"Hey, Bud!" "Get up!" "Pete, can't get through." "That's funny." "It seems pretty clear over here." "Tanker Base." "Tanker Base, this is Fire Boss." "Over." "Go ahead, Boss." "We've got a situation here." "Sector K, that's for, "Kwick, we're kooking."" "Cavalry coming up inside four minutes." "Tanker 57 to Fire Boss." "Make that one minute." "Peter St. Peter, don't do this to me." "How much fuel you got left?" "I love it in the kitchen, baby." "You know that." "Peter St. Peter, you've got that Evel Knievel sound in your voice I hate." "I want to blow out this one tree, funny face and make a wish for your birthday." "You want to keep flying, land that plane." "Do what the lady says." "In the trees..." "Obscuring..." "Excuse me, I didn't quite catch that." "Take over, Frank." "Yeah." "Tanker 57 to Tanker Base." "I've got a small inconvenience here." "Talk to me, Pete." "I may have overestimated my fuel just a tad." "I see the base and my right engine is fine, so there shouldn't be any problem." "What do you need?" "What do you need?" "Glider practice." "We've got a situation." "Flier coming in, dead stick." "This is good." "I was rusty on panic." "No problem." "I've got the airport in sight." "A nice little headwind." "Up and over." "Come on, Mama." "Up and over." "Up and over." "Please, please." "Come on, Mama, we're too cute to die." "Up!" "There he is!" "Okay." "Happy birthday." "I'm taking a plane." "Why?" "This time he's really done it." "Done what?" "Oh, Christ." "Happy birthday to you..." "Take off!" "You don't even understand how I feel!" "This time I'm going to show him." "Excuse me, Willy." "You magnificent pagan god!" "Thanks, Al." "What gives?" "She's showing you." "She's a great girl." "She's great." "Showing me what?" "I didn't know it was her birthday." "It's because you don't love her like I do." "Where did you get that oil on your face?" "Where?" "It's here." "Look." "It's terrible." "Thanks." "What do you mean, "showing me"?" "I don't like her flying that." "Now you're getting it." "You're mad at me." "I can tell." "It's okay." "I'm just moody." "Beautiful day." "Yes, it is." "How was my landing?" "Nearly perfect." "Wow!" "Thanks." "You only fly like that when I'm watching." "I always come in on three wheels." "Perverse, aren't you?" "Don't do that, Dorinda." "Can she take the Wiley scrapper?" "The Wiley vet?" "Who knows?" "There's a quick left." "Look out." "Level off when you come in." "Don't tell me what to do." "What did I say?" "You got something in your teeth." "I ain't falling for that." "You caught some heat coming in." "You know women." "I mean your plane." "I might have to kill you for that remark." "Every time you come in, the fire trucks come out." "Nails, go play golf." "It's my plane." "You've got something between your teeth." "What makes you think I forgot your birthday?" "Why do you do this?" "Want to dance?" "There's a dance tonight." "Coming through." "Please, take mine." "This is for you." "You're incredible." "You think you can buy me off with some crummy present you got in an airport gift shop." "It's worked before." "I don't want it." "Take it." "Fathead." ""Fathead"?" "Yeah." "I don't want it." "Yes, you do." "I don't." "You do." "You do." "You really do." "You really don't?" "No." "Oh, Pete." "Girl clothes!" "Get back!" "Don't touch that!" "Why didn't you tell me before I lost my temper?" "So you do like dresses." "It's not the dress." "It's the way you see me." "Know what this place reminds me of?" "I'll bet you a beer you're going to tell me." "You lose." "Love!" "It ain't what it used to be." "There have only ever been two kinds." "Flash fires, which are all flame, burn themselves out and leave nothing." "Then there is the long burning." "That is nature's burn." "Even when you think it's out the forest floor is warm to the touch." "That's what you and Dorinda have got." "You're a poet, Al." "You're a really bad poet, but you're a poet." "To hell with it." "This place reminds me of World War II." "This is deep." "I wasn't in it, but think about it." "The beer is warm, the hall is a Quonset there are B-26s outside, hotshot pilots inside." "Airstrip in the woods." "It's England!" "Everything but Glenn Miller." "Except we bomb places that are already burning." "You see, Pete, there ain't no war here." "What's taking her so long?" "That's why they don't make movies called," "Night Raid to Boise, Idaho or Firemen Strike at Dawn." "And this is why you're not exactly a hero for taking the chances you take." "You're more of what I would call a dickhead." "Is this heading somewhere?" "Here's my point." "I'm talking to this guy." "He tells me about this tanker school in Flat Rock, Colorado." "A school for fire pilots." "There are no forest fires in Flat Rock, Colorado, because there are no trees." "That is why they call it Flat Rock, you dunce." "I think they know this, Pete." "That's why they chose Flat Rock." "So they could start a few little fires without burning down all of Colorado." "The idea is to teach guys to do drops and set up test areas to teach pilots who want to get their Initial Attack cards." "Are you following this?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "They're looking for a great teacher, like a commanding officer." "An experienced guy who might be looking for a change of pace." "Year-round employment, great paycheck." "Are you with me?" "I'm way ahead of you." "It's not a bad notion." "I'm glad you see it like this." "It's a terrific idea." "You'd be perfect for it." "Me?" "I'm not talking about me." "I don't need a day job." "I'm very happy..." "Gosh." "Beer, please." "In a champagne glass." "Make it two." "Let me make something clear." "If you think you can make me weak in the knees by giving me girl clothes, you're as out-of-date as your airplane." "You know?" "I know." "I'm not weak in the knees." "I'm weak in the head." "You're beautiful." "I love you." "I know." "So tell me you love me." "Please, please." "Tell me, tell me." "Tell me, tell me!" "In front of all these people?" "You mean Carl?" "Le Budweiser." "The '89." "Thanks, Carl." "To us." "Always." "Hmm." "St. Louis." "Southside." "You never laugh at my jokes." "What jokes?" "Left rudder." "Left." "I know, I know." "It's too bad we don't have a song." "You know, when couples say, "Honey, they're playing our song."" "I can't believe you forgot." "What, we have a song?" "Yes, we have a song." "You big lug!" "You'll break my heart." "You're calling me a "big lug"?" "Let's try that signaling to the band bit." "It works in the movies." "Guys, hit it." "They" "Asked me how I knew" "My true love was true" "I of course replied" "Something here inside" "Cannot be denied" "You laugh like a donkey." "I do not." "Do, too." "I don't do that." "Do you know him?" "Never saw him before." "You smiled at a poor defenseless guy." "Yes, I think I did." "That was a damn-fool thing to do." "Why, darling?" "You are giving smiles away now?" "I'm feeling very fine." "Are you sure you're not feeling feverish?" "I'm all right as long as we keep dancing." "Happy birthday." "It's not my birthday." "It isn't?" "No." "I forgot your birthday again?" "No, you just remembered it wrong." "My turn, flyboy." "Hi, Donnie." "You look like an angel." "Let's go start ourselves a little fire." "Airborne, cutting in." "Stand in the door." "Whoa!" "Time out now." "Nobody dances with this dress until they wash their hands." "Miss Scarlett?" "Oh, boys." "You want to dance with my girl, you've got to wipe your hands." "That's it." "Whoa!" "That's not a towel." "That's good." "Very good." "You missed a spot." "Oh, God!" "Is that your plane?" "Yes, that is mine." "Come on." "A shortcut." "Pete?" "Hmm?" "Haircut." "What?" "You want me to get a haircut today?" "Cat food." "Green apples." "You're shopping in your sleep again." "Chicken wings." "Tempura batter." "What is for dinner?" "Toilet paper." "Soap." "And dessert?" "Kitty litter." "Q-tips." "Socks." "Pete?" "What?" "You have a bad dream?" "It's cold." "Come on." "I'm watching the fire." "We don't do fires at night." "We do fires in the day." "At night, we eat, drink and be mad for each other." "Mmm." "Sounds like an all right life." "I like it." "I thought I might try it." "Try what?" "Tankers." "I'd like to get type-rated for air tankers." "Then we'd both be up there instead of one of us on the ground and the other..." "Forget it." "I could make it in a year." "With three years of hauling freight, I've done 1,000 hours." "I saw the last four minutes." "Forget it." "It's none of your beeswax." "It is my beeswax and I won't let you do it." "How will you stop me?" "By telling you "no."" "By asking you nicely." "Dorinda, honey, please." "Don't be a pigheaded fool." "That is irresistible." "Now you listen to me for a change." "I'll make you a deal." "Here's your chance to get me out of the air." "I'll ground myself in Flat Rock and be your girl." "Have you been talking to Al?" "Or I head off on my own and tonight is goodbye." "I'll find my own piece of sky and a guy who flies sensible." "I fly sensible." "Not when something is on fire." "That is the deal." "Then it is no deal." "Let's change the subject." "What's going on?" "Why are you doing this?" "Because..." "Because why?" "Why?" "Because..." "Why are you doing this?" "Because I love you." "Fighting fires is what I do and it is what I love, and you know that!" "What the hell is going on that you want me to quit?" "You want me to move to Colorado and teach pretend fires to trainees like I'm going to an office?" "Pete." "Your number is up." "When my number is up it is up." "Right?" "I could just as soon buy it ferrying Bibles to Salt Lake City." "When it is your turn, I don't want to be around." "I think that is very selfish of you." "You should be at the funeral, crying and looking terrific before you enter the nunnery." "You wish!" "I'll have better things to do and better men to do them with." "Forget about these other men, Dorinda." "You'll never be with another man." "I will, too, and he'll be tall." "No, Dorinda." "Why not?" "You'll never get over me." "Don't kid yourself." "No one will ever be as much fun." "Fun?" "You think I have fun when