1. There are some fish
that cannot be caught.Copy !req
2. It's not that they're faster
or stronger than other fish.Copy !req
3. They're just touched
by something extra.Copy !req
4. One such fish was The Beast.Copy !req
5. And by the time I was born
he was already a legend.Copy !req
6. He'd passed up more $100 lures
than any fish in Alabama.Copy !req
7. Some said that fish was
the ghost of a thief...Copy !req
8. who'd drowned in that river
60 years before.Copy !req
9. Others claimed he was a dinosaur
left over from the "Cruaceous" Period.Copy !req
10. I didn't put any stock into
such speculation or superstition.Copy !req
11. All I knew was I'd been trying
to catch that fish...Copy !req
12. since I was a boy
no bigger than you.Copy !req
13. And on the day you were born...Copy !req
14. Well, that was the day
I finally caught him.Copy !req
15. Now, I'd tried everything on it:Copy !req
16. Worms, lures, peanut butter,
peanut butter and cheese.Copy !req
17. But on that day I had a revelation:Copy !req
18. If that fish was Henry Walls' ghost,
then the usual bait wasn't gonna work.Copy !req
19. I was gonna have to use something
he truly desired.Copy !req
20. - Your finger?
- Gold.Copy !req
21. Now, I tied my ring onto
the strongest line they made...Copy !req
22. strong enough to hold up a bridge,
they said, if only for a few minutes.Copy !req
23. And then I cast upriver.Copy !req
24. The Beast jumped up and grabbed it
before it even hit the water.Copy !req
25. And just as fast,
he snapped clean through that line.Copy !req
26. Well, you can see my predicament.Copy !req
27. My wedding ring,
the symbol of fidelity to my wife...Copy !req
28. soon to be mother of my child...
- Make him stop.Copy !req
29. was now lost in the gut
of an uncatchable fish.Copy !req
30. What did you do?Copy !req
31. I followed that fish upriver
and downriver.Copy !req
32. This fish, The Beast...Copy !req
33. the whole time we were calling it
a him, when in fact it was a her.Copy !req
34. It was fat with eggs
it was gonna lay any day.Copy !req
35. Now, I was in a situation.Copy !req
36. I could gut that fish
and get my wedding ring back...Copy !req
37. but in doing so I'd be killing the
smartest catfish in the Ashton River.Copy !req
38. Did I want to deprive
my son the chance...Copy !req
39. to catch a fish like this
of his own?Copy !req
40. This ladyfish and I...Copy !req
41. - Well, we had the same destiny.
- "We were part of the same equation."Copy !req
42. Now, you may well ask...Copy !req
43. Oh, darling, darling,
it's still your night.Copy !req
44. why did it strike so quick on gold
when nothing else would attract it?Copy !req
45. That was the lesson
I learned that day...Copy !req
46. the day my son was born.Copy !req
47. Sometimes the only way to catch
an uncatchable woman...Copy !req
48. is to offer her a wedding ring.Copy !req
49. What, a father's not allowed
to talk about his son?Copy !req
50. I'm a footnote in that story, Dad...Copy !req
51. the context for your great adventure,
which never happened, incidentally.Copy !req
52. You were selling novelty products
in Wichita when I was born.Copy !req
53. Come on, Will.
Everyone loves that story!Copy !req
54. They don't. I don't love that story. Not
anymore. Not after a thousand times!Copy !req
55. I know every punch line, Dad.
I can tell them as well as you can!Copy !req
56. For one night,
one night in your entire life...Copy !req
57. the universe did not revolve
around Edward Bloom.Copy !req
58. - How can you not understand that?
- I'm sorry to embarrass you.Copy !req
59. You're embarrassing yourself, Dad.
You just don't see it.Copy !req
60. After that night, I didn't speak
to my father again for three years.Copy !req
61. William Bloom, United Press
International. If I could just...Copy !req
62. We communicated indirectly, I guess.Copy !req
63. In her letters and Christmas cards,
my mother wrote for both of them.Copy !req
64. And when I'd call, she'd say Dad was
out driving or swimming in the pool.Copy !req
65. True to form, we never
talk ed about not talking.Copy !req
66. The truth is, I didn't see anything
of myself in my father.Copy !req
67. And I don't think he saw anything
of himself in me.Copy !req
68. We were lik e strangers
who knew each other very well.Copy !req
69. In telling the story
of my father's life...Copy !req
70. it's impossible to separate fact
from fiction, the man from the myth.Copy !req
71. The best I can do
is to tell it the way he told me.Copy !req
72. It doesn't always mak e sense,
and most of it never happened.Copy !req
73. Give me back my ring!Copy !req
74. Thank you!Copy !req
75. But that's what kind of story this is.Copy !req
76. His birth would set the pace
for his unlik ely life.Copy !req
77. No longer than most men's,
but larger.Copy !req
78. And as strange as his stories got...Copy !req
79. the endings were always
the most surprising of all.Copy !req
80. Yes. Yes, he's here.Copy !req
81. It's your mother.Copy !req
82. And what does Dr. Bennett say?Copy !req
83. No, sure, I'll talk to him.Copy !req
84. Yeah, I'll wait.Copy !req
85. It's bad?Copy !req
86. Yeah, it's more than they thought.
They're gonna stop chemo.Copy !req
87. - You need to go.
- Probably tonight.Copy !req
88. - I'm going with you.
- No, no, no. You shouldn't.Copy !req
89. I'm going with you.Copy !req
90. Now, which one's it gonna be?Copy !req
91. "Monkey in a Barn,"
or "Dog in the Road"?Copy !req
92. The one about the witch.Copy !req
93. The one about the witch.Copy !req
94. Your momma says I can't
tell you that one anymore.Copy !req
95. Your momma says I can't
tell you that one anymore.Copy !req
96. - You get nightmares.
- But I'm not scared.Copy !req
97. Well, neither was I, at first.Copy !req
98. Now, this took place
in the swamp outside of Ashton.Copy !req
99. Children weren't allowed in the swamp
on account of the snakes, spiders...Copy !req
100. and quicksand that would swallow
you up before you could even scream.Copy !req
101. There were five of us
out there that night:Copy !req
102. Me, Ruthie, Wilbur Freely...Copy !req
103. and the Price Brothers,
Don and Zacky.Copy !req
104. And not one of us knew
what was in store.Copy !req
105. It's common knowledge that most
towns of a certain size have a witch...Copy !req
106. if only to eat
misbehaving children...Copy !req
107. and the occasional puppy
who wanders into her yard.Copy !req
108. Witches use those bones
to cast spells and curses...Copy !req
109. and mak e the land infertile.Copy !req
110. - Is it true she got a glass eye?
- I heard she got it from gypsies.Copy !req
111. - What's a gypsy?
- Your momma's a gypsy.Copy !req
112. Your momma's a bitch.Copy !req
113. You shouldn't swear.
There's ladies present.Copy !req
114. - Shit.
- Damn.Copy !req
115. Screw.Copy !req
116. Turn off your flashlights.
She'll see you!Copy !req
117. Yet of all the witches in Alabama...Copy !req
118. there was one who was said
to be the most feared.Copy !req
119. For she had one glass eye which
was said to contain mystical powers.Copy !req
120. I heard if you look right at it,
you'll see how you're gonna die.Copy !req
121. That's bull-S-H-l-T, that is.
She's not even a real witch.Copy !req
122. If you're so sure, go get that eye.Copy !req
123. I heard she keeps it in a box on her
night table. Or are you too scared?Copy !req
124. I'll go in right now and get that eye.Copy !req
125. - Then do it.
- Fine, I will.Copy !req
126. - Fine, you do it.
- Fine, I'm doing it.Copy !req
127. Edward, don't!Copy !req
128. She'll make soap out of you.
That's what she does.Copy !req
129. She makes soap out of people.Copy !req
130. Ma'am, my name is Edward Bloom...Copy !req
131. and there's some folks
like to see your eye.Copy !req
132. - You get The Eye?
