All language subtitles for Sunshine State (2002)

In the beginning,
there was nothing.

Wilderness.

Worse than wilderness.

Endless raw acreage,
a land infested
with crocodiles--

Alligators.
Alligators,
crocodiles.

If you're talking about
retirement bungalows,

that's not
a selling point.

- Mosquitoes that would
strip you to the bone.
- It's swampland.

Swamplands
they were asking
ten cents an acre for.

This was worse.
The old name means, in Seminole,
"You shouldn't go there."

But we bought it.

We bought it
'cause we knew.
You weren't selling land.

I mean, what's land?
A patch of dirt? A tree?

Who cares?
Farmers care.

Farmers.

Farmers are for TV ads.

People with tractors,
amber waves of grain.

They shoot it all
in Canada.

I'm talking about
certified public accountants
from Toledo...

with a fixed pension
and a little nest egg...

who don't want to spend
their golden years
trekking through slush.

Dreams are what you sell.
A concept.

You sell sunshine.
You sell orange groves.

You sell gentle breezes
wafting through
the palm trees.

There were
palm trees?
In the brochures
there were palm trees.

- Stately ones.
- And when they came down
and saw it?

As long as the dredge stayed
three lots ahead of the buyers,
we were in like Flynn.

This was
the end of the earth.

This was a land populated
by white people
who ate catfish.

And almost overnight,

out of the muck
and the mangroves,

we created this.

- Golf courses.
- Nature on a leash.

Ahoy there.
It's that time of year again.

Delrona Beach
Chamber of Commerce...

invites you
to join us for the annual
Buccaneer Days festivities.

Attend our
inaugural gala tonight
at the Plantation Island Marina.

Live music and plenty of booty
for the little ones.

Maps for the Buccaneer Days
Treasure Hunt...

can be obtained
at the Delrona Beach Mall,

Captain Andy's Seafood Shack,
Island Drugs--

You sure this place
is okay?
What do you mean?

Black people go in here?
If they're desperate
to pee they do.

- Stay here if you want.
- But your mother's is--

- I need to go before
we get there, Reggie.
- Hey. Relax.

Krissy, you want
to take the register?
I got to get back to the motel.

Your husband called.
Ex.

He says
he needs to see you.
Next time he calls,

tell him to take
a long walk
off a short pier.

- You folks want smoking
or nonsmoking?
- Could I use your bathroom?

- Yeah, it's straight back
to the right.
- Thank you.

Excuse me.

Hi there.
You been helped yet?

No. My wife's
just using
the facilities.

Need a room?
Pardon?

You been gawkin'
at the motel.

We have a few vacancies,
but it's gonna fill up
with this Buccaneer business.

No, I was just looking
the property over here.

Oh, the property.
Yeah, the whole
strip here, actually.

If you're from the county,
we had our sign moved back.

No, uh-- No, no, I was
just trying to imagine...

what the place would look like
without, uh, any buildings.

Kind of mentally
undressing it. Hmm.
Well, you could say that.

You work for
that plantation outfit?

Actually, yes.
I'm supervising
the expansion over--

They don't have enough
of this coast already?

This is just
a feasibility study,
a "what-if" kind of a thing.

What if I told you
my Daddy wouldn't sell
to Plantation Estates...

if they had his nuts
in a trash compactor?

I'd be happy
to pass that on to Acquisitions.
I'm Jack Meadows.

You're a developer.
Just a landscape architect.

I help them decide
what they want,
push some dirt around.

Mm-hmm.

They wanted my opinion on
the whole shoreline here,
actually.

So, how's it look?

- What?
- Without anything on it.

Looks terrific.

Then spread out
and take the rest of it.

The other side has this end
of the island locked up,

and they're infiltrating
into Lincoln Beach here.

We're not opposing?

Zoned residential,
hostile native population.

It's a minefield.
Whereas right here is the
soft underbelly of the island.

Point of weakest defense.

You make the frontal assault,
and I go behind the lines.

Somebody on
the inside?

Working on it.

Shit.
Shock and outrage...

this morning,
as Delrona Beach residents...

woke to discover
a senseless act of vandalism.

The Freebooter,
long the centerpiece
in Delrona Beach's...

annual Buccaneer Days Parade,
was burnt beyond repair
last night--

This is a disaster.

It's always
the lead float
in the parade.

Same kid set another fire
a couple years back--

an abandoned crab shack
on Lincoln Beach.

This is so
not in the spirit
of the celebration.

Where you want me
to haul it?

...replica of
a 19th-century pirate vessel.

Hello!

Hello?

- Dr. Lloyd.
- Good morning, Mrs. Pierce.

- Sorry to bother you.
- Oh, you're always welcome.

I'm trying to round up
some folks for this county
commission meeting tonight.

I know it's
very short notice, but--

I'd like to help,
but I've been feeling poorly.

Oh, my.
Would you look at that?

It's that boy
poor Miss Stokes took in.

He's in trouble again?
First,

her girl went wild and run off
to God knows where...

and now this.

- Some people.
- What I'm worried about
is them...

sneaking through
this public domain business
without us making a showing.

Now, if we could field
just even a dozen residents,
we could--

I thought all that was settled
when they took the cemetery.

