"I came to America in 1914, by way of Philadelphia." "That's where I got off the boat." "And then I came to Baltimore." "It was the most beautiful place you've ever seen in your life." "There were lights everywhere." "What lights they had!" "It was a celebration of lights." "I thought they were for me:" ""Sam was in America."" "Sam was in America." "I didn't know what holiday it was, but there were lights." "And I walked under them." "The sky exploded!" "People cheered!" "There were fireworks." "What a welcome it was!" "What a welcome!" "I didn't know where my brothers were." "I had an address on a letter, but when I went there, they'd moved." "I found the man who knew the name Krichinsky." "He was a little man with big shoes." "I'll never forget him." "He had such big shoes!" "They were brand-new, beautiful shoes." "He told me this was how he made his living." "He would break in shoes for the wealthy." "Stuff them with newspaper and walk in them." "I said, "What a country is this." "What a country."" "The wealthy didn't even have to break in their own shoes." "So this man with the shoes took me down one street after another." "We walked and walked and the skies would light up and explode in a celebration." "And then we came to Avalon." "And the man with the shoes yelled, "Krichinsky!" "Krichinsky!"" "And my four brothers looked down and saw me." ""Sam!"" "Sam." "Sam." "And that's when I came to America." "It was the Fourth of July." "Boy, did they used to celebrate." "Big celebrations." "They closed the streets and would celebrate through the night." "What happened to the guy who wore the big shoes?" "The funny thing is, he did it for another two years." "He brought his brother into the business." "They would walk the streets, breaking in shoes." "Then he got an idea!" "Why not make shoes that fit right?" "They became custom shoemakers:" "The Solomon Brothers." "They made shoes, pants." "And then they were a department store." "But the Krichinsky brothers, wallpaper hangers." "The five Krichinsky brothers, wallpaper hangers." "And we worked and worked and worked." "Except Gabriel didn't work." "Gabriel used to point a lot." ""There's a crease, it's not straight."" "He was the inspector." "He was the inspector." "How did you all get to be wallpaper hangers?" "It was your grandfather William." "He came to America first and worked in the department store where they sold wallpaper and do wallpaper hanging for people." "So he became a wallpaper hanger." "And as each brother came over, we all became wallpaper hangers." "But on the weekend, we made music." "What music it was!" "We liked American music." "We were very popular ourselves." "One night I looked across the floor and I saw this young, lovely girl." "I wasn't handsome, and I didn't have a beautiful body." "But when I touched a woman they fell in love with me." "Oh, the family!" "How it grew." "The wives, the kids." "Krichinskys everywhere, everywhere." "So we had the family-circle meetings." "We put money in the hat to bring over the cousins, the aunts, the uncles." "And then, out of the blue, William gets the flu." "It was a terrible epidemic, the flu of 1919." "Thousands died." "William died." "He was a young man." "He left three kids." "Sam, how many times do we have to hear this story?" "We know this story." "We heard it before." "If we don't tell them, they don't know." "Last year, Bill died." "Was very warm last year when Bill died." "How many times do we have to hear this?" "The children know this story." "I'm telling them about when I came here." "Yeah, we know about it." "We all heard it before." "Dad, you want to cut the turkey, or do you want me to?" "I wanted to tell them about when my father came here." "You have plenty of time to talk about your father." "Sorry we're late." "Another minute, we would've cut the turkey without you and started to eat." "To cut the turkey without me present?" "We leave the house!" " We didn't cut the turkey." " I heard the turkey was cut." "I was just talking about when Bill died." "Thank God we are late." "I don't understand this holiday." "I'll never understand it." " What's not to understand?" " Thanksgiving." "Thanksgiving." "We're giving thanks to who?" "You're giving thanks for what you have." "How many times do we have to go through this?" "All I'm saying is, we had to get the turkey and kill it to give thanks." "If it wasn't this holiday, we wouldn't have turkey." "I don't eat turkey the rest of the year." "Why do I have to now?" "Mom, don't give thanks, okay?" "Time to tell the kids when my father came to America." "Can't it wait till later?" "They should hear this story." "Eva, this is very tender." "Of course it is." "It's a beautiful bird." "The turkey was in the basement alive." "She killed it." "We brought my father over in '25." " '25?" " William died in 1919. '25." "'25?" "It was later than '25!" "He came the same year we brought Bill and Edith." "Bill and Edith came after!" " After?" " Yeah, after." "It was '26." "What's the difference?" "He came to America, right?" "It's a big difference between '25 and '26." "One is '25 and the other is '26." "All's I'm saying is, who cares if it was '25 or '26?" "Jules, Jules, if you stop remembering, you forget." "It was '26." "I remember the excitement when you went to meet him." "Finally, the father was coming." "We saved the money and sent it to him." "The whole family went to the border" "Jules, you were just a little kid." "It was cold!" "We went to the marketplace." "It was cold." "It was cold." "What are you talking about, it was cold?" "It was late May." "May?" "I remember cold." "No, you're thinking of when Irene was getting married." "It was bitter cold then." "No, it was May 17 when your father came." "Anyway, we went, the whole family." "The brothers, the wives, the kids." "I didn't go, and all the kids didn't go." "We waited in the house." "There was such excitement." "The father, the father was coming." "All I ever heard was, "Wait until the father comes."" "The head of the family." "I pictured this big, powerful man." "All I'd heard was, "Wait until the father comes."" "The father's word when he speaks..." "So I'm there." "I see him." "He's shorter than me, and I'm only 6." "He was this little..." "He was a little, little man." "I never said he was big." "But I said he was the father." "From the day..." "From the day he came to America, he never had to work." "Not a day in his life." "Each of us would give him 10 percent." "Ten percent?" "Right?" "Right?" "Yeah." "Ten percent." "He was the father." "He never drank water." "The entire time he was in America, from the day he came he drank whiskey or seltzer water." "He never drank water." "And oh, boy, could he drink!" "What was that stuff called he always used to drink?" "Slivovitz." "Slivovitz." "He used to call it "Block and Fall."" "You have one drink of that, you walk one block and you fall!" "If you have one drink..." "It's such a strong drink, it burned the gums out." "He was funny." "He was funny." "Very, very, very funny." "How often did he drink water?" "Never, ever touched it." "How many times--?" "I'm sitting across from you, you can't hear it?" "He never drank water!" "That means he doesn't drink." "I got it." "You asked me, I told you." "Now I'm telling you some more." "Occasionally, maybe, he had some water." "He never drank water." "So he didn't like it." " He didn't like water." " How many times...?" "Hymie, Gabriel, Jules." "Are aunts kids before they become aunts?" "Everybody's a kid before they become an aunt." "They are?" "I thought they just popped out." "I've been thinking about it." "It's a good time we open our own business." "Open our own business?" "What, are you kidding?" "Think of the risk involved." "We got good routes." "Why should we gamble?" "It's perfect." "We