1
She said she's
a prostitute, but I don't...
- I don't do that.
- Well, you got to understand
- where I'm coming from.
- If you could
just see yourself right now.
You look like you just had
a lobotomy.
What's wrong with you?
This is reality.
Reality? My ass.
It's all made-up.
Let me ask you this, huh,
how many times on this show
have you seen the cops
arrest, you know,
killers and-and rapists
or something like that?
How many times
did they slap the cuffs
on some crooked CEO fuck?
What can I get you?
- Beer.
- Beer.
Bottle? Draft?
- Uh, draft.
- Draft.
What you see is them always
catching drug users and johns,
you know, people just hurtin',
just looking for
a little pleasure out of life.
Three dollars.
What have you got against cops?
Got nothin' against cops.
Jesus.
I'll tell you
what I got something against.
I got something against
stupidity. Good ol' stupidity.
That's what I got something
against. There you go.
- Oh, keep it.
- Oh, thanks.
You comin' or goin'?
Passing through, kind of.
I swear to God,
a fly can go in your mouth
and you wouldn't even know it.
You'd just swallow it,
'cause it's, like,
the only protein
you've ever had.
It's good beer.
- Huh?
- Good beer.
Yeah. Mm.
From Pennsylvania.
So, how long
have you had this place?
Too long.
It's real homey.
You think so?
Where the hell do you live?
New Hampshire. Portsmouth.
Home of the Navy prison.
Yeah, I know the place.
You don't remember me, do you?
Wait a minute.
It can't be.
Could be.
No way.
Way.
Sweet Jesus. Doc?
Wow, "Doc" --
Nobody's called me that
in a long, long time.
Fuck me. Doc, you made it.
Yeah, yeah.
Wow! Hey, O'Toole, looky here.
He's an old 'Nam buddy of mine.
I saved his life once.
He never saved my life.
Didn't think so.
You got to excuse me, Doc.
Boy, I'm shit for names.
Sheppard. Larry Sheppard.
Shep. That's right.
19-year-old kid. Navy corpsman.
- Huh?
- Once.
Yeah, well,
we were all something once.
Now we're just something else.
So you do remember me?
Of course I remember you.
You heard?
I got busted down to E-1.
Yeah. Yeah.
Most unfair. Boy.
The green weenie--
They broke it off in you.
How long was it? Was it,
like, what, three years?
Ended up about two
with good behavior.
Oh. Well, see,
that's not so bad.
Well, it was pretty bad.
- Mm.
- It was a long time ago.
Yeah.
BCD?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
But at some point,
instead of calling it
a Bad Conduct Discharge,
I started calling it
a better career decision.
Fuckin' A.
So, how'd you, uh,
find my lonesome ass?
Oh, it was easy. The Internet.
You can find anybody
on the Internet these days.
Boy, that is really fucked.
So, Portsmouth, huh?
- Mm-hmm.
- What do you do for a living there?
I'm a stocking clerk
at the Navy Exchange.
You got to be shitting me.
That's all right,
that's all right.
Don't you go someplace
when you close?
Like where?
I don't know. Home?
It'll be there tomorrow.
Hmm.
Reveille! Reveille!
Drop your cocks
and grab your socks!
Reveille!
Hey. This is the last slice
of pizza.
- You want it?
- No.
That's it. Once this is gone,
- there's no more pizza.
- No. Ow.
You sure? Going once,
going twice, gone.
Mmm. I love cold pizza.
Hey, you want a beer?
- Mm-mm.
- You sure?
Hair of the dog.
Always works for me.
Oh, fuck.
I'm still a little fucked up
from last night,
if you want to know the truth.
I think I'm getting a little
too old for this shit, frankly.
What's the deal with the grill
part of "Sal's Bar & Grill"?
Well, gone to rust is the deal.
That's too bad.
I guess people just lost their
taste for an honest burger.
Why? Are you hungry?
No, just curious.
Hey, you know what,
we got Mexicans here now,
so we can get
some chorizo con huevos.
Hey, we qualify for menudo,
if you got the balls for that.
No, thanks.
You don't want a bite?
There's something
I want to show you, though,
- if you're up for it.
- Mm-hmm.
Sure. I'm always up for it.
You got a car?
Of course I got a car.
I'm a fuckin' businessman.
You want to go now?
Yeah, whenever.
Fuck it.
Oh, I just fuckin' love it,
you know?
It's priceless.
What is?
The Navy.
They put the cock to you
and then they let you work
at the Navy Exchange.
I got five people
working under me.
You're a fuckin' inspiration.
You know what amazes me
about you?
Could be anything.
I'm a pretty amazing guy.
You turn the keys to your bar
over to the guy
who's asleep on your pool table
and then you jump in your car
and you drive me
to hell and gone and you don't
even know where we're going.
Well, I didn't think
it would take so fuckin' long.
Take this left up here.
- Right here?
- Mm-hmm.
That's going into a church.
- Yep.
- Oh, no.
What-what are you doing here?
No, no, no, no. You're
gonna love this, I promise.
I don't know, Doc.
Look, I mean, you seen one,
- you seen 'em all, right?
- No, this is gonna be good.
Geez.
What'd you get me
into here, huh?
See, as Christians,
brothers and sisters,
we have choices, hmm?
We can choose
to lay down our will
and follow God's will.
- That's right. That's right, Pastor.
- That's right.
The question is,
are you willing to do that?
- Oh, my fucking God.
- Not are you ready, but are you willing?
You see, 'cause if you're willing,
if you're willing,
you can trust and believe...
- That's him.
- I told you you'd like this.
- Oh, my God.
- ...that God will take care
of the rest.
Yes, Lord.
Yes, He will. See, it's a powerful thing...
What's he doing?
...when you surrender
to God's will...
Excuse me, could you move over
for a minute?
...and it takes ahold of you,
- a powerful thing... Powerful!
- Yeah!
...when you begin
to take that moment
to look deep inside yourself
and ask the question,
am I willing
to surrender to God's will?
- Yes, yes, yes.
- Well, you know what
they call that,
when God answers?
See, when God answers,
what they call that is
you're having a God moment.
You see, when we stop to ask,
are my choices,
are they Christ-like choices?
I mean, this dude was
a first-class drinker,
gambler, cocksman?
Shh.
Sorry.
Most likely a speed freak, too.
I mean, how did you even find
the place?
- The Internet.
- The Internet.
- Son of a bitch.
- ...and all of the relationships
where people are counting
on your Christ-like
character...
Yes, sir.
...are trusting
that you will demonstrate
Christ-like integrity.
- Yes. -
- SAL: Oh, yes!
Amen to that!
Come on. Don't do that.
I see we have,
uh, some visitors
amongst us here today.
Welcome! Welcome, brothers,
to our Sunday services.
Would you care to stand and
perhaps introduce yourselves?
All right, uh, name is Sal.
Salvatore Nealon.
Uh, USMC, sergeant, uh, retired.
Uh... Oh, hey, hey!
Come on. No, come on. Get up.
Guess who this lad is. Huh?
It's Doc.
Huh? Doc.
Also known as Larry Sheppard.
We were in the service together
with your pastor.
Bless my soul.
- Praise God!
- Welcome, brothers, welcome.
Thank you for joining us
in our fellowship this morning.
Mmm.
Oh.
Oh, man, oh, man.
Southern ham. Thank you, ma'am.
All right, so listen up, Ruth,
I'm hoping that this old man
appreciates you.
Oh, I think he does.
'Cause if he ever don't,
you pack your bag
and you come live with Sal.
You don't have a wife?
No, ma'am.
Neither chick nor child.
I do have a lady friend, though.
But she don't cook worth a damn.
She does have other talents,
if you know what I mean.
Um, well, what about you,
Mr. Sheppard?
Are you single or married?
Oh, I married a wonderful
woman, Mrs. Mueller.
Light of my life, my Mary.
Heart as big as anything.
Real pretty girl.
Great big smile.
Mm. Nice.
She, um...
she had a little slowness
because of a thing
when she was born.
Wait, what's that mean?
She's retarded?
No. No.
She could do anything
that anybody else could.
She just was a little delayed.
Huh.
- Great mom, great wife.
- Mm.
Well, what does she do?
Oh, I'm sorry. She...
Um... I lost Mary in January
from, uh, breast cancer.
I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry, Doc.
You know me,
I-I don't mean nothin'.
We pay for what we say,
Salvatore.
Yeah? Well, put it on my tab.
It's okay. You didn't know.
Your tab's long overdue,
I suspect.
Um, do you, uh,
have any children, Doc?
Um, yes. Just one, a son.
- Larry Jr.
- Oh.
Well, uh, Richard and I,
we have a girl and a boy.
And we have four grandchildren.
Praise God.
Wait, is it... Richard?
Honey, do we have some coffee
or pie or something
for our guests before
we send them on their way?
Richard.
Oh, yes. Um...
I have a peach cobbler
for dessert.
Ooh! Peach cobbler!
Now we're livin'!
Huh? Ooh!
All right.
You married up, Richard.
