silly interlude re Reimagining act 3

 

.

silly interlude re i WILL finish this talkinamyself

a sense of things in place after an advance re the rubik's cubing at mom's o'er the long weekend. a pause today after closing dublin's last night after flyaway from airport, maybe probably finish act 3 beats tomorrow, step away, then back to finish in finally final blog.   

indeed.

related Subtly Penetrating

It's - pardon my precious - finding Story so as to be able to better tell it, added to the conceit that, one, it matters, and two, that there IS a particular form that is the expression of Story. Writing begets further (deeper?) understanding; the form one has in mind is subject to change. Is, in my experience, subject to inevitable change. As example - I write this For The Record, btw, re course and course correction - Daisy's emergence as Character, and Brian and Brian's Dad and Brian's Son re same re Character and extension of Story. Anyway, at last the Knowing i WILL get this done, the hardest work behind me. These Characters are real to me, like fucking Spells.    

Final Beats Act 2

Act 1

1. The Truck, Heeere's Jackie, intros and away.

2. Int. Rover. T re last time on a horse, Grand Canyon re T's uncle in Flagstaff re Ruth's ancestry site, White Sands, re taking pictures. Chloe takes selfie with Tom. Tom re send that to me re Ruth and Wanda. 

3. Wanda, with Daisy, gets the selfie.

4. Ruth at home places it, framed, on shelf in parlor with piano.

5. Sess and Claire, horses and kids, Rover arrive and intros. To the ponies.

6. Piney woods and woodpecker knocking. The riders on their horses enter, ride through and out of frame, fanned out search party.

7. Brian and Dad.    

8. Mountain meadow. Tom and Hunter, Chloe and Jackie, Sess and Claire.

9. John and Jan stare at Chloe/Tom selfie.

10. Barbara places it framed on desk in Chloe's bedroom.

11. Uphill horse trail single-track 'round a bend, Sierra Blanca view. Cuh-lip cuh-lop, Horses into, through and out of frame single-file. Birdsong.

12. Birdsong. Pinus ponderosa, foreign languages, re high school sports, Tom's youth rodeo, Vietnam. Re buckles and the one he has on. Lunch bell. Jackie, Sess and Claire re Tom's relationship to Hunter.

13. Gil with Dale, Dale's dog and The Boys (working) at Bandera VFW. Re Clem's passing. 

14. Horses at the creek. Tom and Hunter re fishing re Clem (trout) and Gil (bass). Tom shows a picture on his phone of the three of them deep sea fishing off Galveston. T Chloe takes their picture. 

16. Wanda and Daisy re biodegradable urn re Clem's ashes.

17. Ruth re added limb to Family Tree.

18. Back at the ranch. Re Tom, rodeo, tie-down ropin', honda knot, lassos mechanical bull, Chloe recording. Re coffee for the road. Claire takes selfie with Hunter.

20. White Sands at Sunset. Hunter, Jackie, Chloe and Tom, barefoot in the dunes, aimed at sunset on the San Andres range.

21. Night. Jackie leaving. Hunter re watching a movie, Tom will excuse himself to bed, "a little tuckered" and re all the pictures. Hunter, "speaking of which." 

22. Tom on the Tahoe selfie Olivia took. His photographic memory. He takes a picture of the selfie. Chloe "call mom," Hunter "notes on the day."

Final Beats Act 1

1. Night. Tom and Wanda, Foglost and Hawaii.

2. Sunrise. Tom leaves, truck WY, re Daisy.

3. CREDITS over Tom driving, Big West, enter Colorado, radio music.

4. Gil, Maria, the boys. Foglost, re Tom and Wanda move.

5. Sunset. Wanda and Daisy. Tom's ringtone, calling from ABQ motel room. Tom leave Ruth VM. Monsoon clouds and thunder, first drops of rain.

6. Sunrise. Tom to truck, drive away.

7. John, Jan, Barb, Chloe driving. Re Jackie and horse day.

8. Hunter home office, Organ Mountains, leaves room.

9. Tom driving, Hunter 'hood, Organ Mountains, GPS direction.

10. Hunter kitchen, calendar re Chloe, bag tie, leaves room.

11. Tom nears Hunter's - Rover in open garage - stops, idles, takes picture, just as Hunter enters garage from house. Tom drive away, Hunter's eyes follow, bag into bin at mailbox. Tom turns out of view behind house.

12. Tom U-turn.

13. Hunter foyer, doorbell, Tom, Howdy, Tom enters. H eyes truck.

14. Barbara, John and Jan, Hunter's call/ringtone. B re Tom Walker, spending night.

15. Wanda with Daisy, the WYO, Tom's call from Hunter's guest room. Tom calls Ruth with Gil in Fredericksburg for peaches. Híjole.

16. Hunter with Chloe.

17. Doc gets Hunter selfie with Tom.

18. Hunter and Chloe arrive, Tom smoking, Chloe re Marlboro Man, intros, Tom re how he found Hunter.

19. Sunset (at Pismo?). Barbara, with Brian, re the Tom and Olivia story. She gets selfie Chloe has sent, with Hunter and Tom.

20. Sunset. John and John get Barbara's forwarded Chloe selfie.

21. Night. H, C, T 'round the patio table, post dinner. Re the weather, monsoon season, rain an ABQ last night. How long T/W married, W's history re lost child, anniversary plans, re Hawaii, surfing. Tom excuses himself to bed after calling W and R. Chloe re Tom horse day, H call Jackie.

set beats, start final

Sensing now is a good time to end this blog and begin Final Draft next week after getting beats set in detail this weekend. Also trending toward relocating Texas from Hill Country to Big Bend land. This blog, like the previous (semi-final), has served its purpose. So, probably, final beats as last post on this blog Tuesday.   

Other titles: Pertaining to Comprehension, Lucidity

Pinus Ponderosa cont'd

Previous.

CHLOE: Where did you get that buckle?

TOM: This was my great grandad's. 

CHLOE: On whose side?

TOM: My mom's. Buford Sawer Robertson was her father's father. He won the buckle in a poker game in Laredo.

CHLOE: Did you meet him?

TOM: A few times when I was a kid, when he and my great grandmother Ruby lived north of Galveston.

CHLOE: They're on the family tree?

