Question

At the last minute Annie couldn't go. She was invaded by one of those twenty-four-hour flu bugs
that sent her to bed with a fever, moaning about the fact that she'd also have to break her date
with Handsome Harry Arnold that night. We call him Handsome Harry because he's actually
handsome, but he's also a nice guy, cool, and he doesn't treat me like Annie's kid brother, which I
am, but like a regular person. Anyway, I had to go to Lawnrest alone that afternoon. But first of
all I had to stand inspection. My mother lined me up against the wall. She stood there like a oneman firing squad, which is kind of funny because she's not like a man at all, she's very feminine,
and we have this great relationship -- I mean, I feel as if she really likes me. I realize that sounds
strange, but I know guys whose mothers love them and cook special stuff for them and worry
about them and all but there's something missing in their relationship.
Anyway. She frowned and started the routine.
"That hair," she said. Then admitted: "Well, at least you combed it."
I sighed. I have discovered that it's better to sigh than argue.
"And that moustache." She shook her head. "I still say a seventeen-year-old has no business
wearing a moustache."
"It's an experiment," I said. "I just wanted to see if I could grow one." To tell the truth, I had
proved my point about being able to grow a decent moustache, but I also had learned to like it.
"It's costing you money, Mike," she said.
"I know, I know."
The money was a reference to the movies. The Downtown Cinema has a special Friday night
offer -- half price admission for high school couples, seventeen or younger. But the woman in the
box office took one look at my moustache and charged me full price. Even when I showed her
my driver's license. She charged full admission for Cindy's ticket, too, which left me practically
broke and unable to take Cindy out for a hamburger with the crowd afterward. That didn’t help
matters, because Cindy has been getting impatient recently about things like the fact that I don't
own my own car and have to concentrate on my studies if I want to win that college scholarship,
for instance. Cindy wasn't exactly crazy about the moustache, either.
Now it was my mother's turn to sigh.
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"Look," I said, to cheer her up. "I'm thinking about shaving it off." Even though I wasn't.
Another discovery: You can build a way of life on postponement.
"Your grandmother probably won't even recognize you," she said. And I saw the shadow fall
across her face.
Let me tell you what the visit to Lawnrest was all about. My grandmother is seventy-three years
old. She is a resident -- which is supposed to be a better word than patient -- at the Lawnrest
Nursing Home. She used to make the greatest turkey dressing in the world and was a nut about
baseball and could even quote batting averages, for crying out loud. She always rooted for the
losers. She was in love with the Mets until they started to win. Now she has arteriosclerosis,
which the dictionary says is "a chronic disease characterized by abnormal thickening and
hardening of the arterial walls." Which really means that she can't live at home anymore or even
with us, and her memory has betrayed her as well as her body. She used to wander off and
sometimes didn't recognize people. My mother visits her all the time, driving the thirty miles to
Lawnrest almost every day. Because Annie was at home for semester break from college, we had
decided to make a special Saturday visit. Now Annie was in bed, groaning theatrically -- she's a
drama major -- but I told my mother I'd go anyway.

Check-In (page 3): Read paragraphs of “The Moustache.” Use what you have learned about providing an objective summary to complete the activities.
Main Points Paragraphs 1-9
Explain Importance

Answer 1

Objective summary (paragraphs 1–9)
The narrator was supposed to visit Lawnrest nursing home with his sister Annie and their mother, but Annie caught a flu and stayed home, so he goes alone. Before leaving, his mother inspects his appearance—particularly his moustache—which causes tension because it has already led to social and financial problems (e.g., higher movie admission and friction with his girlfriend, Cindy). The narrator describes his close, affectionate relationship with his mother, then explains that the trip is to see their seventy-three-year-old grandmother, who has arteriosclerosis, memory loss, and now lives at Lawnrest; the narrator agrees to go despite Annie’s illness.

Main points (paragraphs 1–9) and why each is important
- Annie falls ill at the last minute and cannot go to Lawnrest.
Importance: Explains why the narrator must go alone and sets up the immediate situation.

- The narrator’s mother inspects him before he leaves, focusing on his hair and his new moustache.
Importance: Introduces a source of family tension and highlights the mother’s protective, judgmental role.

- The narrator defends the moustache as an “experiment” and admits he likes it; his mother objects, partly because it costs him money.
Importance: Establishes the moustache as a symbol of the narrator’s adolescence/identity and the practical consequences it has caused.

- The moustache caused trouble at the movies: he was charged full price despite being seventeen, and Cindy was charged full price too, leaving him short of money.
Importance: Shows concrete social consequences (embarrassment, financial strain) and explains friction with his girlfriend.

- The narrator notes his close, affectionate relationship with his mother and prefers sighing to arguing.
Importance: Characterizes family dynamics and how the narrator handles conflict.

- The narrator suggests shaving the moustache to placate his mother, though he doesn’t intend to.
Importance: Demonstrates his tendency to postpone change and foreshadows possible internal conflict.

- The mother remarks that the grandmother might not recognize him, showing worry.
Importance: Signals concern about the grandmother’s mental state and the emotional stakes of the visit.

- The grandmother is seventy-three, used to make great turkey dressing, loved baseball, and rooted for the Mets.
Importance: Humanizes the grandmother with specific, affectionate details that establish her personality and the family’s memories of her.

- The grandmother has arteriosclerosis and memory loss, must live at Lawnrest, and the mother visits often; the narrator agrees to go despite Annie’s absence.
Importance: Provides the reason for the trip, explains the grandmother’s condition and living situation, and shows family responsibility that motivates the visit.