you gonna eat that?
you mind?
mmm. nice and ripe.
jake says thanks. fell out of his nest over by the plate shop. i'm lookin' after him till he's old enough to fly.
middle shelf, wrapped in a towel.
andy! thought i heard you out here!
i know, they told me. ain't that a kick in the ass? come on in, i'll give you the dime tour.
here she is, the shawshank prison library. along this side, we got the national geographics. that side, the reader's digest condensed books. bottom shelf there, some louis l'amours and erle stanley gardners. every night i pile the cart and make my rounds. i write down the names on this clipboard here. well, that's it. easy, peasy, japanesey. any questions?
since 1912. yuh, over 37 years.
never needed one. not much to it, is there?
i dunno. be nice to have some comp'ny down here for a change.
pull down one'a them desks there.
god is my witness. and dekins, he just blinks for a second, then laughs his ass off. afterward, he actually shook andy's hand.
shook his fuckin' hand. just about shit myself. all andy needed was a suit and tie, a jiggly little hula girl on his desk, he would'a been mister dufresne, if you please.
son, i've had six wardens through here during my tenure, and i have learned one great immutable truth of the universe: ain't one of 'em been born whose asshole don't pucker up tight as a snare drum when you ask for funds.
goddamn miserable puke-eatin' sons of whores!
nothing left to talk about! it's all talked out! nothing left now but to cut his fuckin' throat!
that's what they want! it's the price i gotta pay!
but it's the only way they'll let me stay.
i can't take care of you no more. you go on now. you're free.
dear fellas. i can't believe how fast things move on the outside.
i saw an automobile once when i was young. now they're everywhere.
the world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.
people even talk faster. and louder.
the parole board got me into this halfway house called the brewster, and a job bagging groceries at the foodway.
yes sir, double-bag, surely will.
it's hard work. i try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. i don't think the store manager likes me very much.
sometimes after work i go to the park and feed the birds. i keep thinking jake might show up and say hello, but he never does. i hope wherever he is, he's doing okay and making new friends.
i have trouble sleeping at night. the bed is too big. i have bad dreams, like i'm falling. i wake up scared. sometimes it takes me a while to remember where i am.
maybe i should get me a gun and rob the foodway, so they'd send me home. i could shoot the manager while i was at it, sort of like a bonus.
but i guess i'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore.
i don't like it here. i'm tired of being afraid all the time. i've decided not to stay.
i doubt they'll kick up any fuss. not for an old crook like me.