Death of a Salesman
Julius Adelman waited years for his customers to pay off their refrigerators, dish sets, and linens. His son Steve waited much longer for his father’s alleged killers to face justice.
Cover Story
Steve Adelman needed only to hear the crunch of station-wagon metal to know that his father, Julius, had made it home.
The huge Ford would arrive at its Randallstown, Md., home ass first, backing onto the blacktop. At the driveway’s lip, the suspension would fail under the weight of the unsold merchandise piled in the back-back seats. The wagon would bottom out, its license plate skidding along the concrete, producing a stubborn, high-pitched riff.
Steve, the middle of Julius’ three adopted sons, always heard the scraping. His bedroom faced the driveway. By the time he turned 10, the wagon’s nightly whine had became his cue to go outside and help his old man unload the wagon’s contents into the back yard’s big white shed.
Where Julius Adelman had been and whom he had seen were complete mysteries to Steve. A traveling salesman who sold “everything but shoes,” Julius worked a home-delivery route that took him into the most crime-ridden sections of the District. For 40 years, he played the discount wizard, selling an off-brand rainbow of goods to people suffering from bad credit or a soft spot for a charmer.
Julius would greet his son dressed in the clothes he sold—flannel shirt and polyester pants—with a White Owl cigar stuck between his lips. They had a system of how things went into the shed:
•rolls of carpet first;
•then televisions, microwaves, free-standing and boxed fans, and other appliances;
•and, last, from the wagon’s well, shirts, dish sets, utensils, and drapes.... Continued 
Issue of Apr. 1 - 7, 2005
News and Features
- Death of a Salesman
Cover Story - Hall Monitor
The City - Off the Mark
The City - Price Pick of the Week
Seller's Market - Crash Course
The Mail - The Lady Doth Protest Too Much
The Mail
Columns
- More Guts Than Glories
Cheap Seats - Living Auction
City Desk - Forgive Us Our Trespassers
City Desk - GRAHAM DOES IT AGAIN
Loose Lips
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Young & Hungry
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- Divided Unions
Film Review - The Noir to End All Noirs
Film Review - Race Around the World
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- The Sea Inside
Theater Review - Water Works
Theater Review
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- Composed Yourself
Artifacts - Quiet Revolutionary
Artifacts - Memory Pictures
Art Review - Working Through the Pain
Arts - OBJECT LESSON
Show & Tell
City Lights
This week's best in Arts and Entertainment.
- John Carpenter: The Beginnings
City Lights - Notations
City Lights - Maverick Classicist: Bertrand Tavernier
City Lights - Jasper Nifong
City Lights - Foot Health Awareness Month
City Lights - Brando: The Greatest Actor of All Time
City Lights - Wollemi Pine
City Lights - MC5: A True Testimonial
City Lights - Joy Harjo
City Lights - Lucky Luciano
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