"and a smattering of rain." "Not really anything significant... across the state." "Current conditions: still some sprinkles... and 54." "The dew point is 48, but the barometer is rising..." "Rise and shine cause it is time!" "Davey!" "Davey!" "Come on, you great big swinging dick!" "Come on!" "Come on, wake up!" "It"s opening day!" "wake up!" "We"re gonna dance on Charlie the Tuna"s grave!" "David!" "I see you!" "Davey, open up, man!" "Davey?" "Davey!" "Dave!" "There"s some loudmouth downstairs yelling for you." "Come on." "Get up!" "I Know you"re there!" "Get up, David!" "Let"s go!" "Get up." "Davey?" "Davey?" "Davey?" "take it easy!" "You go golfing in your p.j."s?" "What?" "You got mud cleats in them slippers?" "Joseph Megessey." "Everybody calls me Megs." "That"s my name." "Don"t wear it out." "lt"s a ridiculous name." "Ain"t it?" "I don"t Know you." "Well, hey, I feel like I Know you." "Your brother talked about you a lot." "Said you were swell." "You mind?" "Davey!" "What"s going on?" "Davey?" "Come on, you great swinging dick, let"s go!" "Quiet!" "We"re gonna go fishing." "You"re insane." "The sun"s not even up yet." "Davey!" "Mr." "Megessey." "Just who do you thinK you are?" "Your room, huh?" "How dare you?" "I"lI have you Know I was up until two in the morning grading papers." "Nice bed." "Listen, I"m counting to ten and then I"m calling the police." "One..." "This you?" "...two three." "You"ve changed." "You"re pretty." "Mr. Megessey, where do you thinK you"re going?" "Davey?" "fuck!" "Mr." "Megessey." "Forget it." "Will you wait?" "Forget it. lt ain"t your fault." "My brother happens to be a very busy man!" "I"m sure he just forgot..." "I covered ground." "I call him up, "Mr. Busy", long distance." ""lt"s me," I say. "Right." "Hey, how are you?" "Long time." All that." "He says, "We ought to get together." I don"t want nothing." "I"m calling to let him Know that I"m coming bacK. I"m not pushy." "He says, "We ought to get together"." "At six in the morning?" "Time out. i"m talking here. "Getting together is good." "When?", I say." ""Whenever," he says. "Opening day?", I say." "This is a question." ""Opening day", he says." "This is an answer." "Here I am, 2500 miles later." "And who is to blame for this?" "Mr." "Megessey." "When did this telephone call take place?" "A couple of weeks ago." "Maybe five." "And you never called to confirm?" "Who needs this shit?" "Mr." "Megessey." "Joseph!" "David has had hangovers before." "What the hell?" "Martha, what...?" "Martha, why...?" "Megs, what"re you doing around?" "Jesus Christ, I"m all fucking wet!" "Well, get your butt in gear, David. lt"s opening day." "What?" "Jesus Christ, you"re all..." "We gotta catch a trout for Martha." "Get outta here!" "You"re catching a trout for me." "Man, someone"s lost their mind." "lt"s opening day, man!" "No way." "Rainbows this long." "I ain"t up to it." "Sure you are, David." "See, you just need a little something to perk you up." "What?" "You talked him into it." "Didn"t talk him into anything." "You Know, instant"s fine with me." "I drink so much goddamn instant, my stomach is like freeze-dried." "What"re you doing?" "Got any milk?" "Of course I"ve got milk." "Powdered creamer?" "I hate it." "Tastes like powdered mouse balls to me." "Wait." "What do you want for breakfast?" "Beer." "For breakfast?" "That"s horrible." "breakfast beer." "Ain"t you ever had a beer for breakfast?" "You take one sip, the cobwebs go, your voice rises two octaves... and, hey, man, the sun comes up inside you." "You Know?" "I got a case in the car." "Well, I..." "I hardly think that..." "Did he leave?" "He went to the car to get beer." "Good." "I could use one." "You couldn"t stomach it." "I work hard all week." "I"m entitled to cut loose on the weekends." "You should try it sometime." "You can take me with you tonight." "Forget it." "You"d think you"d enjoy a woman"s company for a change." "Women we could use." "A sister, we don"t need." "Besides, I date." "l"ve seen the women you date." "Their idea of contributing to a conversation is to snap their gum." "Wouldn"t you like a point of view for a change?" "I want a point of view, I"ll listen to the news." "David, piss up a rope!" "What did I say?" "Oh, just drink your coffee." "Your friend seems nice." "He"s not my friend." "He"s just someone I Know." "We were in Vietnam together." "Hey, hey, opening day Look out, trout, we´re on our way" "Careful." "Blow on it." "Otherwise your tongue is gonna stick to the can." "Forget it, man." "Martha doesn"t drink beer." "Well, hey, it"s early." "David?" "thanks, Martha." "To opening day!" "To trout!" "To trout!" "To trout." "Well, I thinK I like breakfast beer." "This is beautiful." "Finish that one off. I"ll crack you another one." "I"lI have to take it. I"ve gotta change if I"m coming with you." "What?" "You coming, Martha?" "Sure I"m coming." "They"ll never Know what hit them." "They"ll be jumping into my lap, dying to hear my point of view." "Get out of here." "okay, what"ll it be?" "Coffee." "And...?" "Just coffee." "Ma"am, what"s your name, Ma"am?" "Shirley." "Shirley?" "May I be permitted to call you Shirley, Shirley?" "Be my guest." "Shirley..." "I want you to give this young lady enough pancakes to build a house." "And that"s on me." "The lady don"t buy when I"m around." "pancakes." "And for you, Sir Galahad?" "Well, let"s see." "l"lI have pancakes, too." "pancakes." "And some bacon, eggs over easy..." "Bacon and eggs with pancakes." "...grapefruit... bagel with cream cheese and some corn flakes." "Banana on the flakes." "Hungry?" "Oh, yeah, Shirley." "See these eyes?" "They were basKetballs, they wouldn"t be bigger than my stomach." "And, Shirley?" "Hey, could I have a sardine and onion sandwich while I"m waiting?" "thanks, Shirley." "Hey, it"s opening day." "Need to bleed the monster?" "We got no formal facilities in God"s country." "If you wanna use the john, do it." "You won"t get a chance later." "Excuse me." "Hey, old buddy." "You think maybe she likes me?" "Your sister?" "Are you serious?" "You two are from different planets." "She"s just along to bust my ass." "I was gonna do that for you." "l"m a biology teacher." "I thinK I can bait a hook." "How you doing there, you great swinging dick?" "They biting yet?" "Nothing?" "Nothing." "Have you ever caught a fish?" "Martha." "Only way I"m gonna catch a fish, I got a feeling, it"s to drain a pond." "We"lI see." "Hey, stud." "You ain"t said nothing about the hat." "I wear it for luck." "Bad luck?" "No way, Jose." "Ain"t mine." "It"s Bobby"s." "Didn"t help Bobby much, did it?" "lt"s helping me." "They hide under rocks." "Trout." "Goddamn little speckled bastards." "They hide under rocks." "Now what the hell Kind of life is that, huh?" "Let"s catch some fish." "Hey, Martha, how"re we doing?" "look, Joseph..." "I Know they"re out there, Martha." "I just Know that they"re out there." "I have one!" "I have one, Joseph!" "I have one!" "I have a trout!" "Shit!" "Reel him in!" "Reel him in!" "I got one!" "There he is!" "He"s a rainbow!" "Reel him in, Martha!" "Reel him in!" "What do I do now?" "What do I..." "Where is he?" "You got him!" "You got him!" "You got him!" "Here he is." "look at him!" "He"s Loch Ness monster"s cousin!" "Joseph, Joseph!" "No!" "Joseph, wait!" "Perfect!" "Good thing he threw the hook." "That baby was ready to take your leg off." "Shit!" "This fishing is a wonderful time!" "Hey, Martha!" "There you go." "Come on." "My wits are weak, but my back"s strong." "Who ever said trout fishing was gonna be easy?" "Martha?" "Martha!" "You okay?" "It"s me and you, huh, stud-hoss?" "Yeah." "Twenty miles of shit creek with our bare hands, huh?" "I don"t forget." "JacKnife like an elephant." "Short on smarts, long on memory." "You sleep." "JacKnife"s on watch." "You sleep." "Would you have him give me a buzz?" "I started working at this garage." "See, if he wants, he could call... or he could come by." "Ain"t it time to give them a rest?" "JacKnife!" "Long time no see." "You gonna drive again?" "l"m looking for Dave Flanagan." "He"s up front." "This way?" "Oh, yeah." "No, I got no problem with that." "Oh, no." "Hold on a second." "Be on time tomorrow." "Hey, Davey!" "Davey!" "How you doing?" "I suck." "Let"s go grab a beer." "look, look, Megs..." "Since when ain"t you thirsty?" "Since when ain"t you thirsty?" "What you doing here?" "I thought I"d see how you"d doing." "I got my car, I just came over." "It"s just about to fall apart." "So then she, she moved to Florida." "I don"t Know." "She thought Connecticut was too cold." "Maybe too many bad memories of your old man around here, huh?" "It must"ve been tough, Davey." "You come hobbling off the plane and they tell you he"s dead." "Yeah." "I was pissed." "It was his gung-ho vet shit that got me to enlist in the first place." "I"d been fantasizing for months to deck that son-of-a-bitch." "Yeah, man, I felt cheated." "You"re outta here!" "You Know what I hated?" "Waiting." "Knowing it was just a matter of time till something bad happened." "fuck, yeah." "See, Davey, the only way I could handle it was to get up for it, man." "Know what I"m saying?" "It was like, like something set in, you Know?" "And not just me." "I was like a lot of us, maybe." "I was never there, Megs." "I don"t follow that." "It never happened." "It"s over and done with." "You understand?" "Go, go, go!" "Go, go, go!" "I got one at ten o"clock!" "Dead hot!" "Bobby, please." "Come on, Dave!" "You got five seconds!" "Come on, Davey!" "Get him outta of here!" "Bobby, don"t, please!" "No!" "No!" "Help me!" "Come on, Davey!" "Got my piece?" "Got it!" "You okay, Davey?" "Let"s go!" "My fucking leg!" "Bobby." "How long you been back?" "A month, maybe." "Well, I hooked up with an old buddy of mine." "A vet?" "Trying to give him a hand?" "Shit, I, I go all I can do to help me, man." "You wonder if you"ll forget it?" "Every damn day." "I don"t Know if I wanna think about this stuff he makes me think about." "It makes me feel good when my friends come to me." "makes me feel good to Know I"m not alone." "That"s important." "To Know you"re not alone." "People alone..." "they just waste away slow." "That"s true for all people, you Know, man?" "Not just vets." "jake?" "This... this guy, he"s got a sister." "Tell me about her." "What time did you get home?" "Don"t start." "Mother called." "Great." "How"s Florida?" "She wanted to talk to you." "So you could get on the extension and you could gang up on me?" "Forget it." "Have a nice day." "Oh, I forgot." "Your friend left you a number." "Who?" "Joseph." "Megs." "He"s not my friend, Martha." "He wants you to call him." "He"s not my friend." "Quiet, please!" "All right, take your seats." "take your seats, everybody!" "Would this entire class like to stay after school with me for a month?" "thank you." "Now, people, open your books to page 550." "Bone structure." "Today we"re studying the Haversian canal." "What is bone tissue?" "is bone living?" "David." "Oh, David." "OKay, start this sucker up." "There you go." "Zippety-do-dah!" "Let me ask you something." "You any good with foreign jobs?" "If it"s got wheels, if it"s got an engine, my friend, I"m your man." "What"ll it be?" "Oh, yes." "ls Joseph Megessey around?" "Who?" "Oh, Megs." "Yeah." "Why don"t you park over there, huh?" "Hey, Megs!" "Yeah?" "You got yourself a visitor." "He"s over there." "Hello, Joseph." "Oh, goddamn." "look what..." "Martha?" "Would you, you Know, like to adjourn to the office?" "Yes." "Right this way." "Goons." "It"s nice of you to stop by, Martha." "You wanna go with me for a walk in the parking lot?" "Yes." "Allow me." "Oh, thank you." "This your car?" "Yes." "Well, it"s reliable." "You could use a little air." "Move over to the pump. I"ll fix you up." "Oh, no. lt"s all right." "No, no. lt"s no trouble." "Joseph?" "Would you let me buy you a cup of coffee?" "Don"t you go anywhere." "I"ll be right back." "Except it"s on me." "A lady don"t buy when I"m around." "Clean us, mates!" "I got a date with the lady!" "You jealous dogs!" "You dirty jealous dogs!" "Do you come here often?" "Do you come here often?" "Oh, yeah." "Oh, I pass it." "It"s nice." "looks all right. lt"s okay?" "Oh, it"s lovely, yes." "I should be dressed better." "No, you"re fine." "I don"t get out much for meals and stuff." "Do your girlfriends come over and cook for you?" "is that like a real question, or are you just jerking my chain?" "What?" "No, I just..." "What?" "I"m a little nervous." "I was trying to make conversation with you." "You"re nervous?" "Yes." "Me, too." "cocktails?" "Oh, we were gonna have..." "How about it?" "I mean, I"lI have a cocktail if you"lI have a cocktail." "Oh, sure." "cocktails are good." "What Kind of a cocktail would you like, sir?" "Something elegant?" "Elegant is good... also." "How about a Bud or something, Martha?" "Two Buds." "Well, how about you, Martha?" "Boyfriends, I mean?" "Hey, I"ll bet you gotta fight them off with tommyhawKs, don"t you?" "l"ve given up the fight." "You?" "Come on!" "You, you"re built like a brick shithouse, Martha." "That"s the most ridiculous thing." "I noticed that right off." "You"ve got the biggest pair of..." "Stop contradicting me!" "There you go." "thank you." "I Know what I am." "Yeah?" "What"s that?" "Martha." "Some people get awful the minute they open their mouths... and other people, like you, Martha... they grow on you." "The more you get to Know them, the better looking they get." "And that"s what I thinK." "I can see I"m gonna need another one of these." "David said you two were in Vietnam together." "Yeah, basic right through, we were." "He never talks about it." "No?" "Me, I talk about it all the time." "To myself, when there"s no one else around to listen." "Did you Know his friend Bobby?" "You like to drive?" "You Know, just hop in the car and head somewhere?" "Sometimes." "How about Saturday?" "Sure." "Martha?" "It"s up ahead." "Hey, Bob." "We were some trio." "Bobby, your brother and me." "They said I was the lucky one." "Yeah, I ain"t fooling." "They used to say "lucky Megs". "lucky Megs"." "Yeah, that all sort of ended when we lost old Bobby." "You wouldn"t have liked me too much when I got home." "I was crazy." "I was getting into fights." "Dumb ones." "Getting the piss kicked out of me, five against one." "It was not a nice time." "All what it all got down to is..." "Well... one night, I was lying around, contemplating the ceiling rafters... and... don"t laugh or anything..." "I prayed." "I felt better." "What was done was done, you Know?" "I couldn"t change it, but... for some reason we lost old Bobby, and... it was up to me to make that reason a good one, cause... cause Bobby, he deserved it." "Right, Bobby?" "Sir, your change!" "Martha." "Becoming quite the social butterfly, aren"t we, sis?" "Fishing trips, dinner dates." "Or was that another parents" meeting?" "That guy was a truck driver!" "So are you, David!" "He"s crazy!" "He was crazy before I Knew him and Nam made him even crazier!" "He"s spent more time in the can on assault charges than you could believe!" "look, you want to go out with someone?" "I"ll set you up." "Plenty of guys owe me favors." "It"ll be no problem." "fuck you, David!" "What did I say?" "What do you care anyway?" "What is this sudden interest in who I see?" "You"re my sister." "I thought I was your housekeeper." "Do you Know I can"t even remember the last time I heard you say..." ""Hey, Martha." "Hey, how was your day, Kid?" Or... or, "l"d been invited to a party." "Why don"t you come along?"" "I don"t go to parties." "That"s not the point." "You Know it!" "All right, all right. I"ll take more interest from now on." "We"ll go to a movie." "How"s that sound?" "Martha!" "Martha!" "He"s bad news!" "He is!" "Oh, fuck it!" "is it really so bad around here?" "No, it"s not so bad." "I love this place." "Every good memory I have is..." "Maybe that"s why I..." "Sis... I"m gonna be more appreciative from now on." "I promise." "You"lI