William Gaddis - J R

— That, ah, yes I started giving that course but…

— Did a fine job too Major, but Vogel’s taken that chore on now. Vogel, the coach, he has a real sense of ahm, of cars, yes and doing a very fine job. We’ve saved Dan’s talents here for…

— Some elementary math and physics…

— On tape, Miss Flesch closed in and bit and scarred her bun and smiled the lipstick on her teeth.

— Dan’s our school psychologist now, or psycho… psycho…

— metrician. Psycho…

— Psychometrician, yes. In charge of all our testing and, and doing a fine job, yes. That’s why I wanted him in on this ahm, these budget questions, this equipment, some of the new testing equipment…

— We’re talking about the new testing equipment, Dan.

— It’s quite a budget item, yes. Now the need to justify the test results, of course, in order to justify the test results in terms of the ongoing situation, in other words, this equipment item is justified when we testor tailing, tailor testing to the norm, and since the only way we can establish this norm, in terms of this ongoing situation that is to say, is by the testing itself, somebody’s going to get left out in the cold, right? A boy who scores out at the idiot-genius level, this music-math correlation, perfectly consistent but he’s running around town sticking people up with a toy pistol. Then here’s one with no future at all on the standard aptitudes, but I was told…

— It isn’t the equipment it’s the holes, in this computerized scoring the holes that have been punched in some of the cards don’t, aren’t consistent with forecasts in the personality testing, the norm in each case should…

— Right Dan, the norm in each case supporting, or we might say being supported, substantiated that is to say, by an overall norm, so that in other words in terms of the testing the norm comes out as the norm, or we have no norm to test against, right? So that presented in these terms the equipment can be shown to justify itself, in budgetary terms that is to say, would you agree, Major?

— I’ll say one thing Dan, if you can present it at the budget meeting the way Whiteback’s just presented it here no one will dare to argue with you, and I don’t think you need to bring up these problems with your holes Dan. Might be misunderstood, lead you right back into questions about all this teaching equipment you people bought here last year that’s not even unpacked.

— There’s nothing wrong with it at all it’s just that we, that nobody understands how to use it.

— How to utilize it yes, but…

— What you can’t get through people’s heads, when you’re dealing with these grants and aid federal, state, foundations whatever it is, if you don’t spend you don’t get. See it at the corporate level all the time, mention an initial outlay and they grab for their wallets take this shelter idea now…

— Major Hyde headed up our Civil Defense Program here Dan, you may remem…

— Before it turned into a milksop rescue outfit and lost sight of the basics Dan, we’re talking about bringing your mobile tv unit over and giving these youngsters a looksee at my shelter, show them what…

— Yes well of course Dan may have ahm, may not have been living here yet when it was built back in the ahm, and did a very fine job of course when it was built before the…

— Before the whole country lost sight of the basics Dan, we all saw it spread right up to the national level and giving these fine youngsters a good looksee at my shelter will get them off to a fresh start, show them what America’s all about, what we have to protect…

— Yes well the youngsters of course are ahm, are youngsters yes but incorporating this shelter proposal in the new budget may not ahm, Vern that is to say, I don’t think Vern will…

— I don’t think Vern’s head’s screwed on Whiteback, if you’re going to let a District Superintendent like Vern dictate to the parents of these future citizens that they can’t exercise their democratic right to vote on an issue that may decide the whole…

— Yes well of course I think Senator ahm, Congressman Pecci he’s dropping by to fill us in on the chances for locating this new Cultural Center here and of course his ahm, yes is that him?

— Tell him to wait, said Miss Flesch through bread, and banged the phone down.

— Wait we can’t keep him waiting, he’s…

— It’s not him no it’s Skinner, this textbook salesman Mister Skinner… she knotted her knees, — for me.

— I’m sorry Major yes Miss Flesch here, Miss Flesch doubles in brass you might say, our top studio teacher you know that and our curriculum specialist too, she’s…

— Glad to see somebody who’s not afraid of work. Getting this budget across is going to take everything we can give it, they’ll be there with their hands on their wallets and their youngsters’ educations will be the last thing on their minds, take this shelter proposal if they have a good look at one before they pile in and tear the idea to pieces they…

— Hello…? Yes, yes send him right in…

— Mister…

— Congressman…?

— No it’s only, it’s Mister Skinner… she recovered her balance and her knees one to the other — I’ll be right out, she called at the figure retreating through the door weighted by a briefcase of Gladstone bag design past the threat of pinstripe coming up behind.

— Come in Senator come in, I know it’s still Congressman just getting in the habit…

— Mister…

— Whiteback, Major…

— diCephalis, Dan, the school…

— Great pleasure…

— Congressman…

— And Miss Flesch here kind of doubles in brass you might say, right Whiteback? Handles the curriculum, and she’s shaping up as a real video personality on the school tv. We’re just checking out a few items before the taxpayers get their teeth into this budget, Hyde went on as the blue stone ring borne on Pecci’s hand ceased darting about in handshakes and withdrew to highlight his pinstripe presence. — The only thing on their minds is their tax rate and most of them don’t even know that, right Whiteback? As president of the bank and principal of this school setup Whiteback here gets a grandstand look at both sides of the coin, take the whole idea of locating this Cultural Center here, I don’t see why we can’t tie it right in with…

— Once we have their confidence…

— Now whether or not a campaign for bringing about this kind of confidence is the best thing, I haven’t thought of that as a public relations problem, but let’s not forget above all things the need of confidence, and that…

— Of course, I think nationally, it’s what you and I think of the prospects…

— PRwise it can’t hurt us educationwise, Miss Flesch got in through bread.

— In fact, tie it all right into this shelter item too, let people have a look with your mobile tv unit. My boy could give it sort of a tour in fact, he knows it inside out. Wall thickness, ventilation, food storage waste disposal get in a little about what America really is, what we…

— Just give them an inch, like with the religious holidays if they all get off Good Friday the Jewish parents want them off Seder too…

— Is Seder a holiday? I thought it was a…

— Fight over prayers in the school and that gets us right into the transportation mess, they vote against busing the Catholic kids to parochial school and we can get thirteen hundred of them dumped on us over night, then where are we?

— And take this one, custodial salaries, two hundred and thirty-three-odd thousand, up from two seventeen…

— Ask Mister Leroy, that’s his baby.

— Right. You mention education and they grab for their wallets. Now here’s thirty-two thousand six hundred and seventy for blacktopping the parking lot over to the tv studio.