"Marin Frist- she just moved here." "Just visiting, writing my next book... on men." "Buzz is married?" "To Mai." "She's an import- mail-order bride." "Ben seems nice." "Oh, we're separated." "Let'get him auctioned off." " $125." "He's cute." " Sold!" "Which girl bid on Patrick?" "Blonde, painted-on sweater this sounds like an emergency." "Okay, before we get started today," "Patrick, you have an announcement?" "Yeah, sad stuff." "Elmo lost one of the greats this week with the death of Franklin Cook." "Franklin was our oldest citizen, and we're gonna miss him at the new moon festival this week, especially at the polar bear swim." "Polar bears as in old men jumping into freezing water?" "Yeah." "Franklin always went nudey rudey." "It's not gonna be the same without him." "Well, now, god bless Franklin, but I'm a New York girl." " I don't go into water without a tetanus shot." " Don't know what you're missin'." "New moon's in Franklin's honor this year." "So don't forget the town meeting tonight." "Pakuma's coming to plan the festivities." "Is pakuma a party planner?" "It's our beloved sister town." "Beverly Hill has cans- cannes." "C-cannes." " Yeah, we have, uh" " Pacoima." "Pakuma." "Throw a festival with them every year" " have big street parties- - oh, I love street parties!" "Do you, um, sell, like, tube socks and batteries and stuff?" "No, but I like your enthusiasm." "Okay." "Anyone want to talk about Franklin, go ahead, call in." " Marin Frist is here to help." " Oh, hang on, Patrick." "I'm a relationship coach." "I'm not a grief counselor." "Well, there's a lot of grief in relationships." "Am I right?" "Okay, uhguys, I am... really sorry for your loss." "Losing someone can make you feel like you have a hugeole in your life." "Make you wonder you are without them." "Sounds like, uh, Franklin had a big impact on everyone." "It will take some time to get over him." "Give yourself some time." "Ugh." "Seriously?" "Hey, jerome." "Do you know when the post office will be open?" " What's the sign say?" " Well..." "I'm expecting a package from my friend." "She's sending me my winter clothes." "I've been waiting I week." "What's wrong with the clothes we got here, fancy pants?" "Uh, well, nothing, if you like a good hip wader, but, uh, I'm freezing, so I would like some of my actual fancy pants, and, uh maybe my fancy earmuffs." "I'll be open later." "Wait." "You're the postman?" "Why didn't you say something?" " You didn't ask." " Okay, come on." "Let me in." " I'm on my lunch break." " It's after 3:00." "I gotta eat a lot of small meals." "Keeps my metabolism up." "This is insane and possibly illegal." "If you don't like post office hours you can take it up at the town meeting tonight." "I believe I will." "Oh." "For the record, lose the smiley face." "Just 'cause you slap it up there, doesn't mean it's making anyone happy." "Makin' me happy." "Up here, we wear those on our feet." "I'm freezing, and my clothes are being held captive at the post office." "You need a hat." "You're losing most of your body heat through your head, you know." "That explains so much about my recent decisions." "And watch how much you drink at night." "It lowers your body temperature." "Note to self- find suitable headgear, stop getting drunk." "Thanks." "You're a wealth of hypothermic facts." " I've just always been interested in how the body works." " Hm." "Go figure." "Actually, I've been thinking about signing up to do volunteer E.M.S. Work." "Why don't you?" "Well, the coursework costs money." "I'd have to cut back my hours." "The less money coming in, the less free time to spend with my son." "It's complicated." "Well, I think you'd be great at it." "Here, take one of mine." "hey." "Huh." "Thanks!" "What you doing?" "Nothing." "I mean, not like dirty nothing- good clean nothin'." "Is that my chat room?" "Are those my socks?" "Oh." "Yeah, thanks." "What are they sayin'?" "Oh, who cares what a bunch of bloggers say, right?" "Freaks." "Yeah, which is why you had the highest number of posts april through august." "Come on, let me see." ""Marin Frist rumored dead"?" "Wh" " I don't think so, ally from N.Y.C." "They started talking about a couple of appearances you missed." "Honestly?" "Oh, come on." "Uh, hey, guys, Marin here." "No, it really is me." "they kicked me off?" "How did- how did they kick me out of my own chat room?" "Did you know I'm dead in New York?" "Oh, that." "Yeah, I know." "Yeah?" "I miss a couple of appearances, and suddenly everyone thinks I'm dead?" "It was