"You make a habit of taking things ain't yours?" "Your name's Meecham, ain't it?" "They sent you to collar me, then?" "Yes, sir, they did." "How much they paying you to bring me in?" "Twenty dollars." "Did they already give you the cash?" "Not till I show up with you." "I see." "Well, you... you help me find my timepiece down here, and I'll let you bring me back to the authorities." "Shit." "Gosh." "Sir, I don't know what to tell you." "I believe that watch made a run for it." "Hell, no, it didn't." "That's the problem with your generation... no follow-through." "I've had that timepiece 50 years." "My wife give it to me." "Man, we looked over there, like, three times already, man." "Like I said... no follow-through." "Twenty dollars, huh?" "Yes, sir." "I'll give you 25 to forget that old folks' home and drive me out past Ackerman's Field." "(cabbie) Ackerman's Field, man." "Shit." "[Droning of summer insects]" "[Bird caws nearby]" "(cabbie) Looks like you got company." "You sure this is the right place?" "My name's on the mailbox, ain't it?" "[Songbird sings]" "[Loud slam]" "How much was it that I owed you?" "Just $20, like I said." "Worth every nickel of it." "Twenty dollars worth of distance from Linden, Tennessee." "That'll do it." "Here." "No, shit, man." "No." "No, here." "Okay, thank you." "You know that girl?" "She your relations?" "Not by a considerable sight." "(cabbie) I hate just to drive off." "It's whole lot of nothing out here." "Way I like it." "Don't worry nothing on me." "Suit yourself, Homes." "[Deep sigh]" "Take it easy in this heat, man, all right?" "Howdy." "Who are you people?" "What are you doing on my farm?" "Well, my name's Pamela, and I'm sunbathing." "Um, mama's in the house, I guess, probably cooking, and I don't know where Daddy is." "Somewhere." "Probably." "I mean, what are you even doing here?" "Why are you here?" "[Screen door squeaks]" "We live here." "Ain't you Mr. Meecham?" "I certainly am, and this is my place." "Oh, I'm Mrs. Choat." "Ludie Choat." "Lonzo's wife." "You... you remember Lonzo Choat?" "[Mutters] Oh, Lord God." "We rented this place from your son." "Been here going on three months." "I was hardly gone three months!" "Well, we got the papers..." "and everything." "We thought you was in the old folks' home over in Perry County." "I was." "I ain't no more." "I need to use the telephone." "Uh, we ain't got a telephone." "Of course there's a telephone!" "We always had a phone!" "There's one in there, but... it don't work." "Ain't, um, hooked up, or... or something." "I don't know." "You can talk to Lonzo about it." "He'll... he'll be here directly." "I'm an old man." "I may die directly." "[Vehicle approaches]" "[Car stereo playing music]" "Abner Meecham." "Is it true Paul rented you this farm?" "Ninety-day lease, option to buy." "I guess this is news to you, then." "Sorry you had to come all this way out here." "Cover yourself, girl." "[Hammering]" "[Tools clattering]" "An option to buy, huh?" "Yeah, that's right." "Let's get one thing clear out of the gate." "That will never happen." "Will... never... happen." "You know why?" "Because you wasn't never nothing but a loafer, Choat." "You and your daddy both never owned so much as a pair of pliers." "Hell, that's my wrecking bar you're holding right there." "You're still as contrary as you ever was." "If you think you can buy a farm this size with food stamps, you're mighty mistaken." "You remember that time I tried to rent that tenant shack out there from you?" "No." "Well, I did, and you wouldn't rent it to me." "Ain't life funny." "I never rented that house to nobody!" "It was built too close to the main house to begin with!" "There wouldn't have been privacy for either place." "Hell, that must've been 20 years ago." "You do remember." "Remember how long ago it was I needed it and I didn't get it." "And life is funny." "And you can forget about your food stamps." "I got plenty of money now, Meecham." "I'm buying this place." "I'm gonna tend to it, too." "I'm gonna have it up and running in no time." "I ain't seen none of this famous money." "Besides, this place ain't Paul's to sell." "We fixed it up legal." "If I was you, I'd be packing my stuff!" "We'll see." "We sure as hell will." "Now, where's that paper?" "Right here." "I thought you'd want to see it." "Why don't you step out into the light?" "I can see just fine!" "This ain't no legal bond!" "The hell it ain't." "Unless you got something else to say, then..." "Where are you going, Meecham?" "How you aimin' to