I once asked my grandfather if dust is what makes people sneeze,
and he said, "Yes, but it's also what makes us see a sunset."
I don't think a day went by that my grandfather...
didn't say something I knew would stick in my head forever.
On this day, I woke up thinking...
about the day of the La Paloma, as I later named it.
But I could have given that day any number of names.
So many things happened... all in one single day.
Get out of the heat. Get out of the Depression.
Visit the La Paloma, South Philly's first brand-new theater...
since before the Crash.
All newly renovated. New seats.
New carpets. New ushers, ha-ha-ha.
All air cooled.
Twenty-five cents all day 'til 6:00.
Special midnight show tonight only.
Forget the heat. Forget the Depression.
I was almost a teenager. Now I'm almost middle-aged.
Aah ! The day of the La Paloma was actually...
Saturday, August 26, 1933.
I got this habit of remembering exact dates from my grandfather.
There's no milk !
I picked up a lot of his habits.
"Only the bad ones," my mother used to say.
But he didn't have any bad habits.
Those days, nobody did.
Gennaro's up yet ? Hell... there was a depression on.
Tell him I want to see him.
There's no milk.
Here. And Grandpa wants you.
The icebox overflowed.
Didn't I tell you to empty it last night ?
Drink your milk. And don't gulp. Chew.
Ma, how come you never sweep the dust from under my bed ?
Would you go see what your grandfather wants and stop criticizing ?
I'm having change of life.
She's always having change of life, but I never see any difference in her.
You wanna see your quarter ?
I saw it yesterday.
Look. So what ?
I've been seeing it every day since the Crash.
Well, I think today you're finally gonna get it.
You've been thinking today for the last two weeks.
Huh. I come close Sunday night, huh ?
You forget already ?
How Father Edmund come here and put me through the last rites Sunday night ?
I gotta go someplace. Where are you going ?
How do I know 'til I get there ?
Make no mistake, today is gonna be the day.
So, you better think today.
Prove it.
Ah ! How am I gonna prove such a thing ?
Easy. Just give me the quarter.
Well, if I give you the quarter now,
what am I gonna leave you when I really go ?
Huh ? I got nothing to leave you, my only grandson.
- Look, you said it's mine the day you die, right ? - Yeah.
So if today's the day you're gonna die, leave it to me today.
I ain't sure what time today.
Ah ! You're not sure at all, or else you'd give me the quarter.
What's all this talk about quarters ?
Ma, if Grandpa's gonna die today, shouldn't he give me--
God forbid ! What a thing to say !
He said it.
Well, if he dies, send someone to find me.
Pa, why do you talk about such things with the kid, huh ?
Who else can I talk about dying with ?
When I think about it now,
I realize that only a dumb kid can make a deal...
to get a guy's quarter when he dies and get away with it.
As far as I was concerned back then,
there was no way I was getting that quarter anyway,
because there was no way my grandfather was ever gonna leave us.
We gonna do anything today ?
I gotta take my mother to the clinic.
She's gettin' all her teeth pulled out 'cause she's got "pioneer" of the gums.
Geez.
My father says she's gonna look like a potato...
'cause we can't afford false teeth this year.
You have to take her right now ?
This afternoon.
So we still got the whole morning. Wanna go down to church ?
A wedding ? A funeral.
We might have our own funeral in a couple of days.
-My grandfather says it's today. -He gave you the quarter ?
If I had the quarter, would I have to go watch your dumb funerals ?
Wanna go play down the lots, then ?
It's too hot. I wish I could go to the movies.
The church is cool.
This looks more like a wedding.
No, my mother said next-door neighbor's niece is having a funeral here today.
Thanks.
Over here !
** See !
In a way, just being on the streets of South Philly...
was like watching a movie.
Right outside the church, a double feature:
the wedding and the funeral.
But even before it showed up, I could hear that truck in my mind.
"Get out of the heat. Get out of the Depression. Visit the La Paloma."
But hey, who needed it ?
I had a real live movie right there before my eyes.
**
No offense meant, Vottima, but you got the wrong church.
My next-door neighbor, Victor Sculucci, is getting married here today.
Step aside, please.
Kindly allow family of deceased...
to suffer their loss in private.
**
Papa, they got a coffin !
What the hell kind of a joke is this ? Get that thing out of the way.
There must be some mistake. There must be !
Make them take it away. It's a bad sign. It's the evil eye.
Vottima, how could you do this to my daughter...
on the happiest day of my life ?
There must be a confusion of dates.
We booked this church and Father Rubolina...
for 10:00 sharp today !
So did we. Only we got stuck with Father Edmund.
Oh, the evil eye ! I'm gonna be a widow before I'm a wife !
Victor ? Where is my Victor ?
Shut up, Lena ! Ain't you got no respect for the dead ?
Get that damn thing out of here !
What the hell is this ?
Victor, it's a sign ! You're gonna die ! Oh, why me ?
It's your weddin' too ! Hey, don't you know coffins is bad luck at weddings ?
It's not my coffin. All right.
Somebody better start moving it fast !
Come on, we'll take it down to the alley over there.
Get out of the heat. Get out of the Depression.
Visit the La Paloma, South Philly's first...
brand-new movie theater since before the Crash.
All newly renovated.
New seats. New carpets.
New ushers. All air cooled.
Twenty-five cents all day 'til 6:00.
Special midnight show tonight only.
Forget the heat. Forget the Depression.
Come to the La Paloma. Grand opening today.
- Wey, Gennar ! - Hi, Uncle Joe.
Hey, how's Grandpa ? Take that thing to the glue factory where it belongs.
Hey, you want a banana ?
Hey, hey, hey ! Hey, hey !
Get a horse !
Hey, come here. Have a drink.
Hey, you stupid macaroni head.
What time does it open ?
Twelve o'clock.
Oh. Noon ?
Noon !
It must have been the cool water hitting my face,
but I got an idea-- or maybe it was a dream--
but I'd go home and Grandpa would be up walking around, watering the plants,
and my mom would have those two bits for me.
But when I got there, of course, everything was the same.
I wish I'd spent more time with him. I don't know.
I was always running around, wasting time.
I wish once in a while...
I'd taken the time to say, "I love you, Grandpa,"
because... I sure did.
No. No what, Ma ?
No, I don't have any money.
Oh.
Didn't you hear there's a depression on ?
Well, where else could I get a quarter ?
I had to trust the bread and milk again this morning.
It was so embarrassing.
That welfare lady came by last week, and I asked her,
"Is there any way we can get a few more dollars every week,
just so that the check lasts from one week to the next ?"
And she looked at me in the way that she does, and she said,
"Mrs. Spirito, a lot of people are using their checks to play the numbers,
"and a lot of people are taking trains to the shore...
or they're going to the movies."
She said the Board is so upset that they're actually thinking of giving us less money.
I said, "Well, that's terrific; that's just what we need around here: less money.
That way we can all starve to death at once, rather than one at a time."
She laughed. She wasn't a bad lady.
We got anything I could sell ?
Stop scooching me, okay ?
Those old newspapers still down in the cellar ?
I sold 'em.
You think I can get a job ?
How much you think you're gonna get for that much wax ?
I thought you were sleeping.
On the edge of a clothesline.
Grandpa ? Now what ?
How am I gonna tell you what I did with the quarter you left me...
unless you're still alive when I do what I'm gonna do with it ?
When I'm gone, I don't care how you throw your money around.
I don't know, Grandpa. It don't seem right.
What don't ?
That you should die just so I can go to the movies.
Who said I was dyin' just so you could to the movies ?
Nobody said it. Nobody even thought of it.
So, even to go to some big grand opening,
you don't want me to die, huh ?
What's the matter ?
You afraid that when I'm gone, you're not gonna have anybody...
to take the knots out of your shoelaces ?
If I die today,
you go to the movies, you hear ?
No matter what. That's an order.
- My father died. - I heard.
I was two years, four months, one week, three days,
six hours, 12 minutes and seven seconds old when he died.
I made my mom help me figure it out once.
Please, when I'm gone, don't put her to all that trouble again, will ya ?
- Does it hurt ? - What ?
Dying. Ma said some people don't suffer.
I think she meant old people. Do you think you'll suffer ?
Ohhh. I suffered enough without dyin',
maybe I'm gonna die without suffering.
If you don't suffer, can you still go to heaven anyway ?
If there's a heaven, I'm gonna go.
I wonder what it's like.
Hey, whatever you picture it's like is what it's like.
So far, nobody knows... more than that.
I can't picture it.
Well, tonight I send you a postcard.
Hey ! Just now I got a picture of what it's like.
Yeah ? Well, God bless you.
It's beautiful.
Don't worry, Grandpa. You're gonna love it up there.
- Can you see my house ? - Huh ?
The house God is building for me. Is it finished yet ?
You can't really call it a house, Grandpa. It's more like a palace.
Ahh, really ? Wh-What's it made of ?
It's made of gold.
Nah, it's made of bricks.
You see, when you're born...
