The Library

JERRY'S APARTMENT

JERRYLet me speak with the head librarian. ... Because it's absurd. An overdue book

from 1971? ... This is a joke right? What are you? From a radio station?

KRAMERenters

JERRYYa' got me I fell for it. Alright, OK I can be down there in like a half hour.

Bye.

KRAMERWhat's the problem?

JERRYThis you're not goin' to believe. The NYPL says that I took out Tropic of Cancer

in 1971 and never returned it.

KRAMERDo you know how much that comes to? That's a nickel a day for 20 years. It's

going to be $50,000

JERRYIt doesn't work like that.

KRAMERIf it's a dime a day it could be $100,000

JERRYIt's not going to be anything. I returned the book. I remember it very vividly

because I was with Sherry Becker. She waore this orange dress. It was the first time I

ever saw her in a dress like that. In oticed since ninth grade she was developing this

body in secret under these loose clothes for like two years. And then one day ...

FLASHBACK <to a beautiful buxom young Becky in an orange dress>

JERRYThat orange dress is burned in my memory

KRAMEROh, memory burn.

JERRYI wonder what ever happened to her.

KRAMERHow did they ever find you?

JERRYOh, computers, they're cracking down now on overdue books. The whole thing is

completely ridiculous.

<buzzer>

JERRYIt's George. Wait 'til he hears we're going to the library

KRAMERYou know I never got a library card.

JERRY<to speaker> Coming down.

KRAMERIt's all a bunch of cheapskates in there anyway. People sitting around reading

the newspaper attached to huge wooden sticks Trying to save a quarter, ooh,

JERRYI gotta go to the library. You want to go?

KRAMERYeah,

LIBRARY

KRAMERThe Dewey Decimal System, what a scam that was. Boy that Dewey guy really cleaned

up on that deal.

JERRYWhere's George

READERShhh.

KRAMERTryin' to save a quarter.

JERRYI kinda like those sticks. I'd like to get them for my house.

TURNING TO LIBRARY COUNTER

JERRYThis woman's completely ignoring me.

KRAMERLook at her. This is a lonely woman looking for companionship.. ... Spinster. ...

Maybe a virgin. ... Maybe she got hurt a long time ago. She was a schoolgirl. There was

a boy It didn't work out. Now she needs a little tenderness. She needs a little understanding.

She needs a little Kramer.

JERRYEventually a little shot of penicillin

LIBRARIANYes?

JERRYYes I called before. I got his notice in the mail.

LIBRARIANOh, Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller, Uh, this case has been turned over to our

library investigation officer Mr. Bookman.

KRAMERBookman? The library investigator's name is actually, Bookman?

LIBRARIANIt's true.

KRAMERThat's amazing. That's like an ice cream man named, Cone.

LIBRARIANLt. Bookman has been working here for 25 years so I think he's heard all the jokes.

JERRYCan I speak with this Bookman?

LIBRARIANJust a second.

GEORGE ENTERS, FRANTICALLY, TUGS AT JERRY'S JACKET

GEORGEJerry,

JERRYWhat?

GEORGEI think I saw him. I think it's him.

JERRYWho?

GEORGEDid you see the homeless guy on the library steps screaming obsenities and doing some

calesthetics routine

JERRYYeah.

KRAMERyeah

GEORGEI think that's Mr. Hayman. ...The gym teacher from our High School.

READERShhh.

JERRY<whispers> Are you sure?

GEORGEHe's older, completely covered in filth, no whistle, but I think it's him.

JERRYGeorge got him fired. He squealed on him.

KRAMEROoh tattle tale

GEORGE<yells> I didn't tattle

READERShh Shh

KRAMERWhat did this guy do? What happened?

GEORGEThere was an incident. I'd rather not discuss it.

KRAMEROh come on, You can tell me.

GEORGESome other time.

KRAMERWhat tonight?

LIBRARIAN WALKS BY

KRAMERY'know I never figured you for a squealer.

JERRYOh, he sang like a canary.

LIBRARIANMr. Bookman's not here.

JERRYNot here? Why was I told to come down here?

LIBRARIANHe'll be out all afternoon on a case.

KRAMERHe's out on a case? He actually goes out on cases?

JERRYWell what am I supposed to do now?

LIBRARIANI'll have Mr. Bookman get in touch with you.

JERRYAll right Thanks. Come on lets go

GEORGELet's see if it's Hayman?

KRAMERHey, uh, I'll see you boys later. <TURNS TO LIBRARIAN> So uh, what's a guy got to do

around here

to get a library card?

PENDANT PUBLISHING OFFICES

ELAINEWhere's Karen?

SECRETARYShe went to pick up lunch.

ELAINEShe didn't ask me what I wanted.

SECRETARYShe must have forgot.

ELAINEHow could she forget I've been ordering lunch every day here for 3 and a half years?

Is there something you're not telling me because I'm getting a really weird vibe.

Is Lippman getting rid of me? It's OK I won't say anything.

SECRETARYI don't know anything.

ELAINEAh, you don't know anything. You see, "I don't know anything", means there's

something to know. If you really didn't know anything you would have said "You're crazy."

LIPPMAN ENTERS

ELAINEOh, hi Mr. Lippman.

LIPPMANElaine,

ELAINEUm, uh, I was wondering if you got a chance to look at that , um, biography of

Columbus, I gave you?

LIPPMANYes I did. Yes I did. ... Maureen this water is still too cold.

ELAINEIt's freezing. ... Hurts your teeth.

AT MONKS

ELAINEI'm tellin' ya' somethin' is goin' on. He never likes anything I recommend.

And then that lunch thing.

JERRYSo they forgot to get your lunch. Big deal!

ELAINEWhat do you know. You've never worked in an office. <TURNS TO GEORGE> See,

you've worked in an office. Jerry thinks I'm over reacting but you understand, ... LUNCH!

GEORGEI don't understand lunch, I don't know anything about lunch. Listen. Just because

I got the guy fired doesn't mean I turned him into a bum - does it?

ELAINEWhat did he do?

GEORGEHe purposely mispronounced my name. Instead of saying, "Costanza" He'd say,

"Can't stand ja".

"Can't stand ja" ... He made me smell my own gym socks once.

JERRYI remember he made you wear a jock on your head for a whole class. And the straps

were hangin' down by his ,...

GEORGEOK, OK, I never even had him for gym.

JERRYI had him for Hygene. Remember his teeth. It was like from an exhumed corpse.

GEORGELittle baked beans

JERRYEchh

ELAINECome on tell me what happened.

GEORGEWell, OK. As I said the guy had it in for me. He actually failed me in gym.

... ME!

FLASHBACK TO HIGH SCHOOL LOCKER ROOM

GEORGE... Those spastic shnitzer twins ...

HEYMANCan't stand ja ... Can't stand ja

GEORGEYes, Mr. Hayman

HEYMANYour underwear was stick'n out of your shorts during gym class.

GEORGEWell I guess that's because I wear boxer shorts.

HEYMANBoxer shorts, ha? Well what brand?

GEORGEI'm not really sure, I...

HEYMANWell let's take a look.

<GEORGE: gets a wedgie>

BACK TO MONK'S

GEORGEHe gave me a wedgie.

JERRYHe got fired the next day.

ELAINEWhy do they call it a wedgie?

GEORGEBecause the underwear is pulled up from the back and ... it wedges in..

JERRYThey also have an atomic wedgie. Now the goal there is to actually get the

waistband on top of the head. Very rare.

ELAINEBoys are sick.

JERRYWell what do girls do ?

ELAINEWe just tease some one 'til they develop an eating disorder.

guy who ruined his life.

KRAMER ENTERS

KRAMERHey Babaloo, you better get home. You know this guy Bookman from the library

he's waiting for ya.

===========================================================================

STANDUP ROUTINE

What's amazing to me about the library is it's a place where you go in you can take

out any book you whant they just give it to you and say bring it back when you're done.

It reminds me of like this pathetic friend that everbody had when they were a little

kid who would let you borrow any of his stuff if you would just be his friend. That's

what the library is. A government funded pathetic friend. And that's why everybody

kinds of bullies the library. I'll bring it back on time ... I'll bring it back late.

... Oh, what are you going to do? Charge me a nickel?

===========================================================================

JERRY'S APARTMENT

JERRYOh, I'm glad you're here, so we can get this all straightened out. Would

you like a cup of tea?

BOOKMANYou got any coffee?

JERRYCoffee?

BOOKMANYeah. Coffee.

JERRYNo, I don't drink coffee.

BOOKMANYeah, you don't drink coffee? How about instant coffee?

JERRYNo, I don't have--

BOOKMANYou don't have any instant coffee?

JERRYWell, I don't normally--

BOOKMANWho doesn't have instant coffee?

JERRYI don't.

BOOKMANYou buy a jar of Folger's Crystals, you put it in the cupboard, you

forget about it. Then later on when you need it, it's there. It lasts

forever. It's freeze-dried. Freeze-dried Crystals.

JERRYReally? I'll have to remember that.

BOOKMANYou took this book out in 1971.

JERRYYes, and I returned it in 1971.

BOOKMANYeah, '71. That was my first year on the job. Bad year for libraries.

Bad year for America. Hippies burning library cards, Abby Hoffman

telling everybody to steal books. I don't judge a man by the length of

his hair or the kind of music he listens to. Rock was never my bag. But

you put on a pair of shoes when you walk into the New York Public

Library, fella.

JERRYLook, Mr. Bookman. I--I returned that book. I remember it very

specifically.

BOOKMANYou're a comedian, you make people laugh.

JERRYI try.

BOOKMANYou think this is all a big joke, don't you?

JERRYNo, I don't.

BOOKMANI saw you on T.V. once; I remembered your name--from my list. I looked

it up. Sure enough, it checked out. You think because you're a celebrity

that somehow the law doesn't apply to you, that you're above the law?

JERRYCertainly not.

BOOKMANWell, let me tell you something, funny boy. Y'know that little stamp,

the one that says "New York Public Library"? Well that may not mean

anything to you, but that means a lot to me. One whole hell of a lot.

Sure, go ahead, laugh if you want to. I've seen your type before:

Flashy, making the scene, flaunting convention. Yeah, I know what you're

thinking. What's this guy making such a big stink about old library

books? Well, let me give you a hint, junior. Maybe we can live without

libraries, people like you and me. Maybe. Sure, we're too old to change

the world, but what about that kid, sitting down, opening a book, right

now, in a branch at the local library and finding drawings of pee-pees

and wee-wees on the Cat in the Hat and the Five Chinese Brothers?

Doesn't HE deserve better? Look. If you think this is about overdue

fines and missing books, you'd better think again. This is about that

kid's right to read a book without getting his mind warped! Or: maybe

that turns you on, Seinfeld; maybe that's how y'get your kicks. You and

your good-time buddies. Well I got a flash for ya, joy-boy: Party time

is over. Y'got seven days, Seinfeld. That is one week!

<Marion sneaks into Kramer's apartment behind Bookman's back as he opens Jerry's

door to leave>

KRAMER'S APARTMENT

KRAMERWhat's wrong?

MARIONIt's Bookman the library cop.

KRAMERSo I didn't do anything wrong.

MARIONI'm supposed to be atwork. I could get fired. I shouldn't have come here.

KRAMERWhy don't ya' leave?

MARIONI can't.

JERRY'S DOORWAY

JERRYNo way I'm payin' that! I returned that book I n 1971. I have a witness

Sherry Becker. She wore an orange dress. She gave me a piece of black jack gum.

It's a licorice gum. What do ya' think of next I remember it.

<thinks out loud, opens phone book> Becker, ... Becker, ...

IN MONKS WITH SHERRY

SHKevin went to a public school, he's the 14 year old? We were gonna' send Marsha

to a private school. Cause in some way they don't learn ... enough ... I think.

JERRYSo Sherry, what do you remember about that day at the library?

SHI remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Friday afternoon. I wore a purple dress.

JERRYPurple? Ya' sure it wasn't orange?

SHPositive. And I was chewin' Dentyne. I always chewed dentyne. Remember Jerry? Dentyne?

JERRYNo Black Jack?

SHLicorice gum? Never! We were reading pasages to each other from that Henry Miller book,

JERRYTropic of Cancer.

SHNo, Tropic of Capricorn

JERRYTropic of Capricorn?

SHRememba? What holds the world togetha' ... "As I have learned from bitter experience

is sexual intercourse ."

JERRYWait a second. Wait a second. You're right. I had both of them.

We read from TROPIC OF CAPRICORN. I was all set to return TROPIC OF CANCER. And then ...

FLASHBACK TO LOCKER ROOM

JERRYHere's the book. Don't let anybody see it. Don't let anything happen to it.

GEORGEJerry, it's me, George, don't worry, I'll return it

JERRYOk, I'll see you after school. I.m late for Hayman's hygiene.

BACK TO MONKS

SHWhere ya' going?

JERRYIt was nice seeing you again. I just remembered something. I've got to go.

<to old man that enters>

It was GEORGE!

LIBRARY

KRAMERRead another poem.

MARIONPressed chest fleshed out west Might be the saviour or a garden pest.

KRAMERWow, that is great. You should be published.

KRAMERYou know, the library is kind of a cool place when it's closed.

MARIANOh, yeah. You don't have to be quiet. Listen to the echo: HELLO!

KRAMERHELLO!

MARIANHELLO!

KRAMERHELLO!

MARIANHELLO!

BOOKMAN (emerging): Hello!

