"[ Ball hitting mitt ] [ umpire ] strike two!" "[ crowd shouting, heckling ]" "[ Man ] let's go, baby!" "[ crowd whistling, applauding ]" "[ Exhales ] [ woman ] we're with you, Dave." "Come on." "[ Crowd continues shouting, heckling ]" "[ Man ] come on, Dave!" "Stay in the zone, Dave!" "Stay in the zone!" "You got what it takes." "You struck out 10 batters already this game." "You need one more!" "[ whispering ] don't fuck up." "Don't fuck up." "Don't fuck up." "Don't fuck up." "[ Cheering, applauding, shouting continue ]" "[ Whispers ] that's it." "[ Man ] put it down the middle, Dave!" "Full count!" "Come on!" "[ Whispers, indistinct ]" "[ Exhales ]" "[ Whispers, indistinct ]" "[ Ball hits mitt ]" " Ball four." " [ crowd shouting, jeering ] [ crowd continues shouting, jeering ]" "You're blind, ump!" "What, are you drunk?" "Our boys are out of the play-offs because of you." "You know I don't pick favorites." "Oh, yeah?" "Yeah?" "Screw you!" "[ boys shouting ]" "[ mutters ] fuck 'em all." "[ Guitar ]" "♫ honey, love ya honey, little honey-bunny ♫" "♫ Sunday morning love ya more funny love in the skyline, baby ♫" "♫ ice cream, 'scuse me I seen you looking good the other evening ♫" "♫ oh, you dig it had to smile just an hour or so ♫" "♫ are we in love like I think we be ♫" "♫ it ain't a long rhyme it took ages to think of ♫" "♫ I think I'll lull it in the water, baby ♫" "♫ honey, love ya honey, little honey-bunny ♫" "♫ Sunday morning love you more funny love in the skyline, baby ♫" "♫ ice cream, 'scuse me I seen you looking good the other evening ♫" "[ ends ]" "[ Sighs ]" "Hell of a game tonight." "The pitcher from Cedar Springs walked in the winning run." "It was a tough call." "I'm gonna have to wear a hat and shades when I go in town." "The parents-- oh, boy." "They wanted blood." "I didn't know what the heck-- he-- [ mutters ] fuck." "[ Grunting ] shit." "Crap." "Hell of a game tonight." "The pitcher for Cedar Springs walked in the winning run." "Tough call." "I'm gonna have to wear a hat and shades when I go in town." "[ Play-by-play announcer ] the 371 Mark in right field." "David Wright with his 16th home run of the year!" "And the brewer lead is cut to 7-5." "[ Trash scattering ]" "[ glass shatters ]" "Get your goddamn monkey-ass away from my car!" "[ Whispering ] oh, shit." "Fuck." "Hold it right there." "[ Yells ] hold it." "Don't make a move." "There's no telling what I'm liable to do." "The gun's loaded." "Don't shoot!" "Are you holding the gun?" "No, I don't think so." "I'm holding the gun." "Right?" "All right, get up." "Okay, you're gonna walk over to my front door." "Okay." "You're gonna open it and you're gonna go inside." "I'm gonna have my gun sticking in your kidneys the whole time." "Just don't shoot." "Sit in the chair!" "[ coughs ] sit still while I call the cops." "Oh, boy, they're gonna love this-- 2:30 in the morning." "All right, take off the mask." "I said, take off the goddamn mask!" "Oh, Jesus Christ." "You?" "What the hell are you doin'?" "What's your father gonna say?" "Huh?" "What are you thinkin' about?" "I'm sorry." "It wasn't even my idea." "Why do I care?" "Grow up, boy!" "Take some responsibility for your actions." "Well, after you cost us the game" "Oh, I cost you the game, did I?" "I cost you the game?" "You were pitching, and your teammates let in two runs on errors." "So you think I cost you the game?" "Sloppy play." "That's what cost you the game." "So don't put it on my ass." "Okay." "[ Mutters ] oh, man." " What?" " Nothing." "Shit." "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you." "[ Sighs ] all right, listen, I'm not gonna call the cops..." "If you deal with that yard and you take care of the broken window." "And I already know it was Paul Michaels and Todd Hunter that was with ya." "If it was up to me, I'd rat those little S.O.B.'s out the first Chance I got." "But it doesn't matter to me..." "Whether you deal with the yard yourself or have your friends help ya," "So long as it gets done." "Okay?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "I know you're doing me a huge favor" "Don't start kissing my ass." "I already know I'm doing you a favor." "Listen." "I'm gonna go and get me and Kelly Dawn a beer." "You want a soda or somethin'?" "Wait, Kel-- your dog has a last name?" "[ Panting ] no." "It's not hyphenated, damn it." "It's one word." "Kelly Dawn!" "Oh." "Kelly Dawn drinks beer." "Yeah, she drinks a little bit of beer." "She doesn't get plastered or nothin'." "No dog of mine's gonna teetotal." "Know what I'm sayin'?" "[ chuckles ] this little bitch here, she's a little Queen." "She eats a steak every night of the week." "Leftovers, things like that?" "No, I don't feed her leftovers." "I make it just for her." "I can't eat meat anymore." "Wow." "Sure I can't get you nothin'?" " Yeah, I'm sure." " Uh, raisins?" "Uh, no, I'm" " I'm good." "[ Sighs ]" "That's it." "Dave!" "Dave, what happened?" "What happened?" "You okay, man?" "Did he try to mess with you?" "Dude, two more minutes, I woulda gone in there." "I was gonna break his legs." "He's just a crazy old man." "Let's just forget about it." "Yeah." "[ Sighs ]" "[ Girl ] David!" "David James Tibbel, time to get up." "[ groans ]" "Just five more-- hey, loser, up." "You have to drive me to school." " Remember?" " [ groaning continues ]" "[ Coughing ]" "[ Imitates groan ] get up." "[ Mock snarl ] [ giggles ]" "Dad." "Uh, you have a button missing." "Oh." "Yeah." "I didn't notice." "Yeah." "I'll fix it for you." "No, that's all right." "I'll fix it." "Okay." "Thanks." "I'll put it on your bed." " You gonna be ready to go in, like, five minutes?" " Sure." "Thank you." "Oh, you're welcome." "Hey, ash?" "You know you got weeds around your neck, right?" "Think it looks nice?" "Yep." "Yeah, I think so too." "Oh, shit." "[ groans ]" "Oh, shit." "[ grunts ]" "[ Invitation crumples ]" "[ motor running ]" "I'm sorry." "You can probably see this pile of change sitting on my dresser." "[ Clerk ] you don't have 75 cents?" "No." "I don't think-- look, is it all right if I give you the money tomorrow?" "D-do you need 75 cents?" "I have it right here." "Uh, you're a pitcher, aren't you?" "Uh, yeah, actually." "That's right." "Um" "Okay." "Fine." "Here, just" "Just-- just take it." "Don't even worry about it." "No, I'll pay you back." "I don't take money." "Scout's honor." "Here you go." "Sorry about that." "Hey, no worries." "Thanks." "Uh, sure." "Hey." "How's it goin'?" "W-where you coming from?" "Day job." "Something you have to look forward to when you graduate." "It's a responsibility." "It's part of being an adult." "A lot of kids can't handle responsibility." "You know what I mean?" "Hey, get the top." "Too." "[ Coughs ] and just so you know," "It's not that I'm embarrassed." "It's an eyesore..." "For me." "The neighbors can suck it." "So get it down." "Well, how do you suppose I do that?" "It's not my problem." "Figure what you did to get it up there," "And then do it in reverse." "Hey, David." "[ Chuckling ]" "There's a tall ladder round in back." "You can use it if you want to." "Thanks." "Yeah." "[ TV:" "Announcer ] a solid major leaguer." "[ TV:" "Announcer continues, indistinct ]" "Son of a bitch." "[ TV:" "Play-by-play announcer ] two strikes, the count. 2-2 pitch." "The pitch is lifted in the air towards center and then crossing" "[ TV:" "Sound mutes ] [ grunts ]" "Shit." "Piss." "Corruption." "Yeah, here you go." "Take that." "David." "[ Chuckles ]" "Go home." "I'm, uh, not finished yet." "Well, you're not gonna finish today." "So go on home and come back tomorrow." "Well, why?" "Why?" "Because you've worked enough today." "So go home and suck on your mama's titties." "[ Chuckles ] all right." "My mom doesn't live with us." "That's too bad." "Hey!" "Tomorrow, same place, same time." "[ Truck door opens ]" "Okay. [ truck door closes ]" "[ Truck engine starts ]" "Strike..." "Three!" "You're out!" "[ exhales ]" "Beautiful, isn't it," "At night?" "And I get to work here." "[ Exhales ]" "They just cut the grass." "[ Inhales ]" "And I swear, that smell is as sweet as it was... 50 years ago..." "When my father took me to my first game." "I'm a lucky man." "I'm a very lucky man." "[ Water running ]" "[ water stops ] hey, dad." "You sure been making a lot of photos lately." "Yeah." "Better be careful." "Stay down there too long, you become a mole." "Mole." "Don't have eyes." "Can't see a thing." "Hmm." "[ chuckles ]" "You can always take care of me." "[ chuckles ]" "Yeah." "Do you ever think about mom?" "No, n-n-not really." "Yeah." "Yeah, I do." "Why did you let her go?" "What?" "Why did she leave?" "Your mother loved you-- love-- loves you." "I-I don't see her here right now." "[ Sighs ] look, it's, um" "It's not that simple." "Your mother," "Um, wasn't the woman..." "That..." "All of us thought she was." "What?" "She wasn't happy." "A lot of people aren't happy, dad." "No, she wasn't happy for a very long time." "Wh-- what the hell does that mean?" "Look, you want to discuss your mother?" "Yes." "Okay, well, we'll talk about it sometime." "We're talking about it now." "Well, now's not a good time." "Look, I'm beat." "Uh-huh." "I'm just" " I'm beat." "[ Water running ]" "[ man ] Ray, you should go home." "You got some big decisions to make." "It's not a question of do we perform surgery?" "It's where do we start?" "You understand me?" "I'm not gettin' cut." "Hey." "You ump" "Umpire?" "Yeah, I'm an umpire." "I-I-I thought I recognized you." "My, uh-- my son used to play ball..." "Till he graduated six years ago." "What was the name?" "Travis." "Varlie?" "Oh, Varlie." "Do you remember him?" "Yeah, sure, I remember." "Number seven." "[ laughs ] that's right." "Yeah." "Played third base." "He