God starts building a house for you in heaven.
And every time you do a good deed,
He puts a brick on your house.
And when you do a bad deed, He takes a brick off.
So, since I did more good in my life than bad,
I think maybe my house is almost finished.
It is. I see it real good now.
Don't worry, Grandpa. You're gonna love it up there.
Wait. I ain't worried. I think you're worried.
What's the matter ? You're trying to push me in a grave for a lousy quarter, huh ?
No ! No, that's not what I meant.
Honest, Grandpa. Honest to God !
Okay. I know.
Ooh, while you're there, give it a scratcher.
I'm gonna find a way to make a quarter.
Grandpa knew that once I got something in my mind,
I wasn't gonna let it go, and he was right.
But I don't think there was another kid in town...
who knew less about making money than me.
**
* You took the heart I gave you *
* And broke it right in half *
* Now someone's done the same to you *
* Ain't that a laugh
* Well, you're the little devil *
* Who finally got his due
* Brokenhearted heartbreaker
* You had it coming to
* Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah *
* You had it coming to you *
* You took the heart I gave you *
* And broke it right in half *
* Now someone did the same to you *
* Ain't that a laugh Ha-ha.
* Well, you little devil who finally got his due *
* Brokenhearted heart-- *
Hi, Aunt Carmella. You going to my house ?
What are you doing, singing with your hand out ?
That's what I'm doing. God forgive him, he's begging.
I am not ! I'm entertaining.
Entertaining, begging, it's all the same. You're disgracing your mother's name.
I didn't tell no one my mother's name.
In our whole family there was never a beggar.
- How much you make ? - Three cents.
- Give. - No ! - Give !
I have a whole quarter to make before 6:00. Aunt Carmella, gee.
Maybe God'll forgive you if I go light three penny candles for you.
The other ?
God bless you. You're getting so big.
How's your mother ?
The same.
Tell your grandfather-- I know he won't eat it--
but I'm bringing him some homemade macaroni salad tonight after novena.
In a depression, my grandfather used to say,
strong people just lose their jobs.
The others lose their minds.
The day of the La Paloma I found out just how right he was.
No trust today.
I want a job.
I don't want trust. I want a job.
You know, there are guys...
trying to get themselves arrested...
'cause it's better to sleep in jail than in a tin house on some empty lot.
There are kids your age-- your age--
being thrown out by their own mothers and fathers...
and roaming the roads like Typhoid Mary.
I'll work all day for two bits. All day 'til quarter to 6:00.
- In my day, all day meant 'til closing time. - What time do you close ?
Stop talking like it's already settled. Get outta here.
Cash it.
Uh, we don't carry this kind of soap.
It's my welfare check. The heat's got you.
Cash it !
Want to listen to her ? She's got a certificate here.
Says, um, "this certificate and ten cents entitles you...
to a bar of soap and a picture of a movie star, your favorite."
She thinks I'm gonna cash it for a welfare check. It's my welfare check.
I cashed your welfare check last Saturday.
Cash it, please.
It ain't a welfare check !
My kids are starin' out the window from not eating since night before last.
Honest to God, now she's makin' me feel like a bastard...
'cause my kids ate since night before last.
But how am I supposed to cash a movie star soap certificate...
when I can't even give trust ?
Maybe, maybe we can figure something out.
Have your husband come over and talk to me.
- He went for a walk. - When he comes back.
He left four days ago.
You want a job ? Take her home. Make sure she don't go for a walk.
- How's she gonna pay me ? - I'll pay you.
- A quarter ? - A nickel.
- A dime. - A nickel.
Where do you live ?
They're staring out the window.
Yeah, but which street's the window on ?
Hey, hey ! Let her go !
Let her go.
She'll go home now.
And some night she'll wake up crying...
'cause she stole ten cents worth of potatoes.
Just this morning this-- this fat lady in a--
in a red dress come by, stole a bag of rice.
I let her get away with it.
I can't stand to see the fat ladies go hungry.
Keep it, you dumb bastard.
Could've been a lot worse, Mr. Zavattoni. A lot worse.
Let me see. Raise your head a little bit there.
Okay, that's nice.
You know, it's one thing...
you tell your daughter you fell over from the heat.
But you and I, we know differently, huh ? Yeah. Let me get up.
Why ? Huh ? Why ?
Because I don't like lying on the ground here...
where God knows what cats did what.
I should've put you in the hospital a week ago.
Let me get in my chair. Come on.
Just stay still. I'm not finished with you yet, Mr. Zavattoni.
I'm not finished !
Take a deep breath and don't talk.
