" Hi, Emily." " Oh, hi, Howard." "Do you think I should be buried or cremated?" " When?" " When it happens." "I mean, death is something we all have to live with." "Howard, are you trying to tell me something?" "Well, I was making out my will, and I thought I'd jot down a few things while I'm still of sound mind." "Not a moment too soon, Howard." "What are you leaving me and Bob?" "I'm going to leave you the key to my apartment... so you can take back the stuff that's yours." "That is very generous." "However, we would need a moving van." " That's okay." "I'll help you." " You'll be dead." "Oh, yeah." "Well, I'll just carry the light stuff." " Hi, honey." "Hi, Howard." " Hi, Bob." "Hi, Bob." "Do you think I should be buried or cremated?" "Howard, I've always felt you should be bronzed." "No, seriously, Bob." "I mean, wouldn't you like to have your ashes spread all over?" "Maybe after dinner, Howard." "Howard, what are you talking about?" "Howard is making out his will, and he's not leaving us anything." " Let's hope we die first." " Yeah." "That would make it easier on everybody." "Well, I'll see you guys." "Have a nice life, Howard- what's left of it." " Any mail for me?" " Just a couple of bills." "Oh, and you had a kind of funny phone call." "What'd Mr. Carlin want?" "It wasn't Mr. Carlin." "It was somebody called "the Peeper."" "He said he was an old friend of yours." "The Peeper?" "Yeah." "And he referred to you as "the Mooner."" "The Peeper." "That's Cliff Murdock." "He was my roommate in college." "I told you about him." "Is he the one that used to look at the girls' dorm through his binoculars?" "Yeah." "That's why we called him the Peeper." "Anyway, he'll be in Chicago tomorrow." " Tomorrow?" " Mm-hmm." "No kidding." "I haven't seen him for- for 20 years." "Wait till you meet the Peeper." "You will love him." "I'm looking forward to it, Bob." "We'll just keep the drapes closed." "The old Peeper." "What a colorful guy." "Bob, why did they call you "the Mooner?"" "That's kinda hard to remember." "Uh  "The Mooner?"" " Yeah." "See, the reason I ask is... there was this guy in college that we called "the Mooner"." " Oh, yeah?" " What he used to do was... he used to sit in his car and wait for another car to come alongside." " Then he'd roll down the window, and he'd" " Moon Mullins." "Moon Mullins." "That's why I was called, "the Mooner"." " I always loved Moon Mullins-the comic strip." " Oh, Uh-huh." "Yeah, that's right, Emily." "That's why I was called "the Mooner"." " The Moon Mullins comic strip." " Oh." "I believe you, Bob." "What's so funny?" "I'm just thinking about this old convertible I used to have." "May I help you?" "The Peeper is here to see the Mooner." "I beg your pardon?" "The Peeper is here to see the Mooner." "And the blue fish swims in muddy water." "Is, Bob Hartley in?" " I'll tell him you're here." " Thank you." "Hold-One second!" "Bob, there's a guy out here in a lot of trouble." "Where is he?" " Peeper!" " Mooner!" "You son of a gun!" " You haven't changed at all." " And you look great, you old clown." "Son of a gun." "This is too much." " You know who this is?" " Of course." "It's the Peeper." "This is Cliff Murdock." "He was my roommate in school." "Hi." "You must have thought I was crazy." "I'm not authorized to make those judgments." "Well, I am, and he is." "You know what this guy did to me once?" "He filled my closet at school with vegetable soup." " Those were the days, Bob?" " Do you know how Bob retaliated?" "This should be hilarious." "He put one of my socks in the toilet." "Good, Bob." "You know what this guy did to me one time?" "Bob, I'd love to hear it, but, Jerry needs me, you know?" "Jerry, I'll be right there." " You want-You want some coffee?" " No." "No, thanks." "You got any vegetable soup?" " You haven't changed." " Yes, I have, Bob." "I'm a lot more serious now." "So, what brings you to