get back to town?" "Hold... slow... slow down, Meecham." "Slow down, slow down, listen." "Now, I can't let you go inside the house." "The furniture come with the place." "That was part of the deal." "But not my stuff!" "Ain't none of your stuff in there." "We cleaned all that out, put it out in the tenant house." "Now, listen." "Listen to me." "If you want to go over there and get whatever it is you need to get, you can." "Then I need you to be gone, okay?" "[Panting]" "Okay?" "!" "Yeah..." "Ma'am." "Lonzo is down in the barn still." "I know." "I" " I don't think it's a good idea," "Mr. Meecham, not unless Lonzo is here." "I just want to have a look around, that's all." "Check on things." "Everything's just fine in here." "That cab's coming for you, I guess?" "What's that?" "That taxicab?" "It's coming back to pick you up soon?" "Exactly how am I supposed to contact that taxicab," "Ma'am, you want to tell me that?" "Am I supposed to use that phone in there, the one you broke?" "Maybe I should just walk back." "Hell, it's only about 20 mile." "I'm only about 80 year old." "Okay, okay." "I'll leave when I'm good and ready." "You tell Lonzo the same." "[Sighs wearily]" "Oh!" "You ain't gonna shoot me, are you?" "Wha...?" "I wasn't planning to, but you go sneaking up on me like that," "I can't be responsible for what transpires." "Mama sent this." "She said she bet you was hungry, and hot as it was, you needed something cold to drink." "Well, what did Lonzo say about this?" "He didn't." "He left to go play poker at Mr. Goodwin's house." "Here, let me help you." "No, I can..." "I can... uh," "I can do it." "[Click]" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Tell your mama I'm much obliged." "Is this your stuff?" "I've been wondering who all this shit belonged to." "This ain't shit, kid." "A child your age ought not to use that kind of language." "Lord, you cheer a person up." "Are you always in this good a mood?" "Just when I get routed away from the trough." "It's just a word." "I'm sure you've said it a time or two." "I'm 80 years old." "I can say whatever I care to." "What are you doing in here, anyway?" "Making myself some quarters." "You're moving in here?" "Daddy won't like that." "I don't rightly care what your daddy likes." "I'm sure he'll give you a lift to town, if that's what you need." "Ha!" "Folks in hell will be eating Eskimo pies before Alonzo Choat hauls me anywhere." "Well, if you're gonna stay here, you ought to get up some nicer curtains, then." "Maybe even some flowers to help get the smell out." "Yeah." "Maybe I'll even get me a dog, liven up the place a bit." "Oh, Daddy won't allow no dogs." "He can't stand to hear 'em bark." "You say he can't?" "I had the cutest little pup when I was a girl." "His name was Nipper." "Daddy hated him 'cause he was so loud." "Plus he shit everywhere." "Sorry." "(Ludie) Pamelal" "Mama and I got church." "Well, it's nice to talk to you, Mr. Meecham." "Just put that dish out on the porch in the morning, all right?" "All right." "If I ain't badly mistaken, it's mine anyway." "[Vehicle approaches]" "[Car stereo playing music]" "[Buzzing]" "[Turns off engine]" "[Car door opens and closes]" "[Knocking]" "[Keys jangling]" "What do you want, Choat?" "You're too late for chatter." "Hell do you think you're doing?" "I think I'm sleeping in the damn sharecroppers cabin, and I ain't proud of it." "I tried to be polite, make this easy, but... you ain't gonna have that, are you?" "This is my place, and will be my place till they lay me in the goddamn ground!" "Now, go on!" "Let me rest." "Being old and crazy gets you a little extra rope." "Best not hang yourself with it." "Old people, man, don't know when the fucking clock's run out!" "Son of a bitch." "[Male voice of Drive By Truckers sings Blue Yodel #3]" "[Bird chirps loudly]" "# She's long, she's tall #" "# She's six feet From the ground #" "# She's long, she's tall #" "# Six feet off the ground #" "# She's telling me #" "# She's ain't No hand-me-down #" "# She got eyes Like diamonds #" "# But these shine Just the same #" "# She got eyes Like diamonds #" "# But these shine Just the same #" "# She got Sweet ruby lips #" "# Hair like a horse's mane # [dog barking]" "# Ooh #" "You're back." "Did you run off?" "I guess." "Are they after you?" "Hellfire, it's an old folks' home, Thurl, not a chain gang." "Well, I don't know." "I don't know nothing about it, which is just as much as I want to know." "You get in this morning?" "Yesterday." "Where'd you sleep?" "Choat