you have fun?" "When you fly into some narrow canyon, you think I'm on the ground going, "Boy, this is fun"?" "I could understand how you fly if you were risking yourself for civilization." "If you were putting your life on the line for another life, anybody's life." "I love you, Pete." "But I'm not enjoying it." "Every time you take off," "I wait for the phone to ring." "I go to bed sick and I get up scared." "I don't like being sick inside all the time." "Do think I like being afraid that you won't come back?" "Okay." "Okay." "Look I have an idea." "Bear with me a second." "Okay." "Keep an open mind, because it is a pretty radical idea." "Al told me about a training school in Flat Rock, Colorado." "They need a commanding officer and I was wondering, why don't I take you to Colorado and you could be my girl and I could teach those geeks to fight fires." "You know, till they could put out a cigar at 200 feet and I'd come home every night" "and we'd have an apartment with a microwave oven." "Don't answer it." "I won't." "It's not my phone." "Hi, Al." "No." "No, because it is my day off." "Get yourself another pilot." "I'm hanging up my spurs." "That's right." "Yes, she's a great girl, isn't she?" "Okay." "Al is on his way over." "It's your lay-off day." "There is a new burn in the south rim." "There are already two pilots down." "Down?" "Sick." "What you got?" "We've got nine hot spots." "We're only taking care of three of them." "I love you!" "You can't leave without knowing that." "I know you do and you know I do." "How would I know that?" "You never say the words!" "These days we've had, last night." "These things are fragile!" "What?" "We got a lot of things settled last night." "Shut up!" "Kiss me and fly!" "Dorinda, I love you!" "I love..." "I love you!" "Al the Pal, this is Pete St. Pete." "Over." "This is Al the Pal." "I've got you loud and proud." "This is Fire Boss, over." "This is Al the Pal." "Roger, Al." "Go for the leading edge of the fire." "You got it." "Two minutes behind him, Boss." "Good enough, good buddy." "Get down!" "Save some fire for me." "There is plenty of fire for everybody." "Watch his next pass and build on that." "Oh!" "Bad strike!" "Al, pull up." "Goddamn it, I thought that was it, man!" "Oh, shit." "Al!" "What happened?" "Talk to me." "My engine is on fire!" "Can you believe that?" "And I was in such a good mood." "You think you can make it back?" "It ain't happening!" "The fire will hit the fuel tank any second!" "Damn!" "Use your extinguisher." "Already did." "I'm screwed." "Pete, lighten up or you won't pull out of that dive!" "Pete, this ain't a dogfight, man!" "Pete, this is the boss!" "That dive is way too steep!" "Pull out of there!" "You're too heavy!" "Get out of there!" "Now!" "Baby, you're the greatest!" "Come on." "Get up!" "Come on, Pete, pull up." "Come on, man." "Get up!" "Oh, yes!" "He made it!" "That lucky son of a bitch." "Hello, Pete." "Hello." "Hap." "Hello, Hap." "That was quite a show back there." "Yes, ma'am." "Take a seat." "Okay." "Thanks." "I sure saved Al's bacon, all right." "Too bad about my port engine." "My fuel tank went up like..." "Just a minute." "Comfy around the neck?" "Yeah." "Yeah, it's fine." "Listen, how did I get out of that one?" "You didn't." "I didn't?" "Mmm-mmm." "My plane blew up." "I remember that." "A real fireball." "Now I'm sitting in the woods, getting my hair cut." "Either I'm dead or I'm crazy." "You're not crazy, Pete." "Hap." "Don't think" "I'm doubting your good faith." "I just want to get something clear." "Okay?" "Okay." "Okay." "I'm dead?" "That's right." "I'm dead?" "Right." "Keep the sideburns." "What a jerk I turned out to be." "Dead." "What do you think of that?" "Dorinda." "She's still not over it." "I hope not." "I've only been dead 20 minutes." "Yes and no." "Down there they think it's six months." "Time is funny stuff." "A lot funnier than Einstein ever figured out." "Yeah?" "How did he take it?" "That'll do it." "Where was I?" ""Time is funny stuff." Yes." "That was it." "Space has its points, too." "So in the five months since you crashed..." "You said it was six months." "That was then." "I'm explaining this to you in the wrong order." "Hey, look!" "I did my first solo in one of those!" "That's right." "I did that!" "That's right." "Boy, was I nervous!" "But you want to know a funny thing?" "Once I got up there, I felt like a veteran." "I couldn't do anything wrong." "I flew that plane like Fats Waller flies his piano." "I circled the field, then I found a perfect sideslip in the wind and I came in just like a leaf." "That's right." "You think you did that by yourself?" "There was nobody else up there with me." "There was, Pete." "There was?" "There was someone like you." "Behind him was someone else." "Maybe someone who learned what he learned on a motorized box kite." "And you knew that, though you had a different word for it." "I did?" "What word?" "It's what fliers and piano players and everyone else count on." "They reach for it." "They pray for it." "And often, just when they need it most, they get it." "It's breathed into them." "It's what the word means." "Spiritus." "The divine breath." "Inspiration." "Inspiration." "And now it's your turn to give it back." "That's how the whole thing works." "That's how the whole thing works." "So now I'm supposed to give inspiration to some flyer?" "Yes, but you're not going back as a flying instructor." "That's only part of it." "How does this work if I'm..." "They hear you inside their own minds, as if it were their thoughts." "Clever?" "Clever." "But remember, Pete." "You've had your life, for better or for worse." "Anything you do for yourself now is a waste of spirit." "There's your boy." "Hi." "Hey, Rachel." "Hi, buddy." "Why are you so happy?" "I think you're a pretty silly-looking guy." "What do you think of that?" "It has a mind of its own." "A glitch in the transmission." "Are you Baker?" "Yeah." "The boss wants to see you." "Thanks." "Where?" "To the right of where it says, "Women."" "Green door." "Thanks." "I'm the "Women."" "First thing you have to know is what type of plane you're flying." "That determines how many drops you can make." "In our example, we have an eight-door aircraft..." "Looking for the training school?" "Yes." "See the base commander next door." "Al, you son of a bitch, you!" "Jeez, you look great!" "I mean, you look terrible in the same old great way." "Honor to meet you, sir." "Ted Baker." "Sorry I'm late." "Did you get lost?" "Yes, I did." "How did you know?" "It says here you got your ticket back after a 12-month suspension." "While they looked into why you flew 500 kitchen units..." "There's a crawly thing on your face." "Don't you want to scratch your cheek?" "Its legs are tickling you." "You mixed up Burbank with Van Nuys." "Lymers." "It's a little Lyme tick." "My directional gyro wasn't working." "They're burrowing in." "They're laying eggs." "You also violated military air space." "Try this." "It'll feel good." "There you go." "I'm going to like this job." "Sir, you have a smudge on your face." "Here?" "The other side." "Right there." "Another comedian." "I'm not a comedian." "You better not be." "I feel so alive!" "Let me light that for you." "It's okay." "Probably a cross wind over the trash can." "Kid, I think we're both making a big mistake." "Why don't you try again with Wing 'N' Prayer?" "That was an air delivery service." "I was ahead of my time." "You're that guy!" "That's why I'm here." "I've never seen an operation like this before." "I like the smell of it." "The smoke?" "That, too." "I knew that was what I wanted to do." "I don't know." "Give him a chance!" "Okay, you've got a chance." "Don't screw it up." "Thank you, sir." "Look at that bum." "He thinks he is on vacation." "Go." "Go." "Tune it." "Tune it." "Beautiful." "C-119 Transport, this is Al the Pal." "Let the games begin." "Right on." "Looking good." "Pitiful." "It's a little premature." "Bring it in, Powerhouse." "That's it." "Beautiful." "Bring that fat bomber in here." "Drop!" "Drop!" "I'm glad we're not at war." "Ted Baker, show time." "Hit it." "Bad line, Ted." "Bad line!" "If you don't straighten out, you'll dump all over Al." "Great line, Ted." "Aim for the flag that looks like an umbrella." "I'm sorry, Hap, I can't help it." "What the hell?" "Oh, my God!" "Nuts." "Whoa!" "You'll find your fortune falling" "All over town" "Is this first place?" "You must have showers" "Cute." "Now we know how ready you are." "Fire season will be here soon." "If we get a real big one, they'll be calling guys from all over." "They'll be calling veterans, first-timers, guys from all over the country." "When they call me and say, "What've you got?"" "I'll tell them I've got nothing because you're nothing." "What you did today was nothing." "You can't hit a smoking oil drum and a drum ain't a tree!" "A tree can explode like a bomb!" "It can go up like a Roman candle." "An oil drum has no heat." "In a real fire, there is heat." "There's heat that can suck you under, flip you over." "There are currents that tie knots in a windsock." "And, Baker..." "You're on the bus." "When I get back from San Diego tomorrow, I want you gone." "Come on, Al." "I didn't say anything." "Good." "It wasn't his fault." "Tell him it wasn't your fault." "Where are you going?" "Where are you going?" "Don't quit." "I didn't come back to inspire a quitter." "He'll cool off once his color is normal." "Party's over for me." "Forget that." "This is your farewell party." "Saddle up." "We're going to hit the bright lights." "I think she likes you." "Oh, Ted." "I met the most important girl of my life in a bar like this." "It's true." "I took one look at her and I said, "This is it."" "I went up to her and I looked in her eyes, and I said," ""You are the reason that I am here."" "What'll it be?" "Vodka martini." "Don't forget the olive." "Root beer." "Don't forget the olive." "Hello, Ted." "We'll miss you." ""You're the reason I'm here."" "Can I buy you a drink?" "Sure." "Bartender." "Diet Pepsi." "With or without the olive?" "With or without..." "I think without." "Thank you." "Dance with her." "She wants to dance with