had a real strong arm." "I remember him pulling off some surprising as hell plays for a high schooler." "What's he doing?" "Uh, well, uh, Travis, uh, lives in Arbortown now." "He got married last may, and his firstborn's on the way." "[ Chuckles ] if you can believe that." "They grow up fast now, don't they?" "Yeah, they sure do." "They never told me that." "Yeah, well, congratulations on being a grandpa." "Oh, uh, thank you." "[ Scraping ]" "How's it goin'?" "Fine." "Good." "Don't you have a game to ump today?" "Ah, it doesn't start for a couple hours." "How much money do you have?" "I" " I" "How do you plan to pay for my broken car window?" "Well, how much were you thinking" "A few hundred." "I mean, I haven't had it priced out yet, but" "You got a few hundred?" "No." "But your father would loan it to you if you told him why you needed it." "Is that right?" "Huh?" "I got a proposition." "Why don't you come inside with me." "[ Bottles clinking ]" "[ Exhales ]" "You want one?" "Nah, just kiddin'." "You're too young to have one." "Right?" "Uh, right." "[ Sighs ] whew." "Are you happy?" "Uh, what?" "I-- are you happy, kid?" "I don't know." "Yeah, I guess." "Well, which one is it?" ""yeah" or "I guess"?" "I-I don't know." "Um, I'm assuming that you want me to say "yes," so I'll just say "yes."" "Good." "That's good." "You should be happy, David, [ snorts ] inside and out." "You think I'm happy?" "I..." "Don't know." "I don't know you that well." "Can you try and answer?" "As-as happy as anybody else, I suppose." "You're just avoiding the question." "Say what you mean, you little pussy." "Yes or no?" "No." "No." "I-- no." "You're" " I don't think that you're happy at all." "Good." "Uh, you're right, David." "No, I am not happy." "But I wear it well." "[ Exhales ]" "I'm miserable, in fact." "I'm 57." "That makes me three times you." "There's not much in life that makes it exciting for me." "There's not much out there." "And, on top of it all, I got my high school reunion." "You know what that means." "Do you have any idea why people go to reunions?" "To see all their old friends?" "[ chuckles ]" "No, to tally up who they're beatin'." "They can't help it." "They just gotta find out who's worse off than they are." "[ laughs ] that sucks, doesn't it?" "Yeah." "But you wanna know what's gonna happen this time?" "I'm gonna go for the first time." "I'm gonna go to my reunion." "And if anybody says anything to me, they're gonna have to say it to my face." "Okay. [ chuckles ] and you know what else?" "I'm gonna win." "And you're gonna help me." "I" " I am?" "Toad Ramsey." "He was an alcoholic." "Irish cat." "Died when he was 41." "Ah." "He was a pitcher too." "One day he was laying them bricks, you know?" "Split one, cut that tendon right there in his hand." "He had to find a new way to grip ahold of the ball." "And you know what he come up with?" "The knuckleball." "Can you believe that?" "[ laughs ] you know?" "That's, uh-- yeah." "That's " "I-I don't really see where you're going with that, but" "The knuckleball moves all over." "You don't know where it's gonna go." "Sometimes in life you gotta roll with the punches and just," "You know, make things up." "I can't go to my reunion alone, so you're gonna have to go with me." "What?" "And you know what else?" "We're gonna be blood." "W-wait!" "I don't see what the problem is." "You don't?" "You just asked me to go to your high school reunion." "No, no, no!" "I asked you to pretend to be my son at my high school reunion." "That's pretty screwed up." "No, it isn't." " I don't even look like you." " Says you." "Whatever!" "You look like me." "I feel for you." "It's just weird-- please don't get any closer." "Weird?" "What does that mean?" "What about my broken car window?" "Oh, no, you don't!" "What about that, you little turd?" "Do you hear me?" "Do you hear what I said?" "Maybe." "[ Engine starts ] [ truck pulls away rapidly ]" "[ Grunts ]" "[ Mutters ]" "[ Ashley ] you okay?" "Fine." "You know, dad didn't go to work yesterday." "Or the day before." "What are you talking about?" "[ Grunts ] yeah, that's it." "Ray!" "Yeah?" "Um" "Whoa." "Jesus Christ." "What the hell happened to you?" "You look like a worm set up shop in your colon." "Well, I'm fine, so-- are you sure?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." "Really?" "Yeah." "I wanted to talk to you about what you-- you asked me about before." "Yeah?" "Um" "Uh-huh?" "And, I don't know, I guess I've just been" "I thought about it a little bit-- do you need one of these?" "Yeah." "And, um" "I'll do it." "I'll" " I'll go to your reunion." "Are you serious?" "Really?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "As long as we're on the same page about what I'm doing." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Okay." "Shoot." "I go to your reunion, I do the dog-and-pony show-- that's it." "I'm done." "Gone." "Right." "Now, you positive you wanna do this?" "Yeah, I wanna help you." "All right." "All right." "So" "And once that's over, the slate's clean, right?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Fresh as a Daisy." "Fresh as a gravestone." "All that stuff." "Okay." "It's set." "Okay, just a" " I got this." "Okay." "Here." "Here, David." "There you go." "[ Chuckles ] "no hippie hair"?" "No." "[ Lighter flint strikes ]" "[ Man ] what we're gonna do is take our tape and feed it through a tape timer..." "And attach it to the back of our vehicle." "[ Man continues, faint ]" "[ Play-by-play announcer ] one ball, one strike." "First year with the patriots." "24-year-old out of palm beach" "Want one?" "Uh, thought I was too young." "Remember?" "Whatever, whatever." "But I'm offering." "Right there it is." "[ Groans ]" "[ Cap releases ]" "Shit." "Sorry." "Don't worry about it." "Tastes good, doesn't it?" "Uh, yeah." "Yeah." "You know, I was a lot younger than you when I was drinkin' beer." "I've had beer before." "Sorry, old-timer." "I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers." "[ Dave ] that's all right." "If you drink that beer like a man, I'll let you have another one." "But you're gonna have to go out back and get it from the fridge, where I keep my fishing beer." "Your fishing beers?" "You fish?" "Yeah." "Fishing." "Didn't your old man ever take you fishing?" "I don't think I've ever been fishing." "Oh, Jesus." "Then you don't know anything about women, do ya?" "Uh-- [ chuckles ]" "Uh, no." "No, I don't." "You'll have to come with me sometime then." "Yeah, right." "Why don't we just start with beer." "Consider it done." "Good." "I'll be right back." "[ laughs ]" "[ Ray groans ]" "[ Dave ] man, you okay?" "[ Ray ] no." "I just tried to take a piss." "It hurt like a bitch." "[ exhales ]" "Should probably get that checked out." "I have." "Nothing you can do about it." "It's just age." "Remember that the next time you try to write your name in the snow with your pee." "Got you your beer." "Oh, great." "Whew." "Ah." "You gonna come to the state play-offs?" "I'm umpin'." " I might do that." " What do you mean, you might?" "You should." "I mean, you're gonna play one of these teams next year." " That's if I play next year." " "If" you're still playin'?" "I don't know what I'm gonna do next year or the year after that." "All right." "You got a career you wanna pursue?" "Well, I like the idea of being an archaeologist." "You know?" "I mean, digging up pottery and, uh" "And, uh, like, arrowheads and things like that." "Actually, I have a pretty good collection already." "My mom gave me her collection, she got from her grandfather when she was a little kid." "That's really nice." "I mean, if you think about it, how realistic is that?" "How realistic is me becoming an archaeologist?" "I sort of feel clueless." "Well, you're not alone." "Stick with baseball." "How long is that gonna last?" "That's a good question." "It doesn't really make me happy." "That's too bad." "[ Ashley ] you okay?" "[ Dave ] I'm fine." "Well, I'm doing fine too, Dave." "Thank you for asking." "What?" "Exactly." "You're not the only one who has bad days, you know." "What am I supposed to ask you?" "Are you having a bad day?" "No." "Just ask me what's going on in my life sometimes." "All right, what's going on in your life sometimes?" "Do you even care?" "Yes!" "Why would I ask if I didn't care?" "I have to sing a song by myself for chorus." "I'm sorta nervous." "Really?" "Are you serious?" "Yeah." "Like, really you have to sing?" "In front of the whole school?" "Well, sing it." "I'm not a trained monkey, you know." "You have to sing in front of the whole school." "You're not gonna sing in front of your brother?" "They talked to us about peer pressure, like, literally, last week." "Oh." "Really?" "I think you're afraid." "No." "No." "I think you're a scaredy cat." "No." "Then sing it." "Do it!" "No." "No!" "As your older brother, do it now!" "What, you want me to just sing it right here?" "Please." "Light she was and like a fairy." "And her shoes were number nine." "Herring boxes without topses." "Sandals were for Clementine." "Oh, my darlin'" "Oh, my darlin'" "Oh, my darlin' Clementine." "You are lost and gone forever." "Dreadful sorry Clementine." "In my dreams she doth haunt me." "Robed in garments soaked in brine." "Though in life I used to hug her." "Now she's dead I draw the line." "Want to, uh, call it a day?" "We haven't gotten any bites all day." "You're a real whiner." "You know that?" "No, I just" "Do you know who Henry Schmidt was?" "This fella was a pitcher." "He was from Texas." "In his rookie year he played for the dodgers." "He won 20 games." "You know what he did for his second year?" "You tell me." "He sent in his second-season contract unsigned..." "With a note attached to it