I'm glad to see you prevailing
over your hardships, Doc.
Oh, I-I do my best.
You, at least, seem to have
turned out to be a decent man.
Well, try to be.
And so do I.
Me, too.
I, uh...
I regret any role I played
in all that... foolishness
that happened back in Vietnam.
Oh.
It's okay.
What the hell happened
to Mueller the Mauler?
Huh? I mean...
well, shit.
What, did you put him in
the Witness Protection Program?
You got him hiding
under the couch or something?
Jesus.
I grew up, Sal.
I found my life's purpose
on the way.
Good for you.
So, what about you?
I always figured you for
a lifer in the Marine Corps.
Is that the way things
shook out?
Yeah.
Yeah, I re-upped. Sure.
Expectin' all the dominoes
to fall,
just like they said they would.
I was ready to kill me
some commies in San Diego,
but they never showed up.
Hey, can you believe this?
People go to Vietnam
on fuckin' vacation.
- Hmm.
- Huh? They pay
good money
to have their picture taken
where 52,000 young Americans
took their last dump.
Fuck me.
So, you, uh, mustered out
on principle?
I mustered out
with a plate in my head
on 100% disability.
And that's the good news.
Boy, I wonder how that happened.
Oh. Now, that's a good story.
Fuck all if I can remember it.
I believe drink was involved.
Yes, yes.
I'm sure of it.
Speakin' of drink,
this is the best water
I've ever had.
You see, Ruth,
I was on the shy side
of insubordination
most of the time,
but I could get away with it
on account of my dashing
good looks and boyish charm.
- I guess
we should all be just grateful
that we're still alive.
- Amen.
- Praise God.
I tell myself that.
Doc, you're not gonna eat that?
- Mmm, mmm, mmm.
- Ooh, God. I don't want it to go to waste.
You, uh, okay, Doc?
Mm-hmm.
Whatever it is
that's troubling you,
it's probably best
to talk about it.
My son...
Because of my son,
I c-came here,
found you guys.
Maybe I shouldn't have.
Your son?
Larry Jr.
A year ago, he joined the corps.
Oorah.
And then two days ago,
they came and told me
that he'd been killed.
It was in, uh, Baghdad.
His convoy got ambushed.
They told me that he unloaded
his weapon on them
and he died with his bayonet
in his hand.
Jesus.
He's coming home tonight.
He's gonna be buried
in Arlington.
Full honors. A hero.
And I was wondering
if you guys could come with me.
We ask, heavenly Father,
that you continue
to strengthen his spirit
and to soften the sadness
during this-this time
of bereavement.
I can promise you, Doc,
you will meet your wife
and son again,
in a better place.
Oh, come on.
And all of this will seem
like a momentary separation.
Oh, come on.
What better place
are they going to, huh?
Las Vegas? Miami Beach?
Uh, Doc knows the place
of which I speak, Sal.
Well, then show him.
He's got a map.
Or maybe he can look it up on
the World Wide Internet, huh?
Well, one only knows it
when one sees it.
And as far
as you are concerned, Sergeant,
it's odds-on that you shall
never, ever see it.
Well, then I guess
I'll never miss it.
Oh, you will miss it.
You will miss it dearly,
each and every sweet moment
of eternity.
Do you even know
how long eternity is?
Yeah.
It ain't gonna matter.
Let me ask you something,
with all the billions of people
floatin' around in your heaven,
how come none of them
ever got the word back
to the rest of us?
One of them did.
Oh, right.
That guy. Yeah.
A bit sketchy on the details,
if you ask me.
I'm not asking you.
Okay, Doc, listen up.
I'm really sorry for your loss,
but I ain't gonna blow
a bunch of smoke up your ass.
The worst thing
that can happen to anybody
has landed on you,
and now you just got to deal
with it.
Lord have mercy.
What?
You were a hazard
when you were a younger man.
Now you're just an old fool.
What the hell are you
talking... You know, I...
I got your hazard
dangling here, huh?
I'm going to ask you to watch
your language in my house, sir.
- What language is that? I'm not...
- Man, listen...
- Guys,
guys, I didn't want
to cause any trouble.
Okay.
Doc,
I'm gonna help you bury
your boy.
Now, I may not be able
to get you up into heaven,
but I can sure as hell get you
to Arlington.
Mueller?
I certainly would like
to help you, Doc,
- but I... -But he has to stay
here and pray for you,
which will be very helpful.
- Richard.
- Yes.
Could I see you for a moment?
Of course, dear.
Mueller, please.
I don't get around so well
anymore, as you can see, Doc.
We'll just be in the car.
I know, but...
I don't think so.
No, no, it's impossible.
He is comin' with.
That's affirmative.
No. He said he wasn't going to.
No, don't matter what he said.
I guarantee you
his old lady is shaming him.
Okay? She's in there
right now saying,
"Richard, you have to..."
...go with that poor man.
He needs you.
He will have qualified people
to counsel him at Arlington.
Well, yes, but who will protect
him from that Sal person?
Oh, Lord, that's right.
Shit always goes sideways
- when Sal's involved.
- Richard,
what in the world has happened
to your vocabulary?
Oh, I'm sorry, babe. I'm sorry.
Just kind of slipped out.
I'm sorry.
Mm-hmm.
Look, you can't refuse friends
in the time of need.
- Friends?
- Mm-hmm.
I haven't seen these men
in decades.
You can't refuse anybody.
You're a preacher.
They represent
a dark period in my life, Ruth.
A very dark period.
And you represent God.
The man lost his son, Richard.
That's all I need to say.
Hey, I'd turn the radio on,
but it's broke.
You got, uh...
a boom box or something?
Want to play... No?
Hey, Doc, you can
move your chair back.
You know, separate...
They're individual controls.
Just un-underneath,
in the front, there.
Give you some legroom.
Yeah, that's better, right?
So, Richard...
what's the story
with the collar, now, huh?
You got to wear that?
Is it, like, a tracking system
so God knows where you are
at all times?
Do you always have to wear
that thing or can you relax?
- I am relaxed.
- Really? All right.
Don't seem that way, but...
if you say so.
I never knew
your name was Richard--
In the years
we were together-- never.
I mean, it was always Mueller.
Richard. Wow.
When you was a kid,
did you go by "Richie"
or "Rich"?
Dick?
You like Dick? Hmm?
I just never knew any brothers
named Richard, you know?
I didn't know
they named 'em that.
Richard Pryor.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Richard Wright.
Uh...
Mm... Richie Havens.
Oh, oh.
- Dick Gregory.
- Oh, I stand corrected.
Little Richard.
Now, he likes dick.
Big... big dick... Yeah.
What the fuck?
Look at this guy.
He's on my ass.
Just up on my ass.
- Look at this.
- Change lanes.
- I'm not gonna change lanes, this is my lane.
- Move over.
This is my lane.
Get the fuck off my ass.
Get out of the way.
Just move over.
Come on.
Just get out of the way.
Let him by you.
Okay, fuckhead, you want
to play? Let's play.
- What are you doing, Sal?
- Huh?
Want to play? All right, just
hold on, okay? Hold o...
- Trying to have an accident out here?
- Just hold on.
No, I'm gonna jackknife
this motherfucker.
- Fuckhead.
- What is wrong with you?
- And let the guy get by!
- Whoa! Hey, all right.
All right, all right.
Shit.
Hey! You trying
to get me killed out here?
Hey, fuck you, asshole!
- Fuck you!
- Hey!
I'm talking to you, jackoff!
You fuckin' asshole!
I will bury your fuckin' ass
on the side of the road.
- All right.
- You hear me?
- You understand?
- Right, yes!
Keep your eye on the road, man!
Mueller has arrived!
Fuck around, I got a wife and
a congregation to get back to.
Fuckin' drive, man.
I'm driving,
I'm driving.
I thought you was lost forever.
I really did.
Where are we
supposed to go, Doc?
Dover Air Force Base.
That... that's
in fuckin' Delaware.
Right. Dover, Delaware.
So... what are we doing here?
I don't know.
You said Arlington.
Well, yeah,
that's what they said.
That's what they told me.
But now you...
now you're saying Dover.
Well, I guess...
they have to fly in
someplace first,
so they fly into Dover.
- Okay.
- I'm sorry.
Okay. No, no.
It's all right.
It's okay.
Dover it is.
Do you want me to drive?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- Okay.
Wonder if something's wrong.
Nah. He's just the guard
at a gate.
He don't know nothing.
I wonder if there'll be
an honor guard and all that.
Well, they'll do something.
You know, be respectful,
you know.
But, uh...
just not in public.
'Cause they...
they got a blackout
on all that stuff
this time around.
Yeah, no pictures of coffins.
No reminders to the public.
It's all bullshit.
The body's in transit.
The plane is due
at 0800 tomorrow.
Come back then,
you can wait in the hangar.
Okay, thank you.
Transit. Everybody's
always in transit,
even when you're dead.
- Come on, Sal.
- It's okay.
Sorry.
How much is it, ma'am?
It's 35, even.
Whoa, Doc.
What's with the wad?
Uh, they took up a collection
at the exchange when they heard.
See?
You got lots of friends.
Well, they felt bad.
They just wanted
to do something.
- And here's your key.
- Thank you.
Man, you guys
ain't watching this?
- Watching what?
- Man, they got him!
Who?
Man, that son of a bitch Saddam.
They got him in a spider hole.
Iraqis in Baghdad celebrated,
some with guns...
some with cheers.
The capture of Saddam Hussein
is a defining moment
in the new Iraq.
I expect that the detention
of Saddam Hussein
will be regarded as the
beginning of reconciliation...
Fuck.
Can't blow smoke rings
for shit now.
Used to be real good at it.
Something happened
with my tongue or something.
We now have final resolution.
Mm. Doc's out.
Look at this fuckin' guy.
Fuck me.
One day he's the head
of a country,
next day he's just some fuck
hiding out in a spider hole,
scared to death.
He... he-he told me
not to worry.
Come here.
He didn't die in vain.
Mr. Sheppard.
Yes.
Mr. Sheppard,
I am Colonel Wilits.
- Mm.
- The President of the United States
has asked me to express
his deep regrets
that your son
was killed in action.
Thank you.
He died a hero in
the service of his country.
He was an inspiration
to his fellow marines.
Can I see him?
Sir, that would be ill-advised.
Trust me on this, you do not
want to see him like that.
Is it against the rules?
No.
But the lance corporal was hit
in the back of the head.
I assure you he felt no pain.
But the exit wound in such
a case is devastating...
to the face.
They were behind him?
They shot him from behind?
Take the colonel's advice, Doc.
It's best to remember him
as he was.
I'd have to see him.
But that's just me.
The thing is...
you don't have to listen
to no colonels no more.
Those days are gone.
I'd like to...
I'd like to see my son.
Sir, what you will see...
you will not be able to unsee.
I understand.
I just...
I feel like I have to.
As you wish, sir.
Lance Corporal Washington,
please escort these two
gentlemen to the coffee mess.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Sheppard, come with me.
Hey, kid.
Stand at ease, will you?
Man, I never heard anyone
talk to the colonel like that.
Colonels don't scare me.
Never have, never will.
You a marine?
Yeah, I thought so.
I got more time in the chow line
than you got in the corps.
You, too?
Oorah.
Semper fi, do or die.
How you think I got this cane?
Hey, kid.
The fuck's with your ear?
Baghdad boil.
Say what?
Baghdad boil.
Yeah, everybody's got one.
You get bit by a teeny sand fly
over there, and...
Fuckin' Franken-ear.
Jesus.
They say it'll go away...
- in a year or two.
- Oh, yeah.
You can count on that.
One fuckin' ugly ear.
This is a big mistake.
- Hey...
- Big mistake. Hey, hey, hold on.
It's not like
there's something you can
do about it now. All right?
Unless you're gonna
go over there and just
out-tough the colonel.
I don't want nothing.
All right?
I'm just along for the ride.
Oh, yeah, right.
Fuck.
So you two were in 'Nam
with Larry's dad?
We were.
You guys know what the fuck
happened back then?
Nah. We were just...
pulling triggers, killing gooks.
Larry said his dad wound up
doing brig time behind it.
Yeah, that's all
in the past now.
What do you know about that?
Sounded like he
fucked some dudes up.
Or some dudes fucked him up.
Are you them dudes?
What exactly did he tell you?
Only that
some bad shit went down.
I was Larry's
best friend, all right?
So no one else knew
anything about it.
So you were with him
during the ambush?
Ambush?
The ambush. The ambush
and the firefight, they said.
Okay.
- Okay?
- Okay? What the fuck is that, okay?
If that's what
they're saying it was,
then that's what it was.
Hey. Come on,
you're his friend.
You were there, right?
What happened?
Come on, kid,
don't stonewall us.
He ain't looking at ya.
Come on, it's just us,
marine to marine.
Jarhead to jarhead.
It was fucked.
Me and Sheppard
and three other guys
were all day humping
school supplies.
We had tablets,
pencils, new books.
It was our last run.
Anyway, we was always stopping
at this little store
we called Abdul's Haji Mart.
We'd have Haji Cokes.
It was my turn to make the run,
but Sheppard said
he'd do it, so he goes
and we're bullshitting
and this raghead comes up,
shouts out...
"Allah Akbar" --
Whatever the fuck--
"God is great."
Puts a cap in Shep's head.
Jesus.
What happened next?
Shit, man, we went off.
Lit 'em all up.
The raghead, Abdul,
damn near whole fuckin' hood.
Carried Larry back
to the Hummer and went home.
You know, the kid's supposed
to get the Bronze Star
behind this.
Yeah.
He'll get the star.
The more stars
the better, right?
- Yeah.
- Right.
Okay...
We can't tell him about this.
- We can't?
- No.
Let him have his Bronze Star.
- Shit.
- Let him have his burial at Arlington
with full honors.
Let him have his hero.
Lord knows the man
ain't had nothing but pain
- in his life lately.
- In other words,
let him have the lie.
Think about it, Sal.
What's more important?
I don't know.
But it's never the lie.
Sal...
Sal.
I'm sorry, sir, but there's
always a sound reason
for my recommendations.
Sal, he doesn't have
a face anymore.
You got to be a man now.
Hey, mister.
Hey, Sal.
How did this boy wind up dead?
I beg your pardon?
I think it's
a pretty simple question.
What happened?
The lance corporal
acquitted himself
with dignity and honor,
and he died a hero.
Yeah, but I mean, they're...
they're all heroes, ain't they?
- That they are, sir.
- Yeah. All heroes.
No question.
How did it happen that this boy
was shot in the back
of the head like a fucking dog?
He was a brave marine,
credit to the corps,
and he served his country well.
Yes, he did.
So did we all.
Every one of us here.
And we'd do it again
if we had the chance.
What's going on, Sal?
I don't know.
That's-that's why I'm asking.
Shouldn't we be making
funeral arrangements?
Isn't that why we're here?
One second.
Now, were you there
when this happened?
No, I wasn't.
So, where were you?
With all due respect, sir,
that is none of your business.
Oh.
Oh, I see.
With all due respect...
Doc ought to be able to talk
to somebody who was there.
You weren't.
All right.
Were you?
Yes, sir, I was there.
Very well.
Lance Corporal Washington,
tell them what happened.
So, where we at
with all of this?
Pretty much
where we were before.
Doc wants his son's face back.
Can't blame him for that.
Called my wife.
I'm going home.
I'll be taking the bus.
So you're quittin'?
Quittin' what?
Why don't we find out?
So, Doc, what, uh,
what are we gonna do here?
I can't bury him at Arlington.
He qualifies
and he deserves that honor.
Here.
This is what he looked like.
Can I see it?
- Handsome boy.
- Wow. Yeah.
High school girls
were crazy about him.
My handsome boy.
I'm taking Larry home.
Sir, I can assure you
that is a bad decision
and you will come to regret it.
Sir, sir, sir, sir.
Please stop. Sir, sir.
The marines will transport
the body for you,
at no cost to you,
anywhere you choose.
Sir, sir...
Sir, stop.
I cannot
legally release
the lance corporal's body
to anyone,
except a licensed mortician.
Or a clergyman.
Isn't that so, Colonel?
Correct.
Well...
it looks like...
...that will be me.
Lads.
Here we go.
Yeah. There.
Not gonna fit.
How you gonna get him home now?
What you gonna do, Sal,
strap the coffin
to the roof of your car?
We could do that.
Just need a little help
lifting it up, huh?
Maybe we can get that kid
with the fucked-up ear.
Don't be ridiculous.
Why not?
You know a better way to be?
You wish
you could be ridiculous,
but it's too late now.
Doc, you've got to let the
government transport the body.
I mean, it's the kind of thing
they're good at.
I-I don't like the government
right now.
Well, you don't have to.
I don't trust it anymore.
Hey, you know what,
we could rent a truck.
You know what, let's do that.
Uh, you take the car.
We'll stay here.
- Go find a truck.
- All right.
And pay for it out of that.
One truck, comin' up.
I'm coming with you, Sal.
You can drop me
at the bus station.
I think I got to be getting
back home now, Doc.
I understand, Mueller.
I'm sorry I dragged you
all the way up here.
I really thought I could be
of some help to you, you know.
I mean, I thought
we were going to a funeral.
We are going to a funeral--
Just looks like it's gonna take
a little longer to get there.
It's okay.
I'm just glad I got a chance
to... see you again.
I'm very happy
I got to see you again, Doc.
God bless you, Doc.
Keep you in my prayers.
And bless you, too, lad.
Let me ask you something,
man-to-man, hmm?
You ever wonder...
what would've happened,
way back then, if we hadn't...
Doc wouldn't have ended up
doing two years in the brig,
that's for sure.
And you and me, we...
wouldn't had to seen
what we did.
And what was that?
Are you shittin' me?
You tellin' me
you don't remember?
I remember a lot of shit.
What are you talking about?
