A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story Page #2

See that little plant?

I water it every day

just to keep it alive.

Maybe I shouldn't think

just because it's still breathing

that it wants to live.

Gus told me one time

I had my whole life in front of me.

Gus, let's get ready for bed.

No, no, no.

In a minute.

All right.

I'm sure at one point

someone told him the same thing.

But now his life wasn't only

behind him but above him,

somewhere in the heavens

with everyone he knew

and everyone he cared about,

if he could only remember.

Whoa, whoa!

Hey!

F***.

Did you just tell me to f*** off?

No.

What did you say, then?

I said, "f***. "

Why did you just tell me

you didn't say that

when you just admitted you did?

I didn't.

You just told me you did.

I missed my bus.

Oh.

Come on.

You didn't see me, right?

Right?

I don't even know you.

The gas station.

Yeah, besides that.

I don't know you.

I was starting defensive tackle

at Lincoln High.

I didn't go to Lincoln High.

You know me.

I know you know me.

Look, I've always been taught

not to mess with the wrong people.

And you told me in your rap,

you're the wrong person.

I'm the wrong person?

I'm not Tad Tokas?

Is that what you're saying?

No, I-

I didn't start defensive tackle,

and I don't know who I am?

I don't know me?

I don't know who I am?

Are you calling me a liar,

telling me I'm not

who I say I am?

I'm more than you will ever be,

little f*ggot.

Yeah, get up.

Go ahead and get up, p*ssy.

What the f*** is that?

It's a present.

Now it's the past.

How come everywhere I see

a great big motherfucking p*ssy?

Did you see that?

One punch.

The little baby b*tch

only took one f***ing punch.

I had a bloody nose once in the hospital.

Six guys had to pin me down

to give me my meds.

One of them had his knees

on both my arms

and his balls right in my face,

so I bit him.

He punched me.

I almost had to have plastic surgery.

I used to sing in a theater like this.

Children's theater

when I was seven.

One of those childhood stars.

Sold out every show.

But you've heard of the show,

haven't you?

I don't know

who you think I am,

but I don't think I'm him.

I don't know you.

Yes, you do.

You just don't know

you know me.

I don't think

you want to know me.

I already do.

You're hard on yourself,

'cause a lot of people

depend on you.

And you're afraid

to of letting them down.

You've got a great deal

of unused potential.

Something bad

has happened to you recently,

besides that.

Some of your aspirations

are pretty unrealistic,

considering the fact

that you live in Nebraska.

You care a great deal

about a select group of people.

And you love this theater.

You can tell that

by looking at my palm?

I can tell that

by looking at your face.

What's in the box?

I don't know.

It's a gift.

For who?

For me.

From who?

My dad.

Why don't you open it?

When my sister was two,

she almost died.

My mom found out

she was allergic to peanut oil.

And when she turned 12,

my dad wrapped

her birthday present in a small box

a lot like this one.

And then he wrapped that box

in another box

and that box in another box

and so on.

And after she opened box

after box after box

and finally got down

to her gift,

she started screaming.

Why?

Because my dad's gift to her

was a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter.

He thought it was funny.

He must be a hard man to live with.

He's not living anymore.

I found it today when I was

cleaning out his apartment.

When you said something bad

happened to me recently,

I guess you were talking about that.

You can just drop me off up here.

Don't you want me

to drop you off at your house?

No.

Okay.

My dad used to tell me

that the people I meet

will never care more

about who I am

than they will

about what I look like.

And because I look the way I do,

people may never care

about me at all.

Hello?

Somebody stole my television.

What do you mean?

My television's gone.

Okay, I'll come right down

and find out what happened.

You just stay there.

Okay, I'll be outside.

No, stay inside

and get ready for church.

I'll find your television.

Okay, I'll meet you there.

No, Gus, stay inside

and get ready for church.

Okay, bye.

Every week was the same.

Gus would take his television

to the pawn shop,

convince them to put it up for sale,

and by Sunday morning, he'd forget.

What's that?

Your television.

I don't watch television.

Well, I'm gonna put it here

just in case you want to.

Yeah, but I won't want to.

Well, just in case you do.

You been in a fight?

No.

Now, why aren't you dressed?

Dressed for what?

Church.

Gus, it's Sunday.

Okay.

Hey, you know who

Amelia Earhart is?

The first woman to fly

over the ocean?

Yeah.

They say she wore men's underwear.

Oh, yeah?

Who's they?

I don't know.

You know what I saw

on television the other day?

I thought you didn't watch television.

I didn't tell you that.

Yes, you did.

I did not.

Yeah, you did.

Who's that?

Hi.

Hi.

No movie today?

We don't show movies on Sundays.

Why?

We go to church.

Oh, you do, do you?

I'm Gus.

I own the theater.

Gus.

I started working here as an usher

when I was 14 years old.

14, huh?

14, yeah.

And then I went to World War II,

and I was a film projectionist

on army transport ships.

Uh-huh.

And when I got back,

a fire had left just

a skeleton of this building.

And the owner didn't want

to resurrect it,

so I figured out a way

to buy it and did it myself

with my own hands.

Wow, that's Impressive.

All right, okay.

Excuse me,

you're interrupting me.

I'm sorry.

It's just that you got to get inside,

because I got to go.

Oh, are you sweet.

Thank you.

How come he doesn't show

new movies there?

It's too expensive.

And he feels of all things

that people should forget,

old movies aren't one of them.

Oh.

How long have you worked there?

Since high school.

It was supposed to be temporary,

only a few weeks,

just until his wife,

Catharine, got better.

But she never did.

Then he started losing his memory,

so I kept working.

His memory seems fine.

Sometimes it is.

Sometimes it isn't.

Why are you here?

Um, because I wanted to say

I'm sorry for lying to you.

I do the same palm reading on everyone.

It's a lie.

And I can't get over

how mean it was to lie to you,

because you're probably

the nicest person I've ever met,

and you're dying, and I-

Wait a minute;

wait a minute.

Wait.

I'm not dying.

Then, um, how come

you don't have any hair?

It's my immune system.

Something in it

that triggers it to fall out.

Everywhere?

Almost.

There's no cure?

No.

But they say it could grow back at anytime.

The sad thing is, it doesn't.

Well, dying would be much sadder.

Yeah.

I guess it would.

Well, you're still

the nicest person I've ever met,

even if you're not dying.

And I promise you,

I'll never lie to you again.

I got to go.

I can't miss my bus.

Sorry.

What's your name?

Frances.

Tina was so pissed

when I told her what happened.

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