GETTING INTO TROUBLE ON A RAINY AFTERNOON

Who are these two girls? I think they must be sisters. They’re getting into their mom’s things. They’re seven or eight. No older than that. They could be eight or nine, in that area. They’re pretty. Is the one on the left a blonde? Her hair looks blonde on the left and black on the right.

What do they want? I don’t know. What are those things around their necks? They want what’s on the suckers. What are their names? If they’re sisters, they would have similar names. Shirley and Alice. Are they twins? No, I see such a difference. They’re not even related. No, they’re not. They certainly don’t look related.

How do they know each other? They live in the same housing situation. They go to the same Sunday school or the same church or maybe the same school. Do they get along? They seem to. I don’t know how anybody could get along with that little snot. Why is she sticking her tongue out? Well, she’s got one to show. She’s getting ready to lick the sucker. She just finished the licking sucker. Here it is, right here.

Where are they? Must be close to home. They’re home. Thank God they’re too close. That looks like a sofa in the living room on the left there. They live in an apartment building. Whose house are they at? That’s a hard one, because they seem to be doing the same thing. You don’t think they’re sisters, huh?

Which one is Shirley? The one with her tongue sticking out is Shirley. What is the last thing they said to each other? “That was good.” She’s the bossy one. I can’t tell whose house it’s in. That’s a cute picture.

What do they like to do for fun? Aggravate people. Who do they aggravate? Any kitchens. That’s a good place because I hate the kitchen. They jump rope.

The one with her lip sticking out is the one who leads the other one into trouble always. Because that little happy-go-lucky doesn’t know any better. What kind of suckers are those? They’re split halfway through. They’re just the ordinary kind you get for a nickel at the grocery store. Can you get a sucker for a nickel now? I don’t think so.

Look outside. It’s going to rain. Maybe that’s why Shirley and Alice are inside. That looks like a sofa or a dining table. It’s hard to tell, but that looks like furniture. Maybe they’re inside because it’s raining outside. Or too hot. Why are they inside, Tony? Because they’re inside, that’s it. They could be outside, but they came in. They’re going to go outside. What are they going to do outside? Ohhhhh….

What state are they in? We can say they’re in Florida because we’re Floridians. What are they going to do after they finish their suckers? Shirley doesn’t act like she likes the sucker. They’re going to go outside to play. That doesn’t sound very interesting. What is something interesting they can do? They can go see if they can get another sucker. One they can save until tomorrow. Are they collecting fenders?

They don’t look like they’re old enough for that. What would kids that age want with cars? They couldn’t drive.

What kind of trouble could they get into? They could find a way. They could get into their mom’s make-up. How about getting into their dad’s shaver? Oh boy. They would have trouble, wouldn’t they?

What is her tongue sticking out for? She was going to lick the sucker.

Are they talking to one of their mothers? Tony, what kind of trouble are they going to get into? I don’t know, they’re just kids. They’re going to play. They might as well go home.

How did they get the suckers? Well, I would think that those are such big ones that mom had to buy them. Why did mom buy them? Well, you know, Mom says if you’re good girls, you’ll get so and so. They had her fooled. I don’t think they got their hands sticky because they’ve got their hands on the stick. That’s an awful big sucker to enjoy, because you can’t get the whole thing into your mouth at once. If you bite into it, it’ll all crumble down.

Why is she sticking her tongue out? She doesn’t look interested in the sucker. I think they’re looking at boys. She’s trying to look at the end of her tongue. There’s got to be some sort of an indication that there’s a boy there. I don’t think they’re interested in boys like other girls are. If one of them was doing it, both of them would be doing it. What do the boys think of the girls? I don’t think they’re especially interested in them. The boys think nothing of them. They think Alice is cute. They think Shirley in envious.

Are the girls going to talk to the boys? Aren’t they a little young to be boy crazy? If they are, they’re going to say, “Na na, we’ve got suckers and you haven’t.” They don’t have sleeves on their dresses. The boys will says, “We don’t need suckers. We don’t like them. We’re going down for ice cream.” No.

Do kids eat suckers now? They’re so messy. They get sticky. Suckers are kind of dumb.

What are they going to do next? They invite the boys down for ice cream. The boys say, “Buy your own.” Ice cream is expensive for kids that age. Where do they get the money? They’ve had it all along. The parents gave it to them, just to get them out of the house. I think they must have gotten it from the people who got along in a cart, because they are too young to go to the store and get it themselves.

Shirley is kind of cute, I think.

The girls are being told you can’t have ice cream and great big suckers on the same afternoon. You have to either put the ice cream in the freezer or the suckers in the refrigerator. I bet they got those little tennis shoes on. They would get chilly from eating ice cream. I don’t think they would buy another sucker that big. Those big suckers are probably fifty cents at least. Those kids don’t really like the suckers, I don’t think. She’s sticking her tongue out.

STORY BY: Tony, Betty, Dottie, Barbara, Gussy, Patricia

PUZZLE PIECES

This is beautiful. Look at the little doggie! He’s playing with all the little things. Very cute. He’s ready to talk to somebody. Who does he want to talk to? My son, but he’s not here yet. They have an animal, a big animal.

I never saw so many of those. What do you think those are? I like this one! They’re pieces to some sort of a puzzle. Could be. Those are two men and a dog. These people are going to be in the cardboard. They’re going to get a little bit of oranges and make it for the kids so the kids can eat. He’s a nice guy, too. You’re going to watch it. You can tell it’s for kids to come.

Sometimes I used to take this one to myself. That paper’s important. She was dealing again with that and he was crying. Everything’s going to be fine. Just be yourself. I remember when I was a young girl I used to buy so much stuff. He’s going to be fine. Remember this: it’s already made. It’s beautiful. That’s what God has given us, something special.

The two men are just friends. I just want for him to know that I was into it. Into this. But he’s a good, good guy. And a cat. What’s the window for? I don’t see a window. It’s beautiful. They’re good people. What are they doing here? I’m going to talk to this lady. What is the animal’s name? Have we talked to him yet? What would we ask him? I don’t have any idea. I just wanted to know who he was. He looks like a nice dog.

What are these two guys doing? Who are they? Just friends. Of whom? Each other. They’re family. How are they friends of us? Well, we have a picture of them that’s been passed around. We’re just learning about them. What are their names? I have no idea, but why is a cat bigger than they are? The cat’s closer to the camera. I’m thinking like that. What are they doing? Making a mess. They’ve got guns. Don’t have to worry about the mess.

What does it look like to you? A puzzle. Is that a real cat? What are those men? You don’t have to be too close. Is it a submarine? It looks like it’s on the outside. It was the son out there about a year ago. The man is going to come over.

What are their names? Puddin n Tane. Ask me again I’ll tell you the same. That’s his name on his shirt. What is this, a racetrack? I don’t think so. Where are they? They’re in here with us. It looks like they’re in a game room because that’s definitely a ping pong table they’re sitting at. This is two pictures glued together. Sometimes they have to be like that.

The kids get happy. Are these two guys happy? Yes. What are they happy about? They’re very content. Why shouldn’t they be? Push them together. That’s going to come out very nice.

What kind of an organization is this? What are the guys doing with the puzzle? They’re sorry they decided to try it. She looks good, but look at him. Are these official toys? Why do they have to be on the rugs? I don’t think so. That’s where they opened the box and took all the pieces out. Where is the box? I’m not sure.

What kind of puzzle is it? God only knows. A puzzle to kill cats. We have to leave the ladies. They just need to leave it there. It looks like there’s two or three puzzles in there. Two or three? There’s more than that!

What does he have his foot on that thing for? It looks like an ear of corn. I don’t think so. They’ve made an A W R. What would that be?

Why is the thing against the wall? That looks like a violin case. I imagine the guy in the black shirt plays the violin. I don’t think he can get it right.

Food is food. Everybody loves it. Just take it easy and use your head. God has a purpose.

If the guy in the black shirt plays the violin, what does the other guy do? Doo-diddly, I don’t know. It looks more like a girl than a guy. Where do you get the violin? I was trying to figure out who that was. This guy is wearing a different shirt. She’s doing really good.

Are those shoes? What does the cat think of the puzzle? I’m afraid we’ll never know. Why is that white spot on the violin case? Maybe something is sitting in front of it. Betty thinks there’s a submarine outside. Yeah. Probably showing inside. She likes to be showing the other guy how to do it. There’s a cat! Do you like cats? That’s a big cat! At first I thought it was an elephant it was so big. It was taken so close to the cat.

It’s good to have something like that when people come to the house.

STORY BY: Gussy, Patricia, Dottie, Betty, Nilsa, and Barbara

HATS AND HUSBANDS

They’re listening to my voice. Who are these people? They’re weirdos. They’ve both got on top hats from a costume place. They’ve got lots of ritz crackers there. He’s barefooted, I think. It looks like it. What are they doing there? They just finished a convention. Just like this here, this convention. They’re killing us. Candy.

