mama???
like hell.
why?.  hes right in the groove.
seeins how youre about as thick as a used string of unwaxed dental floss, dont know how you can criticize.
meetin him at the gate. that phone call this afternoon was the signal. my deranged mamas hid the keys to my car. but of course, i know exactly where they are.
cant all husbands be perfect, and your elmo probly wouldnta ever got that second one pregnant, you hadnt kicked his ass out.
real soon .  ill be makin the swap tomorrow, and thanks again, beany.
hey baby.
bout fifty thousand times. i got us a room at the cape fear, and guess what?.  i hear powermads at the hurricane.
did you ever think somethin like about the wicked witch of the east comin flyin in?.  did you ever think somethin and then later think youve said it out loud to someone?
well, i was thinkin about smokin actually.  my mama smokes marlboros now, used to be she smoked kools? i stole em from her beginnin in about sixth grade. when i got old enough to buy my own, i bought those. now ive just about settled on mores, as you probably noticed? theyre longer.
what brandd she smoke?
gee, sailor. im sorry, honey. i never would have guessed it.
id stand by you, sailor .  through anything.
you move me, sailor, you really do. you mark me the deepest.
you remind me of my daddy, you know? mama told me he liked skinny women whose breasts were just a bit too big for their bodies. he had a long nose, too, like theirs. did i ever tell you how he died?
started he couldnt remember things? got real violent? mama kept tellin me it was on account of lead poisoning from cleanin the old paint off our house without usin a mask.  but i dont know. seems like his brain just fell apart in pieces.
finally in the middle of the one night, with me and mama asleep upstairs .  he poured kerosene over himself and lit a match.
near burned down the house. we got out just in time.
it was a year before i met you.
grandmama pace had a long, smooth white neck. it was like on a statue it was so white?
sailor, you are somethin else, honey.  when i was fifteen, mama told me that pretty soon id be startin to think about sex, and i should talk to her before i did anything about it.
thats true. uncle pooch wasnt really an uncle. he was a business partner of my daddys? and my mama never knew nothin about me and him - thats for damn sure. his real name was somethin kind of european, like pucinski. but everyone just called him pooch. he came around the house sometimes when daddy was away. i always figured he was sweet on mama, so when he cornered me one afternoon, i was surprised moren a little.
youre terrible crude sometimes, sailor, you know?
i said you can be too crude sometimes? i dont think i care for it.
well, mama was at the busy bee havin her hair dyed? and i was alone in the house.
uncle pooch came in the side door through the porch, you know? where i was makin a jelly and banana sandwich? i remember i had my hair in curlers cause i was goin that night with vicki and cherry ann, the desoto sisters. uncle pooch must have known nobody but me was home, cause he came right in and put both his hands on my butt and sorta shoved me up against the counter.
not really. least not so i recall now.
no, he picked me up.
he was short but powerful. with hairy arms? anyway, he carried me into the maids dayroom which nobody used. we did it there on an old bed.
well, sure. but he was super-gentle, you know? i mean, he raped me and all, but i guess theres all different kinds of rapes. i didnt exactly want him to do it but i suppose once it started, it didnt seem all that terrible. it was over pretty quick, and after uncle pooch just stood there and pulled up his trousers and left me there. i stayed in bed till i heard him drive off. then i just went back into the kitchen and finished makin my sandwich.
just you. uncle pooch never acted strange or different after. and he never did anything else to me. i always got a nice present from him at christmas, like a coat or jewelry?
uncle pooch died in a car crash three years later while he was holidayin in myrtle beach. they still got way too much traffic there for my taste.  and another thing, baby.  that government of ours should be keepin us separated from outer space.
sailor, that ozone layer is disappearin. seems to me the government could do somethin about it. one of these mornings the sunll come up and burn a hole clean through the planet like an x-ray.
that womans laugh creeps me out. i heard somethin like that.  somewhere before.  soundd like the wicked witch.
im always ready to dance. but i need me a kiss first, honey. just one?
sailor, honey.
hell, you just rubbed up against the wrong girl is all.
why didnt ya sing love me tender? .  you told me that was your favorite love song.
what you want to watch this trash for? aint one of those people have a real thought in their brain.
what you have to get personal about so quick? all i mean is you could possibly read a book.
whats that honey?
im sorry, sweetie. i forget some moments where all you been the last two years.
dont the reject guys get anythin?
that dont seem fair.
sailor?
wouldnt it be fabulous if we somehow stayed in love for the rest of our lives?
oh, you know exactly what i mean, honey? itd make the future so simple and nice.
i just think about things as they come up. i never been much of a planner.
you know theres somethin i aint never told you about, sailor, and this heres a story with the lesson that theres a right time and a wrong time for things to happen.  when i was almost sixteen i got pregnant.
she got me an abortion.