Chicago after all these years?" "A bus." " See?" "You haven't changed." " No, no." "I'm not kidding." "I came here on a bus all the way from Vermont." "Vermont?" "Yeah." "That's where I've been working since 1957." "Working with kids." "I'm with the Montpelier Recreation Department." "Well, that's perfect for you." "You were always a kid at heart." "Yeah, I love kids." "The way I figure it, Bob... the kids of today are the adults of tomorrow." "You're probably right." "I know I am." "That's why I'm here." " I invented this." " What is it?" "It's a combination ballpoint pen, flashlight, key ring, bottle-opener- everything a kid likes." "I got a letter from the Chicago Cereal Company... saying that they might want to put that in their cereal boxes." "Oh, be kinda tough to chew." " No, Bob." "It's a toy." " Oh." "Can you imagine a kid pulling one of those out of a box of Chicago Loops?" "Well, You give me a couple seconds." "No, That's great." "Hey, Bob." "Carol told me the Peeper's here." "Yeah." "Here he is." "Cliff, this is Jerry Robinson." "Got any vegetable soup on you?" "Ha!" "The Mooner told you about that, huh?" "Yeah, he told me all about it." "The Mooner?" " Yeah." " Never told me about that." "Don't tell me you were one of those guys that pulled down their" "Why don't we go have some lunch?" " Sure." " Mooner, huh?" "What, Whatever happened to that chubby girl- used to work in the bookstore- that you dated?" " Marie Fleischer?" " Marie, yeah." "Oh, what a dog." "Was she housebroken?" " Whatever happened to her?" " I've been married to her for 20 years." "Yeah, I always liked Marie." "Wow, this is good." "I don't remember when I had a meal as delicious as this one." "Yes, I do." "Last Thursday." "No." "Seriously, Emily." "It's really delicious." "It's just baked ham, Cliff." "I don't know why it tastes so doggone good." "Maybe it's all that maple syrup you poured on it." "I love my syrup." "That's why I always carry plenty with me." "In Vermont, we put syrup on everything." "Well, out here, we only put it on pancakes." "Pancakes, huh?" "I'll have to try that." "You almost ready for dessert?" "I made an angel food cake." "No." "No, thanks." "No cake for me." "It's a little too sweet." "In that case, I'll just clear the dishes and go make some coffee." "No." "Emily, you let Bob and me clear the table." "We were busboys at the fraternity." "Oh, yeah." " Are you ready?" " Let's go." " One, two..." "Heave!" " No!" "That's what the housemother used to say. "No!"" "Oh." "Oh, we gave her some awful bad times, you know that?" " Well, what Bob did was the worst." " What?" "That poor old lady would be sitting on the front porch in the middle of the afternoon." "Bob would come cruising down the street in his convertible with the top down." "Then he'd stand up on the seat and pull" "Cliff I Why don't- Why don't you get unpacked?" "Oh, yeah." "Hey, I'd better hang up my suit for the interview tomorrow." "You got a- You got a suit rolled up in there?" "Yeah." "I thought a sport coat would be a little too casual." "So." "That's Cliff, huh?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's the old Peeper." " What do you think of him?" " I like him." "I think he's one of the most... colorful guys I've ever met in my life." "You know, one time, he put a cow in a guy's bed." "Why?" " To see his reaction." " What was his reaction?" "He was surprised." "Oh." "You don't think he's very colorful, do you?" "I guess he is in a way." "I mean, who else would roll up his suit in a satchel... or drown a perfectly innocent ham in maple syrup?" "Yeah." "Only Cliff." "He's one of a kind." " You know, Bob" " Hey Bob." "Could I borrow some shoes for tomorrow?" "My good ones are all sticky." "One of my syrup cans leaked." "Yeah, sure." " Maybe some socks." " Whatever you need." " Well, I need shoes and socks." " Okay." "And a suit." "Sure." "Now, Emily, the guy needs