- I brought it.Copy !req
133. Let's see it.Copy !req
134. Whoa, help!Copy !req
135. I saw how I was gonna die.
I was old and I fell.Copy !req
136. I wasn't old at all.Copy !req
137. I was thinking about death and all.
About seeing how you're gonna die.Copy !req
138. I mean, on one hand,
if dying was all you thought about...Copy !req
139. it could kind of screw you up.Copy !req
140. But it could kind of help you,
couldn't it?Copy !req
141. Because, everything else,
you'd know you could survive.Copy !req
142. I guess I'm saying I'd like to know.Copy !req
143. That's how I go.Copy !req
144. Hi, Mom.Copy !req
145. - Is that Dr. Bennett's car?
- Yes. He's up with your father now.Copy !req
146. - And how is he?
- Well... No, I got it.Copy !req
147. He's impossible. He won't eat.
Because he doesn't eat, he's weaker.Copy !req
148. Because he's weak,
he doesn't want to eat.Copy !req
149. - How much time does he have left?
- You don't talk about that.Copy !req
150. Not yet.Copy !req
151. Will.Copy !req
152. Dr. Bennett. Oh, it's good to see you.Copy !req
153. My wife, Josephine.Copy !req
154. A pleasure.Copy !req
155. - You're seven months.
- To the day!Copy !req
156. It's a boy.Copy !req
157. Try to get him to drink one of these.
He won't, but go ahead and try.Copy !req
158. Dad?Copy !req
159. You want some water?Copy !req
160. - You are in for a surprise.
- Am I?Copy !req
161. Having a kid changes everything.Copy !req
162. There's the diapers and the burping
and the midnight feeding.Copy !req
163. - Did you do any of that?
- No.Copy !req
164. But I hear it's terrible.Copy !req
165. Then you spend years trying
to corrupt and mislead this child...Copy !req
166. fill its head with nonsense,
and still it turns out perfectly fine.Copy !req
167. - You think I'm up for it?
- You learned from the best.Copy !req
168. Drink half the can.
I'll tell Mom you drank it all.Copy !req
169. Everyone wins.Copy !req
170. People needn't worry so much.
It's not my time yet.Copy !req
171. This is not how I go.Copy !req
172. - Really?
- Truly. I saw it in The Eye.Copy !req
173. - The old lady by the swamp?
- She was a witch.Copy !req
174. No, she was old and probably senile.Copy !req
175. I saw my death in that eye,
and this isn't how it happens.Copy !req
176. So how does it happen?Copy !req
177. Surprise ending.
Wouldn't want to ruin it for you.Copy !req
178. Your mother thought
we wouldn't talk again.Copy !req
179. Look at us. We're talking fine.Copy !req
180. We're storytellers, both of us.Copy !req
181. I speak mine out,
you write yours down. Same thing.Copy !req
182. Dad...Copy !req
183. I hope to talk about some things
while I'm here.Copy !req
184. You mean while I'm here.Copy !req
185. I just want to know
the true versions of things:Copy !req
186. Events. Stories.Copy !req
187. You.Copy !req
188. Your mother hasn't been
keeping up the pool.Copy !req
189. - If you wanted to, you could fix it.
- Yeah, I will.Copy !req
190. - You know where the chemicals are?
- I did it when you were gone.Copy !req
191. I was never much for being
at home, Will. Too confining.Copy !req
192. And this here, being stuck in bed...Copy !req
193. Dying is the worst thing
that's ever happened to me.Copy !req
194. - I thought you said you weren't dying.
- I said this isn't how I go.Copy !req
195. The last part is much more unusual.Copy !req
196. Trust me on that.Copy !req
197. Dr. Bennett said I have
to stay at home for a week.Copy !req
198. Oh, that's nothing. Once,
I had to stay in bed for three years.Copy !req
199. - Did you have the chickenpox?
- I wish.Copy !req
200. Truth is, no one quite knew
what was wrong.Copy !req
201. Most times a person
grows up gradually...Copy !req
202. while I found myself in a hurry.Copy !req
203. My muscles and my bones couldn't
k eep up with my body's ambition.Copy !req
204. So I spent the better part
of three years confined to my bed...Copy !req
205. with the encyclopaedia being
my only means of exploration.Copy !req
206. I had made it all the way to the G's...Copy !req
207. hoping to find an answer
to my "gigantificationism"...Copy !req
208. when I uncovered an article
about the common goldfish.Copy !req
209. "Kept in a small bowl,
the goldfish will remain small.Copy !req
210. With more space...Copy !req
211. the fish will grow double, triple,
or quadruple its size."Copy !req
212. It occurred to me then that perhaps
the reason for my growth...Copy !req
213. was that I was intended
for larger things.Copy !req
214. After all, a giant man can't have
an ordinary-sized life.Copy !req
215. As soon as my bones had settled
in their adult configuration...Copy !req
216. I set upon my plan to mak e
a bigger place for myself in Ashton.Copy !req
217. Tigers, go!Copy !req
218. Edward Bloom!Copy !req
219. Doggy! My doggy!
My doggie's trapped!Copy !req
220. I was the biggest thing
Ashton had ever seen.Copy !req
221. Until one day, a stranger arrived.Copy !req
222. Calm down. Calm down, everybody.
Calm down. That's enough.Copy !req
223. - Mr. Mayor, he ate an entire corn field.
- He ate my dog.Copy !req
224. If you ain't gonna stop him, mayor,
we will.Copy !req
225. I won't have mob violence
in this town.Copy !req
226. Now, has someone tried
talking to him?Copy !req
227. - You can't reason with him.
- He's a monster.Copy !req
228. I'll do it.Copy !req
229. I'll talk to him.
See if I can get him to go.Copy !req
230. That creature could crush you
without trying.Copy !req
231. Oh, trust me, he'll have to try.Copy !req
232. Hello?Copy !req
233. My name is Edward Bloom,
and I wanna talk to you!Copy !req
234. Go away!Copy !req
235. Now, I'm not going anywhere
until you show yourself!Copy !req
236. I said, go away!Copy !req
237. Armed with the foreknowledge
of my own death...Copy !req
238. I knew the giant couldn't kill me.Copy !req
239. All the same, I preferred to k eep
my bones unbrok en.Copy !req
240. Why are you here?Copy !req
241. So you can eat me.Copy !req
242. The town decided to send
a human sacrifice and I volunteered.Copy !req
243. My arms are a little stringy, but
there's some good eating in my legs.Copy !req
244. I mean, I'd be tempted
to eat them myself.Copy !req
245. So I guess, well...Copy !req
246. If you'd just get it over with quick,
because I'm not much for pain, really.Copy !req
247. Oh, come on! I can't go back!
I'm a human sacrifice!Copy !req
248. If I go back,
they'll think I'm a coward.Copy !req
249. I'd rather be dinner than a coward.Copy !req
250. Here.Copy !req
251. You can start with my hand.
It'll be an appetizer.Copy !req
252. I don't want to eat you.
I don't want to eat anybody.Copy !req
253. I just get so hungry.
I'm just too big.Copy !req
254. Did you ever think that
maybe you're not too big...Copy !req
255. but maybe this town
is just too small?Copy !req
256. I've heard in real cities
there are buildings so tall...Copy !req
257. you can't even see
the tops of them.Copy !req
258. - Really?
- Oh, I wouldn't lie to you.Copy !req
259. And all-you-can-eat buffets.Copy !req
260. - Now, you can eat a lot, can't you?
- I can.Copy !req
261. So why are you wasting your time
in a small town?Copy !req
262. You're a big man.
You should be in a big city.Copy !req
263. You're just trying to get me
to leave, aren't you?Copy !req
264. - What's your name, giant?
- Karl.Copy !req
265. Well, mine's Edward.
And truthfully...Copy !req
266. Well, I do want you to leave, Karl.
But I want to leave with you.Copy !req
267. I mean, you think this town
is too small for you?Copy !req
268. Well, it's too small for a man
of my ambition.Copy !req
269. So, what do you say? Join me?Copy !req
270. Okay.Copy !req
271. Okay.Copy !req
272. Now, first, we gotta
get you ready for the city.Copy !req
273. Edward Bloom, first son of Ashton...Copy !req
274. it's with a heavy heart
that we see you go.Copy !req
275. But take with you
this key to the city...Copy !req
276. and know that any time
you want to come back...Copy !req
277. all our doors are open to you.Copy !req
278. That afternoon as I left Ashton,
everyone seemed to have advice.Copy !req
279. Find yourself a nice girl, now!Copy !req
280. Watch your pride, Edward Bloom!Copy !req
281. But there was one person whose
counsel I held above all others.Copy !req
282. She said that the biggest fish
in the river...Copy !req
283. gets that way
by never being caught.Copy !req
284. - What'd she say?
- Beats me.Copy !req
285. There were two roads out of Ashton:Copy !req
286. A new one which was paved
and an older one that wasn't.Copy !req
287. People didn't use
the old one anymore...Copy !req
288. and it had developed a reputation
for being haunted.Copy !req
289. Well, since I had no intention
of ever returning to Ashton...Copy !req
290. this seemed as good a time as any
to find out what lay down that old one.Copy !req
291. - You know anyone who's taken it?
- That poet, Norther Winslow, did.Copy !req
292. He was going to Paris, France.Copy !req
293. I guess he liked it.
No one ever heard from him again.Copy !req
294. I'll tell you what.
You go the other way.Copy !req
295. I'll cut through here,
and I'll meet you on the far side.Copy !req
296. You're just trying to run away,
aren't you?Copy !req
297. Here.Copy !req
298. Just to be sure, you can take my pack.Copy !req
299. Why, you son of a...Copy !req
300. Now, there comes a point
when a reasonable man...Copy !req
301. will swallow his pride and admit
that he's made a terrible mistak e.Copy !req
302. The truth is,
I was never a reasonable man.Copy !req
303. And what I recall of
Sunday school was that...Copy !req
304. the more difficult something is,
the more rewarding it is in the end.Copy !req
305. Friend! Welcome to you!Copy !req
306. - What's your name?
- Edward Bloom.Copy !req
307. - "Bloom" like a flower?
- Yes.Copy !req
308. Oh, here! Here you are, right here.
"Edward Bloom."Copy !req
309. We weren't expecting you yet.Copy !req
310. - You were expecting me?
- Not yet.Copy !req
311. - You must've taken a shortcut.
- Why, yes, I did. It almost killed me.Copy !req
312. Life will do that to you.
And truthfully, the long way is easier.Copy !req
313. - But it's longer.
- Much longer.Copy !req
314. And you're here now,
and that's what matters.Copy !req
315. What is this place?Copy !req
316. The town of Spectre.
Best-kept secret in Alabama!Copy !req
317. Now, it says here
you're from Ashton, right?Copy !req
318. Last person we had from Ashton
was Norther Winslow.Copy !req
319. The poet?
Whatever happened to him?Copy !req
320. He's still here. Let me buy you a drink.
I'll tell you all about it.Copy !req
321. Hell, I'll have him tell you!Copy !req
322. I have to meet somebody,
and I'm already running late.Copy !req
323. Now, son, I already told you.
You're early.Copy !req
324. Now, tell me if that isn't
the best pie you ever ate.Copy !req
325. It truly is.Copy !req
326. Well, everything tastes better here.
Even the water is sweet.Copy !req
327. Never gets too hot,
too cold, too humid.Copy !req
328. At night, the wind goes through
the trees where you'd swear...Copy !req
329. there was a whole symphony
out there playing just for you.Copy !req
330. Hey! Jenny!Copy !req
331. Come back here!Copy !req
332. Jenny!Copy !req
333. Hey, I need those.Copy !req
334. - There is no softer ground than town.
- That almost rhymes.Copy !req
335. He's our poet laureate. Come on.Copy !req
336. I agreed to spend the afternoon,
if only to understand...Copy !req
337. the mystery of how a place could
feel so strange and yet so familiar.Copy !req
338. I've been working on this poem
for 12 years.Copy !req
339. Really?Copy !req
340. There's a lot of expectation.
I don't wanna disappoint my fans.Copy !req
341. May I?Copy !req
342. It's only three lines long.Copy !req
343. This is why you should never show
a work in progress.Copy !req
344. I got him!Copy !req
345. There's leeches in there.Copy !req
346. - Did you see that woman?
- What did she look like?Copy !req
347. - Well, she was...
- Was she naked?Copy !req
348. Yes, she was.Copy !req
349. It's not a woman. It's a fish.
No one ever catches her.Copy !req
350. Fish looks different
to different people.Copy !req
351. My daddy said it looked like the
coon dog he had when he was a kid...Copy !req
352. back from the dead.Copy !req
353. Oh, darn.Copy !req
354. - How old are you?
- Eighteen.Copy !req
355. I'm 8. That means when I'm 18,
you'll be 28.Copy !req
356. - And when I'm 28, you'll only be 38.
- You're pretty good at arithmetic.Copy !req
357. And when I'm 38, you'll be 48.
That's not much difference at all.Copy !req
358. Sure is a lot now, though, huh?Copy !req
359. Hey, Edward!Copy !req
360. Roses are red
Violets are blueCopy !req
361. I love Spectre...Copy !req
362. Excuse me.Copy !req
363. Jenny thinks you're quite a catch.
We all do.Copy !req
364. What?Copy !req
365. I said, you're quite a catch.Copy !req
366. I have to leave.Copy !req
367. Tonight.Copy !req
368. Why?Copy !req
369. This town is more than any man
could ask for.Copy !req
370. And if I were to end up here,
I would consider myself lucky.Copy !req
371. But the truth is, I'm just not ready
to end up anywhere.Copy !req
372. But no one's ever left.Copy !req
373. How are you gonna make it
without your shoes?Copy !req
374. Well, I suspect it will hurt. A lot.Copy !req
375. Now, I'm sorry, but...
Well, goodbye.Copy !req
376. - You won't find a better place.
- I don't expect to.Copy !req
377. Promise me you'll come back.Copy !req
378. I promise. Someday.
When I'm really supposed to.Copy !req
379. That night,
I reached two conclusions.Copy !req
380. The first was that a dangerous path
is made much worse by darkness.Copy !req
381. The second was that I was
hopelessly and irrev ocably lost.Copy !req
382. These woods would become
my graveyard.Copy !req
383. As difficult as it was to reach Spectre,
I was fated to get there eventually.Copy !req
384. After all, no man can av oid
reaching the end of his life.Copy !req
385. And then I realized
this wasn't the end of my life.Copy !req
386. This isn't how I die.Copy !req
387. Friend.Copy !req
388. - What happened to your shoes?
- They kind of got ahead of me.Copy !req
389. I don't know if you saw it,
but Josephine had some photos...Copy !req
390. in the most recent Newsweek.Copy !req
391. Really?Copy !req
392. That's just wonderful.Copy !req
393. I spent a week in Morocco
for the story. It was incredible.Copy !req
394. Oh. We'll have to pick up a copy.Copy !req
395. I don't know if you're aware of this,
Josephine...Copy !req
396. but African parrots, in their native
Congo, they speak only French.Copy !req
397. Really?Copy !req
398. You're lucky to get four words
out of them in English.Copy !req
399. But if you were to walk
through the jungle...Copy !req
400. you'd hear them speaking
the most elaborate French.Copy !req
401. Those parrots talk about everything.
Politics, movies, fashion.Copy !req
402. Everything but religion.Copy !req
403. Why not religion, Dad?Copy !req
404. It's rude to talk about religion. You
never know who you're gonna offend.Copy !req
405. Josephine actually went
to the Congo last year.Copy !req
406. Oh, so you know.Copy !req
407. Hello.Copy !req
408. Hi. How are you feeling?Copy !req
409. Oh, I was dreaming.Copy !req
410. What were you dreaming about?Copy !req
411. Oh, I don't usually remember...Copy !req
412. unless they're especially portentous.