see." "David." "The things I want, you can"t give me." "You"re gonna leave?" "Someday." "Try to Keep her on the road, Flanagan." "Where you been, stud?" "Off spanking the monkey in the men"s room?" "Come on, let"s go." "Come on, let"s go, Davey, come on." "Get in." "Driving, huh?" "Yeah." "Buying guys beers you don"t even Know." "Putting quarters in the jukeboxes so strange babes can dance." "And hardly anybody Knows when you come, you go." "I ain"t complaining." "Am I?" "Hey, listen." "Keeps you occupied." "You ain"t occupied, what the hell are you?" "like an empty house." "Useless." "Me, I did so many whites, I was like hotter than sunshine." "I was... like insane." "A madman." "I"m driving and I"m seeing trolls and leprechauns alongside the road." "It was V did that." "You Know that." "I come back from the Nam, I was like a first-class head." "Now, I don"t touch a thing." "Megs?" "Don"t talk." "All right." "Hey, back here." "All right, go for it!" "All right!" "Hey, how about some hoop?" "Come on." "Come on, I Know you was a stud ball player." "Come on." "l"ll take a look." "Yeah, I"ll park this pig for you." "All right!" "All right, over here, over here!" "Hey, pal." "Hey, it"s too much for me." "You wanna get in?" "Him, him..." "All right, I"m with you..." "Those bigger guys." "okay, thanks, man." "Come on!" "Shit!" "Did you see that, huh?" "Hey, your buddy"s doing real good." "He"s got two already." "Hey, JacKnife!" "Hey, come on, pal." "Get in there!" "Come on!" "With him?" "You, you and him, him and him." "All right!" "Come on, Megs." "Get off me!" "Two points!" "back here!" "Shit, you okay?" "Davey?" "Come on, let me help you." "No!" "okay?" "Come on, let me help you." "I said, just... no!" "Let"s get outta here." "You okay?" "Come on, let"s go?" "Sorry, guys." "How"s it feeling?" "lt"s okay." "Sorry I yelled." "Shit. I"ve been yelled at by queers and old ladies worse than that." "Nice sky, huh?" "Real pretty." "Remember the sunsets?" "Over there?" "Beauties, huh?" "Remember what Bobby"d say?" "If it weren"t for the helicopters, we could pretend we was in Hawaii?" "Remember him saying that?" "I do." "Remember the time the three..." "I don"t want you seeing my sister." "Ain"t that her decision?" "No." "Martha doesn"t Know shit about guys." "She"d have a hard time handling the perfect son-of-a-bitch, like you." "What Kind of a guy am I, Davey, huh?" "Hold out your hand." "look at your hand." "look at your fucking hand." "I ain"t put my fist through glass." "Yeah, yeah." "I heard that before." "look at me now." "Fat and happy." "Bet you never seen me looking so good." "Huh, guy?" "You look the same as before... guy." "Yeah, and you"re looking real good, too." "Yeah." "Fate"s just a funny thing, huh?" "Slow down." "think this is going fast?" "Slow down, Megs!" "What the fuck"s the matter?" "Just a crazy bastard, that"s me." "Don"t care who he takes with him." "What the fuck"s the matter?" "You got something to live for lately?" "I got someplace to go." "You"re coming with me." "I don"t Know." "I don"t Know anymore." "I mean, you don"t get fucK-all from looking over your shoulder, right?" "Things would have changed by now if people did, right?" "I Know that... but I"m not able to put it aside." "How long has it been?" "My wife wants to Know what"s my..." ""Hey, what"s your problem?"" "What do I tell her?" "What do I tell my Kids?" "That at, like, ten in the morning, I was there... and at ten that night I was in Long Beach trying to hitch a ride home?" "And nobody would pick me up." "I was in uniform, and nobody would pick me up." "Come on, stay." "Now sit down." "Come on." "You can just listen!" "Davey!" "Davey!" "What can it hurt?" "Davey?" "Davey?" "Don"t let him pull you down, man!" "Don"t you let him do it to you!" "Davey!" "Davey!" "Joseph." "Hi." "David stop home?" "No." "Why?" "What"s happened?" "Uh, okay." "Joseph, wait." "Are you hungry?" "There are pangs." "Well, would you like some soup?" "Soup is good." "Split pea with ham." "Homemade." "I