The personal blog of author Kelly Sedinger, chronicling the adventures of one overalls-clad wanderer.
President Obama talking on the phone with Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, whose arguments during the Supreme Court's hearings on the Affordable Care Act are largely viewed to have not helped the cause.
But oh well, he lives to fight another day! Viva the Affordable Care Act!
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Annie driving. Presents on the front seat. She's
singing "Sleigh Ride" and doing all the sound effects
and clipclops and giddyups. After a moment, she
realizes she doesn't know all the words and turns on the
radio.
DR. MARSHA'S FIELDSTONE'S VOICE
Welcome back to "You and Your
Emotions." I'm Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone broadcasting across
America from the top of the
Sears Tower in Chicago where we
would have a fantastic view of
Santa Claus and his reindeer if
there was a -- oops, never
mind. Tonight we're talking
about wishes and dreams.
What's your wishes this Christmas
Eve? Maybe the best present
you can give yourself is a call
to me. The number is --
ANNIE
Give me a break.
Annie changes the station.
RADIO VOICE
The subject of the evening's
medical update is You and Your
Spleen and our host --
She flips the dial back the other way.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Our caller is from Seattle.
Annie changes the station.
RADIO VOICE
Coming up, Jingle Bells
backwards, sung by the New
Jersey Cape Mayettes --
Annie twists the dial back the other way. We hear a
YOUNG BOY's voice.
BOY'S VOICE (V.O.)
Hello, this is Jonah --
(there's a bleep as
Jonah says his last
name)
Annie's hand lingers on the dial.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
No last names, Jonah. Hello
there, you sound younger than
our usual callers. How come
you're up so late?
JONAH (V.O.)
It's not that late in Seattle.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Got me there. What's your
Christmas wish, Jonah?
JONAH (V.O.)
It's not for me. It's for my
dad. I think he needs a new
wife.
Annie shakes her head.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
You don't like the one he was
now?
JONAH (V.O.)
He doesn't have one now.
That's the problem.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Where's your mom?
JONAH (V.O.)
She died.
Annie closes her eyes for a moment.
ANNIE
I don't believe this --
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
As the car drives along.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I'm sorry to hear that, Jonah.
JONAH (V.O.)
I've been pretty sad, but I
think my dad is worse.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
And you're worried about him.
JONAH (V.O.)
I'm worried about him, he's
worried about me, I ride my
bike to school, he follows in
the car, like I'm not supposed
to know he's there. Now it's
Christmas, and you know what
happens to people at Christmas.
ANNIE
They lose their minds and call
crackpot doctors on the radio --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Have you talked to your dad
about this?
JONAH (V.O.)
No.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why not?
JONAH (V.O.)
It's very hard for him to talk
about this stuff. It's like it
makes him sadder.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
You want me to talk to him?
ANNIE
Perfect. Sandbag the father.
JONAH (V.O.)
And you crazy? He thinks shows
like this are dumb. If you
didn't have an 800 number I
could never get away with this
--
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Is he home right now?
JONAH (V.O.)
Yeah.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Well, I think I can help a
little more if I talk to him
directly.
JONAH (V.O.)
I don't know --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I'm sure he won't be angry once
he realizes how concerned you
are about him.
JONAH (V.O.)
Okay, but if I get yelled at,
I'm never gonna listen to this
show again.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Fair enough.
INT. SAM'S HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Jonah is on the telephone on the first floor of the
houseboat he lives in with Sam. He's got the phone cord
coming out of the small first-floor study, and he's
standing near the kitchen end of a large living area
looking out at the back deck, where his dad is sitting
in a deck chair looking out at the sea.
JONAH
Dad --
SAM
What is it?
ON ANNIE AGAIN.
JONAH (V.O.)
There's somebody on the phone
for you.
(into phone)
His name is Sam.
ANNIE
This is completely disgusting.
INT. BALDWIN HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Sam pokes his head in the back door. He looks much as
he did eighteen months earlier, except that his hair is
a little longer. He picks up the phone extension.
SAM
Hello.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Hello, Sam, this is Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone on Network America.
Sam looks across the room to Jonah.
SAM
I'm probably not interested in
whatever you're selling.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I'm not selling anything. Your
son called and asked for advice
on how to find you a new wife.
SAM
(he really didn't get
her name)
Who is this?
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
(repeating herself)
Dr. Marcia Fieldstone of
Network America.
SAM
Jesus, are we on the air?
Jonah, for God's sake --
JONAH
Don't be mad at me, Dad.
Sam can see Jonah. He's frightened. Sam immediately
feels how upset Jonah is.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
He feels that since your wife's
death you've been very unhappy.
He's genuinely worried about you.
Sam is looking at Jonah, who's rooted to the spot he's
standing on.
SAM
(to Jonah)
I'm not mad at you. Okay, I'm
not mad at you.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I think it's hard for him to
talk to you about all this.
Maybe we could talk and it
would make him feel a little
better.
Sam hesitates.
JONAH
Please --
INT. ANNIE'S CAR - NIGHT
ANNIE
This is a grotesque violation
of this man's personal life,
but never mind --
SAM (V.O.)
All righ...
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Good. How long ago did your
wife die?
INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
SAM
It's been about a year and a
half.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Have you had any relationship
since?
SAM
No.
Sam is very uncomfortable about this --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why not?
SAM
Look, Doctor, I don't want to
be rude, but --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
And I don't want to invade your
privacy --
INT. CAR - NIGHT
ANNIE
Sure you do.
SAM (V.O.)
(overlapping)
Sure you do --
Annie smiles.