What happened to you ? You've become such a pain in the ass.
Take a deep breath. Another one. That's it.
Now he comes when nobody needs him.
Grandpa.
Gennarino. I almost made it this time.
Come on, help me-- help me in my chair.
Let him stay there. We're gonna send a stretcher. Take him upstairs to bed.
No. No. Mr. Zavattoni, you're like a mule.
There ain't nothin' in bed for me.
Just like a mule, huh ? You don't wanna listen.
All right. Okay. There. Sit.
I'm gonna die outside where God can see me.
Don't talk to me about hospitals. What hospital ?
Me, who come over on the same boat with your uncle.
Oh, don't start. You know the kind of man he was.
You think I'm nuts ? Go get my hat.
Gennar, Gennar.
Gennarino.
You know what I saw when I was laying there ?
You know what I saw ? I saw heaven.
Honest ? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
I was no more than half a block away.
And you know what it looked like ?
It looked... just like...
the new... La Paloma.
Hear him laughing out there ? A man in his condition.
How could a man like that obey a man like me ?
Maybe you could make him listen. I can't make him do anything.
What do you mean by "a man in his condition" ?
He's gonna be all right, isn't he ?
Just keep him in bed.
And that's all ?
That's all.
Oh, so we gotta pay doctors nowadays...
to tell us to put each other in bed ?
Can't you give him some medicine just for show ?
You know, Dr. Bruna, you could give him medicine,
and I would make sure that he took it.
I would. And then maybe it would do some good.
But it never does. No, but maybe it would do some good.
The main thing is, make sure he stays in bed, hmm ?
Oh, but you know, it has to be pills...
'cause he won't take the syrup.
I just don't know.
He said he saw heaven.
I was kidding when I said it this morning.
But I think he really saw it.
Why he isn't in it is what I don't understand.
Put these where your mother will find them, okay ?
You want me to try ? No, I can do it.
There. You got a lot of other houses to go after here ?
A lot of people are dying.
Suppose from now 'til a quarter to 6:00...
I can carry your bag for you wherever you go ?
Will you give me 20 cents for it ?
I can carry my own bag.
In this heat ? I need 20 cents, that's all.
With a face like that, so full of the world, you don't need anything.
But I do. Honest to God ! Please ! Don't !
Shhh.
Luisa, he has the pillow here.
Ma ! Ma !
Hey, what is that ? Hey, what, are you crazy ? There are people sitting here.
My grandson is so rich that he throw away nickels.
That kid needs a physic.
He's all right.
Oh, Gennaro. I'm so sorry, Gennaro. For what ?
Well, I can't afford a helper. None of my patients hit the numbers lately.
Ahh.
Well, maybe I can afford a dime, though,
if you're willing to do a little dirty work to earn it.
I'll do anything.
Oh, don't say that. Not to anyone. Not for any amount of money.
Then tell me what you want me to do.
The heater in my cellar is full of last winter's ashes. You know where my house is ?
- The same as your office. - The door's open.
But climb through the cellar window so you don't bother my wife.
You'll see the baskets. Line the baskets with newspapers before you put the ashes in.
Then leave them under the window so I can put them out for the trash man on Wednesday.
Huh ? You understand ?
Oh. You want your dime.
There it is.
Some of the boys didn't like Dr. Bruna.
They said he was strange.
Until that day, I didn't know what they meant by that.
Mrs. Bruna ?
Dr. Bruna gave me a dime to come empty the ashes.
- Who are you ? - Gennaro.
Gennaro. That's a strong name.
Is it your first or your last ?
- First. My last name's Spirito. - Spirit !
- Huh ? - Don't you speak Italian ?
Only with my grandfather when he's drunk.
You are a spirit.
Yeah, well... I gotta hurry.
You better go upstairs. These ashes make dust.
It gets up your nose, and when you blow, the handkerchief gets black.
He used to hire them a little older...
to do these little things for him.
I'm old enough. I'm 12.
Is 12 old enough ?
Look, uh... I really gotta hurry.
So, if it's all right with you--
Aren't you afraid of getting blisters on your hands ?
I got strong hands. Strong, yes, but not beautiful.
I'm a boy. What do you expect ?
Have you ever noticed Dr. Bruna's hands ?
He has the most beautiful hands in the world.
Yeah. I heard he's a good doctor.
They've never touched me, those beautiful hands.
Not once. Not anywhere.
Maybe you oughta get pneumonia or something. Then he'd have to.
I better get started if I want to make the money on time.
Six o'clock the price goes up.