got built-in customers." "We open our own place." "We keep the routes, but switch people to us." "We sell the same goods, except the money goes in our pockets." "You don't think Simmons will sit still?" "We open our own place, he'll put someone on our routes." "We'll hold on to the customers." "They like us, trust us." "We won't hold on to everybody." "We'll lose customers." "This is less dollars, and we got to find new customers." "The war is over, right?" "There's lots of people with lots of money." "It's a good time to gamble." "Dessert!" "I hear dessert?" "I hear dessert." "Dessert." "Bring me dessert." "The kids aren't having dessert?" "My grandmother is grandmother to me, but she's not grandmother to Teddy." " Yes, right." " Then what is she?" "She's Teddy's great-aunt." "There are aunts and great-aunts?" "What's the difference between a regular aunt and a great-aunt?" "They're older." "That's the difference." "It's not because they're older." "Because then someday, all aunts would be great-aunts." "But why are great-aunts just called great-aunts?" "Why not "good aunts" or "fantastic aunts" or "terrible aunts"?" "No." "It doesn't have anything to do with what kind of person they are." "It's got to do with great." "You know, they're great, older." "What about those red ants that crawl around and bite you?" "No, no, no." "That's A-N-T." "Ant." "What's a first cousin, twice removed?" "I have absolutely no idea." "I'm going selling with my dad today." "You're not going to school?" "Christmas holidays." "No school." "Christmas holiday." " Keep your nose clean." " Yeah." "How come you didn't become a wallpaper hanger like Sam?" "Well, Sam always had this idea that doing manual labor had no dignity, but selling..." ""Selling was security," he said." "No matter where you are or what you're selling you can always make a living." " Can you sell anything?" " Anything." "I can sell anything." "See, it's all a question of being able to talk to people." "The product?" "It doesn't make any difference." "You're selling yourself." "Can you sell model trains?" " As many as they can make." " Can you sell toothbrushes?" "To as many people as have teeth." "Quick!" "See that car?" "What car is that?" "Chrysler!" "The one over there on the right?" " Nash!" " Pretty good." "Give me your money." " What's that?" " Give me your money." "Are you kidding me?" "No, I'm not kidding you." "Give me your money." "What, are you robbing me?" "With all these houses around?" "Yeah, I'm robbing you." "Get help." "I can't play." "I can't play." "I never learned to play the piano." "I never learned." "I said, I never learned." "Jules!" "I can't." "I can't play the piano." "I can't play." "No, I can't." "I can't play the piano." "See!" "He can't play, but he can learn!" "I can't play." "That's the problem with collecting." "I know that's got to be a problem with collecting." "It's unheard of." "When you have lots of money..." "It's unheard of to stab somebody and take the money." "I never heard of it." "I don't want to know about it." "Not like in the old days." "When they know you got lots of money, somebody wants the money." "We know that." "We know that." "But who wants it?" "It's not like it used to be!" "A man can't walk in the street?" "Never, never, never." "It's the money that's the problem." " You're right." " Somebody tries to kill" "Somebody tries to kill my boy just for money." " That's not good." "That's not good!" " It's the money." " It's not good." " No good." "Money, money, money, that's it." " That's the whole problem." "Money." " Money." "When I was a little younger than you I used to think the world was made up of big people and little people." "And that's the way it would always stay." "And then I always wondered why sinks were too high." "You had to climb up to wash your face." "Cupboards, too high." "The hole in the toilet was too big." "Nothing was made for us." "It's just a world of big people and little people." "You never got any older and nobody ever died." "Michael!" "Michael." "I talked to the doctor." "Your father's gonna be all right." " There, you got it?" " Yeah, yeah." "Hold it." "What is it?" "What is it?" "What could it be?" "It's so big." " It's a holiday gift." " What is it?" "What is it?" "What is it?" "It's a surprise." "Wait and see." "The family circle voted and decided to get you a holiday get-well gift." "For me?" "Oh, you didn't!" "You didn't!" "So, what is this?" "A television." "That's television." "You can only watch for so long." "To me, it doesn't have what a radio has." "Yes, it does." "Anybody want coffee?" "Yes." "Nice picture, huh?" "Beautiful picture." "Never happened." "In the old country, never heard of stabbing someone to take their money." "Never happened." "You're right." "But the government would kill you." "Would take your money, your property, whatever you had." "You know what you have to do?" "Be like in Westerns." "Have a stagecoach and the shotgun when you collect." "That's what they had in the Wild West, because of outlaws." "Yeah, that's what you need." "There's always robbers." "What was the movie we saw with the stagecoach?" "A very good movie." " Stagecoach." " The movie had a stagecoach." " Stagecoach." " Very active movie." "John Wayne, he was an outlaw but was not an outlaw." "What was the movie called with the stagecoach?" "Stagecoach." "That's what I'm saying, with the stagecoach." " Stagecoach." " Stagecoach?" "I saw a nice little shop off Helen's Market on the southeast corner." "Supposing we do do this, what are we selling?" "Same things we sell now?" "Yeah, only for less than running the routes." "Pots and pans?" "Pots, pans, vacuum cleaners, everything." "The time is right we get out on our own." "We don't have enough money." "Now is not right." " Ann, please." " All right." "The problem is, Jules, we never have privacy." "Everybody's on top of everybody." "We need our own place." "And we'll get it." "But Izzy's right." "This is the time for us to use our savings for our own business." "We can get off the street and try to make a go of it." "Well, I know that's the best thing." "I just can't promise I'm gonna remain sane." "You put on a little sweater." "Yeah, be sure to take small steps." "There's a little wind." "Michael!" "Forgot your lunch money." "Toss it." "Ann!" "Do we leave at 10:30?" "Yeah, that'll be fine!" "I have to be back at 1:00." "I have to go to the doctor's with Jules." "You're not driving, are you?" " No, I'm still taking the lessons." " Oh, thank God." ""Can" is whether you're capable of doing something." ""May" is asking for permission." " Yes, Michael?" " Can I go to the bathroom?" "Michael, do you want to repeat that question?" "Oh, no, I'm going to be made an example of." "Michael." "I said, "Can I go to the bathroom?"" "You can, but you may not." "Well, can I or can't I?" "I don't think you've been paying attention, have you, Michael Kaye?" "Yes, I have." "So how would you rephrase the question?" "Can I please go to the bathroom?" "Children." "Michael Kaye, why don't you just spend some time in the hallway until you've learned the difference between "can" and "may."" "When you've learned the difference, then you may come back in." "I have to go to the bathroom, but I'm afraid to ask." "Now, does anyone know the difference between "can" and "may"?" "Young man, have you learned the difference between "may" and "can"?" "Not yet." "You stay out there until you've learned the difference." "Yes, Mrs. Parkes." "Well?" "Are you ready to rejoin the class, Michael?" "Yes, Mrs. Parkes." "And what's the difference between "may" and "can"?" "Give me a little more time." "Young man, what are you doing in the hallway?" "Learning the difference between "may" and "can."" "How long do you think it would take?" "Hello?" "Is this Mr. Kaye?" "His