A certain platoon buddy
getting shot,
writhing around
on the ground dying,
with nothing to give him
to ease his pain
'cause we had already taken
all the morphine.
God rest his soul.
There wasn't nothin'
we could do at that point.
And we did nothin'.
And sometimes you got to do
a little more.
I have a van
that would work for you.
- All right.
- But I think you might be happier
with a truck that's got
a hydraulic tail lift.
Oh.
Hydraulic lift.
I like that, huh?
What will you be hauling?
Oh, you know, a truck
with a lift will handle it.
Will you be dropping it off
back here
or at another location?
Uh...
Don't you know?
No, I guess
I'll be dropping it off here.
And when will that be?
What you lookin' at me for?
I don't know. How many days
would it...?
You don't know how long
you're going to need it?
No, I don't know
how long I'll need it.
Give me a week.
Oh, yeah.
A week, he says.
Mueller, come on.
It's out of your hands,
all right?
Why don't you sit down,
take a load off,
and let the mountain come
to Muhammad, all right?
Chill.
All right?
- I need to see your driver's license.
- Yeah.
Here you go.
Ooh.
These are free, right?
Norfolk, Virginia?
Yeah.
Got to live somewhere.
Will you be the only driver?
Uh, no, no, I'll have some help.
Then I'll need to see
the other driver's license.
- Is it this gentleman here?
- ...thy rod
- and thy staff, they comfort me.
- His holiness?
No, no.
His holiness can hardly walk,
let alone handle a big rig
with a hydraulic lift.
Whoever--
I'll need their license.
...I will dwell
in the house of the Lord.
What are you doing, with
the bouncing? What is that?
I'm speaking a psalm.
- A psalm?
- Mm.
Oh.
As in, a psalm-a bin Laden.
So, you are the only driver?
Yes, ma'am, I be the wheelman.
How will you be paying?
Oh. Okay.
Take it out of this.
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell
rock.
16 to 60,
you put a dude behind the wheel
of a big rig like this,
you're gonna feel like hot shit.
This is a rented U-Haul
with an automatic transmission.
This is bigger than anything
you ever handled.
Sal, Doc's boy is dead.
Try not to forget that.
I haven't forgotten that.
Jesus.
But we're still alive, right?
Praise God.
With time ticking fast away.
So if there's one minute
that's not too terrible,
I'd like to try to enjoy it.
All right.
I mean, you used to be
up for some fun.
- I still am.
- Oh, yeah.
As long as it's right
in God's eyes.
What is that, "God's eyes"?
Wha-What--
God don't have any eyes.
Oh, yes, He does.
- Oh, yeah.
- God has eyes and He has ears.
- Yeah.
- And He hears every insult
- that you send His way.
- Geez.
You believe me
when I tell you, Sergeant,
there will be a reckoning.
Oh, a reckoning.
- Yeah, God as my witness.
- All right.
I can assure you of that.
Well, great, then,
because I reckon
that I would take
that opportunity
to stand at attention
and say to God,
"Hey!
Where were You when the...
"raping children and
the-the genocide and all that?
"Where were You
when they flew airplanes
"into the buildings
and killed thousands of people
"who were just going to work?
"Where were You when Doc's kid
"was just buying Cokes
for his buddies
"and some raghead come up
and shoot his face off?
Huh? Where were You?"
Yeah, you see,
I'm not gonna stand there
and try to explain myself
to Him,
I'm gonna make God
explain Himself to me.
- Oh, all right.
- Yeah, and I think
by the end of it, He'll say,
"Hey, come on. Get in here.
"You? You're my kind of dude.
You, give me one of these."
All right, well,
good luck with that.
I'll be praying for you,
you hear?
Yeah, well, I'll be hoping
for the same thing.
But, boy,
if it's a tight-ass God,
- then I am fucked.
- Yeah.
And I think it's time
for that lube job
on that plate in your head.
Hey, stay the fuck away
from my plate, all right?
I'm picking up WOR
from New York.
I'm homesick.
- Yeah.
- Hey, wait a minute. Maybe...
- Oh, no, no, no.
- Well...
You have to turn that shit off.
So, you know
about this stuff, right?
- Oh, man.
- All right.
So, you know, I have been known
to get in a face or two.
But even I'm offended
by this stuff.
I mean,
it's damn hard to dance to.
Well, that is one thing
that we can finally agree on.
Aren't you a little ashamed
being an African-American?
Mm, no, not really.
Why should I be?
Because being
a dignified gentleman
such as yourself,
you would be the first to agree
that this is so far away
from, like, Motown, man.
- Right?
- Well, I have nothing to be ashamed of.
I mean, this dude is white.
Ever since Prince turned
himself into a symbol...
"White."
That's affirmative.
- Yeah. Yeah.
- White is right.
- Word to God.
- This is coming out of a white mouth?
A white sewer mouth.
- Bullshit.
- Mm, nope.
I bullshit you not.
- Mm-hmm.
- Fuck me.
Hey
Well, then, I ought to be
a little ashamed.
Only I never really identified
with the white race.
Oh, really?
- No. Nothing.
- Oh, now I'm curious.
Nope.
Now, what race do you, uh,
identify with?
Green.
Green?
Yeah. The corps.
- Okay.
- I mean,
it's really the only culture
I ever...
really thought made sense.
Nah-nah, nah-nah-nah
All right.
Let me ask you something.
Hmm?
Nah, nah-nah, nah-nah...
Do you ever miss it?
Not for one blessed minute.
I don't believe you.
That's all right.
You don't believe in God either,
but trust and believe
He believes in you.
Hey.
- No problems?
- No, no problem.
Not unless being trapped
on a bus for seven hours
is a problem.
I don't know.
Buses are real nice now.
They got recliners and...
shitters in the back.
Hey, maybe you'll meet some
poor redneck and save his soul.
You get extra points for that?
I mean, does it work
off a point system?
I'll tell you when I get there.
Look, I just hope
I can get some sleep.
I didn't sleep so good
last night.
Yeah, I know, me neither.
Hey.
This will keep you awake.
Want it?
Oh, no. That'd play havoc
with my teeth.
You remember when we could
sleep in a hole in the ground,
bullets whizzing overhead?
Jesus.
You can't go back, Sal.
No.
- Who'd want to?
- We can't redo
the choices we made back then.
The best we can do
is learn from them
and try to do better
in the future.
- I hear that.
- But you're still
gonna do it anyway, huh?
Huh?
You're gonna take Doc and his
dead boy back to Portsmouth,
try to make it fun.
Hey, you ought to come with.
Ah?
Come on.
Eh.
Ah, well.
I better get back.
I still can't believe it.
You, of all people,
a preacher.
That's goddamn right.
Oh...
Hey, you ever think that, uh...
I don't know, we might bump
into each other again,
you know, from time to time?
I don't know. I mean...
He moves in mysterious ways.
That He does.
All right, Padre,
take care of yourself.
I'll, uh, I'll see you
for Sunday supper.
- Bless you.
- Thanks.
Why? Did I sneeze?
I-I got ya.
All right.
Hang on, Doc.
One, two, three.
You know...
keep wondering, Doc, what...
what your kid would have wanted.
To drink beer with his friends.
Um... to chase girls.
He was only 21.
He wasn't thinking about dying.
Yeah.
You know, Doc, you can make this
a whole lot easier on yourself.
Yeah, I don't
want to make it easy on myself.
Yeah, you're right.
Guys like us, we...
take all that shit
till it's a disaster.
And then we're cool.
The worst has happened,
like we knew it would.
They sent him off
to a godforsaken desert.
Why?
Who knows?
It wasn't to protect America.
It's like that jungle
they sent us to.
It was no threat to us.
And then they send him
back to me in this,
with more lies.
A hero. Honors. Arlington.
Well, I am not going
to bury a marine.
I'm just gonna bury my son.
Yeah.
Taking a bus today?
Yes, to Richmond. You?
- Richmond, huh?
- Mm.
That home for you?
Uh, no, but... close. Why?
So, you're the one
they call the Mullah?
The what?
Mullah?
I'm...
waiting for a bus to Richmond,
minding my business,
- reading the Scriptures.
- The Bible.
Checking out the competition?
Who are you two,
and what do you want from me?
That depends.
We're from Homeland Security.
What?!
Some rig, huh?
Hold it right there.
It used to mean something,
you know?
Esprit de corps.
A unity.
Some... well-earned pride
and some goddamn common sense.
I don't even know
what it means anymore.
You know what? Fuck them.
- Yeah. Fuck 'em!
- Fuck 'em all.
Fuck 'em all, is right.
I spent the best years of
my life defending this country.
Your best years are
still ahead of you, Sal.
- Oh, fuck off.
- No, it's true.
Look at me, Doc, all right?
My future is behind me.
I got a scrambled brain held
together with a steel plate.
They look at me and what do
they see? A fuckin' terrorist.
An apology would have been nice.
Yeah. They're sorry, all right.
They're sorry
they didn't smoke our asses.
Don't get it.
Doc.
Aw, shit.
What, did you forget
your toothbrush?
Jesus.
I had to call my wife...
from the police station.
You hear me?
From the police station!
All right.
What happened?
After they ID'd me as
the Reverend Richard Mueller...
found that
I am not a Muslim radical,
nor am I a mullah.
Mullah the Mauler! Huh?
Oh, fuck, it's all over,
isn't it?
The country's fucked.
- Was Ruth upset?
- Oh, she was very upset.
Wanted me to come home
right away,
but I said
no, no, no, no, no, honey.
There are times that demand
that even old men
should become threats.
Fuckin' A right. It's like
during the pinko scare...
I thought I was talking.
Yeah. You were.
I told my wife
I am not coming home!
Not until we're done here.
Where's your boy?
They got him again.
Tomorrow we gonna get him back.
And then we're
gonna take him home.
Ten-hut!
Gentlemen, good morning.
So, Colonel
whatever your name is,
where's Larry?
Wilits. It's Colonel Wilits.
- Oh.
- I've been briefed
on yesterday's snafu.
Completely ridiculous.
Apparently, the U-Haul agent
went off the deep end.
But there it is,
and what's done is done.
I hope that, given
further time for reflection,
you can see that Arlington
is a resting place
that should not be refused
in anger.
There lie heroes, sir.
The details
of the lance corporal's death
are what they are,
but make no mistake,
his death was heroic.
He was in a foreign
and hostile land
doing the decent thing.
He deserves to lie beneath
the sacred soil of Arlington.
He would want that-- and I urge
you to choose that for him.
Thank you.
I'm going to take my son home
and bury him in New Hampshire.
And not in his uniform--
I'm gonna bury him
in his graduation suit.
As you wish.
Your government will fly
the coffin, at no cost to you,
to Portsmouth, and to a funeral
director of your choosing.
No. We're taking him
with us today.
With all due respect, sir,
you're cutting off your nose
to spite your face.
Hey. Colonel.
Did you look at these faces?
They've already been spited,
so why should we give a fuck
about your opinions?
With all due respect.
We're gonna take the train.
Okay. I'll make
the arrangements.
Lance Corporal Washington here
will be going with you.
This is Wilits.
- What?
- I need you to make some things happen ASAP.
- Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Wilits.
- Stand by.
We don't need no babysitter.
I wasn't implying that you did.
Washington is
on TDY escort duty.
You don't want him,
he goes right back to Baghdad.
Guys?
We could use the help.
Does he pull per diem?
Of course.
Then fall in, Washington.
But he takes orders from us.
He takes his orders... from me.
But he will accommodate you
in any reasonable way you ask,
because I just ordered him to.
Is that clear?
Very clear.
Colonel.
Boy...
you are a fuckin' force
of nature, huh?
Man, I would've loved
to run into you in the field
in my younger days.
You really think so?
Oh, yeah.
'Cause one of us
would have been fragged.
And the other
would've gone to the brig.
Halt.
Down.
Ready.
Face.
I don't give a fuck
what they say.
- You understand me?
- Yes, sir.
The lance corporal is ours.
He's a marine
until he goes into the ground,
and remains a marine the period
of time he's underground
plus 100 years, is that clear?
- Yes, sir.
- I will not have
three over-the-hill veterans
pissing on my corps.
- Understood?
- Yes, sir!
You're a marine-- your mission
is to see your brother home.
You're in charge, and when
in charge, you take charge!
- Understood?!
- Yes, sir!
There'll be a Mortuary Affairs
detail every step of the way.
You will protect the dignity
of that dead marine,
and you will see to it
that he is buried with honors
in his uniform,
not some cocksucking,
motherfucking pussy
civilian graduation suit!
- Clear?!
- Yes, sir!
And don't let that Sal fucktard
outflank you.
He's old but he's dangerous.
Do not let that happen.
- Kill him first.
- Sir?
- That is not an order.
- Yes, sir!
And just because that
crippled preacher reminds you
of your father, don't trust him.
I never knew my father, sir.
Lance Corporal, do you have
some kind of personal problem?
No, sir.
- Then get on it!
- Yes, sir!
Ready... hut!
Ready... face!
Forward march!
Well, Washington says
you served.
- Yeah. Army.
- Oh, really? Yeah? Yeah.
Did you see some shit?
Yeah, I was there
the first time. Gulf War.
Right, right.
You came back.
Yes. Yeah,
and I'm not pissing blood.
My babies are all okay.
Hey, that's good.
- John Redman.
- Larry Sheppard.
Don't worry, I'll...
I'll look after your boy.
Thank you.
Whenever you're ready.
Okay.
Hey, at ease, Washington. Huh?
I got a question for you.
When did you get so old, hmm?
I think it was
over the last 30 years.
Same as you.
Me? No.
Categorically deny it.
Deny it all you want.
It will not stop the clock,
nor will it turn back time.
So, what do you think
of that grunt, Washington, huh?
- What about him?
- I don't know.
He don't say much.
Him and his Baghdad boil--
Boy, that's
some gnarly shit, right?
Well, what do you want
to know about him?
I don't want
to know nothin' about him.
Sounds like he's an individual
who's heavy
on your mind, though.
Ain't nothin' heavy on my mind.
Just wondering.
Then go back and talk to him,
if he's such a mystery to you.
Everything is a mystery to me.
Except you.
Please.
I think I'll go back
and talk to him.
Oh, I'm sure he'll enjoy that.
Tell him he should
come up here and sit with us.
All right.
I'll extend an invitation.
There we go.
This is bleak, man.
- You're welcome.
- What for?
What for?
Are you on a train in Baghdad?
No, you are not.
I guess not.
Yeah, TDY.
Sometimes it's fun.
- Sometimes it's a bitch.
- No. I don't mind.
He was my best friend.
Yeah, you didn't, uh, what,
hang with the brothers?
What the fuck is that?
I don't know.
I saw it on the MTV, I think.
It's not a rule.
No, I'm not saying it's a rule.
I liked the dude.
He had my back and I had his.
He was honest,
said what he thought.
- Oh, yeah.
- Simple, in a good way.
Never had an attitude.
Sounds a lot like his father.
Even the honest part?
Doc?
Doc is not a dishonest man.
What about the brig time?
Fuck, that could've happened
to any one of us.
No, he got fucked.
Doc was a lot younger than us.
He was a kid.
And technically,
he was in the Navy.
Eh. He wanted to be our friend,
and... we took advantage of it.
I mean, we had done him a favor,
and he was doing a favor
for us, and then...
all this shit went down, and
someone had to take the fall.
It was Doc.
Hey...
look, why don't you come up
with us for a while, huh?
Redman will look after
your buddy. Won't you?
It's no problem.
That's all right. Thank you.
Geez, come on,
you got to get out of here.
It's colder than Eskimo pussy.
I don't mind. Really.
Look...
I want you to come up and talk
to Larry's father, huh?
Say something nice.
I don't know what I would say.
You'll think of something.
Come on.
Boy, oh, boy, look at them.
- Who?
- Geez.
And all the shit they bought.
- Boy, they don't have a clue.
- They're just regular people
out doing their
Christmas shopping, Sal.
Fuckin' sheep is what they are.
I wouldn't mind
being one of them.
Yeah.
It's better than being shot at.
I'd rather be fighting them
over there
than in our own backyard.
Sound familiar?
Oh, yeah.
See, we fought the commies
in 'Nam so we wouldn't have
to fight 'em
on the beaches of Malibu.
Guess it worked.
I... I guess it did.
Yeah, 'cause, uh...
marines got to be willing
to die on order, so...
Semper fi. Do or die.
Yeah, that's always been
the mission, right?
It's a bunch of crap.
Course, you got to have a reason
to want to even get in a fight
in the first place.
So what are they telling us
it is this time? Huh?
That we're in imminent danger.
That they're stockpiling
weapons of mass destruction.
A possible mushroom cloud.
It's just lies.
It's the same old shit.
You know, stay the course.
If we pull out now,
then all our heroes
will have died in vain.
You know, blah, blah, blah.
You know, you'd like
to have a little faith
in your leaders
and your country.
I mean, I love this country,
I think we're a good country.
Aren't we a good country?
We are a good country, but...
if you catch your government
lying to you,
it changes everything, doesn't it?
Yeah.
So, kid, how's the living
over there? Hmm?
- It's all right.
- Yeah?
But they sure fuckin' hate us
over there.
Sound familiar?
I swear to God, we got to be
the only occupying force
in history
that expects them to like us.
When you go out, you just
never know what to expect.
But... being from Oakland,
I'm used to people dying
all of a sudden.
- Geez.
- Really?
In high school,
one of my best friends
was shot by a stray bullet.
My father, robbed on the street,
and they put one in him.
I didn't even know who he was
until he turned up dead.
- Jesus, kid.
- Lord have mercy.
I'm only sayin'.
So, what, you joined the Marines
to get away
from all that in Oakland?
No. I didn't have much else
to do, so...
uh... you know, I wanted
to strengthen my character.
It was that way with Larry, too.
You know,
we wanted to test ourselves.
Yeah, boy,
we felt the same thing.
Mm-hmm.
Every generation has their war.
Men make the wars,
and wars make the men.
Never ends.
Maybe one day
we'll try something different.
When he was little,
Larry used to like to play
with toy soldiers.
Dig trenches for 'em,
put 'em through basic training.
Mm-hmm.
Mr. Sheppard, Larry was
where he wanted to be.
He hated it.
We all hate it.
But you get sent over there,
and it stops being
about what you want,
or the war, even,
and you're there
for your brothers.
That's all that really matters.
He must have been embarrassed,
me sitting out the last part
of our war in the brig.
No, sir.
He wasn't embarrassed at all.
Thing that made Larry different
from the rest of us in the unit,
he had a happy childhood.
- He said that?
- Yes, sir.
He had a mother and father
that loved him,
loved each other.
And... nice house to live in,
good food to eat,
and he went on about school
and football and...
nice friends.
And he loved you.
Mm-hmm.
Mr. Sheppard, it was my turn
to get the Cokes.
That was my bullet, not Larry's.
Mm-mm. No.
No, no, no.
A gray car pulled up
in front of the house.
Marine lieutenant,
Navy chaplain...
shiny brass belt buckles.
I kept staring
at those shiny buckles.
"The president has asked me
to express his deep regret."
Killed in action.
In action.
Nothing about shot
in the back of the head
getting Cokes for his buddies.
Nothing about...
killed while...
delivering supplies
to the Baghdad school system.
There we go.
There... we go.
Ah-ha.
- Thirsty?
- Hmm?
That went down awfully quick.
Yeah, well, I'm drinking for two
now that you got
all old and boring.
It might be
that you're an alcoholic.
You think?
Well, I am.
- Really?
- Mm-hmm.
But I recognized it, see?
Took ownership of it.
That was the first step.
Mm-hmm.
Why don't you take ownership
of this beer?
- Huh?
- Come on. Don't...
Well, I'm...
I'm very good right now.
With this coffee, I'm fine.
Hey, at least
we're not drug addicts.
Thank... God.
Not anymore.
"Not anymore."
We never were.
We took the shit, Sal.
Yeah.
'Cause we needed the shit.
No. We needed it,
the corps
would've issued it to us.
Yeah. In a way, they did.
That shit was meant for pain.
All drugs are.
So? What's wrong
with taking it, then?
Morphine... is addictive.
Yeah, so is pain.
We weren't the ones
who were in pain, though.
The fuck we weren't.
Different kind of pain.
Pain is pain.
When we get to the next stop,
I got to call Ruth.
You know what you need?
You need one of those
mobile telephones.
You could be talking
to Ruth right now.
- Even on this train, you
could be talking. -Say what?
Yeah. I mean,
every ten-year-old has them.
They practically stopped
making pay phones.
So-so,
we ended up at Disneyland
to resuscitate Doc,
who is metaphorically drowning.
Geez, I got your metaphoricals
right here.
- Stick to the story. Come on.
- Wait, hold on.
Let me, let me follow.
So there's a Disneyland
in Vietnam?
Well, yes, young blood.
That's what they call
the whorehouses and the bars
that spring up around the base.
And it was the company
fucking commander's doing.
You see, he was
the one who told us,
"Hey, you need
to take a few days off
"and get Doc's ass to Disneyland
before he has
a total meltdown."
I was having some problems.
Yeah, you sure as shit were.
And the number one problem
he was having is that
it was time for him
to get his cherry busted.
- Oh.
- So... yes.
Hey, Washington, before you...
how-how-how old were you,
first time?
Thirteen.
Good Lord, man.
- Whoa!
- What?
- Ah, yeah, 13!
- Goodness.
I rest my case.
- You see?
- Lord have mercy.
See, Doc-Doc was 18.
- I was 19.
- 19.
One year worse than 18.
- That's not worse.
- It was time.
No. No, no. The right time
was when I met Mary
and we committed to each other.
Oh, what? Come on.
Look, I-I just want to say
that I think that 13
is still way too young,
by the way.
A-All right. All right,
all right, all right.
So, anyway,
we're in Disneyland.
We're looking.
There's Tomorrowland.
There's Fantasyland.
And then we found
one of the most beautiful
whorehouses I have ever seen.
And I've seen a lot.
Uh, I don't, I don't know.
I... just... paying for sex,
you know, whores, pimps,
it's... kind of disgusting.
Actually, it wasn't that bad.
Yeah!
There's my guy!
Yeah!
Well, it was, it was okay.
It was nice.
- Oh!
- Truth be told,
our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ,
had not yet entered
into my heart.
- Oh, God, please save me.
- And so, I yielded to...
bad impulses.
"Yielded."
Do you hear that?
- He "yielded."
- That is correct.
No, I'll tell you
what he did with impulses.
- He drank impulses, right?
- Yes.
- He smoked impulses.
- Yes.
And he fucked impulses.
- Yes, I confess.
- He fucked impulses.
He was-- no, you know
what his nickname is?
Mueller the Mauler.
He was famous
for the five-dollar,
- five-minute special. Right?
- Yeah.
I mean, he was
like a jackrabbit.
- -"I don't want to
spend any more money there."
Aah! That's my bad leg, man!
That's my bad leg. Shit.
Son of a bitch.
Come on, man.
I was also famous for whipping
a motherfucker's ass.
Listen, it was all...
seems very funny right now.
It was funny.
Yeah, well, it was pure
dereliction of duty, sir.
Dereliction of duty, pure
and simple. Remember that.
Actually, it... it was like
going to a friend's house.
And then... then you just...
then you have sex
with the friend.
Then what?
And then...
...you'd give 'em money.
Then you'd pay your friend.
- That's right.
- Oh, I got to tell you,
we did get tired
of listening to him
talking about that beautiful
Asian whore of his, right?
Oh, man.
He was so proud.
He said he had
a hard-on so big,
felt like he was
in a full-body cast.
It's like nothing can move.
He couldn't blink and he
couldn't even move his fingers.
Oh. That's... that's not...
...that's not true.
Oh, fuck me,
I miss those days...
when you had a...
a boner
you could hang a towel on.
Jesus.
I used to have a johnson
that would stand up
and watch me shave.
Oh, like this.
Like, "How you doing?
"Yeah? You all right?
How is your day so far?"
Now... now it watches me
pull up my socks.
Just like, "All right."
When it goes, it goes.
- It goes. Goes quickly, too.
- Don't encourage this.
- Don't encourage this, Washington.
- Goes fast.
Oh, man.
- Keep using it, though.
- Okay.
- You don't...
- I'm imagining...
I'm imagining his penis
helping him pick up his socks.
Just what does that look like?
I'm home. Huh?
New York. New fucking York.
Well, let's not wander too far.
No, no, no, just far enough to
find the first Blarney Stone,
which... I believe is this way.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
This way.
Take that in.
Take a deep breath.
What, you do it?
What do you smell?
There's one distinct smell.
What is it?
Urine. I love it.
It's like the official scent
of the city.
Huh?
All right.
Barkeep, I will have
one more drink
and then one more after that.
See, this is what we call a man
with a drinking problem.
- This, right here.
- No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I ain't got no problem.
I got this mastered.
Born in pain, live in fear,
die alone.
Could you be any more Irish
right now?
Could you possibly be
any more Irish right now?
No, I do not think I can be.
Although, I will confess to you
my-my mother is
actually half Italian.
I lost one. He lost two.
Yeah, well, guess
he thought it was worth it.
It's not worth it to me.
Wonder if it's worth it
for his daughters.
He's got twins, right?
Who? Oh, the cheerleader?
Who?
Well...
He was a cheerleader in college
before he was the president.
Would it be worth their lives?
Even one of them?
Doc...
Look, kid...
there's no answers in there.
Right? The answers you're
looking for can be found
- in petition and prayer.
- Okay. Thank you.
- Okay. You guys ready for an adventure?
- Yup.
Huh? Let's go. Let's hit it.
- Where are we going?
- Uh, it's a secret.
You'll find out
when you get there,
- just like heaven. -Oh, I don't
like the sound of this.
Just like heaven.
How many minutes
do I get on this again?
- On this plan...
- Yeah.
...500.
Every month?
Yes.
Is that enough?
- "Enough?"
- Yeah.
How can anybody talk for more
than 500 minutes a month
- on a fucking telephone?
- That's a good point.
- Pardon my French.
- No, it's a good point.
- I mean...
- We're going to miss our train
- as sure as God made little, green apples.
- Oh.
We're not gonna miss it.
Calm down, calm down.
And if you call people
with the same plan,
doesn't count
against your minutes.
- That's-that's one hell of a plan.
- It is.
Well, what do you care
who's on the plan?
You don't know anybody
on the plan.
I know you two fuckers.
Come on, let's get some phones.
I don't want one.
I don't need one.
- Thank you.
- I wouldn't mind having one,
- to tell you the truth.
- Hey!
- Oh, Lord.
I've often thought about it.
- Barkeep, a round of phones for my partners here.
- Right.
Okay, so he and I can talk
to each other any time,
even though he's in Norfolk
and I'm in New Hampshire,
and it's not gonna
cost us anything?
- That's the deal.
- Wow.
- Don't believe it.
- Come on, Mueller.
- What?
- Mueller.
- Come on.
- Come on.
With the three-way
calling thing,
we can talk to each other
at the same time.
Yeah, but aren't we
talking to each other
- at the same time right now?
- Yeah, but
we'll be on phones.
All right,
what if I don't like it?
I mean, we get stuck
with a contract
for what, a year, two years?
- Just two years.
- Two years.
What if you fall down?
- Have you thought of that? Huh?
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
- With your gimpy legs, that's a real possibility.
What if you fell into a ditch,
and you can't get up
and nobody can see you?
I mean, it is adios, padre.
But, ah, with your mobile
phone, you get it out
and if you can see the numbers,
your glasses are...
like, "Oh, I can't see.
Help me. Help me.
I've fallen
and I can't get up."
Guys, 911 calls don't count
against your minutes, either.
That's... come on, that's...
- All right, all right, all right.
- Yeah!
If I say yes, will you shut the
hell up so we can get our train?
- I'll shut up.
- Okay.
Yeah!
Come on!
Hello.
- Hello. This is God. Is this Reverend Mueller?
- Who's this?
- God.
- Say what?
Uh, you're not gonna get
into heaven after all.
- What the...?
- I'm very displeased with the way you're
- talking about fornicating with whores.
- Who is this?
- I say, who is...
- This is God.
- Wha...
- This is definitely God.
- Hey, hey. Sal. Stop.
- What? This is not Sal. This is God.
- Stop it now.
- This is God...
Burning up my minutes
with that foolishness.
Wait. You should call
John Redman on the train.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Here.
This will be
my second official call.
Uh-huh.
By the way, when you call God,
doesn't cost you any minutes.
He told me.
Hey, John Redman.
Guess who this is.
Yeah. How'd you know?
All right, l-listen,
I am calling you
from my brand-new mobile
cellular cordless telephone.
- That you don't even know how to use.
- Hush up.
Listen, I want to give you
my number, all right?
How do you already have it?
I didn't give it to you.
- It comes up on his.
- Hey, that's just what he said.
The number comes up
on the screen!
Can you believe this?
Wow. Okay, listen up.
Uh, we are on...
Huh?
Ah.
Okay. Okay.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. All right.
What's going on?
They are on their way
to Boston, so...
- The train left without us?
- Yeah.
Outstanding.
- Outstanding.
- What?
I warned you, didn't I?
- Didn't I warn you?
- What does it matter?
We miss this train,
we'll take the next one, okay?
There's, like,
a million trains to Boston.
- Mm-hmm.
- You know what? You worry too much.
That's why your hair
went so gray.
You worry too much.
This is a boarding call
for Amtrak Acela Express
train 2171
en route to Washington
with intermediate stops
at Newark,
Philadelphia,
Wilmington, Baltimore...
We are all set.
We're on the express
straight to Boston.
- When?
- 7:00 a.m.
Oh, geez.
Come on. It's the city
that never sleeps.
Why should we?
Come on.
Let's have some fun.
Now, you take...
the fadeaway jump shot.
Ooh, wow, it's
a beautiful thing of beauty.
Free throws are what win
or lose a game, though.
Oh, fuck. That is...
they're so boring.
- It's true.
- But they're boring.
It stops all the action
all the time.
And there's way too many
of those fuckin' things.
You're not supposed
to go in there,
banging around with a guy,
banging all the time.
Fouls-- no, I'm serious--
Fouls...
should be...
shameful.
- You know?
- Hmm.
But there's no fuckin' shame
anywhere anymore.
Look who's talking.
You ever been ashamed
of anything you've ever done
in your life?
Ever?
Once.
Why are you looking at me
like that?
You know why.
Did you remember
that Boston was where...
he was from?
I remember he was from Boston.
So I've been looking into...
seeing if I could find maybe he
still had some... family there.
Why?
'Cause...
'Cause he's drunk, that's why.
What-what does that
got anything to do with it?
You get like this
every time you drink?
Pretty much.
Then you shouldn't drink.
It's what I got instead of God.
Uh-huh, I see. I understand.
- I got God.
- Yeah.
Doc did his time.
You got drunk.
Yep.
Yeah.
Maybe he got the better
of the deal.
- He was gonna die anyway, Sal.
- No. No.
He didn't have to suffer.
Not like that.
- But he did.
- No.
Jimmy Hightower.
We can't even say his name.
We all feel guilty about how
he suffered when he was dying,
but did it ever occur to you
that maybe nobody
would have been shot
and everybody'd still be alive
if we had just been doing
our jobs, not fuckin' around?
Boarding call for Amtrak
Acela Express train 2150
to Boston
with no intermediate stops.
- Passengers should proceed to track 23.
- Sal.
Sal.
Sal, we gotta go.
We gotta go.
We gotta get our train.
Mueller.
Time to go.
Can I ask you
a personal question?
No.
Thank you.
Why is it that you married
a black woman?
Oh, what?
Come on. It's not like you
never had a white woman before.
I know better. And it was
the '70s and all that.
Which, if I remember rightly,
was when you white dudes
admitted to having a thing
for black women.
I'm gaga for the sisters.
They dig me, too.
Couple of 'em.
For a time.
First of all, Sal...
who I married
is none of your business.
And that is why
I'm being so polite about it.
Okay, I'll tell you.
God told me to.
God told you
to marry a black woman?
No.
God told me to marry Ruth.
Hmm.
How come God don't talk to me?
Because you don't listen.
You hear just fine,
but you don't listen.
So you listen,
and that's why He talks to you.
That's not what I said.
- Mm.
- I said that God
told me to marry Ruth,
to be a good man,
and to preach the Word.
So He does talk to you.
He touched my heart.
- Maybe it was Ruth who touched your heart.
- Oh, yes.
It was God through Ruth.
I was a down-and-out,
recovering alcoholic
with a shot-up leg,
and one day... I found Jesus.
Where? Where'd you find Him?
Like, on a street corner
or something?
No, in my heart, Sal.
The only place
you can truly find Him.
I went deep inside my own heart
like it was some scary cave,
some... unexplored place.
Which it was.
Went down alone and afraid,
and came back up fearless,
with Jesus by my side,
and there...
the very next Sunday,
took myself to church.
- And there was Ruth?
- And there was Ruth.
And everything fell
into place for me.
That is a beautiful story.
Sorry the fuck I asked.
So, if God exists...
I mean, would it kill Him
to just tap me
on the shoulder or something,
just shake my hand like a man?
And, while He's at it,
if He could deliver a nice
black girl with a great ass,
so much the better.
Hey, hey, hey.
Let me ask you another question.
When Ruth was a child,
was she a Baby Ruth?
You get... you get it?
- You know what Christmas is for me?
- What?
A Doc Holiday.
That's good, Doc.
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, tha-that's the one.
That's the one we want.
- What do you think he's up to?
- Oh, wheelin' and dealin'.
Mr. Cellular Phone!
All right. All right.
All right, fellas,
- we got an errand to run.
- Do we even have time?
Oh, yeah,
we've got plenty of time.
I was just on with Redman--
He and Washington
are already in New Hampshire,
so we'll see 'em there.
I don't know how I lived
without this thing.
I really don't.
Detail! Forward hut!
Left. Left.
Left.
She's been living with
it all these years, anyway.
What good is it gonna do her?
We are long overdue,
the way I figure.
She ought to know the truth,
and we ought
to be men enough to say it.
How did you even find her?
I got O'Toole to call
his granddaughter,
and she looked it up for us
on the World Wide Web.
What can we possibly say to her?
We say the truth.
- It's a little bitfurther.
- And two...
Couple more on the left there.
Right there. There it is.
- Yeah.
- Uh-huh, this-this red...
- Yeah. That's it.
- ...staircase here.
All right.
Maybe she's not here.
Hey, we didn't come
all this way...
Mrs. Hightower?
Yes?
I'm, uh,
Reverend Richard Mueller.
I served with your son
in Vietnam.
Oh, yes. One moment, please.
- Welcome.
- Thank you.
Come on in.
Hi. Name is Sal.
- Welcome.
- Hi. Larry Sheppard.
- So glad you could come.
- Thank you, ma'am.
I'm gonna show you
some pictures.
This one--
That's the last one
we ever got from Jimmy.
Look at him.
- Hmm?
- Yeah.
- Remember that smile?
- Sure do.
He was a handsome man,
- wasn't he?
- Yes, he was.
Oh, Lord have mercy.
And this...
is his little girl.
- All grown up now.
- My Lord.
My Lord.
How old was she when he died?
Four months.
Her mom eventually remarried,
and they moved to San Diego.
Mm.
And these--
They're my great-grand.
Hmm?
Look at that.
He'd be a grandfather.
I never saw them in person,
but they calls.
- Mm.
- Every now and then.
So...
you three men
were with my Jimmy.
