"Other cities just keep giving a one-way bus ticket to the beach." ""And then they become" our problem." "Homelessness is everybody's problem." "My name's Charlie." "Don't you get it?" "I don't have a home." ""Charlie's mom's been gone" since yesterday." "Has she ever abandoned you?" "No, and she didn't this time, either." "Why are you in my house?" "Let me go!" "She's gone." "Help me!" "My God!" "She can't swim!" "Come on." "Hey, you're cheating." "Get back here." "More and more of them every day." "Other cities just keep giving them a one-way bus ticket to the beach." "And then, they become our problem." "Mm-mm." "Homelessness is everybody's problem." "I just hope I can make the mortgage on the boat this month." "Come on, one more." "Yeah." "Hey." "Come on, let's go." "Let's move it, all right?" "Come on." "Hey, what are you doing with that?" "No!" "It's mine!" "No, it's n..." "Leave it alone!" "Hey, hey." "This isn't yours." "Let's go." "Come on." "This is not a hotel." "Huh?" "Let's move it." "Why don't you go down to one of those shelters, huh?" "Mine!" " Same time tomorrow." " Yeah, you got it." "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" "Hey!" "Sorry." "Well, where's he off to in such a hurry?" "The new "Surf Rider" magazine just hit the racks." "I didn't know Hobie was that into surfing." "It's the swimsuit edition." "Weird." "It's, like, overnight, he's gone from... looking at skegs to checking out legs." "Well, uh, maybe I should have a talk with him." "About what?" "You know... the facts of life." "" Thanks, Harvey, I think I can handle that." "Well, I was just offering." "I mean, sometimes it's easier for a non-parent to cut through all the hemming and hawing." "There's not gonna be any hemming or hawing." "I'm perfectly comfortable talking to my son about anything and everything, thank you." "Thanks a lot now, take care." "Thanks." "Thanks a lot now." "Take care." "That will be $3.50, sir, please." "$3.75, sir." "Here you go." "Here's your change." "Here you go." "Thanks a lot." "Burritos up?" "Here you go, sir." "Thank you very much. 75." "Thank you." "Thank you very much, sir." "Have a good day now." "Get them while they're hot." "$3.50, sir." "Thank you very much." "Thanks." "Hey, you, hold it!" " What'd you put in here, huh?" " Nothing!" "Let go of me!" "What else did you steal, huh?" "What else did you..." "Mine!" "Come on... ow!" "If I catch you around here again, I'll have you arrested, you little thief!" "Who's next?" "Here you are, Eric." "Just change the bandage twice a day." "Thanks." "Just because some homeless guy took my picture," " doesn't make him dangerous." " Aw, homeless!" "Home..." "You know what, I am really sick and tired of every vagrant and criminal on the street being called the homeless." "This guys doesn't belong in a shelter, he belongs in an asylum..." "Ow!" "Eddie, this is gonna need stitches; it's deep." "You're right." "But you didn't see this guy." "He was crazy... he acted like your picture was his and I was taking it away from him." "The only thing that matters is that you're okay." "Wrong." "The only thing that matters is me catching this guy." "Ow!" "I don't know... what can I tell you, Mitch?" "How's this city supposed to handle over 3,000, when we only have 558 shelter beds?" "I don't know, Garner, but something's got to be done, and something's got to be done soon." "Well, Mitch, you know as well as I do there are no easy answers here." "My guards have pulled out over two dozen transients from the water in the last two months." "Now we got a stabbing." "I'm telling you... it's getting dangerous out here." "Wait." "Hal!" "Hal, bring your print kit down here." "I'll be right down." "Hey, Lea!" "Where'd you go this morning?" "You were gone when I got up." "What's this?" "I brought your clothes, your stereo, and your toothbrush." "I've changed the locks on the door, so don't even bother trying to use your key." "Good-bye, Harvey." "Hey, muscles!" "Don't put the stereo in the sand!" "Aw, Lea, come on." "Why are you doing this?" "When you moved in, we were supposed to share expenses share a life together, share everything, but I guess the thrill you get out of gambling turns you on more than I do." "Oh... now, now, that is not true." "You lost the rent money at the track, the grocery money at poker..." "well, now you've lost me." "Good-bye!" "I hope the thrill was worth it." "I'm just on a cold streak." "It'll turn