I'm afraid
it won't stop there.

Now who's this comin' to call?

Seems kind of deserted.

Yeah, well, you know,
more people come
on the weekends.

Do I look okay?
Relax.

This is gonna be fine.

You don't know her.

Hi.

Is, uh,
Mrs. Stokes here?

I have no idea.

Mm.

Well, well. Desiree.

Never thought I'd live
to see you back here.

Hello, Mama.

My Lord.

You did get
a handsome one,
didn't you?

Good luck movin' this shit.

It's like three inches of soil.
Then it's solid limestone.

More work, more pay.
Hey. What do you
think you're doin'?

They wanted
this one saved.

Oh, is that right?

What do you think, Chief?
That thing gonna make it?

Mr. Meadows say it's a part
of his design concept.

Chief's concept of design is
he gets up on his machine,

and everything that ain't flat
gets that way, fast.

Plantation already sold this lot
with a tree on it,

and when they pack
your cracker asses
back to Georgia,

there better goddamn
still be one.

Used to be this was
all Exley family.
Sea-isle cotton.

Hasn't nothing been planted here
in a hundred years.

We want
to satisfy our homeowners'
desire for privacy...

with the convenience, uh,

and the socializing opportunity
provided by the village concept.

It doesn't look
like much now,

but when Jack here
gets finished--

- What goes here?
- That's our main
drainage basin.

It's a lake.
A lake?

It will go down
fourteen feet
at its deepest,

and what we dig out
will form a hill
over here.

- With one of our deluxe
homes on top of it.
- "Deluxe"?

With all
the maximum amenities.

You have a river view,
the lake.
Elevation.

Damn! These bugs
gonna be here too?

Anesthesiologist.

It's a specialty.

If there's
a surgical procedure,

I'm the one who renders
the patient unconscious.

You knock people out
with gas.

That's pretty much it.

I'd be afraid
not to wake up.

A lot of people
feel that way.

- Reggie's the head
of his department.
- Is that right?

And at such
a prestigious hospital.

I'll have to tell that
to Dr. Lloyd.

Dr. Lloyd still comin' down?

He lives here now.

- His Etta Mae passed
some years ago.
- Oh.

You wouldn't have
heard that, would you?

- She doesn't write,
she doesn't call.
- Mama.

Girl caught
the first thing smoking
and never looked back.

I took the bus, Mama,
not the train.

It's an expression.

Terrell, go run this gravy
through the microwave again.
It's gone cold.

And who is that?

Your cousin,
Sidney Wilkins's son.

Sidney that married
Athena Hines?

Well, why isn't he
with them?

She doesn't write,
she doesn't call.

I'm surprised she even let on
she'd got married.

Her own mother
doesn't get invited
to the wedding.

It was a civil service, Mama.
It wasn't in church.

- But it's legal.
- It's legal,
it's official, all that.

Don't worry.
Something
they do up there.

- What is it?
- Um, Boston.

Somehow I've never been north
of Washington, D.C.

You'll just have to
come visit us.

When Terrell's out of school,
maybe we'll do that.

How 'bout that, Terrell?

You like
to see Boston?

The proposed boundary
for Delrona Beach...

will incorporate this area
in yellow, with the inclusion
of Lincoln Beach...

all the way up
to the Exley Plantation tract.

Excuse me.
Now, if you want to make
a motion, Dr. Lloyd,

you're gonna need to wait
until Commissioner Pinkney
has finished.

I want to register
a protest.

In regard to what?

The notice for this meeting
was not properly advertised.

We met all
the legal requirements.

You purposely
chose a time...

when the majority of our people
would be unable to attend.

Now, by "our people" you mean
the residents of Lincoln Beach?

As you know very well,
many of us only come
up here on the weekend.

And many
are only summer people.

I don't believe that
denies us a right...

to object
to this expropriation.

- Incorporation.
- You've already conspired...

to take away a third
of our original tract.

You know that that
was a private transaction...

between Exley Plantation
Estates Planned Community...

and those individual
property owners.

Now, this commission
didn't know anything about it...

until the Plantation
submitted its development plan.

If you folks had not already
approved it under the table,
they wouldn't have gone ahead.

As spokesman for
the Exley Corporation,

- I object to the implication--
- Your people are set
to dig up land...

with important
historical significance
to our community,

We made several offers
to mitigate.

a history that this commission
has consistently ignored!

You let them
take away our cemetery.

Dr. Lloyd,
we're talking about
very old business.

If you have a problem
with the current agenda--

We don't want to be a part
of the town of Delrona Beach,

and they've made it very clear
over the years that they don't
want anything to do with us.

Now, if beachfront prices
hadn't skyrocketed,

they wouldn't be interested
in this merger.

The concept
of eminent domain--

Is a weapon you people use
to undermine our well-being!

Gentlemen, now, if we're going
to have a debate over this,

I'm going to have to ask you
to follow procedure.

* Makin' believe

* That you
still love me *

* It's leavin' me

* Alone and so blue *

I'm thinking
of going out there again.

Out where?

Tour.

Golfing?

It's kind of
a syndicate.