MARIAN (turning, surprised): Mr. Bookman.

BOOKMANI remember when the librarian was a much older woman: Kindly,

discreet, unattractive. We didn't know anything about her private life.

We didn't want to know anything about her private life. She didn't have

a private life. While you're thinking about that, think about this: The

library closes at five o'clock, no exceptions. This is your final

warning. Got that, kewpie-doll?

JERRY'S APARTMENT

<Jerry in bedroom>

ELAINELippman want's to see me in his office SEE ME! That can't be good

JERRYMaybe you're getting' a raise.

<buzzer>

ELAINEMaybe I'm getting' a wedgie.

ELAINEWhat?

GEORGEIt's George

ELAINEGeorge is on his way up.

JERRYWait 'til I tell him about the book.

KRAMER<reading> sobs

ELAINEAre you OK? What? What?

KRAMERIt's marion's poetry. I can't take it <leaves sobbing>

ELAINERemember that biography I recommended? MY BOSS HATED IT

<Jerry enters>.

JERRYI'm right here.

ELAINERemember that Columbus book?

JERRYColumbus, Euro trash.

<George enters>

GEORGEWell, it's definetly him.

ELAINEHim? Him who?

GEORGEHim who? Hayman him.

ELAINEHayman The gym teacher? You found him?

GEORGEOh, I found him. He was sitting on the steps of the library. I sat down

next to him. He smelled like the locker room after that game against Erasmus

JERRYThat was double overtime.

GEORGESo I said, "Mr. Hayman, It's me george Costanza, JFK, ... " He doesn't move.

So I said uh, "Can't stand ya'", "Can't stand ya'" He turns and smiles, the little

baked bean teeth. I get up to run away, but something was holding me back. It was

Heyman. He had my underwear. There I was on the steps of the 42nd St. library ,

a grown man, getting a wedgie.

ELAINEAt least it wasn't atomic.

GEORGEIt was.

JERRYSo Georgie Boy, guess what happened to TROPIC OF CANCER

GEORGEHow should I know?

JERRYBecause I gave it to you.

GEORGEMe?

JERRYYesah, think. Don't you remember you kept begging me to see it then finally

I agreed. You were supposed to return it. I met you in the gym locker room.

GEORGEThe locker room!

THE LOCKER ROOM

JERRYHere's the book. Don't let anybody see it. Don't let anything happen to it.

GEORGEJerry, it's me, George, don't worry, I'll return it tomorrow, no problem.

JERRYAll right, I'll see you after school. I.m late for Hayman's hygiene.

HEYMANCan't Stand Ya'.

GEORGEYes Mr. Hayman.

HEYMANYour underwear was stick'n out of your shorts during gym class.

GEORGEWell I guess that's because I wear boxer shorts.

HEYMANBoxer shorts, ha? Well what brand?

GEORGEI'm not really sure, I...

HEYMANWell let's take a look.

<George gets a wedgie and TROPIC OF CANCER falls on floor>

LIBRARY

< Jerry writes out a check for the never-returned TROPIC OF CANCER and hands it to Bookman>

JERRYAnyway, I hope there's no hard feelings.

BOOKMANHard feelings? What do you know about hard feelings? Y'ever have a man

die in your arms? Y'ever kill somebody?

JERRYWhat is your problem?

BOOKMANWhat's my problem? Punks like you, that's my problem. And you better not

screw up again Seinfeld, because if you do, I'll be all over you like a

pitbull on a poodle.

JERRY<em class="inline-stage">(after Bookman exits)</em>: That is one tough monkey! <turns to Elaine>

So you were saying?

ELAINEOh? So, I took your suggestion and I gave my boss Marion's poems.

The ones that affected Kramer so much.

JERRYOh, beautiful did he like them?

ELAINENo, ... he didn't! No, ... he didn't!

JERRY<to George> Was he out there?

GEORGENa, he's gone. I wonder what happened to him.

JERRYI guess we'll never know.

SOME BACK ALLEY

HEYMANCan't stand ya, <laughing> Can't stand ya. <pan to TROPIC OF CANCER on ground>

STAND UP

It was a weird school day, you know what I mean because it kind of like started of kind

of normal. You have like English, Geometry, Social Studies and then suddenly you're like

in Lord of The Flies for 40 minutes you know you're hangin' from a rope. You have hardly

any clothes on. Teachers are yellin' at ya' "Where's your jock strap?" Ya' know and kids

are throwin' dodge balls at you. You're tryin' to survive ... Then its History,

Science, Language. There's something off in the entire flow of that day.

[END SHOW]

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