SAM
Look, we had a tough time at
first, but I think I'm holding
my own as a dad, and Jonah and
I will get along fine again as
soon as I break his radio.
Annie laughs. So does Mr. Fieldstone
INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Jonah is smiling too.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I have no doubt that you're a
good dad. You can tell a lot
from a person's voice. But
something must be missing if
Jonah feels that you're still
under a cloud.
JONAH
Tell her how you don't sleep at
night.
SAM
How do you know that?
Sam and Jonah both talk into their extensions, literally
talking to each other on the phone within their own
house, but also ON THE AIR.
JONAH
I can hear you walking around
sometimes. At first I thought
it was a robber. Go ahead,
tell her, Dad.
SAM
I don't think I have to now.
Sam starts across the room towards Jonah, who starts
toward him, both of them holding their phone receivers.
On the wall in the dining area is a pine bench.
SAM
Look, it's almost Christmas --
(as the two of them sit
down together on the
bench)
A kid needs a mother --
He puts an arm around Jonah.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
As Annie listens. She's softened considerably.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Could it be that you need
someone just as much as Jonah
does?
ANNIE
Yes.
Annie catches herself, covers her mouth in embarrassment.
ANNIE
I'm losing my mind.
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
As Annie makes a turn off the beltway into a rest stop.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
We've been talking to -- well,
let's just call him Sleepless
in Seattle, and we'll be right
back after this break with
listener response, your
response, to the things we've
been discussing. The number to
call is...
INT. BALDWIN HOUSE
SAM
What's she talking about?
JONAH
This is where other people get
to call in and dump on what you
said.
We hear the beginning of a commercial.
INT. TRUCK STOP RESTAURANT - NIGHT
Annie walks in, anxious to break the spell of her radio
reverie. She goes to the counter to order some coffee.
There's a commercial on the radio. The counter WAITRESS
LORETTA is talking to the customers -- who include a
TRUCK DRIVER at a booth. HARRIET, a short-order-cook,
is visible through an open window to the kitchen.
LORETTA
I'll bet he's tall, with a cute
butt.
HARRIET
I'll bet he hasn't shaved in a
week. I'll bet he stinks.
LORETTA
Shut up, Harriet.
(to Annie)
What'll it be?
ANNIE
Coffee, please. Black. To go.
LORETTA
Maybe I should hustle myself
out to Seattle. Give him a
little present for New Year's
Eve.
HARRIET
You can go there if you want
but don't open his refrigerator.
They don't cover anything when
they put it in the fridge.
They just stick it in and leave
it there till it walks out by
itself.
LORETTA
Harriet, ever since you
divorced your last husband,
you've been no fun. I'm
looking, and this guy pops my
tarts.
TRUCK DRIVER
Come on, Loretta, you're going
to have to jump-start this guy.
His battery's dead. And look
at me. Mister Ever-Ready.
Every six minutes, another
charge.
LORETTA
I'm looking for someone
sensitive.
ANNIE
Come on, nobody wants a guy
who's sensitive on the radio.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Let's take a call before we get
back to Sleepless. Knoxville,
Tennessee, you're on.
SWEET SOUTHERN VOICE
Yes, I would just like to know
where I could get this man's
address?
LORETTA
(to the radio)
Honey, get on line.
EXT. DINER - NIGHT
As Annie gets into her car.
EXT. WASHINGTON, D.C. STREET - NIGHT
Annie driving toward the house where Walter's parents
live.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Do you think there's somebody
out there you could love as
much as your wife? Maybe even
more?
SAM (V.O.)
It's hard to imagine.
And cut back and forth between the car and the
houseboat. Sam and Jonah are still on the bench, but
Jonah has fallen asleep in Sam's lap. Sam is stroking
the boy's hair.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
What are you going to do, Sam?
SAM
I don't know. When I met my
wife, it was so clear. I just
knew.
Annie is listening now.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
What was it that made you know?
SAM
I don't think I could really
describe it.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why not?
SAM
And if I could describe it,
it probably wouldn't be on a radio
show.
(he laughs to himself)
But what the hell. It's not
one specific thing. It's more
of a feeling.
(continued)
Annie coasts to a stop outside a handsome mansion in
Washington, D.C., the motor running. She's hooked now,
she's not getting out of the car until she's heard it
all.
SAM
You touch her for the first
time, and suddenly... you're
home. It's almost like...
ANNIE
Magic.
SAM
Magic.
CLOSER ON ANNIE
realizing she has just said this. Realizing that it
must mean something but not knowing what.
SHE'S CRYING.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Well, it's time to wrap up,
folks --
A FIGURE appears at the passenger side window, which
Annie doesn't notice. She's wiping the tears away with
her hand.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
We hope you'll call again soon.This scene sets the emotional stage for the entire movie, and Meg Ryan has to carry her part of it with little interjections as she talks to the radio and as she listens silently, allowing her sadness to show, even though we know that she shouldn't really be sad about anything right now.
Thanks for the movies, Nora Ephron.
An audition with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is always dramatic. But the recent audition the Philharmonic held for a first violinist was more than dramatic. It was historic.
The final round featured only a single anonymous candidate, who played behind a screen, as protocol dictates, while a committee listened closely.
At last, the candidate was approved and could step from behind the screen.
The audition committee gasped.
The mystery violinist was Megan Prokes, the 28-year-old daughter of longtime BPO violinist Robert Prokes. Hired by the BPO's great former music director Julius Rudel, Robert Prokes recently celebrated 30 years with the orchestra.
I'm not a vain person. I'm really not. But...I really like my hair in this photo. Sigh!
