It's quite a home, isn't it?
15,000 square feet
of overpriced art
and big ol' bathtubs.
I know it's ridiculous,
but I love it.
After all, I'm from Texas.
We tend to like things big
down here.
This is my home.
And you probably can't tell
it's broken.
There's a story behind that.
One that begins and ends
with a girl I married.
Debbie hall.
A girl with a heart so big
that Texas can't even hold it.
So I'm gonna try
to write it all down.
Hopefully make some sense
out of how I got here.
Problem is,
I've never written anything.
I'm not an author.
I'm an art dealer.
Hello?
Julio?
Hello?
You must be
Mr. hall.
No. No, no, no.
Just call me Ron.
Okay, Ron.
I'm Willow,
Julio's assistant.
Your drive up okay?
Yeah,
drive out was fine.
Good.
So, Julio tells me
you're an author.
Oh, he did, did he?
Yeah.
Oh.
So what kind of book
are you writing?
That's a good question.
Is it a true story?
Yeah, very.
Uh, I have to get that.
It's revival season.
You see that path
over there?
Thank you.
Well, if you change your mind,
follow the bells.
Where is he?
That was him on the phone.
He's late, as usual.
Ay, ay, ay.
Always forever
the perfectionist.
I always thought
this was the saddest painting
I'd ever seen in my life.
You gave it to me for free,
and now he's worth
a million dollars.
Hmm.
It's not worth
a million dollars?
No. No, it is. I just...
Just not sure
what a million dollars
is worth anymore.
Are you okay?
Well, I made it here.
Yes, you did.
Ah.
Oh, this. What is this?
It ain't a Rembrandt.
Oh, yes, this is, um,
just before you tricked me
into eating bull's balls.
They're called calf fries,
and I seem to recall
you loved them.
Yes, I did.
Yes, you did.
Mm-hmm.
Okay. You can have
any bedroom in the house, okay?
Except the one
that I'm sleeping in.
Now get to writing
that book of yours,
and I'll leave you alone.
Oh, it's done?
Well--
is that off or crooked?
Uh--
better.
No, down. Yeah.
I still don't know why
it needed restoring, but...
Is it different?
Oh, it seems like
it was better before.
Oh.
Maybe I like
the way time treated it,
like you could see
its history
or something.
Well, everything just needs
a little touch up and Polish
once in a while.
I gotta get
out to north Dallas.
I'm supposed to sell a Remington
to a crazy old lady, all right?
I'll see you
at the gala tonight?
Yeah.
Kids are coming, right?
Right.
Don't let them back out, Debbie.
It's important.
I know it's important.
Well, it is, Debbie.
I know.
Hey, you all know my definition
of modern art.
You take a canvas,
you throw a little paint on it,
you wipe it off with a rag,
you throw out the canvas,
and you sell the rag.
You know that's true.
- You know that's true.
- It is true.
That's why
i only deal in the classics
and you all have
my telephone number.
I do wanna thank you, though,
for coming out here tonight
to support
fort worth art in public places.
This is an important cause
for all of us.
We couldn't do this without
your decency, your kindness,
and, of course, your generosity.
That means I'm gonna ask you
for more donations later.
Thank you for coming down.
Have a good time tonight.
Thank you.
How'd it go?
Good job, dad.
Thanks.
Hey.
I always say
give till it hurts.
Well, that's what I said.
I was trying to say it
like you, give till it hurts.
How are you, dear?
Okay, listen,
i want you to tell everybody
how good I was.
You guys have fun.
Hey.
Come on.
It can't be that bad being
the prettiest girl at the ball.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
What is it?
Dad, this is your life.
It's not mine.
Hey, Ron.
Can I speak to you for a moment?
Hey, susie,
how are you?
Hi.
Good to see you.
Martin told me
about your friend.
Wh-- what are--
what are you talking about?
If you don't tell Debbie,
i will.
-Nineteen years!
-Yes, we've been married
19 years.
-And?
-And it doesn't mean
what it should!
-What does that mean?
-Well, we don't share
the same life.
We don't share anything!
Course we do.
And you know it.
We don't. We--
we haven't been intimate
in two years.
We haven't been intimate
in two years!
No, we haven't
slept together in two years!
We haven't been intimate
in ten years!
We haven't been intimate
in ten--
yeah, so what was I supposed
to do with that?
What were you supposed
to do with that?
What are we supposed
to do with this ?
Ronnie.
Ronnie?
Mm-hmm?
I'm only gonna ask this once,
so please don't lie to me, okay?
Yeah?
Is there anything else
that you haven't told me?
Painting's a fake.
I didn't have it restored.
I had it copied.
Sold the original.
You gave that to me
for our anniversary.
A dealer offered me
a lot of money for it.
So...
I took it.
Not proud of it, but...
Just trying to be honest,
so, I'm sorry.
Is that all?
Yeah.
Yeah.
What's her number?
Hi.
This is Debbie.
I'm Ron's wife.
Please don't hang up.
Are you there?
I just want you to know
that I don't blame you
and I forgive you.
And I hope
that you will find someone
who truly loves you
like Ron and i
used to love each other.
