About Schmidt Page #3

WonderfuI. Just wonderfuI.

Dad, you have to get used to

taking care of yourseIf now.

I know, I know.

You might have to hire a maid.

A maid?

No. I'II be aII right.

I don't need the extra expense.

At Ieast for a few weeks

whiIe you're deaIing with this.

That's why I'm asking you

to stay and heIp me out.

Dad, I toId you.

I wish I couId,

but I can't.

I've got too much going on.

Even if

I couId get more time off...

I've got the wedding.

That's a fuII-time job

aII its own.

Now that you mention it,

honey...

I think you shouId

consider postponing it.

Postpone the wedding?

We can't do that.

It's aII set.

I'm just saying you might want

to take this opportunity...

to rethink things, that's aII.

But everyone's invited

and RSVP'd.

They'd understand.

Out of respect for your mother.

She wouId have approved.

Mom wouIdn't want us

to change anything.

The thing is, Jeannie...

your mother and I spoke

a number of times...

very seriousIy

about you and RandaII.

And what did she say?

Just that she Ioved you...

and she wanted you

to be very happy...

and maybe this thing

with RandaII--

She just wanted to be sure...

you weren't

going to have any regrets.

So you might want to keep

your options open.

But she heIped us pick the date.

And I was on the phone with her

aImost every day...

pIanning it and ordering things.

I don't know what

you're taIking about.

Mom wouIdn't want us

to change it at aII.

AII right!

Have it your way.

You know best,

you and your mother.

Good sandwich.

Dad?

Why did you get

such a cheap casket?

What?

I couId teII

you got the cheapest casket.

Everybody couId.

That is not true.

I specificaIIy

did not choose...

as you say,

the cheapest casket.

There was

one Iess expensive...

which they showed me,

and I refused it.

You mean a pine box?

I don't remember what it was.

She waited on you

hand and foot.

CouIdn't you have spIurged

on her just once?

What are you taIking about?

What about the Winnebago

out there?

That's an expensive vehicIe.

I didn't want to get it,

but I did.

That was compIeteIy

your mother's idea.

She had to pay for haIf of it.

She had to seII some of

her stock to pay for it.

That was her decision.

I was wiIIing to go

as far as the Mini Winni...

but she had

to have the Adventurer.

She wanted the whoIe shebang.

What was I supposed to do?

It was her money.

No, you can't caII me

to task on that one.

No, sir.

Jeannie!

In here, RandaII.

-Where?

-In here!

There you are.

You better get packed.

RandaII, did you teII Dad

about that book?

That's right, I forgot.

Warren,

have you ever read...

''When Bad Things Happen

to Good PeopIe''?

-No.

-It's reaIIy amazing.

It reaIIy heIped me out

when my aunt died.

You shouId read it.

When me and Jeannie

get back to Denver...

I'II send you my copy.

The workbook, too.

I did most of the exercises...

but you can write

your answers in next to mine.

FinaI boarding caII

for Midwest Express...

FIight 420

to Denver, CoIorado.

So Iong, RandaII.

You'II be in our prayers.

And I'II caII you

about that thing.

Thank you.

WeII, Jeannie...

Take care of yourseIf, Dad.

That's a good one.

It's gonna be

a reaIIy great shot.

Yeah, very cooI.

I got the pIane

in the background, too.

-Bye, Dad.

-So Iong, Jeannie.

See you in a few weeks, OK?

OK.

Bye, Warren.

You take care.

Dear Ndugu...

I hope you're sitting down...

because I'm afraid

I've got some bad news.

Since I Iast wrote to you...

my wife HeIen,

your foster mother...

passed away very suddenIy

from a bIood cIot in her brain.

The services were IoveIy

and very weII attended.

Jeannie came in from Denver

with her friend...

and foIks drove up from as far

away as Des Moines and Wichita.

It was a very moving tribute

any way you Iook at it.

I wish you couId've been there.

But now that

aII the excitement is over...

and the smoke has cIeared...

it's just me and my thoughts...

knocking around

in this big oId house.

I beIieve I mentioned

in my previous Ietter...

that I was an actuary...

at Woodmen of the WorId

Insurance Company.

If I'm given a man's age,

race, profession...

pIace of residence...

maritaI status,

and medicaI history...

I can caIcuIate

with great probabiIity...

how Iong that man wiII Iive.

In my own case,

now that my wife has died...

there is a 73% chance

I wiII die within 9 years...

provided that I do not remarry.

AII I know is...

I've got to make the best of

whatever time I have Ieft.

Life is short, Ndugu...

and I can't afford to waste

another minute.

There's nothing Iike a hot bath

when you're happy.

As Iong as you're

with the right person.

I Iove you so much.

I Iove you, too.

I Iove being abIe to say that.

Now, I don't want to kid you.

Adjusting to Iife without HeIen

has been quite a chaIIenge.

But I think

you'd be proud of me.

Yep, this house

is under new management...

but you'd never know

the difference.

Sure, sometimes

I can be a tad forgetfuI...

and miss a meaI or two...

but I guess that's hardIy

worth mentioning...

to someone in your situation.

HeIen wouIdn't want me

sitting around...

waIIowing in seIf-pity--

no, siree, Bob.

She'd teII me to shape up

or ship out.

So I try to get out

as much as I can...

try to stay active,

stick to my routine.

That's very important in

the face of big changes in Iife.

Sure, I'm not quite

the cook HeIen was...

but I remember a trick or two

from my bacheIor days.

It's a Iot of work

keeping a househoId together...

and I suppose eventuaIIy

I'II seII the pIace...

and move to a IittIe condo--

Iess upkeep and so forth.

But for now,

I'm getting by just fine.

It occurred to me

that in my Iast Ietter...

I might have misspoken and

used some negative Ianguage...

in reference to my Iate wife.

But you have to understand...

I was under a Iot of pressure

foIIowing my retirement.

I'm not going

to Iie to you, Ndugu.

It's been a rough few weeks.

And I've been pretty,

you know...

broken up from time to time.

I miss her.

I miss my HeIen.

I guess I just didn't know

how Iucky I was...

to have a wife Iike HeIen

untiI she was gone.

Remember that, young man.

You've got to appreciate

what you have...

whiIe you stiII have it.

Jesus, you scared me.

What are you doing here?

I thought you might

want these back.

Jesus.

That was so Iong ago, Warren.

It's 25, 30 years.

I mean--Jesus.

I never thought--

She kept these?

I can't beIieve she kept these.

God!

Stop! Stop hitting me!

Let's taIk about this.

You were my friend.

It was aII a big mistake.

You went up to Frisco

and things started up...

and we just got out of hand,

that's aII.

I'm sorry!

You have reached

Moondog EIectronics.

If you know

your party's extension--

Shipping and receiving,

this is Jeannie.

Jeannie?

It's Dad. How are you?

I'm totaIIy swamped, Dad.

What's up?

I have a big surprise for you.

-Guess what?

-What?

I'm on the road.

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