(I also like that I'm not looking all dour and stuff.)
CHAIRMAN: The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan Mr. Gibson, for five minutes.
GIBSON: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two years ago, January the President collapsed in the Oval Office. Is that correct?
LEO: I'm not sure what the medical term would be.
GIBSON: He involuntarily fell to the ground.
LEO: Yes.
GIBSON: Will Minority Counsel stipulate that we can call that collapsing? Let the record reflect that Minority Counsel has nodded his head up and down so as to indicate an affirmative response.
CHAIRMAN: So ordered.
GIBSON: Is this the only time since the President took the Oath of Office that he's collapsed?
LEO: So far as I know.
GIBSON: Is this the only time since the beginning of the campaign that he's collapsed?
LEO: [long pause] No, it's not.
GIBSON: I'd like to take you back to 30 October in St. Louis, Missouri. Jed Bartlet is the Democratic nominee for President and is about to participate in the third and final debate-
JORDAN: Mr. Chairman, I would like to request a short recess.
CHAIRMAN: We just got back from a recess.
JORDAN: Sir, we have taken breaks at the request of nearly every member of this Committee while the witness has asked for a total of none. One time, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN: We'll take a five-minute break. Please, let's keep it to ten minutes.
JORDAN: Come with me.
Leo follows Jordan out of the room. Meanwhile CLIFF makes his way to GIBSON's seat.
GIBSON: Yeah, it will all come out.
CLIFF: Excuse me. What's going on?
CHAIRMAN: I was just asking the same thing.
CLIFF: I don't know anything about testimony from October 30.
GIBSON: It's okay, I got it.
CLIFF: No, you don't got it.
CHAIRMAN: We better go someplace and talk.
FADE OUT.
END ACT THREE
* * *
ACT FOUR
FADE IN: INT. JOSH'S OFFICE - DAY
The TV next to the desk shows people milling around and talking in the hearing room.
Josh picks up the phone. He sighs as he waits for Leo to answer his cell phone.
LEO: [VO] Yeah.
JOSH: Leo... I couldn't make it happen.
CUT TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL HALLWAY OUTSIDE WAITING ROOM - DAY
Leo is walking down to hall toward the waiting room.
LEO: Don't worry about it.
He hangs up his cell phone. A guard opens the door for him. Jordan is waiting. She closes the door. She's pretty upset but he just stares are her blankly.
JORDAN: [angry] You have to tell me what's going on now or I'm walking out the door.
LEO: [quietly] Look-
JORDAN: [sharply] Tell me now.
Leo turns and walks slowly along one side of the table.
LEO: On the day of the final debate, I was meeting with two potential donors...
FADE TO: INT. LEO'S HOTEL SUITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
Leo is meeting with three men, two of whom are CEOs. CEO #1 is balding slightly; CEO #2 has a moustache. They're all chuckling. Before they sit down, Leo shakes each of their hands, a big smile plastered on his face.
LEO: [VO] It was nine days 'til the election. We were too close to call and I didn't wanna be the guy who ran outta money first.
CEO 1: You look nervous, Leo. [glances at CEO #2] Don't worry about it. I brought my wallet.
CEO 2 chuckles.
LEO: Anybody wanna eat? I got steak sandwiches on the way.
CEO 2: Yeah and uh, let's have some drinks.
LEO: [pats CEO 2 on shoulder] Sure.
CUT TO INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
Leo sits in a chair at one end of the table.
LEO: The President was at the debate site, walking the stage. [pauses, smiles wistfully] A podium is a holy place for him...
CUT TO: INT. DEBATE SITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
Bartlet marches into the theater, followed closely by C.J., Sam, Toby, and Josh. They're all dressed casually. Bartlet is all business, focused. He assesses the space with his eyes as he walks toward the stage. C.J. smiles and shakes hands with a woman - probably one of the debate organizers. They all follow Bartlet up to the stage, where there are two podiums and a table for the moderators. Opposite the stage, there are hundreds of seats for the audience. Lots of aides are bustling about, making preparations.
LEO: [VO] He makes it his own like it's an extension of his body. You ever see a pitcher work the mound so the dirt does exactly what his feet want it to do? That's the President. He sees it as a genuine opportunity to change minds - also his best way of contributing to the team. He likes teams...
CUT TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
LEO: [smiles] ...I love him so much...
Jordan finally sits down at the table, facing Leo.
JORDAN: What was going on in your room?
LEO: [mumbling softly to himself] ...I like the little things...
JORDAN: I didn't hear you.
LEO: [jolted out of his inner thoughts, speaking louder] I said, "I like the little things." [smiles] The way a glass feels in your hand - a good glass, thick, with a heavy base. I love the sound an ice cube makes when you drop it from just the right height.
The sound of an ice cube being dropped into a glass....
FADE TO: INT. LEO'S HOTEL SUITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
Leo is staring, transfixed, as the CEOs pour themselves drinks. They're all sitting around a coffee table.
LEO: [VO] Too high and it'll chip when you drop it. Chip the ice and it'll melt too fast in the scotch.
CEO #2: You ever try this, Leo? It's Johnny Walker Blue. Bartenders are selling it for thirty bucks a shot.
He uncorks the bottle and slowly pours the scotch into a glass on the table in front of him.
LEO: [VO] Good scotch sits in a charcoal barrel for 12 years. Very good scotch gets smoked for 29 years.
FADE TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
LEO: [nostalgic] Johnny Walker Blue...is 60-year-old scotch.
JORDAN: [impatiently] I don't care. What happened in the room, Leo?
LEO: I'm trying to tell you what happened.
