NEXT UP! 2 170 Going Home by Pete Hamill They were going to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There were six of them, three boys and three girls, and they got on the bus at 34th Street, carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags. They were dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the grey, cold spring of New York vanished behind them. Vingo was on the bus from the beginning. As the bus passed through New Jersey, they began to notice that Vingo never moved. He sat in front of the young people, his dusty face masking his age, dressed in a plain brown suit that did not fit him. His fingers were stained from cigarettes and he chewed the inside of his lip a lot. He sat in complete silence and seemed completely unaware of the existence of the others. Deep into the night, the bus pulled into a Howard Johnson’s restaurant and everybody got off the bus except Vingo. The young people began to wonder about him, trying to imagine his life: perhaps he was a sea captain; maybe he had run away from his wife; he could be an old soldier going home. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls became so curious that she decided to engage him in a conversation. She sat down beside him and introduced herself. “We’re going to Florida,” the girl said brightly. “You going that far?” “I don’t know,” Vingo said. “I’ve never been there,” she said. “I hear it’s beautiful.” “It is,” he said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget. “You live there?” “I was there in the Navy, at the base in Jacksonville.” “Want some wine?” she said. He smiled and took a swig from the bottle. He thanked her and retreated again into his silence. After a while, she went back to the others as Vingo nodded in sleep. MODEL TEXT Pete Hamill (1935– ) is an American author and journalist. In 1971, “Going Home” first appeared in a fictional column Hamill wrote for the newspaper The Post. The short story, which also has been titled “The Yellow Ribbon”, is based on a story someone told him in a bar in Greenwich Village. a tide – sjávarföll to vanish – hverfa plain – einfalt stained – flekkótt unaware of – ómeðvitaður um except – nema to engage in a conversation – hefja samtal the Navy – sjóherinn a swig – sopi to retreat – hörfa to nod – kinka kolli a column – hér: dálkur í dagblaði a ribbon – borði
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjIxNzc=