"Captioning made possible by trimark home video" "woman: ♪ I'm confessin' that I love you ♪" "♪ tell me, do you love me, too?" "♪" "♪ I'm confessin' that I need you ♪" "♪ honest I do" "♪ need you every moment" "♪ in your eyes i read such strange things ♪" "♪ but your lips deny they're true ♪" "♪ will your answer really change things ♪" "♪ makin' me blue?" "♪ I'm afraid someday you will leave me ♪" "♪ sayin' can't we still be friends?" "♪" "♪ If you go, you know you will grieve me ♪" "♪ all in life on you depends ♪" "♪ am I guessin' that you love me?" "♪" "♪ Dreamin' dreams of you in vain ♪" "♪ well, I'm confessin' that I love you ♪" "♪ over again narrator:" "In the spring of 1956 on the borough of staten island in New York, buddy visalo decided to buy a house." "Never try to walk on the nails, because that's where the beams are." "It looks kinda old, huh?" "The place was built in 1912." "The plumbing is practically new." "I done it myself a few years ago, and upstairs, you got a completely separate apartment." "$80 a month rent it gets..." "Enough to cover a mortgage payment, assuming you qualify." "2 family." "You could quit the factory." "Yeah." "Now, here's the showpiece." "That's a 40-foot double parlor, gentlemen." "Boy, to beat the heating' bill." "I guess you could always lower these ceilings, huh?" "She's the best buy on staten island." "What do you think, Mr. visalo?" "I mean, you know, there's a down payment." "You could quit the factory, you know?" "Rent to the tenants upstairs?" "Wouldn't have to work, life of Riley." "No, no, no." "No tenants upstairs." "Estelle and i live upstairs." "Downstairs..." "What?" "What are you gonna do?" ""Buddy's tavern."" "I have my own business." "Your own bar." "Yeah, I wouldn't want that-- that big fuckin' living room." "With a bar and some tables, 10, 12 tables?" "40, 50 customers?" "I put a guy in back." "You know, break down a wall, and put in some live entertainment." "Live entertainment?" "Oh, don't tell me who you get." "♪ There's no tomorrow" "♪ when love is new" "♪ now, it's forever" "♪ when love is true narrator:" "It might be worth noting at this point that in 1945, when buddy was in the air force, he performed at a special services show which was attended by Arthur Godfrey, then a popular radio star." "♪ There's no tomorrow" "♪ there's just tonight narrator:" "Godfrey offered buddy an audition when he got back to New York." "Buddy, Arthur Godfrey or no Arthur Godfrey, the girl waited for you for 2 years." "You wanna get married, you gotta have a serious job." "And her family found the whole idea embarrassing, not to mention impractical." "This is Arthur Godfrey, for god sakes." "How many breaks am I gonna get like this again?" "Do you wanna marry me, buddy?" "Oh, estelle, honey, you know I wanna marry you." "Then don't do this." "Narrator:" "Instead, it was a twin bed in a room in estelle's parents' house until the newlyweds were ready to move out on their own and a job in the machine shop in the enzolocco baked goods factory," "where buddy's talents went largely unnoticed." "Meanwhile, Godfrey took a chance on an ex-naval cadet named Julius larosa, an overnight singing sensation." "I don't wanna hear it." "It could've been me." "Narrator:" "Even the much publicized firing of larosa a year later failed to dampen the fires of buddy's resentment." "Buddy:" "Oh, that was Julius larosa." "We saw it." "Yeah, it was right on the air." "You should have seen his face." "That means that that could have been you, see?" "What did I tell you?" "So what?" "Better to be larosa without a job than be visalo at that fuckin' factory." "Narrator:" "It was a watershed moment in this marriage." "Never again would estelle stop buddy from pursuing his dreams..." "Dreams which were now understandably lower in scale than they had previously been." "Car one to base." "Come in if there are any calls." "Narrator:" "A series of calamitous beginning with the first privately owned limo service on staten island." "Buddy, nobody's callin'." "Come on." "Come in and eat." "Come on, honey." "Had the slightest use for in the little borough." "Narrator:" "Buddy's house painting service fell victim to the design sensation of 1953." "We're gonna have the whole house done." "They say we'll never have to paint again." "Buddy:" "What, even the bathrooms?" "Woman:" "Oh, they're lovely." "Velvet." "Wanna see?" "Well, that's all right." "Hey, you know, I could paint the outside." "Aluminum siding, comin' next week." "Want a drink?" "Narrator:" "Finally, perhaps inevitably, a pizza delivery service." "Estelle:" "Oh, my god, buddy!" "Be careful it don't blow up." "Narrator:" "The restaurant buddy had purchased the oven from when he went to complain the following day." "Estelle:" "Buddy, stop!" "You're gonna hurt yourself!" "Ma, make him stop!" "Make him stop!" "Ma, make him stop!" "♪ There's just" "♪ tonight" "buddy:" "Ladies and gentlemen..." "It's buddy visalo of buddy's tavern at 19 west street in beautiful staten island." "Welcome to my bar." "Welcome to my home." "Welcome to my house that I don't have permission to buy." "How are ya?" "How are ya?" "Back again?" "Your anniversary?" "Good, well, I got a little song for ya," "I'm gonna-- a little Jewel," "Jewel of a song for ya." "My place is your place." "Come to my place." "It's your place, too." "Hey." "Perry como just started." "We got a half-hour." "♪ And I'll whisper it's on it's way ♪" "Buddy!" "Buddy!" "Shh, shh, shh, oh, oh, oh, shh, shh, shh, oh, oh, oh, shh, shh, shh, oh, oh, oh." "Shh, shh." "10 years." "10 years it is, estelle." "What?" "Perry como." "Narrator:" "Consultations were held with each side's closest advisors." "He wants to have his own house, run his own business?" "Let him get it out of his system." "What if it doesn't?" "But it will." "It's buddy." "Buddy here's thinkin' of opening' up a bar over on west street." "West street?" "The Mick neighborhood?" "What do you want with serving' them micks?" "They got no money." "They always ask for credit, and they never pay." "Estelle:" "Don't you see?" "Look, some guys, they're destined for success, you know?" "It's like they could do no wrong, like they were pregnant with it." "Buddy, he's pregnant with failure." "Oh, come on." "It was gonna interfere with your business-- buddy, you could have my business." "I got me a lot up in orange, New Jersey, and the first chance i get, I'm goin'." "What the hell you gonna do up there?" "Chicken farm." "Chicken farm." "I got it all figured out." "Chicken farm?" "Yeah, you make money on both ends." "And you make money from the eggs." "How the fuck did you come up with this?" "Narrator:" "And ultimately, as things always do, it came down to legalities." "Could the house be converted into a bar?" "Yep, yep." "According to this, yep, 'cause you're on the northwest border of town, covered under the business statute of 1877, see?" "So, you don't need the approval of the bar and restaurant commission, 'cause, oh, those sons of bitches, they can tie you up forever." "Huh." "Hey, that's a great law." "Narrator:" "After the usual visit from a relative first, write it at the contract of sale." "Aren't there tenants upstairs in our bedroom, if they don't wanna leave?" "Don't worry." "Don't worry." "Of serving them with an eviction notice." "They got one week to get out." "I know you want to move in right away." "We'll move in downstairs, oh, so, in other words, narrator:" "And, after the usual last argument..." "I hate that house!" "It's a slum!" "It's our chance, estelle." "Oh, please, to