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Authors: William Saroyan
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Turandi Turanda was standing at the fence, looking down at them and talking. The boy was holding a tennis ball and the girl wanted it but he wouldnât let her have it.
âYou be a good boy, Johnny,â Turanda said. âYou give her the ball. You got other things.â
The boy handed the ball to the girl.
âShit,â he said.
Turanda looked around to see if anybody had heard, and then he said: âThere, Rosey, see? Johnnyâs a good boy. Tell him thanks.â
âShit,â the girl said. She said it softly and sweetly,like a beautiful word. âThanks, Johnny, my little brother.â
The neighbour went back to his garden, and the man thought, Iâve got to lay off letting them hear words like that.
But it was hard not to keep saying words like that all the time.
He got them their lunch and told them Mama had gone shopping for supper and he took off their clothes and put them in their beds and then sat down in the living-room and went on thinking about money. He turned on the radio to the station that gave the race results and listened to the music that came in between, and then to the results at two Eastern tracks. He got the morning paper and turned to the sports page and studied the entries at all the tracks and figured that if he bet two hundred dollars across the board and just happened to get a winner he would be able to drive to town sometime that afternoon and pick up anywhere from a thousand to two or three thousand, and maybe with that make a beginning.
He picked a horse in the next race at both of the Eastern tracks and when the announcer gave the results one of the horses won and paid $16.40, $8.20 and $5.40, and the other one ran third and paid $4.40.
He did some more brooding and then picked a horse named Sugar, at four to one in the fifth at Arlington. He telephoned the bookie where his credit was good and bet the horse two hundred across the board. Hesat and waited for the radio man to give the results, smoking one cigarette after another and feeling sick because all he had in the bank was $140.
The horse wasnât in the money, so he bet a horse in the seventh, but that horse ran third, so he owed the bookie $820 instead of $1,200, which is what he would have owed if the horse had run out of the money. But that wasnât winning, that wasnât even getting out of debt to the bookie, let alone out of debt to all the people he had borrowed money from, so he bet a horse in the last race at one of the Eastern tracks but that horse wasnât in the money either, so now he owed the bookie $1,420.
He bet $300 across the board on a horse named Me First in the first race at Bay Meadows, post position one, Longden up, maiden three-year-olds, six furlongs, so if Me First didnât get in the money he would owe the bookie $2,320, which meant that he would have to borrow $2,500 from somebody, only there wasnât anybody to borrow from.
But the horse won and paid a pretty good price. The man got up and walked around, even though he hadnât figured his winnings yet. When he figured them he was astonished to discover that they came to so much: $1,880 net. Well, he couldnât pay his debts with it, but at least he
had
it, and it was better than needing to go out and try to borrow $2,500. He got into the shower, then put on fresh clothes, and felt a little easier.
He had been in another tough spot and again he had gotten out of it. Now, instead of having only $140, he had a little better than $2,000. He could bet another horse and maybe win again, but to hell with it. All he wanted was to get something, and he had, heâd gotten more than he had expected to get, so it was enough. Maybe if he could have a little luck every day like that he could get hold of enough money to pay the debts and have something left over for the other things.
He dressed the kids and put the girl in her chair in the car and drove to town. He put the car in the garage a block and a
âYou be a good boy, Johnny,â Turanda said. âYou give her the ball. You got other things.â
The boy handed the ball to the girl.
âShit,â he said.
Turanda looked around to see if anybody had heard, and then he said: âThere, Rosey, see? Johnnyâs a good boy. Tell him thanks.â
âShit,â the girl said. She said it softly and sweetly,like a beautiful word. âThanks, Johnny, my little brother.â
The neighbour went back to his garden, and the man thought, Iâve got to lay off letting them hear words like that.
But it was hard not to keep saying words like that all the time.
He got them their lunch and told them Mama had gone shopping for supper and he took off their clothes and put them in their beds and then sat down in the living-room and went on thinking about money. He turned on the radio to the station that gave the race results and listened to the music that came in between, and then to the results at two Eastern tracks. He got the morning paper and turned to the sports page and studied the entries at all the tracks and figured that if he bet two hundred dollars across the board and just happened to get a winner he would be able to drive to town sometime that afternoon and pick up anywhere from a thousand to two or three thousand, and maybe with that make a beginning.
He picked a horse in the next race at both of the Eastern tracks and when the announcer gave the results one of the horses won and paid $16.40, $8.20 and $5.40, and the other one ran third and paid $4.40.
He did some more brooding and then picked a horse named Sugar, at four to one in the fifth at Arlington. He telephoned the bookie where his credit was good and bet the horse two hundred across the board. Hesat and waited for the radio man to give the results, smoking one cigarette after another and feeling sick because all he had in the bank was $140.
The horse wasnât in the money, so he bet a horse in the seventh, but that horse ran third, so he owed the bookie $820 instead of $1,200, which is what he would have owed if the horse had run out of the money. But that wasnât winning, that wasnât even getting out of debt to the bookie, let alone out of debt to all the people he had borrowed money from, so he bet a horse in the last race at one of the Eastern tracks but that horse wasnât in the money either, so now he owed the bookie $1,420.
He bet $300 across the board on a horse named Me First in the first race at Bay Meadows, post position one, Longden up, maiden three-year-olds, six furlongs, so if Me First didnât get in the money he would owe the bookie $2,320, which meant that he would have to borrow $2,500 from somebody, only there wasnât anybody to borrow from.
But the horse won and paid a pretty good price. The man got up and walked around, even though he hadnât figured his winnings yet. When he figured them he was astonished to discover that they came to so much: $1,880 net. Well, he couldnât pay his debts with it, but at least he
had
it, and it was better than needing to go out and try to borrow $2,500. He got into the shower, then put on fresh clothes, and felt a little easier.
He had been in another tough spot and again he had gotten out of it. Now, instead of having only $140, he had a little better than $2,000. He could bet another horse and maybe win again, but to hell with it. All he wanted was to get something, and he had, heâd gotten more than he had expected to get, so it was enough. Maybe if he could have a little luck every day like that he could get hold of enough money to pay the debts and have something left over for the other things.
He dressed the kids and put the girl in her chair in the car and drove to town. He put the car in the garage a block and a
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