oprah." "Remember oprah?" "The show the old Marin was dying to be on?" "It's like standing up the dalai lama." "Oh, but, listen, your book sales are way up." "Seriously?" "I'm supposed to feel better about my sudden death because it's helping book sales?" "I'm an editor." "This is how I spin things." "And no one bought the rehab story." "You told people I was in rehab?" "Yeah, it didn't stick." "How are you gonna promote my third book if I'm dead?" " What?" " Okay." " What?" " They canceled your third book." "What?" "!" "You know the publishers." "They thought they'd be getting a book on marriage, and you're not getting married." " Not my fault." " I know that." "You know that." "But they just want what they paid for." "Well, they paid for me, and I'm still me last time I checked." "Well, you're not exactly you anymore, are you?" "What does that mean?" " Honey, you're living in alaska." " Visiting alaska." "The Marin Frist I know only liked ice if it was floating in a well-chilled vodka negroni." "I am still me." "I'll alert the media or send a smoke signal or whatever you people do up there." "Well, I am not a "you people"!" "I am Marin Frist!" "Marin Frist." "Marin Frist..." "With Franklin gone... may he rest." "That makes us two of the older guys in town." "I have to start my memoirs." "Yeah, I gotta get my things in order, too." "I'm up there flying in those mountains every day." "I mean, it could happen anytime." " It could happen just like that, you know?" " May you rest." "Hey, guys." "Just came from Franklin's house." "He wanted you to have those." "Oh, bettie page." "Classic." "Franklin had porn." "He thinks this is gift?" "These were mine." " I don't need the details." " Hey, hey, wait up a second." "Uh, we have something we need to, uh, discuss with you." "Yeah, man, have a seat." "We all took a hard hit with Franklin." "Maybe you took the hardest, 'cause he was the guy that raised you after your dad died." "may he rest." "So Franklin stepped up from round one." "We figured it was time we stepped up." "We're your new dads." "Guys, come on." "You don't have to do that." "Now, son, you just sit a spell and have a drink with your kin." "How sweet." "Jack has two dads." "I don't think I need a dad anymore." " Never too old to need a dad." " Never too old to be a dad." "I mean, how old was Franklin, about 130?" "89." "I wouldn't put that on the tombstone." "Man didn't look a day over 83." "What is gonna go on his headstone?" "I know what's gonna go on mine." ""Buzz was a pilot." "If you don't know that, you didn't know me."" "You know, if all mine says is," ""ben, a decent guy,"" "I'm fine with that." "You know when I was in the band, all I wanted was to die famous." "It doesn't make any sense, right?" " You were in a band?" " Yeah." "Nothing quite lived up to the dream." "Exactly." "So screw the dream, live the life." ""Ben, a decent guy." "May he rest in peace."" ""Theresa- her fries were never soggy."" "what's your headstone gonna say?" "Well, considering that they just canceled my third book" "I'm guessing, uh, "loser"?" "I thought I was just up here gathering my thoughts." "I was gonna learn something, write a new book- a better book." "I guess you can't ask anybody to save you a seat in New York." "I'm gone five minutes, and my fans think I'm dead." "May you rest." "Thank you." "You're not serious?" "I know that in the grand scheme of things, my little books on how to be lucky in love didn't amount to one of gandhi's sneezes, but it's what I did." "I was good at it." "I was happy." "People came together." "Then I fell apart." "Good news is women don't need a job to be happy." "Oh, hello, 1950." "Nice to meet you." " I'm 2006." " Well, you don't need a paycheck." "You got family and kids and hand creams and stuff." "Thank you." "I'll take "more things I don't have" for $500." "Hey, at least you're still breathing" "Yes, I am you know what?" "I'm not just gonna sit back and take it." "Nobody can tell me I'm not that girl anymore." "Okay." "I can fix this." "You know why?" " Because that's what I do." " That's what I hear." "That'S... right." "who are all these people?" "That's our sisters" " Pakuma." "You're gonna love 'em." "They're, like, my favorite uncle, sister, town, people." "oh, this is exciting." " My first town meeting." " I know." "Yeah, attention, everyone." "greetings, Pakuma." "that's my favorite part." " Oh, yes, I have some post offe issues." " Yeah, hi." "We've got a little hitch here with the new moon festival." "We're not gonna be able to throw it with you this year on account of the fact that we want to break up" "what?" "Well, it's come to our atttion that you've lost another of your man hey, don't go and drag Franklin into this" "**!" "Doug." "Point is, you don't even count as a town anymore." "You're a village." "We can't be associated with no village." " Pakuma's goin' places." " In a handbasket." "We've got costmart coming next month, and sam forester just impregnated a nice gal from juneau." " But you're our favorite uncle...brother... sister town." " This is ridiculous." "So Elmo's a village instead of a town." "That's not Elmo's fault." "They're not dead." " They're still the same people." " Yeah." "Our towns have been together for over a hundred years." "We helped rebuild Pakuma after that fire in '83." "This is the thanks we get?" "See?" "That's what I mean." "We can't talk to you people." "Ohh!" "This is all just because of a drop in population?" " Can't you just count Marin and me?" " Oh, slow down, sister." "I'm temporary." "You're the one paying rent." "I already added you, and then that crabber died, then Franklin died." "It's one life forward, two deaths back." "It's a numbers game, annie." "We can't beat it." "What are we supposed to do tomorrow?" "Who are we if we're not Pakuma's sister town?" "Hmm." "oh, hang on, guys." "Eyes on me for a second." "No one deserves to be dumped like that." "It was an ambush." "So here's what." "I'm gonna do what I know how to do best- or at least, I hopeI still know how to do." "I'm gonna find you a new town." "A better town." "One who appreciates you for who you really are." "So what do you say?" "New moon, new beginning?" " permission to be your backseat driver?" " Me, too?" "I wouldn't dream of hitting the rebound road without you." "Get this." "Elmo's sister city just dumped them right before the new moon festival." "Honey, what's happening?" "Did you just hit your head?" "An entire town is suddenly single, so I told them I would find them someone new." "Of course you did." "Stay with me here." "It's perfect, right?" "Marin Frist doesn't just get people together- she can even set up a town." "And why are we doing this?" "I'll write an article about it." "We'll sell it to the monthlies." "I'll be alive again." "What, are you there?" "You know, you don't have to power through this." "It's okay if you don't work for a while." "It's not work." "It's my life." "Yeah, okay, it would be proving to the world that I'm still alive, but it would be proving it to me, too." "Mm." "If you're gonnaget all feisty about it" "I won't stand in your way." "Good idea." "Just don't feel like you have to be Marin Frist the second coming." "No one's expecting you to be that girl right now." "What about me?" "Does my vote count?" "Hey, Mai?" "My coat's on Mai." " My what?" " My coat." " On what now?" " On Mai." " Your what?" " Never mind." "Uh, excuse me, uh, Buzz's wife?" "Uh, lady?" "Uh, hey!" "Where'd you get the coat?" "Lost and found." "Anything that stays in the post office longer than 24 hours goes into lost and found." "It was lost." "I found it." "Well, that's very impressive, but I'm not leaving without the coat." "See, that's my "going out" coat." "My "meet my editor in soho and have drinks at 60 thompson" coat." "It is not your, uh, "walkingaround in the middle of nowhere and talking to no one" coat." "Okay?" "Fine, but you're in the middle of nowhere, too, you know." "Yes, but now I can pretend that I'm not." "Hey, that's my... sweater!" "We need to talk." " All this death stuff has got me thinking." " Yeah?" "You remember when we bought that joint burial plot right after we got married?" " Oh." "Yeah." " Yeah." "Maybe we should get rid of it." "Or..." "I could get us smaller plots, or I-I could sell your spot or... sell my spot?" "What, you're getting offers?" "I guess..." "I'm just asking what you wanna do." "Spending eternity together is something married couples usually do." "So if that's not what we are anymore, then..." " wow." " Yeah." "Just putting it out there." "thanks." "I'm headed out." "Hey, did you bring the E.M.S. Paperwork?" "To sign up for the courses." "Oh, babe, I thought you were just making conversation." "I really want to give E.M.S. A try." "I think I'd be good at it." "Come on." "Isn't it enough to be great at one thing?" "Now, remember, just because a town is available does not mean it's the right town for us." "We have to think about what Elmo needs." "I've kinda had my eye on a new propeller." "I was thinking more about