around." "Lea, come on, where am I gonna live?" "Hey!" "That's my harmonica." "Oh, sorry." "I was looking for you." "You dropped it when you were running away from the truck." "Here." "You got your spit all over it." "Oh." "Sorry." "Do you know how to play it?" "No." "I just like the way you can hear yourself breathe." "What you writing about?" "What just happened." "Oh, like a diary." "A journal." "Me and my mom share it." "So, did you write about why you stole that stuff back there?" "I paid him in advance, and he forgot, okay?" "Hey, he's the one who ripped me off my change, and that was all the money I had." "What are you staring at?" "Uh, you have some chocolate right here." "You use makeup?" "Sometimes." "My name's Charlie." "What's yours?" "Hobie." "Listen, Hobie, I got to get to work on earning some money." "You have a job?" "Sort of." "Here." "Play this." "I don't know how." "It doesn't matter, just do like you were doing before." "You know, blow out and suck in, and move it side to side." "Yeah." "Yeah, you'll do." "No matter what anybody says, you don't answer." "Don't even stop playing." "Pretend like you can't even hear 'em." "Why?" "Just do it." "Don't dance around or anything." "Just stand there." "Give it a shot." "Keep it up." "Hi." "Excuse me, could you spare a little change for me and my brother?" "Hi." "Could you..." "It was awful." "I hated it." "Well, you picked the place." "Ladies, hi." " Hello." " My brother and I... we really need some money." "Could you help us out?" " What's wrong with him?" " Will a quarter help?" "Oh, thank you." "See?" "He can't play too well." "He's deaf." "Thank you." "Oh, thanks." "We're saving up for a hearing aid." "We're very grateful." "Bye." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "My brother and I are trying to get some money for the bus home." "Do you think you could help us out?" "Hobie?" "He-he can't hear you." "See, he's deaf." "Yeah." "Hobie!" "Yeah." "You scared him." "Hey!" "Wait up!" "He can't hear you!" "Remember?" "A girl, huh?" "Yeah." "She's really different, Dad." "How is she different?" "Well, she's older." "I don't know." "I feel funny around her." "Funny?" "How?" "Well, I can't think of anything to say, and everything I do say sounds stupid." "Yeah, well, women can do that to you, believe me." "Why does it happen?" "Well, because..." "maybe you're saying one thing and you're thinking something else." "Yeah." "I kept on thinking about... kissing her." "What?" "Am I old enough to kiss a girl, Dad?" "Well, I..." "I... uh..." "Look, if you don't want to talk about this..." "No!" "No, I "do" want to talk about this." "Then why are you hemming and hawing?" "I'm..." "Well, because it's a little bit too late to get into this now, and..." "I don't want to have to stop in the middle." "Yeah." "That probably would drive me crazy." "Yeah." "I tell you what." "Why don't you go upstairs, I'll tuck you in bed, and we'll get into it tomorrow?" "Good." "'Cause the stuff Harvey told me didn't make any sense." "Not quite." "The eyes are still too close." "They need to be a little, I don't know, deeper set or something." "Hey, guys." "Mitch around?" "Upstairs." "Oh." "What's this?" "Eh, some creep who stabbed me at my tower yesterday." "You're kidding." "Oh, hey, Eddie." "Speaking of the homeless, do you think" "I could maybe stay with you for a couple of days?" "Just till I find a suitable place." "Aw, come on, Harv, you know how the marina feels about pets." "I'm a little cramped." "You understand." "Garner, my main man." "Riva doesn't even like it when "my" relatives visit." "Kay?" "Forget it." "Wait a minute." "That's it, that's it." "Now you're getting somewhere." "You know, Garner, I can run this picture in the "Voice" if that will help." "Can't hurt." "Thanks, Kay." "Police lab just faxed over a positive ID from the prints on that shard of glass." " Hi, Kay." " Hi." "His name is Hector Clay." "They call him "Hector the Collector. "" "Apparently, he steals things from people that aren't necessarily valuable but precious to them." "You know, like keepsakes, lockets..." "Pictures." "Of loved ones." "Exactly." "Then, he assumes them as his own." "This guy has a history of violent behavior." "He was serving six months at the state hospital for the criminally insane." "When did he escape?" "He didn't." "They released him three weeks ago." "Lack of funds." "Sure, I give Hobie an allowance." "Why?" "I saw him