"Hey, old man, you look at me." "I got something to say to you." "Every time we land someplace new, you say it's gonna be different, but it ain't." "You mess up a lot, then you leave a mess for me and Mama and Dorothy to clean up and that ain't right." "That's all I'm saying." "Hell, I do what I gotta do." "You do whatever the hell you want, whatever you can get away with." "You're just a selfish old drunk." "Yeah, that's what you is." "This place is gonna be after us." "Hell, they'll be on you, and they're gonna beat your ass." "And I hate to see you go down." "I know you're my daddy." "You know you sure are, ain't you?" "I'm talking at you." "What you done this time, they'll beat your ass to shit." "That's what they're gonna do." "You can count on it." "Service but was looking at some of the Doppler radar estimates and it looked as if close to three inches of rain fell with a little thunderstorm complex..." "Round 'em up, Junior." " Yo, it ain't lunchtime yet." " Round 'em up." "Let's pack up the gear, guys." "Let's get out of here!" "One at a time, one at a time." " Hey, hey, hey... one at a time." " I'm trying to get situated." "Go, go, go." "Why y'all moving so slow?" "Looks like y'all goddamn turtles out there." "It's getting rained on!" "Damn, Joe, when you gonna get that new truck, Joe?" "What's wrong with this one?" "It's raggedy." "You can't tell what's wrong with it?" " You don't know?" " Yeah..." " think I'd get another one." " Damn right." "Let me get a cigarette." "I'm gonna have to start taking this out of your pay." "All right, then." "See you tomorrow if the sun comes up." "I'll holler at you in the morning." "Let me know." "All right." "Which jersey now?" "Pittsburgh yellow?" "All right!" "You can see the moisture moving northward out of Mexico and also out into the Gulf of Mexico, meeting up with this frontal system, which is slowly being..." "been sagging southward." "As we look at temperatures with the cloud cover, not as hot as what we've been seeing, but the cool-down isn't related to Canadian air." "Here's some Canadian air over the northeastern part of the country." "Very high dew points." "This represents a whole lot of moisture available to us and to those tall clouds producing the heavy rains." "So the showers and thunderstorms during tonight..." " Morning, Junior." " Morning, Joe." "You going to work this morning?" "Shit, Joe." "If it's gonna rain, call me." "I'll show up." "What about Shorty?" "He get drunk last night?" " Shorty almost got arrested last night." " What?" "He what?" " Hell, yeah." "All right." "Yeah, I'll be up at Coleman's in 30 minutes." " Y'all be ready." " Bye-bye!" "Ooh, Shorty, that was a rough night last night." "Almost didn't make it to work this morning, boy." " I heard some stories." " You'd be surprised." "Drinking and trying to touch this lady on the butt." "Here's Joe, y'all." "Here's Joe." "Come on, Joe, help a brother out, now." " Good morning, Joe." " Morning." "Y'all come go with me." " All right." " Don't know why, either." "Don't make no sense, though, you know?" " Morning, John." " Hello, Joe." " You want some coffee?" " No, I can get it." "It ain't cold, is it?" "It was cold yesterday." "Now let's see, you're Bill, right?" "I'm Shorty, he's Bill." " Where's Sammy today?" " Sammy gone fishing, Joe." "Hell, Sammy told me you fired him." "I fired his ass three times already." "You tell Sammy I'm gonna fire him for good if he don't start helping me out some." " Y'all want some coffee?" " Yeah, sure, man." " See that ball game last night?" " Yeah." "Them boys played one hell of a game." " Who won, though?" " We did, of course." " Shorty, you want some of these wieners?" " I'm good." "Shorty, if you had one like this, you'd be a bad boy, God damn." "Uh-huh, whatever." "You got one of these right here." "That's a shriveled Slim Jim." "Act like you ain't got nothing to do today." "Y'all gonna quit pussyfooting around me today." "You gonna get some work out of me, Junior." "All right, you're gonna take the east side over here." "Take the east side over there." " You all right?" " Yes, sir." "I want you to take the west side over here today, all right?" "Why you looking at me like you retarded?" "Get that thing on and go with him." " Shorty, you all right today?" " Yeah, I'm good, man." "Feeling pretty good?" "You look like a goddamn Ghostbuster today." "You all right?" "You gonna fight like one today?" " You gonna work like one?" " I work well, my man." " Huh?" " I'm good." " All right, don't trip on it." " Yeah." "Huh?" "Yeah, you're gonna go bust a move on me today, Shorty." "Yeah, bust them trees." "A snake!" "Better watch it there, man." "I don't know." "That cottonmouth's pretty big." "Look here." "Look at that." "Don't know how big he is." " Watch it there!" " Watch it, watch it!" " Watch it!" " Ooh!" "Hey, Junior." "Whoo-hoo, that's a big one now!" "He can be known as the snake god." "Joe, you got nuts of a bear, Joe." "That's what that woman told me last night..." ""I need another snake." I've seen one today." "Yeah." "That's what that fat woman said." "We got company." "Let me see that snake." " Ain't he a nice one?" " Mm." "See those fangs?" "You get bit by those, you're gonna die." "You're gonna wanna die." "Y'all don't kill it." "It's my friend." " Whoa!" " Damn!" "Almost throwed it over by me!" "Get back to work, y'all." "The show is over with." " I heard you screaming." " I wasn't scared." "I just move fast." "Whatever." "What y'all doing?" "Y'all cutting these trees?" "We're killing trees." "What for?" "Nedermeyer land." "The owner hires us to get rid of what's on it so they can come in and put strong pines on it." "Nobody wants these trees." "These trees are weak." "They're not good for anything." "These boys will sit down if I don't stay on their asses." " Hey, mister." " Yeah?" "I got a question for you." "You see, me and my daddy just got into town." "I was wondering if you'd give us a job." "We're looking for work." " How old are you?" " 15." "Well, you got 45 seconds to tell me why I should hire you." "I baled hay before, I worked on a truck." "I picked tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers." "Uh, okra." "Squash." "All right." "You're not afraid of work." "Good." " What's your name?" " Gary Jones." "I'm Joe." "I pay a day's pay for a day's work." "I pay on Fridays, so you get a little something today." " Okay." " But your first real payday is next Friday." "We start about 6:00 in the morning, quit at 1:00 or 2:00." "And if we work till dinner or get rained out, I pay for the whole day." " Does that sound fair enough?" " Yes, sir." "All right." "Follow this line of trees..." " Yes, sir." " Close to a half mile back to my truck." " Juice hatchets are in the back." " Yes, sir." "You get yourself one, fill it up with poison, come on back same way you went out." " Yes, sir." " And don't get lost." " I won't." " Hey!" "Don't you want to know how much you're getting paid?" " How you doing?" " Good." "Doing all right?" "You ready to work today?" " Yes, sir." " I'm Junior." " Gary." " Well, Gary, I'm gonna be over you today." "Raise your right hand." "You're gonna have to swear you're gonna work hard for me." "Not that hand, your right hand." "Your other right." "Your right hand." "There you go." "Put your hand up." "You got to swear on something." "Now you on the all-star team." " You promise to work hard?" " Yes, sir." "I don't know why Joe chose you." "You must be a good man." "First thing we do is fill these containers up, so we just gonna put it in there like that." "Once we get it filled up real good, then we on." " What's in the poison?" " Shit." "Shorty's grandmas make this in they basement." "I don't know what's in it, but we ain't gonna worry about it." "I know it works real good." "You thought that was easy pumping that thing, didn't you?" "I made it look easy 'cause I'm a man." "You're a little boy... you got to figure it out." "You see what I'm saying?" "There you go." "See how you figured that out?" "When you become a man, you gonna have everything figured out too." "Be careful." "Now this stuff is real poisonous and if it gets in your eyes, man, you're out of there." "Just ask Junior." "Now... now here you go." " Which hand you use?" " Uh, the right." "Okay." "Prime it up a little bit, keep striking it." "If you hit it hard enough, you only have to hit it three or four times." "Gotta get angry at the tree, man." "Get mad at it." "Yeah, I like that." "Get mad at it." "Keep on working it." "Mad." "Work with it, work with it!" "Yes, sir." "Get it!" "Keep on with it, youngster." "I like that, man." "Joe's been around, he's been around a little bit, man." "He's got some things up under his belt, man." "So I advise you, when you do go to Joe, keep it real with Joe." "Don't lie to him about nothing." "And one thing Joe is real particular about, man... don't never look down at the ground." "Look him in the face." "He likes to see a man's eyes." "You... one-on-one." " That's how Joe is, man." " Where you from?" " Everywhere." " Everywhere?" "Being a little bitty boy, you been everywhere, huh?" "Was your daddy in the military or something?" "Oh, yeah?" "All right." "You got a family?" "All right, then." "You know we ain't gonna cut you no slack out here, don't you?" "Just 'cause you're young now, you know we ain't gonna cut no slack." "Everybody pull their own load, baby." "Once we get this filled up here, we can kill us about a hundred trees with this here." "Is killing trees against the law?" "Well, the lumber company can't cut 'em down unless they dead, and so the lumber company hire us to come in and poison the trees so we can kill 'em and they'll come in and die theyself." "Yeah, I've been doing this for a little minute now." " Welcome to the program." " Thanks." "It's hard work out here." "The machete crew is the one that comes through and clears it out." "Chop down at the angles." "Try to get as low as you can." "You gotta clear the path for your teammates." "Without you, none of this is gonna happen." "Just keep hammering at it." "Nothing's stopping you." "You have to start out..." "you'll probably be the water man for a little while, you know?" "It's gonna look like you're doing everything for everybody, bringing 'em water." "At the end, you'll become a machete vet." "Samurai king, right here." " Waa-ah!" " Waa-ah!" "Welcome to the crew." "You're the youngest." "Gotta crawl 'fore you walk." "Got a lot of energy there." " Hah!" " There you go." " Samurai gods!" " Yah!" "Crew!" "When y'all get through this side over here, we're going to the west side." "All right." "Hey, Gary, you're getting too far ahead." "Come on back here." "Help these fellas out." "You know what?" "You, you and you, y'all did a good job today." "Why don't y'all go ahead and get paid, and I'll see y'all Monday, all right?" "Bill." " Allan." " Thank you, sir." " And Gary, right?" " Yes, sir." "Gary, Gary, Gary." "Come back Monday." "Bring your daddy if he wants to work." "Yes, sir, I will." "We'll be there." "Thanks." "Mama!" "Hey, Mama, guess what?" "I got us jobs today." " I got a job today." " Good for you, baby." "Dorothy!" "Dorothy, guess what." "He got one." "That's good." "Stop!" "Sorry." "Got that asshole put away?" "Yes, Joe, he's in the back." "That asshole bites me again..." "Well, he's got the devil in him." " Fuck that." " Come on, baby." "Well, look at that." "What's that?" "Come here." "A Mexican game show." "That's what I'm talking about." " Can I fix you something, baby?" " Coke, ice." "Here you go, sweetie." "So what you got the blues over, Joe?" "I'm not so bad." "Want one of my girls?" "You want two of my girls?" "Not today." "Today is a special day." " It is?" " I only want your company, Merle." " Why, thank you." " Come here." "Mmm!" "Lace!" " Asshole!" " Lacy!" "Put the dog in the back!" "I got it." "Come on." "I got it." "Come on." "You don't need that thing to take care of you." "Where are you going, Joe?" "Girl, get your ass off the floor." "Quit being stupid." " You see who that was?" " Yes." "Was that World War I or II?" "Where'd you get that hat?" " W-W-2." " Oh, right." "Got it down there at the Army-Navy." "Been making some money over at Henry's house, throwing the dice." "Yeah, I know." "I was gonna go over there later, clean him out." "Maybe I'll see you there." "I've been doing pretty good taking the money from them old ladies that old blind George hang out with." "Take about 60 or 70% of my winnings and donate it to the diabetes research." " Hmm." " Yeah." "Then I take the rest of it and buy war paraphernalia." "One of these days I'm gonna be a regular GI Joe." "Pow." "Fistful of dollars!" "Or something like that." "Henry." "In here, Joe!" "Hey, Joe." "How you been doing?" "What are you up to today?" " Who's that?" " Henry's just