saying," ""I do not like to live in the east," "And I won't report."" "He never played another game in the majors." "Why?" "Why?" "Because Henry Schmidt..." "Knew he had to walk away." "Because some voice..." "Deep inside of him..." "Was telling him..." "It was time." "Maybe you have a voice deep inside of you that's telling you it's time?" "Not like that, no." "So why don't we do what I said when we first got here." "Just shut up and wait." "And if that doesn't work, what did I say to do?" "Wait some more." "Yeah." "[ chattering ]" "Yo!" "Dave?" "Hello." "Hey!" "What's up, man?" "What's goin' on, buddy?" "How's it goin', guys?" "What's up, bro?" "Wanna check out a movie with us tonight?" "Uh, I think I gotta get some stuff done tonight, so" "Okay." "All right." "Well, I'm just curious, man." "What happened the other day?" "You bailed on us." "You know, I'm sorry." "I had some errands to do." "[ Todd ] no, 'cause we drove by the ump's house." "Funniest thing." "We saw your truck out front." "[ Wheezing chuckle ]" "I was out there to apologize." "You sure that's all?" "What else would I being doing, Todd?" "We have no idea." "But toddy here was thinkin' that might not be the first time you've been over there." " Is that so?" " Are you hangin' out with the ump?" "Do you wanna hang out with that wack job?" "I'm taking care of shit so you two don't have to." "You guys should be thanking me." "Thank you." "Are you sure you're not lettin' him suck your dick?" "[ Ship horn sounding ]" "[ Dave ] where'd you learn how to shoot?" "[ Ray ] military." "Did you get drafted?" "No, I volunteered." "They sent me over to Germany for a year and a half." "[ Chuckles ] it was boring as hell," "So I asked them to move me." "Did you go back to the U.S.?" "'Nam." "I did two tours in 'nam before I got back." "You asked to go to Vietnam?" "What did you do there?" "I flew." " I flew c-123s." " Well, did you drop bombs?" "Yeah, we dropped bombs." "No, you idiot." "Not everybody that flew dropped bombs and blew shit up." "Well, then, did you..." "Fly people back and forth?" "No, no." "I did herbicide spray missions." "What is that?" "You know when people are out in their yard spraying weeds and insects?" "Yeah." "That's what I did," "Only on a much grander scale." "[ Crowd chattering, applauding ]" "Your buddy from the mall..." "Said you have a crush on me." "He's-- he's an asshole." "Does that mean you don't?" "No." "No." "It just-- [ ball hitting bat ]" "It just means he's an asshole." "So how do you know Ray?" "Um" "Um, we" "I-I play baseball." "So" "I mean, I also vandalized his house." "[ Chuckles ]" "[ Woman ] yeah, Ray's been umping forever." "You know, I played softball in high school." "Really?" "Fast pitch." "Yeah, I was pretty good too." "I'm Debra, by the way." "Dave." "[ Ray's voice ] it was nice of the two of you to come to the game." "You practically begged me to come." "Oh, I begged you?" "That's the way it goes now, huh?" "Hey, what are these?" "Those?" "They're moonflowers." "They only blossom at night." "Debra's got an obsession about 'em." "They're more like diamonds to her." "Note taken." "You want a pad to write it down?" "No, I'm okay." "All right." "Hey, listen." "Why don't you go in there..." "And help her with the dishes or something?" "Okay." "And you're gonna sit here and look at the moonflowers?" "Yeah." "Okay." "There's nothing sissyish about looking at Flora." "You know what I'm saying?" "What?" "[ chuckles ] nothing." "All right." "Whoa!" "What?" "Um" " Is that-- - a syringe?" "Yeah." " No, I mean, is it-- - what, you never saw a junkie before?" "Let me ask you another question." "Have you ever known a diabetic before?" "[ Whispering ] oh, I know." "I know." "Sorry." "Don't worry about it." "I try not to take my insulin in front of other people." "It kind of freaks them out." "But Malcolm doesn't mind, do you?" "No, you don't." "You're used to seeing mommy shoot up, aren't you?" "Oh, I know." "You're my perfect little man." "Don't ever grow up." " I noticed you have lots of books." " Yeah." "[ Chuckles ] what, you thought I was illiterate?" "No, I-- oh, come on." "No." "I-- you have lots of books." "It's just there's a lot of 'em." "I'm just giving you a hard time." "Yeah." "Yeah, you are." "Um, jerk." "It's a nice night." "[ Sighs ]" "Makes you want the sun to never come up." "[ Train approaching ]" "Mr. Tibbel?" "How you doing today?" "Fine." "Good." "Good." "That's good to hear." "I'm Ray." "I'm a friend of David's." "[ Grunts ]" "Thank you." "Dave!" "[ Dave ] one minute!" "He'll, uh-- he'll be right down." "You like baseball." "I hear you're a photographer." "That's right." "Yeah." "Oh." "I have my own lab." "How's that work?" "People bring me their photos, and then they come back and give me the slip," "And I give them their photos back." "It's really that simple." "Dave!" "Funny thing, though, people-- I'll tell you." "You'd think they'd get their photos and that they'd take it to the car, bring it home." "But no, they look at them right in front of me, show them to me." "I mean, have you ever seen someone eat a tub of yogurt..." "In front of the cashier who just sold it to them?" "[ Chuckles ] no." "That's-- that's what I'm saying." "[ footfalls on stairs ]" "Ah, here he is now." "Dave, uh, what's going on?" "I'm going to a dance." "What the hell you got in your hair?" " The gel..." "Under the sink." " Oh." "Is this okay?" "Yeah." "You look great." "Good. [ Dave ] I didn't know what you meant." "Is that my suit?" "Uh, yeah, yeah." "Is that okay?" "Sure." "Hey, we'll-- we'll talk later." "Um, okay." "Okay, let's take your car, son." "Wait." "First, are you gonna call me "son" all day?" "Why?" "You want me to call you something else?" "Well, Dave." "Dave would work, I think." "No." "I like "son." all right." "Oh." "Can I drive your car?" "Um-- um, yeah." "Uh, here you go." "Bye, Mr. Tibbel." "All right." "Listen, I gotta make a quick stop before we hit the reunion." "All right." "Where?" "[ Radio:" "Soul ]" "No, Ray." "This isn't right." "Okay?" "I don't think-- no, no." "Dave." "Dave." "Dave." "Dave." "Listen to me." "Listen to me." "I don't think there's any possibility that you can judge whether this is right or wrong." "Well, I am." "This is wrong." "I will go to hell for doing this." "You will not go to hell." "There is no hell." "That's a myth." "And what you're going to do is you're going to get some practice for this reunion." "Pat, do you understand what Alzheimer's disease is?" "Yes, ma'am." "All right." "I just want you to be prepared..." "Because it can be really hard on the patient's loved ones." "And I want you to know even if your grandfather doesn't recognize you," "It has nothing to do with how much he loves you." "Hey, pop." "Who's pop?" "You are." "I'm not pop." "Who are you?" "Why are you all dressed up?" "I'm your son." "My son?" "Mmm." "And I brought your grandson to see ya." "He's right over there." "Well, well." "Look who's come to visit." "Come here, you!" "Hey." "You remind me of myself when I was your age." " Yeah?" " You wanna be a ballplayer?" "Uh, I-I don't know." "You look like a ballplayer." "Did you play any baseball when you were a kid?" "I-- yeah." "I-I" " I played second base." "And I used to be able to field a grounder," "And then turn a double play..." "Without even wearing my glove." "Hey." "You remind me of myself when I was your age." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "You-- you like baseball?" "I sure do." "I love baseball." "I used to take my son to all the games when he was little." "Those were some of my..." "Best memories." " Do you like that channel?" " Um" "I really can't say that I've watched it that much." "Do they always sell knives on this channel?" "Oh, no." "They sell lots of things-- you know, sweaters," "And baseball cards and-- and fake diamonds and" "But, uh, knives are my favorite." "Yeah." "Do you like TV?" " Not really." " Well, why do you watch it?" "Because it's there." "What I really like is..." "Talking to people." "It's unbelievable." "It's just unbelievable." "Well, you remember what the nurse said." "Just because he doesn't remember you doesn't mean he doesn't love you." "[ Scoffs ] yeah, but he remembered you!" "Don't take it too personally." "But he's never even seen you before." "I make a good first impression." "Bullshit." "[ Folk music ]" "You want me to bullshit to these people, or do you have anything specific you want me to say?" "I don't keep up with any of these people." "Say whatever you want." "Anything?" "[ laughs ] no." "Your name is pat." "You like me and our life is good." "[ Chattering, laughter ]" "Don't worry about it." "I'm all right." "I won't embarrass you tonight." "[ laughing ] no, no." "Thanks." "You guys have a terrific time." "Hello." "Can we help you?" "Um, is your-- is your wife part of the class of '66?" "No, I am." "I'm sorry, but" "Who are you?" "Oh." "Ray cook." "Raymond Leroy cook." "Ray?" "Yeah." "[ Sighs ] we all thought you'd passed away." "I'm not dead, am I, son?" "No." "No, dad." "Good." "Yeah. [ chuckles ] yeah!" "Welcome." "What a handsome son you have." "So glad you came." "Thank you." "Thank you." "[ Rock and roll ] [ chattering, laughter ]" "Ow!" "[ Continues ]" "Ray cook." "Hey, Jonas." "[ laughing ]" "Terrific." "I can't believe it." "Yeah." "Me either." "Wow!" "And, pat, I swear, you're the spitting image of your father." "Oh, really?" "Shit, yeah." "I can see it in the eyes." "They're the windows to the soul, you know." "That's right." "What are doing with the soul stick?" "I took me on a third leg here." "It was necessary." "When you get older, you know?" "Oh, yeah?" "I know." "Things fall apart, don't they?" "They sure do, quickly." "Your dad was crazy back