a town-wide need," " but we'll see what we can do." " Ooh." "Ooh." "Tala has a hot spring." " Not bad." "Tell me more." " No, no." "You don't want tala." "Five of their townspeople mysteriously disappeared last year and all they found was some chickens." "Ahem." "Okay." "Next." "Well, dakota has the 1982 chess champ and a laundromat." "Oh, I'm looking at Mitexi." "Mitexi is small, nearby, well-groomed." " Oh, get this- a very high female population." " Hey, yeah!" " Like that planet in "star trek."" " Angel one?" "Lucky you two found each other." "Okay, I'm feeling really good about Mitexi." " Guys, what do you think?" " Oh, nearby with women?" "You can sign me up for nirvana." "a true romantic." "All right." "How do we handle this?" " Oh, ask 'em out,remain calm and confident." " Exactly." " How do you ask a town out?" " Oh, that one's easy." "Book one, chapter two- take the wheel." " We call them." " Yes." " You can call a town?" " Well, let's see." "uh... hi." "Uh, uh, hello." "Is this Mitexi town hall?" "I'm calling from Elmo." "You heard?" "Well, yes, it was shocking." "Their loss." "Well, I'm sure you have plans, but on the off chance you're free, um, how's tomorrow?" "Yes, I'll hold." "Get a good night's sleep." "Tomorrow we woo." "(what I sing is real and it's about love)" "(I used to be so mad and crazy almost all the time)" "(I'm telling you)" "(that I'm completely turned around)" "(and feeling like I should)" "(I'm really, really glad and really, really...) okay, kind of like the barneys sale." "Oh, you." "okay... so i stopped by the lost and found like you said and I, uh, didn't find any of my clothes there." "Oh." "Okay, come in." "Is this a duty-free shop?" "Small business." "I got a tax write-off." "Okay, you're savvy." "I get it." "Good for you." "let's just acknowledge the fact that all of these are mine, and I am cold." "So?" "Buy a sweater." " I bought this one last fall." " $200." "I got it for $80 at a sample sale." "Well, if you liked it so much, why did you leave 'em behind?" "Well, I didn't think I would be here for more than two days." "Me neither." "When Buzz said he was bringing me to america" "I thought he meant New York city." "Instead, he brought me here." "I almost turned around and went back." "But then I realized..." "I love that man." "So... now this is my New York." "Okay, well, how about you give a couple of boroughs back to me?" "Fine." "I guess you need something to cover up with." "Got those little legs." " Here." " Thanks." "All right." " And I will be taking my burberry manor bag." " Oh, no, no, that's a good bag." "Yeah, I know." "I'll be back!" "whoa, that's some coat." " pretty fancy cuffs." " Oh, thanks." "So, uh, what's a girl gotta do to get a salesperson around here?" "Uh, go to New York?" "It's, uh, self-service." "Here." "Oh, you don'T... yeah." "Have to... there we go." "Okay." "wow." "Sturdy." "Yeah, must feel kind of weird not being 3 inches off the ground." "Just take a second, get your land legs back." " Thanks for your help." " No problem." " Can you help me something?" " Oh, sure." "Were you looking for something in a boot or a loafer?" "I'm, uh, trying to put something together for Franklin's eulogy and I kinda got stuck." "I was thinking, you're a writer... okay... who was he?" "What did he do for a living?" "Uh, not much." "Pretty much liked to sit on that bench on the corner and shoot the breeze." "How about places he liked to travel?" " What kind of music did he like?" " Yeah, he pretty much visited the bench." " Oh, he was deaf in one ear." " Oh." "Oh, there you are, son." " Been looking for you." " Oh." " We on for dinner friday?" " Yeah, what you making?" "No, no, no, we do the cooking, like Franklin used to do every friday." " Oh, yeah, yeah, right, right." " We're the dads now." " We do it." " Oh, that sounds fun." "yeah." "I'll get back to you." "well, okay." "Hey, um... go crazy." "Buy yourself another ball of twine." " No dinners?" " Yeah, I don't think so." "I mean, I used to do it with Franklin, but I'm not really an "every friday night dinner" kind of guy." "Oh, I get it- don't make any plans, don't count on me." "You're that "I don't need anybody, crawl into a cave" guy catchy." "That your new book?" "You know, everyone likes to sit down with another human being and share a meal from time to time." " It's all right to admit it." " Okay." "Thanks, coach." "You're still a coach, right?" "From the calves up, I am." "Okay, guys, eyes on the prize." "What do we do on our first date?" "Compliment