from some old doctor with the hairiest nostrils and ears i ever seen.
afterwards.  momma says.
i hope you appreciate my spendin six hundred dollars, not countin what it cost us to get here and back.  this mans the best damn abortionist in the south.
it was my cousin, dell, done it? his folks used to visit with us summers.
oh, nothin. i never let on to mama about dell bein the one. i just flat refused to tell her who the daddy was? i didnt tell dell, neither. he was back home in chattanooga by then, anyhow, and i didnt see the point. somethin terrible happened to him, though. six months ago.
dell disappeared. dell was learnin a hard lesson. what i learned from observin dell is i think people who are frightened want to disappear. hed startin behavin weird? like comin up to people every fifteen minutes and askin how they were doin?
and just seemin real spacey and actin funny.
well, like mama told me, aunt rootie, dells mama? she found cockroaches in dells underwear.
one time, aunt rootie caught dell puttin one big cockroach on his anus?
one time - real late - like about two thirty a.m.? she found dell up in the black of night all dressed and makin sandwiches in the kitchen.
dell told her he was makin his lunch and goin to work. hes a welder? and she made him go back to bed.
then hed carry on about the weather? talk about how rainfalls controlled by aliens livin on earth. also how men wearin black leather gloves.
are followin him around.
it aint so funny now, though. december before christmas? dell disappeared again and aunt rootie hired a private eye to find him. he was missin for almost a month before he wandered back in the house on mornin dressed in some filthy santa claus suit.
the private eye cost aunt rootie over a thousand dollars? then a little while later dell ran off a third time to some place he said would give him peace of mind. nobodys seen him since.
too bad we all cant, baby.  one thing about dell?
when he was about seventeen, he startin losin his hair.
hes twenty-four now? a year older than you? and must be bout bald.
yeah, i suppose. but you know somethin baby, hair does make a difference.
i sure am glad they didnt give you no prison haircut.  gives me somethin to grab hold of while were makin love?
we gotta be careful, honey, my mamas gonna have johnnie farragut on us like a duck on a june bug, and hes one clever detective? you know how clever? he once told me that he could find an honest man in washington. my toenails gotta dry first anyways, sailor.
maybe my mama cares for me just a little too much.
sailor!
id got to the far end of the world for you, baby.  you know i would.
thats an awful long way to go, just to get some pussy.
you still got plenty energy for me, baby.
take a picture, bitch.  itll last longer.
ill slap those eyes right outta your head.
sorry, baby.  whens the first time you done it with a girl who wasnt hookin?
whatd you say to her?
oh, baby. what a bad boy you are!
you mean like pedal pushers?
youre excitin me, honey. whatd she do?
poor baby. she dont know what she missed. what color hair she have?
jesus, honey! you moren sorta got what you come for.  you better rum me back to the hotel, baby.  you got me hottern georgia asphalt.
ill drop mama a postcard from somewhere. i mean, i dont want her to worry no moren necessary.
i suppose so. she knew i was bound to see you soon as you was sprung, but i dont figure she counted on us takin off together like this.  i guess this means youre breakin parole, then?
whatll it be like in california, sailor, do you think? i hear it dont rain much there.
we got through two states already.
it aint. its part of the lessons of life. i picked me up a pack of vantages before we left the cape?
yeah, i guess, but - and heres the lesson part - they aint supposed to be so bad for you.
manslaughterer, honey, not murderer. dont exaggerate.
thank the lord. well, you aint let me down yet, sailor. thats moren i can say for the rest of the world?
what kinda trash talk is that?
thats disgustin. those kinda sentiments shouldnt be allowed out in public. is this biloxi yet?
got anyplace special in mind?
how about that one? the host of the old south hotel.
i h-a-t-e hotel bedspreads. they dont hardly never get washed, and i dont like the idea of lyin on other peoples dirt.
whats that, honey?
its huge. this musta been a grand old place at one time.
m-i-ss-i-ss-i-pp-i.  you can almost hear that jazz blowin up from the big n.o.
say what? honestly, sugar, you can talk more shit sometimes?
yeah, its a real problem for me, sailor, you know? when i went in that drugstore by the restaurant in biloxi? i saw em by the register and the girl throw em in. im not big on resistin. so what about a leech?
i got one on me at lake lanier. lifeguard poured salt on it and it dropped off. felt awful. he was a cute boy, though, so it was almost worth it.
sailor? you expect me to believe a mand be goin around with a arm sewed to his nose?
sailor ripley! you stop! youre makin this shit up and i aint gonna sit for it!
honey, were goin to bed now and its time to change the subject.
we sure dont, honey.  get me a mounds?
that took long enough. you forget my mounds?
you got to keep an eye on it. thats sure.
