Voila! Finally, the Off The Map
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the movie directed by Campbell Scott and
starring Joan Allen, Sam Elliott, J.K. Simmons, yadda yadda. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Off The Map. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
The summer my father
was depressed...
...the face of our Lord Jesus Christ
appeared on a tortilla...
...at the Taos Junction Café.
It hung on a nail by the door,
and pilgrims came to bear witness.
Maria, who saw the face emerge
and fainted dead away...
...wanted to shellac it
to preserve it for all eternity.
It was a wish of vanity...
...for she'd hoped only to extend
her newfound notoriety.
But time had its way, and
within the year the face was gone...
...though something
of its anguish lingered.
From the start, my father said
it resembled not Christ but the devil.
But then later, Pinky Lee.
My mother, a hell-raiser and a cynic,
never even went and looked.
Take as long as you like,
sweetheart.
Bo's idea of heaven,
a stroll through Kmart.
"In the process, they compiled
a long list of economic woes:
Unemployment, sagging productivity,
high interest rates...
...shrinking capital
and downright economic stagnation."
It was inescapable...
...my father's depression.
Like some fumigator's mist
filling our lungs.
It came to be the focal point
of our lives that summer.
The geological formation around
which everything was defined.
Hey.
There's a hummingbird nest
by the woodshed, three eggs.
George, my father's best friend
and never any too swift...
...was undone by it.
Sit down, George.
I guess I'll be going.
You said that minutes ago.
What are you tying?
I'm still tying
the same yellow saddle, George.
And if you ask me one more time,
I'm liable to get vexed.
Well...
...so long, Charley.
Bo.
Hallelujah.
There she is.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Look what I found in the dump.
Isn't it a beauty?
So, what have you two been up to,
planning a holdup?
George was here.
- Oh, yeah? How's George?
- The same.
Well, that's the beauty of George,
always reliably himself.
Pardon me for saying it, but I think
George is a little light in the loafers.
- What's that mean?
- It means he's queer.
Have you been outside
at all today?
Here, you got a package
from Lance's...
...and a brochure from an ocean liner.
You planning on taking a cruise?
A catalog and a letter
from MasterCharge.
At last.
- What is it?
- It's an application for a card.
What are you gonna do
with your MasterCharge card?
Buy a real house. With a lawn
and an in-built sprinkler system...
...buy a one-way ticket
out of this hellhole.
Where would you go?
Somewhere normal,
where I can be a Girl Scout.
You can be a Girl Scout here,
I'll take you.
I can't be a Girl Scout.
We can't afford a uniform.
- I'll buy you a used uniform.
- I don't wanna be a used Girl Scout.
Quit whining. You got another card
from your sister, Charley.
I'll read it to him.
It's another get-well card.
What do you wanna bet?
I'll bet it is. I'll bet.
Yep, it is. "Best wishes
and a speedy recovery."
All of Greta's cards have
hot-air balloons on them.
That's Greta's idea of cheerful
and uplifting...
...a multicolored hot-air balloon.
- We're getting audited.
- What does that mean?
Someone from the IRS
is coming to review our tax forms.
- That's quite amusing.
- Why is that amusing?
Well, considering our annual income
is less than $ a year, it is.
I think if we had a television,
you wouldn't think it was so amusing.
If we didn't live off the map.
If we had a phone and plumbing
like normal Americans...
...you'd think it was pretty pathetic.
- Go weed the garden.
- You're woefully behind.
- What if the bear is out there?
If the bear is out there, come back
and tell me, and I'll shoot him.
Well, what if he gets to me first
and I can't come back to tell you?
No bear in his right mind
would tangle with you.
When my MasterCharge card
comes...
- Yes?
- I'm out of here.
I saw Rifkin at the PO.
He asked after you.
He's got some pigs
he wants to trade us for wood.
I got these out for you again.
Charley, do you think you could put
the other muffler on?
The old one is rusted.
I can't unbolt it.
If you feel like it.
Bless you,
and thank you for nourishing us.
Relax your hand.
- Right there?
- Yeah.
That's all right, Bo.
No, do it. Deep breath,
squeeze at the bottom.
- Okay.
- Squeeze real easy.
Bo.
Don't bother Charley, sweetheart.
Come on.
"And the dog ran to his...
...friend..." "Friend."
- Friend.
- Friend.
- "And liked..."
- Licked.
"And licked his hand.
- And..."
- You can tell me.
No.
Did you murder somebody?
"The man..."
Did you, Romero, kill somebody?
Tell me. It'll feel good
to get it off your chest.
Would you like a Chick-O-Stick?
It's free.
You stole it?
I wrote them a letter,
told them there was insect larva...
...in the last one I bought.
They sent me a whole box.
They don't want you to sue them.
You have to word it properly.
Pretty good.
Romero, have you
ever been depressed?
Depressed right now.
Shit, I'm in for life.
Don't feel bad. My dad's depressed,
and he doesn't even know why.
It's actually kind of rude.
How's work, George?
It's good.
How's that guy who got shot
behind the Taco Taco?
Good old Johnson.
- He's working.
- He's climbing the poles...
...without an arm?
Well, he sits in a truck,
just like he always did.
You could do that, Dad.
You could sit in the truck.
Bo, pass the potatoes.
Maybe you should consider
getting a job, Dad.
You might like it.
What?
I'm sorry.
Sometimes you need drugs
to get out of it.
I could try to get him some drugs.
From the VA hospital
down in Albuquerque.
Think it's worth me
driving down there, George?
Most likely they'd want
a prescription.
And Charley would never talk
to a psychiatrist.
I'm gonna need some drugs myself
pretty soon.
Here.
I got him some watercolors.
That's a good idea.
Did you give them to him?
- No.
- Want me to?
Tell him they're from you.
Yeah. Don't tell him
they're from me.
Would you take Bo fishing this week?
She's mad at the world.
Do you have any paper
for him to watercolor on?
We've got wallpaper from the dump
he can fool around on the back of.
George, would you mind
going to a psychiatrist?
To get a prescription
for some drugs.
What a face.
What all you've done for that man.
Carried him near dead off a mountain,
pulled him from under a jeep in Korea.
You can't lie
on someone's couch...
...and tell him how much
you hate your mother?
I love my mother.
Tell them you love
your mother so much...
...it's got you all depressed
and you need some drugs.
Dear PR personnel.
Dear... Dear Customer Service.
Dear Public Relations people.
Thank you very much for the case
of lemon-cream-filled cupcakes.
As you know, it was quite a...
I was quite a... I was very upset.
I was very dismayed.
I was quite dismayed to find
some mold in the package...
...which I purchased
at our local supermarket.
Unfortunately, in the complimentary
samples that you sent...
"One cupcake contained what
I can only describe as a rodent part.
Internal organ or foot,
I am not sure.
I wonder if you could
send me some more...
...and I will not mention
this problem...
...to my many, many friends.
Your concerned customer,
Bo Groden."
How was the psychiatrist?
Hey, Bo, you're scaring the fish.
George.
- Yeah.
- How many numbers...
...and how many letters are there
in a bank-account number?
- I don't know.
- You have a bank account, don't you?
Do you have a check
you could look at?
Maybe in your wallet.
"GH ."
GH .
And, say, in a person's
Social Security number...
...are there all numbers,
or are there letters mixed in there?
What, for instance,
is your Social Security number?
- I don't know.
- It's on your license.
Here, give it to me.
All numbers.
GH .
GH .
- Why?
- Just wondering.
- Why?
- So how was the psychiatrist?
- He was a woman.
- Did you get the prescription?
- No.
- You didn't act depressed enough.
She wants to see me again
next week.
Really? Why?
Why, George?
I think she likes me.
"One night,
while we were in these tropics...
...I went out to the end of
the flying-jib boom upon some duty...
...and, having finished it,
turned round...
...and lay over the boom
for a long time...
...admiring the beauty
of the sight before me.
Being so far out from the deck...
...I could look at the ship
as a separate vessel...
...and there rose up from the water...
...supported only
by the small, black hull...
...a pyramid of canvas,
spreading out far beyond the hull...
...and towering up almost, as it
seemed in the indistinct night air...
...to the clouds. So..."
- Excuse me, is there any stew left?
There is. I'll get you some.
You want some corn bread too?
No, thank you.
Charley, stew? George?
No, thanks.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
"So quiet, too, was the sea,
and so steady the breeze...
...that if these sails
had been sculpted marble...
...they could not have been
more motionless.
Not a ripple upon the surface
of the canvas...
...not even a quivering
of the extreme edges of the sail...
...so perfectly were they distended
by the breeze.
I was so lost in the sight
that I forgot...
...the presence of the man
who came out with me...
...until he said, half to himself:
'How quietly they do their work."'
Charley?
Charley, where are you?
Charley, answer me. Charley?
Charley. Charley!
Please, Charley, just do me
this one favor, please.
If you go somewhere, just let me
know when you leave, okay?
Where you going?
Bed.
Come on. Up, up, Simba.
And next, the very lovely Carl.
Thattaboy, Carl.
And now, Elaine,
the pit bull from Spain.
Come on, come on, jump up.
Try again, come on.
And now, Señor Chico himself.
He'll just get moving.
Come on, boy, get cracking.
Show some life.
What's the story?
Is Señor Chico too depressed?
Too depressed, just sitting there
with your tongue hanging out.
But here comes Sandra and Felipe
and Oswaldo and Fernandez.
A cornucopia of talent.
But not Señor Chico.
He just sits there,
droopy and poopy...
...not prancing and dancing
like Mr. Agenda.
Folks...
...I give you
the famous world traveler...
...the star competitor
of all universal time.
Yes, up, up, up!
And the crowd goes wild.
Hallelujah.
Saved.
My mother was weeding
naked in the garden...
...when she heard
William Gibbs cry out.
Her response was to grab a hoe
and look down quick for snakes.
I'm sorry, I'm...
Only when he kept his back to her
and outlined his mission...
...to the chicken house
did it dawn on her...
...to reach for Charley's coat
off the scarecrow and cover herself.
I'm a taxpayer-resolution
representative with the IRS.
Shameless.
- Are you Mrs. Groden?
- Yes.
I would've called to let you know
I was coming...
...but your phone's unlisted.
- Oh, we don't have a phone.
- No phone?
- Nope.
Would you like
something cold to drink?
I would, yes. Thank you.
Okay.
Is Mr. Groden here?
Yes, Mr. Groden's here,
but he's not feeling very well.