them." "Flirt." "Pick your moment to make a move." "Every woman knows a man doesn't touch you unless he means siness." "And whatever you do, don't talk about the ex." "Pakuma." " yikes, golden girls." " Don't judge." " hi!" " hi!" " I'm Pam, and this is Barbara." " Oh, hello!" " Hello." " Hi!" "Oh, we thought you were a New York city girl." "Oh!" "Oh, I am." "I'm just mixing and matching a little." " You know, trying the local wares." " Oh, maybe you should try Mitexi local." "You come into town any time you want." " Babs and I will get you suited up." " You betcha." "Well, I can see you are a wiz with a glue gun." " well, shall we?" " Yes, sure." "Oh... our best smoked trout." "Not that yours isn't smoking'." "Oh!" "Oh, we haven't smoked fish in just ages now." " Not with the men gone." " No." " Where did they go?" " Well, the sea took most of them except for Pam's husband." " He left on his own." " Barb!" " Oh, I'm so sorry." " Yeah, Pakuma had a sea." " That's one shoreline I'll never walk along again." " But... we're better off for it because it prepared us to meet you." " Oh. the timing does feel right." " mm-hmm." "What with winter not too far away," "I don't think I could go through another one alone." "And you shouldn't have to." "oh, thank you, tiffanii." "Tiffanii here was miss forget-me-not two years running." "You live here?" " did you know that?" " no, I swear." " How's it going, slim?" " Just here on business from Elmo." "Our new moon festival is legendary." "Looking for someone to share it with." " You interested?" " Just might be." "Great!" "You'll love it." "Everyone will be there, including me." "I will be there." "So... we are so excited to be in Mitexi." "Oh, you have an eyelash." "Make a wish." "Okay!" "Well, great date." " Uh, we really ought to be going now." " Mm-hmm." " We have a 3:00 with tala." " The chicken town?" "Uh, wow, we really should do this again sometime." "Uh, maybe you all wanna come to Elmo." "We've done some fabulous things with Main street- very happening, very now." " Um, we'll call you." " Yeah." " Oh." " Oh." "back pat- not good." " Hey, how about you buy your old man another beer, son?" " Yeah, I'm gettin' kind of low here myself." "Ah, you guys are getting expensive." "Well, one day you'll get old, and you'll have a son who'll take you out to get you drunk" "You better get on that." "Get on what?" " You'll be old before you know it." " Yeah." "And things start giving out on ya." "Amen." "I used to run 5 miles every morning." "5 miles." "Now I bend over to tie my shoes, and my bones sound like bubble wrap." "In my day, I could bench-press 250." " Now a gallon jug kicks my ass." " Okay, you're both gettin' old." "We get it." "When did I get to be "the old guy"?" "Oh, we're all changing." "I used to fire hundreds of people in one fell swoop." "Now I'm waiting around to see if one woman wants to fire me." "When did I become "the weak guy"?" "You're not weak, man." "You're just... whipped?" "(and I don't care what anyone thinks about me)" "(I'm not afraid of what you say or do)" "(it doesn't hurt me I'm telling you)" "(that I'm completely over you well)" "(I don't care what you do)" "(I'm really, really glad)" "(I'm really, really, really over you)" "(I'm feeling good)" " you going night fishing" " Yeah, for a date." "I'm gonna string flowers on these and make little garlands dress the town up bit in case we get a second date." "You're right." "That's a much more sensible use for these." "Oh, thank you." "Soe have you to thank for the new shiny stoplight?" "Oh, well, you can't give a town a new "I've been dumped" haircut so that was the next best thing." "Oh, this." "Yeah." "I couldn't get my other coat on over the sweater, and I needed the sweater, so..." "that was Franklin's coat." "Oh." "Well... it's a great coat." "It's warm, for starters." "It smells good." "It'S... pine and- and... and wood smoke and..." " something else." " Spaghetti." "Yes." "Yeah, he always wore the coat when he was cooking- never wanted to raise the thermostat." "Every friday was spaghetti." "That hole there... he caught his sleeve in the flame once." "Really?" "Dinner with Franklin was always burnt spaghetti, one sad candle, a couple of beers... some good stories." "I don't know, though." "It was great." "Well, maybe that's what you should talk about- those friday nights, the memories, the... things that stick with you." "He's still a part of you." "I'm sorry you lost him." "The coat works." "what's the word on Mitexi?" " Tell me something