bother reading again. guy has his mistress over and they are
arguing, kid has the DJ play a song on the radio from the guys wife.
boooooom, caught.
On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 12:07 PM, Madness <nayrrizdaed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Most parents are reluctant to let their children stay home by themselves.
> When
>
> Paul's parents finally decided to let him stay alone, it was an experience
> that he'd never
>
> forget.
>
> "Next Door"
>
> By Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
>
> The old house was divided into two dwellings by a thin wall that passed on,
> with
>
> high fidelity, sounds from either side. On the north were the Leonards, on
> the south were
>
> the Hargers.
>
> The Leonards husband, wife, and 8 year-old son had just moved in. And aware
> of
>
> the wall they argued in a friendly way as to whether or not the boy, Paul,
> was old enough
>
> to be left alone for the evening while his parents went to a "certain"
> movie. The why of
>
> their not wanting Paul to see certain movies, certain magazines, certain
> books, certain
>
> television shows was a mystery he respected.
>
> "I'll be all right, " said Paul. He was very tall for his age and thin, and
> had a soft,
>
> sleepy, radiant sweetness engendered by his mother. "What could happen to me
> here?
>
> I'll be fine."
>
> Pause
>
> Soon after Paul's parents left, the radio in the Harger's apartment went on.
> It was
>
> on softly at first – so softly that Paul couldn't make out the announcer's
> words. The
>
> music was frail and dissonant – unidentifiable.
>
> Gamely, Paul tried to listen to the music rather than to the man and woman
> who
>
> were fighting.
>
> The voices of the man and woman were getting louder, drowning out the radio.
>
> The woman was shouting now! The man was shouting something awful,
> unbelievable.
>
> All at once it was all quiet next door – except for the radio.
>
> Now the fighting was beginning again – louder and louder, crazy and cruel.
> The
>
> woman shouted again, a high, ragged, poisonous shout.
>
> Paul stood, shaking, wanting to shout in terror and bewilderment. It had to
> stop.
>
> Whatever it was had to stop!
>
> Paul heard the clicking of the woman's heels across the floor. The radio
> volume
>
> swelled until the boom of the bass made Paul feel like he was trapped in a
> drum.
>
> "And now," bellowed the radio, "Remember if you have a dedication, call
> Milton
>
> 9-3000 and ask for All-Night Sam, the record man."
>
> The music picked up the house and shook it.
>
> A door slammed next door and someone hammered on the door. A prickling
>
> sensation spread over Paul's skin: he faced the truth: The man and woman
> would kill
>
> each other if he didn't stop them.
>
> He beat his fists on the wall. "Mr. Harger! Stop it!" he cried, "Mrs.
> Harger! Stop
>
> it!"
>
> Next door, crockery smashed, filling a split second of radio silence. And
> then a
>
> tidal wave of music drowned out everything again.
>
> Paul stood by the wall, trembling in his helplessness. "Mr. Harger! Mrs.
> Harger!
>
> Please!"
>
> "Remember the number!" said All-Night Sam. "Milton 9-3000!"
>
> Dazed, Paul went to the phone and dialed the number.
>
> "I wonder if I might make a dedication," said Paul. "From Mr. Lemual K.
>
> Harger to Mrs. Harger, the message is 'I love you, let's make up and start
> over again.'"
>
> The woman's voice was so shrill that it cut through the din of the radio.
>
> Paul dropped the phone into its cradle. The music stopped and Paul's hair
> stood
>
> on end.
>
> "Folks! I've been asked to bring a man and his wife back together again,"
> said
>
> Sam. "I guess there's no sense in kidding ourselves about marriage! It isn't
> any bowl of
>
> cherries! There's ups and downs, and sometimes folks don't see how they can
> go on."
>
> Pause
>
> Paul was impressed with the wisdom and authority of Sam. Having the radio
>
> turned up made sense now, for Sam was speaking like the right hand of God.
> When Sam
>
> paused for effect it was still next-door. All ready the miracle was working.
> "And," said
>
> Sam, "If I've learned one thing from working with all of you wonderful
> people out there,
>
> it's this: if folks would swallow their self-respect and pride, there
> wouldn't be any more
>
> divorces."
>
> A lump grew in Paul's throat as he thought of the beautiful thing he and Sam
> were
>
> bringing to pass.
>
> "…And now, for Mrs. Lemual K. Harger, from Mr. Harger – I love you! Let's
>
> make up and start all over again." Sam choked up.
>
> The radio went off next door. The world lay still.
>
> A purple emotion flooded Paul's being. Childhood dropped away, and he hung,
>
> dizzy on the brink of life, rich, violent, rewarding.
>
> There was movement next door. Slow, foot-dragging movement.
>
> "So," said the woman, "you want your wife back? All right, I won't get in
> her
>
> way. She can have you."
>
> There were three gunshots.
>
> Paul jumped into bed, and pulled the covers up over his head. In the hot,
> dark
>
> cave of the bed, he cried because he and All-Night Sam had helped kill a
> man.
>
> --
> Posted By Madness to Madness Writers at 7/21/2011 09:07:00 AM
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