father, Mr. Krichinsky." "No, he's at the doctor's, but he's fine." "Who is this?" "This is Mr. Dunn, the principal of Michael's school." "We seem to have a problem." "Is he sick?" "We seem to have a problem between "may" and "can."" "What's the problem?" "That's the lesson they were learning." "Michael asked if he could go to the bathroom." "He said, "Can I go to the bathroom?"" "The teacher said, "You can, but you may not."" "What's the problem?" "He asked to go to the bathroom." "He asked, but he asked incorrectly." " Did he raise his hand?" " Yes, he did." "But the point is, it was a lesson about "may" and "can."" "Okay, it's fine with me." "So, what's the problem?" "He asked, "Can I go to the bathroom?"" "The teacher said, "You can, but you may not."" "That's confusing to the kid, because you're saying, "You can" and then you say, "You can, but you can't."" "You don't understand the subtleties of the English language, Mr. Krichinsky." "This English, it's very difficult." "I never realized how difficult English is." ""May" or "can." You can, but you may not." "We've come a long way." "In the old days, if you had to pee, you peed on a tree." "There's no "may" or "can." That's progress for you." "Oh, my God." "Hon?" "I got it." "The store televisions." "Wall-to-wall televisions." "We'll sell more of them." "How will we sell more of them?" "We'll sell them cheaper." "Televisions, televisions, from one end of the shop to the other." "Nothing but televisions." "I think something's about to happen." "Seems like the humming's getting less." "That's when something's about to happen." "Seems like it's humming the same hum to me." "You better hope they start getting some more interesting programs." "See, I told you something was going to happen." "It's Howdy Doody." "We're getting ahead of ourselves with this television." "Why don't we add some linoleums, toasters, pots and pans, brooms." "Get a little foot traffic in here, you know?" "Maybe that'll help." "Why are they not coming in here?" "Electronic equipment!" "Here's adventure!" "And now let's return to Westinghouse Studio One." "And Letter from Cairo." "fighting for law and order, captain..." "Here's adventure." "Here's romance." "Mr. I-magination" "The Cisco Kid." " Henry Aldrich!" " Coming, Mother." "The Colgate Comedy Hour." "Say the secret word for $100." "It's a common word for something you find around the house." "Well, well, well." "Good evening." "It is Wednesday night again, and I'm back on television." "Your Hit Parade." "Time now to enjoy What's My Line?" "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show." " Well, what does it mean?" " What?" " What does it mean, the suburbs?" " It's just a nicer place to live." "That's what it means?" "A nicer place?" "Yes, it's nicer." "It's got lawns and big trees." "Uncle Izzy and Teddy and everyone, they'll be there too?" "In one house in the suburbs?" "God, please be careful!" "It's a very old piece." " Yes, ma'am." "We've got it." " Huh?" "In one house?" "No, Michael, it's gonna be the same." "Your grandparents will live in our house." "We'll all live near each other." "Please don't distract me." "It's gonna rain, I got furniture in the street, I'm gonna panic." "Aunt Dottie, Aunt Dottie!" "Is this a good thing that's happening?" "What?" "Is this a good thing, going to the suburbs?" " Am I gonna like it there?" " You kids are gonna love it." "We've been here forever." "We're even gonna have to go to a new school." "You ever been in the suburbs?" "I never even heard of the suburbs until this thing happened." "Wait a minute." "Where you running with that?" " Wait a minute." " Ma, they'll wrap it." " No, no." "We take this in the car." " It'll be wrapped." "No, no." "We take it in the car." "The truck hits a bump, anything could happen." "Okay, we're all set." "I remember Michael learned how to walk right here." "Held on to the sofa, and he took his first steps." "He went right to your room." "Yeah, I remember." "What was he?" "A year old?" "No, no, not a year." "Nine months." "Held the sofa, and he took his first steps." "Nine months." "What's wrong, Pop?" "I don't know, I don't know." "I get nervous about making a change." "What are you talking about?" "You came to America." "We're just going to the suburbs." "I came to America in 1914 but I was a young man." "Oh, come on, Dad." "What about the house?" "You saw the house." "Forest Park area." "It's beautiful." "We're gonna have more room for the whole family." "We're getting farther and farther away from Avalon." "I think I'm getting too old for change." " Bill, are you hurt?" " Not a bit." "Cut me loose." "No, Sam, don't feed the dog from the table." "He likes meat." "Don't give him big pieces." "He has a small throat." " What's wrong with the green beans?" " I don't like green beans." "Since when you don't like green beans?" "Never." "I never eat green beans." "I cannot believe we argue over the dog and the green beans every meal." "Green beans and the dog." "Like it's the first time." "Constantly you argue about the same thing." "It's not an argument, it's dinner talk." "Dad, this goes on all the time." "Whether it's green beans or feeding Nimo constantly you two have a problem at dinner." " Constantly?" " Yeah." "How about drinks?" "Mom says you can't mix drinks." "The mixes he makes is not a good drink." "Let's not get into the drinks thing now." "What are you talking about?" "I take the juice from the pears mix it with Coca-Cola." "It's a good drink." "Oh, please." "You're going to make me sick with this." "Sam, I said don't feed the dog from the table." "Oh, my God." "We're thinking of keeping the store open a couple nights until 9." "Do you have to?" "If we want to stay competitive." "The other shops stay open later." "He's gonna choke to death." "One night we look under the table, the dog will be dead." "I spoke to Izzy about the family meeting that's supposed to be here." "Some of the brothers feel it's too far to go." "Too far?" "How far can it be?" "They get on Rogers over the Liberty Heights." "We know how to go." "Why Rogers?" "You take Greenspring." "There's no light." "It's a bottleneck." " It's not." " It is." "It's not!" "It's a bottleneck." "I say you take Rogers." "To go to Rogers, he's got to go up Park Circle." "Why Rogers?" "The question is not which way they'll come." "They think it is too far." "What do you want?" "You want me to tell them to move out?" "I don't want you to tell them to move out." "I just was expressing a feeling that maybe, you know you can get them their own place and chip in with the rent." "Their own place?" "Where would the money come from?" "I don't have the money yet." "They don't either." "I know, I just feel there's always somebody watching over me." "Every time I do something, I feel like somebody's thinking that they could do it better." "What?" "I don't know." "I put something down, I like how it looks on the coffee table I come back and it's moved." "You want me to talk to her?" "I'd like to put something down, and have it there when I return." "Do you want me to talk to her?" "I will." "I'll talk to her again and again, but it doesn't do any good." "You know her." "She's like an enigma." "I feel like I'm still with my mom and dad." "I'd like to feel like this is my home." "Feel like the mom in my own house." "I understand." "I understand that." "I go out and buy what I consider to be an attractive outfit." "I come home, "No, it's too tight here." "The material's not becoming to you." "It looks too heavy for summer." Or whatever it is." "She speaks her mind." "She's got opinions." "I'd like to feel good about what I buy for my house or myself." "Don't let her make you feel bad." "How can I help it?" " Put her in her place." " Right." "You gotta do that sometimes." " I don't know." " You gotta put her in her