William Gaddis - J R

— Mister Stye is connected with one of our prominent insurance companies, Dan. Hyde massed against the desk weighting its corner with a discreetly herringboned web of creases where his legs met, and knocked a telephone from its cradle. — Get another phone, Whiteback?

— I had a line put in to the bank, for calls I get at the bank… catching light from nowhere, his lenses went blank as he retrieved it — keeping the fish and fowl separate you might say, separate the sheep and the ahm…

— Mister Whiteback heads up the bank here you know Mister Stye, sort of doubles in brass, gives him a real surefooted grasp of community affairs, kind of a grandstand view of both sides of the coin I’m sure Mister Stye knows what I’m talking about Whiteback, probably sees it at the corporate level all the time just like I do.

— Yes he’s ahm, Mister Stye that is to say Dan, he’s shown an interest in running for the school board.

— That can be a pretty thankless proposition, I guess you’re aware of that Mister Stye but you take a company like mine, they’re glad to see their people in working for community and civic betterment right at the decision making level I’m on company time right now in fact, trying to help Whiteback here solve a little space problem with this new equipment coming in.

— We thought we could use your advice on it Dan, the…

— Language labs? His lips broke their silent concert with those on the silent screen recalling the emergency brake, how and when employed. — The language labs have come?

— Not quite Dan more the enrichment ahm, in the motivational resources area where’s that list, marriage, potentiate these girls to make marriage a more meaningful experience when they get out and hit the, I had that list a minute ago…

— But that’s still in the decision mamaking stage, equipment for the sex education program we haven’t even…

— Right Dan I just talked to Vogel about it, he’s working up something on his body engine concept as soon as he’s out of electrical circuitry said he’d drop a copy on my desk yes, structuring the material in terms of, out of old parts, he ahm, here, here it is. Washing machine, dryer, stove electric, stove gas, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner…

— We’re talking about appliances Dan, home appliances.

— Hair dryer…

— Home ec Mister Stye, give these little future homemakers a shot at…

— Implementing unplanlessness in the…

— Day they step out of school they’ll know what they want, Mister Stye here knows what I’m talking about. That ad your company runs with the empty chair at the head of the dinner table? One look at that and your little homemaker really puts on the clamps, take that what was his name that shot the president over a washing machine…

— But this equipment, I don’t remember this equipment in the budget.

— Matter of fact Dan it’s all coming to us, all this modern equipment is coming to us courtesy of a subsiderary of the company Major Hyde here is connected with.

— But where’s all this equipment going?

— Resource materials Dan, we can set this home ec motivational center you might call it, set it up in the south annex there…

— But adult ed is there, the Great Books program and…

— Adult ed, where is it, adult ed, I just saw it… he tugged under the web of wrinkles, — here. Home catering and slipcover making, that’s it. We can put it all in east seven, east seven, where is it, to implement the, fit a whole washing machine in the space the Great Books take here it is, east seven, we’ve got the, it looks like we’ve got the retreads in there now, the…

— Retards that’s supposed to be, that’s the…

— Retards, right. A little trouble with your machine printout here Dan. Retards.

— Dan’s been having a lot of trouble with his holes, an old story to you and me of course Stye, the minute you hook the corporate process into a computer, testing, evaluating these, look. Set your little retreads up in business over here in north seven and then…

— But that’s where the equipment’s stored, the teaching equipment we bought last year we can’t just…

— Fine, it can all go right down to the…

— Wait though you can’t store delicate equipment like that just anywhere, it needs controlled temperature and humidity till we unpack it and use it.

— Utilize it, right, and…

— Not quite Dan, open one case of that equipment of yours, unpack one teaching machine you’ll have every teacher in the district in here with a sledgehammer, Mister Stye here knows what I’m talking about. Anything to dramatize the issue, that’s all your teachers are looking for here Whiteback, something to pounce on.

— As a matter of fact it’s already ahm, I thought Dan might be some help to us on this as a matter of fact. She, his wife, your wife that is to say Dan, orientationwise that is, I understand she’s ahm motivating factor there activationwise, she’s probably talked to you about it.

— To me? About what.

— This strike threat over firing that young Best was his name? With the Mozart…

— That’s what I’m talking about Whiteback, dramatize the issue. Fire him and you’ll have the whole outfield behind you running interference, there’s too much milksop management sitting back in the defense zone while the opposition marches up to the basket and drops one in. Let us carry the ball for a change, I know Vern’s with me on this one. Put the ball over in their court for a change.

— If he doesn’t have tenure he…

— Tenure? He doesn’t even have a certificate, but the…

— A little problem with one of these artistic types Stye, he got up on our open-circuit system here and passed out his foulmouthed opinions on some of our great classic musicians, came in on a Foundation gravy train, Stye knows what I mean.

— He was a composer yes, writes music you might say we ahm, we tried to integrate him into, tie him in that is to say, into a grant request as part of a cultural resource pilot program aimed at deepening the cultural aspects of the arts in ahm, in depth yes…

— Composer in residence he called himself.

— Yes well he didn’t, he didn’t actually live here of course, he’s right under here somewhere I just signed it, under the Foundation grant that is, Bast. Here it is, that’s his name, Bast. A hundred fifty-two fifteen and he hasn’t shown up to collect it, call his house even his mother doesn’t know where he is, Dan? This Bast, have you seen him?

— He was, I heard there was a field trip to New York he helped out on yes but my wife…

— Horned in on probably, my boy’s had trouble with him.

— That field trip, yes, six J. There was something about train tickets, one of the youngsters turned in a lot of train tickets for refund, they’re right here somewhere…

— Quite the little musician, Stye, trumpet, nothing pansy, said he wouldn’t let him play the Call to the Colors. Just let one of your patriotic groups get hold of that, Whiteback.

— Yes they’ve, one of them’s been in touch with Pecci, Assemblyman Pecci that is to say some Defamation League I think it is, he departed from the curriculum quite severely, some reference to superstitious Italians yes you may know Mister, Assemblyman Pecci, running for Senator Mister Stye?

— He’s a good man to know Stye, very close to the community here I expected him this morning in fact Whiteback, clear up a few points on that proposition thirteen he’s introducing…

— He’s busy with the, out activating his SOS campaign, the SOS for Mario campaign that is to…

— SOS? Sounds a little negative PRwise, SOS…

— Stamp Out Smut.

— Smut, let me tell you what my boy got in the mail Stye, sent away for a ball glove and wait, wait turn that up will you Dan? The sound, turn up the sound.