Couple of dentists,
fellow that owns
a Buick dealership.

They want to sponsor me
for a percentage of my winnings.

How much can you make?
First you have
to qualify.

Then it just, well,
depends on where you stand
at the end of each tournament.

You did this before?

Yeah. Yeah, I tried
a couple years back.

I was fine
till I got on the green.

You know,

little case of the yips.

Oh, um, it's
an adrenaline thing.

You're in the middle
of the backswing
of your putt, and...

you like tighten up and--

Yip.

Something like that.

And you had them bad?

Killer drive,
beautiful approach shot,

and I just couldn't get
the damn thing in the hole.

That would seriously cut into
your winnings, wouldn't it?

And it's better now?

I won't know until
I get out there.

I could always sink 'em
in practice.

So you'll be traveling a lot.

That's the life.

Are there, like... groupies?

I suppose, if you win.

I never could understand
wanting to watch it.

You know? It's like
those fishing shows on TV.

- Yeah.
- Does that
make you feel bad?

Hey, I don't watch people
wait on tables
or run the check-in desk.

Right. You don't.

Yip.

Is it what you remember?

It's my room, yeah, but...

that boy's
been livin' in here.

Yeah, we got some serious
testosterone workin' here.

Now, he's what exactly?

His daddy is my cousin.
Grew up kind of wild.

And he's living here 'cause?

She wants me to drive them
downtown for some kind
of hearing tomorrow.

He's in trouble?

She's not gonna give up
any information.
Punish me a bit.

- For being gone so long.
- For everything.

She's the one who
asked you to come down,
made the first move.

It's too weird.

You can hear the ocean.

Yeah.

I always loved that.

All hands
on deck.
Hey, Arky.

They changed
all the facades.

Nobody but tourists
shop here now.

Where do
the regular folks go?

There's a shuttle bus comes by,
leaves you at the mall.

It's just in here.

This won't take
but an hour or so.

You hope.

Terrell just needs
to talk with somebody.

We'll call you back home
when it's over.

Prettiest beach
on the Atlantic Coast.

Yeah.
It is pretty.

If you want
to help save it...

we're having
a protest rally on Monday
over at the ground-breaking.

I'm just visiting.

Believe me,
they won't know the difference.

So, this is like
an ecological thing?

We're trying to save
an endangered species.

Us.

Yeah, I heard about this place
when I was a kid, but I never--
Forties,

fifties,

Lincoln Beach was it.

Only oceanfront
in three counties
we were allowed to step onto.

Black folks-- I'm talking about
the pillars of the community--

got together
and bought this land,
built the houses.

You'd drive through
a couple hundred miles
of redneck sheriffs,

park your ride
on the boardwalk,

step out
and just breathe.

Over there was Henry's Lounge.
That place used to jump.

- So what happened?
- Civil rights happened.

Progress. Used to be
you were black,
you'd buy black.

Jim Crow days,
you needed your shoes shined...

or you wanted
to ride in a taxi
to the train station,

wanted some ribs,

a fish sandwich,

chances are a black man
owned the place you got it in.

Now the, uh, drive-thrus
serve anybody.

But who owns them?
Not us.

All our people do
is wear them paper hats
and divy out them fries.

Only thing we got left
are funeral parlors...

and... barbershops.

Yeah, but now
we can do anything.

Them that can
get over do fine.

Them that can't
are in a world of trouble.

Tell the judge
what you told me.

I said I'm sorry
for what I did.

I wasn't thinking right.

You know that sorry isn't
gonna cut it in this case,
don't you, Terrell?

Yes, ma'am.
Now, you're still
on probation...

for a previous offense, and yet
you went out and deliberately
committed this act of vandalism.

Yes, ma'am.

Do you have any explanation
for your actions?

No, ma'am.

You know, when somebody
destroys something...

that stands as a symbol
for a group of people,

- that's called desecration.
- It's a wooden pirate,
Your Honor.

An icon in this community
nonetheless.

Now, you're almost old enough,

given your record
and the nature of this crime,
to be tried as an adult.

Your Honor--
You have two strikes
against you.

A third and
there will be--
Your Honor, Mrs. Stokes...

has assured us that
she'll be able to maintain
control of the situation,

and we'd be satisfied,
barring further incidents,

with an order for
some sort of counseling...

or possibly some restitution
or community service.

Well, that's
very generous of you.

So, young man,
what's it gonna be?

Loretta?

Well.

Look at you.

Mama said you was
still in Delrona.

Haven't moved an inch.

I saw you
on a TV commercial.

I told my kids that, uh,

I went to school with you,
but they didn't believe me.

- You got kids?
- Three of 'em.

They're gettin' big.

This the first
you been back since--

Yeah, I came back
for the service
when my father passed,

but, uh, I only
stayed for a day.

That was a good while ago,
your father.

Kind of slow
for you down here.

Look, I, uh--

I kind of wanted
to apologize.

- For what?
- For Carter.

That's another lifetime
you talking about.

Twenty-five years.

We were best friends.
I shouldn't have gone after him.

Yeah, but you did.

You always did
pretty much what you wanted to.

I didn't do it
to hurt you.

Ancient history.

So, uh, Carter
still in town?

He inside sleepin'.

Works nights
at the box factory.

- You got married?
- After a while, yeah.

- You know, when you left town--
- When I was sent away.

Everybody thought it was Carter
got you pregnant.

It wasn't.

That's what he say, nowadays.

I guess I wasn't too worried
about the rumors, huh?

Made your big exit
and never looked back.

- Some drama, huh?

Girl, we ate that shit up.

'Course, I had to listen
to everybody run you down,

being the tragic
ex-girlfriend and all.

And Carter?

Carter ran around
actin' the daddy.

- Really?
- Better you knock
your girl up...

than have people think
somebody else did it
behind your back.

But it all turned out fine,
didn't it?

I suppose
I could've done worse.

So you the one
that finally snagged
Desiree Stokes.

I'm the one.

That girl drew men
like flies.
I can imagine.

Reginald Perry.

We're stayin'
at her mother's
for a few days.

Wonderful woman,
Eunice.

A true Christian.

Now, her, uh,
nephew, is it?

Her nephew's son.

Young Terrell.

It's a pestilence.

Something happened
with his--

Eunice didn't tell you?

- She and Desiree haven't been--
- If you need to ask,
you don't deserve to know.

Seems to be
the attitude.

Terrell's father was going
through a rough stretch.

He'd separated
from his wife.

Came over one day,
high on who knows what.

They had
a screaming argument.

He had a weapon.

Shot that woman dead.

Then turned the gun
on himself.

Horrible thing to witness.

Terrell must have been six,
maybe seven.

- He saw it?
- He sat with the bodies
for two days...

before somebody
came over and found him.

It's a pestilence.

Afternoon, gentlemen.

Y'all know where
Buster's Place is?

Buster's Place
is long gone, brother.

Nothing there now.
You sure?

I know you.

I don't think so.

Sure I do.

You used to be
the Florida Flash.

My day, life was simpler.

You knew where you stood.

A man was left to make
his own way in the world.

You didn't have
none of these pressure groups,
these advocate groups,

these... special interest groups
handicappin' the race.

It went to the smartest
and the strongest
and the swiftest.

Then, if a man could carve out
a little something for himself,

he knowed he'd earned it.

No whooping crane...

or spotted owl.

Or Florida gator.

The colored man,

the white man, the Spanish,

they all started out
from scratch.

If you couldn't
survive the course,
it was just tough titty.

Nowadays, what they got,

it ain't natural.

They got us so zoned and...

regulated and...

politically corrected and
environmentally sensitized...

to the point where it's only
your multi-internationals...

with a dozen lawyers
sitting around like buzzards...

waiting for something
to litigate,

that can afford to put one brick
on top of another!

Little guy,
no matter how much grit...

or imagination he brings to it,
ain't got a chance.

They got him tied down
so he can't hardly breathe.

You smoke a damn cigarette,

they make you feel
like a baby strangler.

Where's it all gonna end?

I don't want to know.

But if they expect
my cooperation,

they're just shit out of luck!

Only reason I hang on to
this old bag of bones...

is to spite
the sons of bitches.

They made me put into that
Social Security mess
for some 50 years,

and I'm ain't
givin' up the ghost till I spend
every damn penny of it.

Which one are you?

Bet you think
I'm full of crap,
don't you?

It's time for your insulin,
Mr. Temple.

There's an opening here
that could close up
pretty quick.

My father's the owner.

I understand
he's currently indisposed.

He's legally blind,
if that's what you mean.

You know, the black folks
down in Lincoln Beach...

have contacted
the Historical Register people.

- That's their business.
- You draw that kind
of attention,

the environmentalists
come right in on their heels.

Yeah, they're pesky
little buggers.

Once they target an area,
you won't be able to sell your
property for what it's worth.

- What's it worth?
- Not a great deal
at the moment.

And since the Exley Plantation
and all these resort condos
have come in,

your taxes have jumped
thirty percent.

You small business folks,
you're being squeezed.

Tell me about it.

We realize this is
a big decision for you,

one of the oldest businesses
left on the beach,

family goes back
generations in the area.

You're not from the Plantation?
There were some men
here yesterday.

Did they make you
an offer?

Just sniffing around,
I guess.

Those people
are relentless.
Oh, and you're not?

Well, the Exley Plantation
is only for the elite.

Whereas what we have in mind
is a much more... democratic
kind of development.

Something for everybody.
Convenience stores,
burger chains, T-shirts--

Retail outlets.
Yes, that would be part of it.

- 123 empty?
- Should be. Your husband called
and needs to talk to you.

I don't need
to talk to him.

You want to develop
anything on this island,

you can forget about it
without the county commission
in your pocket.

I'm sure we can
work something out.

This is a mike check.
One, two, three.

Good afternoon
and welcome to...

Delrona Beach's
annual Buccaneer Days.

Testing.
This is a microphone test.
One, two, three.

Good afternoon
and welcome...

to Delrona Beach's
annual Buccaneer Days.

Earl! Earl?

Hey, Steve. Uh--
I'll be right with you.

- I got those signatures.
- Yeah, just give me a minute.