you." "Don't you have any impulses?" "Dance?" "Sure, I'd love to." "Love to what?" "Did you say "dance"?" "Did I?" "I can't dance." "Talking is nice." "I'm not a good talker either." "This is nice." "It is?" "Don't you think so?" "Rachel?" "Do you think it's possible to see a girl and know right off that she is it?" "I think it's possible." "This is hard to talk about." "Try." "It's happened to me." "I think you're overdoing this." "It has?" "It was last summer." "I only saw her once." "I wish you could have met her." "It's like reading a book, and after the first page, you know how it will turn out." "It was like that." "That's why I'm here." "It feels good to tell somebody that." "Thank you." "Well, I think I'll just..." "Rachel, what about your drink?" "He's bringing your drink." "I don't think I've ever come across this particular technique before." "First approach, this is Cessna Skymaster 5-2-1-0 Kilo." "Roger, 1-0 Kilo." "Squawk 0-2-4-7, maintain 5,500." "Say again." "1-0 Kilo..." "Dorinda?" "Honey bunny?" "You little quarter-pounder, is that you?" "Lamb chop, what are you doing here?" "Coast approach, baby." "Request immediate rendezvous upon landing." "Welcome." "I'm Julia Child." "Today we're going to make a holiday feast or le fete d'holiday." "We're going to start with half-boned chicken or poularde, demi des Francais." "To bone the chicken, you need a very sharp knife." "You can't do nothing without a very sharp knife." "Now I've done it." "I cut the dickens out of my finger." "I'm glad in a way this happened." "Accidents do occur from time to time in the kitchen." "Have you been here long, kid?" "Huh?" "Been here long?" "Not so long." "I've been doing standby at the tower for about a month." "It's just holiday relief." "Can I use your phone?" "Yes." "535 please." "Frank, this is Al Yackey." "I'm the guy that was over this morning looking for the Skymaster that was being retired." "You said I could check it out as soon as" "I found a pilot to fly it to Flat Rock." "I found a guy." "I'll be over in an hour to take it off your hands." "I'll bring the guy with me." "What are you doing?" "I'm taking you back to Flat Rock with me." "I can't go." "Why?" "Because I'm here now." "Stop it, okay?" "You don't play dumb with me and I won't play dumb with you." "I miss him, too!" "I miss him, too." "I miss him every day." "I loved him like I never loved a guy and I don't love guys." "You don't have an excuse." "You quit!" "You quit." "You gave up." "He never quit anything until it killed him." "That was his way." "There are worse ways and you sure found one." "I can't live without him." "Bullshit!" "Bullshit." "That's Al coming in from San Diego." "We'll talk to him." "He's a good guy." "He always sees the funny side." "Want to cut your engine?" "Reminds me of a girl I knew." "How are you doing, Linda?" "You'd better land and sit this one out." "And make it fast." "Walk!" "Don't walk!" "No swimming!" "No entry!" "It's a fact." "I saw the signs." "A-ha!" "I saw all the signs." "Exit!" "Falling rocks!" "Jesus saves!" "Save water!" "Turn off the lights!" "Click." "Hi." "Danger!" "Keep off the grass!" "I saw the signs." "No shoes, no shirt, no service." "Yield." "Tow away." "Use other door." "That's no way to live." "No wonder I'm not giving lessons in love." "Lessons in love." "I can turn a plane on a wingtip." "I can stall a plane at 1,000 feet and come up smiling." "Come up smiling." "But that don't matter a damn." "Matter a damn." "You can hear me." "You can hear me." "I can hear you fine." "Hey, old-timer." "Just passing through?" "Ted, listen to me." "How did you know my name?" "Maybe crazy old hobos are like radio stations, picking up voices from people who've gone off the air." "So tune in, kid." "I want to get this through to you." "Get through to you." "With me, it was Dorinda." "Dorinda." "When you meet the woman you love..." "The woman you love." "Not Dorinda, the one he loves." "Dorinda, the one you love." "After you're dead you can never go back for her." "Go back for her." "You can't turn around and do it right." "Turn around." "Do it right!" "That's not what I mean." "What I'm trying to say is, I've seen the signs." "No exit." "No passing." "No parking." "No U-turn." "I'm going back to get my Air Attack card." "Tower, find Al Yackey and tell him Ted Baker wants to talk." "I like you this way, Ted." "You're revved up and full of moxie." "I hate you!" "Charlie!" "Somebody!" "In this world, you have to go out and get what you want." "Follow me?" "Rachel, slow down." "Where is she taking us?" "Ted!" "Don't "Follow Me"!" "Ted." "I think we're being a little gullible." "It's empty." "That's my boy." "I know him." "That's my boy." "Should I call the base?" "We'll need a forklift again." "You all right?" "I'm okay." "Al Yackey, please." "Yes, it's me." "No, I'm fine." "You should come down here and see how your boys redecorated my porch." "It's your deal." "I'm just renting." "Okay, I'll see you." "Hello, Dorinda." "I'm right here." "I'm sitting here right beside you." "I know you can't see me, but" "I can see