place." "I just would like to feel like I live in my house." "You do." "You live here." "What do you want from me?" "I don't know what to do." "I know." "I'm just talking." "I got it!" "Hi, Eva." " Hi, Nimo." " Where's your mother?" "She's in the dining room." "Come on, let's play a game." "Got it." "You're not going to believe this." "I got a call." "American Red Cross." "My brother's alive in Europe." "What?" "I can't believe it." "I have to sit down." "I need something to drink." "I ran to get here." "I'll get you some lemonade." "Oh, it's too sweet." "Not too sweet." "My heart." "My heart is running." "So, Ma, what happened?" "Well, I don't know exactly." "He was in a concentration camp." "He lived through the concentration camp." "They found him, but I don't know." "I don't know how he lived through it." "I don't know." "I never saw him." "I heard about him from letters." "When I came to this country, he wasn't born." "And when he was old enough to come he wouldn't leave my father." "No, he was blind and dying." "And then the war started." "So where is your brother now?" "I don't know." "With refugees." "But now they found me they make plans for him to come to America." "It's 4-1." "And after the concentration camp he's put in a camp with the displaced people." "Now he says he has a sister in Baltimore but he can't remember my married name:" "Krichinsky." "Doesn't have his letters anymore." "They were all destroyed." "He knows the name's Russian, not Polish." "It's a Y, not an I, but he can't remember the name." "I cannot imagine having a brother I've never seen." "Never seen." "Thought was dead." "All right, Michael." "Give me your best shot." "That's an out." "Oh, my God." "Bees!" "Bees!" "Bees!" "Bees!" "Bees!" "Stand still!" "You're supposed to stand still!" "Run, run!" "Bees!" "Bees!" "Bees!" "Oh, my God!" "Get the hose!" "Run, Michael!" "Put your hands over your eyes." "Don't let them get in your eyes." "He's not allergic to the bees, so there's no real problem." "He's just gonna be a little uncomfortable for a while." "I hate the suburbs." "I'm surprised your mother-in-law didn't come along with you today." "She refuses to get in the car with me." "She's never been in a car when a woman drives." "One, two, three." "Jump!" "The election of a new family-circle president will take place three weeks from Sunday." "So we have to make some serious decision-making." "It's like a furnace in here." "Like a furnace." "That concludes old business." "I make a proposal that we take the next meeting at Frock's Farm." " Very good idea." " I'm with you." "A very good idea." "It's cooler." "We won't suffocate to death." "This is a family-circle meeting, not an outing." "Why not combine the two when it's this hot?" "An outing and a family-circle meeting." "An outing is an outing, and a family circle is a family circle." "I'm dripping." "Let's finish the meeting and that'll be it." "And that will be it." "That will be it." "When Schulman was alive, we sat in the meeting." "The meeting finished." "Then we left." "It was hot, it was cold, it was snow it was rain." "We sat and we had a meeting." "If we don't want to meet because it's hot, let's not meet." " Do not meet." " No one said not to meet." "Nobody said not to meet." "It's a furnace." "We need to decide how much money we'll give to our charity this year." "This is a heat wave." "It was hotter at Avalon." "We had a meeting and it was so hot you couldn't stand up." "What are you talking about?" "Aunt Molly fainted." "Still, we had the meeting." "Last year we gave-- Just let me have a look." "We gave to six charities." "An elephant just went by the window." "What?" "It's the heat." "You're hallucinating." "Then the heat made me see another elephant, because another is going by." "The circus!" "The circus!" "The circus!" "The circus!" "Oh, look at this!" "They must be going through here to get to the tent site." " What tent?" " They have a tent at Edmondson Avenue." "Wow, look at the circus, Mom!" "The circus is coming." "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Do you got everything?" "You'll waste the battery." " And remember, you stay with Sam." " Okay." "Don't wander off around the reservoir without him, understand?" "We know." "We know." "Later, I'll make you breakfast." "In the old days, it used to be hotter in the summertime." "Did I tell you my father never drank water in America?" "The whole time he was alive, he never drank water in America." "What did he drink?" "Coca-Cola?" "Whiskey." "If he didn't drink whiskey, mineral water." "But he never drank from the faucet." "Why?" "He had the old ways." "You see, we drank from a well." "Spring water in the old country." "And he said:" ""Water that comes through a pipe under the city can't be good water." "Can't be good for you."" "He was a very stubborn man." "And we never could convince him otherwise." "Your grandmother is a stubborn woman." "We know." "We know." "Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael." "I came to America in 1914." "And when I came to Baltimore it was the most beautiful place you ever saw." "We know that story, Sam." "Can you tell us another one?" "Yeah, wait, wait, wait a minute." "Wait a minute." "Did I tell you I used to own a nightclub?" "You used to own a nightclub?" "Yeah, yeah." "Not a big nightclub." "A small place on lower Pennsylvania Avenue." "It had a bar and a dance floor." "You went off and got married?" "You see, we didn't plan to get married." "They decided to get married." "We were taking them to get married." "We were getting married." "Jules has the car, so he gave us a ride." "Because you needed a ride, my son is married?" "No, well, we sort of got caught up in the moment." "Yes, it was very..." "Well, you know." "We were gonna marry sooner or later." " Sooner or later?" " We got a deal too." "The justice of the peace charges $10 a couple." "I got him down to $15 for the whole thing." "It's wonderful." "A bargain wedding." "You save $5 by getting married." "I am so pleased." "Come on, Dad." "Be happy for us." "Do you love my boy?" "Yes, I do, very much." "Good." "Because that's one young man that's crazy about you." "Kiss the bride." "Let me see you kiss the bride." "Izzy, kiss your bride." "That's it, that's it, that's it!" "Dad, if it's all right, she's gonna sleep at the house tonight." "Where is that marriage certificate?" "Let me see it." " Let me see it." " Here." "I don't want any hanky-panky going on in my house." "Who's this?" "Who's this Jules Kaye here?" "That's me, Dad." "I changed my name." "Me too." "I changed mine to Kirk." "It's easier to say than Krichinsky." "Kirk." "It's better." "Who said names are supposed to be easy to say?" "What are you, a candy bar?" "You got a name:" "Krichinsky." "It's a name." "Kaye." "Kirk." "Two cousins, different names." "How can this be a family when the father is called Sam Krichinsky his son is called Jules Kaye and his first cousin is Izzy Kirk." "This is a family, goddamn it!" "Krichinsky is the name of the family!" "It's not Kaye!" "It's not Kirk!" "It's Krichinsky!" "It's Krichinsky." "We argued and argued." "Then the way things are in life, you stop arguing." "It's your life." "You're gonna have to live it." "What a celebration." "And we celebrated that night." "It wasn't your ordinary family celebration." "It was the best wedding I ever went to." "It's nice." "It's easy to sleep when you have a breeze." "It's easy to sleep." "I'm getting nervous." "Too much expansion." "We bought out that store and that one." "We got all this merchandise." "Nothing's ready, we got no customers." "Money's going out, not coming in." " I'm getting a little nervous." " You're not the only one." "I've talked to some of the people around here in the marketplace and I'm not sure anyone knows what this "discount" is." "I don't know whether it means anything to anybody." "It's not like we invented the word." "I didn't say that, but it doesn't mean anything." "What are you saying?" "I'm saying we need to be more clear." " We need a catchy slogan or something." " More clear than discount?" "More clear than discount." "Something that" "All right." "You want a catchy slogan?" "How about:" ""Guaranteed lowest prices in town."" "That's good." "A little higher!" "Higher!" "Higher!" "A little higher!" "What if someone buys and it's cheaper?" "Cheaper than they guaranteed is the lower price." "What do you do then?" "Jules, what happens if somebody buys cheaper than what you sell?" "Good question." "What if they get it cheaper someplace else since we guarantee the lowest prices in town?" "Find somewhere else cheaper, then we'll match it at that price." "That's good." "We'll match it!" "They'll match it?" "What does that mean?" "Whatever the guy buys somewhere else he can get here for the same price." "What the hell does he need to do that for?" "He bought it, and then they guarantee they'll give him the same price." "That makes no sense." "He's gotta take it back to the shop..." " ...and then get it here?" " Why wouldn't that make sense?" " They'd guarantee it?" " Yes." "They'd guarantee it." "Maybe make it lower." "How much lower?" "Because if it's a nickel lower I won't take it all the way back to get it here for a nickel less." "A little higher!" "Can we just put up the sign?" "Is it me, or does it look a little low?" "No, it's still low." "It's low." "I gotta go to the doctor's, then pick up the kids from the movie around 4." " The movies?" " Yeah." "From 10 in the morning to 4?" "What do they watch, 9 movies?" "You're going to the doctor's?" "Just a checkup." "What time will you be home?" "I'll be home probably around 7." "Can you see if my mother wants to go back with you?" "Please?" "What are they doing?" "They're arguing again." "Arguing again." "You want to ride back with me?" "With you?" "Yeah." "No, I think it's still too soon." " I've been driving for six months." " No, still too soon." "You gotta go all the way uptown." "Lot of turns to make." "It's too soon." "You'll have to wait till 7:00." "That's when Jules is going home." "I'll take a streetcar." "It's on tracks." "You take the 32 and you're there." "All right." "Fine." "Higher!" " I cannot believe your mother." " She's not going with you?" "No, I haven't been driving long enough for her." "What's that?" "I wonder how long it'll be until we get our own rocket suits." "It'll be great." "We'll be able to rocket to school and rocket back home." "It will be great." "I'd love to see my grandmother rocketing to the store to get bread." "Go, Rocket Man!" "Yeah!" "Hi, will you fill her up?" "I'm going to get my kids." " Sure." " I'll be right back." "Oh, I can't see." "It's because you've been sitting in a dark movie theater all afternoon." "I can't believe this." "Wait a minute." "Wait." "What are you saying?" "That it's my fault?" "I'm not saying it's your fault." "You say it like it's my fault that the streetcar smashed my car." "I'm not saying it's your fault." "No, you took the car and it got hit." " And I could have been sitting in it." " You don't understand." "You make it sound as if I'm responsible, as if it's my fault." "I've been in this country 40 years." "I've never seen a streetcar jump the track and hit a car." "Am I crazy, or does it sound like it's my fault?" "You're being sensitive." "She's not blaming you." " You're not blaming her, are you?" " No, no, I'm not blaming her." "What I'm saying is, they should get rid of the streetcars." "They got buses." "Why do they need streetcars?" "The tracks are too slippery." "I don't even like Sam to drive in the rain." "The tracks is dangerous." "When it gets wet, it gets too slippery." "Do you know anyone whose car got hit by a streetcar off its tracks?" "It's a first." "To think I could've been sitting in that car." "Thank God I didn't get into that machine." "I cannot believe this conversation." "Can we put the streetcar talk to rest?" "We're lucky it was nothing serious." "That's the end of it." "You should've seen it, Dad." "It was just like the cliffhangers." "Michael!" " Ellen Ferguson." " What?" "Ellen Ferguson's car got hit by a streetcar." "It wasn't a streetcar." "It was a train." "Off of Saratoga." "Freight train." "It wasn't a streetcar." " It wasn't a streetcar?" " It was a train." "Do you know where my coat is?" "In the back closet." "It was too crowded." "Never has there been a streetcar jumped its tracks." "Now, a train has jumped its tracks, but never a streetcar." "I circulated over 10,000 fliers for the opening of the new store, Dad." "I never believed in fliers." "If people don't pay for something, they won't bother reading it." "The newspaper you pay for, then you read an ad." "Let's hope you're wrong, because we can't afford newspaper ads." "You can gamble, you're young." "You make mistakes, you can always start again." "See what Solomon did." "He could have stayed in the shoe business but he gambled." "Today, he's got" "One of Baltimore's biggest department stores." " That is true." " I can't find the coat." "Oh, God." "I sent it to the cleaners." "Dad, where's the keys to your car?" "Here." "You ready, hon?" "I'm just putting on my coat." " Michael, be good." " I will." "Don't be late." "And it's true with Solomon." "I'm about this far away from losing my mind." "Thank you." "Want pictures here?" "Pictures?" "Pictures?" "Pictures?" " Pictures?" " No, thank you." "Pictures here?" "All right." "Pictures here?" "Can I get a picture?" "All right." "Come on." "Everybody smile." "Don't laugh." "I'm not laughing." "Yes, you are." "I can see it." "Miss?" "Miss?" "Let's do it again." " What do you want?" " My eyes weren't open." "They were fine." "What's your problem?" "I'm getting nervous." "You?" "You getting nervous?" "He makes me nervous." "We're back to the business again." "He started it." " What?" " No, no, no." "Maybe the customers won't show." "We're expanding." "We're getting in over" " You getting this?" "It was a genuine concern, and it remains a genuine concern." "Genuine concern?" "That I like." "Genuine concern." "Very nice phrase." "I have to admit, he tends to be on the conservative side." "If this expansion doesn't go over we're out of the suburbs and back into row houses, huh?" "That's a genuine concern." "We'll toast to genuine concerns." "It's been acknowledged." "No, let's toast to the suburbs, shall we?" "Better." "Honey, don't count." "Just..." "Am I doing good?" " You're doing wonderful." " Thank you." "Who would've thought that this bargain marriage would have lasted this long?" "You know, I didn't get a chance to tell you before, but..." "But what?" " What?" " I'm pregnant." "You're what?" "I am pregnant." "I'm pregnant." " You're kidding?" " No, I am not kidding." "You have great news and you wait until now to tell me?" "I would've told you sooner, but the streetcar discussion got in the way." "It didn't seem like the proper time to get in the fact that I'm pregnant again." "Let's face it, the streetcar story was all-consuming." "Honey, this is great news." "Let's do that promenade thing." "Please." "It's bad enough over there." "What is this?" "What is this?" "There's a lot of people for something." "This is us." "This is for us!" " Discount is here." " Oh, this is good." " Look at this!" " This is good." "Don't go anywhere, we're coming right out!" "But I don't even know what he looks like." "Where are the people who know where the people are?" "Simka." "Simkala!" "Gittle, welcome, welcome." "I don't know exactly what they were saying." "I couldn't tell if they met in the concentration camp." "It couldn't be that, right?" "Must have been the refugee camp." "I don't