Do you know what that word means?Copy !req
413. It means when you dream about
something that's gonna happen.Copy !req
414. Like one night, I had a dream...Copy !req
415. where this crow came and said:Copy !req
416. "Your aunt is gonna die."Copy !req
417. I was so scared,
I woke up my parents...Copy !req
418. but they said it was just a dream
and to get back to bed.Copy !req
419. But the next morning,
my Aunt Stacy was dead.Copy !req
420. That's terrible.Copy !req
421. Terrible for her, but think about me,
young boy with that kind of power.Copy !req
422. Wasn't three weeks later when the
crow came back to me in a dream...Copy !req
423. and said, "Your daddy's gonna die."Copy !req
424. I didn't know what to do.Copy !req
425. I finally told my father, but he said:Copy !req
426. "Oh, not to worry."
But I could see he was rattled.Copy !req
427. The next morning, he wasn't himself.Copy !req
428. Kept looking around, waiting for
something to drop on his head.Copy !req
429. Because the crow didn't say how it
was gonna happen, just those words:Copy !req
430. "Your daddy's gonna die."Copy !req
431. Well, he left home early
and was gone a long time.Copy !req
432. When he finally came back,
he looked terrible...Copy !req
433. like he was waiting
for the axe to fall all day.Copy !req
434. He said to my mother:Copy !req
435. "I've just had the worst day of my life."Copy !req
436. "You think you've had a bad day?"
She said.Copy !req
437. "This morning, the milkman
dropped dead on the porch."Copy !req
438. Because, see, my mother
was banging the milkman.Copy !req
439. - Can I take your picture?
- Oh, you don't need a picture.Copy !req
440. Just look up the word "handsome"
in the dictionary.Copy !req
441. Please?Copy !req
442. All right.Copy !req
443. I have photos of the wedding
to show you.Copy !req
444. There is a great one
of you and my father.Copy !req
445. I want to see pictures of your wedding.
I've never seen any.Copy !req
446. That's because we didn't have
a proper wedding.Copy !req
447. Your mother-in-law was
never supposed to marry me.Copy !req
448. - She was engaged to somebody else.
- I never knew.Copy !req
449. Will never told you?Copy !req
450. Probably just as well.Copy !req
451. He would have told it wrong, anyway.Copy !req
452. All the facts, none of the flavour.Copy !req
453. Oh. So this is a tall tale.Copy !req
454. Well, it's not a short one.Copy !req
455. I'd just left Spectre and was
on my way to discover my destiny.Copy !req
456. I'd just left Spectre and was
on my way to discover my destiny.Copy !req
457. I'd just left Spectre and was
on my way to discover my destiny.Copy !req
458. I'd just left Spectre and was
on my way to discover my destiny.Copy !req
459. Not knowing what
that would be exactly...Copy !req
460. I explored every opportunity
that presented itself.Copy !req
461. Coco! Coco! There they are.Copy !req
462. Ladies and gentlemen!Copy !req
463. You may think
you've seen the unusual.Copy !req
464. You may think you've seen the bizarre.Copy !req
465. But I've travelled
to the five corners of the world...Copy !req
466. and let me tell you,
I've never seen anything like this!Copy !req
467. When I met this man...Copy !req
468. he was picking oranges in Florida.Copy !req
469. His fellow workers called him
El Penumbra. "The Shadow."Copy !req
470. Because when you worked
beside him...Copy !req
471. he blocked out the daylight!Copy !req
472. Not to alarm you, ma'am,
but if this man wanted to...Copy !req
473. he could crush your head
between his toes...Copy !req
474. like a tiny walnut.
But he won't do it.Copy !req
475. No. No, ladies and gentlemen...Copy !req
476. he will not hurt her...Copy !req
477. because he is our own gentle giant.Copy !req
478. Ladies and gentlemen,
I give you Colossus!Copy !req
479. Ladies and gentlemen,
boys and girls...Copy !req
480. thank y'all for coming.Copy !req
481. Drive home safely, everyone.
Thank you for coming.Copy !req
482. It was on that night
Karl met his destiny.Copy !req
483. And I met mine, almost.Copy !req
484. They say when you meet
the love of your life, time stops.Copy !req
485. And that's true.Copy !req
486. What they don't tell you
is that once time starts again...Copy !req
487. it moves extra fast to catch up.Copy !req
488. What's your name?Copy !req
489. - It's Karl.
- Karl.Copy !req
490. Tell me, Karl, have you ever heard
the term "involuntary servitude"?Copy !req
491. - No.
- "Unconscionable contract"?Copy !req
492. - Nope.
- Great.Copy !req
493. Here you go.Copy !req
494. Here you are.Copy !req
495. Mr. Soggybottom,
come down this here...Copy !req
496. so he can use your back
to sign on it.Copy !req
497. Okay. Thank you. Yeah.Copy !req
498. Hey, kid.Copy !req
499. - Your friend just made himself a star.
- Oh, that's great.Copy !req
500. - My attorney, Mr. Soggybottom.
- Good to meet you.Copy !req
501. Pleased to meet you.Copy !req
502. What's the matter? I haven't
seen a customer so depressed...Copy !req
503. since the elephant sat
on that farmer's wife.Copy !req
504. "Depressed"?Copy !req
505. See? The big guy likes it.Copy !req
506. I just saw the woman I'm gonna marry.Copy !req
507. I know it. But I lost her.Copy !req
508. Oh, tough break.Copy !req
509. Well, most men have to get married
before they lose their wives.Copy !req
510. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life
looking for her. That or die alone.Copy !req
511. Damn, kid.Copy !req
512. Let me guess. Real pretty?Copy !req
513. Reddish-blondish hair?Copy !req
514. Blue dress?Copy !req
515. Yeah!Copy !req
516. I know her uncle. Friends of the family.Copy !req
517. Who is she? Where does she live?Copy !req
518. Forget it. Don't waste your time.
She's out of your league.Copy !req
519. - What? You don't even know me.
- Sure I do.Copy !req
520. You were hot shit back in Hickville, but
here in the real world, you got squat.Copy !req
521. You don't have a plan or a job.Copy !req
522. Nothing except the clothes
on your back.Copy !req
523. Well, I have a whole backpack
full of clothes.Copy !req
524. Oh, someone stole my backpack.Copy !req
525. You were a big fish in a small pond,
but this here is the ocean...Copy !req
526. and you're drowning.
Go back to Puddleville.Copy !req
527. - You'll be happy there.
- You say I don't have a plan. I do.Copy !req
528. I'll find that girl, marry her,
and spend the rest of my life with her.Copy !req
529. I don't have a job, but I would
have a job if you gave me one.Copy !req
530. And I may not have much...Copy !req
531. but I have more determination
than any man you're likely to meet.Copy !req
532. I'm sorry, kid. I don't do charity.
Come on, big boy.Copy !req
533. Wait. Look, I'll work
night and day for you...Copy !req
534. and you won't have to pay me.Copy !req
535. You just have to tell me who she is.Copy !req
536. Every month you work for me...Copy !req
537. I'll tell you one thing about her.
That's my final offer.Copy !req
538. Let's get started.Copy !req
539. From that moment on, I did everything
Mr. Calloway ask ed.Copy !req
540. I'd go three days
without stopping to eat.Copy !req
541. And four days without sleeping.Copy !req
542. What k ept me going was
the promise of meeting the girl...Copy !req
543. who would be my wife.Copy !req
544. Stick together, that's the way
it's gonna be.Copy !req
545. - The way it was, and the way it will be.
- Mr. Calloway, sir?Copy !req
546. It's been a month today.Copy !req
547. This girl, the love of your life...Copy !req
548. her favourite flowers are daffodils.Copy !req
549. - So get that stuff...
- Daffodils.Copy !req
550. Daffodils.Copy !req
551. Daffodils.Copy !req
552. True to his word...Copy !req
553. every month Amos would tell me
something new...Copy !req
554. about the woman of my dreams.Copy !req
555. Enjoy yourselves, enjoy yourselves.Copy !req
556. She's going to college.Copy !req
557. College. She's going to college.Copy !req
558. She likes music.Copy !req
559. Music. She likes music.Copy !req
560. Over the months, I learned a lot
about the woman I would marry...Copy !req
561. Over the months, I learned a lot
about the woman I would marry...Copy !req
562. Over the months, I learned a lot
about the woman I would marry...Copy !req
563. but not her name,
and not where to find her.Copy !req
564. but not her name,
and not where to find her.Copy !req
565. That time had come.
I couldn't wait any longer.Copy !req
566. Mr. Calloway?Copy !req
567. It's Edward Bloom.
I need to talk to you.Copy !req
568. Mr. Calloway?Copy !req
569. No. Wait!Copy !req
570. That night, I discovered that most
things you consider evil or wick ed...Copy !req
571. are simply lonely and lacking
in social niceties.Copy !req
572. Didn't kill anything, did I?Copy !req
573. A few rabbits. But I think one of them
was already dead.Copy !req
574. That would explain the indigestion.Copy !req
575. Thank you.Copy !req
576. I was wrong about you, kid.Copy !req
577. You may not have much,
but what you got, you got a lot of.Copy !req
578. You could get any girl.Copy !req
579. There's only one I want.Copy !req
580. Her name...Copy !req
581. is Sandra Templeton.Copy !req
582. She goes to Auburn.Copy !req
583. Semester's almost over,
so you better hurry.Copy !req
584. Thank you. Thank you.Copy !req
585. - Good luck, kid!
- Thank you, sir!Copy !req
586. - Bye, now.
- Bye, Edward.Copy !req
587. After saying my goodbyes,
I hopped three trains...Copy !req
588. to get to Auburn that afternoon.Copy !req
589. You don't know me,
but my name is Edward Bloom...Copy !req
590. and I love you.Copy !req
591. I've spent the last three years
working to find out who you are.Copy !req
592. I've been shot, stabbed, and trampled
a few times. I broke my ribs twice.Copy !req
593. But it's all been worth it
to see you here now...Copy !req
594. and to finally get to talk to you.Copy !req
595. Because I'm destined to marry you.Copy !req
596. I knew it when I saw you at the circus,
and I know it now more than ever.Copy !req
597. - I'm sorry.
- You don't have to apologize to me.Copy !req
598. I'm the luckiest person
you'll find today.Copy !req
599. No, I'm sorry I'm engaged
to be married.Copy !req
600. But you're wrong. I do know you.Copy !req
601. At least by reputation.Copy !req
602. Edward Bloom from Ashton.Copy !req
603. See, I'm actually engaged
to a boy from Ashton. Don Price.Copy !req
604. He was a few years older than you.Copy !req
605. Well...Copy !req
606. Congratulations.Copy !req
607. I'm sorry to have bothered you.Copy !req
608. Stop it! It's not funny.Copy !req
609. That poor boy.Copy !req
610. Fate has a cruel way
of circling around on you.Copy !req
611. After all this work to leave Ashton...Copy !req
612. the girl I love was now engaged
to one of its biggest jerks.Copy !req
613. There's a time when a man
needs to fight...Copy !req
614. and a time when he needs to accept
that his destiny's lost...Copy !req
615. the ship has sailed,
and that only a fool will continue.Copy !req
616. Truth is, I've always been a fool.Copy !req
617. Sandra Templeton, I love you,
and I will marry you!Copy !req
618. So as you can see, if we apply
these rules to our everyday life...Copy !req
619. supply and demand
makes much more sense.Copy !req
620. Take a look at the next graph, and the
import of this will be even stronger...Copy !req
621. - for three hours.Copy !req
622. Look!Copy !req
623. - Daffodils!
- They're your favourite flower.Copy !req
624. How did you get so many?Copy !req
625. I called everywhere in five states.Copy !req
626. I told them it was the only way
to get my wife to marry me.Copy !req
627. You don't even know me.Copy !req
628. I have the rest of my life to find out.Copy !req
629. Sandra!Copy !req
630. It's Don. Promise you won't hurt him.Copy !req
631. If that's what you want, I swear to it.Copy !req
632. - Bloom?
- Don.Copy !req
633. What the hell are you doing?
This is my girl. Mine!Copy !req
634. I wasn't aware
that she belonged to anyone.Copy !req
635. What's the matter?
Are you too scared to fight back?Copy !req
636. I promised I wouldn't.Copy !req
637. Stop it!Copy !req
638. Don, stop!Copy !req
639. While I took the beating of a lifetime,
Don Price was ultimately defeated.Copy !req
640. All the physical activity had worsened
a congenital valve defect.Copy !req
641. Put simply, his heart
wasn't strong enough.Copy !req
642. Don! I will never marry you.Copy !req
643. What?
You mean, you love this guy?Copy !req
644. He's almost a stranger,
and I prefer him to you.Copy !req
645. As it turned out, Sandra was able to
k eep her same date at the chapel.Copy !req
646. Only the groom had changed.Copy !req
647. I thought you said you didn't
have a church wedding.Copy !req
648. We were all set to,
but there was a complication.Copy !req
649. Is it the medicine
that's making you thirsty?Copy !req
650. Truth is,
I've been thirsty my whole life.Copy !req
651. Never really known why.Copy !req
652. There was a time when I was 11...Copy !req
653. You were talking about your wedding.Copy !req
654. I didn't forget.
I was just working on a tangent.Copy !req
655. You see, most men, they'll tell you
a story straight through.Copy !req
656. It won't be complicated,
but it won't be interesting, either.Copy !req
657. I like your stories.Copy !req
658. I like your stories.Copy !req
659. And I like you.Copy !req
660. Well, when you work for the circus,
you don't have a regular address.Copy !req
661. Well, when you work for the circus,
you don't have a regular address.Copy !req
662. So after three years,
there was a lot of undelivered mail.Copy !req
663. During the four weeks
I was in the hospital...Copy !req
664. the postmaster
finally caught up with me.Copy !req
665. And it seems that while my heart
belonged to Sandra...Copy !req
666. the rest of my body belonged
to the U.S. Government.Copy !req
667. A hitch in the Army was up to
three years at that point...Copy !req
668. and having waited three years
just to meet Sandra...Copy !req
669. I knew I couldn't survive
being away from her that long.Copy !req
670. So I took every hazardous
assignment I could find...Copy !req
671. with the hope of getting
my time down to less than a year.Copy !req
672. Go! Go!Copy !req
673. When I was offered
a secret mission...Copy !req
674. to steal the plans for
the Wong Kai Tang power plant...Copy !req
675. I jumped at the chance
to serve my country.Copy !req
676. Go! Go!Copy !req
677. Any of you got needs?Copy !req
678. How could you miss your cue?Copy !req
679. You make me look like a fool
out there alone.Copy !req
680. You weren't alone!Copy !req
681. Who the hell are you?Copy !req
682. I'm not going to hurt you.Copy !req
683. Damn right you're not.Copy !req
684. GU ARD!Copy !req
685. Tell your men not to bother us!Copy !req
686. And close that curtain!Copy !req
687. Please, I need your help.Copy !req
688. What makes you think we'll help you?Copy !req
689. Over the next hour, I described
my love for Sandra K. Templeton...Copy !req
690. and the ordeal that brought me
before them.Copy !req
691. As it had always been,
this love was my salvation.Copy !req
692. It was destined to be.Copy !req
693. We put together an elaborate
plan for escape...Copy !req
694. inv olving a whaling ship
to Russia...Copy !req
695. a barge to Cuba,
and a small, dirty canoe to Miami.Copy !req
696. We all knew it would be dangerous.Copy !req
697. And what are we supposed to do
when we get to America?Copy !req
698. I can get you bookings.Copy !req
699. I know the biggest man
in show business.Copy !req
700. Bob Hope?Copy !req
701. Bigger.Copy !req
702. Ready?Copy !req
703. And so the twins and I
began our arduous journey...Copy !req
704. halfway around the world.Copy !req
705. Unfortunately, there was no way
to send a message back to America.Copy !req
706. And so it was no surprise
that the Army believed I was dead.Copy !req
707. No, God!Copy !req
708. After four months, Sandra had gotten
over the worst of the nightmares.Copy !req
709. When the phone rang, she didn't think
it was somehow me calling her.Copy !req
710. When a car drove past, she didn't
get up to check out the window.Copy !req
711. I talked with your father last night.Copy !req
712. You never told me
how your parents met.Copy !req
713. They met at Auburn.Copy !req
714. What about the details?
How they fell in love.Copy !req
715. The circus. The war.Copy !req
716. You never told me any of that.Copy !req
717. That's because most of it
never happened.Copy !req
718. But it's romantic.Copy !req
719. - What?
