chapter 21

Chapter 21, "Something Hard and Thorny," describes his visit with the old lady, who moves extremely slowly. She makes them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with no jelly, and they eat without speaking. Zinkoff tells her about the Waiting Man who awaits his brother, and she asks the brother's name, a question that Zinkoff has never considered. Fearing she will ask his name and stop calling him "Mailman," he starts speaking quickly, about being able to spell "tintinnabulation," and getting an "A" in geography, and he asks if she has any stars. She produces a turkey sticker, which he puts on his shirt. He tells her about his favorite teachers, Miss Meeks and Mr. Yalowitz, and Jabip, and Andrew Orwell and Hector Binns and the Furnace Monster. He shows her his lucky pink bubblegum stone. When he leaves, the school day is over and he feels refreshed.