what?" "Turn me into a barmaid?" "Narrator:" "Moving day arrives." "Hey, it's a nice street." "I'm gonna..." "Listen, if it don't-- if it don't work out for some reason, god forbid, the bar don't work out, we'll just rent the downstairs out-- hey, hey, hey, come on!" "Pick that up, will ya?" "What do you think?" "There's the bay window." "That's where the sign's gonna go-- the neon sign, "buddy's tavern,"" "featuring buddy..." "Oh, estelle." "I'm so sorry." "Don't worry about it." "We'll be in and out in a month." "A little paint, a little Polish, estelle:" "I can't sleep with all these boxes." "The people upstairs move, all right?" "A couple of days." "I'm in the luggage compartment of a train." "What sense would it make to unpack everything just so we have to pack it up again when they move, huh?" "Buddy." "♪ On the green, and their helmets ♪" "Hey!" "Hey, yourself." "Would you mind keeping' it down?" "We're tryin' to sleep here." "Go sleep in your own house, you fat bastard." "This is my own house." "I'm the new owner, visalo." "Oh, you're visalo." "You--you're the one that sent me this-- this--this despicable letter telling' me to get out." "That was my lawyer." "Your lawyer, was it?" "Hey, hey, hey, hey, viloonie, you and your lawyer come down here and kiss my ass, eh?" "He lives upstairs." "Good." "He can stay." "Where are you goin'?" "Home." "You are home." "Hey, what the hell?" "Why, I aim to please." "You aim, too, if you please." "♪ We're off to Dublin ♪" "That the awful truth became apparent to buddy visalo." "His dreams of the success which he knew would be so sweet after years of failure were once again to be foiled." "Well, who are you?" "I'm visalo." "We met last night, don't you remember?" "What if I don't?" "Who are you?" "I own the place." "The bastard that sent me the notice." "Yeah, yeah." "Uh, listen," "I don't wanna make things hard on you or anything, but, uh, me and the wife there, we ain't lookin' to be landlords." "No, no." "The idea here is for, uh, me and the wife to keep the whole house to ourselves." "Oh, that'd be nice, wouldn't it?" "Big, too." "Yeah, well, actually, what I'm lookin' to do is turn the downstairs into a bar, and--and, uh, we're gonna live up here." "A bar?" "Lovely idea." "Yeah, well, it's been on my mind for a while now, seeing as how the street's got all these businesses on it-- will you be servin' food?" "Food?" "Yeah, I don't know, maybe some sandwiches or somethin'." "I didn't get to the point yet." "The point is, I'm lookin' for you to vacate." "I don't wanna make anything too uncomfortable for you, so it doesn't have to be right this minute." "A couple of days will be fine." "Maybe even a week." "Aren't you the generous soul, Mr. visalo?" "I'm just tryin' to be fair here." "Let me tell you somethin'." "The fact that you bought this firetrap from that prick mahoney tells me, above all, you're stupid, and if you think you're gonna come up here you're even dumber than you look." "Now, I got a wife in there expecting' a kid, so, in spite of your stupidity," "I'm sure you'll be able to see that I'm not exactly in the mood to be thrown out on the street by some dimwit, two-bit Italian who fancies himself a restaurateur." "Oh, hey, viloola." "I forgot--the rent." "I ain't got it." "Ain't had it for months, and if you think that's gonna be enough to throw me out, you're sadly mistaken." "The New York renter's association" "according to the New York renter's association," "I've got another year to live in my abode." "A whole year, visooli, did you know that?" "So, don't bother comin' up here knockin' on my door lookin' for the rent, because you won't get it." "Oh, my god." "What's goin' on, buddy?" "Buddy, what's goin' on?" "Buddy, look at me." "Talk-- buddy!" "Buddy!" "You're gonna hurt yourself." "What are you doin'?" "Uh-oh. "If said dwelling has no more than due notice" ""and one rental apartment on premises," ""was originally built before 1913, and originally served as a one-family dwelling..."" "It is covered under the rental law of 1921." "Well, how is that possible?" "Everyone lived rent free?" ""Only applies to 2-family dwellings," ""converted from what was originally intended between the years 1919 and 1921," uh-huh." "Estelle:" "My uncle Louie would have known better to buy a house and not ask whether the tenants had to stay or go." "My uncle Louie, buddy, and he couldn't read or write." "Why don't we go to uncle Louie's grave and ask him what to do, huh?" "No, we gotta sell this house fast, buddy." "Maybe uncle Louie will buy it." "What the hell?" "I'll take care of this, baby." "Oh, my god." "This isn't happening." "Hey, what's goin' on in there?" "Hey, open up, will ya?" "Op--what are you doin' to her?" "What are you doin' to her?" "Open up the door!" "What's the matter with you?" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Who are you?" "I'm visalo, the, uh, landlord." "I--i heard a noise." "Woman:" "What of it?" "You broke my door down." "I could've just called the cops." "What right have you?" "You broke my door down." "He's here." "Our loving' protector, Mary." "Well, you come to inspect the fuckin' damage, visooli?" "Hey, settle down, pal." "Oh, visooli, you know, it's about your figure, your girlish figure." "You reminded me of somethin'." "I couldn't think what." "No, but now I know." "I know." "You're a sausage, visooli." "Don't you know?" "Don't you see what I mean?" "Short on the top, short on the bottom, and packed in the middle hey, hey, look, i got news for you, pal." "You're movin'." "And I got news for you." "You smell like a fuckin' garlic bread." "Jim, stop it." "Hey, hey, hey!" "Hey, hey!" "Oh, oh, she's your type, huh, visooli?" "Oh, you want a piece of her, do you?" "Well, may it please you to know that this lady belongs to me..." "From here, down to here." "And all that's in-between." "Unh!" "Oh!" "I suppose you expect me to thank you." "You know what?" "You're as sick as he is." "You're even sicker." "You're both sick, and you're both moving' tomorrow!" "Buddy:" "He would've killed her." "He would've, you know-- narrator:" "Naturally, news of buddy's drunken Irish tenant and his ungrateful pregnant wife he can't evict them." "That's what he's sayin'." "It's about this law." "Buddy, you know what they say?" "The only thing worse than a drunken Mick is a drunken Mick with a broken fuckin' nose." "Angelo is right." "We should just throw them out." "Well, it's what I told you." "The guy's got rights." "The guy in the housing office with the bow tie, he said-- what about your rights as a homeowner?" "Throw the guy out." "It's your house." "Tomorrow mornin', throw the guy out." "Throw the fucking guy out!" "What do you mean?" "You mean physically?" "What do you think, magically?" "You go down there and you grab his stupid Irish Mick ass, out of the block, and that's it." "Done." "Finito." "What?" "Are you gonna be there?" "No, I'll send you by yourself." "We're all gonna come there." "We're all coming." "I'm in." "I'm in." "Narrator:" "The o'nearys were to receive 3 warnings in the space of 5 minutes." "If they didn't actively begin moving their possessions then appropriate actions would be taken, said actions remaining vague, but without a doubt, involving violence." "What are you doin'?" "Whoa?" "You gonna warn 'em or what?" "Yeah, of course." "Um, I'm just thinkin'..." "Or should I do it from down here?" "What's the difference?" "What if the shoutin' wakes up the neighbors?" "Well, who the fuck cares?" "Hey, it's my house, all right, Danny?" "Well, go