a suit." " You have to admit that's colorful." " Honey." "I'm glad Cliff was your friend, and I know you had a lot of laughs." "But, you know, people grow up." "You grew up, and all the friends you have now grew up." "Hi, Bob." "Do you think this is too loud to be cremated in?" "Hey, Carol." "Guess who I ran into in the coffee shop." "The one and only Peeper." "Hi, Carol. ls Bob in?" "Sure, Peep." "Gee, that suit looks familiar." "Yeah." "It's Bob's." "You probably didn't recognize it because Bob buttons it differently." "Oh." "Yeah." "I couldn't wear my own suit... because the legs were stuck together." " Hey, hey, hey." " Hiya', Moon." "How'd it go?" "Did you sell the invention?" "No." "The guy I was supposed to see had to get a haircut." " No kidding." "How'd it go?" " I'm serious." "I didn't see him." "Well, You are gonna see him sometime?" "Yeah, oh, sure." "Sure." "It's just rotten timing... getting here the week he has his haircut." "If you could put up with me for a couple more nights, it would really help." "Oh, sure." "That's no problem." "Oh, good." "Yeah, this way, we'll have a little more time to reminisce." "That's what we need." "Although I think maybe we've done enough reminiscing... about, you know, the mooning thing." "Hey, you remember that show we did for the fraternity-The Gadabouts?" " Yeah." " Remember the "Sonny Boy" number?" "I'm not sure." "I am." "That was one of the high points of my life." "Come on." "Come here." "Sit on my knee." "No, Cliff." "I'd feel- I'd feel silly." "Come on." "Let's try one for the old Gipper." "Come on." "Okay." "For the Gipper." " Are you ready?" " Yeah." "♪ When there are grey skies ♪" "Do-Do you- Do you mind the grey skies?" "♪ I dont mind those grey skies ♪" "What colour do I make those grey skies?" "♪ You make them blue ♪" "What's my name?" "♪ Sunny Boy ♪" "Hey-You guys wanna" "I'm sorry." "I was just... sitting on Cliff's knee." "Hey, it's a free country." "We're right in the middle of our- our old "Sonny Boy" routine." " "Sonny Boy"?" "You mean" " Yeah." "You know, Frank Musso and I used to sing that at the orphanage." "We sang it once on Visitors' Day, and, the next day, Frank was adopted." "I never found another partner." "Well, in that case" "♪ Climb up on my knee, sunny boy ♪" "Really?" "♪ Though you're only three, sunny boy ♪" "Hey-great!" "♪ When there are grey skies ♪" "Do you mind those grey skies?" "♪ I don't mind those grey skies ♪" "What color do we make those grey skies?" "♪ You make them blue ♪" "What's our name?" "♪ Sunny boy ♪" " Oh, boy!" " And then" "Then I used to do my old soft-shoe routine." "And it was great." "Go ahead, Bob." "Excuse me." "The University of Chicago just called and wondered if you'd be available... to speak at their honors seminar." " Yeah, sure." " Wear taps." "Well, there are a couple things I ought to look over." "Look over?" "♫" "Two, three, four." "♫" "♫" "♫" "Emily, have you seen my belt?" "Ask Cliff." "He borrowed it." "That's right." "His broke." " Well, I'll see you later." " You're leaving already?" "I have to take the bus." "Cliff is borrowing the car today." "Remember?" "That's right." "Today's the big day." "He gets to meet the guy at the cereal company." "Bob." "You know, I have heard that every day for a week." "Emily, this is for real." "The barbershops are all closed today." "I'll have him pick you up after school." "Well, I'd rather he picked up some groceries." "Of course, he'd need money for that." "I take that back." "He doesn't need money as long as he has your credit card." "Emily, lighten up." "The guy's a friend of mine." "How long can he stay?" "How long can he live?" "All right, all right." "If his interview falls through today..." "I'll- I'll talk to him." "Thank you, Bob." "Thank you." "I won't say another word about it." "Cliff can keep the car." "I'll take the bus home after work." "Then I'll stop and get