think she was in a concentration camp." "What I got was that her husband died in the war." "No, I didn't get that." "She would not have had that child in a concentration camp." "I think he met her in the refugee camp." "To think a woman could survive a concentration camp with a child." "Oh, my God." "It gives me the chills." "I don't think she was in a concentration camp." "I got that they met in a refugee camp, that her husband died." "But the refugee camp was recently and the kid is like six, so..." "No." "We'll have to ask later." "See, there's nothing else to do with it." "It's done." "That's the problem with model planes." "There's nothing to do but look at them." "It doesn't fly." "It'll never fly." "We could throw it off a building and watch it crash." "How about a cliffhanger?" "Now that's an idea." "Boom!" "Another chapter!" "Oh, my God!" "Oh, my God!" "What's happening?" "What are you doing?" "Are you crazy?" "You'll burn the house!" "You've got the wing on your foot!" "Fire in the house will burn the house to the ground." "It was just a cliffhanger." "The pilgrims started it, whoever they were." "We all have to give thanks." "We kill a turkey and everybody says thank you." "It's a holiday." "We never have turkey the rest of the year, but now we have to eat it." "It's a funny holiday, if you ask me." "It makes no sense." " Are we going to eat?" " Gabriel should be here any minute." "That man will be late for his own funeral." "Dad?" "Dad, why don't we eat?" "Yeah, we're hungry!" " I'm hungry." " We want to eat." "No, no, no." "We should wait for Gabriel." "Wait for Gabriel." "Every year we go through the same thing." "We can't cut the turkey because of Gabriel." "Jules cut the turkey!" " I made the mold this time." " It's lovely." " I hate when food touches." " It all ends up in the same place." "I hate that!" "I hate when it touches!" "Michael." "Sorry we're late." "Gabriel." "You started without me?" "You cut the turkey without me?" "Come on, we leave." "They start without us, we go." "Every year you're late." "We were hungry, the kids wanted to eat." "We couldn't wait." "Your own flesh and blood, and you couldn't wait?" "You cut the turkey!" "That's it!" "That's the last time we come for Thanksgiving!" "Gabriel, come here, for God's sake." "Gabriel!" "Gabriel!" " Come back!" " Such a lunatic." "It's ridiculous." "The same thing every year." "We wait for him, he shows up late, then we cut the turkey." "You cut the turkey!" "It took us hours to get here." "You live miles from nowhere." "It's too far, for God's sake." "Too far for relatives." "Your new relatives." "You have relatives that live near you who you'll wait for." "Gabriel, for God's sake, let's not make an issue out of the turkey." "That's what happens when you get to be wealthy." "Your son's wealthy so you don't wait for your brother to cut the turkey." "To hell with you!" "To hell with me?" "Jules making a good living has nothing to do with the turkey." "Nothing!" "When we lived in Avalon, nobody ate." "You wait for everybody before you eat much less cut the turkey without a brother." "You move to the suburbs and you think it doesn't matter anymore." "The young ones are hungry." "They make a commotion." "You want to stand on ceremony with the family?" "There's always young ones that are hungry that carry on and want to eat." "They got to wait till every relative is there before the turkey's cut." "I've said enough!" "What's wrong?" "Put all kitchen appliances here." "Washing machines, refrigerators, a whole department." "We got one entire floor just for bedroom sets, sleepers, sofas." "It's been no time since we expanded the other place." " Where's the money coming from?" " The bank is financing us." "The bank?" "They're giving us the money." "This is the time." "You know, you open a place like this, no one can compete with us." "We got a chance, we might as well run with it." "Discount department store." " Right." " This place is enormous." "What's the worst that can happen?" "It goes under." "It goes under?" "Right." "How much money you got right now?" "You got nothing." "You got nothing." "I got nothing because every time I make a dollar, you want to expand." "God forbid the place goes under." "You can't have less than nothing." "It's not a lot." "What are we?" "We're a discount warehouse." "There's nothing like it." "No frills, no fixtures." "No one's ever done this." "I'll have to invent new ways to count money." "We're gonna tear up this town." "Yeah?" " All right." "Let's do it." " Yes!" "Let's do it." "A job at McCormick's spice company." "Good, very good." "Good." "We'll have a family-circle meeting." "Get everybody to help you get your own place." "Own place." "That's a good drink." "You'll have your own place." "You'll be an American, like us." "Two eleven and thirteen." "That's the only channels we've got." "Howdy Doody on 11." "That's the channel you want in the afternoon." "Want to try it?" "Two, 11, 13." "Howdy Doody." "Monday through Friday, Captain Video." "That one's great." "Did you ever see Captain Video where you come from?" "Captain Video?" "Captain Video." "Where is Michael?" "He's in the car." "When's Jules coming to the family circle?" "He'll be there." "He said he wanted to take some golf lessons." "Golf?" "He's gonna play golf?" "That's what I said when I heard." "A working person doesn't play golf." "It's for people with feathers and a cap." "Where does he get such crazy ideas?" "Why is it so unusual?" "It's not unusual." "I just never heard of it." "Don't run with the machine." "I'm not running." "I'm going 25 miles an hour." "You're running, you're running!" "The trees are going past too quick." "Okay." "Goodbye, buddy." " Ooh, touching!" " Touching!" "I'm gonna use my Linky." "Beat that." "I don't think we have to chip in for Simka, that's all." "It's part of our tradition." "One brings another over." "We supported them." "We took care of them." "You brought me." "When did we last give percentages of our money?" "How long has it been?" "It's got to have been 25 years." "Belle came over in the late '20s so it wouldn't be 25 years." "Let's see now." "It couldn't be 25 years." "It's close to 25 years." "He came in 1930, then it's close to 25 years and that's it!" "You want to support every Tom, Dick and Harry?" "We're talking about my wife's brother." "Herbie, you talk like an idiot." "Don't call my son an idiot." "He's not an idiot." "Tom, Dick and Harry." "He has never had any sense." "Never had common sense." "Just because Jules has money, you call my Herbie an idiot?" "Come on!" "Nobody's calling anybody an idiot." "He called my son an idiot." "His son makes money, and all of a sudden they get this attitude." "What attitude?" "What are you talking about?" "Living out in the sticks, you don't wait for anybody to cut the turkey." "This is about the goddamn turkey again!" "The goddamn turkey again and again and again." "Yeah, yeah." "The man has a mind like an elephant." "He drove all that time and you eat the dinner before he gets there." "Who ate?" "We didn't eat the dinner, we cut the turkey!" " You ate." " It wasn't how much you ate or you didn't eat." "It was the act." "The disregard for an older brother." "You might as well have stabbed me in the heart." "What's this about here, huh?" "This meeting is about cutting a turkey or is about Simka?" "Let's get back to the issue about how to support Simka and his family." "Another member of the wealthy contingent is speaking." "Uncle Gabriel, we're out there busting our asses to make a living." " Why are you so contemptuous?" " The language." "The language." "The children are outside." "We're not talking about a lot of money for Eva's brother." "Not a lot of money?" "Enough of this." "I'll give Simka the money and put an end to it." "I'm with