fuckin' talk to him." "What are we doin' here early in the morning?" "Come on." "All right, all right." "I'm gonna--I'm gonna go" "I'm gonna go up there." "Wake the Mick up, huh?" "Wake the guy up, huh?" "Buddy!" "All right, all right." "Stop shouting', will ya?" "Wake up in there." "It's visalo." "Hey, wake up." "It's moving day." "I ain't goin' away." "You're goin' away." "No, I ain't leavin' youse alone, ok?" "You're leavin' us alone." "Oh, shut up!" "Let's give 'em a couple minutes." "All right, ok, so, uh, let's set our watches." "I got, uh, 10 minutes to 7:00." "I got 5 of." "Set it to mine." "My watch works." "So--so maybe you should set it to ours." "Whose idea was this to set our watches?" "All right, enough with the watches." "Jim!" "Jim, wake up!" "Oh, god." "Jim!" "Wake up!" "Come on!" "Ok." "What?" "What the?" "Wake up, come on." "Aah!" "Wake up!" "Jim, for god sakes, wake up!" "This is your second warning, o'neary!" "Let it be known that you have received 2 of a possible 3 warnings!" "Go the the window." "Why?" "There's men outside." "Who?" "Go to the window!" "They're gonna throw us out!" "Visoolo." "If you and your band of fat-ass dagos wanna be responsible for breakin' the law and dispossessing me, well, that's fine." "I'll see you in court." "How do you like this guy?" "He ain't takin' no one to court." "You know how expensive that is?" "But if you wanna be responsible for harmin' a pregnant woman and an unborn child, then you'll have to harm me, too..." "And that encounter will surely prove fatal to all of ya." "Aw, come on." "Gimme a break." "What about that, huh?" "He's bluffing'." "I can take him myself." "It's ok, Mary." "They was just bluffing' us." "It's happenin'." "Oh, Jesus, it's happenin'." "Oh, Jesus." "No, listen to me, please." "This is your second warning, o'neary, unless you already come to your senses." "I need your help." "We have to have a doctor now." "Yeah, fuck you." "What?" "A doctor, for Christ's sake." "She's havin' the baby." "Yeah, bullshit." "Why don't you call the doctor?" "Because you turned my phone off." "Angelo:" "Did you turn the phone off?" "I don't know, the other day, come on." "I swear to you, we'll both be outta here, but we need a doctor now!" "I think, uh, you know, this is a little different now here, you know." "Maybe she is havin' a baby." "Ok, look, since technically you have one warning left, o'neary," "I'm gonna take your word for it, but don't try nothin' funny, you hear?" "Chip, go call the doctor." "Yeah." "I think we'd better." "Could you imagine if she had a baby?" "Where's your phone?" "Is the phone in here?" "In the wall, chip." "Over here." "The wall." "Thank you." "Here we go." "So, what's goin' on?" "No, no, nothing, nothing." "Nothing's goin' on, it's-- uh, yeah." "Hello, operator." "Uh, we need a doctor over here right away." "A doctor?" "Oh, my god, chip." "Somebody got hurt." "Uh, yeah, we're at-- no." "It's--it-- the woman upstairs." "She's-- she's havin' a baby or somethin'." "She's havin' a baby?" "!" "Oh, my god!" "Uh, what?" "The address?" "Uh, I think we're at-- hey, buddy." "She's havin' a baby?" "Yeah, that's what he says." "So, what the hell are you guys just standin' here for?" "Just--we're just here makin' sure he don't try nothin' funny." "You're a bunch of knuckleheads, you know that?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Yeah, yeah, here!" "Oh, my god, she's having-- oh, my god." "Hey, you're gonna be ok, all right?" "I'm gonna help you." "It hurts!" "Oh, my god!" "Oh, my god." "I need you to get me sheets, towels, anything." "Listen, I've never done this before, but you're gonna be ok." "Hey!" "Maybe I should go up there, huh?" "Yeah, maybe you should." "We'll stay down here, you know, in case he tries something' funny." "Estelle:" "You gotta sweat, baby." "What's your name?" "What's your name, honey?" "Mary!" "Mary!" "My god!" "Oh, my god!" "I have it, baby." "He's right here." "Just push." "Estelle:" "Bring him to you, come on." "Just push." "I can't!" "Just push one more time, please!" "You gotta push." "I know it hurts." "I know it hurts, Mary." "Oh, my god." "Oh, my god." "Narrator:" "That's me." "Buddy:" "He's somethin', isn't he?" "Narrator:" "In the kitchen of the home in which I was born." "Estelle:" "He's beautiful." "Huh?" "You ready to meet daddy?" "Huh?" "He's, uh..." "Aw, Jesus." "He's a little dirty, i guess, huh?" "He's not dirty, just-- just cuddle him some." "Narrator:" "You may detect vaguely quizzical looks on the faces of those who were present..." "That's because it was immediately apparent that, in spite of having been born of 2 white parents," "I seem to have been made of darker material." "Hey." "Bring him to me." "Bring him to me!" "What happened?" "Hey, uh, look." "Go back to the bar, ok?" "I'll meet ya there later." "Narrator:" "That was the last time anyone in staten island ever saw Jim o'neary, my mother's husband." "He was arrested for vagrancy and vanished for good shortly thereafter." "My mother recovered from my birth and later told me that the only shocking thing was that the inevitable hadn't occurred to her during the 8 1/2 months of her pregnancy." "At least not consciously." "The brief and, apparently, satisfactory union had never entered her mind as a possible complication." "Or perhaps it constituted a sort of backup plan." "Her life with her first husband was one way or another, in need of some drastic change." "He's got the nose, the skin, and everything." "The kid's fuckin' colored?" "Half, yeah." "You gotta be kiddin' me." "You mean she really fucked some coon?" "Evidently." "How else does it happen, right?" "Well, buddy, i mean, look at it this way." "You're gonna have your own janitor on the premise." "Kinda puts a black spot on the neighborhood, don't it?" "Kinda gives a new meaning to the term black Irish, you know what I mean?" "Let's have a couple of drinks here on the spook." "In your own house, huh?" "Gonna stay in the house now?" "Yeah, why not?" "All right, sure." "Buddy." "Buddy." "Estelle told me what happened." "What are you gonna do about it?" "About what?" "He doesn't even realize what's goin' on." "What, I'm fine." "I ain't drunk." "All right, what, what?" "You know, you think you're so smart, huh?" "Big shot homeowner." "You can run your own business." "But yet you're too stupid to realize when something very, very important has happened here." "What?" "Buddy." "The baby is colored." "So?" "But it happened under our roof." "Buddy, this thing and her baby, are still here." "Well, we gotta get her out, and we gotta get her out now!" "Honey, look, she just had the kid." "All right, give her a couple of days, ok?" "I'll talk to her." "No." "No, buddy." "Tomorrow, or you know where I'll be." "That's it, ok?" "It's visalo." "Come in." "Ever seen one before?" "I'm sorry, ahem." "I, uh, I came to tell ya-- you came to tell me that my husband's back, quit the drink, paid you the back rent," "I think you know what i came up here to tell ya." "All I ask you for is a week, just a week to rest and make some kind of arrangements." "A week?" "I got a sister in sheepshead bay." "She'll help." "We haven't spoken for a while, look, I think you ought to know that i--i--i-- if it's the money," "I'll pay you for it as soon as I can." "Just a week." "That's all i ask you." "It's gotta be tomorrow." "Well, I couldn't expect you to let me stay here rent-free to look after a child that nobody in the world could possibly want, now, could I?" "Come on, you gotta admit, I mean, it's a little