Not touching me, that wasn't the cruelest part, Spirit.
The cruelest part was telling me why.
He never should have confessed a thing like that.
A sickness like that.
And after I empty the ashes, I still need another dime.
His dime makes 15 cents.
You need a dime ?
I have a dime upstairs on my bureau.
Would you like me to give it to you ?
For doing what ?
Get out of here. Get out of here, please.
I can't. I gotta empty the ashes.
He already paid me.
No !
Don't go. Come upstairs with me. Please.
Geez, Tullio, you burn me up.
Have you ever played with girls ?
They're too bossy.
No, I mean play.
Oh. Well, did you ?
Yeah. More than just looking ?
No. Just looking. Why is this on your mind all of a sudden ?
I was wondering what you'd do if somebody said she'd give you a dime.
For what ? You know.
She said she'd give you a dime ?
Look, a sin's a sin whether you get paid for it or not.
Who's gonna know ? Yeah. How 'bout when I go to confession on Saturday ?
So let her make the confession.
I'm sure the same sin don't have to be confessed twice.
Geez, Tullio. I don't even know what I'd be supposed to do.
You want me to come with you, right ? Will you ?
A lady ? Yeah.
Like how old ? A lady, that's how old.
Somebody's mother ? She ain't got any kids.
Her husband didn't want to hurt his hands.
What you wanna keep talking about this for ?
She was just teasing me to see how bad I wanted that other dime.
If I did go with you-- Yeah ?
Wouldn't we have to go yerkies on the dime ? I need a dime, not a nickel.
I go yerkies on the sin, I go yerkies on the dime. What was that for ?
I don't know. Something left over from last summer.
I'll go yerkies ! Gennaro, wait !
Come on !
Why can't we just-- Come on !
Call her.
We'll empty the ashes first. I didn't say I'd--
Only so we'll make some noise, so she'll hear and come down.
You really want to make sure God sees it's her sin, don't you ?
I'm starting to feel sorry I let you come, Tullio. Let me come ?
Go put the light on on the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
Come with me.
Oh, fa !
Ohhhhh !
Hush up. I'll be right with you.
Hey ! Hey !
I didn't want to tell my grandfather...
because of his weak heart, but my mother was out.
He never blinked.
He made me feel safe, like I was in the confessional box. Come here.
When I was finished, he said that what had happened was not my fault.
He said it over and over and over.
You heard what I told Grandpa ?
Yeah.
Honest, Mom, I was only gonna empty the ashes.
No, I wasn't.
You go back to sleep.
I'll go downstairs and tell Grandpa you're all right.
Ma, has Grandpa got my sneakers again ?
What's the matter, Ma ?
All morning he sits in that sun, every day.
You'd think his face would get a little sunburn, a little color.
When you see him in the shade, you see his face is even whiter than it was yesterday.
It's like the sun passed by without even noticing him.
What kind of world is it when someone you love...
can sit in the sun and not get a little color in his cheeks ?
Ma ?
God, I cashed his insurance policy last month.
Yeah ?
No.
What's that supposed to mean, Ma ?
It means I don't have a quarter left to give you.
I don't want a quarter. Yes, you do.
Yeah, yeah. For once you're wrong.
I'm not wrong.
You want to go to the movies, and you don't care how you get there.
And you don't care about being broke and crazy ladies scaring a couple of babies.
You just get it in your head you want something,
and if the world's having a nervous breakdown, you don't even know about it.
All you know is, I want, I want, I want.
It ain't your heartache, and nobody's got it to give you.
Hand me a dish rag.
Can't you get mad without crying ?
You're the one who should be crying !
What do you mean, you don't want a quarter ?
Why ? Because you can't have it ?
I could cry the rest of my life over something like that.
I've never heard my mother talk like this.
Now I believe you're having change of life.
Get over here.
Do you know what I'm saying to you ? No.
I'm saying, I don't have a quarter, you know ?
So I can't give it to you. But you, honey, you want it.
Says who ? Says your mother, that's who.
Hah ! That's where you're so smart !
Now get !
And I'm not smart.
Even your father never said I was smart.
And if I was, he would've said it, because--
because he never missed a thing.
Honey, will you get me a glass of water, please ?
You know, after we buried him,
for weeks I used to sit and cry.
Not making any noise. I would just sit and cry like a deaf and dumb girl.
No noise. And they'd say...
"You got a kid to raise; you snap out of it."
And I'd say, "I can't help it. I want my husband."
Whoo, I want him to walk in that door, and, you know--
And I used to have this dream.
