# VIII: Hudson to Yonkers 106.5 explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

The family takes a rainy car trip from Hudson to Yonkers, stopping for breakfast at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, buying a coop for David and a cap for the narrator in Poughkeepsie, and passing through Garrison, Peekskill, Harmon, Ossining, and Tarrytown. The father provides dry, witty commentary about each town, and the chapter ends with a joke about Yonkers being home to umpires and referees.

## Themes in this chapter

### Family and Generational Conflict

The father's sarcastic replies and the mother's admiration and occasional retorts highlight the playful yet tense dynamics within the family.

### Satire of Media and Business

The father's quips about Rockefeller's estate being named 'Socony' and the reference to umpires and referees as the 'ruling class' satirize business and authority figures.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Grant

The father, who drives the family and makes sarcastic remarks about each town.

### Mrs. Green

The mother, who reads the guidebook and asks questions about the towns.

### Sis

The narrator, who wears a new cap and observes the journey.

## Key lines

> I used the brains god gave me was my fathers posthumous reply.

My father said he used his natural intelligence.

_The father's dry humor about finding the garage owner's house._

> What of it replid my father with a grimace and with that we puled into Garrison.

My father shrugged off my mother's comment about the cap and we drove into Garrison.

_The father's dismissive attitude toward the mother's observation._

> Why this is Ossining where they take off the hair and put on the stripes replid my father qick as a Harsh

My father quickly replied that Ossining is where prisoners get their heads shaved and put on striped uniforms.

_A reference to Sing Sing prison, showing the father's wit._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/viii-hudson-to-yonkers-106-5
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters