Original subtitles

Hello, I'm calling from the trip. I'd like to confirm a phone call. How much

money was involved?

Was it over a thousand dollars?

Was it over ten thousand dollars?

I saved you a piece of the Matheson building.

Sorry, Mr.

Demolition. Why did you put yourself through that, Margaret?

I wouldn't have gone on a bet.

I thought someone from the Historical Society should be there to make Alex

Matheson feel guilty.

Did you?

Not for a minute.

He was so busy overseeing with a silver hard hat on his head.

He looked like he was wearing an ice bucket.

Well, we put up a good fight to save the building.

Alex Madison has sat with us on the board of the Historical Society for

Now, he's responsible for tearing down one of our most important buildings.

I've already spoken to some of the other board members.

Everyone's in agreement to throw the rascal out.

Listen, I'm just a hired hand here, but I'd hate to lose a guy with his money.

Let me offer you a compromise.

What are you doing this afternoon?

Hello, Alex.

They told us to come right out.

Wonderful, Margaret. Wonderful.

Dad?

Do you remember Margaret Finchot?

Mr. Matheson, how in the world are you?

And this gentleman is the archivist at the Society.

Dr. Michael Shepard. How do you do? Mrs. Dupree, who's taking care of Dad for

us. Hi.

You know, Dad and I were just talking how ironic this whole business is.

You know, that building has always been an embarrassment to the family.

His father put up the first building 100 years ago. The 34 earthquake destroyed

it. Dad built on top of it, and then he caught hell from everyone because they

couldn't stand the way it looked.

Well, nobody's denying it was monumentally ugly.

And now the board wants to get rid of me for tearing it down. That's right.

Your only ally is this one here. I'd hate for the society to lose you.

When we were making our last -minute try for a restraining order, I did some

research. And in the cornerstone of that building, there's a time capsule.

Margaret and I would like to suggest that you open it up and offer its

to the city.

A time capsule. You're kidding.

It's nice having an historian around, isn't it?

I had no idea.

Did you, Dad?

A time capsule in the building?

Alex, how about giving a nice little gift to the city at its 200th year?

Well, that cornerstone was probably destroyed when they took the building

The time capsule is in the cornerstone of the original building, which is

actually eight feet underground and hasn't been disturbed.

Margaret, you're talking about a lot of money.

Excavation, God knows what else.

You single -handedly robbed this city of a landmark.

I'm not going to let you off the hook.

I can see you're not.

All right.

We'll dig up the capsule, open it up, see what's inside.

Good.

The society would be delighted to help you plan the ceremony.

The ceremony?

Well, you are giving it to the people of the city, aren't you?

Why not have some of the people around? We'd be glad to help.

Good enough.

Thank you, Alex.

Well, that's the least we can do. I should say it is.

Mrs. Dupree, would you be good enough to show it away?

I'd be happy to. Goodbye, then.

Mr. Madison?

Bye -bye.

Can you believe it?

They didn't even know it was there.

I had no choice, Dad.

Don't worry, we'll pull it off.

A time capsule?

Tomorrow afternoon, I want you to give us a little history.

L .A. history, I love it. That's whatever was there before the freeway

built. I hear they've excavated the first fiberglass surfboard.

This city is 200 years old. I know, I know.

Talk to Dr. Shepard at the Historical Society.

Find out what's in the time capsule.

Give me a little background.

A little gee whiz, nothing ever stays the same, or gee whiz, nothing ever

changes. Gotcha. By the numbers.

Let that be our secret.

Who among those gathered at the building site did not long to be a traveler in

time to glimpse that date in the future when our gifts would be revealed?

They don't let me write like that, I'll tell you. Well, a lot of that grand

style is compensation for living in a town with unpaved streets and flooding

every winter.

How big was L .A. in 1881?

Maybe 15 ,000.

The first of the Mathersons built just before the boom.

Are you from L .A.? Yep.

Even my parents are native. They were the ones that got me interested in

history.

Okay, the Spanish came first. Then Mexico?

No, first it was the Indians.

Then Spain did some exploration and Russia, though they probably never got

far south.

May I?

Sure. One of the perks of this job.

So in the 18th century, Spain started to colonize California.

She recruited 11 Mexican families, some of whom I'm proud to say were descended

from black African slaves, to set up a pueblo here.

Los Angeles was part of Mexico for some time and then became part of the United

States. And I found the list of what's in the time capsule.

Oh, great.

All right. Go ahead.

A proclamation from the city council.

A 48 stanza poem from the Roses in January Society.

Samples of this season's walnut crop.

and something called the Pastor Cross.

Pastor, that's one of the early families.

You may have something interesting here.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

Once upon a time, the Madison family didn't get along.

I haven't heard that late since I read Jack and Jill. I'm giving you

I managed to make this story into something kind of compelling, and I just

you to tell me how much can end up in the story.

Okay.

Okay.

There was this feud between the two halves of the Madison family.

And when the first Madison guy died, which was about 1870 or so, his two sons

fought over everything. The house, the branch, the business.

Eventually it all got settled in court, except for one item.

Season tickets to the Rams.

A golden cross, encrusted with precious stones.

It was named the pastor crop after this early settler who came up from Mexico.

This guy's daughter got smallpox.

So he hammered out this cross for her, which supposedly helped heal her.

Can you see why this is going to be way over 400 words?

No, it's not.

Just say this settler. Pastor. Right. Pastor made this cross. It's loaded with

significance. And gorgeous.

It's supposed to be gorgeous.

Reputed to be gorgeous.

That's four words.

Then just go on with the Madison feud.

And the story is that the Mathesons decided to patch things up, so they

the cross in the cornerstone of their new building, which is now rubble, and

tomorrow we all get to see it.

Now we're talking.

Ancient feuds, family secrets, present jewels.

Don't get your hopes up, Lou. This is all past history.

Where are you going to park?

Do you know where to park right now?

Oh, Ann, look. Oh, God.

I don't know. Are you going to get us killed?

Which Mathesons are feuding with which?

Oh, nobody's feuding with anybody. That was a hundred years ago. Right. I'm

going to go. Right.

the bright idea of a new time capsule for the Madison Tower, and he wants me

assemble it. Well, that's terrific.

Oh, sure, Dr.

Shepard. You weren't railroaded into doing all the work.

Now here, Mrs. Pinchot, Charlie's tied up. You can take my seat. I have to be

front anyway.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, please find yourself a comfortable seat.

Oh, jinx, Madison.

Meet Lou Grant.

My metropolitan editor.

How do you do?

Hello? Matheson.

Shouldn't you be up there?

No, because Alex Matheson and I recently divorced.

Sorry. And he got custody of the podium.

Please be seated.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Okay, Jenks. Give us a five -hour play.

My pleasure.

My father couldn't be with us, but we promised to give him a full report.

I'd like now to have each member of the family take a crack at this.

Helen? First, my sister Helen.

Don't you love old Helen with a purse?

First son, Denley?

Who has just sunk $30 ,000 into a movie which he can kiss goodbye.

My son, Alex Jr.

Stand up straight, darling.

He looks wonderful.

Thank you.

Nice job, son. Nice job.

And little Alex, still the biggest thief.

Now the other members of the Matheson family, whom we don't get to see often

enough.

This is my grandfather's brother's side of the family. We'll start off with

Bill. Bill?

That old goat looks great.

Must make Alice's day a green.

His daughter, Mary Jane.

I'm sorry. Mary Alice.

Alice, you're such a trip.

Her sons, Brad and Don.

Do the two sides of the family get together much? Oh, they never get

Of course, I was only with Alex 30 years, so don't go by me.

Now, yours truly.

Sign? Can you give me a hand with this?

Oh, this is something.

A proclamation from the city council.

A lovely verse from the Roses in January Society.

The walnuts didn't travel very well. I believe I'll leave them in.

Oh, my.

I believe this is the Pastor Cross.

The Matheson's family gift to the city of Los Angeles.

Thank you all for coming.

Remind me not to store my gold jewelry in granite. That thing turned green.

Anything real gold turned green.

Gentlemen, I'd love to get a shot of you all together.

Why don't you get them, pal? It's their party.

Billy, I got news for you.

This feud's alive and well.

How sick do you think the old guy is?

Maybe he's had another stroke.

You think he's sick enough to ask them to bring it out?

Well, maybe we should start watching the house.

This could be our chance.

Yeah.

Excuse me.

Is there something I can do for you?

No.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

I told advertising to run it any time we have something drop out in the next few

days. Fine. What's it about?

Well, I considered soliciting items for the new time capsule from official

sources. Wouldn't that be awfully predictable?

I'm going to go straight to the public.

You're going to get swamped. That's my hope.

Tell me, where would you go to buy a time capsule?

Geez, they're making you do it all, aren't they?

Can't you find a manufacturer?

A time capsule manufacturer?

Try and find that in your yellow pages.

No, Mr. Hume. It's a lost art, like loot making.

Or TV repair.

Hey, have you checked with a casket maker?

Spare me. Don't they seem perfect? They have all that subterranean business down

pat.

You may be right.

Should I make a couple calls for you?

Just don't let them talk you into anything with a satin lining.

All I'm saying is that the cross I saw didn't measure up to what I read about.

So it wasn't worth the bill, then?

Have you ever seen the Mona Lisa in person?

No. Well, everybody says it's smaller than they figured it could be. Have you

seen the Mona Lisa?

No.

But I met Forrest Evashevsky once, which is the same thing.

He's a big guy, but not as big as I thought he was.

He knows perfectly well I never heard of Forrest Evashevsky.

Who's Tom Harmon's blocker at Michigan?

He knows perfectly well I never heard of Tom Harmon.

Ricky Nelson's father -in -law.

Oh.

Have you ever heard of Lasagna?

Yes. Did you ever see a frozen lasagna that looked as good as the picture on

box? No.

It's hyped.

It's like the Mona Lisa's hyped.

It's like the Pastore Costas hyped a hundred years ago. It's simple as that.

Keep talking about hype.

Never loan me books again. Never. Aren't you trustworthy?

Trustworthy? I'm conscience -stricken. I'm afraid to leave them in my car or on

my desk because they're somebody else's and I end up lugging them around with me

all the time.

All this is my reporter's gracious way of saying thank you. And I hope that we

work together again on another exciting story.

What, are you leaving?

What did you think about the cross?

Nice. I thought it was nice.

Well, I was disappointed.

Were you?

So was I. That grimy little green thing.

Do you think that people were exaggerating when they talked about how

spectacular it was?

You know what bothers me?

That cornerstone was sitting there for a few days.

What kind of security does demolition site get?

Practically none.

Especially since nobody knew the cornerstone contained anything valuable.

Well, what if somebody did know?

Well, we found out. What if somebody else did, too?

You think someone stole the cross to replace it with a fake one?

I'm just throwing open the question for discussion.

I mean, even as a hunk of gold, that cross has got to be worth an awful lot.

it's a matter of public record that it was there.

We saw the capsule cracked open. It was mortared shut.

But how long does it take mortar to dry? Maybe it was opened and re -mortared.

Besides, I didn't think real gold turned green.

Neither did I. A simple little test could straighten this out.

You think the capsule was tampered with?

I don't.

Well, I have a reporter here who is a little concerned that your pastor cross

not the pastor cross.

I'm sure he's wrong.

She? Her name is Billy Newman.

Oh, yes.

The girl who wrote the story.

That's right.

I'll bet the museum would be willing to analyze the cross.

Would you let them take a look at it?

Well, I'd be a fool not to, don't you think?

Crossy? I'll send him up, I guess.

Where?

A Conrad von Hauser wants to see me.

Who's that?

You mean he's not some famous block and tackle from out of the past?

Sounds like he should be in puttees. With a shaved head and a megaphone. The

kind of guy who always takes the stairs.

I think he's here.

We really nailed that one.

Oh, Mr. Von Hassel. Miss Newman?

Yes. What can I do for you? Mr.

Matheson asked me to pay you a visit. Mr. Alex Matheson? That's right.

Come right in here.

Who?

What do you need me for? I want you to hear this.

Mr. Matheson knew you were concerned about the authenticity of the Pasteur

course. He asked me to share the results of my test with you.

Mr. Van Hazen, this is Lou Grant.

I'm just here to listen. Are you from a museum?

I'm an independent appraiser and a chemist. Is the course genuine?

In my opinion, without a doubt.

Why is it green?

The cornerstone was lined in copper and not entirely airtight.

And the walnuts... emitted gases as they began to break down. And finally, the

method for refining gold was much cruder 200 years ago.

And those impurities within the metal reacted with the gases, resulting in a

greenish cast on the cross.

I see.