i love it when your eyes get wild, honey. they light up all blue almost and little white parachutes pop out of em. oh, sailor youre so aware of what goes on with me? i mean, you pay attention. and i swear, you got the sweetest cock. sometimes its like its talkin to me when youre inside? like its got a voice all its own. you get right on me.
why were you killin pigeons, mr. kovich? were you in the extermination business?
whats wrong with pigeons, mr. kovich?
its just another case, sailor.
one person thinks hes doin somethin good and everbody else gets upset about it.
sailor?.  sailor, honey?
ever imagine what itd be like to get eaten alive by a wild beast?.  sometimes i think it would be the biggest thrill?
shhhhh.  its four oclock.  that womans laugh the other day had somethin to do with this feelin? .  like bein ripped apart by a gorilla, maybe.  grabbed sudden and pulled apart real quick by a real powerful one.
anythin interestin in the world come out of somebodys weird thoughts, sailor. you tell me sailor, who could come up with shit like were seein these days?
you certain?
recall the time we was sittin one night behind the confederate soldier? leanin against it. and you took your hand and put it on your heart and you said, you feel it beatin in there, lula?.  get used to it, cause it belongs to you now. dyou recall that?
i was hopin you would. i know that night by heart. sometimes, honey? i think its the best night of my life.
i really do think its the best night of my life.
talkins good. long as you got the other? im a big believer in talkin, case you aint noticed.
you think so, baby? does my talkin bother you, honey?
what was this one?
boy, sweetie, this is weird, okay.
oh, baby, what an idea. id always be happy to see you, no matter what.
sometimes dreams just dont mean nothin.  stuff comes into your mind and you dont have no control over, you know? anyways, dreams aint no odder than real life. sometimes not by half.
take a bite of lula.
lets get outta here.  i suddenly got a funny feelin about this place. feelin all that voodoo.
who do?
oh my god.  its johnnie.  duck down!.  get goin!
never mind where.  get outta here.  i mean it, sailor.
you think he saw us?
he was sittin there havin a beignet at the cafe du monde. do you think he saw us?
sure you wanna do this? might be a way they could track us.
you always make that strange little funny laugh when you talk?
this guys crazy.
why you goin to alaska? and whered you get them puppies? they look sick.
sailor! stop! stop the car now!
im sorry, but i cant take this. roach, or whatever your name is, you come out of there with them dogs this instant!
im truly sorry? im truly sorry, roach. but aint gonna make it to alaska? least not any part of the way with us. youd best find a party to take care of those dogs proper, before they all die? and, if you dont mind my sayin so? you could most certainly use some serious lookin after yourself, startin with a bath!
drive.
i know youre thinkin that i got moren some of my mama in me? well, i couldnt help it. sailor, i really couldnt. im sorry for that guy, but when he pulled that drippin hunk of awful-smellin meat out of his pocket? i near barfed. and them poor diseased puppies!
do me a favor, sailor? dont pick up no more hitchers, okay?
i wouldnt mind a little night life. how about you?
maybe theres a place we could hear some music. i feel like dancin. we could ask someone.
how about speed metal?
any kinda rocknroll, honey.
well find out in a hurry.
come on.
you got yourself a deal.
ill be damned if im leavin. that band is too good?
you notice that woman when we come in? the white woman sittin by herself?
well, she aint talked to nobody and aint nobody spoke to her that i could tell. what you make of that?
you think shes pretty?
mama. i been thinkin about her. shes probly worried to death by now.
i want to call her and tell her im okay. that were okay.
pardon me? yall got a phone here i can use?
back in a bit.
im fine, mama. i just wanted to tell you not to worry.
if you mean sailor, mama, yes i am.
need me for what, mama? im perfectly fine, and safe, too.
just a place.
right?! mama, was it right for you to sic johnnie farragut on us? how could you do that?
no, mama, im in mexico, and were about to get on an airplane to argentina!
mama, im hangin up this phone now.
i aint that dumb, mama. sailor and i been on a crime spree? knockin off convenience stores all across the south? aint you read about it?
i am all right, mama. thats why i called, to let you know. i gotta go.
dont be crazy, mama. take care of yourself.
its me whos wastin time, sailor, bein with you.
leave me be for a minute? mama gets all insane and then i see you practicin your individuality and personal freedom with some oil-town tramp. how you figure im gonna feel?
how much we got left, honey?
you want to stick around here, sailor? see if we can get some work?
you want me to drive for a stretch? give you a chance to rest.
jesus! how could anyone listen to this crap?
ill bet.
damn!
holy shit!! its the night of the livin fuckin dead!!!!
i cant take no more of this radio.  i aint never heard so much concentrated weirdness in my life, sailor ripley, you find me some dancin music right this minute.  i mean it!!
the worlds gettin worse, i think, sailor. and it dont sound like theres much we can do about it, neither.
sure is a big deal round here.  alamo road, alamo street, alamo square, alamo buildin, alamo alamo. they aint forgettin about it in a hurry. thats the thing bout memory? some things you wish you could forget.  whats troublin you, sugar?
