God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Mushari drives to Pisquontuit to visit Fred, but Fred is sleeping in his sailboat, a habit he has on warm afternoons when he has no insurance appointments.

The Buntlines’ maid, Selena Deal, knows about Fred’s sailboat naps. She came from an orphanage the Buntline family founded. The Buntlines had three rules: their orphans must be Christian, they must take a weekly oath affirming their loyalty and gratitude, and each year a new, “an intelligent, clean” female orphan must come to work there. The Buntlines hoped that new orphans would use the year to appreciate the finer things in life and to aspire to greater heights. Selena has taken the oath over 600 times.

Selena wants to be a nurse. She writes to Wilfred Parrot, who runs the orphanage, and complains about the Buntlines, saying that Mrs. Buntline frequently accuses her of being ungrateful and plays Beethoven records at high speeds over the loudspeakers. Selena believes that the Buntlines act as if everything they do is a gift to those less fortunate. On one occasion, Mrs. Buntline took Selena to watch the sunset and quietly demanded a reciprocal “thank you.”

Mushari takes a detour to Newport and pays to tour the Rumfoord Mansion.