I ask you again to please
pay attention to this Bad Language Advisory before you read this interview
with Miss Belette. Because I wish to present an accurate sense of Miss Belette's
character and diction, I haven't cleaned up her occasional irreverence or lapses
in good taste or grammar, and any misspellings in her responses below are my calculated
attempts to duplicate her language and delivery. I apologize for the many times
Miss Belette wanders off topic. Since our last interview, her mental faculties,
physical abilities, and financial resources have all diminished substantially,
and she has become a resident of the Oteseraga County Nursing Home...at least
as long as Medicaid benefits continue to be available in New York State. Her brain
now floats in a cloud of confusion, occasionally returning to the world of common
discourse to make some relevant comment or observation. I have done my best to
keep Miss Belette on track, but it has become nearly impossible to do; hence,
this is most likely the last interview I will conduct with one of Centerboro's
most colorful citizens.
The Interview
EHA: Miss
Belette, excuse me...are you awake? Miss Belette? Pris? PRIS!
Miss Belette: Whoa!
Whooza....wha...? OK. All righty then. OK, where's Kitty? Didja
bring me Kitty? Hey, lemme get my robe closed up here, big boy.
EHA: It's me, Pris...Eddie...Eddie
Anderson.
Miss Belette: Eddie?
Kitty's not Eddie. Kitty's...is...Kitty.
EHA: Um...I'm Eddie.
I think Kitty is...ah, visiting someone. Maybe he'll be back later after our interview
and your nap. Is that all right?
Miss Belette: Fine by
me. I miss my little sweetums. Ya know, ya look just like Eddie Anderson!
Now there's a character! D'ya know he burned down the Bean farm? For money! An'
he never--
EHA: Pris, I am
Eddie. I'm Eddie Anderson, and I didn't burn down the Bean farm. Could
we not...could we please talk about--
Miss Belette: You're
Eddie? Jeez, ya look old. Now wait just a minute here...I remember...I...maybe...did
I make ya a fried baloney sandwich? They won't make them for me here. I
gotta eat...what, a fish melody or somethin' on Fridays, which I don't par-tic-u-lar-ly
care for. No beer for chrissakes either. Powdered eggs or oatmeal is breakfast.
That's not too bad. If you don't watch, they burn the raisin bread toast,
but the orange juice--
EHA: Miss Belette, I
wonder if we could talk again...before you...while you still remember the old
days. Do you mind if I keep recording our talk?
Miss Belette: Nope.
I 'member that little machiney thing when we talked before. But not
about Dixon. Maybe we talked about...other things. Kitty an'...baloney...an'--
EHA: No, I mean, yes,
we didn't talk about Mr. Dixon. You didn't seem to want to talk about him, so
we talked about...here, let me just look at my notes...um, Mrs. Church a little
bit, and Bannister, Camphor, Ollie Groper, Herb Garble, the Beans--
Miss Belette: We get
beans sometimes for lunch with maybe soup an' a hotdog. Well, no, not a
hotdog. Like a hotdog. I bet we talked 'bout Harriet. We talked 'bout her.
You're Eddie, right, so I can tell you a secret. (Whispers) She's dead
now, but I always had better legs than her. Just go ask anybody!
EHA: Yes, I heard she'd
died a couple of months ago.
Miss Belette: Oh, pooh!
C'mon, now, Eddie! Don't pull a long face on me. You didn't like when she
ran off on you, an' I betcha you're glad! Now just look at these
legs!
EHA: Please,
Pris...the robe.
Miss Belette: Oopsies!
Hah! Sorry 'bout that! No free show today, Eddie! You're too old
for me anyways. You know, her boyfriend is here...Harriet's boyfriend.
EHA: Pomeroy? Pomeroy
is here? I thought he'd--
Miss Belette: Yep. Yessir.
Right over on the other side of this here curtain. He talks real loud all day,
an' I gotta yell for 'im to shut the hell up, an' then his girlfriend over there
tells me to shut the hell up. Listen...you can hear 'im right
now!
EHA: Pris, that's Montel
Williams. That's your roommate's television you hear.