odd, right?" "What's so odd?" "!" "I'm not askin' for your pity." "I don't care what you or anyone else thinks." "I got nothin' to be ashamed of." "I'll do you the courtesy of gettin' out of your house tomorrow." "Yeah, uh, no hard feelin's, right?" "God help you." "What's with the green paint?" "It's left over from the, uh, you know, the house painting service." "I figured i could use it on the trim inside the bar." "I don't see a bar being done in green." "Unless maybe it's got an Irish theme." "Bite your fuckin' tongue." "Mornin'." "Mornin'." "Girl like that fuckin' a mulignon." "What a shame." "I've left all the furniture." "Sell it if you wish." "Unless you want it." "What would i need with it?" "Here, take this stuff inside, will ya?" "I'll be back in a second." "All right." "No, forget the keys." "Just kick it." "Just kick it." "Hey." "You know where you're goin'?" "What does it matter to you?" "I'm just askin'." "Well, if you must know," "I'm checking into the dorralton hotel until my sister can arrange something." "The dorralton." "Jesus, you gotta be careful." "I mean, that's mostly..." "Ladies of the evening." "I beg your pardon." "Prostitutes." "That kind of thing." "I wasn't expecting the Waldorf." "May I go now?" "Look, I'm just tryin' to be-- as always, Mr. visalo." "Eh, crazy bitch." "Jeez." "Narrator:" "On weekends, everybody did what they could to help buddy and estelle make something of their home." "Honey, get out of the way." "What are you doing?" "Get out of the way!" "We're gonna take this down." "Beautiful." "Leaded glass." "Look at that." "Hey, honey, take a look at this." "Nice, estelle." "Gorgeous." "Beautiful." "Narrator:" "During the weeks, the grinding daily routine went on for both the men..." "Hey, thanks." "You know?" "For what?" "You're the only one i know who does." "That's 'cause you got balls." "Narrator:" "As well as for the women." "Should I go down the list?" "The painting business." "They were pretty good ideas." "Narrator:" "And, gradually, the odd set of events disappeared into the haze of folklore." "She said you should have told the police." "'Cause what she did was against the law." "What is?" "Miscegenanton..." "Or something." "It's that imbalance that the Irish got." "And the Mick says, "she's havin' a baby," ""havin' a baby." A baby." "How much longer I gotta hear this story, huh, ang?" "Buddy, you don't know it, but you made history." "It ain't never gonna be forgotten." "Well, what the hell." "It wasn't my fault." "Nobody said it was." "Come on, have another drink." "So, buddy comes back downstairs, right?" "And I go, "so, uh, what was it, and he says, "neither." "Pickaninny."" "Pickaninny." "I never said that." "♪ For the road that we've been travelin' on ♪" "♪ is, oh, so rough" "♪ the pace that you've been settin's ♪" "♪ gettin', oh, so tough" "♪ to say we could continue ♪" "♪ would be such a bluff ♪" "♪ so have another one, not me ♪" "I'm lookin' for somebody, uh, her name's o'neary." "Mary." "Fourth floor." "Fourth floor." "Um, uh, which room?" "How the fuck should I know?" "Who is it?" "It's visalo." "I was just passin' by, and I was wonderin' how you were doin'." "Not too good, huh?" "My sister won't take me in." "She couldn't explain the whole thing to her husband." "Ohh." "Maybe you ought to consider, uh, givin' it away." "Why are you here?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "You know, they were talkin' about you down at the bar, and, uh, I mean, i wasn't sayin' anything, but I started wondering', you know, how you doin'." "I give you something to talk about, do I?" "You and your friends at the bar." "The people at the market, too." "And then you feel guilty, and the next thing, you're around here, paying' a visit and givin' me advice." "Why don't i give him away?" "Because maybe i don't want to." "Look, I'm just tryin' to help." "You don't care." "You think I'm some slut, some stupid girl with her brain down here." "Hey, what the hell, Mary?" "!" "And my name is not Mary." "It's Mrs. o'neary to you." "I'd never dream of calling you by your first name, Mr. visalo." "If it's Mrs. o'neary, where's Mr. o'neary, huh?" "Where's your fuckin' bum husband?" "Get the fuck outta here." "Narrator:" "But it remains an undisputed fact that every man has at least one moment of total selflessness in this life." "Don't throw it away." "Me and Laura goin' Saturday." "Don't worry, I won't." "Used to be my grandmother's room." "She died last year. 104." "$25 a month, includin' the water." "Last guy I had used it, uh, for emergencies." "You know what I mean?" "Uh, yeah, i think so, uh, in fact, I'm kinda lookin' to just do this quietly." "Hey, yeah, I was married myself for years." "Uh, no, no, it's not that." "It's uh-- it's somethin' else." "I--it's hard to explain." "You don't have to explain anything to me." "Deaf and dumb." "D and d." "That's me." "Yeah, all right, good." "Let's keep it that way, then." "Otherwise, I'll have to kill ya." "I won't have this." "Give me 38 bucks." "Jesus, for this dump?" "Stop it." "Do you hear me?" "Why are you doin' this?" "You'll pay me back." "Damn right I will." "I won't take charity." "Does your conscience bother you, is that it?" "Because it needn't." "He pays for the water." "Are you doin' this to try to make yourself into a Saint, is that it?" "Christ." "I'm doin' it because" "I don't know." "I'm just doin' it, all right?" "Can't you even say thanks?" "No, you can't." "That's nice." "In that case, I'm not doin' it for your thanks." "I'm just sorry" "I don't need your pity." "You need a goddamn roof over your head till you figure out what to do with your goddamn self." "Look, don't get it in your head that I think what you did is all right." "I think what you did is sick." "You shouldn't be stayin' in that hotel, that's all." "I take it your wife doesn't know." "No, she don't know." "Thank you, Mr. visalo." "Narrator:" "A letter from the staten island bank was addressed to Mr. visalo and urged his immediate attention." "Though it was his wife who decided to take matters into her own hands." "According to my calculations, you, uh, your expenditures are running about 2 1/2 times your income." "Against how much of our own money we spend, is there?" "Certainly not, as long as the collateral this was merely a courtesy on our part however, if the rate of spending continues, you have only, perhaps, a month and a half before your savings run out." "And then we will have to talk." "That won't be necessary, and could you do us a favor and not send any more of these letters?" "My husband, he works very hard." "He's under a lot of pressure." "He don't need this aggravation." "Really." "Thank you." "You said a month and a half, right?" "She's a beauty!" "Wait a minute." "Where are the singers?" "Who needs 'em?" "♪ Papa loves mambo" "♪ mama loves mambo" "♪ papa does great with it ♪" "♪ swings like a gate with it ♪" "♪ he loses weight with it now ♪" "♪ he goes to" "♪ she goes fro" "♪ he goes fast" "♪ she goes slow" "♪ he goes left" "♪ and she goes right" "♪ papa lookin' for mama ♪" "♪ but mama is nowhere in sight ♪" "Oh, hey, estelle, that new console that you guys got can I ask a personal-type question?" "Where we gettin' the money for all this?" "You gotta admit, you're spendin' like there's no tomorrow." "Yeah, so what's the worst that could happen?" "How 'bout you lose all your savings?" "You couldn't open up the bar then." "Aw, so?" "Oh, estelle." "Well, you have to rent it out and maybe even-- sell the house?" "Bingo." "♪ She goes fro" "♪ he goes