- What, I know better...Copy !req
720. than to argue romance
with a French woman.Copy !req
721. Do you love your father?Copy !req
722. Everyone loves my father.
He's a very likable guy.Copy !req
723. Do you love him?Copy !req
724. You have to understand.Copy !req
725. When I was growing up,
he was gone more than he was there.Copy !req
726. And I started thinking maybe he's got
this second life somewhere else.Copy !req
727. Another family, another house.Copy !req
728. And he leaves us
and goes to them.Copy !req
729. Or, or...Copy !req
730. Or maybe there is no second family.
Maybe he never wanted a family.Copy !req
731. Whatever it is, he likes his second life
better and he tells his stories...Copy !req
732. because he can't stand
this boring place.Copy !req
733. - But it's not true.
- Well, what's true?Copy !req
734. He's never told me
a single true thing.Copy !req
735. Look, hey...Copy !req
736. I know why you like him.Copy !req
737. I know why everyone likes him.Copy !req
738. But I need you to tell me
that I'm not crazy.Copy !req
739. Oh, you're not.Copy !req
740. And I think you should talk to him.Copy !req
741. Larry Puck ett's Chevrolet
lets the customer do the talking.Copy !req
742. Larry Puck ett's GM-certified vehicles
are under factory warranty.Copy !req
743. And you can save up to 40 percent
off the original MSRP.Copy !req
744. - Did I ever tell you about...?
- Yes.Copy !req
745. The maple tree and the Buick?
We've heard it.Copy !req
746. I know someone who hasn't.Copy !req
747. - The...
- Tree fell on the car, spilling the syrup.Copy !req
748. Which attracted the flies,
which got stuck to it...Copy !req
749. and flew off with the whole car.Copy !req
750. But the real story
is how I got the car.Copy !req
751. - You see...
- Dad?Copy !req
752. Son.Copy !req
753. Can we talk?Copy !req
754. I think I'll get started
on these dishes.Copy !req
755. I'll help you.Copy !req
756. - You know about icebergs, Dad?
- Do I?Copy !req
757. I saw an iceberg once.Copy !req
758. They were hauling it down to Texas
for drinking water.Copy !req
759. They didn't count on there being
an elephant frozen inside.Copy !req
760. - The woolly kind. A mammoth.
- Dad!Copy !req
761. What?Copy !req
762. I'm trying to make a metaphor here.Copy !req
763. Well, you shouldn't have started
with a question...Copy !req
764. because people
want to answer questions.Copy !req
765. You should've started with,
"The thing about icebergs is..."Copy !req
766. Okay, okay. The thing about
icebergs is you only see 10 percent.Copy !req
767. The other 90 percent is below
the water where you can't see it.Copy !req
768. And that's...Copy !req
769. what it is with you, Dad.Copy !req
770. I am only seeing this little bit...Copy !req
771. that sticks above the water.Copy !req
772. Oh, you're only seeing down
to my nose? My chin? My...Copy !req
773. Dad, I have no idea who you are...Copy !req
774. because you've never told me
a single fact.Copy !req
775. I've told you a thousand facts, Will.
That's what I do, I tell stories!Copy !req
776. You tell... lies, Dad.Copy !req
777. You tell amusing lies.Copy !req
778. Stories are what you tell
a 5-year-old at bedtime.Copy !req
779. They're not elaborate mythologies
that you maintain...Copy !req
780. when your son is 10 and 15
and 20 and 30.Copy !req
781. And I believed you.Copy !req
782. I believed your stories
so much longer than I should have.Copy !req
783. Then when I realized
everything you said was impossible...Copy !req
784. I felt like a fool
to have trusted you.Copy !req
785. You're like Santa Claus
and the Easter Bunny.Copy !req
786. Just as charming and just as fake.Copy !req
787. You think I'm fake.Copy !req
788. Only on the surface, Dad.
But it's all I've ever seen.Copy !req
789. Look.Copy !req
790. I'm about to have...Copy !req
791. a kid of my own.Copy !req
792. It would kill me
if he went through his whole life...Copy !req
793. never understanding me.Copy !req
794. It would kill you, huh?Copy !req
795. What do you want, Will?
Who do you want me to be?Copy !req
796. Just yourself.Copy !req
797. Good, bad, everything.
Just show me who you are for once.Copy !req
798. I've been nothing but myself
since the day I was born.Copy !req
799. And if you can't see that,
it's your failing, not mine!Copy !req
800. Your father decided
that he needed to have an office...Copy !req
801. and, of course, it wouldn't do
to have it in the house.Copy !req
802. So...Copy !req
803. You'll know better than me
what's important.Copy !req
804. What is it?Copy !req
805. It was during the war.Copy !req
806. Your father went missing.
They thought he was dead.Copy !req
807. Oh, that really happened?Copy !req
808. Not everything your father says
is a complete fabrication.Copy !req
809. I think I'll go check on him.Copy !req
810. I need to lie down for a bit.Copy !req
811. Okay, go.Copy !req
812. After the war, the sons of Alabama
returned home, looking for work.Copy !req
813. Each had the advantage over me.Copy !req
814. They were alive,
while I was officially deceased.Copy !req
815. With my prospects few...Copy !req
816. I took a job as a travelling salesman.
It suited me.Copy !req
817. If there was one thing
you can say about Edward Bloom...Copy !req
818. it's that I am a social person.Copy !req
819. - Congratulations.
- Thank you, sir.Copy !req
820. I could be gone
for weeks at a time.Copy !req
821. But every other Friday,
I put all the money I made...Copy !req
822. into an account set aside
for a proper house...Copy !req
823. with a white pick et fence.Copy !req
824. I'd like a moment of your time
to tell you about my new product...Copy !req
825. the Handi-matic.Copy !req
826. A few years later, I added
other products and other cities...Copy !req
827. until my territory stretched from
the coast to western Texas.Copy !req
828. Edward?Copy !req
829. Edward Bloom!Copy !req
830. It's me, Norther Winslow.Copy !req
831. I don't believe it.Copy !req
832. I was astonished to see the greatest
poet of both Ashton and Spectre...Copy !req
833. all the way out in Texas.Copy !req
834. I want you to know, when you left
Spectre, it opened my eyes.Copy !req
835. There was a whole life out there
that I was not living.Copy !req
836. So I travelled.Copy !req
837. I saw France, Africa,
half of South America.Copy !req
838. Every day, a new adventure.
That's my motto.Copy !req
839. That's great, Norther.
I'm happy for you.Copy !req
840. What are you doing now?Copy !req
841. I'm robbing this place.Copy !req
842. All right, everybody down!Copy !req
843. Hey!
Just slide that over.Copy !req
844. - Would you mind grabbing that?