like to cook." "We"re a team, cause I like to eat." "China." "They match, too." "I almost got a set of tableware once." "Every time you bought groceries at the store, they gave you a plate." "Go ahead and start." "I"ll wait for you." "I hate to eat alone." "You eat alone much, Martha?" "Sometimes I eat with David." "David, however, eats alone." "I correct papers while I eat." "You give out too much homework." "Smells good." "Good as Campbell"s, I bet." "I ain"t even tasted it yet, I like it." "Well, now you can." "I started too soon." "No, please start." "Please." "Please." "No, don"t." "Don"t, Joseph." "No." "Joseph, please." "Don"t." "Joseph, stop." "Just get your hands off me, Joseph!" "Martha." "That"s the thing about shy people, Martha." "They always think somebody"s looking." "But nobody is." "Except me." "And I like what I see." "For God"s sake, shut up for once!" "You"re damn right." "I"ll pay for it." "Don"t worry." "Don"t you worry about it." "I liked it." "I liked the Kiss." "l"ll pay for it. I"m sorry." "Joseph, I liked the Kiss." "I liked the Kiss, Joseph." "l"m sorry, I"ll pay for it." "Joseph." "Hush now." "Hush, hush, hush." "I liked the Kiss, Joseph." "Hello, Ed." "Dave." "Well, can I...?" "Please." "Of course." "Yes." "Who is it, dear?" "Pru and I were watching the news." "Pru, it"s..." "Why, Dave." "Sorry it"s so late, Pru." "Nonsense." "Come in and sit with us." "Something to drink, Dave?" "A beer?" "Yeah, please." "Well, it"s been quite a while." "Not so long, dear." "Dave shoveled the walk for us after that big snow in February." "Oh, that"s right." "If you need anything done around the house, I could come back again." "Mow the lawn, maybe?" "rake some leaves." "Oh, well, we have a landscaping service that does all that." "We"d appreciate that, Dave." "Do I really..." "look well?" "Dave, is everything all right?" "I doubt it." "thank you for your concern." "I"d really like it if you would let me come and clean your yard." "You"ve done that before." "Why?" "Why?" "I don"t Know why, Martha." "Come inside." "We"ll... we"ll go upstairs." "Go... go..." "Martha." "Come here." "William Green." "And we were such an unlikely pair." "He was tall and skinny, and I was... well, me." "You was pretty good." "Neither of us Knew what we were doing." "We were like two cars that hooked bumpers." "Pushing and pulling." "I don"t Know why I"m laughing." "It was horrible." "We went to a cheap hotel." "He Kept apologizing. "l"m terribly sorry. I"m so terribly sorry."" "I thinK he hoped I"d changed my mind." "And then he asked me to marry him." "He"d been to bed with me, so he thought he should." "But, you Know, you didn"t want to?" "I didn"t do it so he"d marry me." "In the long run, we would have made each other miserable." "Well... it"s getting late." "We better think about hitting it." "Hey, I can really see myself out." "I can walk you to the door." "Well..." "Joseph?" "Yeah?" "The seniors are having their prom." "I"m a chaperone." "Will you take me?" "Me?" "Yes, you." "I never went to my own prom." "No one asked me to go." "I crashed mine." "I walked in wearing a motorcycle jacket and boots." "Stood there like a madman, grinning at all them tuxedos." "I was just hoping that somebody"d try and throw me out." "Will you take me?" "I don"t Know, Martha, I..." "Yeah, okay." "OKay, I"m ready." "Move it up. lt"s great." "Forty-two regular." "Thirty-four." "Thirty." "May I help you, sir?" "l"d like..." "Something for the prom." "Let me." "I have some suggestions." "Here"s one here." "Here"s a wristlet." "It"s for the young lady to wear on her wrist." "Martha!" "Martha, I"m home." "Joseph is taking me to a prom." "Shall I put a TV dinner in the oven for you, or will you be going out?" "If Dad were alive, he wouldn"t let a guy like this on the porch." "Someone gentle and Kind?" "I doubt that." "turkey or Salisbury steak?" "I have had it with you." "With him." "You listening to me?" "Oh, I hear you." "I want you to call him, and tell him that something came up." "The PTA." "The fucking Board of Education wants to see you!" "What"s the matter with you?" "He"s a loser, and you pretend he"s not." "Go out!" "Go to a bar and get drunk!" "No way." "Well, then shut up." "A loser?" "You"re a loser!" "You"re like a mold in this house." "You eat what"s put in front of you, and grunt when spoken to!" "Shit!" "Oh, shit!" "I would be better off with a Saint Bernard." "At least I wouldn"t have to worry about a dog Killing himself." "Tell me, what"s it like to want nothing more than to get drunk?" "I just wanna be left alone." "By what?" "By life?" "You asshole." "You just want me here so it won"t be empty when you decide to come home." "And I"ve been afraid for you." "For me?" "What about you?" "OKay, okay, yes!" "Yes, I have been afraid for me." "But I"ve done it." "I have stayed." "Well, no more." "I am leaving." "Just like Mama." "She cried." "Did you thinK she was crying for Papa?" "It was for you." "Because you might as welI have been dead, too." "Martha?" "Martha." "Joseph, I"m sorry." "I"m not ready." "Yeah, it"s me." "I told the guy I was a white Knight going to meet a fair damsel." "Just a mad seducer." "That"s me." "What?" "You okay?" "Yes, I"m wonderful." "You." "You in the pants." "Why"re you wearing pants like that?" "You a soldier?" "Answer me." "A Kid like you, you Know how to fight?" "No?" "Kids don"t Know how to fight." "They don"t Know nothing about it at all." "take those pants off." "take them off." "take off the fucking pants!" "Hey, mister... we"re not looking for any trouble." "Nobody ever really is, Joe College." "Tell your friend to take those pants off." "Or I"ll do it for him." "Why don"t you leave them alone?" "Come on, why do you say?" "They"re just Kids." "Hi, Ms. Flanagan." "Hi, Ms. Flanagan." "Martha." "You look enchanting." "thank you, William." "Joseph, this is..." "Green." "Geology and Space Science." "Joseph Megessey." "Cars." "You"ll excuse us." "Oh, sure." "That"s him, huh?" "Bee-bee-beep." "You click your heels three times, you"ll end up in Kansas." "Give me another." "Maybe you ought to slow down, Dave." "Joseph, this is Tanya e frank." "Hello, Tanya." "frank teaches Phys." "Ed." "You like sports?" "Me?" "Love them." "Which ones?" "Sports." "like when I was a Kid... go visit my cousins on this farm, we"d have horseshit fights." "The road apples would fly." "I excelled at that." "I"ve also been very good at demolishing trucks." "No, no." "Go on, Dave!" "You got 5 seconds." "Five seconds!" "Come on, we gotta go!" "Come on, out!" "No!" "Hello." "Oh, hi." "You wanna dance, Martha?" "No." "Do you?" "Come on." "I don"t really Know how..." "Come on, help me." "Help me." "Let"s get the fuck outta here!" "Come on!" "Megs!" "Let"s get the fuck out of here!" "Megs!" "You okay?" "I"m going back for Megs." "No, don"t go back, Bobby." "Don"t go back, man!" "Don"t go back!" "Don"t go back, Bobby!" "JacKnife"s dead!" "JacKnife"s dead!" "JacKnife"s dead!" "No!" "Joseph?" "Do you Know who the queen of this prom is?" "Who?" "Me." "Bullshit!" "Bullshit!" "High school bullshit!" "It"s cause of you." "It"s your fault!" "We should"ve stayed put!" "We were twenty feet in the air!" "We should"ve stayed put!" "We were getting shot to pieces!" "But no! "Gotta get some!" "Get some!" "Get some!" "Get some!"" "You gonna be lucky for her?" "like you were for me?" "like you were for Bobby?" "They drafted me." "But you?" "You enlisted." "Come on!" "fucking jock!" "Thought they were gonna tackle you... instead of blow you away, you chickenshit asshole?" "fuck!" "I heard you!" "I heard you!" "You were scared, and you landed wrong, and your ankles broke!" "I got hit because of that!" "I lay there in the mud bleeding... and I heard you! "Don"t go back!" "JacKnife"s dead!" "Don"t go back!" "Don"t go back!" "He"s dead!" "He"s dead, Bobby, JacKnife"s dead!"" "But Bobby did go back, huh, Davey?" "Bobby did!" "You can"t Keep running from that, Davey." "Bobby did!" "He did!" "You can"t Keep running