Miss Belette: That's
just what the nurses say, but I don't believe 'em. Everybody
lies here...just like Dixon!
EHA: How did Dixon lie?
Miss Belette: That
no good, lying sonuvabitch! First he tells me how we were gonna get hitched,
an' then when I tell him he's gonna be a poppa, he acts like he don't know
nothing 'bout anything, an' I hadda go to my auntie's until...until...but I came
back an' I finished up high school, by God. I think my diploma's in that box over
there on toppa my dresser. Go get it, Eddie, willya? I wanta show you I finished.
I hadda work real hard to get through, but I did! Just go over--
EHA: In a second, Pris.
So those stories about Dixon were true?
Miss Belette: What stories?
EHA: About you and Dixon...
Miss Belette: They weren't
stories. Didya ever notice how he always looked all sweaty 'n' nervous
all the time? Well, lemme just say that he had damn good reason to. I wasn't the
only gal he was after, you betcha. He even tried to put the moves on that snooty
Francine once when she wandered into the diner. Boy, did she give him the business,
an' then old man Margarine hit the roof when he heard 'bout it an' came right
down to the diner, an' he made a big scene in front of everybody an' grabbed Dixon
by the shirt. You shoulda been there, Kitty!
EHA: I'm Eddie,
Pris.
Miss Belette: Right-o.
You shoulda been there, Eddie, to see the sweat roll down his face! I felt
sorry for 'im, an' that's when it all started between me an' him. It wasn't
one week before he--
EHA: I think I get the
idea, Pris, and we should probably move on to a topic that's less painful for
you, don't you think? How about...let's see here...ah, how about Sniffy Wilson?
Miss Belette: Smelled!
Jeez, but he smelled something awful bad, didn't he? Once I was
sittin' at the counter in the soda shop an' in walks Sniffy an' his wife...oh,
what the hell was her name...maybe it's in the phone book. You could look in there.
Where the hell's my phone book? I used to get too many phone books dropped
on my porch, but I always kept just one for under the phone on my desk. Say, where's
the phone?
EHA: You were sitting
at the counter and Sniffy walked in...
Miss Belette: He walks
in an' plops himself down right next to me. Now let me think...it was...was...on
my right. Nope, it was on my left. Is this my left hand here, Eddie? Yes? OK,
then, it was on my left. An' his wife, she sat down on my other side...my
right side, right? Probably so's not to have to sit right next to Sniffy, though
God knows she prob'ly was use to the stink after all those years. But maybe you
can't get used to a stink like that. It stinks in here sometimes, Eddie, because
my roommate there has a little problem. Right over there. Hey, over there,
you gotta a pooper problem? HEY! You awake? You got that goddam
TV on sleeping again? I'm gonna come over there and fix your--
EHA: Miss Belette...Pris,
calm down, please. There now. You were saying that Sniffy came in and sat
next to you?
Miss Belette: Yep, that's
what I said.
EHA: Did anything happen...anything
interesting you'd like to tell me about?
Miss Belette: Nope.
He just had a cuppa coffee an' left. Him 'n' his wife.
EHA: That's it?
Miss Belette: Well,
I don't think he left a tip. That's not very nice. Them gals behind the counter
work hard for nothin' practically. I always leave a tip. Maybe a dime or
a quarter. I've got a tip you, Eddie. Never sit next to ol' Sniffy. Hah!
All that sloshing around sewers an' septic tanks...whew! You wonder how
he an' his wife ever had kids.
EHA: Well, I'm not likely
to run into Sniffy since he's been dead for a number of years now. Let's move
on, OK?
Miss Belette: Suits
me, Eddie. Why doncha ask me something interestin'?
EHA: Well, how about
Beller and Rohr? Do you remember them? They used to--
Miss Belette: I know
who they are. Them two ran a store. Use to sell...use to sell...
EHA: They
used to sell a lot of things, but Beller and Rohr's was an appliance
store mostly.
Miss Belette:
An appliance store? I thought you could buy a radio
there? My radio came from there. Where the hell is my
radio? It was on my desk right by the phone. On the...the...left.
No, no, the right.
EHA: Do you know any
stories about Beller or Rohr?
Miss Belette: You mean
Beller an' Rohr? 'Cause--
EHA: Yes, yes, that's
what I mean. Beller and Rohr.
Miss Belette: I was
saying because them two were always together. Ya get my drift?
EHA: I'm not sure. Maybe...
Miss Belette: Maybe!
EHA: I never thought
about it, but--
Miss Belette: Light
goin' on, Eddie? That's right. Yep. Beller an' Rohr. Didn't make
no difference for me, though. Couldn't've been two nicer fellas. They lived right
over the store in a cozy little apartment an' never bothered nobody. You didn't
know 'bout them. I knew, because by accident I found out when I saw them through--
EHA: Of course,
I knew.
Miss Belette: No, you
didn't! Hah! It's no big deal. I know lots of things I betcha you don't
know about neither. Would you believe--
EHA: Pris, I'm not here
to find out that kind of thing.
Miss Belette: I thought
you wanted some interestin' stories.
EHA: Yes, that's what
I want, but--
Miss Belette: But nothing!
Now just a minute! I know what you're thinking, Eddie. You think that Beller 'n'
Rohr were a twosome, right?
EHA: You did make it
sound that way. Weren't they?
Miss Belette: Nope!
EHA: Well, then what--
Miss Belette: Hah! They
just liked to dress up! The two of 'em. Here's somethin' else you
don't know...I was friends with 'em. After I saw 'em once through the back
window without a shade down. Then I went to the store an' asked them what the
Sam Hill they were doin'. An' then we made friends. Some Friday nights I'd go
over, an' we'd watch Perry Mason an' have a make-up party an' a real good
gab. We'd do our hair, 'cept they had wigs. Didja know they were in the Giddy-Up
Horsey contest that one year? I don't remember which one was the horsey, but
they didn't win.
EHA: Yes, yes, I do
know that. I think I mentioned that somewhere on my website, but I had no idea...
Miss Belette: Nobody
had no idea, but I did. 'S funny how you get to be pals with some
people. I used to go shopping for 'em, 'cause it wouldn't have been good for them
to go out and buy stockings or lipstick. People woulda talked!
EHA: That's for sure.
Miss Belette: In Centerboro.
People talk an' talk. What woulda happened if one of them guys bought a pair of
lady shoes in town without they had a wife? Hah! They went to Syracuse to shop
for stuff like that. But other stuff, I helped them buy here...stuff like
I coulda been usin' like a hat. I even bought some nice hats for them at your
Harriet's shop. Didja ever know that?
EHA: I did not know
that. Is there anything else about Beller...and Rohr that you can tell
me? Do you think it would be all right to publish this information now?
Miss Belette: Can't
think of anything. They gave me my radio free just because. Didn't have to pay
a red cent. They knew how to treat a friend. An' that's what they
were...friends who had a...a hobby they both liked. I couldn't see
any harm in that. An' they were my friends, even when I was in trouble.
That's all I got to say on the matter. It was nobody else's business.
I don't think they'd mind if you said something now. It doesn't matter anymore,
does it? An' it's nothin' compared to what you see on TV. What's a red
cent, Eddie?
EHA: Um...I don't think
I know, but I'll try to find out for you. Let me just look at my notes here a
second...ah, yes. Pris, can you tell us about Mr. Metacarpus?
Miss Belette: Whatcha
mean "us"?
EHA: I'm...not following
you, Pris.
Miss Belette: Us,
Eddie. You said tell us about somebody. Where's the other people? There's
just you 'n' me and over in the other bed, but she's sleepin',
an' you said...
EHA: Me! Tell ME about
Mr. Metacarpus...please!
Miss Belette: Don't
have to shout, Eddie. Jeez! I can hear good. Can't hold my pee
worth a damn, but I can hear OK. Metaca...was...was...Busy Bee.... Yep!
