Socio-economic Status and Health Inequalities Relationship

Socio-economic Status and Health Inequalities Relationship In this essay I will discuss the relationship between underlying social structures and health outcomes. the debates about the casual pathways between socio-economic status and health inequalities. Inequality in health is the worst inequality of all. There is no more serious inequality than knowing that youll die sooner because you are badly off (Frank Dobson / DoH, 1997a). The term health inequalities refer to the difference in health opportunities and outcomes between individuals or group of people within society. From a literature review and many studies there is information which suggests that there are inequalities in health, and that the inequality between rich and poor, termed the health gap, is continuing to grow (Smith et al., cited in Davidson, Hunt Kitzinger 2003) The National Health Service was first implemented after World War II with ideological motto from birth to grave. The National Health Service (NHS) was established as a result of the 1944 White Paper, The National Health Service was based on recommendations in the 1942 Beveridge Report which called for a state welfare system. According to William Beveridge,a national welfare state is the only way for Britain to beat five giants Want, Ignorance, Disease, squalor and Idleness. The National Health Service was set up in 1948 to provide health care for all citizens, based on need, rather then ability to pay ; providing a compressive service funded only by taxation. Initially, and mistakenly, it was predicted that demand and the cost of service would decline as illnesses were cured. In fact, the opposite happened: An ageing population a expensive new technology and drugs created new financial pressure. Despite NHS improvement and the expansion of bio medicine, facts and statistic showed that that health of nation had improved generally but the improvement had not been equal across all social classes . The most widely accepted recent study of health inequalities and social class was the Black Report of 1980, which gathered information relating to the Standardised Mortality Rates (SMR) for different social classes in Britain, based on the Registrar Generals categorization according to occupation. In 1971 the death rate for adult men in social class V was nearly twice that of adult men in social class I. The purpose of The Black Report (1980) was to investigate the problem of health inequalities in the UK. The report analysed the lifestyles and health records of people from all social classes. It suggested that the causes of health inequalities were so deep rooted that only major public expenditure would be capable of altering the pattern (Jenkin 1980). This report showed that the gap in equalities of health between lower and higher social classes was widening. The problem had to be investigated outside NHS. The key causes of inequalities in health were linked with social economic factors such as low income, unemployment, poor environment, poor education and sub standard housing. The report looked at four explanations patterns in inequality. The artifact explanation which suggests health inequalities dont really exist, but only appear to because of the way class is constructed. the black report found evidence to support the view that the higher a persons social class, the more likely it would be to find them in good health. The report used infant mortality rates, life expectancy, mental illness and causes of death of people in different social classes. But critics such as Illsley (1986) argue that the statistical connection between social class and illness exaggerates the situation. Social selection explanations suggest that it is health that determines social class rather than class determining health, as those who are healthy will experience upwards social mobility (p36) which raises the death rates and levels of illnesses and disability within the lower classes as the unhealthy are pushed down the social scale (Naidoo and Wills, 1994). On the basis of data from a National of Health and Development, Wadswroth (1986) found that seriously ill boys were more likely to suffer a fall in social class than others Social selection did not explain the disadvantages that occur at all stages of individuals life cycle, also it did not account for the social class differences in health found in childhood, when there is not much social mobility but differences in mortality. (Marsh and Keating, 2006) Shaw et al (1999) argues that those from poorer backgrounds are faced with different economic, social and employment factor which can cause ill health. This shows that class pos ition shapes health, not vice versa. (Giddens, 2006) The behavioural / cultural approach, suggests that poorer health in classes IV and V is a consequence of less healthy behaviour associated with the lower classes, for example smoking and excessive drinking. The cultural / behavioural explanations stresses that differences in health are best understood as being the result of cultural choices made by individuals or groups in the population. In other words , inequalities are rooted in the behaviour and lifestyles of the individual, and those suffering from poor health have different attitudes, values and beliefs which mean that they do not look after themselves The behavioural / cultural approach, suggests that poorer health in classes IV and V is a consequence of less healthy behaviour associated with the lower classes, for example smoking and excessive drinking. The structural/material approach is that the material situation of the lower class is the most important factor in determining their poorer health.. It claims that poor health is the result of hazards to which some people have no choice but to be exposed given the present distribution of income and opportunity (Shaw et al, 1999). Poverty is the key factor that links a range of health risks. It is a known fact that poorer people have worse diets and worse housing condition and are more likely to be unemployed and generally have a more stressed life which may lead to increase smoking and drinking habits, potentially dangerous for long term health. This approach put emphasis in the circumstances which people make their choices are strongly affected by the extent of inequality existing in our society. Poverty limit choices, satisfying immediate gratification; it is about being denied the expectation of decent health, education, shelter, a social life and a sense of self esteem Marsh (200 0). Poverty and health are definitely linked and not only are the poor more likely to suffer from ill health and premature death, but poor health and disability are themselves recognised as causes of poverty (Blackburn1991, p7. Marmot Wilkinson try to explain that social hierarchy and income/wealth inequalities causes stress and ill health, operating trough mind/emotional pathways affecting peoples well being (lecture notes ). Health improvements have been made synonymous with income equality, as Wilkinson argues is to improve social cohesion and reduce the social divisions Richard Wilkinson (1997) argues that mortality, which is influenced by health, is affected more by the relative living standards of that country. He argues that mortality is related more closely to relative income within countries than in differences in absolute income between them. Statistics show that mortality rates have a trend of being lower in countries, which have less income inequality. He thinks that long-term economic growth rates seem to have no relation to any long-term rise in life expectancy Acheson Report (1998) was another important study into health inequality which was commissioned by the New Labour government in 1997. The main purpose of Acheson report was to update the findings of the Black Report and particularly to advice on priorities for policy development (Ham, 2004). It was a comprehensive survey of the disadvantaged. The findings mirrored those of the Black Report that the root cause of inequalities was poverty. Over the last 20 years death rates have fallen among both men and women and across all social groups. However, the difference in rates between those at the top and bottom of the social class has widened. The conclusion of the report was that the gap between richest and poorest had to be reduced. Davies (2001) explains that: The Labour government came into power in 1997 with a commitment to tackle health inequalities, and offered a third way with regard to policies on health (p183). The major health strategy published after the Acheson Report was the White Paper Saving Lives: Our healthier Nation (DoH 1999a) in July 1999. It endorsed the Acheson Report by emphasising the need to reduce inequalities in health. At the same time as the White Paper, Reducing Health Inequalities: an action report was published. It referred to policies for a fairer society, building healthy communities, education, employment, housing, transport, crime and healthcare (DoH 1999b). Later that year Opportunityfor all- Tackling poverty and social exclusion was published with the aim to eradicate child poverty in twenty years time. In November 1999, the Sure Start programme began to promote the physical, intellectual, social and emotional development of young children and their families (Sure Start 1999). By May 2003, around 500 Sure Start programmes were in action, reaching about one third of all children aged under four who were living in poverty. Not only do these programmes promote health and family support services but early education also. Another government initiative aimed at improving the education of disadvantaged children is the Education Action Zones. And to encourage children from low-income families to remain on at school an Education Maintenance Allowance was introduced (Graham 2001: 108). The governments main target for poverty was to reduce the number of children in low income households by at least a quarter by 2004, as a contribution towards the broader target of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020; but by 2001/2002, midway through the period set by the target, the government were only two fifths of the way to meeting this (Palmer et al 2003). Tax and benefit reforms were also introduced by the government, targeted at low income families with children. As paid employment is seen as the best way to avoid poverty, the government developed and reformed many policies to overcome barriers to employment. The governments biggest investment was  £5.2 billion in New Deal initiatives, aimed at promoting employment for different groups but especially young people who have been unemployed for six months and people over twenty five who have been unemployed for two years or more (Graham 2001). The aim of the initiative was to increase long-term employability by offering short-term employment opportunities. In April of 1999, the government introduced the first ever National minimal wage to the UK, this policy was aimed at reducing in-work poverty and decreasing the number of individuals dependent on social security. Conclusion Numerous government reports such as The Black Report, (1980) The Health Divide (1987) and The Acheson Report (1998) as well as official statistics have all related class and ill health. They have revealed massive class inequalities in health, by stating that nearly every kind of illness and disease is linked to class. Both the Black Report and Acheson Report identified policies to improve the circumstances of children as an essential condition for the reduction of health inequalities. Individuals in the lower socio-economic class may find themselves tight in a lifestyle cycle where problems that contribute to health inequalities remain unchanged. Loy payment, poor social housing, lack of qualification. are the important key that need tackling by government .it is not appropriate to educate people on healthier lifestyle choices ,ehen most of the time these choices are not avalible to them. Key problems that need tackling by the government are the continuous problems of low pay, lack of qualifications and the issues faced by those people living in poor social housing. It is not just enough to educate people on healthier lifestyle choices, when often these choices are not available to them. Taylor and Field conclude: There is now a general acceptance in research and policy circles that health inequalities are socially caused, and the major detriment is socio-economic inequality within society (2003:61).

Cheerleading Is a Sport

March 15, 2010 Cheerleading is a sport Do you consider cheerleading to be a sport like football, or any other sport? In most cases, many people tend to laugh at the idea of cheerleading being called a â€Å"sport†. People sometimes laugh because they are use to seeing cheerleaders cheer, and doing basic jumps only on the sidelines of games. In reality, they should know that cheerleading can be as dangerous as most sports. In the following essay I will be telling you why I consider cheerleading is a sport. Some part of the confusion on whether cheerleading is considered a sport or not; comes from the history of cheerleading. It all started during a football game at Princeton University. No one is sure about the date, but it is said to have started in the 1880s. At that time cheerleaders were limited to basic jumps. For example, back then they were only aloud to do cartwheels. Many years’ later competitions for cheerleading started. These competitions were not about what team can scream the loudest. These competitions were about whom can do the best stunts, have the most solid pyramid, and lastly have the best tumbling Many cheerleaders, coaches, and others involved in cheerleading, know that what cheerleaders do is just as challenging as other sports, For example, like cross-country, they run. Football players toss others, they toss girls up in the air, and the girls expect to be catch by their teammates. Like soccer players kick, they can have high kicks. Lastly, they can jump and tumble like gymnast. Cheerleaders also risk themselves building up pyramids. They are risking themselves because it can be dangerous when some one falls off or something might have gone wrong. Cheerleaders also have injuries through out the year and tryouts like all other sports. Cheerleading takes just as much dedication and skills as any other sport. Most people in this country would define a sport as an activity that pushes the individual physically and mentally to perform at their levels. And also to have some competitive component involved. Today, the games that cheerleaders attend for their school are mostly practice compared to the competitive events. If people doubt that cheerleading is a sport, they can easily take a look at some cheerleading squads performing a routine. People can go ahead and look at them on ESPN (the cable sports network). ESPN officially declared cheerleading a sport. They also began showing the national cheerleading competitions that were taking place around the country. In this show you will be able to see members of the squad leap across the matt’s. Also complete tumbling just like gymnast. Hopefully one day cheerleading will be considered a sport as football or any other sport to everyone in this country. Maybe even appear in the Olympics, since cheerleaders are just athletic and physically fit as those involved and accepted as sports.

Compare and Contrast the Three Categories of Scope

Question 1: Compare and contrast the three categories of scope of charge to income tax A modern form of income tax was introduced into Federation of Malaya in 1947 by using the derived and remittance basis. Income Tax Act (ITA) 1967 came into effect has imposed world income basis on the resident company involved in specialized industries. Malaysia adopted a territorial and remittance. With effect of year of assessment of 2004, taxation basis amended to exempt income remitted into Malaysia from oversea.Until now, Malaysia income tax imposed on territorial basis that tax on income accrued in or derived from Malaysia. The revolution of these three taxation basis has different scope of charge to resident person and non-resident person. The individual and company residence status and also the sources of income are examined under three basis to determine which kind of income received by taxable person should be taxed. Resident status is determined by the number of day physically presence w ithin the country where generally individual stay in Malaysia total 182 days or more will be a resident.Territorial basis: Under territorial basis which Malaysia is applying currently, taxable person such as individual, company or bodies of person is chargeable only on income accruing in or derived from Malaysia. Income arising within Malaysia borders means the territories of the Federation of Malaysia, the territorial waters of Malaysia and the sea-bed and sub-soil of territorial waters and any area extending beyond the limits of the territorial waters of Malaysia are subjected to tax.In this scope of charge, resident and non resident individual and company are all taxable on its income derived from Malaysia only. Non resident company taxed on income accrued or derived from Malaysia if it has permanent establishment in Malaysia. Derived and Remittance Basis: This scope of charge provided that resident person is chargeable on income accruing in or derived from Malaysia and also inco me received in Malaysia from oversea.Prior to year of assessment of 2004, only non-resident are exempted from tax on foreign source income received in Malaysia. Income remitted into Malaysia from oversea by resident person is taxable before 2004 until the effective year of assessment in 2004, a revised paragraph 28 Schedule 6 ITA exempts the income of any person including resident person received in Malaysia except those resident company carrying business on specialized industry that will be discussed later in world income basis.World income basis Resident company and non-resident company are taxed on territorial basis except for resident company carrying on business in specialized industries such as banking, insurance, sea and air transport. Under Section 60C of ITA, 1967, business sources income from these industries are taxed on world income basis. This means that business income of resident company will be imposed on tax regardless of wherever the income derived even if income a rises outside the country where individual resides.Question 2: Discuss the relevance of the three categories on the types of income received by a taxable person. These three categories of taxation basis imposed on different kind of income received by taxable person. Territorial or derived Basis In the scope of territorial basis, taxable person such as resident and non-resident individual and company excluded company carrying in specialized industry such as banking, insurance, sea and air transporter are taxed on income derived in Malaysia.Non-resident individual and company do not taxed on income received in Malaysia from oversea. Under section 4(a) ITA, income tax is imposed on gains and profit of a business. Resident and non-resident company that earn profit from their normal business activity in Malaysia are liable to tax as in accordance to the territorial basis stated that any income accrued and derived in Malaysia must be taxed. Business income for resident company are general ly taxable but non-resident company only taxable provided they has permanent establishment in Malaysia.For example, business profit gained from Hwa Tai Industries Berhad, local biscuit manufacturer company that does not fall under special industry is taxable based on resident company tax rate of 25%. Another example for non-resident company cases such as company Seesaw ltd carrying business of clothing manufacturer, it will be taxed only on business source income from clothing in Malaysia. Besides, this basis provided that employment income derived from Malaysia for resident and non-resident individual under section 4(b) of ITA 1967 is hargeable to tax. For examples, Mr. Erick Lund from Sweden who is a non-resident works in Shell company is liable to tax for his employment income. However for non-resident individual, they are also subjected to tax on the income of employment exercised in Malaysia but they are exempted if they satisfied the 60 day rule under paragraph 21 and 22 Sched ule 6. Although tax liability arise when income accrued in or derived from Malaysia in territorial basis, there are numerous types of income are exempted from tax in the hand of resident individual.Resident individual can enjoy the benefit of tax exemption such as pension income paid for Malaysian employment for approved scheme (paragraph 30, Schedule 6 of ITA) , royalties for literary and artistic (paragraph 32, 32A, 32B), income for cultural performance approved by minister (paragraph 32C), income for musical composition (paragraph 32D) and also interest income from financial institution with effect from 30 August 2008.Other types of investment income that did not listed fall in Section 4 (c), (d), (e), (f) are generally taxable for resident individual. Revenue income that is assessable to tax includes interest received for Islamic securities, other than convertible loan stock, approved by securities commission and rental income. For examples, Mrs Lim who works as a clerk in accou nting firm also received income from renting her apartment to few people.Apart from employment income as clerk is taxable under section 4 ( b), her rental income also liable to tax under section 4 ( d). For non-resident individual, they are subjected to tax on the income of employment exercised in Malaysia as mentioned above and also exempted for pension income paid for Malaysian employment for approved scheme, interest received Islamic securities and also interest from financial institution.However, they are taxable on royalties, income for cultural performance, income for musical composition. royalties for literary and artistic, income for cultural performance approved by minister, income for musical composition and also interest income from financial institution in paragraph 33, Schedule 6. References: 1. Inland Revenue Board Malaysia, 2011. Residence Status of Companies and Bodies of Persons. [online] Inland Revenue Board Malaysia. Available at:<

