That's not my fault!
DODGE : You put him up to it!
HALIE'S VOICE: I never did!
DODGE : You did too! You had some fancy, idiot house-social planned! Time to dress up the corpse for company! Lower the ears a little! Put up a little front! Surprised you didn'ttape a pipe to my mouth while you were at it! That woulda looked nice! Huh? A pipe? Maybe a bowler hat! Maybe a copy of the
Wall Street Journal
casually placed on my lap! A fat labrador retriever at my feet.
HALIE'S VOICE : You always imagine the worst things of people!
DODGE: That's the least of the worst!
HALIE'S VOICE: I don't need to hear it! All day long I hear things like that and I don't need to hear more.
DODGE : You better tell him!
HALIE'S VOICE : You tell him yourself! He's your own son. You should be able to talk to your own son.
DODGE: Not while I'm sleeping! He cut my hair while I was sleeping!
HALIE'S VOICE: Well he won't do it again.
DODGE: There's no guarantee. He's a snake, that one.
HALIE'S VOICE: I promise he won't do it without your consent.
DODGE:
(Afterpause.)
There's no reason for him to even come over here.
HALIE'S VOICE: He feels responsible.
DODGE: For my hair?
HALIE'S VOICE: For your appearance.
DODGE: My appearance is out of his domain! It's even out of mine! In fact, it's disappeared! I'm an invisible man!
HALIE'S VOICE: Don't be ridiculous.
DODGE: He better not try it. That's all I've got to say.
HALIE'S VOICE: Tilden will watch out for you.
DODGE: Tilden won't protect me from Bradley!
HALIE'S VOICE: Tilden's the oldest. He'll protect you.
DODGE: Tilden can't even protect himself!
HALIE'S VOICE: Not so loud! He'll hear you. He's right in the kitchen.
DODGE:
(Yelling off left.)
Tilden!
HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge, what are you trying to do?
DODGE:
(Yelling off left.)
Tilden, get your ass in here!
HALIE'S VOICE: Why do you enjoy stirring things up?
DODGE: I don't enjoy anything!
HALIE'S VOICE: That's a terrible thing to say.
DODGE: Tilden!
HALIE'S VOICE: That's the kind of statement that leads people right to an early grave.
DODGE: Tilden!
HALIE'S VOICE: It's no wonder people have turned their backs on Jesus!
DODGE: TILDEN!!
HALIE'S VOICE: It's no wonder the messengers of God's word are shouting louder now than ever before. Screaming to the four winds.
DODGE: TILDEN!!!! (DODGE
goes into a violent, spasmodic coughing attack as
TILDEN
enters from left, his arms loaded with fresh ears of corn,
TILDEN
is
DODGE
‘s oldest son, late forties, wears heavy construction boots covered with mud, dark green work pants, a plaid shirt, and a faded brown windbreaker. He has a butch haircut, wet from the rain. Something about him is profoundly burned-out and displaced. He stops center with the ears of corn in his arms and just stares at
DODGE
until he slowly finishes his coughing attack,
DODGE
looks up at him slowly,
DODGE
stares at the corn. Long pause as they watch each other.)
HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge, if you don't take that pill nobody's going to force you. Least of all me. There's no honor in self-destruction. No honor at all.
(The two men ignore the voice)
DODGE:
(To
TILDEN.) Where'd you get that?
TILDEN: Picked it.
DODGE : You picked all that? (TILDEN
nods.)
You expecting company?
TILDEN: NO.
DODGE: Where'd you pick it from?
TILDEN: Right out back.
DODGE: Out back where?!
TILDEN: Right out in back.
DODGE: There's nothing out there—in back.
TILDEN: There's corn.
DODGE: There hasn't been corn out there since about nineteen thirty-five! That's the last time I planted corn out there!
TILDEN: It's out there now.
DODGE:
(Yelling at stairs.)
Halie!
HALIE'S VOICE: Yes, dear! Have you come to your senses?
DODGE: Tilden's brought a whole bunch of sweet corn in here! There's no corn out back, is there?
TILDEN:
(To
HIMSELF.) There's tons of corn.
HALIE'S VOICE: Not that I know of!
DODGE: That's what I thought.
HALIE'S VOICE: Not since about nineteen thirty-five!
DODGE:
(To
tilden.) That's right. Nineteen
DODGE : You put him up to it!