you, pal." "Good." "Let's move on to the next business." "Next business?" "Next business:" "I resign." "That's the next business." "I resign." "Oh, he resigns!" "I resign!" "I am finished!" "I am finished." "Let's try to settle this." "I'm insulted." "I am not gonna stay where I am not wanted." "He was a lousy president anyway." "I'm not wanted." "Come back, Sam." "We need you, Sam." "We're going." "Get in the car." "Teddy, Mindy, come on." "Teddy, Mindy, come on." "Come on!" "Sam, Sam!" "Come back, for God's sake!" "Let's talk." "Gabriel, let's talk." "Come out!" "You're brothers!" " Is it over already?" " Sam!" "We're going to get Chinese?" " Get in the car." " Where's your car?" "The golf pro dropped Izzy and me off." "Never do I come back." "Never!" "We brought you to this country." "We put you in the paper-hanging business." "And if it wasn't for my say-so, you'd still be in the old country." "You wanted to quit the paper business." "You wanted to own your own club I said, okay." "When the nightclub was over and you wanted back in the business, I said, okay!" "That's got nothing to do with nothing." "Nothing!" "I came to a Thanksgiving dinner at my brother's house." "But you have no respect." "No respect!" "I remember when I brought home the piano for Jules." "It was a beautiful, sunny day." "You should learn how to play." "I don't know." "I don't know?" "I tried to teach your father but he never learned." "Never." "That's a shame." "The baby's going in your bedroom." "Where are you going to go?" "Michael, there comes a time when have to leave your kids." "Your mom and dad need their own place." "But where are you gonna go?" "We'll get a place with Simka, Gittle and Elka." "You mean you won't live here?" "See the seam." "You get a bubble in it." "You use the brush like this and you smooth it out." "Can I try it?" "Here." "It's not important for you to know how to wallpaper because you should never do this in your life." "I don't want you to ever leave." "One way or another, we all have to leave." "On July 4th, the largest discount department store warehouse in the state of Maryland opens its doors." "Hi, I'm Jules Kaye." "And I'm Izzy Kirk." "That's right, Jules, July 4th the day you'll get independence from higher prices when KK expands." "60,000 square feet of discounted merchandise." "And with that guaranteed lowest-price-in-town sticker price..." "That's not right." "Okay." "Cut it." "What?" "Sounded good to me." "You said price twice." "That threw you off." " Price twice." " You said it twice." "Let's reset and do this again." "Lowest-price-guaranteed sticker." "Guaranteed-lowest-price sticker." "This is tough." "We should've got the announcer." "I'm not good at this." " They're too professional." " I'm not good." "You're very good." "We're salesmen." "Who better to sell than salesmen?" "Besides, we can't even afford these spots." "You'll kill me with this." "Every time I turn around, you remind me how broke we are." "Seriously, this TV thing is way beyond the advertising budget." "I told you, nothing will get the message across like that." "You told me, you told me." "You love television." "If what you're saying is true, what are we gonna do?" "Don't worry, all right?" "Just shift some money around." "Take from this area, take it to there." "Creative financing." "Boom-boom-boom." "Everyone does it all the time." "Lowest-guaranteed-price sticker?" "Can I see the card again?" "Can I see that card again?" "Mr. Kaye, you mother's on the phone." " Okay?" " Yeah." "My mother's on the phone?" "My mother's on the phone." "Excuse me." "My mother's on the phone." "His mother's on the phone." "Come on, Jules." "Time's money, huh?" "Hold on a second, Mom." "You won't believe this." "Simka's moving to New Jersey to work on a farm." "A farm?" "How did this happen?" "I don't understand." "With cows?" "One of the people he works with at the spices?" "All right." "All right, Mom." "We're gonna have to talk later, all right?" "Bye." "What was that about?" "A worker at McCormick's has a brother." "He's got a farm in New Jersey." "He made Simka a deal." "He'll be the farm manager." "Or whatever the hell they call it." "It turns out he thinks it's too busy in a big city." "That's something." " She comes to America in 1918." " 1916." "She's got a brother who was born after she left." "He gets caught up in the war, concentration camp." "They finally meet for the first time in 30 years and in less than one year, he decides to move on." "So much for family reunions." "Everybody out." " You got your jacket, Jules?" " Wait up, Teddy." "I hope they show up." "Good luck." "They showed up for the George Washington sale." "It's one thing they show for that it's another on 4th of July with 60,000 feet of merchandise." "All right, boys." "Time to go to work." "I forgot something." "I forgot my model-plane kit." "You think he'll be all right down there all day?" "He's got Teddy to play with." " Don't kick the seat." " I'll see you later." "Come on, Michael." "Hurry." "Big day." "Don't hold them up." " Bye." " Come on, come on." "Take a look at that." "An SE5a." "This will be good to build and burn." "You nervous?" " I'm not." " You're nervous." "All right, I'm nervous." "What happens if we get there and only eight or nine people show?" "You see all this?" "Take a good look." "You won't see it again." " Back to the row houses?" " That's right." "Finally got through to the store." "They say it's a madhouse." "What a relief." "Joe says the fire marshal's there to keep some of the crowd out." "There's more people than they know what to do with." " That's amazing." " They did it!" " Mom" " Just a second." " How are the kids?" " They're fine." "They're playing in the basement, building a model airplane." " Mom, can I" " Just a second." "They could be out here in the sun with the other kids." "Instead they're in a hot basement." "Beats me." "I blame Teddy." "What do you want, sweetie?" "Is it time to go back in the water?" "Ten minutes until you digest." "I think you put too many in there!" "Oh, my God!" "A fire is starting!" "Everything's catching fire!" "Nothing." "I think that's it." "That was close." "Just what we need." "We burn the store down the first day it opens." "That's just what we need." "It don't get much better than this!" "$19,628!" "How do you like that?" "Way to go, brothers!" "You were right." "You were right." "We're rich." "Dad, that sounds horrible." "Mr. Kirk." "You have a telephone call." " What is it?" " I haven't got the call yet." " Where is it?" " You can get it over at the snack bar." " Thank you, sir." " Be right back." "Hello?" "Yeah." "What?" "Jules." "Jules!" " What?" " The new store's on fire." " What?" " It's on fire!" " What happened?" " I don't know." "It's a four-alarm." "Come on!" "Dottie, the store's on fire." "We got to go." "Oh, no." "Don't say anything to anybody." "Ever." "We did it." "We burned the whole store down." "Hey, Michael!" "Come on!" "We're going!" "Remember." "Nothing to nobody." "We're the owners." "It doesn't look good." "What do you mean?" "Can you save it?" "We're trying to contain it." "There's nothing you can do?" "We're doing all we can." "Michael!" "Michael!" "I don't know if he'll go to the store." "I'll go after him." " Will you stay?" " Of course." "Are you sure you two didn't have a fight?" "I hate this thing." "The radio, you put it on the station, it's there." "Here the picture goes this way and that way." "That's it." "You got radio." " Sam!" " Michael is here?" "Michael, what's wrong?" " I did a terrible thing." " Calm down." "No." "I did a terrible thing." " Terrible." "Terrible." " What happened?" "Me and Teddy played with the model airplane and something happened." " I told you not to play with that." " I didn't know." " I knew it." "Now it's happened." " We put it