He pinched me for shopliftin' one time, but I didn't. It wasn't me who was takin'
the costume jewels. I was standing right next to her. She was gonna slip 'em into
her pocket, I saw. An' when Meta...whosis came up behind us she got real
nervous an' tossed the...rings I think it was...no, it was earrings...right, earrings...in
my...my purse which was open on the counter by accident. I mean she dropped the
earrings by accident, not my purse by accident open. You following me, Eddie?
OK, then, Mr. Metafarplus, he came up on us an' didn't see what she did, but he
did see the earrings right on top there of my stuff in my purse. So he grabs my
arm an' marches me off to the back office over by the elevator. All the time I'm
looking back at her to say something, but she just turns around an' walks
out the front door.
EHA: Who was it? I mean,
who tossed the earrings into your purse?
Miss Belette: I keep
it locked up in my nightstand. You see this coily thingamajiggy with a key here...here,
Eddie, on my wrist? That's my key. I hafta keep my purse locked up 'cause the
people in here could steal my things. TURN THAT GODDAM TV DOWN! By God, I'll come
over there an' knock you...
EHA: Whoa! Easy,
there Pris. Here, let me help you back up into your chair.
Miss Belette: Hands
off, Eddie! I can do it myself. An' watch those eyes! Okey-dokey.
All set here now. Whew! I don't remember.
EHA: Remember what?
Miss Belette: That's
right...don't remember what the hell we were talkin' about.
EHA: Pris, someone dropped
earrings into your purse, and Mr. Metacarpus took you into the...
Miss Belette: ... into
the...the...office back over by the elevator. I didn't take no goddam earrings!
I was just lookin' at a nice brooch that...
EHA: Who took
the earrings?
Miss Belette: It was...was
that rich lady that didn't wear no real jewels, just fake. Jeez! Who was
that? It wasn't that goddam Mrs. Underdunk, 'cause she had real jewels...an' furs.
And a chauf...chauf...somebody to drive her fat can around town in a big car.
Like Francine. It was...Mrs....a place...you'd kneel or pray or something....
Sorry, Kitty, I disremember.
EHA: Do you mean Mrs.
Church?
Miss Belette: That's
IT, Eddie! Mrs. Church. That's what I told old Metafloopus, but he didn't
care to listen. He didn't believe me. He said Mrs. Church wouldn't have
to steal nothing 'cause she was rich, but I would steal because I was just
riffraff. What does that mean, Eddie? I remember that's what he said after
all these years. It sounds pretty bad. What'd he mean, Eddie...riffraff?
EHA: Well, riffraff
means...ah, it means common.
Miss Belette: Priscilla
isn't common. How many Priscillas do you know? I'm the only one
I know!
EHA: What he meant was...was
that.... It doesn't matter, Pris. It doesn't matter. You're one of the least common
people I know.
Miss Belette: I am,
Eddie? How 'bout these legs? Still pretty good, eh? Wish I could still
dance! I'm about...75 now maybe. When I conked that bug I was about, oh, 20, give
or take. Remember that? The contest? Shoulda won!
EHA: I do. I remember,
but we've already talked about that (first interview),
so we'll just move along. Let's see here...is there anything else about Mr. Metacarpus
you'd like to say.
Miss Belette: A walrus.
Lotta flab. That mustache! Not a nice guy at all. Wasn't fair they wouldn't
let me in the Busy Bee for a year. But I didn't go to jail. I was a good
girl. Except for that once which didn't ruin my life...exactly.
EHA: I think we're about
done with Mr. Metacarpus. Can you tell me anything about...
Miss Belette: Could
ya do me a favor, Eddie. I could sure use a hot dog. It ain't on the menu
here. You could go to Dixon's an' get me a hot dog. Just mustard. Ketchup, too.
You have to hide it so's no one would see you bringing it, but...how about it,
Eddie? An' a beer. Couldya grab us a couple beers? I'd murder for
a beer!
EHA: I don't think I
should do that, Pris. They've got their rules here. It's probably not a good idea
to mix meds, hot dogs, and beer. Now, could we talk a little about Mrs. Peppercorn...Alice
Peppercorn?
Miss Belette: Pepper
who? Next door they had a little dog Pepper. Yappy little guy. I had to
brain 'im with a broom when he chased Kitty. Never yapped around me again.