good." " Radio silence." "Maybe they lost our number." "Maybe we should call, and if they answer, we'll hang up." " Okay, and then what are you gonna say when they star 69 you?" " Hey... ho... that's not a greeting, Patrick." "oh." "Hello." "(Ow, she's a brick)" "(house)" "(she's mighty mighty)" "(just lettin' it all hang out)" "(ow, she's a brick)" "(house)" "Annie?" "You okay?" "'Cause, uh, your sternum's just flapping in the wind." "And what's with the slut clompers?" " Are those mine?" " Oh, uh..." "I bought them from Mai." "What's the matter, Patrick?" "I thought you would like this look." "You seemed to like it just fine on tiffanii." ""Oh, you have an eyelash."" " tiffanii with the crazy halloween eyes?" " Oh, don't pretend you didn't like her." "All this time, I thought," ""oh, okay, he's shy guy." "I can work with that."" "I embraced that!" "But the second you saw that little mukslut you warmed right up." "Hey now, when someone has an eyelash, you let 'em make a wish." "It's just common decency." "I did it to theresa the other day." "It's true." "It was creepy." "A man never touches a woman by accident." "Am I right?" "Oh, you're not entirely wrong, but I don't think tiffanii's his type." "Who cares what type the girl is," " when her skirt's so short you can see her whatnots?" " Yeah!" "I like your buttons, because they give me something to look forward to." "And I like your normal shoes because I'm always taller than you." "And your skin is the closest to perfect I've ever seen." "You don't need all that stuff." "The only reason I touched that girl's eyelash 'cause it was freaking me out!" "I sold the burial plot." "Oh." " Well, I hadn't really decided yet." " Yeah, i decided." "If you don't know whether you want to be with me in life you're definitely not ready to be with me for eternity" "Wow." "You sold my space." "Our space." "I sold the whole thing." "You don't wanna die in Elmo?" "I'll decide when I get there." "Hey." " Oh, nice." "Mai?" " Yeah." "Oh, sorry." " Hey, did you sign up for that E.M.S.?" " Oh, yeah." "No." "Why not?" "I don't know." "I just don't see it fitting into my life right now." "They called!" "They called!" "Mitexi called for a second date!" "hey, you!" "Dolce pants!" "no freebies today." "I need more things." "This is not a soup kitchen." "We have our second date with Mitexi today." "I have spent days weeding and painting and polishing Elmo." "Now I need to polish up." "Too late for you." "Considering you hijacked my fall collection" "I think I'm being more than fair." "You had your chance." "I saw it." "You're the girl in these magazines." "I see you in here all the time." "Buzz brings 'em back from his trips." "At the parties, holding champagne glasses, wearing the very tall shoes." "Yeah, you were living my dream, and then you just ran away from it." "Uh, well, technically, it cheated on me, but I see your point." "Sure, the clothes were great and the parties were fun, but it wasn't perfect." "Some of those dresses were borrowed, and the shoes were very tight." " Bad for the back, really." " Yeah?" " You looked happy to me." " Yeah, I thought I was." "But every time I went away to teach people how to be in relationships mine fell apart a little bit." "My friends were names in a cell phone, and my fiance... well, you know how that worked out." " Yeah, everybody knows." " Yeah." "So if you're not gonna be that girl anymore, who you gonna be?" "I have no idea." "Keep the sweater." "It looks good on you." "There they are!" "There they are!" "Keep it cool, annie." "It's just a second date." "Ladies!" "So glad you could make it." " Hello!" "Hi." " Hi!" " oh." " Muffin?" " I made 'em myself." " Oh!" "A man who can cook." "Oh, your stock is certainly rising." "(both) oh." " Right there." " Oh!" "I don't know, Pam." " It's not much, is it?" " We can make do." " It is a bit shabby, isn't it?" " Yes." "We just painted." "And I personally shined the stoplight." " Well, some garden gnomes might really spruce up this corner." " Um... that's usually where the men put their chain saws before they go into the bar." "Oh." " Not helping." " Well..." " Oh, that could be cute and the raft section." " Yes!" "Oh, and let's get rid of this bench." "Bring in some rocking chairs." " Perfect." " Ah, just... a second." "I'm sorry, this was Franklin's bench." "The bench stays." "Oh, well, we'll keep the guys sitting on it." " They're not bad, huh?" " Not bad?" "Well, we can't really afford to be picky anymore." "These men are great." " The whole