Have you ever had the feeling that you knew what
someone was going to say just before he said it?
Or have you ever walked into a strange room
and had the sensation that you'd been there before?
Well, if you have,
you've taken a small step beyond
now, watch a giant step.
We're about to go beyond the gay grinning face of the circus
into the very private world of the flying Petruzzi.
It's fast
one night about five years ago on the high trapeze,
something happened.
It was a performance for which no tickets were ever sold,
but one man saw it.
All right,
it's ok.
Now
let me see your wrist, Mario. I can do it myself.
You like our she then
why don't you stop treating me like I was six years old. Please stop. Wait.
Hey, hey, his pa I worry about, you know,
sus
wrist. They gotta catch him.
His wrists are ok.
The rest of him. Not so OK.
They are.
Oh, come on you two fighting again. If beneath the la,
your father would just mind his own business.
I give him a father's advice. He doesn't listen. That's at his funeral. Carla,
that fancy wife.
Am I happy? You didn't forget we got a show to do today,
Paula.
She got a lot anywhere.
Yeah, right outside. She's
yakking with us that,
you know, the guy who takes care.
Hey,
come, we've got to get ready.
So I'm ready.
In old country,
women don't talk to every bum that passes in town of old country, old country,
old country.
Take a look at a map. This is the USA. So in the USA they got a no regard for honor,
no respect for family, family name. I don't mean nothing.
The priest, priest eat, eat your chocolates.
Amazing
patios are at it again.
What were you doing out there?
Check with the FBI.
I like
that. How many times do I have to tell you? I don't hand out timetables.
No skeletal
could be. I married the wrong
patio.
She doesn't mean anything. She just got crazy sense of humor.
Nice crowd out front.
No one sitting on their hands.
I am not going to stand for this no more.
No more. Making eyes to every man that passes. No more. Telling her your own
brother. She was.
Everybody's laughing behind our backs.
Everybody's saying a poor Mario.
She's gonna be a good wife.
Or
else she goes, don't tell me off. She goes, she's my wife.
You're doing like I tell you, I don't
count on it.
I hope the blood is dry by the time I have to catch you.
Nah yo,
he does not mean that.
No, he doesn't mean it. He lost his temper. That's all like, you
know,
come on, come on,
come on,
come
on.
Mhm.
Ok.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I must ask for complete silence as the flying
Bezos attempt their death defying feats
which has made them the toast of seven continents.
You will notice they are removing the safety net from the center ring.
And now may I call your attention
to the platform? 80 ft above where Senor Geno
Puzio is about ready for his plunge into space
across the ring. His son Mario
went to catch him
again. I ask for silence.
They are about ready.
So I must implore every one of you to remain absolutely silent.
Ma
Maria didn't mean that
Gina
doctor.
Well, he's going to live.
Oh
I
got
you.
Oh
thank you.
Don't thank him yet.
He's paralyzed
every nerve, every muscle in his body.
He can't talk,
he can't turn his head.
How long it will be like that?
I don't know,
smell like
f
strong like your boy. I'm
sweating.
He's awake now
you can see him for a few moments.
Come
my baby.
Is this?
Oh really?
Does
that beautiful
whatever.
Yeah,
alright
we go eh
we go to sleep up
man.
You are the oldest son.
You go in first, eh come on, mama,
come on,
mama. He thinks I trapped him. Papa don't think nothing. You go in first
but mama. Go in.
Ok.
No.
Where you been
walking?
That was sure a dumb thing to do. Running off like that.
I couldn't help it.
How does he look,
if you asked me? It would have been better if he had died. Don't talk like that.
I saw him.
You didn't?
He's like a mummy or something. Shut up.
I tell you, it gives you the crease just looking at him. I said, shut up, look buster.
It's been a pretty tough night for all of us
and just don't get smart with me because I won't put up with it.
They're not that big a bargain. Remember that
Carla?
I'm sorry.
I, I couldn't go in to look at him.
I knew what I would see in his eyes.
I didn't drop him. Well,
who said you did?
His eyes would say I did
but
have
burnt back
just
I heard you were here, Mario.
Welcome home.
I was just picking up a few things.
I asked her love
her, but
she was busy.
I went to visit your dad the other day. Did your mom tell you?
You know,
no one ever accused CC Higgins of being a betting man,
but I've got a $20 bill that says Signor Gino
Puzio is gonna be back upon that trapeze within a year
every time I call the hospital. It's
always no change. No, don't you be that no change?
I saw that old Latin sparkle in his eyes.
What's the hurry?
Got lots of things to take care of.
Oh,
come on, Mario.
Give me a break.
I'm not trying to push you. But
when are you coming back to work?
Sorry, Mr Higgins. No more of that for me.
It's been three weeks
every Thursday. There's been a paycheck
just like you were still bringing in the customers.
Mr Higgins. I have. How long can that go on?
Fair.
Fair
boy.
Now, a week from Wednesday we are moving on to Chicago.
I want you and Paul and Colada to be with us.
I wouldn't go back on the trapeze if you gave me the whole circus
and let me wear a parachute.