In the afternoon,
when school was out...

and the last one
had left with his dirty
little snuffling nose,

instead of going home,
I would go down the hill...

to the spring
where I could be quiet
and hate them.

It would be quiet there then,

with the water
bubbling up and away...

and the sun slanting quiet
in the trees,

and the quiet smelling
of damp and rotting leaves
and new earth,

especially in the early spring,
for it was worst then.

I could just remember
my father used to say...

that the reason for living
was to get ready to stay dead...

a good long time.

And when I would have to
look at them,

day after day,

each with his and her secret
and selfish thought...

and blood strange to each other
and strange to mine,

and to think that this
was the only way...

I could stay dead,

I would hate my father
for planting me.

And then I go on
from there.

Now, the important thing is...

to freeze yourself...

in an interesting
but comfortable position.

Jaime, you were
about to fall over.

We'll resume
with the first act tomorrow.

Kim Li, you should be
off book by then.

I thank you all very much
for your work today.

I held that pose
for so long.

It is you,
isn't it?

Hello,
Miss Delia.

Desiree!

It is so wonderful
to see you.

My mother told me you
were still running this.

Well, they'll have to
drag me off the stage.

Several members
of the local press
have suggested that very thing.

These are my special group.

Young people with difficulties.
The school sends them over.

- What's the play?
- As I Lay Dying.

Rather loosely adapted,
but I don't believe
Mr. Faulkner would object.

Scene of
your many triumphs.

Oh, I let you down.

Whatever do you mean?

When I left.
I was the lead.

Oh, well,
we did have to make
a few adjustments.

But the show
must go on.

You played it?

Having a Queen of Egypt...

so considerably older
than her Antony
was very provocative.

I got to do it once
when I got to New York.
In the Park?

I played the handmaiden
who gives her the asp,
Charmian.

I'm sure you were wonderful.

And now?

I trust you're still sharing
your talent with the public?

I--

I do industrials,
representing things.

Um, I do
a lot of auto shows.

A temporary engagement
in the world of commerce.

You're still so young.

I had my chance, Miss Delia.
It just didn't happen.

I must say,
my youthful aspirations...

had nothing to do with becoming
the Sarah Bernhardt
of Delrona Beach.

We adjust.

Yeah.

You would have been stunning
as Cleopatra.

I was starting
to show.

I played Juliet
when I was five months pregnant
with my twins.

Why, hello there.
Come on in.

I, uh--
You remember
my mother?

- Mrs. Temple.
- So nice to see you.

Yes.

And this is my--
This is Terrell.

Terrell is, um--
Well, it's sort of a favor.

Whatever I can do.

The social worker
down at the courthouse...

recommended you
as a--

because you have
this special program.

- For community service.
- I can always use
another volunteer.

Terrell, do you have
any acting experience?

No, ma'am.

But, uh, he knows
how to use tools.

Anything,
anything you can think of,
Terrell can put it together.

Well, then, you can do me
a great service, Terrell.

My character,
Addie Bundren,
is deceased.

In the second act,
I arise from the dead
to deliver my soliloquy,

but the local funeral parlor
has nothing suitably rustic.

Do you think you could
build me a coffin?

We hereby claim sovereignty...

over this island
of Playa de Sueños...

in the name of His Majesty,
Felipe el Segundo of Spain.

Furthermore, this tribunal
declares the mulatto Calavera,

otherwise known
as Captain Skull,

guilty of piracy
on the high seas,

a crime against God
and Nature,

and sentence him
to be cast into the sea,

therefore to perish
by drowning.

Does the condemned
wish to make
a final statement?

A curse on the lot o' ya.

Up the Jolly Roger!

Thus was the black flag
of the buccaneer...

replaced by that
of Imperial Spain,

one of many reversals
of fortune...

that mark the colorful history
of our community.

We'd like to thank
Presto Pools for the loan
of their equipment...

and want to remind you
that the annual
Buccaneer Days Treasure Hunt...

will begin tomorrow
at the Delrona Mall.

Entrants should meet
at the Piercing Pagoda at 10:00.

Oh. Guess who I met
while you were gone.

You're not going around telling
everybody I'm back, are you?

I didn't recognize him
without the helmet
and pads on,

but you remember
a football player
named Flash Phillips?

It's like
every step we take
is on someone else's toes.

This town expects me
to work miracles with
a handful of volunteers.

Now I got this bunch
from Lincoln Beach
say they're gonna...

picket our ground-breaking
at the expansion next week.

They burn the ship,
they complain about parking--

The whole point of
the Plantation is to be away
from that sort of thing.

And this afternoon,
it was embarrassing.

What? No. I thought
it went fine,

for a chamber of commerce
sort of thing.

Nobody came.
The turnout
was terrific.

Something isn't clicking.
I worked this one place,

every year they had
the blessing of the fleet.

You know,
the bishop in his hat,
the boats all dolled up.

What a draw.

I can't do
religious here.
True.

And what's our fleet?
A bunch of charter boats
and day sailors.

But you've got
history to burn.

People hate history.

You've got Indians and
pirates, Spanish gold,

all that plantation thing.

Mass murder,
rape, slavery.

So, you "Disneyfy" it
a bit, and they will
come back for more.

All you need is a hook.
I once worked this place
up in Wisconsin.

The whole thing
was built on wurst.

"Worst"?
Weisswurst,

bratwurst,
knockwurst.

Bavarian people.
Lots of strudel shops.

Service people
in leather shorts.

Dirndls.
And this worked?

Well, the beer-tasting
got them in the mood.

Free liquor.

I like a woman
in a dirndl.

I hired this guy
to be a special attraction.

He used to be
a big Seminole.

Indian?

No, not the Seminoles,
the Seminoles.

Football team?
Well, of course,
the football team.

What would I want
with a real Indian?
This guy used to be a big deal.

Hung out at Lincoln Beach,
drove around town
in a red Mustang.

Local hero.
That's good.

I just hope he shows up.

What's his favorite thing
to eat?

- Small children.
- Is he alive?

Hard to say.

What you showing
a dead alligator for?

- You pay anything
to look at him?
- No.

Then don't complain.
He was the last
of the Mohicans.

Bull.
All right,
next to the last.

They were already extinct
by that time. He was like
a Shawnee or a Pawnee.

Here's Billy.
He'll know. Hey, yo, Chief.

Chief.
Yo, asshole.

Hey, settle a bet for us.
What kind of Indian
was that guy on Daniel Boone?

He was Jewish.
No, I don't mean the actor.
I mean the character.

How the hell should I know?
Aren't you like a full-blooded,
I don't know, whatever it is?

Creek.
Regular Creek
or Shit Creek?

So where was Daniel Boone
supposed to be?

Somewhere in the woods.
More specific than that.

Can't you tell
by Indian lore?

Lore.
You know, like the trees
or something?

What the hell
do I know about trees?

Didn't your ancestors--
didn't they, like,
tell you all the stuff--

My parents sold lawn ornaments
to stupid white people
outside of Waycross.

You're shitting me.
Get you a good deal
on a set of ceramic ducks.

It wasn't exactly a no,
but I couldn't really
pin her down.

But you planted the idea
in her head?

Kept saying
it was her father's decision.

Last thing we need is
to deal with some old gomer
with a chip on his shoulder.

The mother.
No, no. She'll flake.

Runs a little theater group,
finds homes for
retired greyhounds.

The story is
she hasn't stuck her nose
inside that restaurant...

since the day
the old man built it.

She won't be any help,
but she won't
get in the way.

So, we're back
to the daughter.

The old man
used to be in there
24/7 running the show,

but the daughter,
she's paying four people
to handle the same load.

She wants a life.
Their rack rate is too low
for her to have a life.

The restaurant?
The restaurant's
a wash.

You know the money
even a moderately
successful franchise...

could generate
in that spot?

I'm sorry,
all she's doing there
is taking up space.

Right now
she's taking up space
at the end of the bar.

You see? This is not
a dedicated professional.

You're not having
another of those?

- Saw Steve
at the pirate thing today.
- They hang him?

Walked the plank.

He said he really
needed to talk to you.

- Why doesn't he
just come by the motel?
- Well, I don't know.

Could it have something
to do with there's
a restraining order...

and the last time
you had him arrested
in the parking lot?

- He was drunk as a skunk.
- Lately he's been club soda
with lime.

Why do you always
want to defend him?

I'm not defending him.
I'm just saying
he's on the wagon.

Your golf pro was in
the other night.

He's not my golf pro.
Well, I thought you--

He's nearly ten years
younger than me.

- Besides, he's going on tour.
- Ooh, like Tiger Woods on TV?

I don't think he'll get
as much airtime as Tiger.

Really? He ask you
to go with him?

It didn't come up.

You want to?

So, there's a guy over there
who has been checking you out.

Be still my beatin' heart.

- What's he look like?
- Not bad.

- Tattoos?
- None visible.

Does his shirt
say "Go, Gators"
or "Stomp 'Em, Seminoles"?

It doesn't say anything.
Obviously not my type.

He's cute.

All right,
I'm gonna turn around
and look at this guy,

only to see what falls under
your definition of cute.

If you're at twelve o'clock,
he's about...

3:30.

Trying to imagine
what'd it'd be like without
all us crackers here?

- You're everywhere.
- It's a small island.

Li-- Listen,
I didn't mean to be
intrusive the other morning.

I thought they'd
already contacted you.
Don't worry about it.

There's days
I imagine the whole thing
blowing away in a hurricane.

Must be a lot of work
being a hotelier.

Motelier. And we got
the restaurant.

Lord, I hated working there
when I was a kid.

And now?
I got three girls
working for me,

hate it
as much as I do.
So, why do you--

Poetic justice.
What are you drinking?

Draft. How about you?
Shots. Tequila.

Whoa.
I figure you're gonna
drink, why fuck around?

You're from up north.
Mm-hmm.

They tell me
everybody on this coast
is from somewhere else.

Not me. Six generations
on this sandpile.

At least.
That's impressive.

You go back that far,
your people were either
planters, slaves or fugitives.

And yours were?
I don't know what
they were running from,

but this is
where they stopped.
I'm from Newport. Rhode Island?

Like with the yachts
and the big estates?

My dad took care
of the lawns.