You're the first person wearing
a suit to come into our home.
- I'm sorry.
- That's all right. Don't apologize.
I'm surprised you found us
all the way out here.
It did take me a while.
Four days, actually.
- The IRS put you in a hotel in town?
- Sometimes.
Actually, I spent the last two nights
in my car.
Well, your suit looks very neat,
considering.
Thank you.
- Where is your car?
- It's about two or three miles that way.
- That way.
- We'll give you a lift.
We never use the road,
we always go cross-country, so...
Mrs. Groden, have you
been getting notices from us?
We have. We've gotten several.
- Good.
- Now, I can offer you some ice water...
...but maybe you'd enjoy some
wild chokecherry wine as well.
I think you deserve it.
- This is my daughter, Bo.
- How do you do?
My full name is Cecilia.
- Cecilia?
- Cecilia Amanda.
l... I mean, Cecilia Rose.
Hello, Cecilia Rose.
I'm William Gibbs.
Well, William Gibbs...
...here you go.
- Mom?
- Yeah?
- You could get dressed.
Excuse me.
I like your tie.
What grade are you in,
Cecilia Rose?
I'm homeschooled.
Have you been working
for the IRS long, Mr. Gibbs?
As a matter of fact,
I just recently made a career switch.
I was a short-order cook.
Sounds like you've been
getting around.
- Your father's not feeling well?
- He's depressed.
I've been to New York City.
I was very small at the time.
One, I believe.
Oh, would you like to stay
for dinner?
Dinner?
No, thank you. I have to be
getting back. It's a long drive.
I'll be leaving soon myself. I'm not
gonna be living here much longer.
I'm just helping Arlene
and Charley out.
- That's a very nice briefcase.
- Thank you.
I like it. You could fit
the whole world in that briefcase.
I'll be ordering a briefcase like that
very soon myself.
Oh, what's wrong with your hand?
My hand?
Good lord, you've been stung.
Why didn't you say anything?
We keep bees for honey.
- I'm so sorry.
- Don't be sorry. I don't mind.
Wow, they really swell up,
don't they?
I've never been stung before.
- Here.
- A new experience.
Put your arm down in that bucket.
Better take your ring off, though.
Your fingers might swell.
I'll guard it.
This is my husband,
Charley Groden.
Charley, this is Mr. Gibbs.
He's with the IRS.
Pleased to meet you, sir.
He's been stung. A lot.
Maybe hornets.
Not a very friendly greeting.
We're pretty casual around here.
You may have noticed.
It's extremely likely.
So, Mr. Gibbs, is there a problem
with our tax forms?
Only that you haven't filed
for seven years.
- Has it been that long?
- It has.
Well, we used to file.
We filed for years...
...but since we only live
on $ a year...
...at some point it seemed
a waste of everybody's time.
Well, we'd still like you to file.
In fact, I'm afraid there's a penalty
for not filing.
Oh, no, a penalty?
- Could I have another glass of water?
- Oh, certainly.
Your arm is really swelling up.
Hope you're not allergic to bees.
You could be in big trouble.
I keep a detailed budget
you're welcome to take a look at.
We get $ a month
veterans' compensation...
...and we make about $ a year
selling cut flowers and crafts.
That pays for whatever we don't grow
or hunt for or find in the county dump.
- The dump?
- Oh, we only take the good stuff.
My dad can repair anything.
- Really?
- Would you like to stay for dinner?
We're having baked Alaska.
Actually, I'm feeling a little bit faint.
Yeah, I wonder...
Could I just lie down
for a few minutes?
Lie down? Certainly.
Bo? Bo, get Mr. Gibbs a blanket.
- Cecilia Rose.
- I mean, Cecilia Rose.
Within minutes
of entering the Groden home...
...William Gibbs was flat
on his back, out cold.
At the time, I thought it was
the poison in my father's spirit...
...that laid him low.
When's he leaving?
Couple days.
I don't know what to do.
Charley's always the one
who fixes everything.
You should tell
the psychiatrist the truth.
Tell her you got a friend
who really needs some drugs.
All right.
How many times
have you seen her now?
Three.
What do you talk about?
Talk about my childhood.
You like her?
That's good.
How many more times
does she expect you to come?
She doesn't say.
- It must be costing you.
- No, it's okay.
God, it's a funny notion,
paying someone...
...to listen to your childhood.
We got stereo barred owls,
one at each end of the meadow.
I wonder if animals
ever get depressed.
Oh, they must, huh?
They must have moods.
Maybe it's just natural. We should
all relax and let it follow its course.
George.
I saw this coyote today.
Oh, he was the wildest-looking thing.
You know how most coyotes are sorry
and scraggly-looking...
...he was stunning.
The way he moved...
I might ask her to marry me.
Marry you?
George, really?
She's a gentle person.
She's very thoughtful.
She cares.
You pay her to care.
George...
...you ought not to confuse romance
with business.
Bo and I will keep you company.
And we need you now
more than ever.
- What is it?
- Thirsty?
Want some water?
Not really.
Mr. Groden.
Okay.
Thank you very much, sir.
Good water.
- Do you know what time it is?
- Late.
Then again, maybe it's early.
I see you're up.
Yeah.
Couldn't sleep?
- How about you?
- I could.
I could sleep.
I was asleep.
Thank you for letting me
stay the night, very much.
- You're from Albuquerque?
- Oh, no.
I'm from Brookline.
Outside of Boston.
I just moved to Albuquerque
a month ago.
This job for the IRS came up.
Kind of a fluke.
They hired me even though
I'm not a CPA.
They seemed quite desperate.
I do have a law degree.
Excuse the crying.
I'm a damn crying machine.
That's why I drink so much water.
Won't have any fluids left in me.
You ever been depressed?
I've never not been depressed.
Never not been depressed?
Never not.
You've always been depressed.
Yes, sir.
The first time for me.
I don't know how you stand it.
Well, I guess I'm used to it.
I don't even know how I got here.
Do you know what set it off?
Oh, I guess it started
when I was .
Came home from school,
and my mother had hung herself.
No.
Yes.
You found her like that?
In the front hall.
It was awkward, because
I was carrying this pyramid...
...l'd made in school
out of foam core...
Well, it was like foam core.
And I opened the door
with my back...
...and essentially
walked backwards into her.
I may actually have been
depressed before that.
- You put me to shame.
- No.
Yeah.
- Good reason like that.
- Oh, I think I have a fever.
I am cold.
I'm freezing.
This is a terrible thing to say...
...but sometimes I think being dead
would be easier.
You will be dead very soon.
Your life will be over in a heartbeat.
Is that...
...comforting?
Mr. Gibbs?
- Who?
- It's Cecilia Rose.
Good morning. Would you mind
if I tried out your briefcase?
Tried it out?
Yeah, okay.
What are you doing?
- Bo?
- My name isn't Bo. It's Cecilia Rose.
I'm rolling my pennies.
A big multicolored hot-air balloon
just went over the ridge.
Today is the balloon fest.
You just missed it, Dad.
No, we don't think
it's anything serious.
He might not be back at work
for a couple of days.
Just wanted to let you know.
Sure.
By the way, he's an excellent
and polite employee.
I highly recommend him.
Very courteous.
Okay, I'll check in with you later.
Bye.
Can I help you?
This is something an executive
would like, don't you think?
I think so.
- What's that?
- An appointment book.
An appointment book.
Perfect.
I'll take it.
He makes lots of appointments.
You know what's really weird?
When they send you a credit card,
it's just in a plain envelope.
You could throw it away
and not even know it was in there.
- Who?
- I feel so bad for Mr. Gibbs.
- They completely stripped his car.
- Who got a credit card?
It's sitting in the desert
like a corpse.
Like the vultures came
and pecked out the eyeballs.
- The radio, the seats...
- Arlene got a credit card?
Any news
on that psychiatrist front?
Goddamn it, Charley. Not again.
Come out. Come out, Charley, now.
Come out now. Enough.
Look, Charley, you can lock yourself
in the chicken house.
You can lock yourself
in the root cellar.
You can lock yourself
in the shed and the truck...
No, not the truck.
And not the outhouse!
Come out of the outhouse
right now!
You're being selfish, Charley.
You're sitting there
listening to me...
...being selfish and self-indulgent,
self-pitying.
God.
Sweetheart, I can't take this
much more.
Humility, Charley, it's what keeps you
from being humiliated.
That's where the word comes from.
Everybody gets depressed.
Why should you be above it, huh?
I'll say one thing for you,
when you take on a project...
...you give it your all.
You've never done
anything half-assed...
...and you're not doing it now.
Charley, I've been thinking maybe
we should try to have another kid.
You know, we're getting
kind of old for it, but maybe...
She can't stay a little girl
forever, Charley.
Charley?
Oh, God, Charley.
Charley, say something.
Charley, please say something.
I'm okay.
It's all right, William.
- All right, lie down.
- Hey!
It's okay, it's all right.
Oh, no, no, no, lie down.
Three days and nights William Gibbs
cried out from another world...
...burning up with fever.
My mother nursed him,
applying herbs and remedies...
...concocted by her grandmother,
a full-blooded Hopi Indian.
He would seize her hand
and squeeze it so hard...
...she could not hold her coffee mug
with that hand for a week...
...could not turn the key
in the ignition.
William. Will... William, let go!
Let go of my hand, William.
William, let go.
William... William,
let go, let go.
Oh, God.
This is my hunting knife.
It's inches long.
I use it to skin squirrels.
- Where is your mother?
- In town.
I brought you some copies
of the Wall Street Journal.
They're a little out of date,
three years old.
I thought you might like
to browse through them.
Have you ever seen the ocean?
The ocean? Yes.
Which one, the Pacific
or the Atlantic?
- The...
- Or the Indian or the Arctic...
...or the Antarctic or the Red Sea
or the Mediterranean, Baltic...
...Central American, Bering...
- Did I say Bering?
- No, you didn't.
The Atlantic.
- You know a lot of oceans and seas.
- I know Latin.
Did you like it?
Yes, I did like the Atlantic
very much.
I used to go to Cape Cod when
I was a little boy, with my parents.
I know Cape Cod. It's one
of the New England states.
- I don't think Cape Cod is a state.
- It is.
And you stood at the edge
and waded in the water?
- Will she be back soon, your mother?
- You kicked off your shoes...
...rolled up your trousers
and stood at the edge...
...of the whole entire
Atlantic Ocean?
You look out,
and you keep on looking...
...and there keeps on being water,
very flat...
...and more water...
...and more water,
as far as you can see?
- Yes.
- And then what happens at the end...
...when you can only see so far,
at the very, very farthest point?
- How does it look?
- Well...
...the planet curves...
- You see the curve of the planet?
You see the horizon.
You see the sky...
...touching down on the ocean.
- My God, Mr. Gibbs, that's wonderful.
You can see that here,
in New Mexico.
You can see the sky
out on the horizon...
...touching down on the desert.
It's the same.
I don't think it's the same one bit.
"Desert" is another word
for "wasteland."
- What is your mother doing in town?
- Stuff.
We washed your shirt.
I ironed your tie.
- Would you like it?
- You ironed my tie?
I had it on medium heat.
It's a polyester blend.
Would you like to put it on?
Now?
- I don't think so.
- Go ahead, you'll feel better.
Now I see.
Nice.
Oh, I almost forgot.
I got you an appointment book.
I filled your name out
on the front page. See?
Thank you.
So do you have any appointments
you'd like me to jot down for you?
- What's in this one?
- Apple-strudel coffee cake.
You're up.
You look much better.
You got some color.
- Mrs. Groden?
- Would you like to wash yourself?
Would you...? There's a pool
in the stream above the goat pen.
- Mrs. Groden, l...
- There's a Mercury at the dump...
...same model as yours.
I'm sure we can get a lot of parts.
I love you.
- Well, that's nice.
- This is very serious, Mrs. Groden.
I am in love with you deeply,
so deeply.
Well, good.
I appreciate your letting me tell you.
Because there's a part of my brain...
...that's eroded from how many times
I've told you in the past...
...I don't know how many days,
it seems like years, I was delirious.
Over and over.
But, Mrs. Groden, I have to tell you...
Would you mind if I put
the battery down? It's heavy.
The battery? Sure, put it down.
Thank you.
When I first saw you, I don't know
how many days ago that was...
- What day is today?
- Tuesday.
- Tuesday.
- Do you wanna sit down?
No. The moment I saw you,
Mrs. Groden, the very first instant...
...I knew my life
as I had understood it was...
I'd been up since sunrise...
...my second night in the car.
I was completely lost.
I must have walked miles
to a clearing... To your garden.
To you, standing there
in all those vegetables.
I saw you and piñon trees behind...
...and the hill,
and everything completely still.
So beautiful...
...it was almost unbearable.
It still is.
Then later, holding your hand...
...I remembered being
at a birthday party...
...a children's birthday party...
...and my older brother was acting out
me discovering my mother dead.
My mother committed suicide,
but maybe she didn't.
He was telling this story...
...how I'd come home from school
carrying a pyramid...
...l'd made out of foam core.
And opened the front door
and walked in...
...backwards and bumped into her
in the hall. She hung herself.
Now I don't think it's true, l...
I don't think it's a real memory,
my memory.
I think it's just the description
that I heard from my brother.
I don't even think foam core
existed back then, Mrs. Groden.
I always felt partly responsible,
involved, being the one to find her.
But now I don't think I did.
I don't think I did.
It was like the cornerstone
of my childhood.
The event upon which I built
everything else...
...and now it's pulled out,
and everything is toppled.
The only thing I can hold on
to right now, Mrs. Groden...
...the only thing I know to be true...
...is my love for you.
Mr. Gibbs.
- Yes?
- New Mexico is a very powerful place.
Often when people first get here,
it's a little overwhelming.
I do feel a little...
...displaced.
You're welcome to stay here
with us...
...as long as you like
till you find your bearings.
- Maybe just one or two nights?
- Sure.
- Thanks. Your husband won't mind?
- Oh, no. He won't mind.
He won't mind.
I can't hide my feelings.
I would hope not.
We'll get this tax thing
straightened out.
I know it must be weighing on you.
They have a good mass-transit system
in New York, don't they, Mr. Gibbs?
Bread?
Bread. Certainly.
Please. Thank you.
- Butter?
- No, thank you.
Actually, I would, on second thought.
Please. Thank you.
Cecilia Rose?
- Bo?
- What?
- Would you like some butter?
- Oh, no, thanks.
Mr. Groden?
There's a spoon by your bowl.
- I beg your pardon?
- A spoon for your soup.
That's a fork.
You don't happen to play
the accordion, Mr. Gibbs, do you?
The accordion.
No.
My dad plays practically
every instrument.
What happens if you guys ever have
to go to the dentist or something?
- What do you mean?
- How do you pay for it?
- Trade.
- Trade?
My mom takes care of Larry's
fruit trees, he's our dentist.
That's...
...unusual.
My dad's philosophy is:
Having a job is expensive.
If you spend all your time
working for someone else...
...you don't have any time
to learn to do things yourself.
- Here it is.
- Amazing.
- You live without money.
- Oh, yeah.
See these raspberry preserves?
They're from my raspberry plant.
Here, take one, enjoy.
Thanks, George.
- Can I give you something?
- Afraid not.
Hey, George.
- Skunk?
- Yeah, dumb dog.
- How are you, George?
- Okay.
He's inside.
So, George, did you ask her?
Ask her what?
Drugs.
Not yet.
Wanna stay for dinner?
No, I can't. Thanks.
Philadelphia, New York, Cape Cod.
Cape Cod.
- A VA psychiatrist.
- Yeah, stupid plan.
Seems to have backfired.
- I can get Charley some drugs.
- You can?
May I see your wallet
for just a minute?
I actually have some drugs
that he can have.
You do? Really?
- For depression?
- Yes.
I have several prescriptions.
That would be so wonderful, William.
That is great, that is so great.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
So when we get your car
fixed, Mr. Gibbs...
Yeah?
Maybe we can take
a little drive somewhere.
A Texaco credit card.
Interesting.
So any ideas where we can go?
First things first. Music.
And now for the big stuff.
You wanna hand me the wrench?
Mr. Gibbs, the wrench.
It's in your hand.
- It's a drug.
- Yes.
- I don't like drugs.
- Yes, I know.
Just please try it.
It's been known to help people
who are depressed.
Now, you're in a chemically
altered state, sweetheart...
...and chemicals might
help you out of it.
What a bust.
Burnt butter, that's all.
Burnt fake butter on a tortilla.
Everyone's calling it the face
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What a bunch of loons.
Who wants a Moon Pie?
What's going on?
This is the drug I was telling you
about that William got for us.
Take it, Dad.
What have you got to lose?
William's taking them.
I really don't care to.
Look, Charley...
...we went to a lot of trouble
to get you these.
The least you can do is try one.
You better take it, Dad...
...because we're gonna sneak it
in your food if you don't.
William Gibbs' first painting...
...was inches high
and feet wide.
Though unsigned, the value of
that painting is now recklessly high.
Not just because of the sheer
volume of ocean and sky...
...the "disturbing depths of an ocean,"
as one respected critic has put it...
...but because the art world
deems it the only painting...
...in William Gibbs'
short but brilliant career...
...that wasn't some view,
some study of the garden.
What those high-minded fools
don't know...
...is submerged in the water are some
two dozen sketches of the garden.
His first of my mother,
naked as the back of my hand.
Those he sketched first in pencil...
...then, like a murderer
burying the body...
...drowned in a wash of blue.
Three and a half weeks
William Gibbs...
...spent painting feet
of the ocean's horizon.
It was near about the th foot
that it dawned on me...
...that someone who I had perceived
as a link with the outside world...
...had in fact been swallowed
in the quicksand of mine.
Okay, I've got it.
You'll have to check these figures,
but I think...
...including the penalties and
all the interest, we owe $ .
I'm so sorry.
Don't be sorry, it's not your fault.
You have flour on your face.
I was baking bread.
Now you have paint on your face.
- What are you painting?
- He's painting a curve for me.
- What curve?
- The curve of the planet.
Where the ocean meets the sky.
- Is that...?
- You wouldn't have...
...any more paint, would you?
I'm running out of blue.
Well, we'll run into town.
And you can call your office.
I'm sure they must be expecting you.
- No, I'm not going back there.
- No?
I didn't come all the way
out to New Mexico...
...to work for
the Internal Revenue Service.
Well, what did you come here for?
Dear "Ask Beth":
I am a -year-old girl.
Healthy, outgoing, so far so good.
My problem is this:
My father is depressed.
Not just, quote, "blue," unquote...
...but really, really depressed.
He's been this way so long
it feels like an eternity.
My mother is afraid
he's gonna kill himself.
I know he will not,
he loves us too much.
But it is really starting to get to me.
He used to take me with him
everywhere...
...and I do mean everywhere.
He taught me how to hunt
and carve and repair blenders...
...and rebuild a VWengine.
I could fill your column for a week.
Beth, we haven't been to the dump
together to shoot bottles...
...or get stuff in so long...
...I can't even remember.
I'm afraid I may start to get depressed
and have a lifelong problem.
Is it contagious?
My last question is this:
Will he ever remember
the good times?
Yours, Too Young to Be
Depressed in New Mexico...
...Land of Enchantment.
Charley!
Charley!
- Are you all right?
- Yeah.
Is that the first bear
you've ever seen?
You got quite a front-row seat, huh?
He's been after our honey all summer.
He's destroyed a couple of our hives.
We'll get good steaks out of him.
I have an announcement
to make, everybody listen.
I'm going to school this fall.
I'm enrolling in a public school.
I think I'll just rinse off
in the river.
Okay. Good thinking.
Well, you can go to public school...
...if you want to.
- I am going.
- Bo?
- What?
Let's do something special
this afternoon...
...just you and me, let's have a picnic.
- Why? I'm busy.
We can stop by the library,
drop off books...
...maybe go see a movie.
- Movie, why?
- Just because.
- I'm going to school.
I know.
Help me finish skinning the bear,
and we'll pack a picnic and go.
- Did you gut him already?
- Yeah.
I saw your letter in yesterday's paper.
My letter?
To "Ask Beth"? They printed it?
Yep.
- Oh, my God. It's published?
- Yep.
Oh, my God.
That's a national column.
That column is in papers
all over the country.
My own letter is published
all over the country.
- Well, do you have a copy?
- I do.
We'll read it together.
My heart is pounding.
So is mine.
Yeah.
I'll go look for him.
I'll find him, don't worry.
Bye.
I'm going crazy, George. Crazy.
It's these damn drugs.
I feel like strangling something.
I feel like going out in the yard
and strangling that damn goat!
- I'm dangerous.