make you a pallet down on the floor?" "I slept in the tenant cabin." "That's mainly why I come over here." "I need to use your telephone." "Gotta call Paul, get Choat outta there." "How was it, you know, down there in Linden?" "It was all right." "Was it?" "That why you'd rather sleep in the slave cabin?" "[Sigh]" "They fed you decent, and nobody... nobody mistreated you." "I got the feeling if you died in your sleep some night, they just move you out, move somebody else in, nobody much give a shit." "That ain't no life." "Ought to make that call now." "[Line ringing]" "(Paul) Hello?" "They broke my phone or something." "Dad?" "What... who?" "That Choat bunch." "Who do you think?" "Dad, where are you calling from?" "You're supposed to be at the home." "I'm supposed to be where I damn well please." "Look, I'm in the middle of a trial, Dad." "I want them out of my house, and i want them out today!" "Laying up there, sleeping in your mama's bed, eating off her dishesl" "You ought to be ashamed, son." "Look, Dad, this is too complicated for the phone." "Just get a cab, go back to the home." "I'll call you tonight and I'll explain everything about the sale." "You can't sell what ain't yours!" "Well, I'm your legal guardian and the trustee of your estate." "Look, Dad, I can't talk about this right now." "You think you're the only lawyer ever to hit a golf ball?" "Dad, go back to the home." "I'll call you tonight, okay?" "Okay?" "Hello?" "[Beep]" "Take it y'all didn't exactly see eye to eye." "You still got that old Cherokee?" "Yeah, I got it, but I can't drive it." "They took away my license." "Why'd they do that?" "[Chuckles] Oh..." "I hit some folk." "Who'd you run into?" "Uh, Mary Margaret Davies." "Oh!" "Is she..." "she okay?" "Oh, yeah, she's fine." "I run into her butt!" "[Laughing]" "You tried all them years." "I reckon you finally banged up against it." "So, how you get around, then?" "Oh, Julie comes over on Tuesday after she gets the kids to school, and then picks me up and takes me to town shopping." "Makes sure I get my fiber." "You know, it's amazing." "After they raise their own young' uns, they come back wanting to raise us." "She was always a good kid." "How much you want for it?" "I got errands to run." "Oh, I don't know." "It ain't worth much to me." "Uh, $200?" "Would you pay that?" "Uh..." "I gotta take a look at it first." "You ain't got the best reputation for taking care of your stuff, you know." "[Chuckles]" "Let it rain in your carburetors and all." "Oh, I know." "I know." "At least it's my carburetors." "(Abner) I can't make out what's what in there." "When was the last time you cleaned this engine?" "About a week before never." "Do you want her or not?" "Yeah." "I'll take it." "Uh, I don't have enough cash." "Well, $200 ain't gonna cure any of my problems." "Don't worry about it." "[Dog barking]" "He do that all the time?" "Yeah, that's the noisiest damn dog in Ackerman's Field." "He starts out about sundown and keeps it up till first light." "That so?" "[Barking]" "(Abner) Good boy." "[Chuckling]" "[Barking]" "Hang on, I'll get your food in a minute." "You still here?" "I live here." "That's what you think." "She sure is pretty." "This dog follow you home?" "[Yipping]" "Something like that." "Daddy ain't gonna like that!" "He sure is a cute little thing." "Oh, yes, you are!" "You're a cute little thing." "You even look like my Nipper." "Come on, come on, let's do your business." "[Dog barking]" "[Deep sigh]" "Can I tell you a secret?" "No." "Well, you're no fun." "Never claimed to be." "I got a date tonight." "Oh." "Why is that a secret?" "I didn't take you for the homely type." "Well, for one, he's a little bit older than me, and Daddy don't especially like me dating older boys, but really it's because this boy's daddy got my daddy drunk playing gin rummy last fall," "and when my daddy woke up the next day he was missing $40 and a Swiss Army knife that my paw-paw gave him when he was just a boy, but Steve Jr..." "That's the boy I'm dating tonight..." "Steve Jr." "Said his daddy won it fair and square and that my daddy just ought not play gin rummy when he's drunk, 'cause he sucks pretty bad at it even when he's stone sober." "But Daddy says Steve Jr." "Just wants what's in my underwear and he won't stop till he has it." "And then he'll probably take $40 from me, too, but I don't even have $40." "I just think he's mad 'cause he lost paw-paw's knife." "I see." "Yeah." "Oh." "[Barking]" "You're not gonna tell him, are you, about my