HALIE'S VOICE: I never did!
DODGE : You did too! You had some fancy, idiot house-social planned! Time to dress up the corpse for company! Lower the ears a little! Put up a little front! Surprised you didn'ttape a pipe to my mouth while you were at it! That woulda looked nice! Huh? A pipe? Maybe a bowler hat! Maybe a copy of the
Wall Street Journal
casually placed on my lap! A fat labrador retriever at my feet.
HALIE'S VOICE : You always imagine the worst things of people!
DODGE: That's the least of the worst!
HALIE'S VOICE: I don't need to hear it! All day long I hear things like that and I don't need to hear more.
DODGE : You better tell him!
HALIE'S VOICE : You tell him yourself! He's your own son. You should be able to talk to your own son.
DODGE: Not while I'm sleeping! He cut my hair while I was sleeping!
HALIE'S VOICE: Well he won't do it again.
DODGE: There's no guarantee. He's a snake, that one.
HALIE'S VOICE: I promise he won't do it without your consent.
DODGE:
(Afterpause.)
There's no reason for him to even come over here.
HALIE'S VOICE: He feels responsible.
DODGE: For my hair?
HALIE'S VOICE: For your appearance.
DODGE: My appearance is out of his domain! It's even out of mine! In fact, it's disappeared! I'm an invisible man!
HALIE'S VOICE: Don't be ridiculous.
DODGE: He better not try it. That's all I've got to say.
HALIE'S VOICE: Tilden will watch out for you.
DODGE: Tilden won't protect me from Bradley!
HALIE'S VOICE: Tilden's the oldest. He'll protect you.
DODGE: Tilden can't even protect himself!
HALIE'S VOICE: Not so loud! He'll hear you. He's right in the kitchen.
DODGE:
(Yelling off left.)
Tilden!
HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge, what are you trying to do?
DODGE:
(Yelling off left.)
Tilden, get your ass in here!
HALIE'S VOICE: Why do you enjoy stirring things up?
DODGE: I don't enjoy anything!
HALIE'S VOICE: That's a terrible thing to say.
DODGE: Tilden!
HALIE'S VOICE: That's the kind of statement that leads people right to an early grave.
DODGE: Tilden!
HALIE'S VOICE: It's no wonder people have turned their backs on Jesus!
DODGE: TILDEN!!
HALIE'S VOICE: It's no wonder the messengers of God's word are shouting louder now than ever before. Screaming to the four winds.
DODGE: TILDEN!!!! (DODGE
goes into a violent, spasmodic coughing attack as
TILDEN
enters from left, his arms loaded with fresh ears of corn,
TILDEN
is
DODGE
‘s oldest son, late forties, wears heavy construction boots covered with mud, dark green work pants, a plaid shirt, and a faded brown windbreaker. He has a butch haircut, wet from the rain. Something about him is profoundly burned-out and displaced. He stops center with the ears of corn in his arms and just stares at
DODGE
until he slowly finishes his coughing attack,
DODGE
looks up at him slowly,
DODGE
stares at the corn. Long pause as they watch each other.)
HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge, if you don't take that pill nobody's going to force you. Least of all me. There's no honor in self-destruction. No honor at all.
(The two men ignore the voice)
DODGE:
(To
TILDEN.) Where'd you get that?
TILDEN: Picked it.
DODGE : You picked all that? (TILDEN
nods.)
You expecting company?
TILDEN: NO.
DODGE: Where'd you pick it from?
TILDEN: Right out back.
DODGE: Out back where?!
TILDEN: Right out in back.
DODGE: There's nothing out there—in back.
TILDEN: There's corn.
DODGE: There hasn't been corn out there since about nineteen thirty-five! That's the last time I planted corn out there!
TILDEN: It's out there now.
DODGE:
(Yelling at stairs.)
Halie!
HALIE'S VOICE: Yes, dear! Have you come to your senses?
DODGE: Tilden's brought a whole bunch of sweet corn in here! There's no corn out back, is there?
TILDEN:
(To
HIMSELF.) There's tons of corn.
HALIE'S VOICE: Not that I know of!
DODGE: That's what I thought.
HALIE'S VOICE: Not since about nineteen thirty-five!
DODGE:
(To
tilden.) That's right. Nineteen
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