Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law. You made a list of reasons you want me to father your

child. I told you, this baby is the most important consideration in the world to

me. Can I have the baby?

I've been trying to convince myself I can do this, but the truth is, I can't.

Hey, how you doing?

Fine, thank you.

Get all your shopping done?

Most of it. How about you?

Nothing. I'm going to be in the stores like every night between now and

Christmas.

That's a pretty cross.

Thanks.

Could I ask you a question?

Mm -hmm.

Do you wear it as a religious symbol?

As opposed to what?

The way it looks.

I don't know. I don't usually separate the two things.

I was just curious.

What are you curious about?

Well, I guess... I'm curious about whether or not you're a religious

I know that's none of my business.

Well, if it so happens, I am.

I'm not religious the way you are.

That's all right.

Is that all right? I don't mean to sound as if I'm judging you. It's just

sometimes I feel that people who wear crosses, especially who wear ones like

that, it's just fashion. They don't think about what it stands for. You

Jane, I went to Catholic school for 12 years.

I know about Jesus Christ.

I know about the Blessed Virgin.

I know all the stations of the cross and all the sacraments and all about the

lives of the saints, okay?

And whether or not I still go to church, whether or not I read the Bible or even

own a Bible, and this is as much mine to wear as it is yours.

You're absolutely right.

In the lane, snow is glistening.

A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight.

Walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is a new bird.

Here to stay is a new bird.

He sings a song as we go along.

Walking in a winter wonderland.

Pincus versus Pincus.

We represent Nat Pinkett.

I'm appearing with the permission of the court.

Wait a minute. You represent the Nat Pinkett, the comedian?

Right. You're kidding.

What's the case? Nat's living with a woman who's about 30 years younger than

him. His son thinks she's taking undue financial advantage, and he wants his

father declared incompetent to manage his assets.

You see, everyone thinks a young woman could only be with an older man for his

money. The truth is, while I think this woman loves him, I've had my doubts

about how competent Nat is. Nat's no youngster. Does that correspond to his

being incompetent, Douglas?

Absolutely not.

Move along.

Ruskin versus Delgato.

This is mine. We represent Bernard Ruskin, a poetry publisher.

He owned a mailing list of people who buy poetry books and attend poetry

readings. A former employee appropriated the list and gave it to Mr. Delgato, to

whom he's currently employed.

Is this likely to go to trial? We're very far apart. It may.

Well, then why are you handling it?

Because no one else is available. It's certainly not because...

Poetry is something that appeals to me. Well, I never thought that it did. You

just don't usually try cases. If I need help, I'll ask for it. You're a little

defensive, aren't you, Douglas? Not at all.

I'm not at all defensive.

I happen to love poetry.

Do you really? Yeah.

Emily Dickinson, T .S. Eliot, Shakespeare's sonnets. I love that

Oh, I would like to remind everyone that for this year's Mackenzie Brackman

Christmas Party, we are committed to a major gala. Chance to show off your

renovations, eh?

Maybe you can recite something, Douglas.

This meeting's adjourned.

What is your relationship to Nat Pincus?

He's my father. How often do you see your father?

I used to see him at least once a week.

That fell off to twice a month, then once a month, and then he stopped

to see me at all. Was the diminution of visits with your father related to any

specific change in your father's life?

It was related to... Morgan Farrell coming to live in my father's house.

you describe for us what your understanding of your father's

Ms. Farrell is?

She's his mistress.

And what was it about her moving into the house that resulted in your not

your father as often as you had before?

I felt as though she was controlling my father. I felt as though she was taking

advantage of him. I spoke my mind. I became unwelcome in their home.

What specifically led you to believe that Miss Farrell was taking advantage

your father? A week after she moved in, he bought her a new Jaguar.

Inside of the first two months, she bought herself a Cartier watch.

Two months ago, he put the house in her name. Would you describe how Miss

Farrell behaved toward your father?

She belittled him. It seemed to me that he was frightened of her, that he was

desperate for her approval.

I felt then and I feel now that it is my duty as my father's son to intervene.

There are those who would say that you're after his money. I don't need his

money. I have enough money.

Then why not let it go, Mr.

Pincus? Why not just let your father live his own life?

Because I love him.

And I don't want to see him get hurt.

I have nothing further.

Mr. Pincus, you said that Miss Farrell belittled your father.

Will you tell us the kinds of things she did?

She talked down to him.

She'd get impatient.

She'd interrupt him.

When he'd tell a joke, she'd hold up fingers to let him know how many times

recently told it. My father doesn't get quiet too often. She could make him get

quiet. She also encouraged him to perform again, didn't she?

Yes, she did.

But my father didn't want to perform.

He wanted to sit in kibitz with his friends at the Friars Club. He wanted to

play cards. Your father says otherwise, does he not?

My father says otherwise.

You don't believe him?

My father...

is absolutely terrified about getting on stage at this point in his life. He is

terrified about getting through a routine.

Is it that he's terrified or that you're embarrassed?

It's not like it used to be, Pop. Don't talk to me! Gentlemen, please, let's not

address each other directly.

Isn't it a fact, Mr. Pincus, that you walked out on your father when he was in

the middle of performing at a Friars Club roast? Objection. I think that's

completely irrelevant.

When I was ten years old, I sat under a table at the nightclub.

of the Concord to watch you perform.

I was embarrassed.

I was thrilled beyond belief.

But you always said that you would know when to stop.

You said you didn't want what happened to other comics to happen to you.

It happened, Dad.

It happened.

And I gotta tell you when to stop.

I gotta protect you.

What is the nature of your operation, Mr. Del Giotto?

I'm a promoter. What do you promote?

All these shows.

Rock concerts.

Celebrity softball games, celebrity golf, celebrity tennis.

We do it all.

Including, of recent times, poetry readings.

Right. You have an event coming up later this week, do you not? Yes, I do. I

have a major event scheduled.

How did you go about advertising this event?

I put a couple ads in the paper, and we have a few radio spots running. You also

use direct mail, do you not?

Yes, we do.

That would suggest that you use a mailing list, is that correct?

Right. How did you come into possession of that mailing list, Mr. Del Giotto?

Well, an individual who works for me compiled it. What was the name of that

individual?

Ira Maitelka.

Isn't it a fact that Ira Maitelka compiled that list while working for the

Southern California Poetry Society?

I wouldn't know how to answer that. Where was Ira working when you

him? You would know the answer to that. Mr. Brackman, could you control your

client, please?

There's a vast untapped market in this country of people who are bound by the

love of birth, and I intend to tap into that market. You're not entitled to tap

into that market. You have no credibility as a poet. You have no

a publisher. Meantime, I'm the one who's out there doing it, and I'm the one

who's getting them in the tent, and I'm the one who's got Mamie Van Doren coming

in to read poetry, so don't talk to me about credibility.

Hello, Tommy.

Thanks for seeing me.

I know my phone call must have seemed out of the blue.

Is everything okay?

Oh, everything's fine.

How's that baby?

She's great.

David Meyer and I got remarried. Yeah, I heard.

David wants to adopt Casey.

In order for that to happen...

We need for you to surrender parental rights.

I assume that you'd have no objection to doing that.

You know I've never even seen her.

Well, she's right outside.

Do you want me to bring her in?

Yeah.

I'd like to ease any potential awkwardness here by saying that Roxanne

filled me in on the details of your relationship, and I just want you to

that the feeling I'm left with is one of overwhelming gratitude.

This is Casey.

Oh, you did good, Rox. She's so pretty.

Can I hold her for a minute?

Can I have a little time to think about this? Do you need to think about it?

Yeah.

What do you consider to be a little time?

I don't know, Roxanne.

We're leaving for Europe in less than two weeks, Tommy.

I can't help that.

Let's go, David.

Tell me what happened.

What happened is that Tommy called me this morning and said that he wasn't

to agree to the adoption.

Can he do that? He's the biological father. He does have his rights where

child is concerned.

You remember Arnie?

He told me he had no faith in his ability to be a parent. Which, in the

eyes, will certainly help your case.

You think this will get to court? I think we should do everything we can to

avoid getting to that point.

Well, what should we do?

I think we should sit down, the four of us, discuss this.

Negotiate with Tommy. Find out what he wants and how we can possibly

him. What if he still says no?

Then we take him to court.

Tell me something.

What's that?

My mom's still meeting here.

The other day, Miss Halliday said something to me, and I opened up my

her. Is that like I had a line here or what?

What'd you say?

Well, she implied that this cross that I was wearing was sacrilegious.

Did she say that? Well, not in so many words, but I know that's what she meant.

And what did you say?

Well, I told her I was a good Catholic girl and that I didn't need religious

instruction from her.

Well, that doesn't sound all that out of line.

I know she's the lawyer and I'm the secretary, but so what?

For what it's worth, I've never found Jane to be particularly judgmental about

stuff like that.

Really? She might have been just making conversation.

I don't know.

You were probably just thinking about all those times the nuns chastised you.

What makes you think the nuns ever chastised me?

Huh?

In 1985, you were hired by Bernard Ruskin to work for the California Poetry

Society. Is that right?

Yeah. What exactly were you hired to do?

General clerical work. We published a number of poetry anthologies. We

poetry readings.

I was basically in charge of the paperwork.

When did you leave your job at the California Poetry Society?

I left in 1991.

And you left to go to work for Bobby Del Giotto. Is that correct?

Yes. It was you who furnished Mr. Del Giotto with the mailing list.

Yes, it was. Did you receive permission, either express or implied, for Mr.

Ruskin to do so? As far as I'm concerned, I didn't need his permission.

I compiled that mailing list. I think that list was mine to do with as I

pleased. I think you'll find the law says otherwise, Ira. That list was my

Those people were my people. Mr. Matelka, is it not correct that while

in the employ of Mr. Ruskin, Mr. Del Giotto approached you and offered you

money if you would go work for him? The money didn't matter to me. Believe me, I

didn't put in the kind of hours I did for Bernard for the stinking $300 a

Why did you? Because he was supposed to publish a book of my poetry.

He was supposed to give me my own reading. I worked for him for six years

the whole time he kept stringing me along and he never did what he said he'd

You weren't ready. I was ready, Bernard.

I gave you over 200 poems to choose from. I felt that you were derivative,

You always say that. How was I derivative?

You aped the beat poet and fell prey to their worth. I did not ape the beat.

Yes, you did. At least let's not use this occasion to corrupt our aesthetic

judgment. All right, I've had it.

What's it going to take to settle this? What are you offering? Bobby, I'm not

sure we have to offer anything.

I don't care, Lanny. I got the expo starting tomorrow night.

I can't keep going around and around with this nonsense.

Give us a figure.

$15 ,000.

What are you paying Mamie Van Doren? That's not your concern. I am not going

turn the sacred into the profane for a few pieces of silver. I have devoted

myself to the veneration of the poet, the true poet.

I am not about to reconcile with a man who would propagate the masturbatory

revelations of sitcom actors.

Your Poet Expo has met the resolve of a man who believes in the verities of W

.H. Auden and Ezra Pound. And I intend to do everything within my power to make

sure that that grotesque event...

Never takes place.

What is your occupation, Mr. Taubelman? Personal management.

Do you know Nat Pincus?

For more than 40 years.

What is your relationship with him?

I was his manager.

You're speaking in the past tense. Are you no longer his manager?

That's right. I am no longer his manager.

What were the circumstances under which you stopped being his manager?

The circumstances were that he fired me.

What was your understanding of the reason for that?

Because I told him the truth.

He wants to buy her clothes, fine.

Jewelry, fine.

A car, also fine. But I drew the line at putting the house in her name, and I

drew the line at letting her make decisions about his life.

Would you give your impression of Mr. Pincus' mental condition over the last

year? Objection. The witness isn't qualified to respond to that question.

Honor, it's not coming in as expert testimony. It's coming in as the lay

of someone who has seen Mr. Pincus at least once a week for 40 years. That

doesn't qualify him to testify to a mental condition. Well, the objection's

overruled. can answer.

Mr. Taubelman? His mental condition is that he's slipping.

He gets confused.

He says things and then he forgets that he said them. We would talk about

finances, we would talk about the girl, we would talk about what we had for

lunch.

Sometimes he could follow the conversation and sometimes he couldn't.

Now I would like to ask for an expert opinion, Mr. Tavelman. I'd like to ask

what the condition of Nat Pincus' finances are. They're the worst they've

in 35 years.

He has less money in the bank and a greater tax liability than he's had

the late 50s. And what would you attribute this to?

I attribute it to her and to the fact that Nat can't say no to her.

Objection. Sustained. I have nothing further.

How did you feel about Nat's performing again, Mr. Tavellman? Hey, if I thought

it was something that Nat wanted to do, it would be one thing.

The only reason he's doing it is because Miss Farrell over there wants him to.

She wants to be a producer, and he's her ticket. Ask the witness's remarks

regarding what Morgan Farrell wants be stricken.

So stricken?

It's a fact, is it not, sir, that...

In the last four years you served, at least nominally, as Nat Pincus's

you got him no bookings of any kind.

He didn't want any bookings. He didn't want to be working. You say that

notwithstanding the fact that soon after Miss Farrell began serving as his

manager, he was working.

Yeah, he was working. He was working for her.

Mr. Tavelman, you said that you drew the line at transferring the house.

You drew the line at Miss Farrell making decisions.

Was it really your job to draw the line?

Exactly, Mr. Payne. Hey, Junior, we go back to 1953 together.

Nobody ever told me what was or what wasn't my job. Is it possible, Mr.

Tavelman, that you're angry because somebody finally did?

Oh, please.

I'm up here for only one reason.

Because I love this guy.

Nat, you're making an idiot of yourself.

And you're doing it over a brawl. You should be so lucky, Jack. You should be

lucky to have one like this. Mr. Pincus, you're wearing my patience.

Excuse me, Judge.

So happened I got this jacket at Cy DeVore.

I have no further questions, Your Honor.

What I think we can accomplish here is talk some things through.

Work out an arrangement we can all live with. We are not unconcerned with your

feelings in all this, Tom.

No. Absolutely not. It is a sensitive proposition, and if we have been

in any way about what you're thinking or feeling, then we apologize.

I think that's a fair statement, don't you, Roxanne?

We'd be very interested in hearing what it is you are thinking.

I have some concerns about my daughter's future, and I think I'm within my

rights to have them. No argument here. I don't consider her to be your daughter.

Roxanne, let's try and be constructive.

And let's address Tom's concerns about Dave Meyer, father.

Will I be loving?

Answer yes.

Will I be steadfast? Answer another yes. Forgive me.

I don't even know you.

What I know is that when Roxanne was married to you the first time, she was

utterly miserable.

Okay, that's fair.

I won't deny that Roxanne and I went through a blue period.

But the point I want to hammer home right now is that things are different.

She is, if I may say so, Roxanne, not miserable now. I love her and her

very much. And there's nothing I want more than to take care of the both of

them. With all due respect, Dave, that's lip service. You want something. You're

saying what you think you have to to get it.

But there is no indication that this marriage is going to work out any better

than the first one did. Who the hell do you think you are? Roxanne, wait a

minute. Who the hell do you think you are to sit there and pass judgments on

him, our marriage, or anything else pertaining to my daughter's life?

Roxanne. You walked away.

You walked away from me. You walked away from the child you helped create.

Suddenly, you've got concerns.

Suddenly, you've got opinions about things.

Oh, I don't want to hear your opinions.

I don't want to hear your concerns. As far as I can see, you have absolutely

nothing to say. Not about me, not about my marriage, not about my kid.

I don't want you in our life.

I don't want you in my life. We don't need you, Tommy.

We don't want you.

Miss Farrell.

Would you describe for the court the type of relationship you have with Mr.

Pincus? Nat and I live together.

Is it reasonable to assume, then, that you're in a position to observe him over

the course of a day?

Yes. In your opinion, is Mr. Pincus frail?

No. Does he have to become confused?

No more so than I am. Would you describe the state of his health generally?

He has some health problems. His pressure will go up. His arthritis will

him. He has to take it easy more now than in the past.

But I'll tell you something.

He's got all of his faculties.

At the time you met him, was Nat Pincus actively performing as a comedian?

No, he wasn't. Have you encouraged him to go back out on stage as a comedian,

Miss Farrell?

Yes, I did.

Did you pressure him to go back on stage?

No, I did not.

Nat was performing his whole life. He got back out on stage because he wanted

to. It's been alleged that you wield a great deal of influence over Nat Pincus.

How do you respond to that?

I don't wield anything.

Nat loves me.

When you love somebody, you want to make them happy.

I think that goes both ways for us.

I have no further questions, Your Honor.

Is it your testimony, Miss Farrell, that Nat Pincus is competent to manage his

own affairs?

Yes, it is. Did Nat pick out the Jaguar? He wanted to buy me a car.

I picked out the Jaguar. How about the Cartier watch?

He wanted to buy me a gift.

We went shopping. I told him what I liked.

After about a month of living together, you didn't have to tell him, did you? I

don't know what that means.

Well, it means that you had Nat set up credit cards for you. You had his

checking accounts.

You were free to spend Nat's money any way you wanted, weren't you? I wanted it

that way. I did it. I wanted it that way. Mr. Pincus, that's enough. Your

I would object to this whole line of questioning.

The issue here is competence, not the relationship between Mr. Pincus and Ms.

Farrell. Your Honor, we would argue that the basis for the relationship between

these two people is Mr.

Pincus's competence, or lack thereof. We would argue that Ms. Farrell has taken

full advantage of that lack of competence. and I believe that we're

demonstrate that. The court would agree. The objection's overruled. Whose idea

was it to put the house in your name, Miss Farrell?

It was Nat's. He said it was better for taxes that way.

Better for taxes?

Do you recall an incident that took place in Nate and Al's restaurant on the

morning of March 19th, 1992? I know what you're referring to. While having

breakfast there, you and Mr. Pincus had an argument, is that right? Yes. And you

walked out of the restaurant leaving Mr. Pincus behind, did you not? Yes, I did.

How did Mr. Pincus get home that day, Miss Farrell?

He came home in a police car.

Isn't what happened that Nat Pincus tried to reach you on the phone?

Couldn't. Wandered lost around Beverly Hills until he was finally picked up by

the police because he was found sitting on someone's lawn and crying at 9 o

'clock that night. He became disoriented.

We'd had a fight.

It wasn't because he's senile or he can't decide things for himself.

Could have happened to anybody what happened to him.

I never should have left him.

Don't upset yourself, honey.

Don't upset yourself.

Mr. Pincus. Don't pay attention to any of this.

What's going on here has nothing to do with you.

We can't stop the expo from going forward, Bernard.

And why is that?

We don't have adequate grounds for an injunction.

That sounds very general to me, Douglas. Tell me specifically, what grounds are

we lacking?

A showing of irreparable harm.

You can't get a temporary restraining order without a showing of immediate and

irreparable harm, particularly when there's a third party involved. In this

case, those people have already bought the tickets.

Well, I'm not sure I accept that thesis.

I've had a lot of people working on this, Bernard. I've researched this

thoroughly.

I must say, I'm disappointed.

We're still proceeding with the lawsuit.

Well, I would assume so.

You know, I have to tell you something, Bernard.

What's that?

I've been reading a little poetry lately.

Is that right? Last night, unable to sleep, I found myself thumbing through a

volume of Kipling.

Though I've belted you and flayed you by the living God that made you, you're a

better man than I am, Gunga Din.

Pretty great, wouldn't you say?

Great? No.

You don't think Gunga Din's a great poem?

No, Douglas, I don't. I think it's mawkish, sentimental, hopelessly

paternalistic, reactionary doggerel. You certainly have the right to enjoy it,

but rest assured, it doesn't even faintly resemble a great poem.

Nothing by Kipling? No, Douglas, nothing by Kipling.

Mr. Pincus, a great deal is made of the fact that you resumed performing.

I'd like to tell the court why you did so.

What should I do?

I'm a comedian.

Comedians perform.

But you had stopped performing.

What was it that made you start again?

She did.

She became my manager. She became my agent. All of a sudden, I had work.

Before she came into the picture, most people thought I was dead.

Two old Jews run into one another in the street. One looks at the other and

says, Was it you or your brother who died?

Mr. Pinkett, I appreciate the humor.

Nonetheless, if you could, I'd like you to confine your remarks to answering the

question. It was apropos, Judge. That's all.

Mr. Pinkett, do you read the paper?

Every day. Do you vote?

Every election. Twice.

Are you taking any medication on a regular basis?

My pressure.

That's it. Are you prone to become disoriented or confused?

It happened that one time after leaving Nightingale's. That's it.

I had the flu. I wasn't feeling well. I stepped out onto Beverly Drive. I didn't

know where I was.

Mr. Pinkett, I would like you to tell the court whether you feel as though you

can still manage your own affairs.

Yes, I can.

My son may not approve of what I do with my money. He may not approve of who I

choose to be friends with. He may not approve of me being back on the stage.

Last time I looked, I didn't need his approval.

I have no further questions.

Thank you.

Is it your testimony, Mr. Pincus, that you are in all respects capable of

performing again?

My dear, when they stop laughing, I'll know it's time to call it quits. How

about when you have to be escorted off the stage?

You're talking about the Friars Club.

That's not what happened. Is it your testimony that you were not escorted off

the stage?

It was a bit. I worked it into the routine.

Was rambling incoherently for ten minutes on the stage prior to that?

Also a bit.

Everybody's a critic. Mr. Pincus, that Friars Club appearance was part of a

larger effort, was it not?

I don't know what means larger effort.

Was not Miss Farrell trying to produce a special on old comedians for HBO?

Showtime or whoever she could sell it to.

She's still gone to. Isn't what happened, Mr. Pincus, that Ms.

Farrell's brow beat you into performing?

Absolutely not. Did you or did you not tell your son that Ms. Farrell had

threatened to leave you if you did not perform?

Absolutely not. Did you tell your son that she had promised to reward you with

oral sex if you did?

Objection, Your Honor. I never would have repeated something like that.

I have no further questions.

Excuse me. You'll look through?

No. I'm going to be a while.

Ann?

Yeah? I'm going to do something that I thought I would mention to you on the

chance that it might appeal to you as something to do.

What? Just because of what you said in the staff meeting, vis -a -vis your

appreciation of poetry.

That's why I thought I'd mention it.

Mention what, Douglas? You haven't mentioned anything.

There's something called a poetry expo.

Given our client's pending action against the promoter, I have to go. I

you might actually want to go.

That's the reason I mention it.

I would love to go.

I think

we could probably move on.

I can't help but feel as though this does represent a corruption of some

I don't know about this. People enjoy this.

Who's to say what serious poetry must matter?

This is by Ellen Ginsberg, and the name of it is Howl. I can't believe that

Mamie Van Doren is actually sitting there. I was in love with her.

You knew she was going to be here, right? But I didn't think she'd actually

show. I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness.

Starving, hysterical, naked.

dragging themselves through the Negro streets at dawn, looking for an angry

When was it you were in love with her? I was a teenager.

Outside of a few relatives and some schoolteachers, she may have been the

woman I ever had dreams about.

I'm with you in Rockland in my dreams.

You walk dripping from a sea journey on the highway across America in tears to

the door.

of my cottage in the Western night.

We had the avant -garde poetry of Ira Myself.

Excuse me, Miss Van Doren. I just want to say I've never forgotten you from

School Confidential.

Aren't you sweet. And I've never forgotten you from Three Nuts in Search

Bolt. Well, thanks.

And, you know, I'd just like to invite you to our office Christmas party.

I'll try and make it.

It'll be fun.

I'm taking handfuls of St.

Joseph aspirin for children, and I'm loving what it does to me.

The ratcheting, ratcheting, ratcheting is still.

It's finally still.

Look at yourself, Byron.

Look what you've surrounded yourself with, Bernard.

I thought you wanted to be taken seriously. I thought that was the whole

What I want is to be heard. What I want is for my poems to be read and listened

to by people from all different walks of life. Not just by self -appointed

arbiters of what's worthy and serious and what's not.

I have no trouble whatsoever looking at myself, Bernard.

I'm up on a stage. I'm reading my poetry. And Mr. Del Giotto said he would

me published.

That right there makes me a lot better off than I ever was with you.

Gregory Corso says, poets walk with kings.

And that's what I want.

I want to walk with kings.

Tommy, why don't you begin?

Actually, I'd like to say something to Roxanne.

Alone, it's okay.

Okay.

All right, we'll be in my office.

I'm listening.

I made a lot of mistakes this past year.

I know that.

But when I looked into our baby's face, it seemed like a miracle

that something so good came out of all those mistakes.

I'm asking that you not shut me out of her life.

What exactly do you want?

bedtime stories.

Help her with her homework. I want to start a college fund. I want to pay for

her wedding.

It's too late for me to make it up to you, but I got a chance to make it up to

her. I want her to know me, Roxanne.

I want her to love me not because I'm her biological father, but because I've

been there for her.

Because she'll know there isn't anything in the world I care about more than her

happiness.

I...

I may not have the right to ask it of you, Rox.

But I'm asking anyway.

Let me be your father.

All right.

What was so important that it couldn't wait?

We have a proposal to make. What kind of proposal?

We drop our lawsuit in return for you applying your promotional efforts to Mr.

Ruskin's work. What does that mean? Mr. Ruskin would like to enter into a joint

venture whereby his poetry anthologies and journals are marketed by you. He's

interested in you distributing a catalog of spoken word records.

And he would like a booth at the Poetry Expo.

Well, well.

No doubt you'll view this as an occasion for gloating. I have to say that some

amount of gloating would be appropriate, wouldn't you? I assume you're curious

as to the cause of this change of heart. Hey, Bernard, I know what causes it.

You came to the hotel last night.

You saw the scene.

You saw what I can do.

And you said to yourself, how can I be a part of this?

What I said to myself was that there were some projects where perhaps the two

us could combine our talents.

Like what? Like I was thinking of a Robert Lowell festival.

Also, 1994 is the sesquicentennial, the 158th anniversary of Gerard Manley

Hopkins' birth. I thought perhaps we could do something surrounding that.

what? Like, what do you mean, like what? Like what you do.

Like, make a big event out of it.

Have cameras there.

And celebrities.

Like what?

I'm tired of the obscurity. All right?

I'm tired of the same few souls who meet in musty second floor meeting rooms,

all of them poets, all of them academic smartasses who don't make money and who

don't meet women. They're all just like me, and I'm sick of them.

I want some action.

After considering all of the testimony and all of the evidence, one thing that

can safely say is that this is Not a case that can be resolved easily or

painlessly.

Possibly it's a case that can't be resolved at all.

That notwithstanding, for our purposes, resolve it we must.

I'm not prepared to rule on Ms. Farrell's motive, nor is it appropriate,

think, that I do so, because only she knows what's in her heart.

I will admit to having a great concern for the welfare of Nat Pincus.

Nonetheless, the evidence is far from conclusive that his decisions are not

reasonable ones, nor is it conclusive that he's being taken advantage of, if

that is in fact what someone close to him is trying to do.

That said, I find the evidence insufficient to declare Mr. Pincus

manage his own affairs.

However, should his condition worsen, I will entertain a new motion.

In the meantime, the motion is denied.

Dad, I'm sorry for putting you through all of this.

Tell her.

It's okay.

Well, Merry Christmas, Jonathan.

Move along, Douglas. I loved your reading yesterday.

Really? What was it that you loved?

Me reading Allen Ginsberg or me wearing what I was wearing?

It was both.

Don't lie to me now, Douglas.

Maybe. It so happens I love poetry.

Do you?

Ship me somewhere east of Suez where the best is like the worst, where there

aren't no Ten Commandments and a man can raise a thirst.

Oh, the road to Mandalay, where the flying fishes play, and the dawn comes

like thunder.

Outer China, across the bay.

You like Kipling.

I love Kipling.

For they're done with Danny Deaver.

You can hear the quick -step play, the regiments in column, and they're

us away.

Oh, the recruits are shaken, and they'll want their beer today after hanging

Danny Deaver in the morning.

No one loves Kip more than I do.

Aren't you coming to the party?

I'm going to finish this up first. I'll be right out.

You know that poetry thing I went to yesterday?

Mm -hmm.

You'll never believe what I dug up when I came home.

What? I dug up a notebook of poetry that I wrote when I was a sophomore at Mount

Holyoke. You're kidding.

That I would actually have sat down and written some of these is truly hard to

imagine. I bet it is.

Listen to this. I want to give you an idea of my state of mind at the time.

Oh, rain.

Oh, driving, relentless, unconflicted rain.

Everything I look at is gray.

And still.

All except for a ripe green pear.

Hi, little cat.

What sets me apart from you? It must be that I'm sad.

What do you mean?

I mean, you're right.

It's pretty bad.

Hi, little cat. I don't remember saying that I thought it was bad, Stuart.

You did.

I thought...

When you came in, the whole point of it was that it was bad.

I thought that was the whole point. Forget it.

I should realize that there are some things I can't trust you with.

Obviously, my innermost thoughts are at the top of the list.

I have to tell you, Daniel, I think that young woman architect did a superb job.

You should tell her, Leland. I will if she hears. She couldn't make it. Leland

Daniel. How'd it go?

In all respects, successful. Congratulations.

Thank you. I'd like to meet Nat Pincus, Morgan Farrell, Lela McKenzie, and Danny

Morales. How do you do? Hi.

Stewie, I want you to meet Nat Pincus. This is my cousin and colleague, Stuart

Markowitz. Pincus.

Pleasure. So, there are two Jews who work here.

You know, I saw you many years ago at the Eden Rock Hotel in Miami Beach.

Really? Yeah. What was I doing there?

You were performing.

I thought I was Lloyd.

No, you were very funny, actually.

Thank you.

Can I get this one? Uh, just, uh...

A cold drink, dear.

I'll make you a pint.

Do you know much about the direct mail game?

Did I hear you say direct mail? Yes, sir, you did.

Bobby Delgiano, I built an entire business on direct mail.

Dave Meyer, you know much about vertical markets? No, but I'd like to have you

tell me. Freshen up his punch, would you, son?

So you're asking me what I'm doing for New Year's Eve?

Yeah, I'm asking.

Isn't it a little late to be, you know, looking for a date?

No, I'm thinking of having a party. I'm going to have some friends over, have a

little champagne, dance on the patio.

Oh. So you're interested?

Yeah, maybe.

Good. Jonathan, there's a client or somebody looking for you. Oh, I'll call

about the details. Right.

You haven't seen Ann through here, have you? Yeah, I think she went that way.

Yeah? Yeah.

Hi.

Hello, Denise.

Hi. I wanted to do something for you.

All right.

Religious faith is a very personal thing. I know that.

And if I made you uncomfortable or somehow suggested that I was a better

than you, I want to apologize for that.

The last thing I wanted to do was to judge you.

Yeah, maybe I did make too big of a deal of it, and I guess I jumped to the

wrong conclusion, huh?

I, um, got you a Christmas present.

Really? You didn't have to do that.

And I hope you will take it in spirit and we just give in.

Should I open it now? I mean, we're not going to be spending Christmas morning

together, so... Sure. Yeah? All right.

I love getting presents.

Bible.

I didn't know whether or not you had one, and I wanted to give you one. It's

beautiful. Thank you.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you.

What do you think of the renovation?

Oh, I love it. I think it's great. My office is next.

Okay.

Okay.

Let's talk in here.

You want to be a father?

Yeah.

Okay.

Really?

You left me, Tommy, and I was hurt.

I was angry.

I thought that if...

David adopted Casey, it would somehow change the way she came into the world.

I can't do that. I can't change the fact that I came to you and asked you to

father my child.

I don't know what to say.

But I can promise you I will never walk away from her again.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Roxanne.

Merry Christmas.

Guy goes into a bar, orders a scotch.

He says, don't tell me what kind.

Bartender pauses, takes a sip. He said, do us. He says, give me another bread.

Bartender pauses.

He says... Cut his throat.

Dear, are we doing it too?

Sorry.

Bartender's getting sick of this. Goes outside, comes back with a plain bottle.

Pause. Guy takes the drink. He says, God, this is urine. He says, yeah, but

whose?

Good, that's good.

Okay. Guy's bragging about his hearing aid. Says, this is the greatest hearing

aid you can buy. I spent $1 ,500 on this hearing aid. Friend says to him,

he says to him,

What kind is it? He says, half past four.

See, only Henny could do that joke.

It's Henny's joke, honey.

Guy goes home to his wife and he finds in his bed his partner.

The guy goes into the kitchen and he says... Goes into the kitchen and the

wife says, she

says, Can I finish it, honey?

Come on, let me finish it, okay?

So the wife says, What are you doing standing here drinking coffee?

And she says, What about your partner? And he says, Let him get his own coffee.

You ready to go, Nat?

Bye,

everybody. Bye.

Happy holidays.