panhandling on the strand yesterday." "Hobie?" "No way." "Yeah, it was him." "He ran away when he saw me." "Kay, it couldn't have been Hobie." "I'm "99%" sure it was him." "He was playing the harmonica..." "badly, I might add... and then this little girl ran up to me and said Hobie was her deaf brother and asked me for some money." "A girl." "Hmm, "I see," said the blind man." "Where were they?" "Oh, uh, Rose Street benches." "Thanks." "You're welcome." "See ya." "Hi." "Why'd you run off with my stuff?" "You know that lady you were asking for money?" "She was my dad's friend." "Why did you tell her I was your deaf brother, anyway?" "Tell people a sad story, they feel better when they help you out." "What are you looking for?" "My mom." "She went on a job, but she's not back yet." "Well, what does she do?" "Different things." "Well, actually, she's sort of a writer... a poet." "Me, too." "Want to hear one of my poems?" "Yeah, sure." "Oh, no." "It's gone." "What?" "Our journal." "Maybe you left it at home." "Last night." "Hey, wait up!" "You lost it in here?" "I must have." "I was playing around in here." "Got to find it." "Why are you in my house?" "!" "Let go of me!" "Let her go... you're hurting her!" "Let go of me!" "Let her go!" "Let go of me!" "Run, Charlie, run!" "Run!" "Come on!" "Run!" "You know, I think they should take all the military bases that they're closing up and turn it into housing for the people who need it." "Can't do that." "Why not?" "Eddie, they have tons of empty buildings and barracks and mess halls." "And the towns around those bases need people, or else they're going to die out." "Yeah, for people who want to work." "Yeah, I guarantee you that all those people would work if they'd just be given half the chance and a little bit of encouragement." "Oh, no." "What?" "Wait a minute, I saw that guy yesterday at the pavilion." "What are you doing?" "Getting him." "No, you're not, not with your shoulder." "Shauni, he could be dangerous." "I'm not letting you near him." "Eddie..." "Let me go change that bandage, okay?" "I'm fine." "No, you're stubborn." "That guy's about the same age as me." "Maybe if he were a little more stubborn, he wouldn't have given up, wouldn't have tried to end his life like that." "What's the matter?" "I've always been afraid that..." "I'd end up like him." "Nowhere to live, nothing to live for." "We've all felt like that sometimes." "I mean, that's why the homeless are so hard to deal with... because they bring out all of our worst fears." "I think we lost him." "Who was that guy?" "He's a loony tune." "Saw him a couple of times under the bridge." "I don't believe it." "She's still not here." "Maybe she's waiting for you at home." "Don't you get it?" "We don't have a home." "What do you mean?" "Where do you sleep?" "Shelters... the beach... that empty power plant." "Don't worry." "She'll come." "Charlie, Charlie, my dad's here." "He'll know what to do." "Hey, Dad!" "Hey, Hobester." "What's going on?" "Nothing." "Dad, this is Charlie, the girl I've been telling you about." "Oh, yeah." "Hi, Charlie." "How are you?" "Hi." "What's the matter, honey?" "Charlie's mom's been gone since yesterday." "She had to sleep in the old power plant last night, under the bridge." "So why don't you come on over to lifeguard headquarters?" "We'll see if we can find your mom, huh?" "No." "Now, what if she comes back and i'm not here?" "Well, then she'll call the police, and they'll call us at lifeguard headquarters, and we'll get you guys together." "Come on, don't worry." "Want to ride in the back?" "29 minutes." "I can't win." "There you go." "Take what you need, keep the change." "So when the plant shut down, it was really hard for mom to find work." "Then, the unemployment ran out." "And when we couldn't pay the rent, we got evicted." "How long you been on the street?" "Three months." "Mom finds work sometimes, but the money just goes for food and a place to stay." "Charlie, I got to ask you a couple of questions, and I'd like you to be honest with me, okay?" "Has your mom ever used drugs or alcohol?" "No." "Dad..." "Hobie, just a second here." "Has she ever abandoned you?" "No, and she didn't this time, either." "Something must have happened to her." "Well, we're checking with the child welfare department and..." "If someone comes to get me, I swear, I'll run away." "Nobody's coming to get you." "We're just checking with the hospitals and the