Do you know what those doctors bills are going to be like,
don't worry,
they'll be paid,
walk out on me and I won't pay them.
Mr Prussia.
Sit down.
You didn't answer half the questions Mr
Pazzia.
They're stupid questions. They made me nervous.
These job classification tests are very important.
They are an attempt to approach employment on a scientific basis.
Scientific.
A sees an airplane flying overhead in a northerly direction.
What are you gonna get me here a
job watching airplanes.
The idea is to measure intelligence.
If you advertise, you get people jobs if they pay. Ok, I got money to pay.
I don't want a bunch of stupid tests.
I want a job.
Have you done
any other kind of work? I mean, besides the service,
I told you,
I've been working on a trapeze since I was 11 years old.
You haven't even answered the questions about education.
Once my mama,
she paid a bookkeeper with the circus to teach my brother and me how to read and write.
Um,
frankly, I don't know what to suggest.
I mean, it's almost impossible without previous experience of some sort
of,
there might be work as a laborer, laborer.
The pay is very good. Sometimes as high as $3 an hour.
Hey, mister,
I made 400 bucks a week. Last year.
I got to pay you to get me a job for three bucks an hour.
Perhaps you should go back. Hey,
I didn't come here for no tests
and I don't come here for no advice.
Your glasses
cut
up.
I
thought maybe you,
I don't know what I thought.
Adjust the rot.
Would you send up a bellboy, please?
I almost visited Papa today.
Uh, sure came close.
Yeah.
Look what I bought
Italian cigars.
Boy, they're like sticks of dynamite.
Does he love them?
And how's he supposed to smoke em?
It's just the idea of the thing,
like a peace offering.
Like I was thinking about it, set
me up.
I bought the cigars
and I went down to Sixth Street to catch the bus that goes to the hospital
and I would tell the nurse who I was.
I'm Mario Petruccio, the oldest son
and I've come to spend an hour with my father
and I would walk right down the hall. No thinking about anything
right into the room 612. And I would pull up a chair
and I say, Papa,
pa, I bought you some of these lousy cigars so you could stick up the whole place.
That's not what I would say.
I would drop to my knees and I would say Papa
say, you know, I didn't let you fall,
you know. So I can live.
I could,
I couldn't make it.
Come on in
right there.
Where, where are we going?
I'm going
but you can
watch me.
You can
listen, Buster.
It wasn't exactly a bed of roses.
Even when you were one of the magnificent
patios.
Go home to Mama Mario.
She'll make you a thick minestrone soup and everything will be just fine.
Papa was right about you.
Papa said you were no good.
She was right.
Pa
was right.
Cool.
No
co
the magnet of the hotel say you'd probably be here.
I beat another
mama said to me,
tell her I'm ok.
She's been sending me to see if you are. Ok. We need some more money here.
Tell her to buy herself. 10 pounds of fancy chocolate.
Compliments of her oldest son.
That's all you have. That's it. That's the whole bankroll.
So what are we supposed to do?
I sent you 100 bucks last week.
That was two weeks ago where you want blood.
I tried to get a job.
Me too. I tried
and the mailman still keeps coming around still with around the clock
nurse
you should see the bill we got from the specialist who flew out here last month.
Done him a lot of good huh?
He's alive.
Hey boss,
what do you want me to do?
Ask? Could be something hard
call Mr
in Chicago and tell her we are coming back.
Alright.
You tell me how we get the money.
I get a pain in my stomach just thinking about the trapeze.
Besides what are you talking about? Look at me,
I'm out of condition.
I'm stay.
The exercise trapeze is still on a practice shed.
It would take me months to get back. Di
Mr Higgins said we can use it anytime we want it.
I can't do it.
You own it to pa
I went to Pa,
I owe Papa one thing
I only owe Papa one thing.
Ok, Papa.
Now it's your turn to drop a fee.
Bye
up
there.
You wrong.
Dichotomy.
Papa. He caught me.
What are you talking about coming down your throat?
I
tell you. He caught me.
Look,
look at this, the catch bar
for the love of God.
He's dead,
isn't he
Mr Petruccio?
He's certainly not dead.
They'll have him down in the examining room any minute now.
Oh, thank God.
You know, it was the strangest thing.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
He was sound asleep
and then he sort of mumbled something
and then he reached out his arms like that.
But how could that be?
His arms are paralyzed?
Well,
I called the doctors right away and they took him right up to the neurosurgical room.
Excuse me?
It
must have been your imagination.
He can't even move his little finger
and I'm more of the deal.
But
all
right,
class class,
explain it.
What we can explain is like a grain of sand in the Sahara of the unexplainable.
But we do have a talent for fastening labels onto everything we don't understand.
But does that lull us into thinking that by giving something a name,
we rob it of its mystery.
All right.
The word to describe what happened to Gino
Puzio
is by location.
The definition
allowing the body image
to show itself and even act
at great spatial distances.
How does that make everything crystal clear?
I thought not.
But then
wouldn't it be terrifying
if everything wasn't known
that there was nothing left for a man to discover about his universe
or?
So?