FADE TO: INT. LEO'S HOTEL SUITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
Cigar smoke fills the air. Leo and the donors are chuckling jovially, but Leo's face reveals the strain he's feeling as he watches the other men drink. His grin has taken on a dark quality. A lull in the laughter and conversation leaves Leo staring at the glass of scotch in CEO 1's hand. He looks around awkwardly for a moment, then tries to banish temptation by changing the subject.
LEO: Should we get to it?
The THIRD MAN is visible, sitting in the background off to one side, but his identity is hidden amidst the ample cigar smoke.
CEO 1: [holding up his glass] You don't wanna find out what a thirty dollar sip of scotch tastes like?
Leo stares at the glass. He's visibly struggling to control himself, so he responds with a smile and tries to sound relaxed and nonchalant.
LEO: [nods] Naw... I gotta... stay sharp for tonight.
CEO 1 sets his drink down and stands up.
CUT TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
JORDAN: Why don't you just say, "I'm an alcoholic?"
LEO: They're two CEOs. I'm tryin' to get 'em to give me half-a-million dollars a piece right now. It's not really the best time to mention it. [pauses] The President's still at the debate site.
CUT TO: INT. DEBATE SITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
Josh and Sam are huddled by one podium, talking. C.J. and Toby are conferring by the other podium. Dozens of aides are still bustling around in the background. Bartlet is standing by the moderators' table with the woman that C.J. greeted on the way into the theater.
WOMAN: How do you feel about the temperature, sir?
BARTLET: It's good.
WOMAN: It's not too cold?
BARTLET: [glancing around] It won't be later. This is a 550 seat theater and they'll be seated a half-hour before we start, so the temperature'll be up four to six degrees.
CUT TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
JORDAN: [loudly, an edge to her voice] The hotel room, Leo.
CUT TO: INT. LEO'S HOTEL SUITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
The four men are still seated around the coffee table - the two CEOs across from Leo, the third man still off to one side, sipping his drink. Dim light is filtering in through the windows and French doors. The bottle and glasses are on the table. Leo is hunched over in his seat, fidgeting.
CEO 2: We already gave to the RNC but we're worried we may have backed the wrong horse.
LEO: You wanna hedge your bet.
CEO 1: [nods] That's why we're here.
LEO: [nods, tense] Good... Now gimme a sip of that.
CEO 2 smiles and hands Leo his glass. The ice cubes rattle against the glass as Leo holds it and takes a quick sip. He tries to act like it's no big deal, but his expression indicates otherwise.
LEO: That's what I remember.
CEO 1 chuckles.
FADE TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
JORDAN: You had a drink.
LEO: I'm an alcoholic. I don't have one drink. [pauses] I don't understand people who have one drink. I don't understand people who leave half a glass of wine on the table. I don't understand people who say they've had enough. How can you have enough of feeling like this? How can you not want to feel like this longer? [pauses, sighs] My brain works differently.
JORDAN: Who was the third person in the room?
LEO: Well, now we've arrived at our problem.
FADE TO: INT. LEO'S HOTEL SUITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
Leo is drinking scotch heartily and smoking as they talk.
LEO: [to CEOs] Count on it.
THIRD MAN: Whoa, you want to be careful there.
Leo glances over at him as he stands up.
THIRD MAN: You're not the big money party. We are.
Leo chuckles silently and takes another sip of scotch.
CEO 1: [to Leo] Did I mention that he's thinking about running for Congress?
The third man sits down on the sofa next to Leo. It's GIBSON. He smiles as Leo glances over at him again.
GIBSON: I'm thinking about it.
CUT TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
JORDAN: You were drunk in front of Gibson?
LEO: I don't get drunk in front of people. I get drunk alone.
CUT TO: INT. LEO'S HOTEL SUITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
The CEOs and Gibson have left. Leo opens the wall cupboard containing the mini-bar. He pulls out several miniature bottles of booze and checks his watch. He's stonefaced, almost like he's on auto-pilot.
LEO: [VO] They were going over something at the debate site...
JORDAN: [VO] [impatiently] I don't want to hear about the debate site.
LEO: [VO] The debate site is what happened. The debate site is how he gets to bring this up here.
CUT TO: INT. DEBATE SITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
On one side of the stage, Sam and Josh walk over to where C.J. and Toby have been talking. Bartlet is standing by himself on the other side of the stage. The theater is still buzzing with aides making preparations.
SAM: [to C.J.] Where's Leo?
JOSH: [to C.J. and Toby] I'd still like to go over the Social Security answer. We gotta get it down to 90 seconds.
C.J.: It's down to 90 seconds.
Bartlet wanders past a TV monitor on a cart. He's wearing a sweater over a dress shirt. He puts his glasses in his shirt pocket. He looks slightly distracted, perhaps a bit unsteady. He's looking down at the floor and holding onto his coat.
JOSH: It's not - and they're gonna cut him off.
The foursome slowly walk across the stage toward Bartlet, who's standing next to the TV monitor.
SAM: I put a stopwatch on him. When he just speeds up...
JOSH: When he speeds up, he speeds up. When he doesn't... It's 90 seconds. We need to cut some more.
Bartlet crosses his arms over his chest and hunches over slightly.
TOBY: [to Josh] Which words?
JOSH: Governor, what do you think? Governor?
Bartlet appears increasingly unsteady on his feet, a bit dazed, maybe short of breath. But it's subtle enough that his aides don't seem to notice.
JOSH: Sir, we were just saying on the Social Security answer...
BARTLET: [softly] No.
JOSH: ...it's a tight ninety seconds, and...
BARTLET: [looking at floor, swaying] No, no. Not now.
JOSH: [scoffs, looks around at the others] Well, we gotta do it now, sir.
Bartlet stares blankly, straight ahead, then suddenly reaches out his right arm to balance himself, leaning on the TV for support.
TOBY: Something's wrong.
C.J.: Governor?
BARTLET: [gasping softly, trying to keep his balance] Yeah.
JOSH: Governor? [pause] Sir?
BARTLET: G'abbey...
SAM: You wanna sit down?
C.J.: Let me get some water. [turns around to grab a bottle of water]
BARTLET: G'abbey...
TOBY: He's saying, "Get Abbey."
JOSH: [to an aide] Get Abbey!
Bartlet loses his balance and pitches sideways toward Sam, who catches him, with assistance from Toby and Josh.
JOSH: Whoa...
Sam and Toby hold Bartlet up. A security agent rushes over to help.
TOBY: [looks up at C.J.] C.J.
C.J. stares at Toby. She looks shocked, a bit unsure about what to do.
JORDAN [VO]: He had an attack?
LEO [VO]: I mean, the doctor said it was an inner ear infection.
Toby and Sam help Bartlet regain his balance. They help him walk backstage, along with the agent. Josh walks behind them, stops, and takes out his cell phone. He looks up at C.J., concern all over his face.
LEO [VO]: But all Josh knew when he called me was that he'd collapsed. I was supposed to be down there already. I was supposed to be down there an hour ago.
CUT TO: INT. LEO'S HOTEL SUITE - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - FLASHBACK
Leo is sitting on the sofa, pouring himself another drink. The coffee table is covered with empty bottles and glasses. The phone by the bed rings and rings. His breathing is labored and he's unsteady on his feet as he struggles to stand up and make his way over to the bed. He takes a gulp of scotch, presses the speakerphone button, and sits down on the bed. Then he leans back on the pillows and closes his eyes, the glass still in his hand.
LEO: [loud] Yeah.
JOSH: [on phone] Leo, the Governor's sick.
The buzzer to Leo's suite sounds. He sits up slowly, awkwardly, as he registers what Josh is saying and that the buzzer is sounding.
LEO: Okay.
JOSH: [on phone] He collapsed. You gotta get down here.
The buzzer sounds again. Leo doesn't respond quickly to Josh; he tries not to panic,
tries to get his bearing.
JOSH: [on phone] Leo.
LEO: Okay.
Leo sits up, lets go of his glass. Knocking on the door.
GIBSON: [at the door] It's Gibson.
LEO: [loud] Okay!
Suddenly, Leo processes the implications of Gibson being at his door. He rubs his forehead and sighs, exasperated and overwhelmed. He's breathing heavily again as he shakily stands up.
LEO: Okay... Okay...
He walks to the door, smoothes his hair, and tries to straighten his rumpled suit. Then he opens the door.
LEO: Hey.
Gibson walks right in. Leo stands by the open door, shifting uneasily.
GIBSON: I forgot my briefcase.
Gibson grabs his briefcase from the floor by the sofa. In the process, he notices all the bottles and glasses on the coffee table. He turns to look at Leo, questioning.
GIBSON: You havin' a party?
LEO: [barely able to meet Gibson's gaze] I uh... I-I gotta get to the uh debate site. The Governor collapsed.
Gibson nods slightly, then leaves and closes the door behind him. Before Gibson is even out the door, Leo looks confused, then pained, then horrified and filled with regret as he realizes what he's done. He sighs and tries to catch his breath.
FADE TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL WAITING ROOM - PRESENT
Leo and Jordan are still sitting at the table, facing each other.
JORDAN: [VO] I don't understand how you could have a drink. I don't understand how, after everything you worked for, how on that day of all days you could be so stupid.
LEO: That's because you think it has something to do with smart and stupid. Do you have any idea how many alcoholics are in Mensa? You think it's a lack of willpower? That's like thinking somebody with anorexia nervosa has an overdeveloped sense of vanity. My father was an alcoholic. [leans forward] His father was an alcoholic. So, in my case...
JORDAN: [nods] Ain't nothin' but a family thing.
LEO: That's right.
JORDAN: Who knows?
LEO: Josh Lyman and the President.
JORDAN: Why nobody else?
LEO: Because.
JORDAN: That's a little boy's answer.
LEO: [pauses] I went to rehab. My friends embraced me when I got out. You relapse, it's not like that. "Get away from me" - that's what it's like.
There's a knock on the door and it opens. A security guard appears. Jordan turns to look at him.
GUARD: We're back in a minute.
JORDAN: Thank you.
The guard closes the door. Jordan turns back toward Leo.
JORDAN: Just out of curiosity... Why have you been asking me to have a meal with you every five minutes?
LEO: I like you. I've been tryin' to get it in under the wire.
Jordan takes a moment to take this in. She seems a bit surprised.
JORDAN: You'll answer the questions - simply and directly. I don't want to hear about Mensa. That'll be my job.
LEO: Okay.
Leo stands up, walks toward the door. Jordan doesn't move, a hint of a smile on her face. Leo opens the door as Jordan stands up and walks toward him.
JORDAN: Yes, by the way.
LEO: Yes? What?
JORDAN
Yes, I'd like to have dinner with you tonight.
LEO: [surprised] Okay.
Jordan walks out ahead of him and he follows her.
CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE CAPITOL HILL HEARING ROOM - DAY
People are milling around, waiting for the hearing to reconvene. There's a small room off the hallway. A guard is standing beside the glass door. Inside the room, Bruno, Cliff, and Gibson are standing face to face arguing.
CLIFF: That's where you're going with this?
GIBSON: Yeah.
CLIFF: Just to embarrass the guy?
GIBSON: Just?
CLIFF: Leo McGarry's sobriety isn't the subject of these hearings. These hearings are to investigate...
CUT TO: INT. A SMALL ROOM - CONTINUOUS
CLIFF: ...if any rules - ethical or otherwise - were broken by Jed Bartlet while he was running for President.
GIBSON: That's nice, but I live in the actual world where the object of these hearings is to win.
CLIFF: [shakes his head] No... it's not.
Bruno listens closely, stonefaced.
GIBSON: It's the object of the Majority.
CLIFF: Not while I'm the Majority Counsel, it's not. This is bush league. This is why good people hate us. This right here. This thing. [Bruno turns his back on them and leans on a table.] This isn't what these hearings are about. [Gibson glances over at Bruno, peeved.] He cannot possibly have been properly prepared by counsel for these questions, nor should he ever have to answer them publicly.
Bruno turns back around, rubbing his chin, looking concerned.
CLIFF: [jabbing his finger at Gibson] And if you proceed with this line of questioning, I will resign this committee and wait in the tall grass for you, Congressman, because you are killing the party.
Cliff glares at Gibson, who turns toward Bruno.
GIBSON: Who the hell is this?
Bruno meets his gaze.
CLIFF: [to Bruno] You don't have to make up your mind right now, Mr. Chairman...
GIBSON: Phil...
CLIFF: You don't have to make up your mind right now. Declare a recess 'til after the holidays. Buy yourself two weeks.
GIBSON: [to Cliff] And give him two weeks to circle the wagons?
Cliff maintains eye contact with Bruno, although he'd clearly love to respond to Gibson.
GIBSON: [to Bruno] How do you think the Speaker's gonna feel about this? To say nothing of the RNC?
BRUNO: [sighs] I need a minute.
Gibson quickly leaves, followed by Cliff, who practically slams the door on his way out. He walks through the crowd of people in the hallway, back toward the hearing room. Leo is in the hallway, shaking someone's hand, and notices Cliff walk by.
CUT TO: INT. JOSH'S BULLPEN AREA - DAY
A TV in the hallway is showing coverage of the hearing. Phones are ringing and staff members are bustling about. Sam walks through a swinging door and heads toward Josh's office.
CUT TO: INT. JOSH'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Josh is leaning against the back of a chair, watching the hearing on his TV, and rubbing his forehead. Sam appears in the doorway.
SAM: I tried everybody.
JOSH: [looks up] It's all right.
SAM: I tried everybody. It was just a tough fit. And since I couldn't tell 'em what it was about...
JOSH: [points at the TV] They're back.
Sam sighs heavily. They both focus their attention on the TV.
CUT TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL HEARING ROOM - DAY
Bruno gavels the hearing back into session.
BRUNO: Let's come to order.
Jordan and Leo are back in their seats. Jordan looks a little worried.
BRUNO: Mr. Gibson, you can proceed with your questioning.
Cliff sighs with exasperation. Leo stares at Gibson.
GIBSON: Mr. McGarry, 30 October in St. Louis, Missouri, the date Jed Bartlet was...
BRUNO: [holds up a hand in Gibson's direction] No, I'm sorry. [pause] Mr. McGarry, it's been a long day and, unless Counsel has an objection, I'm gonna resume this after the holidays.
Jordan and Leo are stunned.
LEO: What?
Cliff breathes a sigh of relief. Some members of the committee look pleasantly surprised, others not so much. Gibson shoots a warning glare at Bruno.
GIBSON: Mr. Chairman...
BRUNO: Mr. Calley.
CLIFF: Mr. McGarry, that concludes our questioning for today...
CUT TO: INT. JOSH'S OFFICE - DAY
CLIFF: [on TV] We'll pick it up here when the Chairman gavels these hearings back to order.
Josh sighs with relief.
CUT TO: INT. CAPITOL HILL HEARING ROOM - DAY
Leo is still confused and not sure if this is real.
LEO: I'm sorry...?
BRUNO: You're done for the day, sir. The House Reform and Government Oversight Committee stands in recess until January the 5th, and the Chair wishes everyone a Merry Christmas.
The hum of conversation fills the room as people begin to stand up. Several people in the audience - journalists, presumably - leap out of their seats to go outside. Jordan is pleased, but very surprised. Leo still can't believe it. They steal short glances at each other. Jordan chuckles softly to herself.
LEO: What the hell...?
JORDAN: [shakes her head] I don't know. [They both stand up.] We have two weeks.
A woman who's been sitting behind Jordan hands her a coat. Leo leans against his chair.
LEO: I really had to tell you the damn story?
JORDAN: Shut up. I'm going to dinner with you.
She starts to leave, passing Margaret, who's standing behind Leo.
LEO: [softly] Yeah. [pauses, turns to look at her] Well, listen.
JORDAN: What?
LEO: You wanna do it tomorrow night instead?
JORDAN: What's tomorrow night?
LEO: It's Christmas Eve.
JORDAN: [pauses, smiles, nods] Okay.
LEO: [smiles] Okay.
Jordan walks off into the crowd. Leo gathers his things from the table and glances up at the committee dais. Cliff is standing behind his chair, also gathering his things. They meet each other's gaze for several long moments. Cliff looks away first, then quickly leaves. Leo seems to realize what - or who - may have stopped the hearing. Then he turns around toward Margaret, who's been chatting amiably with someone. Slowly, they walk out of the hearing room together.
“I’m affable!” Will McAvoy yells in the pilot of “The Newsroom,” Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO series. McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels) is an irascible anchor whose brand is likability, and it’s a good line, delivered well. It is also a rare moment of self-mockery—and one of the last sequences I was on board for in the series. In “The Newsroom,” clever people take turns admiring one another. They sing arias of facts. They aim to remake television news: “This is a new show, and there are new rules,” a maverick executive producer announces, several times, in several ways. Their outrage is so inflamed that it amounts to a form of moral eczema—only it makes the viewer itch.
This is not to say that “The Newsroom” doesn’t score points now and then, if you share its politics. It starts effectively enough, with an homage to “Network” ’s galvanizing “I’m mad as hell” rant, as McAvoy, a blandly uncontroversial cable big shot whom everyone tauntingly calls Leno, is trapped on a journalism-school panel. When the moderator needles him into answering a question about why America is the greatest country on earth, he goes volcanic, ticking off the ways in which America is no such thing, then closing with a statement of hope, about the way things used to be. This speech goes viral, and his boss (Sam Waterston) and his producer, MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), who’s also his ex-girlfriend, encourage him to create a purer news program, purged of any obsession with ratings and buzz.
EXT. ROAD - DAY
A short time later. Carol is now driving.
CAROL
I'm sure, Simon, they did
something real off for you to feel
this way... But when it comes to
your partners -- or your kid --
things will always be off for you
unless you set it straight. Maybe
this thing happened to you just to
give you that chance.
MELVIN
Nonsense!
CAROL
Anybody here who's interested in
what Melvin has to say raise their
hands.
Simon does not raise his hand. Simon and Carol have thus
declared their majority.
SIMON
Do you want to know what happened
with my parents?
CAROL
Yes. I really would.
SIMON
Well...
CAROL
No, let me pull over so I can pay
full attention.
Car pulling over toward parking spot.
EXT. HIGHWAY - CURBSIDE - CONVERTIBLE - DAY
She takes the car curbside and parks.
CAROL
Now go ahead.
Simon looks back at Melvin as does Carol. He looks
innocent. Several beats -- Melvin almost says something
-- a hidden hand gesture from Carol stops him. Finally.
SIMON
Well, I always painted. Always.
And my mother always encouraged
it. She was sort of fabulous
about it actually... and she used
to... I was too young to think
there was anything at all wrong
with it... and she was very
natural. She used to pose nude
for me... and I thought or assumed
my father was aware of it.
MELVIN
This stuff is pointless.
CAROL
Hey -- you let him...
MELVIN
You like sad stories -- you want
mine.
CARL
Stop. Go ahead, Simon. Really.
Please. Don't let him stop you. Ignore him.
SIMON
Okay. Well, one day my father
came in on one of those painting
sessions when I was nine -- and he
just started screaming at her --
at us -- at evil. And...
MELVIN
(very quickly)
... my father didn't leave his
room for 11 years -- he hit my
hand with a yardstick if I made a
mistake on the piano.
CAROL
Go ahead, Simon. Your father
walked in on you and was yelling
and... really, come on.
SIMON
I was trying to defend my mother
and make peace, in the lamest way.
I said, "she's not naked -- it's
art." And then he started hitting
me. And he beat me unconscious.
After that he talked to me less
and less -- he knew before I left
for college, my dad came into my
room. He held out his hand. It
was filled with money. A big wad
of sweaty money.
(gathers himself)
And he said to me, "I don't want
you to ever come back." I grabbed
him and I hugged him... He turns
and walked out.
Carol, whose life has been rugged but basic, feels as
strange as she does moved by Simon's trauma which is so
much more complicated than her meat and potatoes
troubles. She looks out her window -- then kisses her
fingers and touches them to Simon's cheek. A nice,
understated, gesture of friendship.
CAROL
Well, you know -- I still stay
what I said. You've got to get
past it all when it comes to your
parents. We all have these horror
stories to get over.
Melvin shifts INTO the FRAME.
MELVIN
That's not true. Some of us have
great stories... pretty stories
that take place at lakes with
boats and friends and noodle
salad. Just not anybody in this
car. But lots of people -- that's
their story -- good times and
noodle salad... and that's what
makes it hard. Not that you had
it bad but being that pissed that
so many had it good.
CAROL
No.
SIMON
Not it at all, really.
MELVIN
(a veteran's irony)
Not at all, huh?!... Let's go to
the hotel. And if you're lucky
tomorrow Dad will give you another
wad of sweaty money.
2) Her catch phrase, the thing she utters in all and any circumstance, is "Holy crap." For example, when she's at the climax, if you will, of an erotic moment with her dominating hero, she will scream "Holy crap." "Holy crap" is never a sexy thing to say.
3) The male character, in turn -- god-like, well-educated, nuanced sex fiend that he is -- often says things like, "You look mighty fine, Ms. Steele. Mighty fine." WHO SAYS THAT? It makes him sound like a cross between Pa Ingalls and the lumberjack on Brawny paper towels. Not sexy. Not one bit, even if you lived in the Pacific NW in the 1800s.
CRASH COMING OUT OF THE SHOWER -- Toweling off, watching the
innocent, vulgar fun. He sits down in front of his locker,
drying his hair, when the CLUBHOUSE BOY approaches:
CLUBHOUSE BOY
Hey, Crash -- Skip wants to see ya.
CRASH RISES AND HEADS FOR SKIP'S CUBICLE -- Wearing only a
towel and his shower shoes.