you." "I can see your hair." "It's almost in your..." "That's my girl." "You're still my girl, aren't you?" "I thought so." "God, I wish we'd met sooner." "I wish we'd met when we were five." "I'd have swept you right off your three-wheeler." "You've still got a funny face." "I can't believe how much I miss you." "I miss you like it was a thousand years." "I remember everything." "I remember things I'd forgotten." "Like from the first second I met you," "when you were sitting alone in that restaurant and I looked at you and I said, "That's her."" ""That's the one."" "Do you remember?" "I walked up to you and I said..." "You're the reason I'm here." "Ted Baker." "Wing 'N' Prayer." "I don't know your name, but we met..." "Danced." "Uh..." "We did?" "Well, not exactly." "You were dancing with everybody and I tried to dance with you, but..." "Yeah." "Happy days." "You're here again!" "Are you all right?" "I'll have the fence fixed, I swear." "You never told me life was so exciting." "I can explain everything." "No, I can't." "People always dropping in." "Why are you still here?" "I told you to leave." "He likes you." "He doesn't like anybody." "Is this your cat?" "Yes." "What's his name?" "Linda Blair." "You laugh like a donkey." "I like it." "I used to know a donkey." "Why are you still here?" "Al, do you remember Ted Baker?" "Ted, this is Al Yackey." "How have you been?" "I'm stupid." "You guys..." "You must be one of Al's pilots." "I was." "That's a nice surprise." "Isn't it?" "Yes, isn't it?" "Indeed it is." "Yes, Baker is one of the boys." "I am?" "Yes." "The lad shows a lot of promise." "I do?" "Dorinda is one of the toughest fire-fighting babes you'll ever see." "And funny." "She told a joke in mess the other day." "Milk squirted out half the nostrils on base." "One old guy laughed so hard he passed a kidney stone..." "Yes, you did, you scalawag." "Don't deny it." "She killed me." "I spotted." "Anyway..." "Ted Baker, what should I call you?" "Baker, Ted, Teddy?" "Let's get back to the base." "We've got some catching up to do." "You can show Dorinda the ropes later." "What ropes?" "See you again, Miss Durston." "Miss Durston." "He's so well reared." "You'll say anything, won't you?" "Don't forget, you're still my girl." "Relax." "This is supposed to be fun." "You look like you're hanging in a closet." "Drop your shoulders." "Drop them." "I need you to go to town for supplies." "You'll need help lifting the supplies, so I'll send a guy with you." "Uh, let's see." "Baker." "Yes, Baker." "He's too beautiful." "He's too much twisted steel and sex appeal." "I can't be with a guy who looks like I won him in a raffle." "A couple of drinks, a couple of laughs..." "Hey..." "You'll have time for the short, ugly guys later." "Hold your course." "I gotta relax." "You know what I do to relax?" "I sing." "I hum." "I whistle." "Relax your shoulders." "Both of them." "This is fun." "Relax." "I have to relax." "This was a great idea." "It's not my idea." "I know, but it's still great." "On my great idea scale, I give it an eight." "An eight?" "Not a ten?" "No." "No, ten is for stuff like penicillin and" "democracy." "But going to the store to get you supplies is an eight, tops." "Maybe even a seven and a half." "This is getting worse by the minute." "It wasn't my idea." "I know that." ""I'll tell ya, little missy, you're" ""mighty pretty when you're angry." Uh-huh." "Oh, so you do impressions?" "Just that one." "Uh-huh." "Who was it?" "Who was it?" "James Stewart?" "You think it was Henry Fonda?" ""Well, I'll tell ya, little missy, you're" ""mighty pretty when you're angry." Wa-ha." "Henry Fonda." "John Wayne!" "Don't you know who he is?" "That was John Wayne?" "Do it again." "No." "Oh, come on." "Come on." "If I know who it is, I'll recognize it." "But Henry Fonda?" ""Well, I'll tell ya something, missy..." ""...you sure do look pretty when you're angry."" "Wa-ha." "Wa-ha." "Wa-ha." "Wa-ha." "Wa-ha." "I'll sing to you." "I'll sing to you, you college boy." "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" "She crossed the Missouri with her lover, Ike" "Whoa." " Is he drunk?" " I don't know." "Whoa." "Too close." "Hey, mister." "Go call the paramedics." "Hurry." "What happened?" "Call an ambulance!" "Well, Frank is sick and I'll try to help him." "Tell me your names." "Who's first?" "Mario." "Todd." "Ascensión." "All right, what do you want to be when you grow up?" "I want to work on Wall Street." "Wall Street?" "I never had good enough grades to work on Wall Street." "What about you, Mario?" "I want to be an astronaut." "I want to be a veterinarian." "I want to be a football player." "You did real good, stopping that bus before you died." "Come on, kid." "You can do it." "I have to go to the bathroom." "I have to go to the bathroom, too." "Come on, Frank." "Hey, you made it!" "Hi." "Hi." "Come in." "Thanks." "Holy cow, look at this." "Yeah." "You've been busy." "Kind of." "I had no idea." "Everything smells great." "Look what you've done." "She can't do toast." "You've got a little mashed potatoes right..." "Oh." "Oh, look at