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Cold November (2017)
[Florence crying]
[woman vocalizing] [imitating police siren] "Have you seen this girl?" "No, we haven't, Officer Petey. How long has she been missing?" "Well, only since last Friday, but her parents sure are worried. Well, thanks, fellas." [imitates engine starting and police siren] Ooh. Hi, honey. Oh, this is great. Is that a new building? Yeah. Sweet. But it's really time to get ready for bed, honey. But, Grandma, Officer Petey is on a mission. Well, his mission is going to be around tomorrow, too, so why don't you... why don't you do that stop time trick I taught you? That's stupid, Grandma. You can't stop time. Oh, come on, come on, come on. Just give it a try. Nobody's looking but me. [sighs] Okay, Grandma. I'm ready. All right. Come on. Nice job. [woman vocalizing] Hey. Did you brush your teeth? Yeah. When is Mom coming home? Well, she's working late tonight so that she can take time off next week to hunt with us. Now, you better get some sleep because you're going to need it. Good night, Grandma. Oh, good night, honey. Love you. Turn out the light. [Mr. Bill] Now, if you passed... your safety card is attached to your test. Congrats, kids, and good luck out there. Be safe. Be proud. Bring me some venison. [woman vocalizing] What's wrong? Why are people mean to each other, Mom? I don't know. They just are. [sighs] It doesn't get any better when you graduate either. The world is... just one big high school. Why are you telling me this? Sorry, baby. I guess I had a bad day, too. [woman vocalizing] That stew was really good, Mom. Venison was perfectly cooked. Well, that's what happens when you follow a recipe, Mia. You've got to cook it slow. Mmm. [Florence] Whose deer was this one, Grandma? Whose deer is this? [chuckles] I'm not sure. I-I lose track after a while. You know what? I think it was mine from last year, 'cause I recognize my handwriting on the freezer paper. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. - [Georgia] I think you're right. - Mm-hmm. [Florence] Can I go play out in the garage now? [Amanda] You need to clean up first, Flor. You know that. [sighs] Okay. [clears throat] Who's that present for? Hey there, mind your own business. That's just something for one of my friends. Oh. Well, you sure it's not for me? [Amanda] Well, that's a little presumptuous, don't you think? [Florence] You're smiling. [chuckles] [Mia] You know, I haven't heard a peep from you about school, and I heard that someone might have gotten their gun safety permit. Yep, and got 100% on the test, too. - [Georgia] Ah, that's my girl. - [doorbell rings] No playing with your cars tonight, Flor. We got to celebrate. [playing kazoo] [Georgia] Look what the cat dragged in. [all laugh] - [balloon pops] - [Georgia] Oh, God! Oh, my gosh. - Oh, my gosh. - [laughs] Surprise! [Florence] Where have you been, Uncle Craig? I drove straight up from work. From the cities, right after work. [Georgia] I didn't think I was ever going to see you again, honey. - [Craig] Hey, Georgia. - [Georgia] Oh! [Craig] I'm here. Rest assured. Now, what did you do with this face? Oh, come on, now. This trend... you don't like the lumberjack look, huh? No! Well, I'm just trying to stay warm for the winter. [Mia] How was the drive? Grow it if I got it, right? It was good, it was good. I almost whacked a buck on 73. But other than that, it was good. No party is complete without a present. - It is for me! I knew it. - Yes. [laughs] I can tell it's going to be a good present just because I can feel it. Oh, wow-wee, look at that! Yeah! Whoo! [Craig] Careful. Don't scratch the table. 'Course not. Never trying to. Flor, Flor, this is a 30-30. But it's not just any 30-30. This belonged to your great-great-grandfather. [Amanda] I shot my first deer with this gun, and so did your Auntie Mia. [Mia] Yeah. So did Sweeney. [Craig] Yeah... - [Georgia] Yeah. - [clears throat] [Craig] It suits you, Flor. Why don't you hold it up to your shoulder, see how it feels? [Mia] It's about as big as... [Craig] Can you stay standing? [all laugh] Mm! Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Grandma. Thanks, Auntie Mia. You're... you're welcome. [Amanda] All right, come on, I'm going to show you how to clean it. [Florence] Okay. Sweeney? What is it, Sween? [thuds] [engine starts] [buzzing] Well, hey, kiddo. Good afternoon. [sighs] Grandma, it's still morning. Your mom's inside. Better get in there and tell her you're here, honey. [Florence] Okay. [vacuum cleaner whirring] Mom! Oh, my God, Flor. - [whirring stops] - You scared me. [chuckles] What happens if the animal doesn't die right away, like, after I shoot it? Well, then you shoot it again and hope you get it killed right away. Worst thing would be for it to suffer. You don't want that to happen. But, you know, just take aim on your first shot and hopefully you don't get in that predicament. But if you do, it's okay. You're going to be fine. I found 'em! It's not easy to watch an animal die, but if they didn't die, we couldn't eat their meat. You understand that? Mm-hmm. All right, why don't you go sit down? Hey, Mom? Yeah. Do you think Sweeney suffered? Boy, Flor. Um... I don't know. I mean, I-I really don't know. You know Sweeney. She never did anything half-assed. When she went for it, she really went for it. So, I would guess that she knew everything that she was getting into. She was a smart girl. Yeah, she was. - All right, you ready? - Yeah. Okay, let's do it. Come here. - I love you. - I love you, too. All right, so what's the first thing you check? That the gun in unloaded. - And did you do that? - Yes. And how do you tie it up? So that the barrel points to the ground. Ah, thanks. All right, good. So once we get this tied up, why don't you climb up and then pull it up? - All right? - Yep! After you pull it up, why don't you kick out all the leaves? Okay! [grunts] I think I'm going to go head up over the ridge. I'll be back in about 20 minutes, okay? Okay. When will you be back? - Like 20 minutes. - Oh, yeah. - You're going to be fine. - Pfft. You said that. All right. Okay. [exhales] [shivers] [imitates engine revving] [sighs] [rustling, twig snaps] [Florence] Okay, so it came up behind me, and it, like, snuck up on me. - [Amanda] Yeah? - [Florence] It was like a deer ninja. - [Amanda] Yeah? [chuckles] - [Florence] And it, like... It just came up. And at first, it didn't make a sound. - [Amanda] Yeah? - [Florence] It just creeped up and went in front of me. And it just stood there and looked at me like it wanted to be my friend or something. Wow, that is so cool. Wow, I don't... I don't think I've had anything like that happen to me before. Holy shit, Mom, you should have seen it. Hey, did you just say "shit?" Sorry, Mom. I'm just really excited. Well, I guess I just have never heard you say "shit" in front of me before, so... You just said it twice. Yeah, I guess I did. You're taking this very lightly. Yeah, well, I guess I'll take what I can get. Just, hey, do not say that in front of Grandmother, okay? I'll give you a pass this time. That's it. Don't go drinking beer or anything. - [scoffs] Ew, Mom. - [laughs] Oh, heads up, it's your uncle. - Hey, I'm unarmed. - No, you're not. You're the only one who is armed. Here, go, go, go! That doesn't shoot pinecones, Craig. Hey! [laughs] Ow! Hey! Stop it! What are you doing? I'm protecting my granddaughter. Okay, truce, truce, truce, truce. [Mia] Hey, can someone help me out here? [Florence] What are you doing? I'm just cutting some cedar for the deer. They love this stuff. It's like candy for them. - But why do we have to cut it? - Because they don't have thumbs. What is that suppose to mean? Well, if they had thumbs they could climb it and get it themselves, you know. [Florence] Craig, you're a weirdo. Hey! I called truce! - Truce, I'll give you truce. - [laughs] Hands not on the trigger. Good, good, okay. - Got it aimed? - Yep. Okay, now remember, you want to take a deep breath in... and then slowly let it out as you aim. And then you'll slowly squeeze the trigger. Okay? So don't pull it, just squeeze it. So go ahead when you're ready. - Ooh! - Did you get it? - [laughs] - Oh, I think I hit... I think I hit the bulls-eye! You did. You did hit the bullseye. - Holy shit! - You did! Watch your language, Mia. It's okay, Grandma. I hear worse than that at school. I'm saying it's awesome. - I'm sure you do. - How's your shoulder feel? Good. It hurt a little more in my neck. - Oh, yeah? You okay? - It's okay. I'm all good. - That's our girl! - You wanna check it out up close? Yeah, I wanna see it up close. All right, let's look. [Florence] Oh, man. Feels good once you get it over with. [Craig laughs] [Florence] I'll get used to it. Thanks for giving me some time. I just... I didn't know who I was anymore. [Georgia] You know, Flor, when I was your age, I didn't have any choice. We were hungry and, uh, nobody had any work at that time. The mines had just laid everybody off. And