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates (1966) - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 19 Words: 5819 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/08/02 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Essay Did you like this example? Her name was Connie. She was fifteen and she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other peoples faces to make sure her own was all right. Her mother, who noticed everything and knew everything and who hadnt much reason any longer to look at her own face, always scolded Connie about it. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates (1966)" essay for you Create order Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think youre so pretty? she would say. Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar old complaints and look right through her mother, into a shadowy vision of herself as she was right at that moment: she knew she was pretty and that was everything. Her mother had been pretty once too, if you could believe those old snapshots in the album, but now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie. Why dont you keep your room clean like your sister? Howve you got your hair fixedwhat the hell stinks? Hair spray? You dont see your sister using that junk. Her sister June was twenty-four and still lived at home. She was a secretary in the high school Connie attended, and if that wasnt bad enoughwith her in the same buildingshe was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time by her mother and her mothers sisters. June did this, June did that, she saved money and helped clean the house and cooked and Connie couldnt do a thing, her mind was all filled with trashy daydreams. Their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed. He didnt bother talking much to them, but around his bent head Connies mother kept picking at her until Connie wished her mother was dead and she herself was dead and it was all over. She makes me want to throw up sometimes, she complained to her friends. She had a high, breathless, amused voice that made everything she said sound a little forced, whether it was sincere or not. There was one good thing: June went places with girl friends of hers, girls who were just as plain and steady as she, and so when Connie wanted to do that her mother had no objections. The father of Connies best girl friend drove the girls the three miles to town and left them at a shopping plaza so they could walk through the stores or go to a movie, and when he came to pick them up again at eleven he never bothered to ask what they had done. They must have been familiar sights, walking around the shopping plaza in their shorts and flat ballerina slippers that always scuffed the sidewalk, with charm bracelets jingling on their thin wrists; they would lean together to whisper and laugh secretly if someone passed who amused or interested them. Connie had long dark blond hair that drew anyones eye to it, and she wore part of it pulled up on her head and puffed out and the rest of it she let fall down her back. She wore a pull-over jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home. Everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home: her walk, which could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearing music in her head; her mouth, which was pale and smirking most of the time, but bright and pink on these evenings out; her laugh, which was cynical and drawling at homeHa, ha, very funny,but highpitched an d nervous anywhere else, like the jingling of the charms on her bracelet. Sometimes they did go shopping or to a movie, but sometimes they went across the highway, ducking fast across the busy road, to a drive-in restaurant where older kids hung out. The restaurant was shaped like a big bottle, though squatter than a real bottle, and on its cap was a revolving figure of a grinning boy holding a hamburger aloft. One night in midsummer they ran across, breathless with daring, and right away someone leaned out a car window and invited them over, but it was just a boy from high school they didnt like. It made them feel good to be able to ignore him. They went up through the maze of parked and cruising cars to the bright- lit, fly-infested restaurant, their faces pleased and expectant as if they were entering a sacred building that loomed up out of the night to give them what haven and blessing they yearned for. They sat at the counter and crossed their legs at the ankles, their thin shoulders rigid with excitement, and listened to the music that made everythin g so good: the music was always in the background, like music at a church service; it was something to depend upon. A boy named Eddie came in to talk with them. He sat backwards on his stool, turning himself jerkily around in semicircles and then stopping and turning back again, and after a while he asked Connie if she would like something to eat. She said she would and so she tapped her friends arm on her way outher friend pulled her face up into a brave, droll lookand Connie said she would meet her at eleven, across the way. I just hate to leave her like that, Connie said earnestly, but the boy said that she wouldnt be alone for long. So they went out to his car, and on the way Connie couldnt help but let her eyes wander over the windshields and faces all around her, her face gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place; it might have been the music. She drew her shoulders up and sucked in her breath with the pure pleasure of being alive, and