Say...where's Kitty?
EHA: Alice Peppercorn,
Pris. Do you remember Alice Peppercorn? She taught school, remember? Fifth
grade?
Miss Belette: School?
She ride a bike?
EHA: Yes, she rode a
bicycle. As a matter of fact...
Miss Belette: Did she
fall off of her bike? Do I remember that?
EHA: Yes, she did. Actually
that was just after she turned 100 back in the mid-sixties right outside the home.
(See here.)
Miss Belette: Prune
Face! She's Prune Face. That's what us kids called her. Mean. Whooo!
She'd rap your knuckles with that ruler. Make you put gum on the end of your nose.
Tongue like a straight razor! Don't get on her bad side!
EHA: That'd be difficult
to do now--
Miss Belette: Why's
that, Kitty?
EHA: Eddie, Pris.
I'm Eddie. She fell off her bicycle and died as a result. It was a long time ago.
After she retired and went to the nursing home...this one, as a matter of fact.
Miss Belette: Was it?
I don't remember that. I remember she gave me a hard time 'cause...'cause...I
wasn't. what, smart, I guess. I could get along, but I had a hard time readin'.
The letters all used to jump around on the page for me, an' I couldn't get 'em
to stand still, know what I mean? An' I couldn't do math real good. All those
numbers! Jeez! But gym I was good at. Especially during dancin', like square dancin'.
That I was good at, but my parents wanted me to be good at everythin',
Eddie, an' I couldn't. I tried, but Prune Face never gave me a break. Nobody
did. But Prune Face was the worse! She'd ask me what was wrong with
me, why was I so stupid, an'I didn't know. What was I suppose to
say to a question like that? At least I could ride a bike without falling
over and killin' myself! But I guess I shouldn't feel special, Eddie, 'cause
she was mean to everybody!
EHA: Pris, do you remember
anything else about Mrs. Peppercorn?
Miss Belette: Yep! I
remember when one of them Halsey boys...there was a dozen Halsey kids, y'know...it
was Ferdie, that's who it was...an' he...he found a raccoon all flattened out
like a big flapjack up the Centerboro Road. He brought it to school an' stuck
it in the piano in Prune Face's room during recess. D'ya remember, Eddie? He did
it 'cause she yelled at him for wettin' his pants waitin' in line to get in school
that one morning. It wasn't his fault. He tried to hold it, but he couldn't!
EHA: No, that was after
my time.
Miss Belette: Too bad,
'cause it was the best prank ever in that lousy school! You shoulda
seen ol' Prune Face when she started to play...y'know how she'd bang on that thing
for music class an' screech to beat the band! Well, she was tryin' to play..."Oh!
Susanna," I think it was. That was one of her favorites. I always thought it was
"Old Susanna," but that wasn't right.
EHA: So Mrs. Peppercorn
started to play the piano, and...
Miss Belette: I can
still sing it, Eddie. It's one of them things that just stuck in my head.
Hah! An' a one an' a two an' here we go!
Oh, Ah come from Al--abamy
with muh banjo on m' knee;
Ah'm a-goin' t' Looz--iana my true love for t' see.
It rained all night the day Ah left,
the weather it was dry;
The sun so hot Ah froze to death,
Susanna don'tcha cry.
Old Sus--anna, oh, don'tcha
cry for me;
Ah come from Al--abamy,
with muh banjo on m' knee.
EHA: That's very
nice, Pris, now...
Miss Belette: Shush,
willya, for Pete sakes, Eddie! I'm singin' here!
Had a dream th'other
night
When everythin' was
still;
Ah thought Ah saw Susanna dear,
A-comin' down the hill.
The buckwheat cake was in'er mouth,
The tear was in'er eye,
Said Ah, Ah'm comin' from the south,
Susanna don'tcha cry!
There's more, Eddie...but I
don't remember that part. Or what's buckwheat. An' how could it rain an'
be dry?
EHA: I don't know, Pris.
The raccoon in the piano?