Here is my verification that the stones are genuine.

And this authenticates the style and craftsmanship as appropriate for the

18th century.

And here are x -rays taken of the cross.

Do you have copies of these?

These are copies.

Then can I keep them?

Of course.

I guess I'm kind of disappointed.

That's true of so many legendary works.

The Mona Lisa, for example, is much smaller than people realize.

So is Forrest Avershevsky.

Please.

Can we call you if we have any questions? Of course. We'll be in touch.

I thought you were going to listen.

I did.

You must feel like a price cassava right now, wasting our valuable time like

that. I could have been right.

Here, this is yours.

Thanks.

All right, enough is enough.

What?

Mrs. Pinchon telling me what I can't write.

Now listen, Mrs. Pinchon, at your paper and at your rug I'm standing on...

and it's your door I just accidentally slammed. That's right, Mr. Grant, as far

as the eye can see, unless you look out of the window. What do you want? I don't

mind when you call me with story ideas. Oh, sure you do. Well, I do, but not as

much as I did at first.

But when you go around me, when you deal directly with my reporters... Which I

never do.

Well, you certainly do. Not only go around me, but kill a story out of the

What? When it's a story you wanted in the first place.

I didn't do it.

Are you denying you called the city room and told Billy to forget the past door

cross follow -up?

I swear to you, on my desk, on my rug, and my $3 million

loan at 20 % floating interest, I have not called Miss Newman since she wrote

that grisly story about the man who kept the Gila monsters in his car.

I believe you.

Must be some mix -up. I'm sure that's it.

Sorry I jumped the gun.

It's understandable.

Why don't we just forget this ever happened?

Not on your life.

Was it Mrs. Pinchon who called for Billy or her secretary?

Neither. Were you sure it was a he?

Disguising his voice.

Right, Lou. And hoping a dummy would answer.

He was just a normal -sounding man.

He said he had a message, and the message was that Mrs. Pinchon wanted

stop whatever it was.

Someone's trying to keep you off the story?

You mean somebody besides you?

Notarized authentications, right? Look at the notary seal. It's expired.

In 1962.

He tells us about gases escaping from decaying walnut.

Do I say that's the dumbest thing I ever heard? Do you?

Not true, huh? Oh, Conrad, that is a bunk sandwich, and we swallowed it

We're holding up x -rays and nodding like we know what we're looking for.

I am not.

Who's the cassava now?

Aren't you sick to death of being the Madison's fool?

When are you going to turn me loose on this story?

Tonight.

Thanks. Okay, here's my list of all the ways the cross was described in the

past. Palm -sized.

And the one we've got is four by three, palm -sized.

Okay. Gold?

Well, we know this one is a lot less gold than something else, probably

Hammered? Hammered, right.

Adorned with native stones, tourmaline, agate, and morganite?

So is this one.

The Paso brand is on the back. That's there. I remember the letter P.

Right.

Each family had a brand registered with the Spanish government. They used it to

keep the livestock straight. I've got a monograph on it.

It's not alphabetical.

Are the Pastors in there?

Ah,

Pastor. You're right. The letter P.

Let's look at the P on the cross.

That's not the same.

No. That's not a brand.

It's not because I want it so badly, and it's not because I've had nothing but

oranges since breakfast. The newspaper said brand, and the pastoral brand has a

little tail on it. It certainly does.

Which the cross does not.

You're right.

Dr. Shepard, the Matheson family has given the city of Los Angeles a cheap

imitation. What do you say we tell the world?

We've got a couple of classes together, and, uh, you know how you feel like you

know each other if you see a person day after day?

So I invited her to a movie, and she said she'd really like it.

Where are you going to take her?

Where do I always take her to the first date?

Right, Granddad?

Mario's tomorrow night.

You need something, Dad?

Got any paper?

really a bad time to try to bring it out.

Must really feel like he needs it.

I'll get it for you, Dad.

Soon.

I promise.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

A &E returns to Lou Grant.

I'm sorry. I am not allowed to tell anyone what a stinker Alex was.

That was part of the settlement.

Listen, I don't know what he did to you in 30 years, but he has given the city a

worthless fake for which he will probably get a tax write -off.

Unless he's exposed.

Now, maybe you're not interested in revenge, but we are.

Anything I tell you, I'm not telling you. Fair enough?

Thank you.

What is your ex -husband's relationship to the other part of the Matheson

family? They're not so rich, Matheson.

We are the filthy rich Mathesons.

Oh, jeez.

Well, the first I knew of it was when I invited them to little Alex's

christening by mistake.

And Alex went crazy.

He had his lawyer send him a letter saying, don't come, you're not invited

all.

And that was lesson number one.

I never knew.

Do you have any idea why some members of the family would be watching the house?

You mean snooping?

No,

why would you think that?

Something I overheard at the ceremony.

I can't imagine why.

I would love to meet one of the Matheson men.

Could you get me an introduction to your son?

Come on, come on.

Watch your step, though. It's a little bit slippery.

Alex, are you sure we're allowed in here? This is a drainage ditch. Sure.

This whole mural's sponsored by that historical society my dad's in.

I did the Pueblo Street.

Oh, with the adobe and everything?

No, no, no, no, the street. The dirt.

I colored it in.

It's neat, isn't it?

I like drawing, but I gotta say I'm pretty awful at it.

Anyhow, is this thing great or what?

It is great.

I never heard of ditch painting before.

If you don't like how it turned out, you can wait for the rainy season, right?

Oh, it's not going to wash off.

I hope it's not going to wash off.

I think it's really appropriate in L .A. for us to paint a zanya.

That's ditches in Spanish.

That's the way the city got its water for 100 years, in ditches. And every

a flood.

You're really steeped in history, huh?

I'm really steeped in ditch history and what I know I flaunt.

My great -great -grandfather's first job here was as a zanjaro.

That's ditch digger.

I made them put him in the mural.

See the guy right up here in the brown hat?

Oh, it looks like you.

Yeah, right.

I guess he was really kind of a pirate.

Not on a ship or anything, just a guy who thought rules were for other people.

Dad says that's what L .A. was like back then.

But I'll tell you something. I like thinking that there's a gene or a

or something in that old guy and me.

Even if it's a ditch -digger chromosome.

Come on, I'll show you the rest.

You see this up here?

Uh -huh. All this blue? Uh -huh. And the water down here? I did all that.

Oh, you colored that in?

Well, yeah.

Mr. Matheson?

Oh, hi.

I've been talking to your son.

He's seeing if he can find a picture of your ancestor, the Zon Harrow.

All right.

It looks like you've been doing a little ditch digging yourself.

Well, the gardener left the sprinkler on, and I had to turn it off.

Billy, I've got it.

Nice to see you again.

It's hard to realize there's a real guy there. I think it's that old -time

photography. Yeah.

Uh, Alex?

Yeah?

I know that the cross your family gave the city is a fake.

What?

And I know your family has the real cross.

I know about the fighting with the other side of the family and how they're

planning to watch the house.

Who told you?

I can't say. I know who told you. It was either Brad or Don.

I can't tell you if it were Brad or Don.

And they told you about Eagle's Nest, I suppose.

Sure. You better get your facts straight, because I'll tell you right

and Don are liars.

Are you F. Charles Hume?

Oh, my God.

You are?

I told Billy you couldn't be.

I was a 23 -year -old kid at the time. I suppose you weren't pretentious at 23.

F. Charles Hume.

Where'd you catch up with me?

It's a byline in a clip file.

What does the F stand for?

It doesn't stand for anything, unless you count F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I didn't realize I ever had a byline back in my cub reporting days.

This was before Detroit?

Oh, yeah.

This was my very first job while I was still in college.

Well, I've got a question for you, F. Charles.

Sure.

1949, James Donald Matheson died.

Yeah, yeah.

Freak hunting accident at a family estate high in the Sierras.

I don't remember this too well.

Billy's trying to figure out what something called Eagle's Nest is, and

across this clip.

Could the family estate mentioned in the story be Eagle's Nest?

Certainly what I'd name my family estate.

I wish I could tell you for sure.

Gee, the guy was 24.

I remember this. This was a terrible story.

The family kept it quiet because it was such a sad accident.

This guy, James Matheson, had arrived for a visit and nobody knew that he was

the grounds.

Other members of the family were out hunting.

And this poor guy, James, he didn't have a red jacket or anything.

They saw motion in the woods.

They shot him. That poor family, they were devastated.

I bet they were.

First of all, the cross is ours.

My great -great -grandfather told my great -grandfather, before he died, that

matter what happened, he wanted him to have it.

Because they thought it saved him when he was real sick as a baby.

Have you got the cross?

We will.

You're planning to steal it?

They stole it.

We're just getting it back.

What is your claim to the cross?

We've had it 80 out of the last 100 years.

That ought to tell you something. They've got no scruples about taking

isn't theirs.

Now, you see how rich they all got.

You think you'd get that rich by respecting what belongs to others?

The whole other side of the family is bitter because we made it and they

It sounds terrible, but that's the truth.

What is so important about the cross?

Well, they used to think it had healing powers.

My granddad kind of believes that, too.

I don't know, when I'm an old guy, I may even believe it myself.

That cross is our connection with where we came from. Who we are. Our father was

James Matheson. He was just 25.

And just getting out of the service.

When he found out that Maxwell Sr.

was sick and the cross would be coming out at Eagle's Nest. There was never any

hunting accident.

James Matheson went to Eagle's Nest to steal.

Remember now, my father was totally alone.

He had a gun and a knife.

There weren't even any bullets in the gun.

It was dark.

Everyone thought he was a prowler. He knew all along who he was. We fired into

the air, but he kept coming. They said there was a warning shot.

All I know is my father was hit.

It was a terrible tragedy.

But you put yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Terrible tragedies can happen.

My family made up the story about the hunting accident to keep the world from

knowing that James Matheson was a thief.

Our side of the family went along with the newspaper story because the truth

couldn't come out about the cross.

Our father, James Matheson, bled to death on the way to the hospital.

August 1949.

August 5th, 1949.

My great -grandfather, Maxwell Matheson Sr., died later that week.

But he was holding the cross.

They're coming, Granddad. Let me take the cross.

Kyle, you remember my son, Alex Jr.? Hello.

This is Bree.

Dad? Dr. Geiler's here.

Mr. Matheson, how are we doing tonight?

Would you like some help from either of the gentlemen?

No. If you'll excuse us for a few minutes.

Of course.

Huh?

You can't talk him into having an egg in the morning.

I'll try.

He only wants ice cream.

They spoil him.

Well, do what you can.

Good night, Mr. Matheson.

Here you are.

Thanks.

Did I come in with a coat?

I don't think so.

Good night.

Good night.

Doctor, how is Mr. Matheson?

He's comfortable. We're keeping an eye on him.

You a member of the family?

No, I'm a reporter.

Oh, well, nothing's going to happen in that house tonight.

You go home. Get out of the night air.

Good idea.

Oh, doctor.

Oh, thank you. Yeah, good night.

Good night.

Hold it right there!

It's gone.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

So the doctor pulls away and I'm sitting there in my car in front of this big

Spanish mansion wondering what I'm doing there when all of a sudden all these

floodlights go on. I hear angry voices. The gate opens and a big black car about

a block long comes screaming down the driveway right at me.

The Batmobile?

No, the Matheson's. The car swerves. It flies up the road and disappears.

Meantime, she's flooded the engine. The center's cold. What else could she do?

She calls me. She didn't have any idea where they were going, but I figured

were headed for a showdown with the other side of the family.

So anyway, we get to Brad and Don's condominium just as the police are

the magazines away.

The boys? No, Alex and his son. And they've been accused of ransacking the

condominium. I followed Alex and the kid to Hillside Division where they accused

their doctor of conspiring with Brad and Don to steal a piece of jewelry. The

cross. It's the cross.

They wouldn't say.

It's the cross.

And they're blaming the doctor? You saw him last night. The doctor claims his

medical bag was stolen by a kid who wanted the drugs in it. He says he's

innocent.

We were this close to the cross and we lost it.

I think it's time to write your story.

This is the art department. Read the stories they illustrate.

They told me no one gave them any instructions.

It's described in the story.

What's going on? Oh, look at what they've drawn for the Pasteur brand.

a plain old letter P, which is entirely wrong.

Just show me what it should be and I'll take care of it personally.

It has a little tail on the end of it.

Dry. Boy, you've got to spill everything out, and even then it's a crapshoot.

It's the top part of a shepherd's crook.

Exactly. Thank you. Tell them it's a shepherd's crook, and maybe then they'll

get it right.

Fine with me.

Whoa. I am so dumb. I was so dumb. Now I am so smart.