It looks like New York City behind them. Trying to think of the hat that the lady wears and actually they looked like hats last worn in London. Makes you think of what’s his name, the author. He was born in London. Charles Dickens’ novel. They’re supposed to be at a home this afternoon.

What are they doing there? They’re growing up. They’re expecting somebody. Whoever they’re running away from. Who are they running away from? Barbara Weiber. They’re running away from anybody that saw them. Are they trying to hide? Not wearing those outfits. Why are they dressed like that? They’ll do a lot of fancy things for clothes.

What are their names? Stupid and stupider. Stupider, yes. His name is Walker. First name, of course. Anyone can see that. Rob Rockward. Her name is Quinn.

Tough. Yep. We call him Rocky, for short. I don’t know if they’re looking for their husbands or somebody else’s husbands or what. I don’t know them personally. This is tough. No, they’re too young for doing that. They’re very young and neutral. You can’t tell anymore whether they’re young or not. Do you think they’re looking for one guy or who are they going to find? Move on or I’m going to toss you out onto your rear end!

They must have lost a bet. How come they got so many hats on? They were just betting. The other couple said, “I bet you won’t do it,” and they said, “I bet we will.” Now they’re just sitting there making an ass of themselves. Excuse me, I mean a fool of themselves. What kind of hats are all white like that? Why would they carry that many hats with them? I don’t like those hats. They all look alike to me. They’re probably in some sort of a production and they all had hats on.

Well, they’ve got several—a lot of hats. Where would they hang that many hats? We all put them there. It is rough. Why did we put all of the hats there? That’s a really interesting question. With all these fences around them, why do they need so many hats? Especially so many alike? Do you have all your hats alike? No.

You mentioned something about the quantity of fish. There are two horses in the picture. She’s washing something. That’d be a good thing to do.

What do these people want? Attention, I guess. Is that soap they’re using? They have a tremendous history.

Why do they want attention? Obviously they have something to say. What do they have to say? They have bad husbands in the middle of the field. What is it they want to say? God knows. They haven’t given any indication of what they want to say. A lot. Lots. That’s true. There are not enough women there. They want more women. The women are exposed. I suppose those are all women. They look like seals. I certainly learned a lot today that I didn’t know before.

What is in front of the woman? It’s a fountain. She’s not holding anything. A long stick or something. Both of her hands are on the harp. One’s on one hand and one’s on the other hand. Everything. I don’t think that’s a harp. It’s a reflection. It looks like a window to me.

What are they going to do next? Well, what are they doing now? Wait a minute. God knows. Pack up their little goodies and go home. Where do they live? Not there, obviously. Why are they dressed up like that if they’re going to be out washing things? Everything. I’m listening to an interesting conversation.

How do they know each other? Same classes at school. Is that a suit and a hat? They’ve all got the same kind of hats. They’re washing something. They must feel guilty about something. Why do they feel guilty? Why would anyone feel guilty? For running around with somebody else’s husband. Maybe somewhere about the dream. Where is this place? I thought it was a funeral home. It also might be a racetrack because it looks like there are horses back there.

How should our story end? I don’t think we’ve got much of a story going. Worse. It is. They might be with each others’ husbands and don’t know the difference. They’re just looking around. They haven’t found any husbands.

STORY BY: Betty, Bill, Erwin, Betty Kelly, Margaret, George, Barbara

HELPER: Sarah

THE DINOSAUR'S WEDDING

What’s that booger there doing? Who are these people? Weirdos. That’s a double decker, the third one. Why are they such weirdos? I have to turn them upside down. They just look worse. Why are they by themselves? I think everybody in the world would avoid them. For God’s sakes, if you saw those four coming at you, you’d go the other way, wouldn’t you?

There’s a fourth one with his arms around the third one. It’s got to be a person or a kangaroo. The person behind the dinosaur is holding him down. Is he dangerous? Sometimes. Because he’s ambidextrous. What’s your excuse for him? For the whole bunch. I think they’re at a convention. What kind of a convention could those four go to? The nuts of the world?

I don’t believe the one on the end is real. It doesn’t look real. There are four feet, but only two of them look like real feet. Oh well, you’re taxing my brain.

I’m sick of listening to you. No, that’s a joke.

I think everybody is avoiding them. Is this a wedding? Because of where they’re sitting. I think the one on the right is the groom. You’ll know when this is over. That’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever heard. They’re lined up to go to the crazy farm, that’s all I can say.

What are their names? Dinkem, Blinkem, and Ud. They’re all saying, “Why in the world did that stupid person tell me to come out here and sit?” He has to be crazy. Where’s the bride? How they got together I don’t know, but whoever is responsible for it should be ostracized and thrown out of town.