groceries." " Oh." "You still want meat loaf?" " Yeah." "Good." "I'll get the syrup." "Cliff, better get a move on." "Traffic is pretty heavy this time of morning." "Be with you in a minute." "You got any deodorant?" " Yeah." "It's in the cabinet." " You're out of toothpaste." " We'll get some." " Get fluoride." "Bob, do you know anything about Jeffers Crematorium over on LaSalle Street?" "Howard, I didn't even know it was on LaSalle Street." "Oh, it's the new one." "The old one on Kedzie burnt down." "Oh." "Can I borrow your vase?" "Howard, aren't you kind of rushing things a little?" "Oh, no, no." "It's not for me." " It's for flowers." " Oh." "Yeah, sure." "Take it." "Howard, could" "Could I ask you, you know, a hypothetical question?" "Sure." "Well, supposing you had this friend, you know?" "He's a real good friend, but he turned into, like, a leech, you know?" "And your wife thought he was a nuisance." "And because you like the guy so much... you didn't want to say anything and hurt his feelings." "No." "Howard, I'm not talking about you." "I'm talking about Cliff." "Oh, yeah." "Cliff-He'll take anything that isn't nailed down." " You want some coffee?" " No, thanks." "Coffee keeps me awake." " Hi, Peep." " Hi, Carol." "Hey, Moon." "How'd the interview go?" "No." "No sale." "And I think I lost your credit card." "Cliff, why don't you go in my office?" "We can have a little talk." "Carol, I don't want any calls." "I don't want any interruptions." "Fine, and I don't want any singing." "Cliff, we can be" "We can be honest with each other, can't we?" " We sure can." " I mean, after all, we've been" "We've been friends for 24 years." "Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" "No." "Maybe this just, you know, isn't gonna work out." "Yeah, I know." "That's why I'm leaving today- on the next bus." "Well, I'm sorry you didn't sell your invention." "Oh, I could've sold it." "The guy offered me $60,000 for it." "$60,000?" "Yeah, but he wanted me to eliminate the bottle-opener part." "I said, "No." "I'm not gonna change something I believe in."" "$60,000?" "I mean, you take away the bottle-opener... it's like meat loaf without syrup on it." "$60,000?" "That's right, but I know kids... and kids wouldn't like it without the bottle-opener." "Some of them might." "Well, I wouldn't, and that's why I'm leaving." "Here." "This is yours." "You might as well take the pants too." "No!" "No, just, just send them to me." "You know, $60,000 is, it's an awful lot of money." "Forget it, Bob." "It just wouldn't be worth it to me." "I mean, it's- it's more than $50,000." "No, I'd be cheating those kids, Bob." "I know kids." "I guess" "I guess I'm still just a kid at heart." "No." "No, you're not." "Not anymore anyway. it" "It took a man to make that kind of decision." "A stupid man." "But a man." "Oh." "Bob, I want you and Emily to have this." "It's genuine maple candy from Vermont." "I know I've been an imposition, and" "Well, it's my way of saying thanks." "Oh, you're welcome, Peep." "So long, Moon." " Say, did I give you candy or snakes?" " Snakes." "I'm sorry." "Try this." "Snakes again?" "I mean, look at this junk- a plastic car with a rubber-band motor." "Kids don't want this." " What's this?" " Milk." " Where's the syrup?" " I hope Cliff took it with him." "You know, I can't believe that you didn't find him colorful." "Okay." "Okay, he was colorful." " You bet he was." " He was a rainbow." "Oh." "Oh, he" "He left something for you." "Oh." "Really?" "What is it?" "It's, um, a surprise from Vermont." " Oh." " Open it." "Isn't that sweet?" "Maple candy" "It didn't jump." "Well, maybe it's not jumping candy." "Guess what, Bob." "You've decided to wear a tuxedo for your cremation." "No." "I decided not to be cremated." "Now, we were really looking forward to that." "I decided to be frozen." "Makes a lot more sense." "Yeah." "Can I borrow your parka?"