fast" "♪ she goes slow" "♪ he goes left" "♪ hmm, she goes right" "♪ papa lookin' for mama ♪" "♪ but mama is nowhere in sight ♪" "♪ papa loves mambo buddy!" "Hey, buddy!" "This your idea of havin' respect?" "Huh?" "You're makin' a fool of yourself in front of the whole neighborhood." "What is with you, huh?" "If I was makin' thousands of dollars doin' this, you'd be proud of me." "That's exactly my point." "The only reason you should be dancin' around like a monkey is if you're gettin' paid for it." "What did you call me?" "Oh, dry up." "No, no, wait a minute." "You called me a monkey?" "!" "Oh, come on, i was just kidding." "What, in front of all your friends you call me a monkey, huh?" "!" "In front of my friends, you're actin' like a monkey." "Yeah, well you know what that means?" "That means you married a monkey." "A monkey or someone who marries a monkey?" "!" "Idiot." "We got a winner here." "Winner here." "Nice shot, pal." "What are ya gonna have?" "You know, what do kids like?" "Boy or girl?" "Boy." "They like soldiers, guns..." "All of that crap." "Junior, give the man a gun." "Visalo." "Uh, I brought something' here." "A little gift." "I got this at the amusement park." "Aah!" "Hey, what the hell?" "What--no, no, it's fake." "It's for the kid." "You brought that for my baby?" "Yeah, well, what-- what's the matter?" "What are you up to?" "Well, nothin', I just figured I'd drop by and bring you a little gift." "Just like that." "Um, if you must know, me and the wife, we had a fight, and, well, it was nothin' big, but I was just, uh, wandering' around, so, that's why you did this." "You wanted a little place to come to whenever you and your wife were on the outs?" "You're just like all of them." "All you Italians." "You're all just a race of pimps." "You'd prey on a dying nun if it suited you." "God, don't say that." "Go away." "What's goin' on here?" "What are you doin'?" "Whatsa matter with you, huh?" "Fuckin' idiot, you're a fuckin' pimp now?" "You're a monkey." "You embarrass people." "Now, you're over here with Jack--Jack itch." "Fuckin' Jack itch." "You bastard!" "I'll leave tomorrow." "I'll pay for everything, I will!" "I don't want you to leave." "Don't you think i know that?" "No, that ain't why!" "Why, then?" "!" "I just want to talk to someone." "What's the matter with you?" "I don't know." "Look, get up here before some of the neighbors see you." "Buddy:" "I get these uniforms made up, right, with, um, the name of the business on them, and i--i show them to her as soon as I get them, and she says-- you know what she says?" "She says," ""buddy, who are you gonna sell these to when it goes out of business?"" "You all right now?" "I'm, uh--yeah, listen, I'm real sorry." "I haven't done that since I was a-- a little kid, you know." "Maybe even before that." "I've done a lot of it myself lately." "Yeah, well, you're a broad." "You're supposed to cry." "I'm sure things'll get better for you." "You heard of Julius larosa, right?" "No." "Julius larosa, that big singing star on Godfrey's, uh, TV show." "Used to be, anyway." "I've never had a television." "No kidding." "Well, that could've been me." "Yeah, that was my big shot." "Godfrey saw me singing when I was in the army, and he said, "when you get out, you come and see me."" "I told estelle." "She said no." "So you didn't do it?" "I thought Italian men did whatever they pleased." "Yeah, well, ever since then that's been the way it goes, but-- you know, I never" "I never got that kind of break thrown my way again." "You know, so I figured the least I could do if I'm not a big singing star is I can be my own boss." "So, I tell estelle." "She says no." "I go ahead, i do it anyway." "It don't work out." "It hasn't yet." "Uh, ahem." "I'm gonna leave you alone." "Um, I'm-- you sure you're all right?" "Yeah, yeah." "Whew!" "Of course, yeah." "I'm gonna fix that window for you tomorrow." "I'd appreciate it." "And, uh, look, I'm really sorry that I brought such a stupid gift." "Oh, well, they say it's the thought that counts." "Yeah." "And, uh, look," "I'm, um..." "I'm not this way all the time, you know." "I mean, um, crying and talking and..." "You know, I'm just like anyone else" "I'm afraid I don't believe that, Mr. visalo." "6:00, nino's, don't forget!" "Ok!" "6:00, nino's." "We'll be there!" "Chip:" "What am I gonna do?" "What are we gonna do?" "What?" "He don't open for another hour." "He'll open up for us." "Come on, buddy." "You know what?" "On second thought, chip," "I've got something i gotta do." "Errands." "Errands?" "It's a beautiful day." "Let's go sit in a bar." "I gotta find these nails." "They're special nails." "I can't find them anywhere." "No, that's all right." "I'll do it myself." "You know, you helped me enough, chip." "Well, go get your nails and come get hammered." "All right." "You know where I'll be." "Yes, I do." "I'll see you later." "Ok." "Buddy:" "Mr. cicco seen the kid?" "You tell me, all right?" "I'll take care of him." "We both appreciate it, Mr. visalo." "Yeah." "So, has he got a name?" "There was no birth certificate, so there was no need for a name." "Well, jeez, if he doesn't have a name, he's not a real person legally." "The same with a birth certificate." "They don't cost much money, you know." "What does it matter?" "Well, I mean, you said you didn't want to give him away." "If that's the case, then you ought to make him a legal person, that's all." "He's not getting a name from me, Mr. visalo." "I have to let him go." "Wait a minute." "You're gonna get rid of him?" "What difference does it make to you?" "Well, I don't know." "I mean, i--i thought it was kind of brave keeping him." "It showed some balls." "Excuse me." "I mean" "I don't know." "I was thinking maybe you and me, we kind of got something in common that way, you know." "That's all." "Are you making a pass at me, Mr. visalo?" "What?" "Heh!" "You make me laugh." "No, no, I wasn't making a pass at you." "If I was making a pass at you, you'd know I was making a pass at you." "Don't flatter yourself, huh?" "I think you like your meat" "I think you should probably leave." "Yeah, you know what?" "I probably should." "I mean, who are you?" "Miss morals of 1956?" "What the hell?" "Making a pass at you." "Hey, let me tell you something, ok?" "I've been married 11 years." "You're the one who done that, not me." "Christ!" "Mr. visalo!" "I'm not used to people doing good by me." "Ah, skip it." "Look, uh, look, you need any money?" "For food, I mean." "My sister sent me some." "That's plenty." "Mary:" "And 2 boxes of..." "Ron-zani?" "What kind?" "What kind you got?" "Macaroni, Linguini, capellini, fettuccine." "Yes, thank you." "Buddy:" "Hey, what do you think, huh?" "Buddy's tavern or buddy's place?" "Buddy's tavern?" "Narrator:" "That's the first time" "I remember seeing buddy." "How are you?" "And a bottle of-- sh..." "Chi..." "Shanty." "Chianti." "Thank you." "This is delicious." "I don't normally eat so much." "Buddy:" "Yeah, I noticed." "You gotta keep up your strength." "Mmh." "I can't cook like you." "Actually, I'm not a very good housewife." "Yeah, I noticed that, too." "When I was up in your house, I mean." "I don't know why Jim married me." "Well, I mean I know why, but he wasn't satisfied for long." "Why'd you marry him?" "He was a friend of my father's." "When my father was dying," "I asked him what I could do to make him happy." "He told me to marry Jim, so I did." "I was 14." "14?" "Is there anything else you'd like to know?" "Yeah." "My husband..." "Had his own way of diverting