So, you've never
left, uh, the island?

Oh, sure I left all right.
You're looking at
a former Weeki Wachee Girl.

A what?
Over near Homosassa
there's this show.

It's been running
since the late '40s.

Oh, you acted?
Performed.
You do it underwater.

Here, let's have
a contest.

You do it to me.

This isn't
the guy I meant.

You win.

I can hold it twice as long
if I hadn't been drinking.

I'm impressed.
The important thing...

is to keep that smile
on your face, even if you
snort some water down your nose.

- How long did you work there?
- Three years.

And then I met my ex.

He had this band,
Skeeter Meter?

- Like a rock band?
- They were big around Tampa.

Ever listen to
the Allman Brothers?
Sure.

- Lynyrd Skynyrd?
- Uh-huh.

Then you've heard
Skeeter Meter.

He was Greek
and good-looking.

His daddy was a sponge diver
before all the sponges died out.

- What'd they die of?
- Boredom.

Clinging on to some rock,
soaking up whatever
rolls over you.

It's almost as bad
as Delrona Beach.

There's a lot
of changes happening.
Things might pick up.

Don't hold your breath.

They used to say there were
only three people folks
around here worshipped:

the Father, the Son
and the Florida Flash.

I was watching
the day he got hurt.

Must have run the replay
a hundred times.

Yeah. He stopped
coming up here,
left school.

So you were one of
the adoring masses?

I was in high school.
He was on national TV.
What do you think?

That's some heavy story
about Terrell.

Yeah.

Big responsibility
she's taken on,
a kid like that.

So can you help him?

Me? What am I,
a shrink?

No, I mean help him
build this thing.

Carpentry
and adolescent psychology.
Two things I know nothing about.

Try, okay? For me?

I'll do what I can.

Maybe we'll head back
on Monday.

We just got here.

I don't want to get sucked
into any of this.

I don't like
who I am down here.

And I don't trust
my mother.

That you, Elton?

I'm amazed at how little sleep
I need these days.

You've got restless feet.
Always have.

I'm sorry
I couldn't be there
for you at the meeting.

You had your emergency.
How'd the hearing go?

He's still on probation.

He has to do
community service.

It could have
been much worse.

We can fall so quickly.

Just a stumble,
not a fall.

If you could
just go and get it
and hand it to them.

Nobody handed us anything.

Of course they did.

People fought their
whole lives just to keep
their heads above water.

We got to start
on dry land.

So, Desiree's back?

Visiting.
She's not back.

Hurricane Desiree.

The nights
I sat here wondering
where that girl could be.

We used to
come out here and neck
when I was in high school.

Didn't have
these lights then.

Security.

It's more like
birth control.

You do golf courses?

Design them?
No, that's kind of
a specialty.

You play it?
Golf?

No.

I gotta tell you...

sex with me
when I am this drunk...

is like being
at the dentist.

The dentist?

When they shoot you up
with Novocain?

You can tell something's
going on in there,
but you don't what it is.

I understand.
So forget it.

It wouldn't cross my mind.

Like tomorrow,
I won't even remember
I kissed you.

I'll come by
and remind you.

Do that.

You honestly
don't golf?

Never took it up.

Good.

The important thing
is to keep that smile
on your face,

even if you're drownin'.

This is news?

What they say
with this global warming...

is the ice cap,
all that Arctica.
Antarctica, could melt.

And the ocean,
all over the world,
gets 20 feet higher.

It's good we live
on the second floor.

They say that here,
it'll be a wading pool
all the way up to Orlando.

The whole problem
started...

with the invention of
the internal combustion engine.

That and air-conditioning.

They say every day
another species
goes extinct.

So?
It's tragic.

Who needs a lizard
the size of a 12-passenger van?

You know, if most of
those things came back today,

people would not be
so thrilled.

Hey, Sam,
what are we playing for?

Ten dollars a side,
fifty dollars for the match...

and throw away
your worst hole.

I think this might
be the one.

You know, my grandparents
were peasants.

They came from a country
where they used Jews
for target practice.

When they didn't eat turnips,
they ate beets.

And when they didn't eat beets,
they ate turnips.

We brought my tateh over here.
She wouldn't go to the park.

She said, "The next time
I look at grass...

it should be growing
over my body."

I like to watch that--
what do you call it?--
Jungle Channel.

Yeah, animals eating animals.
It's educational.

For a wolverine, possibly.

How to hibernate
in three easy lessons.

I mean, for human beings,
what good is this information?

When was the last time
you stalked a creature
in the wild?

I go duck hunting
with my son.

Oh, yeah, I forgot.
You people shoot birds.

Shooting is not the point.

You're out there
when the sun comes up,
surrounded by nature.

Nature is overrated.

But we'll miss it
when it's gone.

Scotty?

Hey.
Sorry to distract you.

No, I need it. Come closer.
Come on down into the trap.

Where I'm headed,
they don't play
in a vacuum.

TV camera and gallery,
everybody's right
on top of you.

Try to keep
that distance.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

Thought we should,
like, make it official.

What?

Breaking up.

Oh.

Well, you're going off
on your tour and all.

Yeah.