Miss Belette: Best prank
ever! When she opened up the lid on the piano an' looked down inside...you shoulda
seen her face, Eddie! Her mouth was open, but nothing came out for once.
It just sounded like she was havin' a hard time catchin' her breath or hiccuppin'
or somethin'. Later she tried and get someone to 'fess up, but Ferdie just sat
there with his poker face on, and nobody would squeal on 'im. Not even when the
principal came to the room an' yelled at us all! Hah! So we all had to stay after
school for a week...the whole class...but it was worth it! That was the
week Prune Face stayed home an' someone else taught us. The other fifth grade
teacher...Miss Crispie...I think it was Miss Crispie...watched us after school
She was nice. Wish I had her for a teacher. When Prune Face came back she
didn't yell so much.
EHA: Is there anything
else you recollect about Mrs. Peppercorn?
Miss Belette: Just she
thought the Martian bugs were Commies. She was the one who started that whole
thing 'bout the Martians should go back to Russia. I didn't think they were Commies...just...just
weird. Did I ever show ya where that one bit me? It's right here,
Eddie. You can still see it.
EHA: Yes, yes you have...several
times now.
Miss Belette: No cream
helps. Nothin' stops the itching. For years. (Yawns) Whoooeeee! Sorry 'bout
that!
EHA: Are you getting
a bit tired? Is it time for your nap?
Miss Belette: Nap?
Hell no, Eddie. I gotta go take a shower pretty soon. The nurse comes in an' helps
me. I sit on this little seat in the shower, an' she helps me with washin' myself.
Can you believe it? I need help washin' myself! I was embarrassed first, but now
I don't care. I get a little food on myself at lunch...don't care about that
either. They do my laundry here. Leak a little...who cares? Only once they lost
a pair of my pants, but they found 'em 'cause my name's wrote in them. So I get
a little gravy on my pants...no problem! The nurse said she's gonna clip this
one long hair I got growing on my chin today. I can't cut it 'cause my hand's
not real steady. Didja
notice that hair?
EHA: Yes, yes, I did.
Would you have time for another question or two?
Miss Belette: You bet!
Fire away, Eddie!
EHA: Do you remember
the circus that came to town? Boomschmidt's circus?
Miss Belette: I can't
always get to sleep when I want 'cause of that goddam TV over there, but if she's
sleepin' I just go over an' pull the plug. One of these days I'm gonna knock that
TV over an' smash it. Maybe you could give me a hand, Eddie? You could just go
over and tip the dresser, an' that goddam TV would slide right off onto...
EHA: Pris, it's not
a good idea to do anything like that. Tell you what. I'll speak to someone
at the nurse's desk on my way out about the TV, OK?
Miss Belette: Won't
do any good.
EHA: Maybe if I said
something...
Miss Belette: Nobody
listens. You're not a relative.
EHA: Well, I'll give
it a try anyway. Now, Boomschmidt's circus?
Miss Belette: Loved
the circus, Eddie! Who couldn't love a circus?
EHA: What do you remember
best about it?
Miss Belette: Well...let's
see now...it came up in wagons. An' they'd come up to Centerboro from down around
Rome. We'd wait for the parade by the big statue on Main. Whole town'd turn out!
An' then the band 'n' the wagons would come! I can hear that circus song, Eddie,
but I can't remember the words. I remember some songs I could sing you.
EHA: That's OK, Pris.
You don't have to. So, the circus would come to town, and...
Miss Belette: The circus
was in town...and...you didn't burn the farm down?
EHA: The circus
would come into town, and...
Miss Belette: I think
I liked some of the sideshows the best. The big top was OK, too...the horses...an'
lions...trapeze...an' elephants...Bill...Bill Wonk...Wonks. He kissed me
over by the elephants. I went back there to see the elephants, an' he gave me
a smooch.
EHA: When was this?
Miss Belette: Well,
I remember 'cause it was just after the Martians took off...that same year. Or
maybe the next year. Not everyone can remember the Martians 'cause...I don't know
why, but I remember because of the bite. You remember the bugs, don'tcha, Eddie?
EHA: Yes, I do. Bill
Wonks gave you a kiss...
