"Wondering if you wanna come hear a concert at Disney Hall some time as his guest." "They're doing Beethoven." " Ludwig van?" " Beethoven, all season long." "They got one coming up." "The Third." "" " Well, what's the date today?" " No, the Third Symphony." "I'll cause a scene." "I don't wanna cause a scene." "I don't wanna stick out or anything like that." "So it's just..." "It's impossible." "It can't happen." "What if I could get us in for a rehearsal?" "Nathaniel, let's go." "What I did with the keys right here..." "Come on." "Lock up the cart." " No." "You know what, Mr. Lopez?" " Come on, we gotta go." "I can't leave my stuff here with these rascals." "They can't be trusted." "They'll do anything." "Oh, no." "We have an entire orchestra waiting for us." "We are gonna go." "They have drug addicts and cigarette smokers here, and they will steal all of what I have." " No one is going to steal your shit." " I can't leave it." "No, no." "We have to get in touch with the mayor..." " Nathaniel, it's garbage." "... Antonio Villaraigosa or the president." " No one is gonna steal this garbage." " In the corner..." " No, no, no, Mr. Lopez," "I'm not gonna be able to make it up there." "Okay." "Oh, boy." "Fantasia." "Walt /Disney Hall." "Donald Duck." "I have to deal with things here because I wouldn't leave a dog with these people here." "Right." "Okay." "Fine." "A cockroach does not tell a greyhound what to do." "It's fine!" "Do you understand?" "It's fine." "I do not give a smooth fart if we go or not." "Do you understand?" "There are a million other things I could be doing right now." "Obligations, things that people pay me to do." "I have a job." "I'm a professional person." " Sorry." " All right." "What?" "Still not gonna leave my cart here." "Okay." "Pick a side." "The company is offering you a very generous exit package." "Yeah." " I understand how difficult this is." " Wait!" "Right." "Unfortunately, this is the reality of our business." "Nathaniel, hard left coming up right here." "Mr. Lopez, are you okay?" "How long has it been since you've been in a concert hall?" "This is great." "There's the conductor." " Just us." " Yeah, just us." "It's the way it should be." " He's in the room." " Who is?" "Beethoven." "Sing the hate out!" "Stop." " All right." " Strong finish!" "Get up there." "I'm telling you, it was such an unbelievable experience, the whole thing, the whole day." "And if you had seen him, if you could have felt him..." "I mean, it's the same hall." "We're listening to the same goddamn music, but..." "But no." "You see him, it's one thing, but you feel him..." "I'm watching him." "He's watching the music." "And while they're playing, I say," ""My God, there is something higher out there." ""Something higher out there, and he lives in it, and he's with it. "" "I've never even experienced it, but I can tell..." "I don't even know what you fucking call it." " Grace." " What?" "What is it?" " Grace." " All right." "That's grace?" " Yeah." " Thank you." "Yeah." "To be there with him like that and see the way that he is transported." "He surrenders." "Damn it, honey." "I mean, I've never loved anything the way that he loves music." "Hey, come on." "I'm thinking about my day." "I'm thinking about my day." "I wasn't thinking about you." "That I believe, honey." "Call the mayor." "He's been trying to reach you." " Which mayor?" " The mayor!" "Okay." "Call the mayor." "Thank you." ""Points West" by Frank Sinatra." "Every now and then, in this /city of innumerable wrongs," "the powers that /be get things right." "Los Angeles has the /ignominious distinction" "of being the homeless /capital of the nation," "and skid row is /ground zero of the crisis." "So, I am pleased to announce" "that I am increasing the city's /financial commitment to this area" "by $50 million." "Every now and then," "the words I write do not leap /straight from this page to the ether." "Instead, every now and then," "they reach the right /reader at the right time." "Every now and then, the /hearts, minds and wallets" "of the city's officials /open simultaneously." "And when that happens, /every now and then," "the city is a better place for it." " Steve." " Yeah?" "Your boyfriend is downstairs." "Thank you." "That's funny." " Nathaniel?" "You all right?" " I'm good." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "You need something?" "A man only needs what he can carry, Mr. Lopez, and I have all I can carry right here." "I have my bedding." " I have my drums." "I have my flower." " Yeah." "Okay." " I have my water bottle." "I have it all." " Hey, listen, listen." "Listen." "You can't hang out here." " I can't?" " You can't hang out here." "You can't." "Sorry." "I don't mind that at all, Mr. Lopez." "Not at all." "You understand, right?" "It's a..." "It's a thing." "Policy." " I'll be over here if you need me." " Over there?" "Okay." "You all right?" "Yeah, I just..." "You know, I..." "Yeah." "Sorry." "I gotta..." "All right, Mr. Lopez, I completely understand that you're working." "You're working." "You have to work." "People have to work." "All right, get out of the way when people are working, because you don't wanna stand out there in front of people, especially not Mr. Lopez." "You stand in front of Mr. Lopez, he's gonna tell you to get out of here." "So, it's a lot of work." "" " I think he's good." "You know, I really do." " I'm sure..." "I mean, I just..." "This is great." "I think..." "I think it'll really help." "I feel like you are exactly what he needs." "Well, thank you." "" " Does that make sense?" " Yes, it does." "" " Graham Claydon." "Thank you." " At your service." "All we need is a place for them to meet and rehearse, like an apartment." "You're asking for an apartment for Nathaniel?" " Yeah." " Does he want an apartment?" "Thanks." " Yes." " And he told you this?" " Yes." " You're so full of shit, Lopez." " I don't want an apartment." " Good, 'cause it's not." "It's actually a music studio for Mr. Claydon to give you the cello lessons." "Well, why don't we have Mr. Claydon come down here?" "This is a perfect place to play in, the tunnel." "No, Mr. Claydon doesn't like tunnels." "We'll just have Mr. Claydon come here to do the lesson." " He says it has to be quiet." " Well..." "It has to be quiet for the cello lessons, so your apartment..." "It's not my apartment." "I know." "I know." "The apartment that belongs to no one." "I don't have an apartment." "I don't wanna be in an apartment." "I don't need an apartment." "Beethoven lives out in the freshness of the air." "Nathaniel, the apartment is not the point." "He's the leader of Los Angeles." " It's an opportunity." " "Angeles" means "angels. " You can't..." " You can't hold down angels." " Do you want the opportunity?" " You can't clip angels." " Stop." " Do you want an opportunity or not?" " Do you have an apartment?" "No." "I have a house." "So angry." "Yelling." "It doesn't make sense." " Do you have a family?" " What?" "Are you a married man?" " Is there a Mrs. Steve Lopez?" " No." "I did." "Mary." "But we split up." "We have a son, Thomas." "He's in college now." "Mr. Steve Lopez, Mr. Thomas Steve Lopez, Mrs. Mary Steve Lopez." "Not Mrs. Lopez." "Mary Weston." " Mrs. Mary Weston Steve Lopez." " No." "Just Mary Weston." "Period." "We were married." "We're not anymore, so now she's just Mary." "You were married to Mary, but you're not married to Mary anymore." "Correct." "Don't ask me how." "Mrs. Floria Ayers, Miss Jennifer Ayers." "And then there was Mr. Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Sr." "He was a big man." "He had big hands." "I have very small hands." "Fit around a violin, a cello." "Mr. Ayers was a big man, but he wasn't a god." "I have my god." "Mr. Steve Lopez." "Oh, boy." "Yeah, you're my god." "Flying around high." " You're my god." " I'm not comfortable being your god." "Mr. Steve Lopez, staff writer, you are my god." " That it?" "I'm your god?" " Yes, you are." "You're my god." "All right." "I am your god." "And as your god," "I command you to be at Lamp, 2:00 p. m., one week from today for a cello lesson." "Done deal." "And it's a really sweet deal, too." "'Cause if you show up, I will grant you eternal life." "Hell, I might even make you a disciple." "If you don't, you're on your own." "This is my apartment." "This is my apartment." "This is my apartment." "This is my apartment." "This is my apartment." "This is my apartment." "Always number one." "Always number two." "Nathaniel." "We've always been /here, Nathaniel Ayers." "I've always been /with you, Nathaniel." "I'll never leave you, /Nathaniel." "I love you, Nathaniel." "" " I love you." " No one else loves you, Nathaniel." "But I love you, Nathaniel." "I'll protect you, Nathaniel." "When you fell from Heaven, /they laughed at you, Nathaniel." "You're my heart, Nathaniel." "I do love you, Nathaniel." "We'll be together /forever, Nathaniel." "I'll protect you." "Look, I'll be here to /protect you from the pain." "" " I'll be here to protect you from the pain." " Fibber." "You fibber." "You fib." "I'll protect you from the noise." "Fear for you." "Fear for you." "I'll protect you /from their beady eyes." "" " I'll be here to obey." " I'll protect you from their eyes." "" " Step right, Nathaniel." " No one else loves you, Nathaniel." "You're my boy, Nathaniel." "" " Take off the shoes." " I'll protect you." "I'll protect you." "No one can kill the child." "That's what the child is about." "Forget you." "Jump off!" "Come on." "Hey." "Look at that." "Don't see those on the street." "Quick right." "And then, and then..." "And then right again, right here." "Nathaniel." "Come on down." "What are you..." "Come on." "We go down here and then to the end and left." "I think we should do the lesson out here." "No, no, no." "It's just this way." "Come on." "Mr. Lopez..." "Mr. Lopez." "Mr. Lopez, I really think we should do it out here." "No, come on." "Let's have a look." "It's right down here." "Mr. Lopez." "Nathaniel, come on." "It's really clean." "Come check it out." "We should do it out here." "It's better." "I'm more comfortable out here." "Looks nice." "Looks nice." "It's nice." "Come on." "You can do it." "Hey." "I can't live here." "I'll give you a hand with that." "Got it." "Oh, boy." "Let's get this in nice." "Good." "It's great, right?" "I mean, I like it." "What do you think?" "It's nice." "It's clean." "The bathroom's better than..." "Except for him." "I don't wanna die in here." "Don't..." "Somebody could just come in here and kill me..." " You'll be fine." "Nathaniel?" "..." "and take all of my belongings." " Nathaniel, the door locks." " A fly only lives 12 days." "What if in 12 days, someone walks through that door and murders me?" "And I don't care about this Claydon thing, either." "Walt Disney Hall." "Disney Duck." "Doesn't make a difference." "I don't need any of that." "If I'm gonna take a lesson, I should take the lesson in the tunnel where I can hear the city sounds and not be locked off from life, locked off from the world." "In the tunnel I can hear the music the way it's supposed to be played." "Not in this place, there's no city sounds, there's no Beethoven, there's no Los Angeles, California." "I don't belong here." "I'm never coming here again." "Nathaniel, that's Graham Claydon." "Pleased to meet you, Nathaniel." "I always love meeting a fellow musician." "I brought you something." "I know you're partial to Beethoven, so I thought you'd enjoy this, because, you know, without Johann Sebastian there would be no Ludwig van." "The A, the D, the A, the D, the A, the D." "Steady." "Don't rush it." "Don't rush it." "And..." "Well, for someone who hasn't had a lesson in three decades, you play quite beautifully." "Thank you." " So..." " Thank you." "Work on a smoother rhythm with the right hand." "And don't stop-start." "Carry a phrase all the way through." " Great." " Give you a ride uptown?" " Thank you." " Mr. Claydon?" " Yes." " Sir?" "Do you think I could be good again?" "Yes, I do." "I like your apartment, by the way." " It's not my apartment." " It's not." "It's just a..." "I don't live here." "Well, you should." "God has blessed you with a gift, Nathaniel." "Nothing pains God more than when we squander his blessings." " You owe it to him to care for this..." " I don't owe God." "Mr. Steve Lopez is my god." " What?" " Star writer for Los Angeles." "Higher power flying around with wings like an angel." "Mr. Steve Lopez is my..." "He doesn't know what he's saying." "Mr. Graham Claydon is going to tell me who my god is?" "Down by the car?" "Do you know who my god is, Mr. Claydon?" "I know who my god is!" " He's a good teacher." " I know who my god is." "You should accept his help gracefully." "Graceful is the ballerinas at Juilliard." "Those girls were graceful." " Tiny ballerinas just twirling round." " There's other people in this..." " Twirling round." "Angels." " All right," " graceful as little ballerinas." " I love them flying around like I love Mr. Steve Lopez flying around." "I love God." "I love you!" "I love you." "I don't want him to love me." "Well, it looks like you might have to get over that." "It's a bad idea." ""I love you, Steve," turns into, "You failed me, Steve,"" "turns into very bad things." "That's my limited experience." "I don't want to be on the other side of that with him." "Would you?" "He doesn't know if I'm a ballerina, if I'm God, if I'm an airplane pilot." "He has no idea what he's saying." "Is there something you want from me, Lopez?" "Or did you just come to show me your prom dress?" "You look nice." "I want you to help him because he's sick and he needs medication and you have a team of doctors here." "Tell them to sit down with him." "Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" "Nathaniel's made it quite clear he's not ready to speak to a psychiatrist." "Force him." " Force him?" " Tell him to do it." "Tell him he can't play his instruments until he sits down with a shrink." " That's not what we do here." " What you do here is fucked." "It is." "Look, even if I did wanna cohorse Nathaniel into psychiatry..." " Coerce. ... which..." "Whatever." " Coerce." " Lf I wanted to do that, which I don't," "I couldn't force him to take medication." "The law is the law." "Unless he's an imminent danger to himself or someone else..." "Are you gonna answer that, or what?" "I'm in the car." "What if he was a danger to someone else?" " But he's not." " Mary, I'm on the way." "Relax." "What if someone said he was?" "What if someone dialed 911 and said Nathaniel had attacked him?" "They'd put him in psychiatric hospital." "I know you're not thinking of lying on him, Lopez." "And then he would be in a 14-day psychiatric hold, they'd put him on meds straight away." "What if that's all it took for him to be well?" "What if two weeks of meds, a two-week window into what his life could be, changed his life?" "Saved his life?" "Why wouldn't you want to be part of that?" "Steve, Nathaniel has one thing going for him right now." "A friend." "If you betray that friendship, you destroy the only thing he has in this world." "I don't want to be his only thing." "Didn't you just tell somebody you was in your car?" "Mary, relax." "What table are we at?" "This is Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, /Jr., Mr. Lopez." "I was calling..." " Nathaniel. ... because you promised me a hard case for my cello and I haven't received it yet." "" " Yeah?" " And also I need sheet music" "for Beethoven's Second Sonata." "And also Opus 131 and Septet for /strings and woodwinds, and Opus 20..." "Can you just..." "One sec." "- ... and also my A string is missing..." " So, we're talking about..." "I need my A string replaced." "Nathaniel, you know, this is not... /...his series in the Times /on the struggles and the triumphs" "of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers" "has brought crucial attention to one /of the most pressing issues in our city." "...promises you should /make good on those promises..." "Get off the phone." "...to address this problem /with compassion and commitment." "And in honor of this," "it is my pleasure to present this /year's Media Award to Steve Lopez." "Thank you." "...you know that I /can't leave my cart anywhere." "It houses my violin, my cello, /and my weapons of mass destruction." "A child needs protection." "You don't /want to put a baby in the trunk of a car" "and have it get bashed /up against the wall." "Bashed up against the wall." "Bashed up against the wall." "I got a phone call from Mark Rosenthal today, remember him?" "Book editor?" "Bob Geldof with a crew cut." "He's been reading your Nathaniel stuff, thinks it's genius, whatever." " Whatever." " Anyway." "He said it's a book." "What did he say exactly?" ""It's personal, it's political, it's timely." "I can sell the shit out of it. "" " Oh, boy." " His words, excuse me, not mine." "Well, it's complicated." "Nathaniel's complicated." "Well, yeah, he's mentally ill, I mean." "Right." "But beyond that, it's endless." "I just..." "I don't want to take full responsibility." "By all means, avoid full responsibility." "Just, you know, keep going with the partial responsibility and exploiting him like you are now." "You should stop." "'Cause that's a slippery slope right there," "Lopez." " Stop." "Stop." " One day, you're getting a book..." " Please stop. ... from the guy." "And the next, he's expecting, I don't know, some sort of..." "Mary, stop." "...consistency in the relationship." "Screw that, man." "Who needs that shit, right?" "My words." " You driving?" " No, I have a car." "And a driver?" " Oh, my God!" " Oh, shit." "It's Nathaniel for you." "...as a youngster /labeled mentally ill" "because of the /underlying cigarette habit," "constant disturbance, /constant disturbance." "You know, bigots /have children, too." "Pens from Steve Lopez." "Many thanks." "Constant disturbance, /constant disturbance." "Bigots have children." "Bigots have children, too." "Pens..." "Paper..." "Pens /from Steve Lopez." "Many thanks." "And a cello from Steve Lopez." "Steve Lopez..." "Many thanks to that." "Without Steve Lopez, I /wouldn't have any of that... /Constant disturbance." "Constant disturbance." "Constant disturbances." "I've had what I /think is a beautiful idea." "I think Nathaniel /should give a recital." "I don't know if I can make that call." "He hasn't been very lucid lately." "" " Right." "When is he clearest?" " I don't... /When is he most able /to focus his thoughts?" "" " When he's playing." " Right." "This could increase his confidence a thousand fold." "It could be transformative." "How can we not /give him that, Steve?" "God bless you, Steve." "Sure he does." "My first concert, I was so nervous, I vomited all down my tuxedo." "It was so embarrassing." "Want to know how I got over those jitters, Nathaniel?" "I prayed." "Shall we pray together, you and I?" "Heavenly Father, shine your light on brother Nathaniel, that he may speak with your voice tonight." "Nathaniel, you never have been /here, Nathaniel." "I'm here, Nathaniel." "" " You're not there." " Nathaniel." "You never have been /here." "You never will be here." "My voice is all there is." "Everything's fine." "" " Follow my voice, Nathaniel." " Tune up and play." "Run away from /these people, Nathaniel." "They'll laugh at you." "" " You're nothing." " Nathaniel Ayers." "Nathaniel?" "I got some soup here for you." "Nathaniel?" "You think I'm stupid." "Is that what you think?" "You want to kill them, Nathaniel." "They'll kill you first, Nathaniel." "No." "They'll string you up, Nathaniel." "No." "You think I can't see everything." "I see everything." "I know who you are." "I know what you're doing." "" " Dogs, biting at your feet." " Nathaniel." "" " I thought you might be hungry." " Nathaniel, over there." "" " The dusty open manual." " Nathaniel, come here." "The manual." "That's hydrochloric acid." "If I eat that, it'll burn me up inside and kill me like a dog." "" " Oh, no." " Nathaniel." "" " Nathaniel, I wouldn't do that." " Nathaniel." "Nathaniel." "You'll eat it, dust and all." "Okay." "It's good, see." "Shit." "Don't put your hands on me!" " Nathaniel!" " Back the hell off!" "Don't you ever touch me!" "Don't ever put your hands on me!" "Please, don't." "Nathaniel." "Don't you ever touch me." "Stop." "Nathaniel!" "What am I supposed to do?" "I should have support." "Hi, Nathaniel." "It's freezing out here." "Don't you wanna come home?" "I can't go back there." "It's not safe." "Come on, home, Nathaniel." "Nathaniel?" "Where are you gonna sleep?" "David, sorry, it's Steve." "Listen." "Can you call me back when you have a second?" "There was an incident with Nathaniel tonight." "I'm a little worried." "Anyway, call back when you have a sec." "All right, let's go." "It's my thing!" "I claim my right to those possessions!" "Show me your stuff!" " Linda!" " What?" " Hey, where's Nathaniel?" " I don't know." "I haven't seen him." " I haven't seen him." " Hey!" "Hey!" "Is it Darryl?" "Hey, stay back." "Who the hell are you?" "LA Times." "That's the last /guy you should be arresting." " Come on, man!" "Come on." " Skid row cleanup, sir." "Let's go." "Steve!" "Steve!" "This man is in illegal possession of a shopping cart and a milk crate." "Are you gonna arrest him for possession of a milk crate?" " Steve!" "Steve!" " That's correct, sir." "Take it easy." "Help!" "Help!" "Come on!" "Officer, what happened?" "A couple of kids came out here with some baseball bats and beat the shit out of this poor guy." " Get a name?" " Negative, sir." "Sorry, excuse me." "I'm sorry." "Is this Admits?" "May I make an enquiry about a..." "Excuse me." " This way?" " What?" "Yeah, down here." "It's usually on the..." "I'm sorry." "It's usually on the screen." "Excuse me, ma'am." "Recent ER admits named Ayers, A-Y-E-R-S." "Thank you, by the way." "No." "Hi." "Thank you." "I'm looking for a recent admission." "I'm hoping you have a recent admission with a man named Ayers, A-Y-E-R-S." "I know." "Contreras was the reporting officer." "He was the officer on site." "It's not the..." "It's not the..." "Mr. Ayers." "A-Y-E-R-S." "Nathaniel Anthony Ayers." "5'10" African-American." "Hi." "It's me again." "It's gonna be a long shift." "What's your name?" "N" " A-T-H-A-N-I-E-L A..." "I do words for a living." "It doesn't matter." "Whoever has two stripes on their arm or more." "Ayers!" "A-Y-E-R-S." "N" " A-T-H-A-N-I-E-L A- N-T-H-O-N-Y A-Y-E-R-S." "No!" "Do not put me on hold again!" "A" " Y-E-R-S!" "" " Lopez." " Steve, David." "I got your message, what's up?" "There was a beating of a homeless man on Winston Street," "- it was right in Nathaniel's spot." " It wasn't him." "What?" "How do you know?" "'Cause he's here, eating a crazy-big breakfast." "I guess sleeping inside can give a man an appetite." "What?" "He spent last /night in the apartment." "He came inside." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "I thought I lost it forever." "Hi." "You good?" "I literally looked everywhere else in Los Angeles but here." "Not that I was worried." "What happened?" "What made you decide to sleep in here?" "Oh, well, a body can only take so much, Mr. Lopez." "I'm not young anymore, I'm a middle-aged man." " You know how it is." " Sure." "I mean, a body gets weary, a body..." "Housewarming gift." "Thank you, Mr. Lopez." "Thank you, Mr. Lopez." "Thank you." "I've done good by you, haven't I?" "I mean, things aren't so bad, right?" "Say, things are set for Jennifer to become your executor." "I can't believe Beethoven himself is in my own apartment." "Are you still okay with that?" "Having Jennifer handle things for you?" "It's all right with me if it's all right with Beethoven." "Well, you guys let me know." "'Cause there's papers you gotta sign." "They just got back from..." "You should read them so you know what you're signing." "All right, yeah, I'll just sign them Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr., apartment B-116, and the B stands for" "Beethoven." " Read them and sign them." " All right." " Okay." " All right." "What do you..." "You got anything to drink?" "Yes, sir, Mr. Lopez." "Absolutely, Mr. Lopez, help yourself to some water, it's where the dripping sound is coming from." " At your leisure." " All right." "Is there a..." "What's with Neil Diamond?" "I thought that was you." "Well, I'm flattered." "He's a good-looking guy." "What's wrong?" "What's this business about me having a schizophrenic mind?" "It's, it's..." "It's legal jargon." "It says that I have a schizophrenic mind." "I do not." "It doesn't mean anything." " I have a schizophrenic mind." " That's not what I think." "Nathaniel, they try to put people in a..." " I'm not going anywhere." " And the good news is that it has nothing to do with you." "I don't go where you say to go." "I go where I want to go." "You don't put me away, Mr. Lopez." "You don't put me away." " Okay." "Okay." " You don't put me away." "I'm not gonna..." "I don't..." " No, no, you don't have to go..." " Yes, you are." "Yes, you are." "...to court." "You don't have to go anywhere." "Jennifer will take care