And in the dream, he'd walk in the house...
and he'd see me sitting there all in black, crying like an idiot.
And he'd say, "Hey, what are you crying about ? I'm not dead.
It was all a big joke. I was down in Atlantic City visiting my rich paisans."
And we'd laugh, we'd laugh and... God.
I wanted that dream to be true.
God, how I wanted.
But little by little, you know, piano piano,
they got me sensible again and they showed me...
that it's a waste of time to want what's impossible.
Maybe that was all for the best, I don't know.
But when I finally said, "Right, it's impossible,"
do you know what happened ?
I stopped having that wonderful dream.
And from that day to this...
no matter how I beg God before I go to sleep at night,
I can't dream of him.
If once in a while you'd let me finish something before you start yelling at me,
you'd figure out it ain't that I don't want the quarter, it's that I don't need it.
I only need a dime now.
So you got 15 cents. You go buy me a can of tomatoes.
Aw, Ma ! I know you got a dime hid someplace.
They should make kids go to school in the summertime and stay home in the winter,
because in the summertime they drive their parents nuts !
What am I ? I can't even get a glass of water ?
Huh ? Somebody to talk to.
Okay, Pa, you been asleep.
Watch out.
This ain't the last glass of water anybody ever has to bring me.
Bring him the water and sit and talk to him.
Aw, Ma, it's already 5:00, and I got a whole dime to make !
You sit and you talk with your grandfather, nice and nice,
and then I'll give you the dime I got hid.
I promise. Oh, sure.
Hey, look at me. Did I ever break a promise ?
Yes.
Yeah, well, all mothers do. Go on. Go on.
It's coming, Pa !
Put it there.
Are you gonna talk ? Only 'til I get my sneakers on, okay ?
No, no.
Your mother said to talk for a little while,
not 'til you get your sneakers on.
Your ears don't miss nothin', huh ?
All I know is, if I die five minutes from now,
you won't get your quarter after all.
Huh ? Why ?
Because you won't do me one little dime favor.
- Says who ? - You gonna do it ?
What ? I mean, sure, but what ?
All day I'm sitting here and I'm thinking--
especially since it's my last day--
I'm thinking, I need a favor.
I can't ask your mother, because she'd die of shock.
So I gotta ask you, a 12-year-old boy.
So... ask me.
Don't kid yourself. It ain't easy.
How do I know 'til you ask me ?
That-- That's what ain't easy.
Okay, come here.
Sit here.
When I was just a young man,
17 years old, I come to this country with my wife.
I know. Yeah, okay.
She wasn't my wife at the time. She was some girl I met on the boat.
But once you marry a girl, you call her your wife...
even if you're talking about before you were married.
So ?
So, in the town I come from in Abruzzi,
the men had a saying.
It goes...
which means...
"If a man is a virgin on his wedding night,
he's gonna be a virgin the rest of his life."
I didn't know men can be virgins.
Wha-- You gonna stop interrupting me or what ?
Go ahead.
So... as it gets closer and closer to my wedding night,
I keep thinking about this saying, over and over.
Now I know I can't touch your grandmother because...
I want your grandmother to be a good girl when she comes down the aisle to marry me.
But I'm a virgin, so I gotta do something.
I start looking around,
you know, for your grandmother's sake.
And... I spy this girl...
Guendolina.
Guendolina is-- is pretty older than me,
but tiny, tiny, tiny, like a little doll in a window.
Anyway...
I make a long story short.
I don't tell her I'm engaged to your grandmother.
I make her believe that...
if she's good to me, you know,
maybe I marry her.
So she gave herself to me. You understand ?
Then, I turn around and marry your grandmother.
This is a bad thing.
It's the one sin I committed in my life I couldn't forget the next day.
Didn't you confess it to some priest ?
Priest ? What am I gonna confess ?
I commit the sin against Guendolina, not some priest.
The priest gonna forgive me no matter what. That's his job.
But Guendolina-- I get it in my head...
that she never forgave me.
Didn't you ever ask her to ?
That's what I want you to do.
For me, before I die. That's the favor I want.
Me ?
She lives... 643 Norwood Street...
with her two sons.
Maybe she moved by now.
I know she didn't move.
Many times, you know, I used to think about going myself,
but I never got around to it.
Now I can't do it, I can't. I can't even make it to the alley.
I need you to do it.
What do you think ? You don't wanna do it ? Heck, no !
Gennaro, come on, please.
Don't let me die with this on my soul.
Gennaro, listen to me.
It's easy. All you gotta do,
you go in, you tell her,
"I'm Gaetano's grandson...