making a damn mess here." " What are you trying to do, Henry?" " I don't know." "Yeah, well, I don't think I'd cut it into a roast." "No." "You can do it any way you want to, but if it was mine, I'd cut it into steaks." "Come over here and show him how to do it, honey." "And Henry, you can sit down there and tell me a joke or sing a song or something." "Shit, you might as well just let Blind George cut it up." "I'm gonna sit down and have me a cigarette in this wheelchair." " Couldn't you, George?" " I reckon I could do better than he's doing it." " Oh, no." " No." "All right, I'll show you how to make the steaks." "That'd be good, baby." "I love back scrapple." "That's good." "That's enough." "Now look what happened to the poor thing." "So much blood on the floor." "Oh, God." "Oh." "Where'd you get this deer?" "It was hung up on the fence over at Mr. Lee's, and Henry and I was coming back from the IHOP, and I took out my .38" "and shot her in the head." "No." "Honey, you use that knife just like an artist's brush." "I mean, you know what you're doing, Joe." "Man, look at that." "Oh, man." " There's some good stuff here." " That is some good stuff." "Now look here." "Man, that is pretty." "Yeah, that's how you do it." "Butterfly steak." " Wonderful." " You see how I did that?" "Now do it here, here and here." "Y'all can cut up the rest of it." "So, when you gonna have another crap game?" "Uh, tonight." "You wanna come by?" " What time?" " 10:00." "We're making a birthday cake." "We?" "Joe, you know who's gonna make the birthday cake." "I'm gonna make a birthday cake tonight." "Are you, Stacy?" "I love you, Henry, but you know what?" "I am the fucking birthday girl here and I have to make my own damn cake?" "It's not my problem." "I'll make me a birthday cake, no problem." "I gotta go uptown." "Y'all need anything?" "Honey, I think I need some freezer paper." "Bring me back some damn freezer paper and another pack of cigarettes." " Good stuff." " We love you, baby." "That back scrapple, that's the part that basically I only eat." "Hello, Joe!" "Hold on, boy!" "Joe, you all right?" "You know who did that, that asshole Willie." "He's crazy." "Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen." "Can we go now?" "What you doing?" "Where you gonna go?" "We're gonna go into town and get some food." "Come on." "Get something to eat with what?" "We ain't got hardly nothing here." "Well, it ain't much, but it's something." " Come on." " I ain't getting up." "Are you drunk?" "No, I ain't drunk." " I know you drunk." " No, I ain't drunk." "You're like, "I ain't drunk."" "I ain't take my medicine today, boy." " I didn't take my medicine today." " "I'm just tired."" ""I ain't drunk."" " Come on, get up." " Uh, no." "Come on." "Come on, get up." "Come on, please?" "You'll be all right." "Come on." "I'll help you up." "You can make it." "Yeah." "No... you know what?" "I'm gonna sit right here in the dirt." "I'm gonna teach you a little about break dancing." "You ever see break dancing before?" "You know what "pop" and you know what "locking" is?" "Huh, do you, bud?" "Take this hand right here, pretend it's going over a wave like you're out there in the ocean." "You floating." "Come on, son." "You floating out in the ocean." "Whoa." "Tidal wave coming across the other side." "Here we go." "Oh, yeah." "We're waving now." "Bring it back up." "Here comes the big one." "Ow-oo!" "Yeah." "Here it is." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Oh, now, now." "That shit ain't funny right there." "That shit ain't funny at all." "I'll come get it now." "You want it." "You want it?" "I'm not through with my lesson." "Life's lesson." "You only learned about waving." "Popping." "You ever see popping?" "Pop." "That's pop." "You know what locking is?" "I really can't do a whole lot of locking unless I'm standing and..." "Stand up." "Come on." "I don't see myself doing much of that in the near future there, son." "I know you drunk 'cause you about to spill it." "Oh, did I spill it?" "I need a pillow." "Ah." "There we go." "Yeah." "One, two..." "Hey, mister." "Hey, mister." "Can you give me a ride?" "Say it again?" "Me and my daddy was wondering if you could give us a ride back to town." "He ain't feelin' too good." "Shit, yeah." "Yeah, I'll give you boys a ride." "Come on." "Where's your daddy at?" "He's back that-away." "What you chunk that gun off the bridge for?" "I just threw it." "You know?" "Weapons tend to make men do violent things." "You know, guns... knives, cannonballs... little sticks of dynamite." "Hell, even automobiles." "Hey." "Come here." "Look at my face." "You see that?" "I see it." "I went through a windshield at 4:00 one morning, and I don't give a fuck." "Now, folks looking for trouble tend to find more than they're after, and I'll kill his fucking ass if he ever slaps me again." " You understand me?" " Who you talking about?" "If he ever... slaps me... again." "Oh." "You got any sisters?" " What?" " Sisters!" "You got any sisters?" "Is she pretty?" "Mister, don't you talk about my sister." "Oh, well, shit." "You're a tough little sumbitch, ain't you?" "Who the fuck you talking to, huh?" "I'm talking to you, mister." "Don't you disrespect my family." "You know what I think?" "I think I'm gonna say whatever the fuck I wanna say." "You get the hell off me, mister." "I ain't done nothing to you." "I don't think I want to give you that ride no more." "Mm-mm." "I think I'm gonna take you and I'm gonna throw you off that bridge." "See how you like that, hmm?" "Hmm?" "Look at me, son." "Look at my face." "I went through a windshield at 4:00 one morning, and I don't give a fuck." "Look at me, you son of a bitch!" "You stupid motherfucker, you think I'm a kid?" "You think I'm a goddamn kid?" "I'll beat your ass and now you know it's true!" "Quiet!" "Joe!" "Joe!" "Is he gonna bite me?" "God damn it, would you shut up?" "Shut up and get back under there!" "Let these ladies alone." "Git!" "Y'all come on." "Dog won't bite." "That dog's crazy." "What if you hadn't been here?" "If I hadn't been here, you wouldn't have had no business in my goddamn yard." "Damn, what happened to you?" "Oh, hang on a minute." "The place is a mess, Joe." "I wasn't expecting company." "Well, we was just driving around, looking for something to do." "Didn't know if you'd be home or not." "Open up!" "Are you all right?" "I gotta quit smoking." "What the