They’re underneath a viaduct. They’re sitting there waiting for the train. Where is the train going to take them? I know where it should take them. The crazy farm is just ten miles down the road. They got lost from someplace. Probably from the crazy farm. They just walked out.

I don’t know who dreamed up their costumes but they’re weird. There has to be some reason behind each of them. It looks like there’s no place else to go. I don’t see any signs that say, “Free eats this way.” The first one is trying to hide from someone, the second one said, “I don’t give a damn,” and the third one can’t get away.

Why are they in the corner? That’s got to be something. That’s all right. Why not? They’re dressed very inappropriately if it’s hot out. The idiot with the hat on. The woman has a lot on. And the other one just gave up. The one lady is holding him down. She’s looking off this way and saying, “Somebody come help me.” That means you! What would you do? I would avoid the dinosaur person. I don’t believe you. I don’t trust a person whose face I can’t see. Maybe his face just broke out that morning. They all four look like odd fellows. I don’t mean the club, they’re just odd. Weird. Bunco. Your friends. You could just slam the door and scare them all away.

There’s no bride there. There’s no bride left. The bride is hiding as an astronaut. My question is, where do they find four people dumb enough to sit there like that and have their picture taken?

What’s below them? Looks like just dirt, and a box sitting over here on something. I say it’s under a bridge. There’s only four people there. They had to meet somewhere. “I’ll meet you under the bridge. Okay. Bring a friend.” They just happened to be there. Where you’d come from? I just came down to the bridge. It’s that time of day to come down to the bridge. They don’t look like bosom buddies. She’s just sitting in the middle. The other one is taking advantage of the poor, disorganized, unorthodox creature. He’s half man and half mouse. If he wasn’t, he’d be up doing something.

Is that you, Tony? Yeah! What are you doing there? Playing. Who is the astronaut? Neil Armstrong. Oh, is that where he ended up? That’s fantastic. I’m glad you saw it. Now we all know what happened to Neil Armstrong.

Who is on the right? They’re cozy, whoever they are. She’s holding his arms down. She’s not doing that. They’re both smiling. That’s not a person, that’s a light meter. You put a nickel in it and you get to park. It’s not a real person, it’s a machine. The one behind the guy sitting on the end. You can tell that’s a dial and a slot to put the nickel in. You just have to recognize it and put the nickel in.

Nobody else around. So it must be under a bridge or somewhere that’s not accessible. Where is everyone else? That looks like Cleveland, Ohio. That’s a stupid question, I’ll give you a stupid answer. They saw those four sitting there and they said, “Let’s get out of here!”

Where are they going to go next? Well, I know where they should go. Back to the crazy farm. Will the people go looking for them? No, they don’t want them. They’re too crazy to go to the crazy farm.

The people are going to stay right there so they don’t have to move.

I lived in Germany. That’s what wrong with me. When did you live there? Right after the war. Occupation. Nobody had any control over the Bavarians. They did what they wanted. I was there because the US Air Force ordered me there. My husband was in it. I just tagged along. Dochow. You go into the prison camp, and you’d go so far, and there was a guard at the gate. You’d go two miles down the road and it hit you. You knew you were in a prison camp. When I was there, they hadn’t cleaned it up. There were still bodies hanging. When you went through the crematorium where they burned the bodies, there was a man hanging there with a sign around his neck that said, “Look, I have returned.” It wasn’t very pretty. My house was outstandingly beautiful. Right on the river. I could not have afforded anything like that in the US. My next-door neighbor was the daughter of a Baptist minister in Georgia. She was a lot of fun to get along with. I used to think of things just to irk her. I’ve always been good at that. Ask my mother and my brother. He’ll take fifteen hours to tell you how much I irked him. He just didn’t know how hard I worked on it. I worked on it twenty-four hours a day sometimes. I’d catch him at it. He tried his damnedest to irk me and he couldn’t. We came from a big family of irkers.

The guy in the suit just found it and put it on. He was in the dressing room and he just found it and thought “That’ll be fun.” He wants people to ask him about it so he can describe what it was like on the moon. He had lots of friends. Where are his friends now?

They’re going to get a necklace. He’s probably right. It means you’re telling a fib when your nose itches. Didn’t you know that?

Why isn’t there anybody else there with them? They’ve been told to get out. The man in charge. Who’s the man in charge? You don’t know. You better not go there.

How do you think this story is going to end? They’re going to get up and go someplace. I guess they’ll all go home.

STORY BY: Barbara, Dottie, Patricia, Tony, Gussy

HELPERS: Terry, Collin, Kennedy, Sarah