me." "Uh, let me go get myself fixed up." "There's something fishy here and it's not the chicken." "Then there was the time he delivered a PBY to to Michigan or Mexico." "Know what a PBY is?" "Ketchup?" "Sure." "He's taking off in this PBY, which is a feat in itself." "They're amazing planes." "It's like a tugboat with wings." "Do they only feed you every two weeks?" "What was I talking about?" "Pete, still." "So he's flying this PBY when he sees this fire." "Forest fire." "Uh-uh." "Main Street." "Village grocery store." "The nearest fire engine is 20 miles away." "Oh, you can pick up the chicken." "Anything that flies, it's okay." "Even in a good restaurant." "Mmm-hmm." "He sees this building on fire and outside of town is this reservoir." "So he..." "Fills the plane with water and dumps it on the fire." "No, he missed!" "He hit the post office next door." "Took him three tries." "The town was awash." "The groceries were burned." "It was fire, flood and famine." "If he'd managed the plague, it would've been the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in one PBY." "I mean, he was unique." "Why are you plucking your eyebrows?" "Oh, I didn't know I was." "Nervous habit." "Want to do the wishbone?" "Sure." "Okay, here we go." "Your wish." "He was up in that plane," "doing his dumb stunts." "There would be this tone in his voice." "I called it his "Evel Knievel" voice." "I don't know who he was when he sounded like that." "Part of you thought it was great." "What did he think I thought?" "Was he dumb enough to think" "I admired him for it?" "For flying like that?" "Okay." "Do you think?" "I wasn't there." "I shouldn't be talking about this." "Some birthday." "It's your birthday?" "No, it's yours." "No, it isn't." "Since it was your birthday this time last year, it should be this year, too." "No, no." "Pete remembered my birthday wrong." "It's a year tomorrow." "It's a year tomorrow." "A year?" "I saw him land a plane once." "I saw him dance." "He had his own way of doing both." "He could drive an A-26 around the sky." "He wasn't dumb." "You were impressed that he brought that A-26 in on an empty tank." "You try it." "When I do, I'll have the height." "I'd like to be there." "I want you to be there." "What are you doing to me?" "Trying to confuse you, I hope." "You are." "You never thought you'd dance again, did you?" "I guess." "Shh!" "Hear that?" "What?" "There's no music." "That's my girl, pal." "Yes, put that one on." "Fast forward." "Keep going." "Keep going." "Keep going." "No, don't stop." "Left rudder." "I think you got me all wrong." "You invited me because I'm a safe guy who will play along with your memories of Pete." "I don't have any memories of Pete." "I have memories of my own, but I don't let them get in the way of my life." "Oh, Hap!" "Please!" "Please, take me out of here." "Can we just finish this dance some other time?" "I'm sorry." "Sleep tight, baby sister." "See you tomorrow." "I'll see you tomorrow." "I'm going to see if old Dollar's tied to the hitching rail and ride off into the sunset by myself again." "Can I have this dance?" "Lettuce." "Ketchup." "Peaches." "Cantaloupe." "Eggs." "You're shopping in your sleep again." "Peanut butter." "Gin." "Anything special for me?" "Chlorine bleach." "Chap Stick." "Band-Aids." "You always made me laugh." "Uh-uh." "Yes, you did." "You never laughed." "I never laughed at your jokes, but you were always very funny." "Liar, liar, pants on fire." "I swear to God I'll keep you safe." "I'll never leave you again." "Yes." "Good night, Dorinda." "Night, Pete." "Hap." "How did you get here?" "I mean, how did I get here?" "Mainly by the wrong road." "I told you, your life is over and anything you do for yourself is a waste of spirit, remember?" "Yes, I remember." "But you didn't tell me everything, did you?" "Do you know what I've been going through?" "Yes." "What do you want from me, Hap?" "If I'm really dead, how come I hurt so bad?" "What kind of deal is this?" "You said I was going back to be an inspiration." "You never said I would feel what I'm feeling." "You didn't tell me that I would see Dorinda." "What do you really want from me?" "We gave you a chance to say," ""I'm glad I lived." "I'm glad I was alive." ""Now it's my turn to give you a hand." "Let me give you what I had."" "But I also sent you back to settle with the one you love." "I sent you back to say goodbye." "Until you do that, she won't be free." "And neither will you." "I'm not ready to say goodbye." "You're such a good man, Pete." "We don't send back the other kind." "But you still have to learn that to gain your freedom, you have to give it." "So go find out." "Shake 'N' Bake, do you read?" "Shake 'N' Bake, this is Tanker Base." "Do you read?" "I read you, but I'm a little busy right now." "You've been up a long time." "How's your fuel reading?" "How's your fuel?" "Ted, leave your mike open." "Okay, I'm coming in." "He is really low on fuel." "That's beautiful." "How'd you teach him that?" "You don't teach that." "He's got wings." "Best I've seen since Pete." "What gives?" "Baker coming