when... oh... when we'd get a deer, we'd cover all the windows with blankets, and then we'd sneak the deer inside the house inside a sheet. Yeah. Because it wasn't deer season? Exactly. And then we'd... we'd all chip in and we'd butcher that deer as fast as we could, because we knew that when we had it in the ice box, we were home free. Oh. Oh, boy, those were the days. [Craig] It's crazy to think about doing that now. Well, Craig, it was crazy then, too, but, you know, we were hungry. We didn't have any choice. We never... we never thought we'd ever be in that position. But you never know when things are going to change and you never know when you're going to have to live off the land. At least we've got some land to live off of, even though technically it was against the law. When you're hungry, you don't care much about the law. Sorry, it's the way it was. Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Whoa! - Whoo! - Oh, my God! - [screaming] - Oh, holy shit! Oh, my God! [screaming] You're good, baby. You're good. You're good. You're good. - Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! - Whoo! - Whoo! - Whoo! Oh. [sighs] Hoo-kay. [car door opens, closes] [crying] Oh. [sniffles] Hey. Hey. You okay? Yeah. [sniffles] I just thought I was gonna, I don't know, lose it, so I came out here so I wouldn't wake anyone up. I was just thinking about... Sweeney. About the time she shot her first deer. I always loved coming out here. She used to look forward to it every year. [sighs] I really do miss her, Flor. I really miss her. I know. I do, too. We all do. But it's going to be okay. I'm here with you and I love you, so it's going to be okay. I know you do. I'm happy to be out here with you, believe me. You know, I had a dream last night and Sweeny came to me in it. - Really? - Yeah. She used to come all the time after she died, but, um, ahem, then it stopped. But it came... she came back again out of nowhere yesterday. She told me that I was ready to kill a deer and that I was going to do it tomorrow. Well, heck, now, isn't that cool? That's really cool, Flor. It's like she's watching out for you, guardian angel stylee. She always loved that word, "stylee." [laughs, sighs] Yeah. - I am happy to be here. - Yeah. It's been a really tough year and... I think this is going to be really good for all of us. Definitely. Auntie Mia? Hmm? What's up? I think I just got my period. Holy shit. Really? I put a pad on in the outhouse. I followed the directions. Uh, did your undies get messed up? Um, a little bit. Well, we just gotta get a bowl of icy-cold water to soak 'em in with a little dish soap. Got to do that right away so the stain doesn't set. That's one of Grandma's tricks. Okay. Other than that, sounds like you've pretty much taken care of business. You know, this could be really good for you. What do you mean? Okay, so, um, I was reading this blog, right, uh, and they said that the big bucks, you know, they can't tell the difference between human period blood and doe period blood. That's... oh, my gosh, that's gross. Well, so last year, I put a tampon out by my stand just to see what happened. Mia, that's disgusting. And sure enough, that's the year I got one of my biggest bucks. Oh, my God, I really think I'm gonna barf. [laughs] Well, I am just trying to give you some insider secrets here. Why do you think I always get bigger bucks than your uncle, huh? [sighs] [chuckles] You think that's gross? Wait until you get elbows deep inside a deer. That's different. Not that much. [sighs] Thank you, Flor. Oh, we should get your undies soaking before bed and... Yeah. Welcome to being a woman. Mm. Okay. [chuckles] [alarm beeping] [alarm stops] [groans] Well, look who's finally up. Very funny. You want some bacon? Yeah! [footsteps approaching] [rain pattering] [Amanda] [sighs] I don't like this. I think they're bedded down because of the weather. I don't think they're going to move unless something stirs them up. [sighs] I'm gonna go make a loop around and see if I can make a push to you. Sound good? Yeah. Uh, what if I see one when you're not here? [chuckles] Well, you shoot it. [laughs] I'm cold. Ah... yeah, me, too. But that is all part of the process. Here, use the heater. Here you go. Stay near that. Keep the blanket wrapped around you. You should be able to stay warm. [sighs] All right, here I go. [grunts] Hey, Mom? Yeah, what's up? I got my period last night. What? You... you did? Well, why didn't you tell me sooner? [sighs] Holy cow, Flor. Are you okay? I