- Sit down.
Sit down? Look at me,
can I sit down?
I just walked miles.
I mean, look at my legs.
They're still moving, look at them.
- Have a beer.
- Beer? I can't have a beer.
I'm not supposed to drink alcohol
with these damn drugs.
You know,
I'm apt to murder someone.
Okay, I'll have a beer.
- Yeah, maybe you'd better not.
- I'm having one. I'm having five.
I'm gonna drink till I pass out.
I need some relief.
I am pathetic.
I'm so pathetic.
How did I get to be this pathetic?
Wrestle with me, George.
- What?
- Wrestle with me.
Come on, we'll go out in the yard.
- I don't want to wrestle with you.
- Please.
- No.
- Why not?
- Because.
- Because why?
- I'm dressed up.
- Oh, shit, that's why?
I'm seeing someone.
What?
I'm seeing someone.
Thank you, George.
Thank you so much.
Don't let me go, George.
Oh, God. Don't let me go.
Oh, no.
No.
Bo.
Your painting is done.
It's magnificent.
William Gibbs' -foot-long painting
of the planet's curve...
...was foot shy
of the perimeter of my room.
He hung it so that when
I lay on my back...
...I could stare out miles
to the horizon any way I looked.
Encircled by water, I would turn
and float on my back...
...arms outstretched, chin up...
...and feel in the small of my back
the rounded curve of the planet...
...supporting me like a buoy.
Like faith.
By loving each other truly...
...and serving our Lord sincerely...
...and serving our Lord sincerely...
...may you come
to see your children's children.
And after a long life on earth...
...may you come
to the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
We lost George that summer.
He and Consuela
settled in Talpa, Mexico...
...where George was informed
he'd been elected mayor...
...without knowing
he was on the ballot.
I give you a companion,
not a servant.
Love her as Christ loves the Church.
I missed him terribly.
In the custom of the Americans,
you can kiss the bride.
- No!
- Bo.
- He can't move!
- Sweetheart...
No, he can't move!
I don't want him to move!
- He'll come visit us.
- He should be here now!
- He's late!
- Sweetheart, he's on his honeymoon.
But it's Daddy's birthday, he's never
not been here for Daddy's birthday.
Bo, I'm stunned, you've never
shown this much affection for him.
- You're always making fun of George.
- He's my godfather!
Yes, he's your godfather.
And he will always be your godfather.
Not if he moves to Mexico.
I want George.
Well, I think he would be very touched
to see you so upset.
He won't even take
me fishing anymore.
Other people in your life
will take you fishing.
Nobody fishes like George!
George will take you fishing
again, with his new bride.
- She can't even speak English!
- She can speak a little.
- You can teach her.
- No!
Bo.
She's upset about George.
I just told her.
Hey! Bo!
I'm sorry you feel so bad.
George is really gonna
freak out in Mexico.
He's not gonna know how to act.
Remember when Harry Dean Stanton
died, and we talked about the stars?
About how after a star dies,
you still see the light from it...
...and Harry Dean was still alive in
our lives, even though he was gone.
- And you said this...
- I don't need to hear this.
- Harry Dean Stanton was a ghost.
- Bear with me, I need to remember it.
I'm feeling a little sad today.
I found an old friend
in the woods yesterday.
I didn't kill him.
You said, and I thought it was a lovely
thought, that there were...
...all those stars that
you couldn't even see yet...
...all those new sources of light,
new possibilities yet to come.
George was my best friend.
He'd do anything I told him to do.
It's very nice for you
to feel so much for him.
Bo, you should never kill anything
you don't eat. You know that.
Well, who eats coyote?
Oh, my God, what in the world...?
Bo.
Pretty, isn't she?
Charley Groden?
You wanna sign here.
And it comes with the trailer.
You've got a nice place.
Not a lot of water around, is there?
What's going on?
- Happy birthday, Dad.
- What?
It's for you.
Can I use your phone?
We don't have a phone.
- No phone?
- How'd you find this place?
Map.
Nope, not much water out here.
There's a gigantic lake
about an hour away.
That'll come in handy.
Are you all on mushrooms
or something?
- Just kidding.
- Bo, where did this boat come from?
- California.
- San Diego.
You like it, Dad?
This is a beautiful boat.
The only problem is
it doesn't come with sails.
But I thought we could make some.
I thought it might help
cheer you up.
Can I get you
just to sign right here?
What? Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
Bo, this is awfully sweet...
...but they're gonna expect
some kind of payment.
It's already paid for. I charged it
to my MasterCharge card.
What?
You got a MasterCharge card?
- Yeah, it came in the mail.
- I never saw it.
I know, they disguise it in a plain
envelope. I almost threw it away.
Could I ask you
how much this costs?
It's a present, Mom.
You got me a boat for my birthday.
Yep.
Happy birthday, Dad.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Wonder if she'll take a spinnaker.
That evening we went and sat
with the coyote, my mother and I.
She said a Hopi prayer
and lay my hands on his head.
I felt the weight of the summer
drain down my arms...
...and empty into
that motionless head in my lap.
Mr. Groden.
I'll join you.
- Sleepy?
- Yeah, I'm a little sleepy.
I don't think I can do this
every night.
Nice shirt.
Thanks. It's yours.
Arlene gave it to me, your wife.
It's nice.