out." " Eva, please." " It was just a little fire." "What are you talking about?" " I burned the store down." " Oh, my God!" "I don't know where he is." "He ran out of the house." "I thought maybe he came down here." "I don't know where he is." " What are you yelling at me for?" " I'm not!" "I'm worried about him!" " What?" " Come on." "I'll be right there." "Call my parents." "Maybe he's there." " I'll go look for him." " Call my parents." "And let me know." "All right?" "I told your mother to have your father come and get you because you had something very important to say." "You'll have to tell him." "How am I going to do that?" "Michael." "Michael." "So, what's all the mystery?" "Michael has something he has to tell you." "Go, Michael." "Daddy it's my fault." "What?" "I burned the store down." "You what?" "Me and Teddy were playing with the model airplane and we finished it and put glue all around the basement and Teddy had some firecrackers and we added those." "We lit it and it caught fire and we thought we put it out, but we didn't, I guess." "Sit down." "How many times have you been told not to play with fire?" " Lots." " A lot." "You think maybe it's time you start to listen?" "Yeah." "Well, I'm glad that you told me." "It's a very brave thing to do." "It's not your fault." "I talked to the fire marshal and the fire started on the fourth floor." "It started on the fourth floor?" "They're not 100 percent sure." "It seems there was some kind of an electrical fire." "It started on the fourth floor?" "Not in the basement?" "You didn't do it, Michael." "Come on, let's go home." " Jules." " Yeah?" "Jules, what about the store?" "It's gone, Dad." "It's all gone." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means we don't have any insurance to cover this." "What are you talking about?" "You took care of that stuff." "What are you talking about?" "You're telling me we don't have any insurance?" "We had it." "I canceled it." "You canceled it?" "!" "There's no insurance for this whole thing?" "How's that possible?" "What the hell did you do?" "I told you when we did the commercials that we didn't have enough money." "You didn't care when I said we had to shift the money around." "Take a little from here, borrow from there." "It's always been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul." "It's like a gamble." "I took from the insurance, figured we'd save while we set up advertising and get this place on its feet." "This is like a fluke." "You know?" "Yeah." "It's a fluke all right." "Things like this don't happen." "What are the odds on this?" "What's it gotta be?" " Something like this?" " Yeah." " It's gotta be a million to one." " Exactly." "So, what will we do?" "Well, file bankruptcy, regroup start over." "We'll lose some distributors." "They won't want to do business with us anymore." "But we'll pick up some new lines." "With a little luck, we'll be back." "No, I think that's it for me." "It's too much of a roller coaster ride for me." "Krichinsky cousins, Kirk and Kaye." "This is the end of the road for me." "What will you do?" "A salesman can always sell." "It's not the product." "It's the salesman." "That's what my father always said." "Sam, don't run with the machine." "I'm not running." "Sam, why don't you speak to Gabriel?" "I never speak to him." "You don't speak to Gabriel, then Nathan won't speak to you because he doesn't like that you don't speak to Gabriel." "We got four brothers and two don't speak." "But Nathan speaks to you when you speak to me." "I can talk to you." "This he can tolerate." "But he won't talk to you unless you speak personally to Gabriel." "Got an indigestion." "You've been having it a lot." "Yeah." "Whatever I eat, it lays on me." "Bombs away!" " Why aren't they at the country club?" " I don't know." "They don't like it there." "They like it better here with us." "They better like the club, because they're getting rid of this." " What are you talking about?" " I was talking to the old man." "He's selling the place." "They want to build homes here." "Homes?" "It's too far for homes." "You got to be a pioneer." "You can't get here with a streetcar." "They can build homes, they can put more streetcar tracks." "Again?" "Indigestion?" "I think I'll take a little walk." "Might help." " Do you boys want to go for a walk?" " Yeah." "Fix me another sandwich, will you?" "You already had two." "This will make three." " You want something, Sam?" " No, no, nothing for me, thanks." " How's she doing today?" " The same." "Every day's the same." "She gets better, she comes out, gets worse, comes back." "In and out." "In and out of the hospital." "Dad, Ann's going to make a Thanksgiving dinner." "I know, I know." "She's been here all day." " You going to come over?" " No, I better stay here." "I already had a bite in the room with your mother." "All right." "If you change your mind." "Hi, Ma." "How you doing?" "Oh, I'm tired." " How's the new job?" " It's good." "I like it." "It's interesting and it's challenging." "I like it." "Selling time." "I never heard of such a thing." "It's not just time." "It's time for television commercials." "Companies buy the time for commercials to sell their products." "I hate commercials." "But I like the one where the cigarette packs dance." "I like that one." "Did you sell them time?" "No, Ma." "That's a shame, because I like that one." "Henry!" "Henry Aldrich!" "Coming, Mother." "We have come here to pay our final respects to the late Eva Krichinsky a woman of valor." "She came to America in 1916." "She married and raised a beautiful family." "Was a devoted wife and a caring mother." "One who was loved and respected by her family and many friends." "She lived a full and happy life." "Gabriel didn't come." "Nathan didn't come." "What happened to Simka?" "He called." "He couldn't get away." "Couldn't get anyone to take care of the farm." "This is not a family." "Not a family." "Dad, come on for some dinner." " What's the matter with your corn?" " I don't like it." "Since when you don't like it?" "I've been making you corn since..." "How was school today, Michael?" "Dad, that's David." "Michael is in college." "It was yesterday I had to go up to the school." "He was in trouble." "Something with "may" and "can."" "With "may" and "can."" "Scientists prove there is no life on Mars as we know it." "He wets the bed." "My dad wets the bed." " You'd like to see Sam Krichinsky?" " Yes, I'm his grandson." "Michael Kaye." " Do you know the way?" " Yeah." " Does my son need one?" " No, he's fine." "In the end, you spend everything you ever saved sell everything you've ever owned just to exist in a place like this." "So are you dating?" "I told you, Sam." "I'm married." " You are married?" " Yes." "And this is my son." "I named him Sam." "You're not supposed to name him after the living." "I know." "You know?" "Carry on the family name." "Carry on." "Couple of years ago, I went to see the house on Avalon." "It was gone." "Not just the house, but the whole neighborhood." "I went to see the ballroom where me and my brother used to play." "The whole place, gone." "Not just that." "But the grocery store where we used to shop, gone." "All gone." "I went to see where Eva lived off Poplar Street." "It isn't there." "Not even the street." "It isn't there." "Not even the street." "And then I went to see the nightclub I used to have." "Thank God it was there because for a minute, I thought I never was." "If I knew things would no longer be here, I would have tried to have remembered better." "I miss you, Sam." "I came to America in 1914." "I came to America in 1914." "Daddy, that man talks funny." "He wasn't born here, Sam." "You mean, he wasn't born in Baltimore?" "No." "He came to America in 1914." "He said it was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen."