew kisses across the room to women she obviously didn't even know.
c.
had a huge pile of dry wood on her head.
had a huge pile of dry wood on her head.
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4.
At this party, there was a man in a khaki-colored suit, and his name was
At this party, there was a man in a khaki-colored suit, and his name was
a.
Peter Marshall.
Peter Marshall.
b.
James Van Allen.
James Van Allen.
c.
Anthony Dowell.
Anthony Dowell.
d.
Harvey Fuqua.
Harvey Fuqua.
e.
Ãlvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.
Ãlvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.
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5.
At this party, there were a lot of
At this party, there were a lot of
a.
things to drink.
things to drink.
b.
races to run.
races to run.
c.
closets to clean.
closets to clean.
d.
babies to feed on time.
babies to feed on time.
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6.
At this party, one girl said,
At this party, one girl said,
a.
“I want to live now.”
“I want to live now.”
b.
“
Close Encounters
was a movie,
1941
was a film.”
“
Close Encounters
was a movie,
1941
was a film.”
c.
“I have never in my entire life seen anything like it.”
“I have never in my entire life seen anything like it.”
d.
“I think being funny is a joke.”
“I think being funny is a joke.”
e.
“I want to go home now.”
“I want to go home now.”
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7.
At this party, people were
At this party, people were
a.
talking animatedly to each other.
talking animatedly to each other.
b.
reading the
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
, by Jeremy Bentham.
reading the
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
, by Jeremy Bentham.
c.
looking at decorator colors on a paint chart.
looking at decorator colors on a paint chart.
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8.
At this party, a different girl from the one mentioned earlier said,
At this party, a different girl from the one mentioned earlier said,
a.
“Boy, if I never go to another book party I wouldn't care. This is the best book party I have ever been to.”
“Boy, if I never go to another book party I wouldn't care. This is the best book party I have ever been to.”
b.
“I like hot dogs.”
“I like hot dogs.”
c.
“It's just amazing how good I can be when I put my mind to it.”
“It's just amazing how good I can be when I put my mind to it.”
d.
“Yes, I know what you mean.”
“Yes, I know what you mean.”
e.
“I want to go home now.”
“I want to go home now.”
Answers: 1, a; 2, d; 3, a; 4, c; 5, a; 6, a; 7, a; 8, e.
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Two: The
Baseball Diamonds
, edited by Richard Grossinger and Kevin Kerrane, party:
Baseball Diamonds
, edited by Richard Grossinger and Kevin Kerrane, party:
The man from one of the city's daily newspapers walked up to the bar and asked for a drink. He had to ask for it a couple of times before anyone seemed to even notice he was there. When he finally got his drink, he drank it. In one gulp. The drink obviously went down his throat straight to the bottom of his stomach, and stayed thereâat least for a little while. The man from one of the city's daily newspapers asked for another drink, and after he drank that one he asked for another, and after he drank that one he asked for another. This was one for his stroll around the room. As he strolled around the room, he greeted people, some of whom he knewâthey were in the daily-newspaper businessâand some of whom he was meeting for the first time. Clearly, he was glad to be in
this room, glad to be with these people, glad to have a drink in his hand, glad to be alive. A woman came up to him and said, “Hi, I like your great writing,” and the combination of the drinks and the woman's saying such a thing to him made his face turn red with pleasure. He beamed at her, and she, in turn, beamed at him. As he moved on, he shook his head and shaped his eyes into a playful squint. The words “Well, well” formed on his lips, and he put his free hand on his nape, perhaps reminding himself that he was, after all, a man from one of the city's dailies. He said out loud to himself, “I better call my wife.” His clear blue eyes suddenly clouded over. He said, “I better get out of here.” He looked up. His eyes met those of another woman. She wore a black dress, a white apron, and a little white cap. She was one of the waitresses hired specially for this party. He looked at her, his eyes pleading. She looked back at him, and in looking so closely and deeply at him she knew everything about him there was to know at that moment. She brought him a fresh drink.
this room, glad to be with these people, glad to have a drink in his hand, glad to be alive. A woman came up to him and said, “Hi, I like your great writing,” and the combination of the drinks and the woman's saying such a thing to him made his face turn red with pleasure. He beamed at her, and she, in turn, beamed at him. As he moved on, he shook his head and shaped his eyes into a playful squint. The words “Well, well” formed on his lips, and he put his free hand on his nape, perhaps reminding himself that he was, after all, a man from one of the city's dailies. He said out loud to himself, “I better call my wife.” His clear blue eyes suddenly clouded over. He said, “I better get out of here.” He looked up. His eyes met those of another woman. She wore a black dress, a white apron, and a little white cap. She was one of the waitresses hired specially for this party. He looked at her, his eyes pleading. She looked back at him, and in looking so closely and deeply at him she knew everything about him there was to know at that moment. She brought him a fresh drink.
â
June 23, 1980
June 23, 1980
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