hell happened to you?" "I slapped some asshole the other night at the bar." "He come back and he shot me." "Jesus, Joe." "What, you and Willie Russell be running around, acting like kids again?" "It's ridiculous." "I don't even remember what set you off in the first place." "Neither do I." "So what was it you wanted to talk about?" "You need some money?" "No, nothing like that." "You know that guy Frank?" "The guy?" "He's back in town." "And I don't want to stay at my mama's." "I thought she run him off." "She did." "Twice." "But he called the other night." "Came back begging for forgiveness." "She said he could stay as long as he promised to leave me alone." "And he promised." "Just like he always does, but..." "Still got your job up at the cleaners?" " Good." " I wouldn't even hardly be here." "I could take care of you... if you let me." "I promise I won't even tell her where I'm at." "You won't have to." "She'll know." "She already called here 40 times looking for you." "You can stay with me if you need to." "I can't promise you much, but I'll try to be nice." "One, two, three, six, 11." "Get off your ass." "You ain't nothing but a number." "Let's go, y'all." "Yo, Sam, where you been?" "Haven't seen you around." "You in those night school classes or something?" "Not yet." "Doing a little work on the side." "Trying to make a little extra cash, get my shit together." " You know what I mean?" " Oh, I know what you mean." "I know." "We're just not good enough for you anymore, are we, Sam?" "I didn't say that." "Who these white folks you got working?" "Yeah, I'm not sure." "They need work and I need help." "Young, old, black, white, red, yellow." "I really don't give a shit, Sammy." "Water." "Where's your fucking water?" "That's my water there." "Why you drinking my water?" "Thirsty, that's why." "That's my personal water." "Why you drinking my water up like that?" "We're gonna have a problem outta you all day, huh?" "If I catch you with my water again, you're gonna have a problem outta me." " Joe sent you down here with me?" " Yeah." "Let me help you with that pack." "The hell you use this thing for?" "I'll show you how to walk through it." "Man, this thing's heavy." "You use this lever right here to pump out the poison." "You take this hatchet and hit into the tree." "Let's see what you got." "Hit it right here." "Goddamn thing is leaking all over." "It happens sometimes." "Let's get to work." "Let's hit right here." "This is bullshit right here." "Swing it." "You gotta swing it harder than that." "Come on, man, get into it." "Man, this is some stupid-ass shit, man." "You know he can't even talk now." "Y'all niggas... y'all niggas didn't eat it." "I am hungry." "Ain't gonna kill you with our greenback there." "I don't want to know, Junior." "I don't want to know about your king cobra, okay?" "Or whatever you call it." ""Go Go Gadget Tongue," that's what he got." "You ever notice that about your girl, man, one of her breasts is bigger than the other one, man?" " Wait a minute." " No, one sit up here and the other one sit down here?" "No comment, no comment." " Don't go head first." " I don't." "Don't go in there head first." "Tell the truth about them drips he had, man, about that penicillin shot." "That's a lie!" "That's a damn lie!" "That's a damn lie!" "Sure is a beautiful day out here, ain't it?" "It's all right." "Sitting here like the angels sitting there under this pretty sun." "Maybe I am an angel." "Yeah, but you gotta go to work on my job." "You ain't on my job working." "Why you not working today?" "What, did you come up here to give me a hard time?" "I been looking at you all goddamn day, and I see you up here smoking a goddamn cigarette watching the goddamn water." "You think you're a pretty sumbitch out here, and we gotta come out here to work." "I don't know why you ain't trying to work." "I done all the work I'm gonna do today." "So you ain't did shit all goddamn day." "You ain't done a motherfucking..." " And who are you to tell me?" " I'm your goddamn boss." "As long as you here, I'm your boss." "You ain't my boss, and obviously you can't even watch what people are doing, 'cause if you saw anything, you know I've been working all day." "I've been working all damn day!" "Yeah... no, you been on your ass all goddamn day!" "Who's gonna argue with who?" "You ain't did shit all goddamn..." "I'm trying to get you working!" "Man, I worked my ass off!" "You ain't did shit all goddamn day!" "I told you, get to work!" "You're gonna get your ass off my motherfucking job!" "Well, you go tell Joe right now!" "Go tell him, huh?" "Joe goddamn gonna get rid of you or do something different." "Something gonna change today 'cause tomorrow, we ain't gonna have this bullshit." " Are you done?" " Yeah, I'm done with this bullshit." "Good, I'm glad you're done!" "I'm glad you're done." "Stay done." "Look like you got a yeast infection on your goddamn face, you country motherfucker!" "Can you make it out of there?" "Yeah, I'll make it, I guess." "Goddamn assholes." "Come here, son." "Help me get over this tailgate." "So what time you need us back in the morning?" "I don't need you back in the morning." "What do you mean you don't need us back?" "We got the job done, didn't we?" "This is yours there, son." "We got the job done." "Gary said we got the job." "Joe, I'll do anything you want." "Clear brush anytime, anywhere." "I can do it." "Joe, I'd sure like to work some more." "Yeah, maybe later." "I'll let you know." "I don't know what you did that made that man mad, son." "You hear me?" "The hell you looking at?" "Just another day." "It ain't his fault." "He loves us." "Just..." "He just goes through a hard time." "Well, I ain't gonna watch him sit there and hit you like he hits me, you hear me?" "Okay, Mama?" "Ain't supposed to do that to no one." "You stay with your family." "That's what you need to do." "You need to stay with your family." "Your family's all you got." "What was that?" "I don't know." " Didn't hear no car drive up." " Probably ain't nobody." "Ain't nobody with any sense out in this." " I'm just a medium." " Can't taste that." "You want to go out tonight?" "Not really." "Where do you want to go?" "Hmm..." "I don't know." "I was just wondering if we were gonna do something." "I think you work too much." "You should get out." "Do something fun." "I hadn't planned on it." "Unless you want to." "We don't have