police to see if anything happened to your mom." "We won't know anything until morning." "In the meantime, if you want to spend the night here, you're welcome." "Hobie can bunk in with me, and you can sleep in his bed." "I'll tuck you in." "Can I have some more, please?" "Sure." "Careful." "Don't trip." "My dad's shirts are kind of long." "Hobie." "Hey, Eddie, what are you doing here?" "Where's my dad?" "Well, he called me, and he wanted me to come over here and hang with you guys for a while." "Had to take care of something, but he'll be back pretty soon." "Hi." "I'm Eddie." "Hi." "I'm Charlie." "Hey, that's the guy." "That's him." "Who?" "What?" "Hector?" "Wait a minute, you saw this guy?" "When?" "Yesterday, under the bridge in the old power plant." "He grabbed Charlie." "But Hobie hit him with a piece of wood." "What's he doing in the paper, anyway?" "Well, that maniac stabbed me the other day." "And what were you two doing in the plant?" "Well, Charlie thought she lost her diary in there." "It's a journal my mom and I have been keeping." "Yeah, well, if it's special to you, Hector the Collector probably took it." "Hello." "Hey, Mitch." "Yep, they're both here." "Mm-hmm." "Okay." "Oh." "Great, great." "All right." "Yeah, I'll tell her." "Okay, I'll see you soon." "Well... he found your mom." "They'll be here in an hour." "Is she all right?" "She's fine." "Where was she?" "She was in jail, but it was a mistake." "A mistake?" "But your dad straightened the whole thing out." "I, uh..." "I better go get dressed." "Hey, Hobe!" "Dad!" "Hobie, this is Charlie's mom, June." "June, my son Hobie." "Hi." "Nice to meet you." "Your dad's told me a lot about you." "Charlie talks about you all the time, too." "Oh, this is Eddie Kramer." " Eddie, this is June Reed." " Nice to meet you." "Hi." "Charlie's upstairs getting ready." "Hobie, why don't you go see what's taking her so long?" "Yeah, sure." "Are you hungry?" "I mean, you want something to drink?" "Maybe just a glass of water." "I'll get it." "I can't thank you enough for all you've done for Charlene." "I feel so humiliated by all this." "Don't." "Bad things sometimes happen to good people." "She's gone!" "What?" "The window was open, and there was this note." ""Sorry to run out, but I have to go get our journal back" ""before my mom gets here." "Charlie. "" "That's mine!" "No, it's not!" "Mine." "Mitch." "Mitch, over there." "Give it to me!" "Dad!" "Dad, there she is!" "Stop it!" "Let go of me!" "Mine!" "No!" "No!" "My God, she can't swim!" "Meet me down there, huh?" "It's okay." "I got you." "Hey!" "No!" "My things!" "My things!" "They're my things!" "Hector, it's okay." "Please..." "I'll be good." "I'll be good." "Hector, it's okay." "It's all right." "Nobody's going to hurt you." "She's all right." " Thank you." " She's okay." ""I used to think" ""My bedroom was too small," "Until I didn't have a room at all. "" "Keep going, honey." ""I woke up this morning with a snail next to my hand" ""I touched him, and he went into his shell" ""I sometimes wish I had a shell" ""That I could call my own." ""Then, I wouldn't be ashamed" ""When someone asked me where I lived," ""'Cause I'd always and forever" "Have a home. "" "That was beautiful, Charlie." "My mom's a really good writer." "I'd love to publish some of what you both have written, if that'd be all right." "It's very personal." "All good writing is." "Would they get paid?" "You bet." "In fact, I could use some extra help on the paper." "Really?" "That'd be wonderful." "Wait a minute." "Oh, don't worry, I'm not looking to move in." "I found a place to roost." "I feel sorry for the chickens." "Hey, I move in on Monday." "32 units, all stewardesses." "I thought you were broke." "Roommates!" "The secret to luxurious living." "You have stewardesses for roommates?" "Well, not exactly." "You see, the deal is is that I get to move into their apartments when they're away on flights." "But, uh, deals are negotiable." "Ooh, cake." "Come on in." "Here you go." "Thanks." "I don't know how I'd have gotten through this without you." "Dad." "Dad, she kissed me." "What do I do now?" "You want me to handle this one, Mitch?" "Book a flight, Harvey." "Booking." "Hobe, a kiss is like a wave." "Catch the right one... unbelievable." "Catch the wrong one... wipe out." "I did that?" "No." "How do you tell the difference?" "Well, when waves are over your head..." "Yeah?" "Stay out of the water." "Harvey!"