TOM: They are. And their grandparents. 

HUNTER: What did Buford Sawyer Robertson do for a living?

TOM: Roughneckin' in oil fields before he went off to France in the first world war. Came back and started the hardware store in Lubbock he had for thirty years 'til he sold it and moved to San Marcos to be closer to my mom.

Jackie RINGS A TRIANGLE DINNER BELL.

TOM: Goodness.

CHLOE: What?

TOM: Just had a flashback to a chuckwagon alongside the San Saba River.

CHLOE: Did the chuckwagon serve vittles?

Tom smiles.

TOM: It did.   

CHLOE: What foods qualify as vittles?

TOM: Well.

WITH JACKIE, SESS AND CLAIRE AT THE PICNIC TABLE

They watch Tom, Hunter and Chloe approach. 

to be continued.

Pinus Ponderosa in progress

Tom, Chloe and Hunter walk among the pines. In the distance, Jackie, Claire and Sess set up lunch a picnic table. The horses are tied to a nearby post.

TOM: Why ya reckon they call 'em ponderosa pines?

CHLOE: Pinus ponderosa. Because they're ponderous. Which is to say their wood is heavy, which I assume to be relative to other woods. 

TOM: Like balsa?

CHLOE: Like balsa.

TOM: Where did ya pick up the Latin?

CHLOE: Eighth grade extra credit lccal flora class.

TOM: Like flora and fauna.

CHLOE: Just like.

TOM: So ya got pine trees in San Luis Obispo?

CHLOE: A few. Bishop pines. Pinus muricata. Bishop because of it being found, or identified anyway, near the mission. There are other common and prior scientific names related to variant forms. Prickle cone pine, Obispo pine, Santa Cruz pine and dwarf marine pine. 

TOM: What's the most prominent tree in the area.

CHLOE: Coastal oak.

TOM: We got a variety of oaks in the hill country. 

CHLOE:  What kind of variety?

TOM: Live Oak, Red Oak,  Post Oak, Lacey Oak, the rare Spanish Oak  

A lull.

TOM (CONT.): Speakin' a trees, sort of, if y'all are int'rested, Ruth's got our family tree online at an ancestry website.

HUNTER/CHLOE: Really? 

TOM: Yep. Goes back quite a-ways.

CHLOE: Would you send me the link to that website?

TOM: Course I will. 

CHLOE: Thank you. 

to be continued.

Brian and Dad dialogue 2

dialogue 1

DAD: What are Barbara's thoughts on where she goes to college?

BRIAN: Conflicted in that she'd like her to stay home or close to it, she also wants her to spread her wings a little. She and her dad are meeting the coach and checking out Tucson for a few days. 

DAD: Where's her dad?

BRIAN: Las Cruces.

DAD: What does he do?

BRIAN: Novelist.

DAD: What's his name?

BRIAN: Hunter.

DAD: Hunter what?

BRIAN: Hardyn. With a Y.

DAD: H C Hardyn?

BRIAN: Yes. How do you know about H C Hardyn.

DAD: Your sister dragged me into a bookstore last week. Foglost was on a display table near the checkout line. Six degrees of a best selling author. Have you read it?

BRIAN: Halfway through.

DAD: Likin' it?

BRIAN: Very much.

DAD: Well lemmee read it when you're done.

BRIAN: I will.

DAD: What's it about?

BRIAN: We'll talk about that when you're done.

DAD: Fair enough. 

They arrive at the Porsche.

BRIAN: Up for getting us to Creston?

He hands dad the key, Dad stops, stares at it, then at the Porsche, then at Brian. 

BRIAN (CONT.): If you think your foot is up for the clutch, dad. 

DAD: Let's find out. 

They get in, Dad depresses the clutch pedal, keeps it there, releases. He depresses the clutch, maneuvers the stick shift from neutral through the five gears in sequence.

BRIAN: Well?

DAD: Buckle up, son.

They buckle up, Dad insterts key, starts engine, turning the heads of a couple Cider House customers. Dad shifts into reverse, backs up, shifts into first, rolls to the highway, stops, lets traffic pass, looks at Brian, who winks. Dad looks left for traffic, drives into the highway and shifts from first to second and finally, at fifty miles per hour, into third. He turns to Brian, both beaming They turn their attention to the road, Brian lowers his sunglasses into place.

CUT TO:

Brian and Dad dialogue 1

Location

DAD: Golf tomorrow, right?

BRIAN: Yep.

DAD: You probably told me where you're playing. 

BRIAN: Hunter Ranch.

DAD: Right, you did. What do you know about John’s game?

BRIAN:Eight handicap, 

DAD: Damn.

BRIAN; Jan is usually around ninety.

BRIAN: They play twice a week.

DAD: At Hunter?

BRIAN: River Oaks, not far from where they live. Ready to meet them?

DAD: Are they ready to meet me, Brian?

BRIAN: Yes. They’re alright, dad. 

DAD: I’m sure they are just by Barbara.

Brian smiles at dad and throws his arm over his shoulder.

DAD (CONT.): Gonna keep her?

BRIAN: If she’ll let me. Ready?

DAD: Ready. 

They finish their ciders, drop the cups into a nearby bin, stand - Dad with assistance of his cane - and walk to the parking lot, Dad with a slight limp.

DAD: Chloe impressed.

BRIAN: Chloe’s impressive.

It’s clear they’re walking to the Porsche. 

To be continued.

Brian and Dad in progress

EXT. ROADSIDE CIDER HOUSE - SHANDON, CA - DAY

Brian, in work boots, jeans, untucked and unbuttoned long-sleeve over tee, sunglasses propped atop head, sits next to DAD, late-70s, dressed similarly and wearing a Vietnam Veteran ballcap, on a bench under shade of awning, sipping drinks from plastic cups. A cane at Dad's side. A dozen vehicles including two motorcycles with helmets attached in the parking lot, the star of which is a mid-80s Porsche 911. 