i just figured you was out bein mr. cool.
youre scarin me, baby.
you knew my daddy?
oh shit.
god, sailor.  thats the night my daddy died.
thats some big secret you been carryin, sailor.
howd you know my daddy?
yeah, im here.
no, sailor darlin. just shockin sometimes when things arent the way you thought they were.  i been carryin a secret too.
that night in the fire while my daddy was dyin.  i saw mama up in her room with santos.
they was laughin arm in arm like animals.
my mama.  so sailor, our histories have been somewhat intertwined.
i take that as a sign that we were destined by fate to be together.
well, were really out in the middle of it now, aint we?
if you say so.
i do trust you, sailor. like i aint never trusted nobody before.
whats that?
oh god, sailor.
sailor!!!
sailor, what are we gonna do?
you think shes gonna make it?
i cant take this, sailor. shes dyin right in front of our eyes.
she died right in front of me. whyd she have to go and do that, sailor?
not quite as bad as the weather though.  it must be a hundred and ten and it aint even noon yet.
no radio or tv.
and no ac.
now what?
sailor?
this aint exactly my most thrillin notion of startin a new life.
im gonna stay here in this room, sailor. i dont feel so good? this heat makes me tired.
that you, sail, honey?
you find any work?
i barfed. tried to make it to the bathroom.  turned out it was the wrong door anyways.  i sorta got it cleaned up.
a little, i think.  darlin?
come sit by me.
i dont know that this is the right place for us.
i know, sailor. nothin is.
how?
you from texas, mr. peru?
whats cao ben?
twenty.
somethin in that man scares me.
darlin, i still aint feelin so well. im goin to bed.
no, i dont think so, sail. i just need to lie down.
sailor? you know what?
not that. look at what i wrote down cause i cant say it.
well, nothin personal, but i aint sure its okay by me.
really, sailor, it aint nothin against you. i love you.
i know. just im sorta uncomfortable about the way some things is goin, and this dont help soothe me.
no, hes out changin the oil in the car.
well.  yeah - okay.
you used the toilet, now you can go - what i do around here aint any of your business, thats for sure.
get out.
get out!!!
no way.  get out!!!
fuck me.
sailor.
you been drinkin, huh?
cant tell yet. whered you go?
buddy and sparky come by earlier.
yeah.  he was lookin for you.
some.  sparky said reds promised to have him and buddy out of here by the weekend.
so whered you say you was?
sail?
lets leave here.
i mean tomorrow.
rather be in el paso than big tuna.
who says im smart? you up to somethin with bobby peru, sailor?
hes a stone fuckin criminal, honey, and you aint.
that was a accident. i bet both our asses bobby peru done murdered all kinds of people, and meant it, too.
hes the kind liked it.
buddy told me about that thing at cao ben?
was a massacre. soldiers there murdered old folks, women and babies, and dumped em in a trench. bobby peru probly killed the most.
i sure enjoy smokin, sailor. i hate that its bad for you.
that mans a black angel, sailor. you hook up with him, youll regret it. if you live to.
this whole worlds wild at heart and weird on top.
i wish you really, truly loved me.  i wish youd sing me love me tender .  i wish i was somewhere over that rainbow.  shit. shit, shit, shit.
mama, sailors in deep trouble here. i just cant leave him.
im goin, mama. no way i cant go.
course i am, mama.
six.
figure well go have supper someplace. maybe get some barbecue out by stateline. sailor always liked that havana browns pig pickin.
sailor aint a boy no more, mama.
really, mama, i gotta go.
wouldnt make any difference.
mama .  if you get in the way of me and sailors happiness, ill fuckin pull your arms out by the roots.
dont give me no trouble now, pace, please. this aint the easiest day in a long time. and what do you mean how are we gonna know what your daddy looks like? you seen his photo.
damn it, child! now look what you made me do.
nothin, honey. mamas just actin strange.
why, pace roscoe ripley, aint you got one cute mouth tonight?
like you, sweetheart. you and your daddy got the same mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. only difference is your color hair is like mine.
course he aint never killed nobody. whyd you say that, pace?
and?
wrong, baby. your daddy never committed no murder. musta been you didnt hear grandmama proper. he made some mistakes, is all. your daddy aint always been so lucky.  were almost at the depot, honey. sit back a minute.
thinkin a second, baby.
why, honey?
pace, your daddyd love you even if you didnt have no hair at all.
still partial to camels, huh?
shake hands with your daddy.
you hungry? pace and i aint had dinner yet.
im sorry, sailor. i just cant help it. give me a minute and ill quit.
really, sail, ill be okay.
whatre you talkin about? thats your son in there.
how can you say that, sailor?
dont do this, sailor, please.
sailor!!!!