"and he sent me to tell you...
he's sorry for what he did."
She-- She probably won't even remember you by now.
No, she'll remember me, believe me.
After what happened to her because of me. What happened ?
Oh, none of your business at your age. Wait--
Where you going ? I'm not going to Guendolina's house.
Oh, come on ! Gennar, Gennar, please !
Then tell me what happened.
My God. All right, come here, come here.
A couple of years after... what I told you...
Guendolina...
she got over her disappointment...
and she got married.
Now, naturally,
the man she married...
you know, he thought he was marrying a good girl.
So... on their wedding night...
he found out different.
Who told him ?
What's the matter with you ? Nobody has to tell a man a thing like that.
He beat her bad. He broke all her teeth.
Knocked 'em all out, the front teeth.
I hear she never got false ones.
She must look like a potato.
Yeah. Okay, go ahead. It's getting late.
Okay, just-- I'm Gaetano's grandson,
and he sent me to tell you he's sorry.
Yeah, "for what he did."
For what he did.
"Please forgive him."
Wait, wait, wait a minute.
You're right.
I should go myself.
I didn't say you should go yourself. No, I should.
All the way to Sixth and Norwood ? You'll never make it.
Come on. I'll lean on your shoulders... up to the door.
I'm not going in with you, though.
Yeah, just to the door.
You better forget about this, Grandpa.
At least sit down a minute and catch your breath.
For a minute, that's it.
Maybe God'll put another brick on my house.
Luisa ? What, Pa ?
Stop singing that song.
What song, Pa ? I'm not singing any song.
"La Golondrina."
Pa, I don't even know "La Golondrina."
Ah, it hurts my heart.
That was the secret Grandpa always had on his mind.
It was past 5:00, but the La Paloma would have to wait.
It didn't seem like any big deal.
All I had to do was say that he was sorry.
Does Guendolina still live here ?
For one reason only:
to make life miserable for whoever lives next door.
You ring that bell, you better have a damn good reason.
- My grandfather sent me. - Oh, that's all right, then.
So long as your grandfather's the Pope.
I have to see Guendolina. I got something for her.
What ? I'll give it to her.
No, I have to give it myself. It's a message.
My mother doesn't like to be bothered.
Please, it'll make my grandfather die happy,
and me and him always got along good.
Hey !
He ran in. I didn't let him.
Sit down. Give Mom to eat.
What do you want ?
Who are you ?
I'm Gaetano's grandson.
He sent me to tell you he's sorry for what he did--
oh, and please forgive him.
Come over here.
Gaetano's grandson.
Eat.
He's gonna feed me.
Me ?
Gaetano Zavattoni's grandson.
I gotta go. I'm late now. Please ?
You fill it half.
You fill it more than half, I spit it out.
What did he tell you to tell me ?
He's sorry for what he did and please forgive him.
Honest, it's almost 6:00, and the price changes.
And I still gotta stop home and get the dime and tell him you said okay.
He told you what he did ?
You'll do it too someday.
Boys are born knowing how to ruin.
Mom, let him go.
Oh, you put too much on !
Now, not enough.
- Boys are born dirty, huh ? - I don't know.
You're dirty, huh ?
- Mom, for God's sake ! - Louis, don't start anything.
Give Gaetano's grandson a dish. Give him to eat.
No ! I said I ain't got time.
Just tell me if you'll forgive him.
"Yes" or "no" before it's too late.
He's dying.
I meant for me.
Kiss me.
And I'll forgive him.
Ma, come on ! Give me my dime.
No, I want you to tell me where you went.
I can't.
All right. It's between you and Grandpa. Here's your dime.
She forgave you, Grandpa.
Hey ! Hey !
All I could hear now was the voice from that truck:
"Get out of the heat. Get out of the Depression.
South Philly's brand-new movie theater."
And I was gonna get there as fast as I could,
and I wouldn't let nothing stop me !
There it was.
After everything that happened that day,
I didn't feel much like doing anything.
Maybe my mother was right.
If I didn't get what I want, then to hell with everybody.
But there was something about that place that wouldn't let me go.
I snuck back and just stared at it.
But now it seemed so far away.
Grandpa.
Grandpa ?
Grandma.
Is that you in there ?
What are you doing when everybody's heart is breaking ?
I don't know.
That American doctor wants another pillow for your grandfather.
Huh ? Grandpa's all right ?
That a boy.
Gennarino.
I thought you went to the La Paloma.
The price went up already. Fifty cents. I only got two bits.
Well, if there's a midnight show...
I'm sure you're gonna make it.