mean, do you have any cramps? No cramps. Do you have everything? I mean, do you have pads out here? I'm fine, Mother. Now, let's talk about this later. I need to focus. Okay. [chuckles] All right, well, I'll be... I'll be gone for probably about an hour or two. If you... if you shoot a deer, blow your whistle. I know, Mom. You need to let us all know. [gunshot] Wonder who that was. [gunshot] That sounds like it came from your grandma's stand. So it means there are actually deer in these woods? Yep, I guess so. Are you sure you don't need anything? I'll be fine. All right. Good Luck, honey. [birds chirping] [sighs] [rustling] [sighs] - Nothing? - Nothing. [sighs] - [Craig] Oh, come on, guys. - [Georgia] Craig! - What? - [Georgia] God! [Amanda] Who's got the story? Mom. - Okay, okay, okay. - [Mia] She's always the lucky one. Well, I was just... I was just sitting in my stand and I kept hearing something moving behind me. And I kept looking and looking, and I-I couldn't see anything. And then, out of nowhere, this 8-point buck comes out! Wow! He's 50 yards away from me, standing broadside. Yeah. I-I was feeling so much adrenalin, I didn't think I'd get a shot at him. You know, I think I'm just getting shakier, too. Aren't you supposed to have a glass of wine for that? It's supposed to help with the tremor. - I am drinking the wine. - Well, excuse the pee out of me! [Amanda] Okay, shh. Let's hear the story! Finish the story, Mom. - [Georgia] Well... - [Amanda] Yeah. So, okay, well, uh, - I, uh... I shot once. - Yeah. And then he jumped once, and then he stopped, and he looked right at me. Hmm? [sighs] I guess I must have missed him. [chuckles] [sighs] Oh, no. Second shot dropped him in his tracks! - Aw. I knew it, knew it. - Boom! - Boom! [laughs] - [Amanda] That's great, Mom. [Georgia] Yes, he's hanging in the garage. - Ah. - We didn't see anything. - No. - [Georgia] Oh, come on. That's okay, kiddo. Hey, hey, hey. It's only the first day. - [Amanda] Yep. That's what I said. Yeah. - Okay? Okay? - Okay?! Okay! - Okay. So, come on. You wanna see him? - Yeah. - [Mia] He is a beauty. [Georgia] All right. Come on, come on, come on, come on. Okay. [laughs] Auntie Mia and I have already done most of the work. Here you go, girl. You call that most? - There it is. - [Mia] Hey! Remember when I told you that I hit it broadside? Look right here. Right there. Right there. - [laughs] - You two muscled it up there. Okay, we've got it started. Auntie Mia and I have got it started, sweetheart. Yeah, we did the hard part. - Thank you. We did. - Yeah. - Wow. - All right, here we go. [Mia] All right. [Georgia] This is a small one, Flor. - [Amanda] You're gonna do this now? - Here you go, honey. - [Amanda] It's ready? - [Mia] Yeah. We're ready. Oh, here, Florence. Let me get you a... You're going to need this. Here you go. [Georgia] Here you go, Amanda. [Amanda] There you go. Oh, thank you. - [Amanda] You guys want it to one side? - Okay, ready? Okay, now, look... Okay, slow down, now. Nice and slow. This is where we gutted the deer. We had to cut the... cut a hole right around the... right around the butthole. Are you ready? And then it got cut open. - [Mia] Got it? - [Amanda] Yep. Now watch. All right, now slowly. You don't want to cut the meat. - [Georgia] Are you ready? - [Mia] Yep. [Georgia] Very, very slowly. [Georgia] And pull. - Okay. - [Mia] Got it? - [Amanda] Yep. - You ready? - [Mia] Whoa! - [Amanda] Use your weight. And pull. Okay, your turn. [Mia] That blood's got to be good for something. - [all laugh] - [Mia] There you go. Watch your fingers, watch your fingers. Nowhere near your fingers, okay? Very slowly. Got it? Okay, very slowly. All right, now let's pull. Okay, you pull with me. Pull. - Got it? - Oh! Okay, good girl. Slow. - Oh, man! - All right. - It's kind of a big one. - [Amanda] Oh, my goodness. [Florence] Big thing right there. [Georgia] Okay. Go! [Florence] Wow, guys, I can see the b... I can see the bullet hole! [Georgia] There it is, right there. Put your finger in it. - [Florence] Uh, no. - [Georgia] Go ahead. Don't be afraid. [Florence] No. I don't want to. I don't want to. [GEORGIA] See, look, it's hollow. Put your finger in there. [Florence] No, I don't want to. It's okay. [Amanda laughs] [Florence] Come on, give the new girl a break here. [all laugh] [Craig] How'd it go in the garage? [Florence] Well, um, it wasn't as gross as I thought it would be. - It was actually pretty cool. - Awesome. - Yeah. - You're a natural, huh? Mm. - [Amanda] Hey. - Hey. Here, put this on your tummy. How are you feeling? Kinda gross, but I changed everything before bed, so I'm fine. I know you are, sweetie. Just do yourself a favor and take a hot sauna tomorrow after you kill your first deer, okay? Are you saying that I shouldn't bathe until I kill a deer? No, silly. I'm saying bleeding once a month is just annoying enough as it is, so you got to remember to try and be as comfortable as you can. Mm-hmm. I also have a feeling about tomorrow. I think it's gonna be your day. [chuckles] [sighs] Good night, sweetie. I'm gonna do an old trick on the way out, here. [grunts] I don't know why this happens, but sometimes if you're walking through the woods, deer will follow you. [chuckles] I know it sounds weird, but it happens all the time. So I'm going to walk up on the top of the ridge and around back here, take the deer trail past the stand. Why don't you sit here for 15 minutes? Keep the heater under the blanket. And then if you don't see anything, hop down and follow me back to the cabin, okay? Okay. Oh! [grunts] [panting] [exhales] [sighs] [thuds] [breathing heavily] [Georgia] Hey, sweet pea. How you doing, honey? I'm okay. Where are you going? Oh, I've gotta run into town. I'm helping the ladies at church with the pasty bake. - [panting] - [car beeping] I'm gonna spend the night at the house. They scheduled it on the same weekend as hunting? Why? Why did they do that? Hey, now. I've already got my deer. There's no sense in me hogging them all. I've got an idea. Why don't you sit in my stand tomorrow? [engine starts] Okay? Gotta run. I'm late. Be safe, honey. Bye, Grandma. [sighs] [phone ringing] [sighs] [rings] [sighs] Hi. Hold on a second. Hi. What's up? Yeah, okay. [Florence] I thought you wanted me to get a deer! [Amanda] I do want that. Then what's the point of having a day off school if I can't even take advantage of it?! Florence, I'm done with this conversation. This sucks! [Florence groans] [Mia] She's pretty bummed, huh? Well, I guess I could take her. You don't have to do that, Mia. I want to. I thought you weren't going to stay here much longer. I mean, are you holding up okay? Yeah. Just gotta push through this, Amanda. It's been really good being up here. And Flor's right. I mean, she's just going to sit around the house all day tomorrow? Craig wants to stay a day or two anyway. Maybe I want to be here for it. I do! I-I do want to be here for it. [sighs] If I could take off work, I would, but I... - [door opens] - ...I can't. [Mia] Well, you do what you gotta do, but you don't take that out on her. Flor's smart and she can sit in the stand by herself, and I can walk her out there and Craig and I can make a push. What do you think, hon, you want to stay out there for a day or two more? Yeah. I mean, I'd be crushed if I were her. [Craig] Sure you're okay with this, Amanda? [Amanda] Yeah, I guess. Mia's got a point. Yay, yay! Thank you! Oh! You spying on us? [Florence] Thank you, Mom. I think you need to say thank you to your aunt and uncle. - [Florence] Thank you. - [Craig] Oh, you're welcome! Mwah! - Yeah, yeah. - [chuckles] All right, we're losing light. Get suited up! Okay! Okay, so Uncle Craig is gonna walk you out to your stand on the way to his, and I'm gonna leave in about half an hour or so and make a push towards you on the way to mine. You listening? - Yeah. Sorry. - [laughs] All right. I got everything. - Let's go. - Okay. - You want that? - Yeah. Oh. - Yeah, I guess I need that. - [laughs] All right, I'll see you in about an hour. Okay. Bye. How you doin'? Good. Haven't seen anything yet. Yeah, me either. I was thinking I was gonna head on over to my stand. - You holding up okay? - Yep. Okay. Well, just blow that whistle if you need anything, and we'll come out as soon as we can, all right? I know, Auntie Mia. Thanks. Okay. - [gunshot] - [gasps] [gunshot] [shivering] [grunts] [Amanda] Now remember, you want to take a deep breath in, and then... [Mia] I was just thinking about Sweeney. [Mr. Bill] Be safe. Be proud. [Craig] I wasn't going to miss your first hunt. [Georgia] I shot once... [Amanda] Don't be afraid to shoot, Florence. [gunshot echoes] [deer crying out in pain] [Florence] Come on. Come on and die. [deer crying out in pain] [deer crying out in pain] [deer crying out in pain] [gunshot] [blows whistle] [blows whistle] [twig snaps] Mia? Craig? Is that you? Craig? Mia! Craig? [sighs] [birds chirping] [sighs] [exhales] [blows whistle] [blows whistle] [sighs] [grunting] [exhales] [knuckles