in on a wing and a prayer." "You gave my crew 30 seconds warning!" "That's all I had." "Jesus." "Another damn hotshot." "Another by god hotshot." "Right behind you!" "Round them up!" "There's a cutback over here!" "Let's go!" "Operations, this is Smoke Jumper's squad boss!" "Say again, over." "Mayday!" "We have a major blowout!" "Our escape route has been cut off." "We're by the radio tower on the south side of Dome Peak." "Our only escape route is the gully to the southwest." "We're heading for the Kootenai River." "I can see the waterfall at the upper end of Bull Lake." "Get on the radio to the heli-base." "Have the choppers standing by." "Libby Operations to Heli-base." "Ted, those choppers are 40 miles away." "They fly at 100 miles an hour." "Libby Operations to Heli-base." "We're 12 miles away." "We fly at 220 miles an hour." "Libby Operations, this is Heli-base." "We read." "Over." "Air Attack, 6-3 Echo, this is Operations." "We will handle the incident from here." "Contact the Jumper boss and ascertain their location." "Hey, Ted." "What are you doing?" "Don't worry, Al." "I'll bring him back." "Nails, get me a WAC chart and sectional for Dome Mountain." "Get everything you've got together." "I'll take your plane." "It's my plane, I fly it." "We don't have time, Nails." "Get a load of mud and fill it to the tabs." "I'll need all of it." "Not even that shithead Pete could pull this off." "But he would have tried." "I'll have your license for this!" "I work for the Department of Agriculture..." "Alex, get up on that ridge and see if we can get to the river!" "Clear!" "Dorinda." "You may want to come down here." "We've got sort of an emergency." "The wind shifted and the smoke jumpers..." "Ted is going to fly into the gully above the waterfall." "Yes, honey, it's dark here, too." "You okay?" "I see the water." "But there's a firestorm on the ridge." "Find out where they're heading then show me on the map." "How strong are the winds on the fire?" "How about some coordinates?" "Powerhouse!" "I'd like to be in on this one." "You might get to." "Al wants to see you." "Great!" "Don't cut it." "I'll hold it for you." "Winds from the southwest, 40 knots and gusting." "Dorinda, you throttle back and return that plane to the ramp right now." "Honey, we got six poor guys out there and I need 59 here, right now." "I don't know what you're doing, but turn this plane around." "You never would listen to me and you've always done fine, but this isn't the same." "This is Ted's mission and you're not good enough." "You won't make it." "Is that what you want?" "That's not my girl." "Damn it, Dorinda!" "This is no time to dick around with an airplane!" "Let's not be rational." "Throttle." "More throttle." "Level out." "Level out!" "And you say I flew crazy?" "What are you doing?" "Fly smart." "Those guys need you." "I hear it!" "If you've got water, use it!" "Did you see that flare?" "There they are." "Make a path for them to the river." "Ride it." "Ride it, Dorinda." "Slip right." "Slip right." "Use the crosswind." "Right rudder." "Here we go." "Come on, man." "Drop it now." "Too high!" "Anticipation, 500 feet!" "You've got to take it lower." "Can't take much more of this!" "You've got one more load." "You can do it, Dorinda." "Drop into the pocket." "Hold it!" "It's too hot!" "I know, baby, but you've got to get lower." "Throttle." "More throttle." "Ride it." "It's too hot!" "That's it!" "Now!" "Pull out!" "Pull out!" "Go for the wet spots!" "Go for the wet spots!" "Pull out!" "Twist out!" "That's it." "Twisting out!" "That's it." "Get up." "That's it." "You're going up." "Head downriver!" "This is Tanker 59 to Tanker Base." "I am fine." "The jumpers are in the clear." "Now I can tell you everything." "You'll have a wonderful life, Dorinda." "You won't have any more bad dreams." "You'll go to bed happy and wake up laughing." "You'll be with people." "You'll have fun." "You'll have everything, including love." "I could never tell you how I felt the way I'm telling you now." "I'm only a thought, which you just think is your own." "But now," "I can say what I've always wanted to say." "I love you, Dorinda." "I love you." "I should have told you that a long time ago, without any jokes." "I should have said the words because I know now that" "the love we hold back is the only pain that follows us here." "And the memory of that love shouldn't make you unhappy for the rest of your life." "I hope you can hear me because I know this is true, from the bottom of my heart, how good your life is." "How good it will be." "Can you hear me?" "Brush your hair from your face if you can hear me." "Brush your hair away from your face one more time, so I can see your eyes and say "goodbye."" "I'm losing pressure." "Don't worry." "Try to make it to the water." "You can make it." "You can do it." "The water is easy." "Dorinda." "Dorinda." "I'm right over here." "Look at me." "Pete!" "There is the rest of your life." "I want you to go to them." "I'm releasing you." "I'm moving out of your heart." "Go on." "Go on." "That's my girl." "And that's my boy."