to." "Ah..." "There's someone out there." "No." "No, wait." "Hold this." "Hey, Joe, can you put that dog up?" "Oh, hell, I know who it is." "Boy, you're soaking-ass wet." "What'd you plan to do, stand there all night?" "He should get out of them wet clothes." " He'll get sick." " I'm all right." "I just..." "I just wanted to come by" " and talk to you about working some more." " Work?" "Don't you see what it's doing out there?" "Yes, sir." "Hey, where's my drink at?" "You got any trousers he can wear?" "What size waist you got?" "I think I have some cool pants he can wear." "I bet nobody come mess 'round here with that dog out there." "Well, that's why I got the dog." "The dog won't bother anybody just walking down the road." "Road ain't dogs." "Dog knows what's dogs." "You could have just walked on off, the dog wouldn't have done anything." "All right, here." "Try these on." "I think they'll fit you." "The bathroom's this way." "The dog is a good dog." "Yeah." "That dog scared the hell out of me, though." "He's all beat up." "Mm-hmm." "His daddy." "Saw him do it." "You what?" "What, you just sat there and watched it, or what?" "He's a big kid." "I can't get my hands dirty in every little thing." "You know how I get." "You're a grown man, Joe." "What is that supposed to mean?" "It can mean whatever you want it to mean." "Don't fool yourself too much about me." "Hey, there you go." "You look like a million bucks." "Feel better now?" "I feel like a hundred bucks." "Come by 'cause I wanted to talk to you about my job." "I wanna work." "I need a job." "My daddy don't care if he gots a job, but I do." "You'd work in this rain, wouldn't you?" "If you need me to." "Let me slip my shoes on." "I'll run you back home." "Hey, we'll be there in just a second, okay?" "Hey." "You know you don't have to take no shit from nobody, right?" "You know that, right?" "Yes, ma'am." "Good." "Now let's go." " How you been, Chris?" " Good, how about you?" "Doing all right." " You still doing the mixed martial arts?" " Yes, sir." "What you doing out in the rain, Joe?" "Oh, I need two pounds of ham" " and a pound of Swiss cheese sliced up." " All right." "Come on, you get the cheese, I'll get the ham." "Yes, sir." "Looks like every time I get a little ahead, it starts in raining again." "Here you go." "Well, it's not much." "Now look here." "When it dries up, you come down here early in the morning, 'fore light, and I'll pick you up and take you to work." "We got plenty to do when the weather gets right." "You got a clock?" "No, you wouldn't." "All right, I'll find you a wind-up clock or something." "All right, then." "Thank you, sir." "No, you don't need to call me "sir" all the time." "I'm your friend, you understand?" "All right." "Hey, where's his ham?" " Hang on, we're coming." " All right." "Ahem." "What are you thinking, Joe?" "Nothing." "There's nothing I can do, and I hate it." "That's not true." "Yeah, it is." "You look at me like I can make a move." "What are you thinking when you look at me like that?" "Don't you care?" "I don't know who I am." "But I know what keeps me alive is restraint." "It keeps me out of jail." "Keeps me from hurting people." "Hey." "The mark of some fucked-up faith that there is a reason." "Thank you." "A reason for all of this." "A reason in most moments I shouldn't do what I want to do." "I do as I'm told." "These men who bust their asses work like dogs." "I believe in them, but every day, they hurt." "They get old, they peel back." "There's no frontier anymore." "Allan." "Clark." "Gary." "And I watch that boy, and I see someone who's nothing like me, but he's a child folks left behind... with no defense." "Balanced right there." "What do you want?" " What is it you want?" " Nothing." "Just tell me what I can do." "I like you." "I like you too, but what's the point in any of it?" "Fuck to this day." "I mean, fuck to this day." "It's all just gonna boil up and wash us away." "And he'll still be here." "Or maybe he won't." "Damn, Joe, why do you keep loading all these fools in this little truck?" "Good to have you with us again, Sammy." "You drop down any more, we're gonna have to get out and push, and I ain't pushing shit." "I thought you had your eye on a new truck, Joe." "I ain't getting no new truck." " You need one." " No, I don't." "If you get a new truck, how much you want for this old one?" "You mean this old piece of junk?" "Smell like somebody done died up in there." "It's nasty." "I don't mind the smell." "I like it." "It smells good to me." "Yeah, but this thing..." "I spend as much time working on it as I do driving it." "'Course there ain't nothing major wrong with it." "Just little shit." "You know, it needs some brakes." "It needs a new..." "Joe, come on." "I'll buy it from you." "I'll work my butt off." "I love the truck." "You have to give it to me now." "Well, I mean, it's got a lot of miles on it." "You'd be better finding one in town somewhere." "I don't want one in town." "I like that one." "Come on, Joe." "All right." "I'll take $900 for it... if I get a new truck." "All right." "Shake hands." "That's what I'm talking about." "Heck, yeah." "All right, hey, y'all, let's go!" "Hey, what you got there?" "Hey." "I was wondering if maybe you could tell me how to get down to Water Valley." "My wife, she's in the hospital down there." "I just now got here." "You know how far it is?" "Is that the highway that goes to it?" "Is it?" "What you drinking?" " Nothing." " Nothing?" "You ain't drinking some wine, are you?" "I may." "Yeah, nothing wrong with that." "Some folks think a feller ought not drink at all, but a little drink never hurt nobody." "That's right." "I get me a little drink every now and then when I'm down at the house, but the old lady, she raises so much sand about it," "I don't do a lot of drinking down there." "I usually wait till I get uptown like I am now." "Grab me a drink." "She all right?" "Yeah, yeah." "She is today." "That's why I'm trying to get down there to Water Valley, go see about her." "I was supposed to have got paid today, but the old fella, he never showed up, you know, so I think I'll go get me a little drink, go down to Water Valley and go see how she's doing." "She in the hospital?" "Yeah, she's in the hospital." "She got cancer." "Just eat up with it all over." "You know." "Damn thing, you know, a person just don't know from one day to the next which one's gonna be