in high school." " Can you believe that?" " Oh, I believe it." "Ray?" "Ray cook?" "Ray!" "Marianne." "Ray!" "Oh!" "Who's this?" "It's Marianne Reynolds." "Ray's girlfriend from senior year." "How have you been?" "Hey, listen." "I have somebody I want you to meet." "This is, uh, pat, my son." "Your son?" "Yeah, my son." "Hi." "Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you." "He looks just like you." "Yeah." "Ah." "Oh, isn't this nice?" "Yeah." "Oh, Ray." "[ Slow music ]" "[ Man ] I gotta be honest." "Your father is the last person I thought I'd see at one of these things." "It's like he wanted to fall off the face of the earth. [ man chuckling ]" "[ Dave ] well, you know. [ Jonas ] everybody wondered what happened to him." "For the first 25 years people would always ask," ""you seen Ray cook?"" "Then after that, the occasional rumor would pop up" ""Ray's a C.I.A. Operative." [ Dave chuckles ]" ""Ray's a hermit up in Alaska."" "[ all laughing ]" "And, "Ray's living in a commune down in south America." [ woman ] oh, yeah." "He practically became a myth." "[ man ] you could say that." "With all the sightings, you know, and the weird theories," "Ray was sort of like a goddamn sasquatch." "[ Man ♪2 ] what's that?" "Sasquatch is like bigfoot." "Bigfoot." "Yeah, yeah." "Ray's sort of like bigfoot." "[ Woman laughs ] oh, Ray cook." "[ barking ]" "[ Men laughing ]" "You know all the girls were crazy for him back in school." "We were!" "I don't think I've ever seen someone bark for my dad before." "[ Woman ] everybody thought..." "He would be this big baseball star." "And look at him." "He's still moving like he's in his twenties." "Jesus, you know, you think time changes everything." "And then you realize that it doesn't much really change anything." "What?" "[ man ] you got me, baby." "Oh." "You know what?" "My dad's a hard Guy to get to know." "It's hard for him to express anything." "You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but he's got..." "A heart filled with..." "Love and pain." "And I think, slowly, through the years," "It's just been..." "Bleeding." "You broke my heart 40 years ago." "You know, I can't remember that far back." "I can't even remember how I got here." "Oh, Ray, I bet you broke a lot of hearts." "Oh, yeah." "Yeah, I broke hearts." "I broke my own too." "Oh." "Good for you." "Oh." "[ laughing ]" "So what'd he do after high school?" "Air force." "Air force guy, huh?" "Yeah." "Was." "So, what's he doing now?" "Well, after he returned to a civilian life," "He went to wall street." "Yeah." "Huge millionaire." "God, we're rolling in it." "You know?" "Just tons of money." "But the weird thing was that he gave it all away." "I mean, not all of it 'cause he saved just enough to travel the world." "But he gave most of it away to Charity." "Are you serious?" "Just one." "Just one." "I'm tired." "Just one." "That's all." "That's a cute kid. [ woman ] don't let him fool you." " He can act like a demon." " [ man chuckles ]" " So, uh, who are you here with?" " Oh, Ray cook." "Huh." "So he, uh-- he finally came out of the woodwork?" "Yeah." "Wow." "Son of a gun." "I'd sure like to talk to him." "Hey." "How's he doing?" "He's doing good." "Yeah." "I'm glad to hear that." "So, what relation are you to him?" "I'm his son." "Well, there you are." "[ chuckles ]" "That's good of your mom to let you fly out here for this thing." "Sorry." "Huh?" "Oh, I got a buddy, a lawyer." "He represented your mom when your folks were splitting up." "Geez, you were just a little pup when all that happened." "Yeah." "That's a tough situation to be in." "Ray must have made one hell of a plea..." "To get your mother to let you come out for his reunion." "[ laughs ] huh?" "Yeah." "He sure did, didn't he?" "How do you feel?" "I feel... [ chuckles ] good." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "[ Sighs ]" "I" "I don't know." "It's been a long time since I felt" "What?" "I don't know." "What?" "I don't know." "Anything." "Mmm." "Oh, Ray." "Yeah." "Everybody loved you." "You were the perfect son." " Did you have a good time?" " I had a great time." "We sure fooled them, huh?" "Yeah, we sure did." "Sure did." "[ Radio:" "Soft rock ]" "I heard a rumor about you." "Uh-oh." "Let me have it." "Do you already have a son?" "I didn't mention that, did I?" "No, you didn't." "Is he okay?" "Yeah, yeah, sure, sure." "He's fine." "Yeah." "I mean, as far as I know." "You see," "My son and I have a" "We don't get along." "I mean, I try, but..." "He, uh" "He doesn't want to have anything to do with me." "And..." "So I make these videotapes of myself..." "And I send them to him." "Those ones?" "Yeah, those." "You didn't see those, did you?" "Well, I didn't watch them, if that's what you mean." "That's what I mean." "What do you do on the videotapes?" "No, I don't do anything on the videotapes." "Nothing funny." "I talk to him, basically." "I tell him about myself, how I feel." "Pretty much before I met you, that's the only talking I did." "Does he ever reply?" "No." "No." "They all get returned unopened." "Almost all of 'em." "That's the problem-- every now and then..." "They don't come back." "So, that keeps me making 'em." " I had a lot of fun at your reunion." " You did?