Miss Belette: He did!
I didn't mind too much. He said he'd take me for a ride on an elephant if I wanted.
But then Mr. Boomschmidt came around the corner an' told me to scram 'n' get lost.
He was givin' Bill Wonks hell then.
EHA: Hmmmm. It sounds
like--
Miss Belette: Yep, that's
what it sounds like. But I coulda took care of myself. I know how to handle fresh
guys, all righty!
EHA: I'm sure you do,
Pris. What about the sideshows did you like?
Miss Belette: Well,
I liked the fire-breather man an' the man who could swallow swords. There was
also a big fat man...can't remember his name...but I liked 'im 'cause he told
jokes, an' he had nice eyes. But things like the lobster woman or the people
with really little heads...they kinda scared me, Eddie. Or that guy who'd
pound a nail in his noggin. Gave me the willies! How could he do
that?
EHA: That's beyond me,
Pris. My parents would never let me go to the sideshows.
Miss Belette: Mine,
too. They said, go to the circus, but stay away from the sideshow, an'
we'd better not hear you went to gawk at those poor people. But I snuck in anyway
with some friends of mine. I had bad dreams about that one...the half a woman.
Nothing from the waist down, Eddie! She walked on her hands. After I saw
her, I never went to no sideshow ever again. I heard that she was married!
How could that happen?
EHA: Well, they were
people, Pris. They just...looked different.
Miss Belette: Nightmares,
Eddie! But...but...I 'spose you're right. I mean they probably liked a
beer an' a good laugh, too, right? Or a hot dog. Prob'ly they were just doin'
the best they could, right, Eddie?
EHA: Right. That's right.
Anything else about the circus?
Miss Belette: I'm real
sorry I gawked. I feel bad.
EHA: It's OK, Pris.
That was a long time ago. What's your best memory of the circus?
Miss Belette: The best...the
best of all...would be...well, it'd be maybe when you could just start
to hear the parade way off down the road for the first time. The music. Everybody
started gettin' excited 'n' talkin' about the show, an' what a good time they
had last year, an' 'bout the acrobats, an' that pretty girl who rode the trick
horse, an'...an'...it was almost the best of all just to wait by the statue for
the first wagon to roll up the road. Know what I mean, Eddie? It was good
to have all that to look forward to, 'cause it was over so fast, an' next thing
you'd know, they'd pack up so quick, and it'd
all be over.
EHA: Yes, I know what
you mean. Kind of like life.
Miss Belette: I don't
getcha, Eddie. (Yawns) Whoooo!
EHA: Not to worry, Pris.
Sounds like you could use a little nap before your shower.
Miss Belette:Yeah, Eddie.
It's almost time I go get my shower anyhow. I gotta use the bathroom first.
EHA: Oh, then I should
let you get ready. Well, we've had a nice talk today, Pris. Thanks. I learned
quite a bit.
Miss Belette: You get
me a hotdog and a beer, Eddie. You bring 'em next time, OK?
EHA: I will do
that...if you promise not to tell.
Miss Belette: You won't
forget, willya? Mum's the word. An' Kitty. See if you can find 'im, Eddie. I'd
like to pet Kitty.
EHA: I'll try my best.
Anything else?
Miss Belette: That goddam
TV!
EHA: I will mention
it to the nurse on duty. Let's see if that helps.
Miss Belette: Won't!
EHA: Well, we'll try,
and if that doesn't work, I'll go higher up. Right now I'll just pull the cable
out. Just a second. There. How's that?
Miss Belette: Better,
Eddie. Time to get ready now. Gotta go!
EHA: It's been a pleasure,
Pris. Here's a little something for your purse. Maybe you can buy a nice snack
or a magazine down in the little store here.
Miss Belette: Jeez,
thanks, Eddie. I'll get a Baby Ruth! My favorite! When you comin' again?
EHA: Well, how about
the same time next week? Would that be all right?
Miss Belette: Yep! Like
the circus comin' to town.
EHA: Yes...yes, like
the circus coming to town. Bye-bye now, Pris. Take care.
Finis
Previous Interviews: The first and the second