CUT TO:
INSIDE SKIP'S OFFICE -- Skip and Larry sit in postgame
routine, checking charts, smoking, half dressed.
CRASH ENTERS as he's still drying off.
CRASH
Yeah, Skip, you wanted to see me?
SKIP
Crash, shut the door.
And it hits him. Crash looks at Skip, who looks down at the
floor, unwilling to face Crash who then looks at Larry, who
also looks away nervously.
CRASH SHUTS THE DOOR -- The party rages beyond.
SKIP
(heartfelt)
This is the toughest job a manager
has...
CLOSE ON CRASH -- He's been in the game too long to be
surprised; nonetheless, he's surprised. And hurt. His stoicism
is professional.
SKIP
The organization wants to make a
change... now that Nuke's gone they
wanta bring up some young catcher...
LARRY
Some kid hittin' .300 in Lynchburg...
probably a bust.
SKIP
I put in a word for you with the
organization -- told 'em I thought
you'd make a fine minor league manager
someday... Might be an opening at
Salem next year --
EXTREME CLOSE UP ON CRASH -- His eyes are moist.
SKIP
Helluva year, Crash -- you know how
it is.
Silence.
Crash stands there nearly nude. He just nods slightly. Without
rancor or bitterness, he turns and re-enters the raucous
locker room.
As for Venus, its transit on December 6-7, 1631, was visible only from the New World and appears to have been viewed by not a single human being, and the transit of November 24, 1639, was observed by two people, the English astronomer and clergyman Jeremiah Horrocks and his friend William Crabtree. Alarmingly for Horrocks, who was a clergyman, the transit occurred on a Sunday, when he was obliged to preach two sermons. He rushed home from church, peered through his telescope at 3:15 pm, and saw Venus, "the object of my most sanguine wishes...just wholly centered on the Sun's disk." Venus, like Mercury, looked smaller than had been predicted – Kepler thought Venus would cover one quarter of the sun, an enormous overestimate – and so to behold its apparent tiny size helped improve human appreciation of interplanetary distances. But Horrocks had no way to measure the apparent diameter of the disk precisely, and, since he was but one observer, he could not have triangulated Venus even if he had possessed an accurate clock. Crabtree, for his part, was so overwhelmed by the sight of an entire world dwarfed by the Sun that he made no coherent notes at all, prompting Horrocks to protest that "we astronomers have a certain...disposition [to be] distractedly delighted with light and trifling circumstances."
But the world had changed by the time the transits of Venus of 1761 and 1769 came due. Astronomy had become an organized science, conducted by professionals, sponsored by scientific societies, and supported by government funds. Now at last, it was felt, science had the resources to sound the dimensions of the solar system. Halley's implorations were remembered, and the transits were scrutinized by scores of observers equipped with micrometers, accurate clocks, and brass telescopes mounted on hardwood tripods at sites as far away as Siberia, South Africa, Mexico, and the South Pacific.
And, to an extent, the transit observers succeeded, though not without suffering some sufficient tribulations to remind them that while the motions of the planets may be sublime the affairs of this world are marbled with chaos. The astronomer Charles Mason and the surveyor Jeremiah Dixon, later of the Mason-Dixon Line, were attacked by a French frigate while making their way to Africa (this was during the Seven Years' War) with a loss of eleven dead and thirty-seven wounded; they reached Cape Town under military escort and observed the 1761 transit, only to find that they differed by many seconds in their estimate of the time when Venus had entered and left the disk of the sun. William Wales timed the transit from Hudson Bay, Canada, after enduring mosquitoes, horseflies, and a winter sufficiently severe that, as he noted with empirical exactitude, a half-pint of brandy left unattended iced over in only five minutes. Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche, dispatched by the French academy into the depths of Russia, raced across the frozen Volga and through Siberian forests in horse-drawn sleds, arrived at Tobolsk six days prior to the transit, posted guards to repel angry mobs who blamed him for causing spring floods by interfering with the sun, and managed to observe the transit. He died eight years later in Baja California after timing the 1769 transit, of an epidemic that spared but one member of his party, who dutifully returned his data to Paris. Alexandra-Gui Pingre was rained out for most of the transit in Madagascar, lost his ship to the British and was returned to Lisbon under British guns; a humanist as well as a scientist, he took comfort in the ship's rations of spirits: "Liquor," he wrote, "gives us the necessary strength for determining the distance of...the sun."
Least fortunate of all was Guillaume le Gentil, who sailed from France on March 26, 1760, planning to observe the transit the following year from the east coast of India. Monsoons blew his ship off course, and transit day found him becalmed in the middle of the Indian Ocean, unable to make any useful observations. Determined to redeem the expedition by observing the second transit, Le Gentil booked passage to India, built an observatory atop an obsolete powder magazine in Pondicherry, and waited. The sky remained marvelously clear throughout May, only to cloud over on June 4, the morning of the transit, then clear again as soon as the transit was over.
[excerpt of Le Gentil's journal excised]
Worse lay ahead. Stricken with dysentery, Le Gentil remained in India for another nine months, bedridden. He then booked passage home aboard a Spanish warship that was demasted in a hurricane off the Cape of Good Hope and blown off course north of the Azores before finally limping into port at Cadiz. Le Gentil crossed the Pyrenees and at last set foot on French soil, after eleven years, six months, and thirteen days of absence. Upon his return to Paris he learned that he had been declared dead, his estate looted, and its remains divided up among his heirs and creditors. He renounced astronomy, married, and retired to write his memoirs. Cassini, eulogizing Le Gentil, praised his character but allowed that "in his sea voyages he had contracted a little unsociability and brusqueness.