What did the Pastors do for a living?

Which Pastors?

The ones who first came to Los Angeles.

The Spanish government recruited settlers according to their skills,

What did the Pastors do?

They raised sheep.

Which is why they designed their brand as the top of a shepherd's cook.

Sure.

I really appreciate all the help you've given me on this story.

It's my pleasure.

Whenever I dead -ended, you always gave me something to keep me going.

Glad to help.

I was ready to drop the story when you told me you thought the cross was a

disappointment. And I wouldn't have found out about the brands if it hadn't

for you.

You even kept me on the story without me knowing it. What do you mean?

Calling the paper with that phony message from Mrs.

Pinchon. I'm sure you knew how mad that would make me.

Now you're guessing.

Yes.

But I'm not guessing that the name Pastor translates in English as

Where's the cross, Dr. Shepherd?

Are you going to the time capsule ceremony tomorrow?

You haven't answered my question.

Yes, I have.

From Sandy Boland of La Puente, an itemized bill from her auto mechanic.

From Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Olinsky of Santa Monica.

This can of Diet Tiki Fruit Punch with a note to future Angelenos. You've

probably dug up a lot of these plastic things with six holes and wondered what

they were. Now you know.

I'm from Diana Lopez in Monterey Park, age 11.

Our school lunch menu for the week past with stars

drawn after...

Items that she liked the most, including pizza burger and something called

bloody pudding. And she's written ick next to fiesta casserole and vegetable

medley.

From Harold Chen of Westwood, one day's classified section of the Los Angeles

Times. From? Also.

Excuse me, go ahead. He has included a copy of the city budget.

for this bicentennial year.

From Joan and Paul Giancarlo, a packet of all the junk mail they received in a

week.

And I break for Blonde's bumper sticker.

From Kurt Bradley of Pond.

And this is from a fellow Angeleno who wishes to remain anonymous.

A plastic packet filled with assorted...

Uh, pills.

And finally, a snapshot from the Tran family of Van Nuys taken last Labor Day.

Thank you all.

Alex Matheson, whose building this will be, cannot be with us today because of a

family emergency.

He has asked Dr.

Michael Shepard of the Friends of the Past to address us. Dr. Shepard.

As those of you who read the Tribune today know, the cross donated in the

Matheson name to the city of Los Angeles is not the authentic Pastor Cross,

which is probably just as well, since it was never the Mathesons to give away in

the first place.

Louis Maria Pastor, the man who made the cross, was swindled out of everything

he had long ago by the first of the Mathesons.

On behalf of his descendants, Mr.

and Mrs. Alfred Shepard, and my sister, Mrs. Virginia Dupree, on behalf of

my grandfather, Arthur Lewis Shepard, who worked for 42 years in the boiler

of the Matheson building, so that when the next earthquake came, he would be

first to retrieve his great -grandfather's cross.

I'm glad he never learned they buried a fake.

On behalf of all of the men and women who built the city of Los Angeles, whose

names will never be remembered because they could not write, and whose pictures

were never recorded because no one thought to do it, I return the Pastor

Cross to our city of angels.

Ah, my Lord, he's got it.

property. You arranged your whole life to get your hands on that cross and you

just gave it back.

There was nothing else to do. If I kept the cross, it wouldn't legally be mine.

Besides, I just wanted to set the record straight.

It's nuts.

You're nuts.

Oh.

Margaret.

Where are you headed, Margaret?

Back to paper. Walking?

I hope you don't mind my using the Tribune the way I did.

I think we did rather well.

Have you got a minute?

I want to make a visit.

This is a big day.

It's been a long time since I've been in the old plaza church.

That child getting married?

No, it's a presentation.

Quince Año's 15th birthday.

I was going to put it someplace more public, but it didn't look right on

Percy.

What about the cross you just buried?

An even worse fake than the one the Mathesons had made.

I think it's the last place they'll look for a cross, is the church.

I've got to regret letting Alex stay on the board.

He's going to try to have you fired.

The smart money is on me, Margaret.

It's a story told by his children, colleagues, and enemies.

We'll explore the complex political career and little -known personal life

Nikita Khrushchev tonight on an all -new biography.

Now, is a brilliant surgeon using his skill to kill?

Leonard Nimoy guest stars in Columbo, next on A &E.