If we can find that again,
you won't be hearing
from my husband anymore.
Okay. Goodbye.
You can leave.
You can go.
Or...
You choose.
I-- I choose you.
Somebody once said,
"all men make mistakes,
but married men
find out about them sooner."
Over the next few months,
Debbie and I worked hard
to regain what we had lost.
My greatest failure
was betraying my wife.
But that didn't stop
her big old heart from
granting me a second chance.
Course, she didn't want
an apology that included
fur coats or diamond rings.
It wouldn't be that easy.
She was gonna make me pay
with my hands.
Then it happened again.
I had another dream
last night.
Yeah? Was it a good one,
or was it about me?
No.
It was about a poor wise man
who changes the city.
And I saw his face.
Turn here.
Here?
Well, where you taking me?
I don't think
we wanna go down here.
Hon--
in my dream,
i saw beautiful flowers
and trees everywhere.
Can't you just see that
happening here?
Flower boxes.
No trash in the gutters.
Just a peaceful place where
the people here know they matter
as much as the ones on
the other side of that tunnel.
Honey, we're a little
turned around here.
Okay?
Can you pull over
right there?
I'm gonna back-- huh?
Pull over right there.
Here?
Yeah, there.
Here?
Right here.
What are we doing here?
It'll be fine.
Maybe I should
put the top up?
Come on.
As I live and breathe.
Debbie.
Oh, hi.
-Good to see you again.
-You too, Jim.
And you must be the hubby
she's always talking about.
-I'm chef Jim.
-Yeah. Ronald.
Well, time's a-wasting.
Follow me.
We're about ready to start.
Oh, good.
Hi.
Thank you.
Oh. I got these.
Thank you.
You been here before?
Mm-hmm.
Dropped off some clothes
and things we don't need
over the years.
Okay, well...
Now we know why you're dreaming
about the place, right?
Mystery solved.
It looked much different
in my dream.
Man, am I glad
you guys showed up.
We need every helping hand
we can get.
You got help right here.
Debbie.
Honey, we can't help.
Sweetie, I got a--
i got a sales call
at the office at 6:30.
I gotta drop off contracts
north of town.
No, you don't.
My wife
wore the pants too, hubby.
Excuse me, sir. Debbie?
Please? Come in here.
Honey.
This is so nice
what you're doing here,
all right? But I gotta--
I gotta go to the office
and sell
that calder eagle tonight.
And you know
what I'm gonna do?
I'm gonna write a check
for the place--
what's this?
Soap. Use soap.
Uh--
you may need this.
No, I don't need that.
I wanna know why these people
who don't have jobs
aren't helping out around here.
They do.
Sweetie, I'll write the check.
You can make out the amount.
Thank you.
There's a brush right there.
All right, Jimmy.
I don't like germs.
I'm gonna do this one time.
Is there any infectious diseases
floating around this place
i should know about?
Absolutely.
We try to infect them all
with love.
Thank you for the tip.
Yeah.
Infectious diseases?
What?
Nothing.
Hi, tiny.
Good to see you again.
Good to see you, ma'am.
Wait. Wait. Here.
Thank you, ma'am.
Yeah.
Hi.
I'm Debbie.
What's your name?
I know y'all think
y'all doing us a big favor,
thinking y'all
is better than us.
You just remember.
When you miss a couple paychecks
and your wife
kick you out the door--
and just like that,
you'd be homeless too.
Just like us.
That how you say "thank you"
down here?
I'm gonna kill
whoever done it!
Gonna kill
whoever stole my shoes!
Hey!
Suicide, stop it!
Hey! Stop it!
Stop it!
There's a little girl
right here!
What are you doing?
Ronnie.
We have to talk to him.
Honey, I don't understand
what's going on here.
I'm trying.
That's the man from my dream.
That's him.
We're going home.
Come on.
Come on.
What's wrong with you?
Seriously?
Mr. Mercedes!
Whoo!
You been looking for me, baby?
'Cause I been looking for you.
I'm looking for
somebody named suicide.
I can tell you
where he is, baby,
but it's gonna cost you
ten presidents.
You know him?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
No drugs.
No drugs.
You're close,
real close.
Stupid.
You tried to Jack
the wrong nigga!
I'll kill you! I'll kill you!
Give me my shoes!
What?
What you looking at, huh?
What?
Guy's violent.
Bet he wasn't carrying
a 34-inch baseball bat
when you had him
in your dream.
I know,
and he chased you
down the street.
That's right.
Hi, I'm Debbie.
What's your name?
Killer.
Hi, killer,
nice to meet you.
You talked to killer.
That's saying something.
Let me understand.
So that's killer.
The guy who tried to kill me
is suicide?
Yeah,
we got all kinds here.
What about him?
Well, as you know,
he can be dangerous.
That qualify you
for hazard pay?
Me?
Yeah.
I don't get paid.
I came in the same doors
they did.
I'm one of them.
I live here.
I used to be the executive chef
of a large hotel chain.
I had a wife.
Great home.
One day I got a call
that my son had been hit
by a drunk driver.
He was dead
before the ambulance arrived.
And my wife--
well, she just
couldn't take it.
She ended up
in a mental hospital.
Meanwhile,
i numbed my pain with liquor
and a double dose of drugs.
Sorry, Jim.
Ah, don't be.
It led me here.
Hi.
I'm Debbie.
And that's my husband,
Ron, back there,
and this is our son, Carson.
What's your name?
It's Clara, ma'am.
It's a really pretty name.
Hey, be sure
to stop by our beauty shop area
after you're done eating.
We're gonna give makeovers
to all the ladies.
Thank you, ma'am.
I will.
I hope you will.
It's... one per customer.
Ronnie.
Remember me, right?
Destroyed my car.
I'm Debbie.
What's your name?
You don't need
to know my name,
so shut up and put some food
on these here plates.
Well, I'd like to know
your name.
You best watch out now, lady.
Get on out of my business!
You look beautiful.
Oh.
Like it?
Thank you, miss Debbie.
Mm-hmm.
You know, i--
I wasn't always homeless.
I had a husband.
He wasn't very nice,
but he gone now.
I had a son.
But they--
they took him from me
when I couldn't
take care of us no more.
Oh, sweetheart.
I done things
I'm not proud of.
A lot of things.
Oh, Clara, we all have.
We all have, Clara.
You're ruining your makeup.
You worked so hard.
I'm sorry.
Gosh, where are my tissues?
You're being so nice
to me, miss Debbie.
We had fun, didn't we?
We did.
I can't believe it.
Oh.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Well, hey, y'all.
Hi, tommye.
Great to see you.
It smells good in here.
Mm-hmm.
Hey, mom.
Hi, sweetheart.
Dad's in the back,
playing.
Dollar waiting on a dime.
Where you been?
You ever hear of punctuality?
You ever hear of
not drinking and driving?
What you got against drinking?
How come you never drink--
have never drink
with me? Never--
you too proud to drink
with your old man?
It looks like
you're doing okay
on your own.
Oh, here we go, huh?
Here we go again.
You know,
I'm sick of you--
sick of you judging me
all the time.
That right?
That's right.
Come on in, before
the chicken and dumplings
get cold.
I'm sick of it.
Did you ever miss a meal?
Did you ever want for anything?
No, 'cause I put
a paycheck on the table
every-- every week,
from a job I couldn't stand.
Earl, stop it.
Let's eat.
He started it.
And I'm finishing it.
So--
so the both of you sit down
and-- and shut up.
Before you do anything else,
i need a refill.
Whiskey and a coke.
Not too much coke.
And while you're at it,
pour one for Ronnie here too.
I'll have
an iced tea, please.
Are you gonna
put your pants on?
Nah. It's just family.
Hello, Deborah.
Hi, Earl.
Tommye,
the dumplings look perfect.
Gotta save some room
for the angel food cake.
I will.
Ron, what is this
that Deborah tells me
about, uh, your volunteering
at the mission
and befriending some--
some homeless man?
It's actually Debbie
who got us down--
what?
Have you lost your mind?
Those places have more germs
than a rest stop toilet seat.
And there's lot of bums there,
looking for handouts
instead of-- instead of
using their hands for work.
Bunch of... lazy negroes.
Earl!
Well, what do you call them?
That's what they're called.
I always call them that.
Come on, Earl.
I didn't mean that.
I meant--
there's criminals down there.
Bad people.
It's dirty--
dirty.
Disease, everything.
Look. That's--
that's my final word
on the subject.
Too much coke.
Sorry.
Hey, Ronnie?
Mmm.
Why don't you go
bring him a plate?
Who?
Him.
Oh, no, no.
I'm not gonna do that, honey.
He's the man of your dreams,
not mine.
Come on, please,
just take one.
No, no, no.
He doesn't like me
very much.
Don't be scared, Ronnie.
You know
his name is suicide.
Please?
Honey.
No.
No. No.
My wife's concerned
you're not eating, so--
made you
a little something here.
Man to man,
you'd be doing me
a big favor to just,
you know,
have a little something.
You don't have to eat
the whole thing.
Just a few bites. No?
You don't like Italian?
You're walking away, aren't you?
He's walking away.
I tried.
You the CIA?
No.
Can you get control
of your woman
and tell her
to stop bothering me?
No, I can't.
What do you want
from me, then?
Nothing.
We don't want anything
from you. We just--
take it easy
on my car over there.
How about that?
When we come around,
you could be nicer.
Little more friendly.
You wanna be my friend?
Uh-huh.
Well, I'm gonna
have to think about that.
I ain't gonna hurt you
or nothing.
You and your wife
been trying to be nice to me
for some time now.
And I avoided you.
What's your name?
I know it ain't suicide.
Denver. Name's Denver.
You hungry?
You didn't eat anything
in there. Kitchen's closed.
Before I answer your question
about us being friends...
Something I wanna ask you.
Yeah?
Something about white folks
that really bothers me.
I hear when white folks
go fishing...
They do this thing
they call "catch and release."
Yeah.
Well, you know,
it's just a sport.
You know? Sometimes
you just fish for fun.
Fun?
Mmm.
See--
where I growed up,
on a plantation...
We'd go out in the morning...
Dig us up some worms...
Cut us a cane pole...
Sit on the riverbank all day.
When we finally caught
something on the line...
We was real proud
of what we caught.
We'd take it back home,
show it off...
And share it
with all the folk.
See, it bothers me
that white folk go through
all of that trouble...
And when they finally
got something on the line,
they throw it back.
So--
it occurred to me
that if you is a white man
that is fishing for a friend...
And you're just gonna
catch and release...
Then I got no desire
to be your friend.
You understand me?
You hear me?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Where you from?
Louisiana.
Got any family?
Never knowed my mama.
I hear she was
too young to care for me.
So I was raised by my grandma.
We called her big mama.
She was big sideways,
north or south,
all the way around.
She was my best friend.
Denver. Denver!
She had a lot of pain.
I used to take care of her.
Her and my cousin chook.
Oh, Denver!
I needs to get easy.
I don't quite know what
kind of pill they was...
But she called them red devils.
Denver.
I needs to get easy.
She was actually
my daddy's mama.
But I hardly ever saw him
and never called him daddy.
I used to like it
when big mama was sleeping.
'Cause that's
when she had no pain.
Had a window by my bed.
I'd look up at the stars
winking at me.
Weren't no electric lights
blotting out the sky,
except for the moon
cutting a hole in the dark.
The nights was
just as black as molasses.
And the stars glittered
like broken glass in the sun.
Big mama.
Big mama!
After big mama die,
my uncle James came by
and picked me and chook up.
I went to live
on his man's plantation
to do a little sharecropping.
Now, all that work
didn't stop uncle James
and those working in the fields
from going to church
every Sunday.
And of course,
putting on their Sunday best.
Uncle James,
he was a good man.
He was a praying man
and got worried that
all the bad stuff circling me
might be from black magic.
Come on,
little brother.
So he took me down the river
to get baptized.
It was a dunking
I'll never forget.
Kinda felt strange
going into that water
in a full set of clothes.
The river mud squished
between my toes while I kept
one eye out for the gators.
Do you believe that Jesus
died on the cross for your sins,
was buried,
and rose again on the third day?
Yes, sir, I do.
I now baptize thee...
In the name of the father,
the son, and the holy ghost.
As quick as lightning,
like I was gonna
change my mind...
He pinched my nose
and slammed me backwards
in the water.
Amen!
Problem was, he lost his grip,
and I sunk right to the bottom.
I didn't know I was supposed
to come right back up.
When I finally ran out of air,
I popped up down the river...
A few shades paler,
but full of the holy ghost.
You?
You ever seen your daddy?
He still around?
He's not worth seeing.
It's pretty sexy,
what you did today.
Oh, yeah?
Hanging out
with a homeless guy?
Exactly. How was it?
Actually,
it was, uh, kind of amazing.
Oh. Kind of like you?
Hmm?
Thought I'd lost you.
At 8:30
is the pissarro appraisal
for the thompsons.
And I need your shipping list
for the art fair
no later than noon.
Uh, then you're on
for that suit fitting
at one o'clock.
Ron. Hey, you still there?
Yeah, let's cancel all that.
Cancel? All of them?
You've already
pushed the thompsons
three times.
Well, now it's four.
I'll call you later.
You ever been
to a museum?
I don't know nothing
about no mausoleum.
No, no.
Not a mausoleum, a museum.
You're wearing that?
Wh--
yeah.
What do you like?
Like that?
Yeah.
Yeah.
- This the stuff you sell?
- Pretty much.
You like that one?
That's by Pablo Picasso.
Who that?
He's probably
the most famous artist
of the 20th century.
Yeah.
Looks to me that he done
broke that lady apart
then tried
to put her back together again,
but got her all mess up.
Well, actually, that is
exactly what he's doing--
cause of that, makes you
look at her different
than you would
if she looked real.
You can see
what she's really like
from the inside,
not just the outside.
How much that one cost?
Oh, that? That's, uh--
that's only about $12 million.
Whoa!
Yeah.
Well,
it don't blow my lid off.
-No?
-But I sure am glad
they bought it,
so somebody like me could see
what a $12 million picture
look like.
I feel the same way.
What's that?
Twelve million dollar.
Yeah, it's a lot.
Shock art.
It's by Andres serrano. It's--
it's meant to provoke people.
Get 'em riled up.
As a boy...
I made a promise to myself
that I'd never again
be speaking to no whites.
Especially white ladies.
You's only the second
white friend I ever had.
The first was Bobby,
the man's son.
When I wasn't working,
we was in business.
We was partners in crime.
He got something to eat,
I did too.
Hey, you wanna see
my daddy's barn? Come on.
Lotta white folk back then
like the thing the way they was.
'Specially sheriffs
and plantation farmers.
People like the man.
Here. Come on. Put this on.
I didn't know it,
but that would be the last time
me and Bobby
would ever play together.
Here, Denver.
Come on. You wanna play kkk?
Must've lost track of time
down there, playing swords.
Soon the man's wife was home.
Bobby, where are you?
That was the first time I ever
had a white woman talk to me.
Son, I told you
this barn is off-limits.
You're gonna
get your butt whipped
when your daddy gets home.
I don't know what you doing
back in my barn, boy,
but I'm gonna whup you silly.
One word
out of your little black mouth,
and you and your family
be looking for another job!
But I wasn't no fool.
I kept my mouth shut
and kept on picking
the man's cotton.
Few years later,
i ran into Bobby's mama again.
She was on the side of the road,
standing next to her car.
All I did was ask her
if she needed help
fixing her tire.
No, nigger.
Move along now.
I hadn't seen Bobby in years.
Denver?
And there he was.
I said move along.
Go on.
Mother.
Move!
'Bout that time,
trouble came down
the road on three horses.
Things got real bad for me.
"This nigger bothering you,
ma'am?"
He ain't bothering anybody.
"And what do we have here?"
"Nigger lover, that's what."
"What you looking at, nigger?"
Bobby, I said
get in the car, now. Go on.
They said
they was gonna teach me a lesson
about bothering white ladies.
And they did.
There's a lot of
messed up things in this world.
Plenty of stuff
I just don't understand.
And no shortage of bad things
happening to good people.
Debbie was always selling me
on how god works
in mysterious ways.
Like that's supposed
to make me like him more.
Well, whatever she was selling,
I wasn't buying.
Can I help you, son?
You can hear them better
from inside.
I'm good, thank you.
- Got room for another tray?
- I do.
With time,
even an old cynic like me
could see the seeds of
what Debbie had quietly planted
beginning to take root.
Her heart in action,
the Amber sea of crushed
beer bottles and syringes
started to disappear.
And lives were changed.
As the mission grew,
so did Denver's impact
on our lives.
He taught us
that while the journey
of the homeless
may often begin
in a hopeless place...
It didn't have to end there.
Amazing, isn't it?
How far a little
tender loving care can go?
Yeah.
Hey, there.
Any food left?
Yeah, hurry up.
Picked you up some food.
I know you like two.
Thank you.
Hey, hurry up.
Who's, uh--
who's that?
Oh. That man is
a hard-working bricklayer
till the day he had a stroke.
Now he just sitting
on the curb,
and then everybody
passing him by,
trying not to look at him.
Let me ask you.
When you give a homeless man
a plate of food or a dollar,
what do you think you're doing?
Uh-- I don't-- helping?
No. A plate of food
don't change nothing.
He still be homeless.
All you're doing is saying,
"you ain't invisible.
I see you."
That's all.
Thank you.
Debbie's putting on
a show tonight.
God is in the recycling business
of turning trash into treasure.
I believe miss Debbie
must be his best employee.
I gotta go to work, but--
you oughta come over.
Is there a picture show?
Yeah.
Never seen
no picture show.
Come on by.
Well, I did, didn't I?
You didn't
go through with it, did you?
It's against the law
to commit suicide around here.
Yeah, and it's against the law
where I come from too.
Where do you come from?
Heaven.
I had to act quickly.
That's why I jumped in.
I knew if I were drowning,
you'd try to save me.
I don't know.
We'll see.
What is this?
I'm not sure.
Should we get the kids home?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Why don't you load 'em up,
and I'll be right behind you?
Yeah.
Okay.
Hey, babe! What you doing
out here by yourself?
What, you ain't got no man?
Your man let you out here?
I got somewhere
for you to sleep
right here, now.
All right, miss lady. Fine.
Denver!
Denver!
Denver!
Denver!
Miss Debbie?
Is that you?
Are you okay?
What you doing here?
I didn't see you
at the movie,
so I was worried.
Just through here.
Um--
there are clean towels
in the bathroom.
And anything you can't find
that you need
in the drawers, I'll, um--
I'm just down the hall.
Yes, ma'am.
Okay.
Okay.
Thank you, ma'am.
Sleep good, Denver.
And what,
without even talking to me
about it?
I mean, you have no idea
what that man's
mental condition is.
We not even
gonna talk about this?
Ronnie, just trust me.
And we have children
in the house.
And I don't know
what the plan is, Debbie.
I don't know.
What are you gonna do?
You gonna just save them all?
I'll try.
But you know
Denver's special to me.
Honey, I know
you wanna help him. I do.
I understand that. I do too.
But promise me
you'll talk to me before
you do something like this.
I promise.
I promise.
Yeah.
What room's he in?
Denver?
Denver?
You get any sleep
last night?
Come on in.
Have a cup of coffee.
Hi. Good morning.
Y'all hungry?
You want coffee?
There's some juice
over here too,
if you want any.
I made some toast, so--
here you go.
Do you like sugar?
Yes, ma'am.
Y'all being
really kind to me.
Showed me a lot of trust,
bringing me into your home.
Some things
you need to know about me.
What things?
Done some bad things,
miss Debbie.
Never told you.
Hope I might not have to.
But I guess some things
don't get forgotten.
It's okay.
Why don't you sit?
After my family die...
The man put me up
in a little shack.
And I worked the fields
every day for years.
Never got no paycheck.
Just a little credit
at the man's store.
He didn't tell me
there were schools
I could have gone to.
I didn't know about world war ii
or the war in Korea.
I didn't know
colored folks been rising up.
He didn't tell me
I could have joined the army...
Worked my way up,
earned some money of my own,
maybe even some respect.
It might be hard for you
to believe, but you go down
to red river parish today,
and you might see
how a colored man
who couldn't read,
didn't have no radio,
no telephone, no electricity,
might fall through
a crack in time
and get stuck.
Now, I knowed
there was other places.
So one day,
i just ran toward them tracks
and hop on.
When I jumped off
that train...
Landed me in shreveport.
I'd never seen
nothing like it before.
There was buildings lined up
like freight cars on the tracks.
There was even a black man
driving his own car.
And it weren't no junker.
Just like the man's.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
The first night,
a man tried to rob me.
He had a gun.
Tried to take my shoes.
I fought back.
In the end, I still had my shoes
and his gun.
I ain't proud of this, but...
I decided to rob a bus.
Open that box
and give me that money.
Open that box
and give me that money.
Put that gun down, boy.
I was mean and bad.
But not mean and bad enough
to shoot a man
just 'cause
he showed up for work
on the wrong day.
The judge gave me
ten years in Angola.
Most vicious prison
in America.
I was back in the fields again.
'Cept this time,
i really was a slave.
'Cause that's how
they ran the prison.
There weren't enough guards,
so they gave
some of the inmates guns.
A lot of times, the same fella
that was working with me one day
didn't show up the day after.
Nobody ever saw him again.
They said
they was feed to the gators.
In Angola,
a man without a knife
was either gonna end up dead
or worse.
That night...
That yellow-eyed man
showed up in my cell,
with three of his friend.
And I had that knife.
I use it.
Went into Angola as a boy...
And came out a man.
But I had to kill to do it.
I'm sorry
i never told you that.
I figure once you find out
i was a felon...
Who had been in Angola...
Ain't no way
you'd want me around.
You're not a bad man.
You have the strongest heart.
And I'm glad we're friends.
I... am going
to wake up some teenagers.
Wish me luck.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Something else, Mr. Ron.
The work
miss Debbie's doing...
Is very important.
She's becoming precious
to god.
When you is precious
to god...
You as important to Satan.
Yeah?
Hey, dad.
You are hitting
that ball.
It's okay.
No, you played great
out there.
I'm so proud of you.
She's hitting the ball good,
isn't she? Huh?
Yeah, she is, trust me.
Well, I'm gonna go change.
Good to see you, Denver.
We'll get a bite.
Okay.
All right.
This some sort of
rich folk game?
Tennis?
No, no. Anybody can play.
You just make a reservation.
You wanna give it a shot,
we'll do it.
A what?
Reservation. It's, uh--
it's an appointment.
You make an appointment
to come out here and play.
Mr. Ron.
Any game you has to have
a reservation to play...
Is a rich folk game.
Well, you may be right.
Come on.
Did you hear me?
Yeah, yeah. Let's go.
Ron.
Hey, Hank,
how are you?
Good. Good.
Listen, Ron, I think
it's amazing what you guys
have done over at the mission.
I do wonder, though,
if maybe you aren't
taking things a bit too far.
What are you talking about?
I don't follow.
Listen, buddy,
I'm a philanthropist too, okay?
You wanna have a benefit,
raise some funds,
I'll be the first one
to cut a check.
But we come here to get away
from the world for a while.
And I'm not sure
what good it is
to remind us all
how fortunate we are over lunch.
Right. Talking about
my friend Denver, right?
Look, Ron, straight up,
i like you, I like your wife.
But I, along with most
of the other members,
have a problem with you bringing
your amigo negro around.
Sure. You can
tell him that yourself.
He's standing right there.
That's Denver.
My "amigo negro."
You got my back, Mr. Ron.
We's friend.
You gonna flush that?
Oh, yeah,
i always forget that part.
Y'all do this
down there.
"Down there."
I am not that short.
I know you're not.
Your spirit is
much bigger than that.
Okay, that's good.
Set the plate
towards the street.
I think it's better
back there.
Can you put it back?
Ron hall.
Kidneys are up here.
Bladder here.
And this is the spot right here
that we're worried about.
Okay? We have to do
further tests, but we don't know
what it is right now.
Hi.
Hey.
Hi.
How long
have I been out?
Couple hours.
Yeah.
Where are the kids?
They just went downstairs
to get a bite.
They've been here
the whole time.
Cancer.
Gonna beat it.
Okay?
I prayed all last night.
I asked god to heal her.
I also ask him why.
Why have you done this
to a woman
who has been nothing
but a faithful servant to you?
Doing what you say,
helping folk.
It really don't make
no sense to me.
But every once in a while...
I'd see a shooting star
burn across the black sky.
Bright one minute.
And gone the next.
I couldn't understand why
i never could see where it went.
I think god
was giving me a lesson
about miss Debbie.
And the word say
god put every stars
in the heaven.
And he even gave
every one of them a name.
If one was gonna
fall from the sky,
that was up to him too.
Maybe we can't see
where it's gonna wind up.
But god can.
Hey.
Where are you gonna be
in the morning?
I'm homeless.
Where else would I be?
Pull.
Pull.
That's all there is
to it, boys.
And here I thought
white folk fishing was odd.
You call this hunting?
No, Denver.
You'd actually like this.
Get up here. Come on.
Guns ain't not toys,
Mr. Ron.
When I shoot one,
it's business.
I'll go see if miss Debbie
needs some help in the kitchen.
All right.
You weren't really gonna let--
let him have that gun, were you?
You gonna do this now,
Earl?
Hmm?
I'm gonna make myself a drink.
Hey, what is it about Denver
that bothers you anyway?
Why should anything about him
bother me?
I think
giving a loaded shotgun
to a man who lives in a dumpster
on purpose
is a perfectly sane thing to do.
Try not to do it
when I'm around.
And one other thing.
Does he have to be invited
to every family gathering?
Know what I mean?
Pull.
What about this guy down here?
The tall one.
Still waters run deep.
- Okay.
- Look at this.
That's it.
There we go.
Oh, my god.
- Great job.
- Everything looks beautiful.
Oh, no. It was nothing.
Amazing job.
Yes.
Thank you.
So good.
Good.
I'm just grateful that
we can all be here together.
Hey, mama,
you wanna say grace?
Of course.
Why don't you let Denver do it?
Yeah, okay.
Oh, boy. Really?
Yeah.
Lord, we here
to celebrate your birthday.
And we thank you
for the good folk
around this table.
I know most folk think they's
the only customer god got.
So we ain't gonna ask
too much today.
We just asking you
to clean up the mess
and praise you for giving
miss Debbie the strength
to prepare this celebration.
In your precious name.
Amen.
--Amen.
Thanks. Let's eat.
- Yes.
-You start that quick.
I'm starving.
Hope you've been lifting.
I do.
Let me get some dressing--
yes, can you pass some ham
to Denver, please?
You want a roll?
Absolutely.
I don't know...
You know she does.
Of course she does.
...why everyone's making
such a big deal over cancer.
I've had prostate cancer
four years now.
Doesn't bother me a bit.
Don't worry about it, Deborah.
Ask me, they're making
a big deal about nothing.
Nobody asked you.
What is your problem?
Oh, great. Perfect.
I'm the bad guy, right?
Now you're turning
my own grandkids against me.
Can't you ever shut up?
I didn't do anything.
Let's go home, tommye.
Drive careful,
all right?
I will.
Okay. Okay, okay.
I love you.
Love you too.
I don't want your gift.
Take it.
And I don't want you
to ever come back here.
Bless him.
Bless who?
Your mean old daddy's
got a good man inside of him.
The way I figure,
if it hadn't been for him,
there wouldn't be no you.
And I'd still be in the bushes
instead of here with you
and your family, Mr. Ron.
Hey, you're a good man,
Denver.
My father's not.
He just lost his last chance
to prove me wrong.
What are you doing?
Hey.
I'm looking through
this... insurance.
Well, you look great.
Thanks.
Where are you going?
Well, if I have faith
that I'll be healed,
I need to start acting normal.
So, I'm going shopping.
Okay. All right.
Well, I'm driving.
Oh, uh-uh. No, no.
No, of course I am.
No, no, no.
No, that wouldn't be normal.
You sure?
Yeah.
Okay. I'll see you later.
Hey, um, Debbie?
I'm sorry.
You don't know me,
but I've heard so much about you
and the work you've done
at the mission.
I'm Dr. Howard's wife.
Oh. Hi.
Nice to meet you. Hi.
I am so sorry.
About?
When I heard
that you were terminal,
i just couldn't believe it.
Nobody's told me that.
I'm so sorry.
Can you... excuse me?
It's gonna be cold tonight.
I love Ronnie ray!
It's beautiful.
This is the place.
Right here, okay?
I love you, Ronnie ray.
I always have.
I love you, too.
I know.
That was a while ago.
Yeah.
And your first show.
Who's that?
Sheryl crow.
That's right.
Look at you. Oh!
Carson.
You were so tiny. Look.
And look at you now.
Look at you now.
Hmm.
I love you, mom.
I love you, baby.
Listen, um...
Your daddy is a wonderful
father and husband.
And I want you to know
that I am freeing him up...
To date or marry...
Whoever he chooses.
And I want you to honor
his decisions...
And let him be happy.
Mom.
Let him be happy.
And for the record...
You and your brother...
Are free to marry
anybody you want to.
I'll be watching.
Would you guys
go find something to do?
I wanna talk to your daddy.
Go on.
Go find something to do.
Even her.
Don't say that.
Mm-hmm.
Don't say that.
Mm-hmm.
No.
It was a good thing.
It turned out to be
such a good thing.
If she hadn't happened,
our lives together would
never be this beautiful.
I want you to be happy.
But it's been you.
It's always been you.
Oh. One more thing, baby.
Yeah, anything.
Just don't give up
on Denver, okay?
Yeah.
You promise?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Thank you.
Bartender,
i need a beer.
We have only one kind,
my lady.
Oh. And a straw.
One root beer coming up.
Oh. And will you
put on my song, Jim?
Done and done.
Come here.
Come here.
Oh.
Baby.
You okay?
Would you like to cut in?
As we all gather here today,
every one of us has
sweet memories
of this incredible lady.
When Debbie asked me
to do this service,
she had only one request,
and that was
that Denver say a few words.
So, without further ado,
for those
who may not know him...
This is the man
of Debbie's dream,
Denver Moore.
I never met miss Debbie.
Miss Debbie met me.
I didn't want
to know miss Debbie,
or any other white woman
for that matter.
But ever since
i knowed her...
Miss Debbie
want to be my friend.
I sure she was friend
to every soul in here.
I still ain't figured out
why she want to know
a fellow like me.
I sure am been nothing
to be proud of.
I was captive in devil's prison
most of my life.
Many folks see me there
in lockup and pass me by.
I don't blame them.
I was not nice.
Dangerous.
And probably
just as happy
to stay in prison.
But she was different.
She seen me
behind them bars
and reached way down
in her pocket.
And pulled out a key
god gave her to set me free.
She's the only person to love me
enough not to give up.
Now I stand here
a changed man.
A free man.
I used to spend a lot of time
worrying I was different
from other people.
Even other homeless folk.
But then after I met
miss Debbie and Mr. Ron...
I worried
i was so different from them
that we were never gonna have
no kind of future.
But what I found out was...
Everybody's different.
Same kind of different
as me.
We all regular folks
walking down the street
god done set in front of us.
And miss Debbie...
She's a whole 'nother
kind of different.
Miss Debbie,
she dream of a better place
for the homeless.
And I ain't talking
about heaven, no.
I'm talking about right here
in y'alls town.
Now, I'm gonna pick up
miss Debbie's torch
and I'm going
to carry it round.
It would make miss Debbie
real happy
if you would make her dream
come true...
And pick up her torch
and carry it round too.
Now, I'm fixing
to do something
the devil,
he ain't never done for you.
I'm gonna cut you loose.
But before I do,
you can take this with you.
Whether we's rich
or whether we's poor
or some in-between...
We's all homeless.
Every last one of us.
Just working our way
back home.
Welcome home, miss Debbie.
Welcome home.
So of course, I did exactly
what Debbie asked me not to do.
I fumbled the torch
and released Denver.
Anger, mixed with some fear,
can turn a man inside out.
But here's the thing,
just like Denver would say:
"God's in the recycling business
of turning trash into treasure."
And that's exactly what he did.
I'm going home, Julio.
I'm proud of you,
my friend.
I'm going to miss you.
I can't wait to read your book.
Come see me at rocky top.
Adis, mi amigo.
Where you been?
When miss Debbie
went on up in heaven,
I was pretty sure
you gonna cut me loose.
Yeah. Catch and release.
Hmm?
So, you're just gonna
come back and what?
There's something
you need to do.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
What-- what is it, tommye?
Look who's here.
Hi, Earl.
Oh.
You need something?
No, no. I'm fine.
Isn't that nice?
Isn't that nice?
Here.
Nice of you to visit. Here.
Hey, Earl.
How you doing?
Yeah. Stopped drinking.
See?
Never even touched it.
Big relief for your mother.
I give her a lot of hell
over the years.
What about me?
Yeah, you give her
a lot of hell too.
Yeah.
What you reading?
It's a book of stories, poetry.
I used to read to you
when you were little.
You never liked it much.
That is not true.
Good English poet.
William, uh--
-uh--
-Blake.
William Blake, yeah.
A bird.
The nest.
A spider. The web.
Man.
Friendship.
So how's your friend?
Denver?
Denver, he's good.
He's good.
We're gonna go out
to rocky top later,
visit Debbie.
Oh.
Yeah.
I always liked Debbie.
Deborah.
Always liked her.
Good for you.
For working things out,
staying-- staying together.
Well, she was a good woman.
So is your mother.
What's that?
Oh, nothing.
We got lucky.
We both got lucky.
We might actually agree
on something there.
Oh, don't worry about it.
Dad, you wanna get
a little fresh air?
There she goes.
My old horse.
Can you get up?
Yeah.
Cowboying up.
All right.
Be careful, all right?
Let's see if she remembers me.
She does.
Careful.
Crazy old man.
How you doing?
I'm good.
Good.
It's a good day.
You were right about my dad,
Denver.
There's a good man
in there.
Had to dig pretty far down
to find him.
Sometimes you just got to
bless the hell out of people.
And your daddy had
a lot of hell in there.
Yeah, he did.
Ain't none of my business,
but what do it say?
It says, "arms of god."
Nice.
Think any of those are
named Debbie?
Hmm?
Well, somebody once told me
that god names
all the stars in the sky.
What crazy old man
told you that?
Okay.
Hey. There you go.
Oh, yeah.
-Huh?
-There she goes.
Yeah.
That's her right there.
Beautiful.
We must understand
that the only thing
that we keep forever...
Is the things
that we give away.
And the more you give,
the more you get.
Because there is many people
out there that is confused
or throwed off
or jumped track.
Broken promises,
shattered dream.
Shattered dream
destroys lives.
So a lot of times
we can't judge
the book by its cover.
We'll never know
whose eyes god is
watching you out of.
And it's not going to be
who you think it is.