of you." "My sister's not coming near me." "She is not coming near me." " She's not coming near me." " Okay, remember when you said..." "If I say she's not coming then she's not coming." "You said..." "Nathaniel, you said..." "Listen, I'm not going to have anymore..." "I'm not going to have anymore..." "I will tell you." "I will tell you." "I'm sick of being Nathaniel and you Mr. Lopez." "Okay." "I'm not just..." "Wait." "I'm not your boy." "I am not Mr. Colonel Sanders's boy." "You know, I'm sorry I was wrong." "I'm sorry I was wrong." "I can take care of myself." "I can take care of myself, Mr. Lopez." "I don't need you." "I don't need this city." "I despise this city and I despise you." "And if I ever see you again," "I'll cut you open and gut you like a fish." "Because I'm Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Jr." "Mr. Ayers." "I'm Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Jr." "N" " A-T-H-A..." "N" " A-T-H-A... " " N-A-T-H-A..." " You're of no consequence." " Hi." " Hi." "So, that was my first mistake." "The Northridge Quake, '94, remember?" "I smelled the toast." "We'd been here two days." "All our crap still in boxes." "And at 4:00 a. m." "It hit." "God, that terror." "You, me and Thomas." "What was he, nine?" "All huddled under that bedroom door frame." "I told him it was a good omen." "Welcoming us to our new life." "Better life." "In LA." "I should have had us on the first flight back to Philly." "I thought I was helping someone." "And it was a guy who's got a gift." "He's lost his way." "I'm gonna..." "Inevitably backfired." "He's backlashed to the..." "And the very person I was trying to be of some redeeming service to turns on me." "I'm the enemy." "You know?" "A stranger." "And..." "I don't know who to fault." "I can't see any outcome to support." "Can't believe in anything worthwhile." "Done trying." "I resign." "I resign." "From everything." "It's..." "It's official." "You couldn't stop that earthquake." "You can't fix LA in just..." "And you're never gonna cure Nathaniel." "Just be his friend and show up." "Good?" "I'll be right here if you need me." "...go, next to the gold store." "You know what I mean." "He wanted to drink and everything." "Okay, okay, okay." "Bitch, slow down." "Do you still love me?" "Like you did at the start?" "I ain't playing with you." "I'm saying I do." "It means you and me together forever." "So that's why I'm saying I do." " I love you, Lois." " I love you, too, Darryl." "Disguise himself now as..." "They disguise themselves..." "Where is Los Angeles?" "Cleveland?" "And..." "We..." "We had some life, didn't we?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Beethoven's Triple Concerto, right?" " Yeah." " It's a good one." "I liked it." "Mr. Ayers, I'm gonna give your sister a ride to the hotel." "You don't have to call me that, Mr. Lopez." "I know." "I want to." "I should have been calling you that all along." "I said such terrible things to you, Mr. Lopez." "I..." "I hate myself for saying those things." "Sometimes friends piss each other off, right?" "It's part of the deal." "I can't imagine that you would want to be my friend after I said all those things." "I just..." "Mr. Ayers," "I'm honored to be your friend." ""Points West" by Steve Lopez." "A year ago, I met a /man who was down on his luck" "and thought I might /be able to help him." "I don't know that I have." "Yes, my friend Mr. /Ayers now sleeps inside." "He has a key." "He has a bed." "But his mental state, /and his well-being," "are as precarious now /as they were the day we met." "There are people who /tell me I've helped him." "Mental health experts who say" "that the simple act of being someone's /friend can change his brain chemistry," "improve his /functioning in the world." "I can't speak for /Mr. Ayers in that regard." "Maybe our friendship has /helped him." "But maybe not." "I can, however, speak for myself." "I can tell you that by /witnessing Mr. Ayers's courage," "his humility, his faith /in the power of his art," "I've learned the dignity of being /loyal to something you believe in." "Of holding onto it, above all else." "Of believing, without question, /that it will carry you home."