FAINT MURMUR OF CUSTOMERS INSIDE and the form of a few of them through the dark window next to Brian and Dad. A sign indicates the availability of wine, beer and mead in addition to the more prominently featured cider. The HUM OF TRAFFIC on the highway through the tan rolling hills.  

to be continued.

silly interlude re Annamarie

 

.

act 2 beats in wet cement

act 1

1. Next morning. Tom re truck, heeere's Jackie, away they go.

2. Gil, Maria re Tom's Las Cruces layover.

3. Int. Rover, last time on a horse, rodeo, Vietnam. Chloe Tom selfie.

4. Barbara arrive home, Chloe Tom selfie. 

5. Sess and Claire, Rover arrive, intros.

6. Pines, woodpecker, horses.

7. John and Jan, Chloe Tom selfie.

8. Mountain meadow.

9. Wanda with Daisy gets Tom Chloe selfie.

10. Horses uphill 'round bend, Sierra Blanca view. 

11. Ruth places framed Tom Chloe selfie.

12. Hunter, Tom and Chloe, the story about Tom's buckle. Chuckwagon call from Jackie, Sess and Claire prepping lunch. 

13. Brian and his dad.

14. Horses and riders at the creek. Tom to Hunter re fishing.

15. Gil with friend, Bandera VFW. 

16. Horse barn and a honda knot.

17. Barbara places framed photo of Hunter, Tom and Chloe with wooden bear in Chloe's room.

18. John and Jan stare at same photo.

19. Hunter, Tom, Chloe and Jackie, White Sands sunset.

20. Night. Jackie leaves Hunter's. Starry skies and one shooting. Hunter inquires about a movie, Tom declines, "a little tuckered." Call Wanda and Ruth, get on to bed. Hunter re inquiring about a photograph.

21. Tom tells the story of his and Olivia's Tahoe day re the selfie Olivia took. Tom asks Chloe re help re three-way facetiming Wanda and Ruth.

22. That three-way facetime, including Chloe's hello and goodnight to Ruth and Wanda, both rendered verklempt. End call, Tom ponders guestbook. 

silly interlude re vehicle dreams

Two different dreams this morning

A light blue Ferrari Daytona parks where I am standing, nose aimed at me, a foot away.. All I see is the hood. End dream.

The other:

Elon Musk is about to get behind the wheel of a red 911, the same fire-engine red as the 911 in *the Zuckerberg dream. Musk(rat) is looking at me, I'm standing near the passenger door. 

Found Object:

and related Zuckerberg 911 

related GTS Touring

------------------------------

* I am in the front passenger seat of a car being driven my Mark Zuckerberg. We are driving downhill through a neighborhood of widely spaced mountain mansions, patches of snow on the ground. (Spring?)

Not long thereafter we are outside the car, pulled to the side of the road. It's then that I see it's a fire-engine red Porsche 911, new.

Not long thereafter we are driving downhill on a steep street through a neighborhood that reminds me of San Francisco.

Not long thereafter I have assumed the driver's seat and wheel and take a look at myself in the rearview mirror.

The dream ends as we again drive downhill and arrive at Sunset Boulevard in what seems like the Silver Lake area. Dream ends as I am about to to turn right to drive west, toward, I reckon, Hollywood.  

------------------

All the vehicles in my dreams are so-called Super Cars. Too many 911's to remember, at least a few Corvettes  and a few tricked-out pickup trucks. And others I can't remember, most of which include custom paint jobs.

I don't need Jung to tell me what these Vehicles represent.  

location 3: John's and Jan's neighborhood

Almond Crest Ct., Paso Robles, CA

location 2: Brian and Brian's dad

Mission Trail Cider House, Cholame, California. The 911 in the parking lot. 

location 1: Wanda and Daisy 1

They are parked in the pullout near the Snowy Range Rd. Overland Trail marker, Wanda at the wheel of the Subaru wagon aimed at the sunset on the mountains. 

the vehicles

Tom's GMC pickup, WY plates

Hunter's Range Rover, CA

Wanda's Subaru WY

John's and Jan's Mercedes G-Wagon and Aston Martin DB7, CA 

Jackie's Alfa Romeo Spider, NM 

Ruth's Volvo wagon (Fredericksburg peaches), TXs

Sess's Dodge Ram HD dually and horse trailer, NM  

Claire's Harley, OK

Barbara's Mini-Cooper

Gil's old Corvette, new Ford F-350 and bass boat/trailer, TX 

Brian's Porsche 911, CA 

Maria's KIA SUV, TX 

act 1 beats in wet cement

1. Night. Tom and Wanda, Foglost, Hawaii.

2. Sunrise. Tom leaves in truck w/WY plates.

3. Credits over Tom driving, enter Colorado, radio music.

4. Gil, Maria, the boys. Re Tom and Wanda move, Foglost and Hunter's blurb and Organ Mountains. 

5. Sunset. Wanda and Daisy. Tom's call from ABQ motel. Tom leaves Ruth VM.

6. Sunrise. Tom leave ABQ motel lot.

7. John (driving), Jan, Barbara, Chloe, re Jackie and Horse Day.

8. Hunter home office, kitchen, recycle bag.

9. Tom arrive at Hunter's, garage door open, Range Rover, Hunter out, Tom drives away.

10. Tom's U-turn.

11. Hunter foyer, Tom front door, Howdy, Tom enters.

12. John, Jan and Barbara's call from Hunter. John re middle name.

13. Wanda and Daisy, Tom's call from Hunter's guest room, Tom calls Ruth (with peaches in Fredericksburg), leaves room, framed in window at patio, takes selfie.

14. Gil receives that selfie. Hijole.

15. Hunter and Chloe.

16. Barbara and Brian, re Tom and Olivia.

17. Hunter and Chloe arrive, intros, how Tom found him.

18. Wanda and Ruth Facetime.

19. John and Jan uphill neighborhood powerwalk sunset.  

20. Night. Hunter, Chloe, Tom, re Hawaii and Wanda. Excuses himself. Chloe and Hunter about another horse. Hunter calls Jackie.

silly interlude how i'be best brought this Story to this point

silly interludes increasing as i near the end of this blog and beginning Final, probably next week after setting beats in wet cement tomorrow and stepping away to let it gestate.

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

The Superior Man shares his thoughts and feelings.

silly interlude re The Ticket dream

It's daytime, I'm trying to get somewhere, though I don't recall knowing where/what. But I do know that I am aggravated with the changes in direction re how-to-get-there I am encountering and the delay involved.