date?" "A child shouldn't lie to her father, even if her father's Lonzo Choat." "Ain't nothing good gonna come from that." "You and your rules." "I'm not a child." "I'm 16, and I'm not lying to him, either." "I just got some secrets, that's all." "Everybody does." "Who does this gun belong to, anyway?" "You ask a lot of questions." "There's a lot I don't know." "I bought it for my son when he graduated law school." "That's a weird gift." "I thought I might, uh, get some target practice back there in the woods, maybe shoot me a squirrel for dinner." "You're funny." "I can't imagine why anybody'd put you in an old folks' home." "You seem fine to me." "I am fine." "Then why'd you go?" "[Dog barking]" "I think I need to get some rest." "Well, it was nice to talk to you." "Bye, doggy." "[Bark]" "You never did tell me his name." "How about we call him Nipper?" "[Dog barking]" "(Abner) Hupl Come here." "Yeah." "Hush, Nipper, hush." "Hush, Nipper, hush." "Atta a boy." "Hush, Nipper, hush." "[Laughs]" "You're a good dog." "Okay." "Now, here we go, Nipper." "Hush, Nipper, hush." "Hush." "Yeah." "Good." "Good boy." "[Barking]" "Hush, nipper, hush." "[Barking]" "Good boy." "Hush, Nipper, hush." "[Barking]" "Hush, Nipper, hush!" "Hush!" "[Barking continues]" "Hush, hush I" "How about shutting up some of that goddamn racket!" "[Barking continues]" "[Barking continues]" "You even walk like it." "What's that?" "White trash." "You even walk like it." "Heh." "It amuses me." "Must be great to be so funny." "Helps to pass the time." "Thought you said that boy of yours was coming to haul you back to the nursing home today." "I guess he couldn't make it." "Probably tried to call... but since you rednecks can't pay a telephone bill, he likely had trouble getting through." "Hmm." "Yeah, well, you'd better find a way to get ahold of him, then." "[Growling]" "Where'd you get that ugly thing?" "I guess you could say I found him." "You'd better lose him, then." "Well, he don't bark much." "Yeah, I heard him not barking much most the goddamn day." "He'll come up with his neck wrung, and you may not fare much better." "Oh, he... he don't mean no harm." "Oh, you hush, Nipper." "Hush!" "I just don't think he likes you, Choat." "That's all." "It's all right, boy." "He... he... sh, sh, he's all bark." "You've been trying to start a fight with me ever since you set foot on this land yesterday." "I ain't trying to fight you, Choat, just claiming what's rightly mine." "This is my land now, Meecham, can you understand that?" "And I can do with it what I want to when I want to." "[Growling]" "I can paint this house," "I can raise a new harvest," "I can..." "I can..." "I can... bathe in that big tub and lay in that soft bed and can't nobody tell me different... not you, nobody!" "And that just eats you up, don't it?" "It just claws on your insides." "Hmm." "That's what you work for in this life, Meecham... land, to have a home, to be a landowner." "And I'm the goddamn landowner now!" "How do you expect to run a farm this size when you can't even keep the lawn mowed?" "You're in over your head, son." "Heh, yeah." "Yeah, well, we'll see about that." "Stupid old coot." "Hell, I'll just sit right here and outlive you." "How about that?" "[Low growling]" "You're older than Moses, anyhow." "Can't walk for shit." "Falling apart before my very eyes." "Why do you think your boy put you out to seed in the first place, Meecham?" "He ain't stupid." "Some point you gotta let go, friend." "I ain't no friend of yours." "Hmm." "[Barking]" "That's right." "Go on and get another beer, you miserable drunk." "[Barking]" "You're nasty when you're drinking, Choat." "Yeah." "Well, you nasty just about all the time." "[Barking]" "[Television playing low and indistinct]" "Well, I'm going to bed." "When you coming?" "(Lonzo) I don't know." "Don't let him worry you, Lonzo." "He's just a harmless old man." "Come on to bed." "Please." "Lonzo, come on." "The way the TV glows..." "I can see right through that gown." "This is serious, Lonzo." "Don't do something you'll regret." "Please." "Don't you pay him no mind." "He'll be gone tomorrow." "This'll all be over." "[Soft moans]" "I got land now, Ludie," "And I aim to keep it." "Shouldn't a man protect his family, huh?" "What kind of man would I be if I didn't do that?" "He ain't gonna do nothing to me or Pam." "It's the money you need to be worrying about." "What the hell does that mean?" "Nothin'." "Nothin'." "It don't mean nothin'." "Ludie... tell me... what do you mean?" "[Sighs]" "You