Songs That Won the War Page #8

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We're his home, Ma!

The stupid Lord

can have him later.

Why? Why does God

take everything, Ma?

Bad enough our house

and all our things.

Why'd he have to

take my daddy?

What did I do so wrong that

he'd have to take my daddy?

Oh, no,

you didn't do nothing.

He could've took anybody.

Charles Manson,

super-old people already

been around 100 years.

My dad was only 34 years old.

I needed him more than

you, God! I needed him more!

Come here.

No!

Hang on.

I want him back, Mama.

We all do. We do.

No, Stu!

Stu...

They showed up

this afternoon

before we could get

all our ammo done.

Now they're wasting

half my brother's fireworks.

How's your dad?

He died.

Aw, Stu.

Is there anything

we can do for you?

What if Dad's watching?

Dad's dead.

What if he knows

what we're doing?

Dad's gone, Lidia.

Here's the real stuff.

Smoke bombs.

Camouflage paint.

Uniforms.

Take what you want, guys.

Oh, man! Stu!

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Close it! Hurry!

Get them off!

Stinging me!

Ow!

Get them off!

Eat that, sucker.

You get out of my tree and

stay out, and nobody gets hurt!

But if you come back,

all bets are off!

Come back here!

Here's one! Let's clobber him! Run!

Regroup!

Keep running.

That's what you do best.

You yellow-bellied chickens!

Oh, my God!

Lidia, get out of there!

Come on!

Help me save the fort.

Oh, no.

Wait.

What're you doing?

Putting out another fire.

Arliss, why're you

doing that?

Why don't everyone

share the fort?

For the last time,

get lost, you little twerp.

God!

Ula Lipnicki!

All them times you knocked out

my teeth, I'm gonna show you now!

Get away from my friend!

You knocked out my tooth.

You knocked out another

front tooth, you douche bag.

We thought if we hit

them hard the first time,

they would surrender

and the fighting would end.

But it didn't.

It just got worse and worse.

And I guess somewhere along the

way, we all sort of lost our minds.

It's just a shot away

Just-a, just a shot away

Rape, murder

It's just a shot away

You sick, crazy bastard!

It's just a shot away

See you later, alligator.

I'll get you, Ebb!

I'm gonna kick your scrawny little

butt from here to kingdom come!

Army tags!

Ow!

Got her!

You and me, man.

You and me, man.

You and me, man.

Oh, my God.

Billy, don't move!

Stay there! Billy!

Hey!

Forget the key, Billy. The fort's

gone. Just stay where you are.

The planks are rotted.

Don't move a muscle.

Hold still now, Billy.

I'm gonna get you.

Billy! Is that you,

you Dumb Dora?

Yeah!

Hold on!

Don't do nothing stupid.

I just came

to grab the key.

It's okay now.

I got you.

I'm a-scared!

It's okay, I tell you.

Let go.

Don't be mad at me.

Give me your hand.

Give me your hand.

Billy!

Damn it, Billy!

Help!

Grab onto something!

Come on, you can make it!

Come on, Billy, reach!

Hang on, Billy! It's

gotta stop draining soon.

He's heading for the drain!

Get him!

Billy!

He's stuck in the drain!

Yank him off!

Get him, get him!

Hurry!

Yank him off the drain!

Billy!

We're coming now! Grab him!

Grab him!

Oh, no. He ain't breathing.

He ain't breathing!

Come on, Billy! Help me now.

Take a breath. Come on, wake

up! Damn it, Billy, fight it!

Fight it! Listen to me.

I'm talking to you.

Come on! Come on!

Live, Billy.

Breathe!

Please, God, breathe!

Stop it, you'll hurt him!

It ain't no use.

He ain't taking air.

Don't you listen

to them, Billy.

We're gonna pull through

this now, you and me.

Wake up! Come on, you

gotta live. You gotta live!

You gotta!

Don't hurt him.

Just let him be.

No! You gotta

give him a chance.

Come on, Billy,

take a breath!

My daddy says people can do

anything they have a mind to

as long as

they believe they can.

Please, God, let him breathe!

You took my dad. Don't take

Billy. He's just a little kid.

You gotta wake up now.

You gotta live!

Come on, breathe! Breathe!

Don't quit now, Billy!

Will somebody please help me?

I will.

You know

what you're doing?

I sure hope so.

Wake up now, Billy.

Nobody's gonna be mad at you.

You did the best you could.

Come on, you're a real-life hero.

Come on, wake up, Billy!

He woke up.

You know, I saw an angel.

A real one.

He was holding onto my hand.

And I was gonna

live in his kingdom.

He said I must come back

and take care of my daddy.

And he looked like you,

but only bigger.

Come on, Billy.

Let's go home.

These were Dad's.

What are you thinking?

If Dad's watching,

he can go now.

He is watching.

From that day on,

the Lipnickis didn't hang

around the quarry no more.

We didn't see much of them, except

for Billy, who kind of adopted us all.

The guys and us started to rebuild

the fort, but after a few days,

we all got kind of

disinterested, and give up.

Now Stu and his friends

mainly hang out at the theater

so as to

try and pick up babes.

Mama said

Daddy was at peace finally,

that he wasn't suffering

no more.

Then a few weeks later,

a visitor came to see us.

Can I help you?

Oh.

Well, good afternoon, ma'am.

My name is John Ray Wilkens.

I'm with

the Clairville Auction House.

Yes.

Well, about six weeks ago,

your husband put down a bid

on one of our

bank-owned properties.

We tried to call y'all, but

I guess the phone's been down.

Things been

a little tight.

Yeah, well, anyway,

your husband put a

down-payment bid of $432.

Well, thanks for returning the

check. We could sure use the money.

No, ma'am,

I'm not returning the check.

You see, the bank took on too

many of these failed mortgages,

and if they don't start getting

rid of some of these properties,

they're gonna be

bankrupt themselves.

So, the bank accepted

your husband's offer,

being that it was

the only one they got.

Are you telling me

Stephen bought us a house?

Yes, ma'am.

Lipstick and rouge, Ma.

Don't I know!

So, I guess these memoirs are about us

getting a home

of our own,

but they're also about learning

what's worth fighting for.

My daddy once said

of fighting,

"We are meant for better

things, you and I."

And these days whenever

I'm ready to belt someone

who's got my dander up,

I hear him whisper

those words in my ear.

My mama says that people's

lives are like tapestries.

The color and the beauty

of the designs

depend all

on the people you know,

the things you've learned.

What I learned this summer

is that no matter how much

people think they understand war,

war will never

understand people.

It's like a big machine that don't

nobody really know how to work.

Once it gets out of hand,

winds up

wrecking all the things

you thought

you was fighting for,

and a whole bunch of other good

things you sort of forgot you had.

I learned this summer

that my brother was right.

My daddy's the wisest man

I've ever known.

And that no matter

what anybody tells you,

with God's help,

human beings can do anything.

God! Look at it!

Come on.

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