crack] First the butthole, then the chest, ribs, windpipe, pull out the rest. First the butthole, then the chest, ribs, windpipe, pull out the rest. Okay. [flesh squelching] Ew. Oh, God. Okay. [exhales] [exhales] [exhales] [grunts] [sighs] Oh, my God. [grunts] Oh, my God. Oh, shit! [sniffles] [exhales] Okay. [exhales] Come on. Come on. Aw, jeez. Okay. Oh, my God. Oh, thank God. [exhales] [grunting] [exhales] [exhales] Gaw! Where the hell are you?! [sighs] [sighs] [exhales] Craig? Mia? Craig? You said you'd come. You said you'd come! Sweeney? Sweeney, come out. I need you right now. I need you. [sniffles] [crying] [sniffles] [crying] [sniffles] [continues crying] [sniffles] [sniffles] - Hey, who is it? Who's there? - [Craig] Flor, is that you? It's us, it's Uncle Craig. How you doing, kiddo? - Why weren't you there?! - [grunts] Wait up. Careful! I got a gun here! I blew the whistle. You didn't come! - Where were you?! - Settle down! Settle down! - You know how hard it was?! - Huh? I was counting on you! I was counting on you, and you weren't there! We're sorry! We're sorry! Mia wounded a buck and we had to track it. We were tracking it all afternoon, okay? It's not true. You're lying to me! [Mia] No, it is true, Flor. I screwed up and I wounded one! I don't know what happened. I couldn't shoot it right. Come on, calm down! Calm down. [grunts] What happened, huh? You said you would come if I blew the whistle. You said you would come. Yeah, I know, sweetheart. - We're here now, okay? - [Mia] What happened, sweetie? Everything's going to be okay. Sweeney's gone. [sniffles] She didn't come to help me. We're here now. We're here now. [engine humming] - [Craig] Wowee, look at that! - [Mia] Yeah, nice one. [Craig] Holy cow, Flor! - That's clean as whistle. - [laughs] Nice gut job. Not bad for a first time. [Mia grunts] That's right. [Craig] All right, I guess you did enough work, huh. [Mia chuckles] [Craig] All right, here we go. You got the legs? - Yep. - All right, I got these legs here. Okay. Ready? One, two, three! [both grunt] Okay, okay, okay. Okay, put it down. Put it down. [exhales] One, two, almost there, three! [exhales] Oh, honey. [sighs] Come here. [fire crackling] Hey, kiddo. How you holding up? Okay, I guess. You know it's not easy, what you did today, Flor. Shooting a deer brings up a lot of emotions. That must have sucked to be doing that alone. I'm glad you didn't hold it in, though. I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner for you. I killed two or three deer before that feeling went away. And even when I kill a deer now, I still have it a little bit. You know, I started doing this thing that really helps. After I shoot a deer, I go up to it and I... Oh... [chuckles] I talk to it. I-I say thanks for letting me, you know, take your life and giving me a meal and reminding me that one day, I'm going to be feeding some creatures, too, probably worms. [chuckles] It's a big realization. Ew! Really? After what you've been through today? You're grossed out by worms? [chuckles] I want to show you something. See this? I've been carrying this around with me ever since she died. It used to make me feel good to look at it. Now... it doesn't. This reminds me of this story my buddy told me. He had just gotten back from this thing where... he went off to this giant wooden temple where people go to bring memories that they want to leave and get rid of. He said the place is filled with all these photos of people's friends and family members and lost loves, and poems and stories, and pictures, and someone even left their dissertation there once. What's a dissertation? It's like a book people write when they're finishing their PhD in college. That's a strange thing to leave, isn't it? Yeah. I guess whoever left it was, uh, okay with never seeing it again. At least it felt good to let it go. You know what they do with the building after a week? What? They burn it down. They burn down the whole building? Yep. And all of the memories with it. And everyone who left something in the building just stands in a big circle and watches it as it burns. Why? Because I guess when there's something out of your control, it feels good to stand and watch the past burn away together. Makes you realize maybe you all have something in common. Maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. You okay, Uncle Craig? Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks, Flor. I love you. [no audible dialogue] |
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