know damn well what I mean." "Those checks ain't enough anymore." "We ain't ever gonna get a loan without any income." "You don't think I can support this family on my own?" "You don't think I can bring in a proper harvest?" "Well, you ain't even planted anything yet." "That's because the whole goddamn equipment's broke." "He left it broken, I gotta fix it, and it ain't easy!" "I know." "I know." "If we don't have the rest of that down payment in a couple weeks, we're gonna lose this place and what we already put into it." "I'll get the loan, Ludie." "Okay." "Just... tell me how." "You're just like him, ain't you?" "You're just like all them." "You don't think a man can change, make something better of himself." "That's not true!" "Oh, it's true." "Well, I'll show you." "I'll show the goddamn lot of you." "And get off me." "Get off me, Ludie!" "Last year I fell down the porch steps and broke my hip." "Just slipped on a patch of ice and boom, that was it." "I couldn't move at all laying there, pain like... nothing you can imagine, like some blade of fire slicing up the side of my body." "This was a... this was a Sunday about dusk, and... it was late December, around Christmas." "It was real cold." "I hollered and carried on, but this far out, ain't nobody gonna... nobody gonna hear ya." "[Grunts]" "Then darkness come and, uh, all I could do was just lay there, foot of them steps, and ache." "I thought my time had come, I truly did." "Next morning, Thurl Chessor happened up on me." "Just... stopped by on a whim." "It saved my life." "Spent a few weeks at a hospital, got myself a new hip." "And I come back out here." "To my home." "I knew pretty quick, uh," "I couldn't tend the farm no more, just didn't have it in me, didn't have the strength." "Paul had told me I... needed a change... needed to meet people." "Being out here all by myself wasn't good for me." "I reckon I was in a good deal of pain at the time, feeling pretty lonely, and so... seemed like a good idea." "[Sigh]" "But I..." "I was lonelier there with all them people around... than I ever was out here by myself." "Hey." "[Dog whimpers]" "That's a boy." "Yeah." "That's a good boy." "[Slow heavy footsteps]" "Where's Pam?" "Out with Neely Watkins and that gang, I think." "You think?" "Yeah." "Think they were going down to the Snow White Cafe or somewhere in town." "You think or you know?" "I don't know." "Who else is with them?" "Steve Jr." "With them?" "It's just Neely picked her up." "Hmm." "[Footsteps]" "[Screen door opens, closes]" "(Steve Jr.) But wait." "Hey, man." "Wait I [dog barking]" "(Lonzo) What are you doing, boy, huh?" "What are you doing I" "(Pamela) Daddy I stop it I" "Get outta that damn car, boy I" "Daddy, stop it." "What are you doing?" "I told you not to go out with him." "Nothing's going on." "Wait I" "Get your ass out..." "I'll kick him..." "Mama!" "Mama!" "I will kill you I" "Huh, you wanna go with me?" "Get your ass..." "Mama!" "Mama!" "Comin' here with my daughter..." "I told you never to come by here, boy!" "Mama!" "[Indistinct]" "Stop it I" "Stop it, Daddy I" "Get your ass up!" "[Heavy blows landing]" "(Pamela) No!" "No!" "Yeah!" "Damn you!" "Stop it!" "Daddy, stop it!" "Get off of me!" "[Thud] Aah!" "[Grunt and groan] Get off..." "God!" "(Ludie) Stop it I Lonzo, stop it!" "You wanna go with me?" "Aah!" "No, please, leave it alone now!" "[Growl]" "[Scream]" "[Starts car]" "[Pamela screams]" "Get your goddamn ass outta here!" "(Ludie) Lonzo, just go inside, baby!" "How many times do I gotta tell you, girl..." "Just go inside, baby!" "Get your ass outta my way!" "You little slut." "Stop it!" "You..." "Stop it!" "[scream]" "[Gunshot]" "[Dog barking]" "[Heavy breathing, gasping]" "[Whimpering]" "I ain't gonna stand here and watch you beat folks, Choat." "That's a young girl, there." "A child, not a dumb brute." "You better get your goddamn ass back in that house right now!" "You raise that hose one more time, and I'll lay a slug right in that rabbit turd you call a brain." "You ain't got the balls, Meecham." "[Gunshot]" "[Ludie whimpers]" "[Panting]" "Gonna call the High Sheriff in the morning, too," "First thing." "There's bound to be laws against beating young girls with garden hoses." "You'll regret this, Meecham." "You'll be sorry every day of your life that you shot toward me." "Get this circus out of my yard so a man can get some sleep." "(Ludie) Let's get you inside." "[Dog barking]" "(Ludie) You okay, baby?" "[Abner sighs]" "God damn." "[Whimpers]" "[Groan]" "[Sigh]"