CONROY: Let me tell you how delusional he was, Terry. My mother left my father the day after he retired from the Marine Corps. We were all there - (humming "The Halls of Montezuma") - there's Dad, leaving the Corps. Mom leaves him the next day. I tell him - I say, Dad, why don't you come up to Atlanta? And, you know, I hated him at this time. I hated him. He was hated by all seven of his kids - hatred pure and simple. But I felt sorry for him because he didn't know what to do without a uniform, without his meilleur (ph). So I say, just come up to Atlanta. You can stay with us a couple days. He said, no, Son, I belong here. Your mother will realize the error of her ways and she will come back. I get to Atlanta. Two hours later, Dad knocks on my door and says, Son, could I take you out for a beer? Dad had never taken me out for a beer or anything else. So we went to Manuel's Tavern in Atlanta and we order a beer. And I said, Dad, what's wrong? And my father shocked me by putting his head down on the table and sobbing, just sobbing. So Manuel came over and asked, what's wrong, what's wrong? I said, Dad, he hates your beer, Manuel. He just doesn't like it. I'll get him another one. No, no, he just doesn't like your beer. It's bad. Dad's sobbing and everybody in the restaurant's, you know, looking at him. So I finally, you know, said, Dad, do you understand what you did wrong? And Dad said, yes. And I said, what is it, Dad? What did you do wrong? And my father said, I was too good.
GROSS: (Laughter)."
No comments:
Post a Comment