himself from me." "After a while, i suppose I needed a way for myself, and I don't like to drink." "Yeah, but why with a..." "Well, whoever it was." "Is it really so hard for you to understand?" "Wanting something for yourself and taking it?" "♪ I see spring advancing ♪" "Do you know this song?" "Sing it for me." "♪ Summer and its madness ♪" "♪ follows soon" "♪ but there'll be sadness ♪" "♪ for I'll still be lonely ♪" "♪ for you" "♪ and when blue skies ♪" "♪ turn steel gray" "♪ and Autumn whispers on its way ♪" "♪ golden harvest on their way ♪" "♪ for me before the age of 3 are highly selective and not to be trusted," "Saturday afternoon is strangely fresh and exacting." "♪ Winter will so lightly ♪" "♪ spread its cloak of white ♪" "♪ but nightly" "♪ I won't sleep a wink ♪" "♪ for if I do" "♪ dreams of you" "♪ will make me lonely, too ♪" "♪ and when blue skies ♪" "♪ turn steel gray" "♪ and Autumn whispers on its way ♪" "♪ golden harvests on their way ♪" "♪ for me won't have a thing to say ♪" "♪ winter will so lightly ♪" "♪ spread its cloak of white ♪" "♪ but nightly" "♪ I won't sleep a wink" "♪ for if I do" "♪ dreams of you will make me lonely, too ♪" "Mr. visalo?" "What?" "I just want you to know..." "I didn't kiss you 'cause I expect anything." "Yeah, well, it takes 2 to tango, huh?" "It's getting dark out, huh?" "Must be late." "Nino's at 6:00." "Jesus!" "Hey, Mary!" "Um, visalo?" "You almost got killed over that." "Excuse me." "I'm gonna go to the men's room." "I mean, I thought i looked bad." "Buddy, come on!" "Where the fuck you been?" "How long does it take to get nails?" "Hey, I was--whoa!" "You've been drinking?" "I'm fucking tanked, man." "I was at Angelo's all afternoon waiting for you." "So, you've been eating or something?" "What?" "Oh, just a snack." "Look, where are the girls?" "They're in the back." "Come on, man." "Jesus." "Hey, hey!" "Look what the wind blew in?" "Sorry I'm late there." "Hello." "Hello." "Hey." "All right." "I ordered you the calamari." "I know how much you love that." "All the goodies that we got for you." "It was half off on all the socks, the underwear." "It was great." "Underwear?" "Lucky me, huh?" "Wait'll you see the flannel jackets we got you." "Flannel jackets?" "Oh, nice, nice." "Who's that?" "He works at the bank." "Oh, yeah?" "What are you doing going to the bank?" "Why can't I go to the bank?" "Well, you got no reason to go to the bank." "You don't get a paycheck." "Here, salute." "Salute." "I wouldn't want to intrude." "Mr. brancaccio, this is my husband buddy." "Hey, how are you?" "I just wanted to apologize again." "Don't mention it." "W-w-wait, what are you talking about?" "Nothing, honey." "Thank you." "No, no, you were right, Mrs. visalo." "There's no law against the amount of money and it's really none of our business." "Look, we're eating here, ok?" "What the hell, huh, estelle?" "I'll tell you later." "No, no, you tell me now." "They sent a letter, the bank." "They said we were overspending or something, i don't know." "So, I was passing by and went in, and I told them to mind their own business." "Ok?" "The bank sent you a letter?" "To you." "I opened it by mistake." "So why didn't you tell me?" "Because I didn't want you to worry." "Excuse me." "Come here, will you?" "Mmph." "Uh, tell me what's going on." "Buddy, what is the big deal?" "It's none of his business." "Let him talk, all right?" "What's with this letter stuff?" "I only wanted to help." "Our letter upset your wife." "We try to keep an eye on our first-time homeowners." "Nothing." "Our spending is outdoing our savings or something." "I believe it was by 2 1/2 times." "Wow." "No, no, that's not ok, ok?" "Why don't you tell me that?" "Just eat your dinner, and we'll talk about it later, ok?" "Listen, I got a right to know." "After all, I'm a homeowner." "Oh, here we go." "The big shot homeowner." "Ok, so what did she say to you?" "Mind his business, that you know what you're doing, and that he shouldn't worry, ok?" "Yeah, damn right." "That's right." "Yeah, it's none of your business." "I know what I'm doing." "My apologies again." "All right." "Calm down." "Can I have the cheese?" "2 1/2 times!" "How come you don't tell me something like that?" "Because you're the big shot homeowner." "You ought to know." "And you know what?" "If you don't, it serves you right." "You don't know nothing about owning a house or running some bar, ok?" "You know, buddy, you don't just do these things because you feel like it." "You gotta have the brains for it." "Oh, ok, so what are you saying?" "I don't go no brains?" "Buddy, I was just trying to look out for you." "I was trying to help you, buddy." "I bought a house, right?" "That's gotta take some brains." "Narrator:" "The argument was legendary, epic." "I am stupid, and I'm embarrassing." "I'm ignoring you." "I'm eating." "I'm ignoring you." "Watch this." "Watch this." "I'm ignoring you." "What do you mean you did it for us?" "We're almost broke, and you don't tell me about it?" "I didn't want to see you fail again." "Narrator:" "It went on far into the night, encompassing virtually every aspect of the 11-year union between buddy and estelle visalo." "This is not our house." "Why are you making us do this?" "Wasn't everything ok?" "Don't you want to better yourself?" "I mean, don't you want to do something with your life?" "Like what, buddy?" "Like what?" "Serving drinks to a lot of bums, huh?" "You want to turn me into a barmaid?" "Is that what you want to do?" "Jesus, estelle, we own our own business." "We own our own home." "I mean, Jesus, estelle," "I mean, this is America." "Where you living?" "This is the point." "Most women, they want their husbands you, you'd be happy if we stayed back in-- back where we belong, buddy, not making fools of ourselves, not having everybody laugh behind our back." "By who?" "Who?" "Your stupid friends?" "My stupid friends?" "Who the fuck cares, huh?" "I got something they ain't got." "It's a crime for me not to use what I got." "What do you think you got that's worth throwing away our futures on?" "I've got talent!" "I could be somebody, baby!" "I could run my own life instead of having to answer to some creep bastard who's got a sign that says "supervisor" on his desk." "Buddy, your ideas, they don't work." "They haven't yet." "But this time, they will." "Why should they?" "They never did before." "Because I'm gonna make it work, no matter what!" "Narrator:" ""No matter what"" "meant buddy needed more money to spend at this present rate." "So you see, it's just not possible on the wage that you earn to make these expenditures." "Yeah, but it's just till the bar's set up." "Once it's open," "I'll be in the dough." "Like with the pizza store?" "Brancaccio:" "At this rate, it doesn't look like you'll have enough to finish." "Why don't we just rent out the downstairs?" "The bar's half-built." "So, then we only have half a bar to pull out." "Perhaps you could postpone construction on the bar." "Screw it." "I'll work the night shift." "And when are you gonna sleep?" "When the bar's open." "Are we done here?" "Narrator:" "And so, as the working men looked forward to the happiest part a drink at the local bar with their friends, buddy prepared to pay the price for his future independence." "Hey, one minute!" "Come on, get that drill in there and joint it to the semi." "You'll get used to it." "These day shift guys start to look like suckers waking up at dawn every morning." "See, that's the best part." "We get to go to sleep at dawn." "Dawn, yeah, yeah." "You shift