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I said some shit about you." "Oh, yeah?" "And everyone could tell that I was your son. [ chuckles ]" "You see, that's why it's a better part to play than the real gig." "As a father, I'm a real shit, you know." " I doubt that." " No, it's true." "I'm a weakling." "I'm just, you know" "I never..." "Paid attention." "I was never there." "That's probably why he doesn't call me." "You know, he doesn't know me." "And my ex-wife, boy, oh, boy," "I'm sure she's filled his head full of-- full of lies." "You know, but" "Well, [ grunts ]" "Maybe not lies." "But, uh, she's probably telling him..." "Only the bad stories." "He's never gonna know in this life..." "How much I really love him." "How about your father?" "My father ain't so good." "What'd he do?" "He didn't buy you that stereo you wanted for your truck?" "I'm serious." "What'd he do?" "Nothing." "He hit you?" "No." "He's a cripple." "Just a cripple." "Ever since my mom left about two years ago," "He's just been a cripple." "She left all of us." "Me and my sister get birthday cards and Christmas cards from her." "But..." "She just took off." "Was she a good mom before she left?" "She was an amazing mother." "Divorce is a real bitch." "You see all these houses around here?" "All around?" "I don't know a single person in any of 'em." "And no one knows me either." "The older I get," "The more I know that I don't know anyone." "You know me. [ chuckles ] yeah." "Maybe." "But I think right now you should go home." "I don't have to go home yet." "I don't have a curfew." "You've done everything." "It's all square." " What?" " You've repaid me." "It's over." "[ Slams bottle down ]" "So, is that just it with us?" "Are you serious?" "Fine." "Hey, David." "David." "You're a really good kid." "And any man would be lucky to have you as a son." "[ Zips up zipper ]" "[ Crowd cheering, applauding ]" "[ Cheering, applauding continue ]" "[ Rattles doorknob ]" "Ray?" "[ Knocking ] Ray, you home?" "Ray!" "Who died?" "[ Whispering ]" "This is how it's always gonna be?" "Everyone just goes away?" "No." "Not everyone." "He left something I'm supposed to give you." "[ Knocking ] hold on." "[ stops videotape ]" "Come in." "Are you all right or" "What's wrong?" "Spit it out." "Everything's gonna be okay, right?" "I" "I-I sure hope so." "It has to, right?" "If you want to talk to me, I'll listen." "[ Knocking ]" "Hey, guys." "What's going on?" "Nothing." "Um, you watch the game?" "I must have missed it." "Okay, well," "You kids, uh, you stay out of trouble." "[ Dave laughing ]" "We will." "What if tomorrow, when we're driving to school, we just keep driving?" "Huh?" "What if tomorrow, when me and Ashley are driving to school," "We just keep driving, we don't come back?" "Like mom." "I would miss you both very much." "Good night, dad." "Good night." "Good night." "Good night." "[ Ray ] oh, hell of a game tonight." "The pitcher from Cedar Springs walked in the winning run." "Tough call." "I'm gonna have to wear a hat and shades when I'm in town." "The parents-- [ chuckles ]" "Boy, they wanted blood after the game." "I didn't know what the heck to do." "So I hid out in the car until they left through the other exit." "Not a fun day to be an umpire." "Those kids on the field, they don't know how good they have it." "And that pitcher, Tibbel, he threw a solid game." "Just a lot of bad breaks." "But he's got a good future if he sticks with it." "To be honest, for a second there," "I wasn't sure whether to call that last pitch..." "A ball or a strike." "It was just barely off the black." "[ Folk music ]" "[ Man ] ♫ well, if I needed you ♫" "♫ ♫ would you come to me ♫" "♫ would you come to me ♫" "♫ and ease my pain ♫" "♫ if you needed me ♫" "♫ I would come to you ♫" "♫ I would swim the seas ♫" "♫ for to ease your pain ♫" "♫ well, in the night forlorn ♫" "♫ oh, the morning's born ♫" "♫ and the morning shines ♫" "♫ with the lights of love ♫" "♫ and you will miss sunrise ♫" "♫ if you close your eyes ♫" "♫ and that would break ♫" "♫ my heart in two ♫" "♫ a lady's with me now ♫" "♫ since I showed her how ♫" "♫ to lay her Lily hand ♫" "♫ in mine ♫" "♫ Loop and Lil agree ♫" "♫ she's a sight to see ♫" "♫ a treasure for ♫" "♫ the poor to find ♫" "♫ if I needed you ♫" "♫ would you come to me ♫" "♫ would you come to me ♫" "♫ and ease my pain ♫" "♫ if you needed me ♫" "♫ I would come to you ♫" "♫ I would swim the seas ♫" "♫ for to ease your pain ♫" "[ music fades ]" "{{{ the end }}}"