Then I come.across a woman who exudes in every way Glinda, the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz. She notes my frustration and tells me, just as Glinda encourages Dorothy "you know you have the ticket." A beat before she continues, "you know you're going to get there."

(Affirmation tingle as I write this.)

End of dream.

Posted here because I know this screenplay is that ticket, pardon my (ever wavering) confidence. 

And other dreams also involving the ticket to a flight, thinking/fearing I don't have it, then realizing I do. 

.

silly interlude re fatigue revisited

 

i'll finish this - i have to - but jeeezuss i'm so tired of it.  

Other titles: Exhaustion, The Symbol of Repression and Confinement, Adversity, Weariness, Confining, Entangled, Hardship, Depression, Tiresome Restriction, Dried Up

.

silly interlude re the challenge Life presents the Artist

 

Image

'Heaven and earth do not interact: Blocked.

A noble one uses his strengths sparingly to avoid hardship.

He does not allow himself honours and payment.' 

Hilary Barrett:

"You can have a soaring imaginative concept of the creative possibilities here; you can have the will to be true to that concept and carry it through. You're not doing anything wrong; the problem is that these creative possibilities are just not available when things are Blocked. Small concerns dominate. The adaptive response is not to strive constantly to rise to a higher level, but to focus your attention on the small details – the immediate, uninspiring reality."

mountain meadow: Sess and Claire

previous

WITH SESS AND CLAIRE

They near where the meadow meets the woods.

CLAIRE: So.

SESS: So.

CLAIRE: Any guess on the cowboy's relation to Hunter other than surprise visitor? 

SESS: A wild one.

CLAIRE: Bet it's the same as mine. 

SESS: Bet you're right. 

CLAIRE: And makes you wonder, if that's the case, why he wouldn't be introduced as such?

SESS (beat): Yes. 

CLAIRE: Do you think Jack knows?

SESS: I do. I'll ask.

CLAIRE: I'm going to ask if she thinks Hunter will be okay with being in a selfie to send to my dad. 

SESS: Well she'll be the one calling for the group photo somewhere along the way.     

They arrive at the woods, turn their horses to face Jackie and Chloe nearing, Tom and Hunter the same behind them. Jackie and Chloe arrive.

SESS: How we doin?

JACKIE/CHLOE: Great.

JACKIE/CHLOE: Jinx.

JACKIE: A color on three.

CHLOE: On three.

JACKIE: Sess?

SESS: One two three.

JACKIE/CHLOE: Green.

CLAIRE: Oh boy.

CHLOE: A letter.

SESS: A B C.

CHLOE/JACKIE: Q/R.

CLAIRE: S T.

SESS: U V.

Tom and Hunter arrive.    

HUNTER: I smell alphabet soup. 

CHLOE: Jackie and I are in jinx mode.

JACKIE: One more.

CHLOE: Have to.

JACKIE: Your call.

Chloe considers. The HAWK CALL aims all eyes to the red-tail flying over them then out of view. 

CHLOE: A bird that is not a hawk.

SESS: On tweet.

CHLOE/JACKIE: On tweet.

They wink at each other. Tom and Hunter exchange a glance.

SESS: Claire.

CLAIRE: Buhgawk, chirp, tweet.

CHLOE/JACKIE: Eagle/dove. 

CLAIRE: Hmm.

TOM: Rose.

Hunter looks at Tom.

HUNTER: Fisted glove. 

CLAIRE: And if you can't be with the one you love, honey.

SESS/JACKIE/TOM/HUNTER: Love the one you're with.

All smile. Hunter extends the fist-bump that Tom reciprocates.

CHLOE: That was cool.

Jackie and Sess look at each other.

JACKIE/SESS: Way cool.

CLAIRE: Maybe charades with lunch?

SESS: I'm down. 

JACKIE: And speaking of lunch, the uphill to get to it offers a view of the mountain that I think will be a wonderful backdrop for a group photo.  

Sess winks at Claire, who smiles.

SESS: Great idea, Jack. Lead the way?

Jackie sets her horse in motion into the woods, the rest follow, leave view. FAINT WOODPECKER KNOCKING.

silly interlude re Confidence in this

 

.

silly interlude re mountain meadow

.

mountain meadow: jackie and chloe

previous.

WITH JACKIE AND CHLOE

JACKIE: Have you been to Tucson?

CHLOE: Two airport layovers. You?

JACKIE: I'm there a few times a year to see a friend. 

CHLOE: Where did you go to school?

JACKIE: U N M undergrad, University of Washington for my Masters.

CHLOE: Albuquerque and Seattle.

JACKIE: Yep. 

CHLOE: Why Washington?

JACKIE: Great program and my ex-husband. How much a factor is location? 

CHLOE: It matters. 

JACKIE: Weather?

CHLOE: Weather, culture, basic vibe. It isn't like cold and snow are a deal-killer. I liked Boulder and they have a pre-vet program. But I'm not even close to sure about that. We'll see. Not a big rush.

JACKIE: And nice to have options.

CHLOE: For sure. 

JACKIE: Cal Poly in the running?

CHLOE: No. I do know I don't want to stay home.   My mom wouldn't mind and my grandparents would be happy if I did but I need change. Which they understand and officially encourage. 

JACKIE: Where did your grandparents go to school?

CHLOE: Gramps grew up in Indiana and went to I U for undergrad. Grams grew up in Virginia, undergrad at U V. They met in law school at Berkeley. Maybe later I could ask you a few questions about U W and Seattle.

JACKIE: Of course. That's on the radar?

CHLOE:  Yeah. 

JACKIE: Give me your email and I'll write up a report.

CHLOE: Cool. Thanks.

JACKIE: My pleasure. It rains a little.

CHLOE: So I've heard.  

[CUT TO

WITH SESS AND CLAIRE]

silly interlude re Queen of Nanamimo

 

I reckon 40 years qualifies as Lasting. 

related Nanaimo.

more related Nanaimo

mountain meadow: hunter and tom

EXT. MOUNTAIN MEADOW - DAY

Sess and Claire on horseback are the first to ride out of the woods into the meadow, followed by Jackie and Chloe, twenty yards behind them, then Hunter and Tom, at a similar distance.

ALONGSIDE HUNTER AND TOM 

TOM: How often do you get to see her?

HUNTER: Every spring break, every other Christmas, the last three weeks of her summer vacation and I'll go out there for an occasional weekend.

TOM: Where do ya fly into? 

HUNTER: Los Angeles or Oakland.  

TOM: Where do ya stay?

HUNTER: Hotel downtown.  

TOM: You and Barbara on good terms?

HUNTER: Yes. And she's the best mother I could wish for Chloe.

TOM: What does she do, if ya don't mind me askin'.

HUNTER: She's a photographer and teaches a class at Cal Poly. 

TOM: How 'bout her parents?

HUNTER: John and Jan, retired attorneys in Paso Robles. 

TOM: Well that ain't too far from San Luis Obispo, is it?

HUNTER: Half an hour. She takes the train up and back about every other weekend, or they come down.

TOM: In good health?

HUNTER: Yes. They swim and play golf.

TOM: Barbara have any siblings?

HUNTER: Nope. Only child. Engaged to be married on Valentine's Day.

TOM: You know the fella.

HUNTER: We met once. Brian. Residential architect. Good guy. Great with Chloe. 

TOM: You mentioned y'all won't be here in a week.

HUNTER: We're meeting the U of A softball coach in Tucson.

TOM: I reckon she's got a few scholarship offers.

HUNTER: A couple dozen.

TOM: Does she have a field of study in mind? A major? 

HUNTER: Not yet but recent mention of veterinary.  

TOM: My best friend's daughter-in-law is a veterinarian.

HUNTER: What's your best friend's name?

TOM: Gil. For Guillermo.

HUNTER: How long have you known Gil?

TOM: Since fourth grade.

HUNTER: Does Gil know about me?

TOM: He does. Just him, Ruth and Wanda.

HUNTER: Where does he live?

TOM: The house he built outside Medina, Texas.

HUNTER: He knows you're here.

TOM: He does. Sent him a selfie from your patio table. He's finishin' up Foglost, too. Hunter, wouldja mind if I took another with you in it?

HUNTER: Of course not. You'll have to send it to me, of course. How do I stop my horse?

TOM: When's the last time you was on one?

HUNTER: That Grand Canyon mule ride. 

TOM: Before that?

HUNTER: Pony ride at the county fair when I was five.

TOM: What county?

HUNTER: Orange, California.

TOM: Is that where ya grew up?

HUNTER: Yep. Have you been?

TOM: No. How many times have ya been to Disneyland?

HUNTER: A few, when I was a kid.

TOM: Chloe?

HUNTER: Once. Her tenth birthday weekend. 

Silence but for FAINT BIRDSONG.

TOM: So I'm thinkin' if ya apply some leg pressure, sorta gradually squeezin, and hold your reins right about your waist and tug with a verbal whoa or ho, she'll prob'ly hold up. And maybe sit up straight and lean back just a little.

Hunter does exactly as instructed and the horse halts. Tom guides his horse next to Hunter's, stops with a slight tug and cluck sound. He gets phone from shirt pocket, takes the selfie, pockets the phone.

TOM (CONT.): Thank you, Hunter. 

HUNTER: My pleasure.

TOM: A little calf pressure and a giddyup or go'll prob'ly get her goin'.

HUNTER: Giddyup.

His horse resumes moving forward. Tom's double-cluck moves his horse into forward motion.

silly interlude re two gold(en) keys dream

This dream many years ago. I put one hand in one planter pot of a palm tree and my other hand in another and dig from each a gold(en) key.  I dance away from them, happiest as I can imagine being, literally singing and dancing. This silly interlude here because I know both of these keys are screenplays and one is this one, presently called Boots. I suspect the other is Baseball Movie Love Story, which will become its own blog sooner or later, basics of which already realized.   

.

Sess and Claire dialogue

CLAIRE: When and where did they meet?

SESS: Bar in Denver airport. Then had seats next to each other on the flight to A-B-Q.

CLAIRE: No.

SESS: Right? Four weeks ago yesterday.

CLAIRE: First date? 

SESS: A week later. Matinee of Giant at the Plaza, dinner at Rosa's. She drove.

CLAIRE: What does Hunter do?

SESS: Writer.

CLAIRE: Of?

SESS: Two novels and a book of short stories.

CLAIRE: What's his last name?

SESS: Hardyn. With a Y.

CLAIRE: Might his most recent novel be titled Foglost?

Sound of its engine before the Rover comes into view. 

SESS: It might. 

Jackie waves through window. Sess and Claire rise and walk to the Rover where Hunter parks. The four get out, Tom puts on his hat, Jackie waves.     

CLAIRE: That's him. That's H C Hardyn.

SESS: Yep.

CLAIRE: My dad's gonna piss.

SESS: I'm through three of his dozen short stories.

CLAIRE: Who's the cowboy?

SESS: Surprise visitor, end quote.

CLAIRE: Kinda exudes real deal.

SESS: Right? 

CLAIRE: Jackie is glowing.

SESS: I noticed.

Jackie leads Hunter, Tom and Chloe to Sess and Claire, opers her arms to Claire, who reciprocates.

JACKIE: What a wonderful surprise. 

CLAIRE: Happened to be in the neighborhood.

Jackie and Claire embrace.

JACKIE: But what happened with Farmington?

CLAIRE: Found her a forever home. Beautiful story I'll save for later.

JACKIE: I'm so happy to hear it.

Jackie and Sess embrace and kiss each other on the cheek.

SESS: Been awhile.

JACKIE: Too long. So, introductions. Hunter, Tom and Chloe, it is my pleasure to introduce to my cousin Cecilia and Claire.

Handshakes and good to meet yous.

SESS: And Sess is fine. Tom, I don't know a thing about your horseback experience but I'd bet this isn't your first rodeo.

TOM: No ma'am, it ain 't.     

JACKIE: Literally.

SESS: Really?

JACKIE: I'll let Tom elaborate if he wants to, and apologize, Tom, if I you'd rather I had kept that in my pocket.'.

TOM: Oh no, that's alright.. Some barrels when I was a kid and ropin' in my teens. 

JACKIE: Sess would never bring it up but she's got a few buckles of her own. Sorry, cuz.

SESS: Aw, shucks.

CLAIRE: Maybe we'll bring the barrels out before the day's over.