town is." " It's a village, dear." "Well... maybe it takes a village to tell a town to go to hell." " I beg your pardon?" " Well... who are you miss glue gun, to tell us we're not a town anymore?" "We haven't changed." "We lost someone... to old age." "'Cause when people come here, they tend to stick around." "A millionaire left his empire to find happiness here." "A pilot in Elmo gets to fly his plane whenever the hell he wants, 'cause he's his own boss here." "Well, a girl who was searching for love in the wrong places found the right man in moments." "Things like that happen here, because... in Elmo, people get to be who they really are." "We don't need the shiny stoplights or the dolce pants." "So I suggest you ladies go on back to Mitexi, 'cause we've got a festival to throw, and... no one likes a sequined party crasher." "come on, Barbara." "Bye-bye!" "Well, they dug their own grave, that's all I can say." "Pam!" "Oh, my god, help!" "Somebody help!" "Somebody!" "I don't think she's breathing." " Hold on." " Oh!" "Oh, Pam, don'die!" " oh!" "you saved my life." " Yeah!" "Yeah." "Us Elmo women aren't half bad either." "I think we should rethink this whole sister city thing after all." "It's about time we went out on our own." "So you're "tending to stick around," huh?" "Tending to, yes." "Hi." " So this is the new moon festival?" " Pretty much" "Yeah, what do you think?" "Hard to see the moon through the rubber tire smoke but otherwise, it's pretty great." "I don't believe I tried to force Mitexi on you." "But you didn'T." " You stopped it." " I guess so." "Well, that's what counts, right?" "I guess I was trying to feel better about who I was." "Well, I don't know who you were before- except someone "from away" who wrote a lot of books- but who you are now is someone who made a lot of people feel really good," "and that's gotta count for something, right?" "Is that a career?" "Around here, it could be." "A lot of memories here." "Yep." "Nothing like wasting time with Franklin." "I was hoping you guys could help me with the funeral." "The point with family is, you don't have to ask." " So we still on for friday night?" " 7:00." "I'm making my enchilada casserole." "Sounds good." "Nice night." "Kind of perfect." "Only thing missing is Franklin." "Guess there's no sense having the polar bear swim without him." "Who says?" " Marin?" " Jane?" "Can you hear me?" "Yeah, I-I can hear you." "So what's the latest?" "Did the new town leave the old town for a younger town yet?" "Uh... no, it- well, it's a long story." "Great." "We'll make it a 2-parter with your setup article." " Not happening." " No?" "You're playing dead for a little longer?" "Not quite." "Uh, let me get back to you." "someone once said that you have to... think about the things that stick when someone passes." "Uh, with Franklin," "I'm going to remember the friday dinners... the way his house smelled.... the, uh, the cuckoo clock that went off once every seven minutes" "and, uh, and the stories about Elmo... about my dad." "Yeah, that's what's gonna keep him alive for me." "a friend of mine recently delivered a beautiful eulogy about his friend- a man who mattered." "Everyone will be remembered." "And if that's the case, you have to ask yourself," ""how do you want your story to go?"" "How do you want to be remembered... well, he tried to start a circus... by what you did for a living, what you accomplished or how you made people feel?" "Every day's another chance for you to decide who you want to be a chance to challenge yourself to be a different version of you- a braver version... a person who isn't afraid to grab joy and take it for a spin." "(family helping all the way)" "(now I'm here today)" "(five records later)" "(do you hear me say "don't")" "(don't)" "(when they say you can't be)" "(ooh) letting go is never easy," "because hanging on to the past feels good." "(Then you just believe then you can succeed...) but sometimes it's only when you let go that you can make room for the rest of your life to show up." "(But if old Ben Franklin)" "(would've been frightened by lightning)" "(if he would've stayed inside then)" "(we'd still be in the dark)" "(martin luther king)" "(did some beautiful things) but as hard as you think it will be to leave the old you behind sometimes when you do, it's the most alive you've ever felt." "standing at the jumping-off point is a weird feeling, but not quite as weird as jumping into the ocean with a bunch of alaskan men." "Transcript:" "Raceman, Synchro: ikpko"