- Do you like to hunt?
- No.
I don't know, maybe.
Maybe I love to hunt
and I don't know.
I don't know who I am.
- I don't either.
- Know who I am?
You?
You don't know who I am,
or who you are?
No.
Jupiter.
You know, I really admire you,
Mr. Groden...
...more than any man I've ever met.
You don't have a penny
in the bank...
...no life insurance, no credit.
But your house is all paid for...
...you got four years'
worth of food stored away...
...three years' worth of firewood,
stockpiles of clothes...
...beautiful wife, great kid...
...your life is yours.
I think you're a genius.
You didn't find that telescope
in the dump, did you?
It was my father's.
It's a beauty.
I give it to you, it's yours.
- I can't take it.
- Yes, it's yours.
- No, I can't.
- Yes.
I'll find another one.
Where?
They're all over the place.
Telescopes are everywhere.
They are?
Yep.
Well...
...thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Groden.
You know what I told you
about my mother, about...
...me finding her hanging
in the front hall.
Yeah.
I don't think it's true.
I've been wanting to tell you.
I didn't mean to lie to you, I...
I don't know how she died...
...but I wasn't involved.
You don't know how she died?
No.
No one in my family would talk
about it. My father, my aunts...
But it wasn't my fault.
- Hey, you were just a kid.
- Yeah, exactly.
I was just a kid, a little kid.
I could barely...
It's all right, William.
Through my window, the cool night
air carried the sound of my father...
...dropping the complimentary box of
tissues from the Kleenex company...
...as he passed them
over to William Gibbs.
Passing as it were between athletes
on a relay team, a baton.
There was a valve opened
in William Gibbs...
...releasing a torrent of tears.
It seemed that same valve
continued turning in my father...
...all the way to the off position...
...shutting off that steady leak
that had streaked his face...
...and our lives
for more than half a year.
Nice graph.
Each chicken gets its own column.
This shows how many milligrams
they get.
I think you need another rooster
in this experiment.
Why?
You've got six hens
and only two roosters.
I think we ought to have some
more behavior categories.
All we have is, what, "sleepy"
and "aggressive."
How else is a drugged chicken
supposed to act?
- There's other categories.
- Like what?
Happy, disoriented.
All chickens are disoriented.
Besides, we're almost out of drugs.
Well, maybe we ought to get
some more. This is interesting.
I don't think we should be feeding
those drugs to the chickens.
- It's unkind.
- You fed them to me.
Bo, would you take this sandwich
out to William?
I covered the tomatoes,
there's gonna be a frost tonight.
Summer's over.
What did you do to your hair?
- My hair? Nothing.
- Looks different.
No, it doesn't.
I asked him to do a painting of you...
...in the garden. You don't mind?
I'm gonna make him
some oil paints.
In da Vinci's notebooks,
it says to make azure blue...
...you mix cornflowers
with wild poppies.
And amber is the latex...
...of a cypress tree.
You only have one boot on.
Yeah, I took the other one off.
Charley, how are we
gonna deal with this?
We owe the government $
we owe MasterCharge $ .
- What are we gonna do?
- Come over here.
Would you come over here. Please.
- What?
- Put your foot up here.
- Charley...
- Put it here.
"Dear George, I miss you.
There's a hole in the day
without you.
Mom is in town at a softball game...
...because Angel Rodriguez
got too pregnant...
...so Mom is a catcher
in the playoffs.
Tell Consuela thanks again
for the T-shirt.
It's a tad small, so we're going
to sew it into the spinnaker.
Do you know what a spinnaker is?
It's a really big sail that looks
like a hot-air balloon...
...in the front bow of a boat.
I'm going to school in a few days.
I'll write tomorrow...
...and don't be surprised if
a Nabisco delivery man...
...pulls up with one of your many
wedding presents from me.
Your faithful goddaughter forever,
Bo Groden."
William Gibbs' death was
as mysterious as his mother's.
Some German tourists in a Land
Rover found him out in the desert...
...lying on his back,
arms outstretched...
...a sketchbook by his side.
Eight years almost to the day
after he appeared on our doorstep...
...dazed and sore of foot.
Officials pressed for an autopsy,
but my mother would have none of it.
She and my father buried him
below the garden.
His gala retrospective show
was in Santa Fe...
...across from
the Hungry Coyote Gallery...
...where his first show
received rave reviews.
My -foot-long painting
of the ocean's horizon...
...sold in that first show
for $ .
When we sold it the summer my
father was no longer so depressed...
...it fetched $
enough to pay off the government...
...MasterCharge and fit me
with a new set of braces.
I have of late been pondering
that painting.
It has struck me to view
the ocean as the past...
...the sky as the future...
...and the present as that thin,
precarious line where both meet.
Precarious because as
we stand there, it curves underfoot...
...ever-changing.
"Every time all hands were sent
to the halyard, a song was called for...
...and we hoisted away with a will.
Sail after sail was added...
...as we drew into fine weather, and in
one week after leaving Cape Horn...
...the long, topgallant masts
were got up...
...topgallant and royal yards crossed...
...and the ship restored
to her fair proportions.
The Southern Cross
and Magellan Clouds...
...settled lower and lower
in the horizon.
And so great was our change
in latitude...
...that each succeeding night we sank
some constellation in the south...
...and raised another
in the northern horizon."