- What?Copy !req
845. The gun.Copy !req
846. I'm gonna be cleaning out
the cash drawers...Copy !req
847. and my associate here
is gonna handle the vault.Copy !req
848. All right, you!
You help my friend, okay?Copy !req
849. Let's go!Copy !req
850. I'm sorry, ma'am.
I am.Copy !req
851. I really just don't want anyone
to get hurt.Copy !req
852. It's not that.Copy !req
853. It's just...Copy !req
854. There's no money.Copy !req
855. We're completely bankrupt.
Don't tell anybody.Copy !req
856. It turned out that the Savings & Loan
had already been robbed...Copy !req
857. not by armed bandits, but
by speculators in Texas real estate.Copy !req
858. All right, let's go!Copy !req
859. Norther!Copy !req
860. Yeah! There's gotta be
close to $400 here!Copy !req
861. And that's just from the drawers.Copy !req
862. Let's see what you got
from the vault.Copy !req
863. This is it? The whole vault?Copy !req
864. I'm afraid so.Copy !req
865. It's got your deposit slip on it.Copy !req
866. Well, I just didn't want you
leaving empty-handed.Copy !req
867. There's something you should know.
The reason they don't have money...Copy !req
868. I told Norther about
the vagaries of Texas oil money...Copy !req
869. and its effect on real-estate prices...Copy !req
870. and how lax enforcement
of fiduciary process...Copy !req
871. had made savings and loans
particularly vulnerable.Copy !req
872. Hearing this news,
Norther was left with one conclusion:Copy !req
873. I should go to Wall Street.
That's where all the money is.Copy !req
874. I knew then that while my days
as a criminal were over...Copy !req
875. Thanks for the hand!Copy !req
876. Norther's were just beginning.Copy !req
877. When Norther made
his first million dollars...Copy !req
878. he sent me a check for 10, 000.Copy !req
879. I protested, but he said it was my fee
as his career advisor.Copy !req
880. It was enough to buy my wife
a proper house...Copy !req
881. with a white pick et fence.Copy !req
882. And for that, it was all the riches
a man could ever want.Copy !req
883. I was drying out.Copy !req
884. I see.Copy !req
885. I think we ought to get you
a plant mister...Copy !req
886. so we can just spray you
like a fern.Copy !req
887. Come, now.Copy !req
888. I don't think I'll ever dry out.Copy !req
889. You carry on. I'll see...Copy !req
890. Hello.Copy !req
891. - Are you Jennifer Hill?
- I am.Copy !req
892. And you're Will.Copy !req
893. I've seen a picture of you.
That's how I recognize you.Copy !req
894. Listen, Kenny,
why don't we skip the lesson today?Copy !req
895. We can go again next week.Copy !req
896. Do I have to give it back to my mom?Copy !req
897. Well, I won't tell her if you won't.Copy !req
898. How did you know my father?Copy !req
899. Well, this was on his sales route...Copy !req
900. so he was through here all the time,
and everyone in town knew him.Copy !req
901. Were you having an affair?Copy !req
902. Wow. Wow, you just said it.Copy !req
903. I was expecting to dance
around this for another half-hour.Copy !req
904. I've seen him with women.
He flirts. He always has.Copy !req
905. And on some level,
I just presumed that he was...Copy !req
906. cheating on my mom.
I just never had proof.Copy !req
907. Well, can I ask you a question?Copy !req
908. If you found this deed,
why didn't you just ask Eddie?Copy !req
909. Because he's dying.Copy !req
910. Look, I don't know how much
you want to know about any of this.Copy !req
911. You have one image of your father...Copy !req
912. and it'd be wrong of me
to change it...Copy !req
913. especially this late in the game.Copy !req
914. My father talked about things
he never did...Copy !req
915. and I'm sure he did a lot of things
that he never talked about.Copy !req
916. I'm just trying to reconcile the two.Copy !req
917. The first thing
you have to understand...Copy !req
918. is that your father
never meant to end up here.Copy !req
919. Yet he did.Copy !req
920. Twice.Copy !req
921. The first time, he was early.Copy !req
922. The second time, he was late.Copy !req
923. Those days, your father was working
for himself.Copy !req
924. If there's one thing you could
say about Edward Bloom...Copy !req
925. it's that he was a social person,
and people took a liking to him.Copy !req
926. One night, he was returning
from three weeks on the road...Copy !req
927. when he hit a thunderstorm
unlik e any in his life.Copy !req
928. Fate has a way of circling back
on a man...Copy !req
929. and taking him by surprise.Copy !req
930. A man sees things differently
at different times in his life.Copy !req
931. This town didn't seem the same
now that he was older.Copy !req
932. A new road had brought
the outside world to Spectre...Copy !req
933. and with it, banks, liens and debt.Copy !req
934. Almost everywhere you look ed,
people were bankrupt.Copy !req
935. The auction today
is for the town of Spectre.Copy !req
936. - The opening bid will be $10,000.
- So Edward Bloom...Copy !req
937. decided to buy the town.
- 50,000.Copy !req
938. - I couldn't believe my eyes...
- He was never a wealthy man...Copy !req
939. but he had made other men rich,
and now he ask ed for their fav ours.Copy !req
940. - I'm trying to save...
- Most of them hadn't seen Spectre.Copy !req
941. They only had Edward's words
to describe it.Copy !req
942. That's all he needed.
He sold them on the dream.Copy !req
943. So first he bought the farms.Copy !req
944. Then he bought the houses.
And then he bought the stores.Copy !req
945. Whatever he bought, the people were
not ask ed to leave or pay rent.Copy !req
946. They were just ask ed to k eep
doing as they were doing.Copy !req
947. In that way, he could mak e sure
the town would never die.Copy !req
948. Within six months, his trust had
purchased the entire town.Copy !req
949. With one exception.Copy !req
950. You must be Edward Bloom.Copy !req
951. How do you know?Copy !req
952. No one would come out here
unless they had business.Copy !req
953. And no one would have business
with me except for you.Copy !req
954. You're buying the town.Copy !req
955. Apparently I overlooked this one
piece of it, and I'd like to remedy that.Copy !req
956. In order for the town to be preserved,
the trust must own it, in its entirety.Copy !req
957. And so I've heard.Copy !req
958. I'll offer you more than it's worth.
And you won't have to move.Copy !req
959. Nothing will change except the name
on the deed, you have my word.Copy !req
960. Now, let me get this straight.Copy !req
961. You buy the swamp from me,
but I'll stay in it?Copy !req
962. You'll own the house,
but it'll still be mine?Copy !req
963. I'll be here, and you'll come and go as
you please to one place or another.Copy !req
964. Do I have that right?Copy !req
965. In so many words, yes.Copy !req
966. Yeah, then I don't think so,
Mr. Bloom.Copy !req
967. If nothing's gonna change,
I'd just as soon it not change...Copy !req
968. in the way things haven't been
changing all this time.Copy !req
969. It's not like you'll lose anything.
You can ask anyone in town.Copy !req
970. Why are you buying this land,
Mr. Bloom?Copy !req
971. Some sort of midlife crisis?Copy !req
972. Instead of buying a convertible,
you buy a town?Copy !req
973. Helping people makes me happy.Copy !req
974. I'm not convinced
you should be happy.Copy !req
975. - I'm sorry. Have I offended you?
- No.Copy !req
976. You did exactly what you promised.Copy !req
977. You came back.
I was just expecting you sooner.Copy !req
978. You're Beamen's daughter.Copy !req
979. Your name's different.
Did you get married?Copy !req
980. I was 18. He was 28.
Turns out that was a big difference.Copy !req
981. I won't be selling you this house,
Mr. Bloom.Copy !req
982. I see.Copy !req
983. Well, thank you for your time.Copy !req
984. - It's stuck.
- Yeah.Copy !req
985. - Oh, I'm so sorry! L...
- It's okay. Just leave it.Copy !req
986. - No, I'll...
- Please! Just go.Copy !req
987. - But...
- Go.Copy !req
988. Most men in that situation would
accept their failure and move on.Copy !req
989. But Edward was not lik e most men.Copy !req
990. But Edward was not lik e most men.Copy !req
991. Hold!Copy !req
992. They both had completely
different characters but...Copy !req
993. well, just one pair of legs.Copy !req
994. As the months passed, he found
more and more things to fix...Copy !req
995. until the shack no longer
resembled itself.Copy !req
996. Of course, the best part
was coming up with the new material.Copy !req
997. By the time the twins and I
had got to Havana...Copy !req
998. we'd worked out a new routine,
using only a ukulele and a harmonica.Copy !req
999. - Well...