Grandpa, I looked at everything on your mantle.
And stole what ?
I love you, Grandpa.
Then take this damn blanket off. I'm roasting to death.
Can't you do what the doctor says ?
I don't listen to my real doctor. I'm gonna listen to him ?
Who's only here because the other one's wife--
Where's your ma ?
In the parlor, crying.
Go ask her if she can stop crying long enough...
to make me a coffee.
He's one of the kids...
who saw that woman hanging there.
He found her.
He so scared, he don't even know how scared he is.
Someday...
he's gonna see a lamb hanging in a butcher's window.
He's gonna throw up. Everybody around's gonna say,
"What the hell's the matter with that guy ? He's throwin' up."
Hey, Pa ?
Hey, Pa, you want coffee ?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You sure now, huh ? Okay.
If he's well enough for coffee, he's well enough to be in bed.
No bed, no bed ! We can't let you lie out here all night.
The hell you say. Please, no. Suppose it rains ?
That he'd love. We'd all have to stand holding umbrellas over him.
Carm ! Joe, you there ?
Yeah, Pa, right here. Come here.
I want to apologize for whatever it was I did...
that turned your wife into such a sour lemon.
That's a funny thing for a father to say on his deathbed.
I'm sorry. Come here. Give me a kiss.
All right. Sit him up. Where's the nearest telephone ?
No ambulance.
Just to carry you up to your room.
Pa, please. The doctor knows what's best for you.
Make him go away, please ! Okay, okay.
Show yourself right out of here !
What my father wants we give him !
You put a few more pillows under him,
and we'll take turns sitting out here...
in case he wants somebody to talk to in the night.
Put a big pot of coffee on. Go bring us a chair it won't break our asses to sit on.
You, go home !
And you, go over to my house and tell your cousins...
their father and me are sticking over here tonight, so don't wait up for us.
**
Hey, Gennaro. Hey.
Want some ?
I guess not.
Hang on.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy will be done-- I mean, Thy Kingdom come...
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Grandpa ?
They promised they wouldn't let me close my eyes.
You see ? You can't trust them once they grow up.
You gonna stay here, Gennaro, huh ?
Make sure I don't close my eyes. You promise ?
Sure, Grandpa.
If I close them, hit me.
Okay.
Only don't hit me too hard, because, you know, I ain't a well man.
- Grandpa ? - Now what ?
Can only people die ?
Hey, dogs and cats die.
I don't mean things like that.
Light bulbs die.
I mean other things, the things inside us.
You mean the feelings we have inside ?
Yeah, they die too.
No, they don't. Only people can die !
You start out by asking me a question because you don't know the answer,
and you always wind up telling me the answer...
like it was me who asked you the question in the first place.
I'm sorry, Grandpa. Things inside us, they die too.
How do you know ?
Why, you think just because I'm dying,
everything I say has gotta be the truth ?
No, I knew from before.
Please, don't make me die crying.
Could I sleep out here tonight...
next to you ?
What's the matter, you afraid you won't get your quarter ?
I stopped needing it, Grandpa.
No. What are you saying ?
I did. I stopped.
Why ? Huh ?
Why did you stop needing it ?
Because I stopped wanting to go to the movies.
Oh... you stopped wanting.
Ah, not needing.
What's the difference ?
Hey, it's all the difference in the world.
Your belly needs.
Your heart wants.
That's the difference.
What's the matter with you, Gennaro ?
You under the same cloud everybody else is ?
You're 12 years old, boy.
You can run faster than any cloud.
Didn't I ? I was your age.
Heh.
I wanted to come here more than anything in the world.
Everybody said, "No, you can't.
It's impossible. No."
But here I am.
What a world. I mean, today...
all anybody has to do is hint something is impossible,
and then nobody wants it.
As though wanting something impossible...
was impossible.
Why are you talking with your eyes closed ?
Huh ? You made me promise.
Yeah.
You gotta promise me one last thing.
Will you do that ?
I might as well.
Want.
Huh ?
Want.
Want what, Grandpa ?
Open your eyes, Grandpa.
I'll hit you hard.
Grandpa ?
I'll hit you hard.
Grandpa ?
Oh, my God. What is it ?
Hey, Pa ?
What did he mean, Ma ? I promised him one last thing, but I don't know what it was.
Come on, Pa. Come on ! Pa !
You don't wanna hang around here, Gennaro.
You're too young to start getting these scenes stuck in your head.
Go stay at my house, huh ?
Thanks, Grandpa.
Hey, Gennaro, you know what it looks like up here ?
It looks just like La Paloma.