SESS: I don't know about that. Speaking of the day, you've probably mentioned what we're doing here with the kids and horses.

JACKIE: Check.

TOM: And it's a wonderful thing.

SESS: We hope so. Work in progress just off the ground. So, speaking of the kids and horses, why don't we go meet them and saddle up.  

JACKIE: Let's.

Sess, Claire and Jackie lead Tom, Hunter and Chloe to the horses and kids.

[CUT TO: 

EXT. PINEY WOODS - DAY

The six on horseback enter, move through frame fanned out as if a search party, leave frame.]

INT ROVER

INT.  LAND ROVER - DAY

Hunter driving, Jackie front passenger, Tom behind Hunter, Chloe behind Jackie. 

Top of San Augustin Pass, Highway 70, expansive view to Tularosa Basin.

CHLOE: When's the last time you were on a horse?

TOM: Few months ago. We got friends up in Sheridan with land and horses. How 'bout you?

CHLOE:  Well, if a mule ride counts, then two summers ago at the Grand Canyon.

TOM: I'd count it. You were on a saddle. Good time?

Chloe nods.

CHLOE: Have you ever been?

TOM: I had an uncle, aunt and two cousins who lived in Flagstaff. We came out one Christmas and drove up one day. Got a little snow. Ruth has pictures.

CHLOE: How old a kid?

TOM: Eleven.  

HUNTER: Came out in what?

TOM: Mom's car. Pontiac Ventura.

HUNTER: What year?

TOM: Sixty. 

CHLOE: What color?

TOM: Skymist blue with a white hardtop they called ivory. First car I ever drove.

CHLOE: How old were you?

TOM: My thirteenth birthday. 

HUNTER: Where and with whom?

TOM: Me and my dad and grandad on highway one-eighteen headed south outta Alpine, Texas. My grandad Randy and gramma Emily retired there.

HUNTER: Your dad's parents.

TOM: Yessir. Jeff, the uncle in Flagstaff, was mom's brother. Ruth's got the family tree goin' back a-ways on an ancestry website, if y'all're interested.

Chloe nods.

HUNTER: Very. 

TOM: Remind me to give ya the link before I leave.

CHLOE: We will.

JACKIE: Thirteen seems a little young to be out on the highway.

TOM: Yes ma'am.

JACKIE: What if you'd been pulled over?

TOM: I was. They set me up for it. One a grandad's best friends was a retired state trooper. They called it in. I seen the cruiser parked at a ranch gate just south a Calamity Creek. Got my heart racin' but I was doin' the speed limit and he was lookin' down when I drove by, like maybe doin' paperwork. Dad said whew that was close and grandad said sure as hell was. Close enough for me and to wanna get outta the driver's seat and I was about to suggest that  when I seen him in the rearview, comin' up quick. Then the light and siren.  I about fainted.  Grandad suggested I pull over, like maybe I had some other notion of makin' a run to the border. Course I pulled over. I looked at my dad and grandad, they was just lookin' straight ahead, serious and concerned, like we was off to jail for sure. Trooper killed the siren, got out and came up on me. Even now I can hear the crunch of his boots on the gravel. And he was takin' his time. Finally got to the window, wearin' his aviators. Bent down, leaned in, asked if he could see my license. I looked over at my dad and grandad, seen their shoot-eatin' grins and figured out pretty quick what was up. Looked back at the trooper with the same ear to ear smile. Took off his glasses, told me happy birthday, young man, and handed me an envelope with three tickets to the Houston Oilers home opener against the Oakland Raiders a few weeks away.

HUNTER: Sixty-four season. 

TOM: Yessir. At Jeppesen Stadium. It ain't there anymore. 

HUNTER: You were an Oilers fan.

TOM: I was.  We stayed at what was then the Auditorium Hotel and made a long weekend out of it.  

CHLOE: Do you remember who won?

TOM: Oilers, forty-two to twenty-eight. Clem Daniels caught two passes for touchdowns and ran for another. Bobby Jackson ran it in twice from a yard out.  

HUNTER: Did you play in high school?

TOM: My freshman and sophomore years. I was a defensive back and receiver.

HUNTER: Why not your junior and senior years.

TOM: Wanted to focus on junior rodeo.

CHLOE: You had a horse?

TOM: I did. Kept him at friend's place outside Vanderpool.

CHLOE: What was his name?

TOM: Butter.

CHLOE: You named him?

TOM: I did.

CHLOE: Why Butter?

TOM: He was a palomino. 

CHLOE: Trigger.

TOM: That's right. You ever seen the Roy Rogers show?

CHLOE: A snippet last year in my American popular culture class. What event or events did you do? 

TOM: Started out barrel racin', ended up doin' what's called tie down ropin'.

CHLOE: That's the one the calves love so much.

Tom smiles.

TOM: Probly ain't the most fun they have.

CHLOE: I imagine that would be being branded. 

Tom's smile grows. Hunter and Chloe meet eyes in the rearview. Chloe winks. Hunter smiles.

TOM: My experience indicates maybe not.

CHLOE: Did the barrel ever win? 

Tom's smile grows larger.

TOM: Once. In Fort Worth.  A story for another time.

CHLOE: I'll hold you to that.

TOM: I might need remindin'.

CHLOE: Not a problem. Did you win any buckles?

TOM: A few.

HUNTER: Do you still have them?

TOM: In a shoebox at home.

HUNTER: Did you do pro rodeo?

TOM: No. That was the plan but I got drafted and went off to Vietnam.

Silence but for the HUM OF THE RIDE. 

HUNTER: Another story for another time?

TOM: Sure. So we'll be comin' up on White Sands here in awhile.

HUNTER: We will. Have you been?

TOM: No sir.

HUNTER: I thought we might stop by for sunset, take a walk out on the dunes, if everyone's okay with that.

CHLOE: Yay.

JACKIE: Seconded.

TOM: Thirded. Which reminds me to ask y'all if ya mind bein' in a few photographs today.

CHLOE: I was going to ask you the same thing.

JACKIE: I brought the selfie stick.

CHLOE: Seconded.

TOM: Thank you. 'Cause I done promised my wife and sister I would.

Chloe gets her phone, puts it in camera and selfie mode, captures herself and Tom, leaning into frame and flashing a peace sign. Chloe takes the picture, checks it, shows Tom.

CHLOE: Thank you.

She SENDS the picture to MOM.

TOM: If I give you my phone number wouldja send that to me?

Chloe preps phone to ADD CONTACT, enters TOM WALKER, hands phone to Tom, watches Tom enter his number. Tom hands phone back, Chloe calls the number. TOM'S PHONE VIBRATES in shirt pocket.

CHLOE: Contact.

She pockets phone. Silence but for HUM OF RIDE. 

.

silly interlude re this blog and Jaq

 

re Ms. Wright

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silly interlude re the challenge re this screenplay i unknowingly signed on for

 

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silly interlude re Veronica and that commitment post

what commitment post?

and neither will this post last here very long.

Hilary Barrett re Waiting and Commitment:

"You're showing willing - committing yourself to expect, wait and prepare for. (There's more to this one than just waiting hopefully, as if for a bus.)"

scene 19

MIRROR LAKE SUNSET

Silence until:

A RAINBOW TROUT jumps out of the lake, its landing splash wrinkles the lake's glassy surface.

Pause before:

DAISY: Tom and Gil going fishing?

WANDA: Yes. Gil bought a boat.

DAISY: Oh boy.  

WANDA: Maria and the boys are up. Everyone’s going out on the lake Thursday.

DAISY:  She sent the most wonderful card.

WANDA: She’s a sweetheart.

DAISY: So I’ve decided on the first location for the first of his ashes.

She tells Wanda about the biodegradable urn and where she’ll place it. Wants Tom and Wanda to b e present.

TOM’S RINGTONE, Wanda picks up, re where she Daisy are and Tom calling from ABQ MOTEL ROOM. 

Tom calls RUTH, leaves voicemail, starts BATH.

silly interlude re benefit of one more edit

 

Hilary Barrett:

"Subtly penetrating means becoming part of something, or someone. It describes all-pervading influences, like the wind shaping the landscape.

You penetrate subtly by feeling your way into things, yielding gently to their nature. You shift your own ideas and expectations, and come to understand the situation from inside, on its own terms. And so, as you allow things to shape you, you also reach a place where you can shape them. The old Chinese character for 'Subtly Penetrating' shows a stand bearing the official seals a ruler would bestow on those he trusted. Someone who bows down and accepts a seal is submitting to the order of things, entering in and receiving his place within it. Then his seal, sign of personal authenticity, endows him with influence and the power to 'make his mark'.

related Subtly Penetrating.

Final Draft talkinamyself

Kinda Big Changes in Form, re where things are now, but Tone clearer and cleaner from such late-stage alterations in course, mostly related to reduction re trimming extraneous. Final will reflect weight loss.

A good assignment in this regard will be yet another edit re beats.

A sense of now that i know Story i can tell it better.

Blah blah, just a note for The Record. 

scene 19 location and related

scene 18

EXT. MIRROR LAKE PICNIC AREA, SNOWY RANGE MOUNTAINS, MEDICINE BOW NATIONAL FOREST, WEST OF LARAMIE, WYOMING - SUNSET  

Wanda, Daisy re the biodegradable urn. And that's all I'm sure of.

Daisy has recently lost her husband of 50-plus years, Wanda is two days away from Tom's death.

So, what is this scene about?

Setting Suns.

 

Other titles: Strife

.

scene 18

scene 17

INT. HUNTER'S KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER

The window over the sink frames Tom in a chair at the patio table, aimed at the mountains, hat on the table. 

HUNTER (O.S.): Tom?

Hunter and Chloe enter from hall, find Tom, stare at him from behind the island. 

CHLOE: Yee haw.

Tom turns his attention to the kitchen window as if he heard her.

HUNTER/CHLOE: Hmm. 

Hunter goes to door, Chloe follows.

EXT. PATIO

Tom stands, watches Hunter and Chloe come through the door and approach, Chloe shyly behind Hunter. 

HUNTER: Hey there.

TOM:  Howdy.

HUNTER: Sorry we took so long, there was a crash at the ten twenty-five split.

TOM: I just been enjoyn' the view, and I'm the one oughta be apologizin' for intrudin' on y'all.

HUNTER: You wouldn't be here if I thought you were intruding.

TOM: Yessir.

HUNTER:  Tom, this is my daughter Chloe. Chloe, meet mister Tom Walker.

Chloe steps forward, extends hand.

CHLOE: Good to meet you.

Tom extends his hand, they shake.

TOM: Good to meet you too. I'm sorry to be interruptin' your time with your dad.

CHLOE: No worries.

HUNTER: So Tom, do you mind if I ask what in Texas you're traveling to?

TOM: Y'all can ask me anything ya want. I'm on my way to my sister's house in a town called Comfort. Me and my wife and her are goin' in on a house in Kerrville. Just gettin' started with some looky-looin' at a couple open houses. Normally my wife would be along but she stayed back to be with a friend whose husband just passed. 

HUNTER: What are their names?

TOM: Ruth's my sister, Wanda's my wife.

HUNTER: Other siblings?

TOM: No sir.

HUNTER: Do I have any?

TOM: Not that I'm aware of.

HUNTER: Your parents?

TOM: Deceased. 

HUNTER: What's your middle name?

TOM: Travis. 

HUNTER: For whom, if anyone?

TOM: My grandad on my mom's side. Travis Howard Buford. Ruth's got it all goin' back quite a ways on an ancestry website.

HUNTER: Really.

TOM: Yessir.

HUNTER: I'd love the link.

TOM: I can send it to you.

HUNTER: Ruth and Wanda know you're here.

TOM: Yessir. Both pretty surprised. So am I. Plan was to just take a picture of your house. But when ya seen me...well...I didn't wantcha to think ya had a stalker or somethin' like that.

HUNTER: How did you find out about me?

TOM: Found your mother's obituary online.

HUNTER: When?

TOM: Couple months after she passed. Me and Wanda were talkin' about where to go for our tenth anniversary. She suggested Lake Tahoe and asked if I'd ever been. Told her I had and to be honest woulda been fine with keepin' it at that. Ain't like she twisted my arm but her curiosity about the specifics introduced your mother. I told her everything I could remember. We went online and there it was. Looked you up, found your Wiki page, seen your date a birth. Did the math.

HUNTER: The math.

TOM: Carson City?

Hunter nods.     

TOM (CONT.): I wrote a letter to ya care of your publisher.

HUNTER: I never got it.

TOM: Never sent it. Didn't know what your mother mighta said about me, if anything.

HUNTER: Tom Walker, cowboy from Texas on his way to Mexico. Taught her to two-step and how to tie a Honda knot. 

TOM: Yessir. And your short stories had just been published. Didn't wanna seem like I was comin' outta the woodwork lookin' for somethin'. And I didn't know whether or not there was or had been someone like a father in your life. Figured there was a good chance I'd just be gettin' in the way. And yet...sometimes it seemed like somethin' you oughta know.

HUNTER: What became of this letter?

TOM: It's in a file at home. And I have a copy on my laptop.   

HUNTER: Why don't we go inside lout of the heat for some lemonade and further introductions?

Tom nods.  Chloe leads the way back to the house. Tom gets his hat, follows Hunter following Chloe, who opens the door for both to enter and walk out of view. She closes door, does same.

silly interlude re what i didn't know what i was getting myself into

 

Other titles: The Symbol of Constancy, The Long Enduring, Constant, Persevering, Standing Fast, Continuity, Constancy in the Midst of Change, Holding Firm.

Truth is, if I'd known how long it would take, I'd never have started.

related time it's taken

.

silly interlude re fatigue and indifference re finsihing this screenplay

 

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silly interlude re God's challenge re this screenplay

 

Hilary Barrett:

"The old Chinese character for 'Pushing Upward' shows a small ladle used to measure out offerings and official salaries. It suggests a step-by-step ascent, one measure at a time. Come from the source of inspiration and involve it in your work. Make good use of seeing great people, whether in the flesh or with your inner vision, to charge you with the energy to begin your ascent. Use them to inspire you with a vision of possibilities, and for information and help on how to move on upward. Hard work and steep slopes lie ahead, but the oracle reassures you that you need not worry or doubt." 

found:

emphasis on "a lot more time than you imagine." 

related taking time.

silly interlude re Veronica (again)

 

.

scene 17

scene 16

EXT. HUNTER'S HOUSE - DAY

Tom's truck in the driveway. The Rover nears from far down the road. 

INT. ROVER

Nearing the house as the garage door opens. Chloe eyes the truck all the way into the garage. Hunter parks, the garage door closes. Hunter and Chloe unbuckle, look at each other.

HUNTER: Ready?

CHLOE: Or not.

They open their doors, leave out of frame. 

scene 16 dialogue

scene 15

INT./EXT.  TBD - PASO ROBLES, CA - DAY

JAN: And we were worried about Brian.

JOHN: And we were wrong, weren't we?

JAN: We were. Seems we'll be meeting his father and son soon.

JOHN: Seems so. Seems we'll be meeting Hunter's father, too. 

JAN: Seems so. He'll add to what Chloe knows about Olivia.

JOHN: Hopefully. Maybe a story about the selfie.

JAN: Oh my. I had forgotten that. 

JOHN: Hunter might have half-siblings.

JAN: And Chloe cousins.

JOHN: Another limb on her family tree.

JAN: Thus ours.

JOHN: Thus ours.  This is a good thing, Jan.

JAN: I know.

He puts arm around her, she reciprocates.

this pause, talkinamyself

it's because i understand the story enough to realize i am not locked into previous iterations, but that the late changes i will make are the ones i'm committing to, re submitting it.

and besides, after this long, what's a little more time.

fish on, closer to boat. 

silly interlude re timeout to rest and refresh

 

The Image

Legge: Thunder in the marsh: the image of Following. The superior man, in accordance with this, at nightfall enters his house and rests.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder in the middle of the lake: the image of Following. Thus the superior man at nightfall goes indoors for rest and recuperation.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder rumbling within a swamp! When darkness falls, the Superior Man goes within and rests peacefully. [The component trigrams can be read as thunder and marsh, but also as movement and joy. In the Book of Change, joy is frequently associated with willing obedience to and glad acceptance of what is right.]

Liu: Thunder in the lake symbolizesFollowing. In the evening, the superior man rests and relaxes in his home.

Ritsema/Karcher: Marsh center possessing thunder. Following. A chun tzu uses turning-to darkening to enter a reposing pause.

Cleary (1): There is thunder in the lake, Following. Thus do superior people go inside and rest when the sun goes down.

Cleary (2): … Leaders go in and rest at sundown.

Wu: Thunder in the marsh is the symbol of Following. Thus the jun zi retires toward the twilight of the day.

silly interlude re closer to the top the harder the climb

 

plugged in this search term as it sure seems relevant right now to where i am in this. 

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silly interlude re this blog and Veronica

 

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silly interlude re how am i worthy re Sarah

 

Line-5

Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject possessed of sincerity, and drawing others to unite with him. Rich in resources, he employs his neighbors in the same cause with himself.

Wilhelm/Baynes: If you are sincere and loyally attached, you are rich in your neighbor.

Blofeld: Confidence is like a cord to bind the hearts of others. With it we enrich our neighbors.

Liu: If you are sincere you will be enriched by your neighbor.

Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing conformity , binding thus. Affluence: using one's neighbor. [Possessing conformity:"Inner and outer are in accord; confidence of the spirits has been captured..."]

Shaughnessy: Losing sheep at Yi; there is no regret.

Cleary (1): There is truthfulness in companionship; prosperity is shared with the neighbor.

Wu: Association strengthens self-confidence. With wealth, he is capable of reaching out to help his neighbors.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: His sincerity draws others to unite with him -- he does not use only his own rich resources. Wilhelm/Baynes: You will not be alone in your riches. Blofeld: This implies not getting rich on our own. Ritsema/ Karcher: Not solitary affluence indeed. Cleary (2): One does not enjoy blessings alone. Wu: He does not keep wealth for himself.

Legge: Line five occupies the central place and because of his sincerity converts lines four and six into helpful neighbors who offer their energy and resources to accomplish a common purpose.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: Partners reinforce each other through loyalty. The man uses both his own resources and those of his neighbors to further their common cause.

Wing: Through a co-operative and loyal relationship with another, you increase your resources mutually. In this way you can accomplish your aim.