the shift into the sliding machine." "Make sure it's a smooth flow, and then turn it around, then get it up, and then bring it down again, but don't you breathe it, because if you breathe it, it's gonna get in your lungs," "and then we're gonna have to replace you, not to mention the fire when the gas gets in it." "Ok, give it the button." "Every minute, set, set, you set." "Go!" "Go, go, go, go, go!" "Yeah!" "You know who's a grumbler?" "My brother-in-law Pete." "He does not appreciate a goddamn thing." "Look around you." "How beautiful this world is." "You know, I don't remember the last time" "I was awake at 3:30 in the morning." "You know, I don't remember when I wasn't." "Hey, how about a couple..." "I know a place that stays open." "Rain check, huh?" "Ok, catch you later." "See you tomorrow." "Hey, Mary?" "You must be tired." "I gotta do what it takes." "I figure she don't want me to have my own bar, that's fine with me." "She'll get used to it eventually." "See, the trouble with estelle is she don't like failure." "But with her, it's like a disease." "I don't want to make you think something bad about her." "She takes great care of me and all." "You don't seem like the kind of man that needs taking care of." "Yeah, well, this one can't go in the tank like all the others." "It won't." "We're all meant for something particular." "This is what you're meant for." "You think so, huh?" "I know so, Mr. visalo." "Hmm." "I found an adoption agency for the baby." "They said they don't mind what he looks like." "I guess they just must be starting out or something, huh?" "It means I can stay with my sister." "When?" "A week." "Maybe with the money you'll save you won't have to work so hard." "Yeah, I suppose so, but-- it means I can try and start over again like nothing ever happened." "Now, why you gonna do that?" "I mean, maybe you're never gonna want to tell anyone what happened, but you can remember it, just yourself." "No, I can't." "I guess it's a little easier that way, huh?" "A lot easier." "Well, in that case, if you and me were to spend some time together, you would just forget about it anyway, and you know me, I'd never tell." "I mean, it would be a lot easier, just like you said." "Why-- why do you want me, Mr. visalo?" "'Cause I got a feeling about you" "I never felt before, not even with my wife." "I mean, it's not that I don't love her, even though she pisses me off all the time." "I don't know." "It's just this feeling." "I've been a good husband 11 years." "I figure one week wouldn't really matter." "I've been a bad girl my whole life." "I don't suppose a week would matter to me, either." "♪ I'm confessin' that I love you ♪" "♪ tell me, do you love me, too?" "♪" "♪ I'm confessin' that I need you ♪" "♪ honest I do" "♪ need you every moment ♪" "♪ in your eyes I read such strange things ♪" "♪ much our lips deny they're true ♪" "♪ will your answer really change things... ♪" "How you doing?" "You all right?" "You gonna make it?" "Ha ha ha!" "Narrator: 8:00 to 6:00 at the factory... ♪ I'm afraid some day you will leave me ♪" "A half-hour for dinner... ♪ Sayin' "can't we still be friends?" ♪" "Then the night shift till 3 A.M." "♪ If you go, you know you will grieve me ♪" "♪ all in life on you depends ♪ 3 A.M. to 6 A.M." "Was spent every night of that week with my mother Mary wiley o'neary, a kept woman." "♪ Dreaming dreams of you in vain ♪" "♪ well, I'm confessin'" "♪ that I love you" "♪ over again woman:" "My Harry's been on the night shift for 2 years." "He still ain't used to it." "They say that ain't healthy, you know." "That working all night, sleeping all day." "How about sleeping 2 hours and then going back to work?" "I swear to god, if he don't quit," "I'm gonna make him." "It's bad for his health." "It was worse before the unions." "Then they made them work 6:00 to 6:00." "My Harry used to get home just in time for me to wake up, get dressed, and go to work." "Back when i had to work." "I wouldn't let chip work those hours." "Unless he wanted to open up his own bar, huh?" "Well, what happened after the unions?" "Used to be 6:00 to 6:00, now it's 6 P.M. to 3 A.M." "That's why we voted for impastado." "He made changes." "That was the first time I ever voted." "You can't live on those kind of hours." "That he husband was simply not talented enough enterprising enough to be a businessman, or intelligent enough to be anything but a factory worker." "She also never doubted his fidelity, his naive, blundering honesty." "How was work?" "Murder." "That there might be the slightest hint of deception in her husband." "At one point, she thought of how disappointing it might be if buddy were to simply go to an all-night diner and sit there until 6:00." "That would indicate that he simply preferred to be anywhere but with her." "And those tomatoes-- not these, the strange ones." "Sun-dried." "Ok." "Oh, and, uh, ricotta." "Ricotta secca." "You hurt yourself?" "Oh, I'm fine." "This is a big bash, though." "Don't worry about it." "Thank you." "You live here?" "Upstairs." "How's the baby?" "He's fine." "Well, I just came by to see how you were doing." "Working the night shift?" "Eh, fuck 'em." "I'm going home." "Good for you." "Narrator:" "He was lying, of course." "He was going to see my mother, who was hoping-- praying that he would come by early that night just to explain the presence of his wife in this strange neighborhood." "Mary, I have this great idea for the bar." "Every week, I'm gonna have a cookout, and everybody's gonna bring their own recipe, and we'll do it like a contest." "Your wife-- oh, she's gonna love it, she's gonna have to do all the cooking." "She came by." "She--she came by here?" "She said she wanted to see how I was doing." "She's standing there with a bag of groceries like the good little housewife." "She was probably gonna cook for him." "You mean the one with the colored baby?" "Estelle:" "Yes, the one with the colored baby, and he spent the night with her, too." "Oh!" "It's the worst i ever heard, and my Harry slept with some real skivates" "I don't even know who he is anymore." "Are you gonna go back?" "I already packed my stuff and moved back to my mother's." "Good." "Good." "Besides, there's hardly anything left." "Huh?" "What do you mean?" "I got a little crazy, ok?" "Oh, Jesus, estelle, after all that work that you guys did." "That's right." "After all that work so that he could go do the hokey-pokey with some putan who'd sleep with a nigger and have a baby!" "I mean, am I that disgusting?" "No!" "No!" "Shh." "No." "No." "Look, listen, listen." "Men..." "They got no sense about this stuff." "Some of them, they'll sleep with anything." "I mean it-- kids, animals-- just as long as they got someone at home who don't know about it." "Listen, you guys, you can't say nothing." "Promise me, teen, laur, please." "Please, you can't say nothing to nobody." "I am so embarrassed." "Buddy:" "You heard, huh?" "Down at the bar, yeah." "How'd they find out?" "Estelle told the girls." "They told the guys." "You know, that's that." "Buddy:" "I fucked up here, huh?" "Just tell me you want her back, right?" "I mean, one time in 11 years, what's that?" "So, uh, why don't you give her a call?" "Now might be a good time, you know?" "Buddy:" "Yeah." "Yeah, I'm listening." "Narrator:" "Negotiations were underway." "Until he'd gone to my mother and renounced her." "That was the term that was used..." ""Renounce."" "Renounce?" "Well, what the hell does that mean?" "Narrator:" "Then she would agree to see him, but at a neutral