just at that moment she happened to glance at a face just a few feet from hers. It was a boy with shaggy black hair, in a conve rtible jalopy painted gold. He stared at her and then his lips widened into a grin. Connie slit her eyes at him and turned away, but she couldnt help glancing back and there he was, still watching her. He wagged a finger and laughed and said, Gonna get you, baby, and Connie turned away again without Eddie noticing anything. She spent three hours with him, at the restaurant where they ate hamburgers and drank Cokes in wax cups that were always sweating, and then down an alley a mile or so away, and when he left her off at five to eleven only the movie house was still open at the plaza. Her girl friend was there, talking with a boy. When Connie came up, the two girls smiled at each other and Connie said, How was the movie? and the girl said, You should know. They rode off with the girls father, sleepy and pleased, and Connie couldnt help but look back at the darkened shopping plaza with its big empty parking lot and its signs that were faded and ghostly now, and over at the drive-in restaurant where cars were still circling tirelessly. She couldnt hear the music at this distance. Next morning June asked her how the movie was and Connie said, So-so. She and that girl and occasionally another girl went out several times a week, and the rest of the time Connie spent around the houseit was summer vacationgetting in her mother s way and thinking, dreaming about the boys she met. But all the boys fell back and dissolved into a single face that was not even a face but an idea, a feeling, mixed up with the urgent insistent pounding of the music and the humid night air of July. Connies mother kept dragging her back to the daylight by finding things for her to do or saying suddenly, Whats this about the Pettinger girl? And Connie would say nervously, Oh, her. That dope. She always drew thick clear lines between herself and such girls, and her mother was simple and kind enough to believe it. Her mother was so simple, Connie thought, that it was maybe cruel to fool her so much. Her mother went scuffling around the house in old bedroom slippers and complained over the telephone to one sister about the other, then the other called up and the two of them complained about the third one. If Junes name was mentioned her mothers tone was approving, and if Connies name was mentioned it was disapproving. This did not really mean she disliked Connie, and actually Connie thought that her mother preferred her to June just because she was prettier, but the two of them kept up a pretense of exasperation, a sense that they were tugging and struggling over something of little value to either of them. Sometimes, over coffee, they were almost friends, but something would come upsome vexation that was like a fly buzzin g suddenly around their headsand their faces went hard with contempt. One Sunday Connie got up at elevennone of them bothered with churchand washed her hair so that it could dry all day long in the sun. Her parents and sister were going to a barbecue at an aunts house and Connie said no, she wasnt interested, rolling her eyes to let her mother know just what she thought of it. Stay home alone then, her mother said sharply. Connie sat out back in a lawn chair and watched them drive away, her father quiet and bald, hunched around so that he could back the car out, her mother with a look that was still angry and not at all softened through the windshield, and in the back seat poor old June, all dressed up as if she didnt know what a barbecue was, with all the running yelling kids and the flies. Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if this were a kind of love, the caresses of love, and her mind slipped over onto thoughts of the boy she had been with the night before and how nice he had been, how sweet it always was, not the way someone like June would suppose but sweet, gentle, the way it was in movies and promised in songs; and when she opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was, the back yard ran off into weeds and a fence-like line of trees and behind it the sky was perfectly blue and still. The asbestos ranch house that was now three years old startled herit looked small. She shook her head as if to get awake. It was too hot. She went inside the house and turned on the radio to drown out the quiet. She sat on the edge of her bed, barefoot, and listened for an hour and a half to a program called XYZ Sunday Jamboree, record after record of hard, fast, shrieking songs she sang along with, interspersed by exclamations from Bobby King: An look here, you girls at NapoleonsSon and Charley want you to pay real close attention to this song coming up! And Connie paid close attention herself, bathed in a glow of slow-pulsed joy that seemed to rise mysteriously out of the music itself and lay languidly about the airless little room, breathed in and breathed out with each gentle rise and fall of her chest. After a while she heard a car coming up the drive. She sat up at once, startled, because it couldnt be her father so soon. The gravel kept crunching all the way in from the roadthe driveway was longand Connie ran to the window. It was a car she didnt know. It was an open jalopy, painted a bright gold that caught the sunlight opaquely. Her heart began to pound and her fingers snatched at her hair, checking it, and she whispered, Christ. Christ, wondering how bad she looked. The car came to a stop at the side door and the horn sounded four short taps, as if this were a signal Connie knew. She went into the kitchen and approached the door slowly, then hung out the screen door, her bare toes curling down off the step. There were two boys in the car and now she recognized the driver: he had shaggy, shabby black hair that looked crazy as a wig and he was grinning at her. I aint late, am I? he said. Who the hell do you think you are? Connie said. Toldja Id be out, didnt I? I dont even know who you are. She spoke sullenly, careful to show no interest or pleasure, and he spoke in a fast, bright monotone. Connie looked past him to the other boy, taking her time. He had fair brown hair, with a lock that fell onto his forehead. His sideburns gave him a fierce, embarrassed look, but so far he hadnt even bothered to glance at her. Both boys wore sunglasses. The drivers glasses were metallic and mirrored everything in miniature. You wanta come for a ride? he said. Connie smirked and let her hair fall loose over one shoulder. Dontcha like my car? New paint job, he said. Hey. What? Youre cute. She pretended to fidget, chasing flies away from the door. Dontcha believe me, or what? he said. Look, I dont even know who you are, Connie said in disgust. Hey, Ellies got a radio, see. Mine broke down. He lifted his friends arm and showed her the little transistor radio the boy was holding, and now Connie began to hear the music. It was the same program that was playing inside the house. Bobby King? she said. I listen to him all the time. I think hes great. Hes kind of great, Connie said reluctantly. Listen, that guys great. He knows where the action is. Connie blushed a little, because the glasses made it impossible for her to see just what this boy was looking at. She couldnt decide if she liked him or if he was just a jerk, and so she dawdled in the doorway and wouldnt come down or go back inside. She said, Whats all that stuff painted on your car? Cantcha read it? He opened the door very carefully, as if he were afraid it might fall off. He slid out just as carefully, planting his feet firmly on the ground, the tiny metallic world in his glasses slowing down like gelatine hardening, and in the midst of it Connies bright green blouse. This here is my name, to begin with, he said. ARNOLD FRIEND was written in tarlike black letters on the side, with a drawing of a round, grinning face that reminded Connie of a pumpkin, except it wore sunglasses. I wanta introduce myself, Im Arnold Friend and thats my real name and Im gonna be your friend, honey, and inside the cars Ellie Oscar, hes kinda shy. Ellie brought his transistor radio up to his shoulder and balanced it there. Now, these numbers are a secret code, honey, Arnold Friend explained. He read off the numbers 33, 19, 17 and raised his eyebrows at her to see what she thought of that, but she didnt think much of it. The left rear fender had been smashed and around it was written, on the gleaming gold background: DONE BY CRAZY WOMAN DRIVER. Connie had to laugh at that. Arnold Friend was pleased at her laughter and looked up at her. Around the other sides a lot more you wanta come and see them? No. Why not? Why should I? Dontcha wanta see whats on the car? Dontcha wanta go for a ride? I dont know. Why not? I got things to do. Like what? Things. He laughed as if she had said something funny. He slapped his thighs. He was standing in a strange way, leaning back against the car as if he were balancing himself. He wasnt tall, only an inch or so taller than she would be if she came down to him. Connie liked the way he was dressed, which was the way all of them dressed: tight faded jeans stuffed into black, scuffed boots, a belt that pulled his waist in and showed how lean he was, and a white pull-over shirt that was a little soiled and showed the hard small muscles of his arms and shoulders. He looked as if he probably did hard work, lifting and carrying things. Even his neck looked muscular. And his face was a familiar face, somehow: the jaw and chin and cheeks slightly darkened because he hadnt shaved for a day or two, and the nose long and hawklike, sniffing as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up and it was all a joke. Connie, you aint telling the truth. This is your day set aside for a ride with me and you know it, he said, still laughing. The way he straightened and recovered from his fit of laughing showed that it had been all fake. How do you know what my name is? she said suspiciously. Its Connie. Maybe and maybe not. I know my Connie, he said, wagging his finger. Now she remembered him even better, back at the restaurant, and her cheeks warmed at the thought of how she had sucked in her breath just at the moment she passed himhow she must have looked to him. And he had remembered her. Ellie and I come out here especially for you, he said. Ellie can sit in back. How about it? Where? Where what? Wherere we going? He looked at her. He took off the sunglasses and she saw how pale the skin around his eyes was, like holes that were not in shadow but instead in light. His eyes were like chips of broken glass that catch the light in an amiable way. He smiled. It was as if the idea of going for a ride somewhere, to someplace, was a new idea to him. Just for a ride, Connie sweetheart. I never said my name was Connie, she said. But I know what it is. I know your name and all about you, lots of things, Arnold Friend said. He had not moved yet but stood still leaning back against the side of his jalopy. I took a special interest in you, such a pretty girl, and found out all about youlike I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres and I know where and how long theyre going to be gone, and I know who you were with last night, and your best girl friends name is Betty. Right? He spoke in a simple lilting voice, exactly as if he were reciting the words to a song. His smile assured her that everything was fine. In the car Ellie turned up the volume on his radio and did not bother to look around at them. Ellie can sit in the back seat, Arnold Friend said. He indicated his friend with a casual jerk of his chin, as if Ellie did not count and she should not bother with him. Howd you find out all that stuff? Connie said. Listen: Betty Schultz and Tony Fitch and Jimmy Pettinger and Nancy Pettinger, he said in a chant. Raymond Stanley and Bob Hutter Do you know all those kids? I know everybody. Look, youre kidding. Youre not from around here. Sure. Buthow come we never saw you before? Sure you saw me before, he said. He looked down at his boots, as if he were a little offended. You just dont remember. I guess Id remember you, Connie said. Yeah? He looked up at this, beaming. He was pleased. He began to mark time with the music from Ellies radio, tapping his fists lightly together. Connie looked away from his smile to the car, which was painted so bright it almost hurt her eyes to look at it. She looked at that name, ARNOLD FRIEND. And up at the front fender was an expression that was familiarMAN THE FLYING SAUCERS. It was an expression kids had used the year before but didnt use this year. She looked at it for a while as if the words meant something to her that she did not yet know. Whatre you thinking about? Huh? Arnold Friend demanded. Not worried about your hair blowing around in the car, are you? No. Think I maybe cant drive good? How do I know? Youre a hard girl to handle. How come? he said. Dont you know Im your friend? Didnt you see me put my sign in the air when you walked by? What sign? My sign. And he drew an X in the air, leaning out toward her. They were maybe ten feet apart. After his hand fell back to his side the X was still in the air, almost visible. Connie let the screen door close and stood perfectly still inside it, listening to the music from her radio and the boys blend together. She stared at Arnold Friend. He stood there so stiffly relaxed, pretending to be relaxed, with one hand idly on the door handle as if he were keeping himself up that way and had no intention of ever moving again. She recognized most things about him, the tight jeans that showed his thighs and buttocks and the greasy leather boots and the tight shirt, and even that slippery friendly smile of his, that sleepy dreamy smile that all the boys used to get across ideas they didnt want to put into words. She recognized all this and also the singsong way he talked, slightly mocking, kidding, but serious and a little melancholy, and she recognized the way he tapped one fist against the o ther in homage to the perpetual music behind him. But all these things did not come together. She said suddenly, Hey, how old are you? His smiled faded. She could see then that he wasnt a kid, he was much olderthirty, maybe more. At this knowledge her heart began to pound faster. Thats a crazy thing to ask. Cantcha see Im your own age? Like hell you are. Or maybe a couple years older. Im eighteen. Eighteen? she said doubtfully. He grinned to reassure her and lines appeared at the corners of his mouth. His teeth were big and white. He grinned so broadly his eyes became slits and she saw how thick the lashes were, thick and black as if painted with a black tarlike material. Then, abruptly, he seemed to become embarrassed and looked over his shoulder at Ellie. Him, hes crazy, he said. Aint he a riot? Hes a nut, a real character. Ellie was still listening to the music. His sunglasses told nothing about what he was thinking. He wore a bright orange shirt unbuttoned halfway to show his chest, which was a pale, bluish chest and not muscular like Arnold Friends. His shirt collar was turned up all around and the very tips of the collar pointed out past his chin as if they were protecting him. He was pressing the transistor radio up against his ear and sat there in a kind of daze, right in the sun. Hes kinda strange, Connie said. Hey, she says youre kinda strange! Kinda strange! Arnold Friend cried. He pounded on the car to get Ellies attention. Ellie turned for the first time and Connie saw with shock that he wasnt a kid eitherhe had a fair, hairless face, cheeks reddened slightly as if the veins grew too close to the surface of his skin, the face of a forty-year-old baby. Connie felt a wave of dizziness rise in her at this sight and she stared at him as if waiting for something to change the shock of the moment, make it all right again. Ellies lips kept shaping words, mumbling along with the words blasting in his ear. Maybe you two better go away, Connie said faintly. What? How come? Arnold Friend cried. We come out here to take you for a ride. Its Sunday. He had the voice of the man on the radio now. It was the same voice, Connie thought. Dontcha know its Sunday all day? And honey, no matter who you were with last night, today youre with Arnold Friend and dont you forget it! Maybe you better step out here, he said, and this last was in a different voice. It was a little flatter, as if the heat was finally getting to him. No. I got things to do. Hey. You two better leave. We aint leaving until you come with us. Like hell I am Connie, dont fool around with me. I meanI mean, dont fool around, he said, shaking his head. He laughed incredulously. He placed his sunglasses on top of his head, carefully, as if he were indeed wearing a wig, and brought the stems down behind his ears. Connie stared at him, another wave of dizziness and fear rising in her so that for a moment he wasnt even in focus but was just a blur standing there against his gold car, and she had the idea that he had driven up the driveway all right but had come fromnowhere before that and belonged nowhere and that everything about him and even about the music that was so familiar to her was only half real. If my father comes and sees you He aint coming. Hes at a barbecue. How do you know that? Aunt Tillies. Right now theyre uhtheyre drinking. Sitting around, he said vaguely, squinting as if he were staring all the way to town and over to Aunt Tillies back yard. Then the vision seemed to get clear and he nodded energetically. Yeah. Sitting around. Theres your sister in a blue dress, huh? And high heels, the poor sad bitchnothing like you, sweetheart! And your mothers helping some fat woman with the corn, theyre cleaning the cornhusking the corn What fat woman? Connie cried. How do I know what fat woman, I dont know every goddamn fat woman in the world! Arnold Friend laughed. Oh, thats Mrs. Hornsby . . . . Who invited her? Connie said. She felt a little lightheaded. Her breath was coming quickly. Shes too fat. I dont like them fat. I like them the way you are, honey, he said, smiling sleepily at her. They stared at each other for a while through the screen door. He said softly, Now, what youre going to do is this: youre going to come out that door. You re going to sit up front with me and Ellies going to sit in the back, the hell with Ellie, right? This isnt Ellies date. Youre my date. Im your lover, honey. What? Youre crazy Yes, Im your lover. You dont know what that is but you will, he said. I know that too. I know all about you. But look: its real nice and you couldnt ask for nobody better than me, or more polite. I always keep my word. Ill tell you how it is, Im always nice at first, the first time. Ill hold you so tight you wont think you have to try to get away or pretend anything because youll know you cant. And Ill come inside you where its all secret and youll give in to me and youll love me Shut up! Youre crazy! Connie said. She backed away from the door. She put her hands up against her ears as if shed heard something terrible, something not meant for her. People dont talk like that, youre crazy, she muttered. Her heart was almost too big now for her chest and its pumping made sweat break out all over her. She looked out to see Arnold Friend pause and then take a step toward the porch, lurching. He almost fell. But, like a clever drunken man, he managed to catch his balance. He wobbled in his high boots and grabbed hold of one of the porch posts. Honey? he said. You still listening? Get the hell out of here! Be nice, honey. Listen. Im going to call the police He wobbled again and out of the side of his mouth came a fast spat curse, an aside not meant for her to hear. But even this Christ! sounded forced. Then he began to smile again. She watched this smile come, awkward as if he were smiling from inside a mask. His whole face was a mask, she thought wildly, tanned down to his throat but then running out as if he had plastered make-up on his face but had forgotten about his throat. Honey? Listen, heres how it is. I always tell the truth and I promise you this: I aint coming in that house after you. You better not! Im going to call the police if youif you dont Honey, he said, talking right through her voice, honey, I m not coming in there but you are coming out here. You know why? She was panting. The kitchen looked like a place she had never seen before, some room she had run inside but that wasnt good enough, wasnt going to help her. The kitchen window had never had a curtain, after three years, and there were dishes in the sink for her to doprobablyand if you ran your hand across the table youd probably feel something sticky there. You listening, honey? Hey? going to call the police Soon as you touch the phone I dont need to keep my promise and can come inside. You wont want that. She rushed forward and tried to lock the door. Her fingers were shaking. But why lock it, Arnold Friend said gently, talking right into her face. Its just a screen door. Its just nothing. One of his boots was at a strange angle, as if his foot wasnt in it. It pointed out to the left, bent at the ankle. I mean, anybody can break through a screen door and glass and wood and iron or anything else if he needs to, anybody at all, and specially Arnold Friend. If the place got lit up with a fire, honey, youd come runnin out into my arms, right into my arms an safe at homelike you knew I was your lover andd stopped fooling around. I dont mind a nice shy girl but I dont like no fooling around. Part of those words were spoken with a slight rhythmic lilt, and Connie somehow recognized themthe echo of a song from last year, about a girl rushing into her boy friends arms and coming home again Connie stood barefoot on the linoleum floor, staring at him. What do you want? she whispered. I want you, he said. What? Seen you that night and thought, thats the one, yes sir. I never needed to look anymore. But my fathers coming back. Hes coming to get me. I had to wash my hair first She spoke in a dry, rapid voice, hardly raising it for him to hear. No, your daddy is not coming and yes, you had to wash your hair and you washed it for me. Its nice and shining and all for me. I thank you sweetheart, he said with a mock bow, but again he almost lost his balance. He had to bend and adjust his boots. Evidently his feet did not go all the way down; the boots must have been stuffed with something so that he would seem taller. Connie stared out at him and behind him at Ellie in the car, who seemed to be looking off toward Connies right, into nothing. This Ellie said, pulling the words out of the air one after another as if he were just discovering them, You want me to pull out the phone? Shut your mouth and keep it shut, Arnold Friend said, his face red from bending over or maybe from embarrassment because Connie had seen his boots. This aint none of your business. Whatwhat are you doing? What do you want? Connie said. If I call the police theyll get you, theyll arrest you Promise was not to come in unless you touch that phone, and Ill keep that promise, he said. He resumed his erect position and tried to force his shoulders back. He sounded like a hero in a movie, declaring something important. But he spoke too loudly and it was as if he were speaking to someone behind Connie. I aint made plans for coming in that house where I dont belong but just for you to come out to me, the way you should. Dont you know who I am? Youre crazy, she whispered. She backed away from the door but did not want to go into another part of the house, as if this would give him permission to come through the door. What do you . . . youre crazy, you. . . . Huh? Whatre you saying, honey? Her eyes darted everywhere in the kitchen. She could not remember what it was, this room. This is how it is, honey: you come out and well drive away, have a nice ride. But if you dont come out were gonna wait till your people come home and then theyre all going to get it. You want that telephone pulled out? Ellie said. He held the radio away from his ear and grimaced, as if without the radio the air was too much for him. I toldja shut up, Ellie, Arnold Friend said, youre deaf, get a hearing aid, right? Fix yourself up. This little girls no trouble ands gonna be nice to me, so Ellie keep to yourself, this aint your date right? Dont hem in on me, dont hog, dont crush, dont bird dog, dont trail me, he said in a rapid, meaningless voice, as if he were running through all the expressions hed learned but was no longer sure which of them was in style, then rushing on to new ones, making them up with his eyes closed. Dont crawl under my fence, dont squeeze in my chipmonk hole, dont sniff my glue, suck my popsicle, keep your own greasy fingers on yourself! He shaded his eyes and peered in at Connie, who was backed against the kitchen table. Dont mind him, honey, hes just a creep. Hes a dope. Right? Im the boy for you, and like I said, you come out here nice like a lady and give me your hand.