their last." "Well, it's a beautiful day out there." "Feeling a little chill in my bones." "I think it's fixing to rain." "It's probably fixing to rain some." "Three African painted dogs... wild dogs... killed a three-year-old in the zoo." "This toddler, he fell in, hit his head, and the dogs got him." "Where was everybody?" "A little kid." "Hello, Joe." "How you doing?" "Oh." "Sumbitch." "I'll tell you what, buddy." "All this goddamn back and forth and back and forth." "I'm fucking over it." "Yeah, well..." "Maybe it's time we just... bygones." "You know I could have killed you, right?" "I could have killed you, but I didn't." "I licked you." "I was aiming for the trees, see?" "That shot was meant as a warning shot, 'cause all you keep doing is embarrassing me in front of my goddamn friends." "I mean, hell, the last time you slapped me, there was ladies and gentlemen present." "So what's this shit I hear about this kid you got working for you, huh?" "Little drifter kid, about yea big, hmm?" "I don't really give a shit about him, but I suspect you know where he lives, don't you?" "No." "Huh." "What's wrong, Spooky?" "You still sore at me?" "Christy, call the cops 'fore somebody gets killed." "Would you do that for me, honey?" "Hold on." "Get back." "Hold it!" "Hey, Joe." " Is Merle around?" " Merle ain't here." " You all right?" " I want to get blown, but..." "Oh, that's right, you don't like dogs, do you?" "That's not true." "I love dogs." "Just not that dog." " That dog is an asshole!" " I'm sorry, Joe." "Y'all help me get this fucking dog out of here!" "Joe!" "Joe!" "You busy?" "Come on." "You got any pets?" " I mean, I had a cat." " A cat?" "Wonderful." " What's its name?" " Lucy." " What'd you feed it?" " I don't know, fucking dry food." " What's your favorite color?" " Red." "Blow me." "All right." "Let me just focus on the snowflake." " Snowflake on the wall." " All right, snowflake." "All right, all right, all right." " I beg your pardon." " All right, baby." "It's all right." "You don't have to run off." "I mean, you can stick around if you want." "Joe?" "Dog." "Pull over." "Pull over now!" " Come on." "Come on, let's go!" " Freeze!" "Don't move!" "Freeze, Joe!" "What?" "Put the gun down." "Be a man about it and show me what you got." " We got you surrounded, Joe." " Hey, I'm just one dude." "Freeze, Joe." "Put your hands behind your head." "Come on, what are you gonna do?" " Look, I don't have nothing on me, man." " Freeze." "Why don't you guys both be like big boys and put your guns down and let's talk about it?" "That's all I'm gonna do." "Just talk about it, all right?" "Come on." "Who's gonna cuff me?" "What do you got?" "I'm feeling real good today." "Hey, Joe." "You in there, Joe?" "Coming in, Joe." "Joe here?" "You seen Joe?" "Huh?" "What you think, man?" "You think Joe is gonna take care of you?" "You think Joe's your daddy?" "Is that what you think?" "Joe ain't your daddy." "I'm your daddy." "I'm the one taking care of you." "You got some money?" "I know you got some money hid around here." "Where's your money at?" "I ain't got no damn money." "Joe didn't give me none today." "Really?" "Give me some money." "I just told you, I ain't got no damn money." "Ain't got no money, huh?" "Got food." "Got food, goddamn it." "You got food, but you ain't got no fucking money." "How did you get the food?" "What the hell you stumbling for?" "You can't even take care of your damn self." "Hey, that's my shit!" "Knock your shit off, boy." "Knock your shit off." "Fuck." "You ain't got no motherfucking money, huh?" "Oh, hey." "Look at that, huh?" "What you... oh, yeah!" "Yeah, yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "That's kind of what I fucking thought." " Bring it, motherfucker." " Get the fuck back off me." "How's that, huh?" "Just like that, huh?" "Just like that." "Yeah." "What?" "Don't seem to be talking... doing a whole lot of talking right now." "Kinda look like you in bad shape." "Who the hell you think you are?" "You ain't my daddy, you motherfucker!" "Look at me!" "You seen what I did to that motherfucker on the bridge?" "I'll beat your ass!" "Son of a bitch!" "I'm about through messing with you!" "I been out looking for fucking money!" "I been out looking for a fucking job to feed your worthless fucking face!" "Yeah." "You stupid, little piece of shit." "Yeah." "I know you got money hid around here, boy." "You know what?" "I'm gonna come back." "I'm gonna get it." "I'm gonna find it and I'm gonna get it." "Hey, wake it up, wake it up." "Earl, please, give me a goddamn cigarette, man." "Please." "I'm begging you." "You're on your way out of here anyway, man." "All right." " I called your bondsman for you." " Thanks, buddy." "How come he's getting out of here?" "Aw, knock it off, Cokie!" "Knock it off!" "Oh, man, thank you so much, buddy." "Thank you, buddy." " What do they got me charged with?" " Shit, a heap." "DUI, assaulting an officer, resisting arrest." "You want some more shit?" "Oh, oh... you know where they took my truck?" "There's a kid who wants my truck." "Wasn't here last night." "We can sure find out, though." "You were, 32 when you went to the pen the first time." "What are you now, 48, 49?" " 48." " Getting old, Joe." "Be a lot harder on you every time from here on out." "But who am I to tell you how to live your life?" "Yeah." "That's a good one." "Come on, man." "Come on, get it together." "Shit, man." "You kidding me?" "Yeah, I'd like to get a number on a... like, a dog rescue, or..." "You don't have a number on a dog rescue?" "Well, I'm reporting a lost dog." "Yeah." "It's an American bulldog." "Brown and white." "Female." "90 pounds." "What are you doing here?" "Um..." "Mr. Coleman told me you got into a little trouble with some cops." "That all you heard?" "They said you got put up at that jail too." "You don't still want my truck, do you?" "Yes, sir." "You do?" "They said you got put up at the big jail one time." " Coleman told you that?" " Yeah." "Yeah, I have." "I did 29 months in the penitentiary for assault on a police officer." "They pulled me over behind a shopping center uptown." "This one officer... some pretty-boy type guy..." "had some issue with me." "He thought I had something to do with one of the girls he knew." "I didn't know what the hell he was talking about." "Then they tried to shoot me after I beat the shit out of all three of them." "Or one did." "Deputy