location..." "The skyline diner." "Hey, Mary!" "Buddy:" "Like a hurricane hit that house-- that's what it looks like." "Oh, Christ." "Visalo rides again." "Christ." "I'll be leaving tomorrow, so that should be the end of your problems, really." "I'm supposed to renounce you, whatever that means." "It means to make like it never existed." "Is that what that means?" "Yeah, well, screw it." "I'll say that I did, but I don't." "Thank you." "Kid likes a good show, huh." "I suppose." "Well, um..." "I guess since I'm not gonna see you again," "I ought to say something." "You don't have to." "I know I don't have to." "I want to." "I have to go back to my wife." "Well, anyway, this is what I'm thinking." "When you had this situation and all," "I had just done the hardest thing I ever did." "Nobody believed in me-- nobody..." "Except for my buddy chip, you know, but, uh, what's he got to lose, right?" "Anyway..." "Something about you, what you did" "I mean, everybody was talking about it but--but it made me think "what the hell?"" ""What the hell?"" "You go on." "You know, things happen." "The thing you did was right for you" "Mr. visalo," "I think you should leave." "Hey, estelle." "Hi, buddy." "Why they gotta be here?" "'Cause I want 'em here." "All right." "All right." "Ok." "First off, you gotta believe something, ok?" "It's the only time this ever happened." "I mean, do you believe me?" "Yeah, I believe you." "Ok." "Ok, now the other thing." "It was a big mistake." "Then why did you do it?" "I don't know why." "Don't guess with me, buddy." "You tell me why you would do something like this to me." "I know..." "It had something to do with us." "With us?" "You've been riding me real hard about the house, huh?" "I mean, even you got to admit that at times, you make it as though I'm trying to ruin your life, you know?" "So what are you saying, buddy?" "Are you saying it's my fault?" "Huh?" "!" "Is that what you're saying?" "!" "Are you saying it's my fault?" "!" "No." "Look, i didn't say that, ok?" "Estelle, I'm just trying to figure out myself let me make it easy for you." "Ok, you did it because you were feeling like a big shot." "You did it because you think that you're somebody you're not." "You did it for the same reason that you've done every other crazy thing in your life, because you think you're somebody that you're not." "Look..." "You're no don Juan, so forget the singing, forget that house, and we're going back to my mother's." "Buddy, I've been doing some thinking, too." "About what?" "Well, you know how I really..." "Never really liked" "I mean, I liked it ok, maybe just not as much..." "As you." "What?" "Doing it." "What are you talking, here?" "Look, I've been thinking about what you did, ok, and how men are different from women." "You know, and they have different needs, and, uh..." "If you feel..." "That you need to go out and get it, then, maybe it's ok..." "I guess." "I mean, it's not like you're going anywhere, right?" "Wait, wait, now..." "So..." "You're not mad with me..." "About that?" "Look, buddy, if you wanted to go fool around," "I would have looked the other way." "I would have did that for you." "But for you to fool around with that putan..." "That whore..." "That nigger-lover-- look..." "Just try and have better taste next time, ok?" "Buddy, what's wrong?" "Buddy..." "Talk to me." "What?" "Buddy, what?" "Of the people he'd known all his life as his jailers, until that moment." "He's just perfect." "Mary:" "Thanks." "I..." "Really hadn't planned-- oh, don't-- don't explain." "I mean, we're not about that." "I know a couple up in Woodstock that would just adore him." "Yes." "They're professors at some small college, and they specified they want a baby" "Mary:" "I was married when I had him." "Woman:" "Oh, that's even better." "You know, we do this thing once a month." "On race and sex"" "down at the new school." "You'd fit in perfectly." "Mr. visalo." "Hey, how are you?" "I was just-- yeah." "Figured." "Um, listen, could i-- could I talk to you for a minute?" "Well, we're almost done-- buddy:" "I mean now." "Before..." "Could you excuse me?" "Sure." "Sure." "Outside." "My wife and I, we were trying to make up, and all of a sudden, i realized that, see, well, I never really understood her..." "What she wanted from me or me from her," "I don't know, but, uh..." "It wasn't her fault." "I hope everything worked out." "Really?" "Of course." "Well, no, don't say that." "Why would you say that?" "I don't know." "I just assumed that's what you wanted me to say." "I walked out." "Love of god." "Because of you." "Because I got this feeling about you." "I don't think you know-- i--i know it's a little strange, but I think maybe I'm in love with you." "You don't know what you're doing, Mr. visalo." "I know I don't know what I'm doing." "I've got to take care of upstairs-- yeah, yeah." "Um, where'd you find that broad?" "Social services." "Lose her." "Narrator:" "She had not expected to stay in staten island..." "And certainly not in the house where she'd spent several very unhappy years with her first husband..." "And certainly not with me." "And the months of working all day and rebuilding buddy's tavern at night just in time for a festive Christmas opening." "Look what the wind blew in." "How you doing, ang?" "Pretty good, you know." "Where you been?" "Working on the bar." "I'm gonna open next week, Christmas Eve." "Oh, no shit, huh?" "You're quite a showman, buddy." "You do things in a big way, huh?" "Yeah, I was thinking maybe you guys want to come down, you know, see the place." "I'm gonna sing." "Mary, she's gonna cook." "I'm staying open Christmas Eve." "Oh, yeah?" "Well, maybe after you close, huh?" "Yeah, maybe." "You take care, ang." "Yeah, buddy." "See that guy?" "He threw his whole life away." "Narrator:" "It couldn't have been any other way." "The very act of bringing my mother and myself into his home was blasphemy, a rude rejection of every value that had ever been instilled in buddy by his friends, his family." "♪ Golden harvests on their way ♪" "♪ for me won't have a thing to say ♪" "♪ the winter will so lightly ♪" "♪ spread its cloak of white but nightly ♪" "♪ I won't sleep a wink" "♪ for if I do" "♪ dreams of you" "♪ will make me lonely, too" "thank you." "Thank you." "Silent fuckin' night, huh?" "Things'll get better." "Yeah." "Sure they will." "And if they don't, screw 'em." "This place open?" "Yeah, it sure is." "Hey, you're my first customer." "Well, i don't have any money." "Can you imagine?" "Then how you supposed to get a drink?" "I was over at Angelo's." "I couldn't pay." "He said to come over here." "He said they serve anybody at buddy's tavern." "Have a seat, my friend." "What'll you have?" "St. James?" "Love one." "Slow night." "We've only just opened." "There you go." "Narrator:" "There would be many slow nights in the future." "♪ I'm confessin' that I love you... ♪" "Which my father buddy visalo ran until his death in 1988 and which my mother..." "Mary wiley visalo ran until her death last year..." "Buddy's tavern of staten island, of which I am the current owner, manager, and barkeep." "♪ Such strange things" "♪ but your lips deny they're true ♪" "♪ will your answer really change things?" "♪" "♪ Making me blue" "♪ I'm afraid some day you will leave me ♪" "♪ saying can't we still be friends?" "♪" "♪ If you go, you know you will grieve me ♪" "♪ all in life on you depends ♪" "♪ am I guessing that you love me?" "♪" "♪ Dreamin' dreams of you in vain ♪" "♪ well, I'm confessin'" "♪ that I love you over again ♪"