- You could leave it there.Copy !req
1000. No.Copy !req
1001. Now, don't.Copy !req
1002. Don't be embarrassed. I should never
have let you think that...Copy !req
1003. I'm in love with my wife.Copy !req
1004. Yeah, I know.Copy !req
1005. And from the first day I saw her
until the day I die...Copy !req
1006. she's the only one.Copy !req
1007. Lucky girl.Copy !req
1008. I'm sorry, Jenny. I am.Copy !req
1009. Wait! Edward.Copy !req
1010. One day, Edward Bloom left...Copy !req
1011. and never returned
to the town he'd saved.Copy !req
1012. As for the girl...Copy !req
1013. the common belief
was that she'd become a witch...Copy !req
1014. and crazy at that.Copy !req
1015. She became something
of a legend herself.Copy !req
1016. And the story ended where it began.Copy !req
1017. Logically, you couldn't be
the witch, because she was...Copy !req
1018. old when he was young.Copy !req
1019. Well, it's logical if you think
like your father.Copy !req
1020. See, to him there's only
two women:Copy !req
1021. Your mother...Copy !req
1022. and everyone else.Copy !req
1023. And one day...Copy !req
1024. I realized I was in love with a man
who could never love me back.Copy !req
1025. I was living in a fairy tale.Copy !req
1026. I'm not sure I should've told you
any of this.Copy !req
1027. No, no, no, I wanted to know. I'm...Copy !req
1028. I'm glad I know.Copy !req
1029. I wanted to be as important to him
as you were.Copy !req
1030. And I'm...Copy !req
1031. I was never gonna be.Copy !req
1032. I was make-believe.Copy !req
1033. And his other life, you...Copy !req
1034. You were real.Copy !req
1035. Mom?Copy !req
1036. Josephine?Copy !req
1037. Josephine?Copy !req
1038. Will!Copy !req
1039. What happened?Copy !req
1040. Your father had a stroke.Copy !req
1041. He's upstairs with your mom
and Dr. Bennett.Copy !req
1042. Is he gonna be okay?Copy !req
1043. I don't suppose that I could...Copy !req
1044. stay here with him.
I mean, in case...Copy !req
1045. In case he wakes up,
I really ought to be here.Copy !req
1046. I'll stay.Copy !req
1047. Why don't you go home with
Josephine. I'll stay tonight.Copy !req
1048. - Is that okay?
- Fine.Copy !req
1049. Will, you'll call if there's any?Copy !req
1050. I will. I will. I'll call.Copy !req
1051. - Do you want some time with Dad?
- Yes. Thank you.Copy !req
1052. Glad to see you're not trying
to have a heartfelt talk.Copy !req
1053. One of my greatest
annoyances is when...Copy !req
1054. people try to talk to those
who can't hear them.Copy !req
1055. Well, we have an advantage.Copy !req
1056. My father and I never talk.Copy !req
1057. Your father ever tell you
about the day you were born?Copy !req
1058. Yeah, a thousand times.
He caught an uncatchable fish.Copy !req
1059. Not that. The real story.
He ever tell you that?Copy !req
1060. No.Copy !req
1061. Well, your mother came in about
3 in the afternoon.Copy !req
1062. Her neighbour drove her, on account of
your father was away on business...Copy !req
1063. in Wichita.Copy !req
1064. You were born a week early,
but there were no complications.Copy !req
1065. It was a perfect delivery.
Your father was sorry not to be there.Copy !req
1066. But it wasn't the custom then for men
to be in the room for deliveries...Copy !req
1067. so I can't see how it would've been
much different had he been there.Copy !req
1068. And that's the real story
of how you were born.Copy !req
1069. Not very exciting, is it?Copy !req
1070. And I suppose if I had to choose
between the true version...Copy !req
1071. and an elaborate one involving
a fish and a wedding ring...Copy !req
1072. I might choose the fancy version.Copy !req
1073. But, then that's just me.Copy !req
1074. I kind of liked your version.Copy !req
1075. Dad?Copy !req
1076. Hey, Dad? Hey, you want me
to get the nurse?Copy !req
1077. What do you want? What can I do?
What can I get?Copy !req
1078. You want some water?Copy !req
1079. You want a bit of water?Copy !req
1080. The river.Copy !req
1081. The river?Copy !req
1082. Tell me how it happens.Copy !req
1083. How what happens?Copy !req
1084. How I go.Copy !req
1085. You mean what you saw in The Eye?Copy !req
1086. I don't know that story, Dad.
You never told me that one.Copy !req
1087. Okay. Hey, okay, I'll try.Copy !req
1088. I need your help.
Tell me how it starts.Copy !req
1089. Like this.Copy !req
1090. Okay. Okay.Copy !req
1091. Okay, so it's in the morning...Copy !req
1092. and you and I are in the hospital,
and I've fallen asleep. And I wake up...Copy !req
1093. and I see you,
and somehow you're better.Copy !req
1094. Dad?Copy !req
1095. You're different.Copy !req
1096. - Dad.
- Let's get out of here.Copy !req
1097. Then I say:Copy !req
1098. Dad, you're in no condition...Copy !req
1099. Get that wheelchair.Copy !req
1100. Hurry up! We haven't much time!Copy !req
1101. Once we get off this floor,
we're in the clear.Copy !req
1102. And we get in the wheelchair...Copy !req
1103. - Faster!
- ... lik e we're escaping the hospital.Copy !req
1104. What are you doing?Copy !req
1105. We pass Dr. Bennett,
who tries to slow us down.Copy !req
1106. - Stop them!
- We're flying down the hall.Copy !req
1107. Orderly after orderly is chasing us.Copy !req
1108. Mom and Josephine
are at the end.Copy !req
1109. No time to explain! Stall them!Copy !req
1110. We come flying out
over the curb...Copy !req
1111. and your old red Charger is there.
But it's new. Brand-new.Copy !req
1112. And I pick you up...Copy !req
1113. and somehow you hardly weigh
anything. I can't explain it.Copy !req
1114. Leave it! We don't need it!Copy !req
1115. Water. I need water.Copy !req
1116. - Where are we going?
- The river.Copy !req
1117. And we have to take Glenville
to avoid traffic...Copy !req
1118. because the damn church
people drive too slow.Copy !req
1119. And as we get close to the river...Copy !req
1120. He's here!Copy !req
1121. we see that everybody
is already there.Copy !req
1122. And I mean...Copy !req
1123. everyone.Copy !req
1124. It's unbelievable.Copy !req
1125. The story of my life.Copy !req
1126. The strange thing is, there's
not a sad face to be found.Copy !req
1127. Everyone is just so glad
to see you...Copy !req
1128. and send you off right.Copy !req
1129. Goodbye, everybody!
Farewell! Adieu!Copy !req
1130. My girl in the river.Copy !req
1131. You become what you always were.Copy !req
1132. A very big fish.Copy !req
1133. And that's how it happens.Copy !req
1134. Yeah.Copy !req
1135. Exactly.Copy !req
1136. Mom?Copy !req
1137. The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.Copy !req
1138. He makes me to lie down
in green pastures.Copy !req
1139. He leads me beside the quiet waters.Copy !req
1140. He restores my soul.Copy !req
1141. He guides me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake.Copy !req
1142. Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death...Copy !req
1143. I will fear no evil,
for you are with me.Copy !req
1144. Surely goodness and love will
follow me all the days of my life.Copy !req
1145. Have you ever heard a jok e so many
times you've forgotten why it's funny?Copy !req
1146. And then you hear it again
and suddenly it's new.Copy !req
1147. You remember why you loved it
in the first place.Copy !req
1148. So he said he'll fight the giant
who was 15 feet tall!Copy !req
1149. - No way!
- Dad! That's right, isn't it?Copy !req
1150. Pretty much.Copy !req
1151. See? So he was a giant.Copy !req
1152. That was my father's final joke,
I guess.Copy !req
1153. A man tells his stories so many times
that he becomes the stories.Copy !req
1154. They live on after him.Copy !req
1155. And in that way,
he becomes immortal.Copy !req