went for his gun and I grabbed it." "And... well, he was fixing to kill me." "He told me he was." "All he did was blow his kneecap off." "Jackass." "My dog run off last night." "You want to go look for her?" "Sure." "You want me to drive the truck?" "You gotta start sometime." "Don't look at them." "Don't wave to them, 'cause they know you're guilty of something when you wave." "Yes, sir." "A cop can mess you up if he wants to." "Yeah, I made the mistakes, but they're the ones that won't ever let me live it down." "Hey, can I buy one of them beers off you?" "Oh, I don't know." "Uh... you can drink one of these beers, but you cannot buy one from me." "Friends don't ever need to buy things from me." "There you go." "Nice and cold." "Keep your eyes peeled." "For the cops or the dog?" "Both." ""Cops or the dog."" "You hear that?" "That's the sound that gets the hookers excited 'cause they know you got cash." "They hear that..." "♪ You can stay just as long as you like... ♪" "You want to learn how to make a cool face?" "All right, anatomy of a cool face." "Make a face of pain." "Now smile." "No, smile on top of the pain." "Hold the pain." "Smile through it." "You ain't drunk, are you?" "Shit, I better drive." "You know what, Gary?" "You got it made." "Just think about all the beautiful girls you're gonna fuck." "Now, I used to know a girl who lived around here." "Shit." "Where's my dog?" "I raised that dog from a pup." " Dog!" " There's a lot of construction here 'cause they're building that Hindu temple." "Gonna have lots of "Bombanese" kids." "Little red dots in the center of their head... like a laser beam." " Hey!" " You better work on that cool face." "You gotta stand like you on land, all right?" "Now you make the pain face, right?" "You got a lot on your mind." "Now smile." "Yeah, it's like..." ""I got a lot on my mind, but I can do it." "I can get through it." Yeah, there you go." "Yeah, that's cool!" "♪ Well, I'll be ready in the morning, baby ♪" "♪ Mmm, don't you worry a bit ♪" "♪ I got a dry place here, yes, indeed ♪" "♪ And you can have it all... ♪" "The dog weighs a hundred pounds." "Has long ears, with a docked tail." "What was that?" "Yes, ma'am, I meant to get around to doing that, but I did a halfway job on my dog." " A halfway job?" " Halfway, ma'am." " Well, halfway how?" " Halfway." " Hello." " Hello, hello." "So, I'm missing my dog, and the dog is... you want some of this?" "No, uh-uh." "That stuff will make you crazy." "Well, I'm a pretty long way from crazy." "But my dog's about 100 pounds, brown and white." " Looks like a cow." " Looks like a cow?" " Right." " You have a dog that looks like a cow?" "Well, it's not that big a deal." "A lot of dogs look like cows." "But here's the thing." "If you happen to see my dog, no matter what time, you call." " Day or night." "All right?" " Okay." "Have we already drove past that place where you last saw your dog?" " No." "Why?" " I think the dog will be there." "No, the dog run off." "If I was a dog, that's where a dog would be." "That's where I would go." " You be careful with him, okay?" " All right." " Be careful driving, baby." " Call me." " Okay." " All right." "♪ Look at me, amazed" "♪ Like you got yourself a soft touch ♪" "♪ A good deal to keep a man ♪" "♪ Yes, you do." "I'll be damned." "No, wait." "Wait, don't." "Huh?" "Aw..." " The dog likes you." " She has a lot of scars." "Yeah." "But all the others... all the others is dead." "Thanks for helping me find my dog." "Yes, sir, no problem." "You work hard." "You got a good heart." "Anybody messes with you, you let me know." "I'll fuck 'em up!" "Right." "Hey..." "Take it." "You're gonna need it." " No." " To get girls." "Huh?" "See?" "There you go." "Okay." "That's it." "You got it." " Thank you." " It ain't anything." "Go on." "I'm gonna take this one to the opera." "To the opera, yeah." "Fuck." "Aw, shit." "I don't have a lighter." "The numbers from yesterday." "We had a high of 92, officially." "That's two degrees above the average of 90 for the day." "68 was our low." "Temperatures are concerned." "You got a light?" " Yeah." " Hop in." "Your boy's a good worker." "That's the hardest fucking work I ever done in my life." "Is it?" " Yeah." "You paying my boy?" " What?" " Are you paying my boy?" " Hell, yeah." "I ain't seen he got paid none." "Probably saves it 'cause he's smart." "Buying this GMC off of me." "Doing what?" " Nothing." " Yeah." "He ain't so smart." "He don't know nothing." "Hell, neither do you." "I'm gonna shoot you straight." "That boy works his ass off!" "He's earning money and it's his!" "If this truck's a piece of shit, you need to get out of it." "And if I find out something's happened to that boy," "I'm gonna whip whoever's ass had something to do with it." "Now get the hell away from me before I knock what's left of your fucking teeth out." "I had the funniest thought today." "I thought maybe you and I could go out to dinner." "You know?" "Get all dressed up." "Maybe you could... hold the door open for me." "I think that would be nice." "You pretend to be asleep, but..." "I know you'd cry if I said the wrong thing." "You know this place is condemned, right?" "You can't just take the boards off windows and call a place home." "Gary, why do you stick around like this?" "You're old enough, smart enough to do your own thing." "What's most important right now is me taking care of Dorothy and Mama, 'cause... we kind of got a family problem right now." "Hey there." "Hey now." "Don't talk much, does she?" " She don't talk at all." " What do you mean?" "I don't know." "Nobody knows." "She just stopped one day." "I mean, she used to would, but..." "Well, hey, I'm ready to make this deal if you are." " Yeah." " I got my money." "Hey, "G-Daawg."" "Don't you think I forgot about it, bud." "I've been looking for you and that kid." "That boy of yours, he sure thinks he knows something." "I know you, mister." "You my friend?" "I ain't your friend." "Well, you like to make all them funny faces." "I said, are you my friend?" "Listen, buddy." "I think I know a way that you and me can be friends." "There it is." "It looks just like your old one." "It's periwinkle blue." "I like it." "I hope so." "Well, you got plenty of gas to get home." "You might want to stop at Coleman's and put a little more in it if you plan to ride around." " Here." " What's that?" "It's the money for the truck." "Oh, hell, I ain't worried about that." "You just stick it back in your pocket." "You're gonna need it for insurance." " What's insurance?" " Well, yeah, it's the law." "You can't drive without insurance." "You're covered now, but when I sign it over, you gotta pick up the insurance." "I'll tell you what." "You come out to the house before long, we'll get you fixed up." "I'm gonna go on." " You gonna be all right?" " Yes, sir." "All right." " Uh, you want me to follow you?" " Nah, I'll be all right." "Hey, Joe." "Thanks." " Nice truck." " Thanks." "You ain't got any tags on it." "You just get it?" "Yeah." "You want to breathe into this for me?" "No, I don't want to breathe into that." "Hey." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Pull over!" "Pull over!" "God damn it!" "I ain't done a goddamn thing!" " Stay in your vehicle!" " I ain't drunk!" "You better look for someone else to mess with," " 'cause I did nothing!" " Put your hands behind your back!" "If you and your motherfucking friends keep messing around with me," " I'm going to hurt you!" " Put your hands behind your back!" "Come here!" "I guess if I drive off now, you're gonna get your shotgun out of the back and shoot me, huh?" " No." " You gonna shoot me?" " No!" " You can do it." "That was quick." "Still got that badass dog?" "Yeah. 'Round here somewhere." "Hold on a minute." "Don't worry, okay?" "Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry." "All right." "Hear you got a new grandbaby." "I do?" " Yeah, you didn't know?" " Not till now." "Huh." "Yeah, a little boy." "Morrissey saw him in church." "Said he looked just like you'd expect him to look." "She said he's got your eyes." "You okay?" "Your son's all grown now, ain't he?" "Yeah." "All grown up." "What's he going into, law enforcement?" "That's what I heard." "You got a new man working for you now, don't you?" "Yes, I do." "Believe you've met him." "Gung-ho fella." "A little overeager." " He was looking for someone to fuck with." " Yeah, maybe so." "I'll have his ass shuffling papers for a while till he learns to cool down a little bit." "But that ain't what I'm worried about." "Can you pass the hot sauce?" "Let me ask you a question, Joe, 'cause I really want to know." "Why do you want to go back?" "Why do you want to go back to the damn penitentiary, man?" "'Cause you can't keep going to folks' houses, killing their dogs, no matter what else is going on." "And you can't keep fistfighting the law." "Judge won't put up with it." "He don't have to put up with it." "That's why they built prisons." "Now you done got me back to smoking, damn it." "I been quit for three weeks." "I haven't mistreated you, Joe." "Have I?" "Tell the truth." "No, Earl." "You stuck up for me when you could." "And I used to be as bad as you." "At one time, you were worse." "Yeah, but I'm cool now." "Connie, where'd you go, baby?" "Answer the phone next time." "Hi." "Yo presiento que Joe está aqui." "Joe, is that you?" "¿Estás aqui?" "Yeah, it's me." "Oh, shit." "What happened?" "I need to borrow the truck." "What happened to you?" "I'm gonna kill him." "I'm gonna kill that old son of a bitch." "You think I won't, but I will." "And I'ma get mine back." "I just need to borrow that truck." "Come inside." "Don't touch me." "I should have given you a boxing lesson." "I don't need no goddamn boxing lesson." "I know what to do." "I'll pop him right in the eye." "He whupped my ass and threw me out of the truck 'cause he knew that I were gonna kill him!" "I can kill his ass." "I can kill him just as good as you could." "I know you could, I know you could." "I know it." "But you don't have to do that." "Okay, son?" "Just stay here with me." "You'll be safe here." "Bring your mama and your sister." "He gots Dorothy." "He done run off with her." "He met up with some bad men." "I heard him talking about it." "That man with the scarred-up face... the one that I beat down by the bridge?" "He been looking for me for what I done did to him." "She don't hurt nobody, Joe." "Should have been me." "Do you know where they took her?" "Gary... tell me." " Mm-mm." " Tell me." "I just need the truck... to get me someplace." "I'm gonna make trouble." "Meet me outside." "$30." "$30 each." "Hi." "Hi." "How you doing?" "You okay?" "Huh?" "Tell me something." "You like funny faces?" "If anything happens to me, you get your ass out of the way, you hear?" "You take my truck and get out." " Yeah." " And go get Coleman." "Yes, sir." "Tell him to call Earl." "Shit!" "Oh, no!" "No, no, no, no..." " Don't move." " God damn it!" "I'll kill you both if you move." "Joe, listen to me." "This... it ain't what it looks like, man." "I'm telling you." " Dorothy!" "Dorothy!" " Get her out, Gary." "Take your sister and go." "Go!" "Go!" "You." "I don't know you." "Run, before I shoot you." "No, no, no, no!" "Joe, listen to me." "Just listen to me, okay?" "Gary!" "Gary!" " Gary!" " I'll get help, Joe!" "Please." "God damn it." "That girl, she... she don't know shit about shit, man." "She's just a piece of trash, just like her daddy, and she's gonna be doing this shit in no time," "I'm telling you." "I'm telling you, man." "Look at the moon." "God damn it!" "Oh, shit!" "Ah, fuck this shit!" "If you want to shoot me, go ahead and shoot me." "I went through a windshield and I don't give..." "Are you my friend?" "What have you done, Joe?" "Here's what we do." "We start a little late, around 8:00 in the morning, and we go till 4:00." "I pay by the week on Fridays." "Some days we go long and we run past 40 hours a week." "I pay time and a half." "It's hard work." "I don't like a whole lot of standing around." "We'll probably bust our ass and get this spread out by the end of April, get out all the bare root seedlings, and sometimes we stake 'em if we gotta keep the little ones stable." "Most of the time, we don't need to mess with them little piney seedlings like that." "I'm gonna have you join Donnell and his crew on the west end of the farm." "Then, if everything goes good on that acreage," "I'll have you help me supervise the Monea project next summer." "Bastards can be hard to work for sometimes." "But, hell, if you worked for Joe," "I think you'll do just fine." "You got any questions?" "No, sir." "When can I start?" "Right now if you're ready." "Yes, sir." " So you knew Joe?" " Yeah, I sure did." "Joe was a good man." "Good man to me, anyways." "He was a good man to me, too."