from that!" "Go inside, all of you." "Go on!" "Go inside now!" "Please." "You were hoping he"d home, weren"t you?" "He"s not your friend, Joseph." "l"m his friend." "Why don"t we sit in the living room?" "It"ll be more comfortable." "Oh, I Know." "Let"s have some of your brandy, shall we?" "Do you Know what brandy is?" "I"ll tell you, if you like." "Oh, yeah, please." "If beer for breakfast is sunrise... then brandy is sundown." "You"re so talkative." "I can hardly get a word in edgewise." "Sorry." "I don"t want you to be sorry." "I was just teasing you, Joseph." "You tease me, and then you can"t tell when you"re being teased." "Teasing, it shows you"re cared for, don"t you thinK?" "I thinK it does." "Let"s go look for him, Martha." "Please, let"s have our brandy." "Martha." "Ain"t you the sight, stud." "Martha, I"m sorry." "Come on, sit down." "Sit down." "Come on, let"s clean you up some." "It"s clean." "You Know me." "I wipe my nose, I use my sleeve." "How could she understand, huh?" "She don"t Know." "She wasn"t there." "JacKnife." "That"s what old Bobby called me." "Cause you crashed trucks." "Hey, why don"t you tell Martha what your nickname was?" "Come on, tell her." "What"d old Bobby call you?" "David?" "What was your nickname?" "I"d like to Know." "High School." "We called him High School." "He loved it." "Bobby had a nickname for everything." "Red Sox." "That was Bobby"s nickname cause he loved the Red Sox." "He was gonna take us to Fenway park." "We were gonna cheer." "Ah, Bobby." "If he"d stayed, he would"ve lived." "How many nights I thought about it?" "He didn"t. lt wasn"t in him any more to leave me than it did to leave you." "What were we gonna do when we got back?" "No matter what." "Come on, help me." "No matter what." "Come on." "Tell me." "You Know." "fuck, Davey, come on!" "I don"t Know." "Gonna go to Fenway park." "Best seats in the house?" "Yeah." "Hot dogs and beer." "That grass?" "take off our shirts?" "soak up a few rays." "We were gonna cheer, huh?" "We were gonna cheer so loud, they were gonna start cheering us back." "And then?" "And then we were gonna..." "What, Davey?" "What?" "David?" "What were you going to do?" "We were gonna go fishing." "Yeah." "Opening day." "Martha?" "I"m so sorry." "I"m so, so sorry." "I Know you are, David." "I"m sorry." "You"re leaving?" "Thought I would." "Mission accomplished." "is that it?" "Martha, who"re we Kidding?" "You?" "Me?" "Who"re we Kidding but ourselves?" "We were having a wonderful time." "It doesn"t have to end." "If I"ve been fooling myself, I can fool myself a while longer." "I can"t, Martha." "I blame people." "I´ve been blaming people so much." "And I"ve been hurting people." "That sucks." "They´re people that cared about me, mostly, I guess, but I didn´t..." "You know, I thought..." "No, I think, I think I don´t deserve... them caring about me... cause..." "I don"t like me very much." "But, hey, it´s time." "If not for me, then for the people that didn´t stop loving me." "There was a guy, Bobby." "And there was another guy, Megs." "And the three of us were friends." "I loved those two guys like they were my brothers." "Bobby was the smart one." "Megs was the crazy one." "And me..." "I was the scared one." "Bobby talked to you... he talked to you..." "sports, books... girls." "Bobby said that certain girls... they glowed." "When they, when they touched you, you weren"t scared... or tired." "When they just stood next to you, you weren"t confused." "Bobby said someday we"d all find girls like that... and then, finally, things would make sense... just because you were with them." "Bobby said that would happen to us all." "Because we... cause we, all of us, we deserved it." "I bet we would have had a horrible time at that goddamn prom." "And we would have left early." "We would"ve gone someplace to eat." "No, I doubt we"d have been hungry." "Well, maybe we would"ve driven someplace." "Someplace quiet and parked." "And then who Knows?" "Who Knows?" "CAPTIONS BY VIDEOLAR"