Yes, ma'am.
3rd Marine Division.
We were a very tight unit.
Ma'am.
It's like this.
Uh, see...
we had already fought us...
a good long year,
and most of us...
were still breathing.
But the extension...
that... that four months
they added on,
that was...
that was bad.
And...
some of us...
we just couldn't handle it, see,
and, uh, I-I don't
even think that, uh...
What was it for?
Hmm?
What was it all for?
Right, well...
they said they knew,
and we just believed them.
But now...
Mrs. Hightower,
we came here today
to tell you what happened.
Were you...
...were you some of the men
he saved?
I mean...
were you some of the men...
whose lives Jimmy saved?
I mean, they told me
that he saved
three or four of his buddies
before he was killed.
Were you?
Were you?
Yes, ma'am, that was us.
Jimmy was...
a great guy.
Yep. Never forget him.
That's why we're here, ma'am.
Uh, we feel we owe him.
Yeah.
We just wanted to come by
to pay our respects.
And, you know, let you know...
that he's always been
in our hearts.
God bless you.
I can never thank you enough.
Mrs. Hightower,
very glad to have met you.
Me, too, son. Me, too.
- Thank you, ma'am.
- Take care.
Bye.
Bless you, Mrs. Hightower.
Uh...
looks like they used
to make things here.
Used to.
That's the operative word--
"used to."
Jesus, I got to piss.
Ah...
Ah...
Ha-ha.
Oh...
- Hey, Mueller.
- Yeah?
Now I see God.
Sal, if you had any more
manners you'd be a dog.
You gonna want
to stay on here alone?
Well, I hadn't really
thought much about it.
Portsmouth. Boy.
With the brig right there.
Might want to try another place.
Fresh start.
But Larry'll be here.
Mary, too.
You could always visit.
Hey.
You got close friends here?
Not too many.
Not too close.
Move to Norfolk.
You can work in my bar.
I don't know anything
about working in bars, Sal.
Trust me,
you don't need to know much.
Well, your bar
doesn't seem that busy.
No, it ain't.
But that's my fault, see?
I let it go.
It just needs some...
new blood, you know?
We can get the grill part
going again, boy.
I need a partner.
- A partner?
- Yeah.
The bar would be half yours.
Then, when I bite it,
it'd be all yours.
Sal, you don't owe me anything.
No, no, hey, this has nothing
to do with, you know,
paying back a debt.
Trust me.
I really do need a partner.
You could stay with me.
For a while. Then you'd have to
get your own place, 'cause...
I like to pursue the ladies,
if you know what I mean.
And quite frankly, no offense,
but you'd cramp my style, Doc.
You thinking about it?
I am. I'm picturing it.
It's kind of funny.
Yeah.
Might be time for a new BCD
in your life, huh?
- Better career decision.
- There you go.
If nothing else,
I guarantee it...
we'd have some fun.
What's wrong with that?
You are in love with that thing.
Look at you,
you can't even put it down.
No, I'm trying to get
that fucker O'Toole to answer.
You know, the whole place could
be burned down for all I know.
Come on, you dick.
Well,
there it is--
Larry's graduation suit.
Oh, that's nice.
Very nice, Doc.
Looks a little small.
- You think?
- Yes, sir.
Larry bulked up,
so that might be a little tight
on him now.
Oh, okay. Well, I guess
I could go down to Penney's
and get him something new.
Well, we do still have
his dress blues.
Oh, my word.
The dress blue uniform.
Remember how we used
to call it? The tuxedo.
The tuxedo. Yeah. Yeah.
'Cause by law, you could
wear it to any formal function.
Not that we ever got invited
to one,
or would have gone
even if we had.
Still, it was nice to know
you were always dressed
for any occasion.
That's true, and a man
never forgets the first time
he puts on that uniform,
let me tell you.
- Oh, no. Oh, no.
- Huh?
Didn't you stand in front
of the mirror
looking at yourself?
- Right?
- Uh-huh.
Ooh! I am in the United States
Marine Corps,
- and I look pretty fucking good.
- I remember
- loving that feeling.
- Yes, sir.
- Glad to know that never changes.
- Yeah.
Ooh, I bet Larry looked sharp
in his, didn't he?
Oh, he did.
Yeah, he was proud
- as a peacock in it.
- Mm.
I know that for a fact, sir.
You know, and that's the point,
Doc-- it's about pride.
And it's not a sin.
Oh, no, not that kind of pride,
no, sir.
I guess I could...
bury him in his uniform,
even if...
Yeah, you could.
Yeah. Means you did something.
You know, you served.
Fuck what the politicians did.
You served.
Right? You didn't try
to weasel out of it, or think
- it was somebody else's job.
- Nope.
You took it on, man,
and you looked sharp doing it.
Like a man.
I'm gonna. I'm gonna
bury him in his uniform.
- That's good, Doc.
- Mmm.
Never regret it, sir.
- Fuckin' A.
- Okay.
Hey. Washington.
You ever relax, huh?
Why don't you sit down?
That's it, huh?
Okay. Yeah, much better.
Why are you looking
at me like that?
I'm sizing you up.
You know what?
I am gonna get you
a new suit of clothes.
- Say what?
- Yup.
I'm gonna dress you up
for the occasion.
May I ask why?
Well... because I love you.
Hey. Mm-hmm.
First of all, uh, I don't
need a new suit of clothes.
- Yeah.
- Second of all,
you're the one who could
really use some grooming.
And third of all, neither one
of us are dressed properly.
But we're gonna be.
- You watch.
- Oh, the things
that come into your head
and out of your mouth.
Scary, right?
You know what I think?
I think that "I love you" thing
really rattled you,
didn't it, old man?
Deeply disturbing.
There's a sorrow
in the wind
Blowing down the road
I've been
I can hear it cry
While shadows steal the sun
But I cannot
look back now
I've come too far
to turn around
And there's still
a race ahead
That I must run
I'm only halfway home
I've got to journey on
To where I'll find
Find the things
I have lost
I've come
a long, long road
But still
I've got some miles to go
I've got a wide
A wide river to cross
I have stumbled,
I have strayed
You can trace
the tracks I've made
All across the memories
My heart recalls...
Doc, I don't know
how grateful the nation is, or
how much the president regrets
your loss and all that,
but... here it is.
Your country's flag.
Thank you.
You put that somewhere
and let it remind you
of what was in your son's heart.
- We don't know...
- I know. It's...
Well, once you're a marine,
you're always a marine.
And even though I'm no longer
on active duty...
- But if I was...
- Yeah.
...I ask you,
you see a man in this uniform?
Huh? Could you resist all this?
- Huh?
- I, um...
No, I...
I don't think I could.
Mm-hmm.
It's the uniform,
or the man in the uniform?
- It's a killer combination.
- It's the combination.
- Isn't it?
- Yeah, it's the combination. Yeah.
Kind of seductive.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
You are a very perceptive
young lady.
We all wrote one.
I gave mine to Larry, and...
he gave his to me.
What does it say?
I-I don't know, Mr. Sheppard.
Hmm.
Okay.
I'm just saying,
when you think about it,
a young man is struggling
out of the gate,
goes on a date, has to borrow
his dad's car, needs
- to borrow a couple bucks.
- Yes.
Whereas, an older,
established gentleman
- doesn't have to do
any of that, right? -Sal?
- No...
- I need you to come with me right now.
Can you see
I'm a little busy right now?
I can. I'm gonna have
to borrow him
for a few minutes right now.
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Does this
have to happen right now?
Right now. Doc needs us.
Double quick, son.
- I'll be right back.
- Okay. Yeah.
- Okay, we'll pick this up. Okay.
- Yeah.
Bye, Sarge.
You all right?
You got to open it, Doc.
He wanted you to have it.
Hmm.
Dear Dad,
if you are reading this,
then you've been notified.
I was always prepared
to sacrifice my life
for my country.
You have to be ready to die
defending what you love.
I need you to understand
that I am honored
to die in this way.
Don't feel bad
that my life was so short.
It was a good life.
I know you never wanted me
to join the Marines,
but you supported me even so.
I had the greatest father,
and I love you.
Now I am with Mom.
We will both watch over you.
Dad, I want you to bury me
in my uniform next to Mom.
Your loving son, Larry.
Mm.
Shadows are falling
And I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep
And time is running away
Feel like my soul
has turned into steel
I've still got the scars
that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough
to be anywhere
It's not dark yet,
but it's getting there
Well, my sense of humanity
has gone down the drain
Behind every
beautiful thing
There's been
some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter
and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing
what was in her mind
I just don't see
why I should even care
It's not dark yet
But it's getting there
Well, I've been to London
And I've been to gay Paree
I've followed the river
and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom
of a world full of lies
I ain't looking
for nothing in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden is
more than I can bear
It's not dark yet
But it's getting there
I was born here
and I'll die here
Against my will
I know it looks
like I'm moving
But I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body
is so vacant and numb
I can't even remember
what it was
I came here
to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur
of a prayer
It's not dark yet
But it's getting there.