I suppose if you win just
one tournament, you make more
than a whole year working here.

- It's not the money.
- It's not?

It's this thing
that I do...

better than almost
anybody else on Earth.

If I let it down,
if I don't take another
whack at the highest level.

It's the purest thing.

Pretty stupid, huh?

I'm talking about golf
like it's important.

It isn't stupid at all.
You really love it.

You just don't love me.

- Buster's Place.
- Uh-huh.

- How long's
it been like this
- All messed up?

- Yeah.
- Couple of years.
There was a fire.

Nobody's fixed it up
or taken it down?

People it belonged to
didn't come back.

- So you have, like, a crew?
- On a boat?

- Guys you hang with.
- No.

So what you into--
interested in?

Stuff.

Like, um, sports?

Music?

I guess.

Think we got enough?

Never built
a coffin before.

Used to be five yards
and a cloud of dust.

No mouth guards,
no face guards.

Helmet was just
a scrap of leather...

you used to hold the brain in
in case you got cracked
on the skull.

What it is now, huh?
Technology?

Hormones?

Bunch of colored boys
flipping the ball
around the field.

Women
in the locker room.

That ain't gridiron.

- What are they doing?
- You say something?

What are these women
doing in the locker room?

- Talking to the players.
- They must find it
very distracting.

Hell, they're so damn worried
about their stock portfolios,

they hardly notice.

It's a wonder they know
the difference between a handoff
and a hole in the ground.

- How do you know
they're colored?
- Who?

The young men flipping the ball.
When you can't see
the television.

When did you hear
of a white boy
called Deeshon?

Carlota will be here
for your dinner tonight.

I have rehearsal
and then a-- an Audubon meeting.

You and your birds.

They start clearing
the Plantation Estates
expansion next week.

- The old Exley property?
- Lincoln Beach.

Not anymore.
There is a colony
of wood ibis...

that we are very
concerned about.

Colored folks
think there's a curse
on that land.

Well, I'm sure it has seen
its share of misery.

- Hey, Mama.
- Hey.

- Hey, Daddy.
- Trouble at the motel?

- Everything's fine, Daddy.
- Then why aren't you
over there?

I got a day manager,
remember? Rosellen?

Those people
will steal you blind,
you don't keep on eye on them.

She's got it under control.

Are these new ones?

I can't remember
when you were here last.

They all look alike to me.
The place full up?

- Yes, Daddy. Celebration.
- How about the restaurant?

- They're keeping us hoppin'.
- Got to make it
while it's there.

- Yeah, I know, Daddy.
- Steven was calling for you.

- He knows I don't live here.
- It was nice talking to him.

He's got a screw loose.
That deep-sea diving.

- That was his father.
- It puts pressure on the brain.

Steve done plenty of things
to put pressure on his brain,

but diving
isn't one of them.

He says he's turning over
a new leaf.

I certainly hope so.
He had such promise.

When did Steve
ever have promise?

When he had his musical group
and you were with the circus.

It wasn't a circus, Mama.
We stayed in one place.

When you were performing
in the aquarium.

You both were so hopeful.

Well, we grew up.

Daddy? There was a fellow
from a development company...

- over yesterday morning.
- You give him the boot?

I was thinking
this might be a good time,

if you ever
wanted to sell.

And watch them
take that beach and turn it
into a damn strip mall?

It's not exactly
in pristine condition
at the moment, is it?

- You lift one finger
to keep that place running?
- I have not.

Well, hold your peace.
She's worried
about those birds.

It is a severely
compromised habitat.

The sandhill cranes
have absolutely forsaken us.

Good! If they
don't know better...

than to fly off
to someplace that's
more accommodatin' to them,

then they deserve
what they get.

Now, your seagull,
that's like people.

They'll fight each other
over every scrap they get.

Your father
is a strict Darwinian.

She likes to throw
her education against me.

Anyway,
this developer...

I told him you probably
weren't interested.

You can bet
your bottom dollar
on that one.

Get in there.
Get in there.

Come on! Cut him off.
Get in there.

They give you specs
for this thing?
Like dimensions?

There's a picture
in the book.

Well, if she's gonna
get into it--
Here.

This doesn't give us
a measurement.

You're taller than her.
Right.

You'd better cut some holes
so she can breathe.

- Halt. Who goes there?
- Don't shoot.
It's your ex-wife.

- I'm on guard duty.
- April said you needed
to see me.

Pretend you're just a tourist
checking out the artillery.

Oh, Steve, come on.

I'm serious.
We got an inspector
coming by to review the unit.

- Nice uniform.
- I hate playing a Yankee.

You're Greek,
for Christ's sake.
What difference does it make?

I was born down here.
It's a matter
of cultural affinity.

So what's the latest crisis?
No crisis.

Uh... just wondering
how you were making out.

Right.
Seriously.

I found inner peace.
Now, what's the angle?

I heard about something.
I thought it would be nice
to cut you in on it.

- No, not interested.
- A once-in-a-lifetime
kind of thing.

So was our marriage.
Once was enough.

Just hear me out on this,
and if you decide you don't
want to become a coinvestor,

maybe we can work out
a reasonable rate
of interest and--

You want to
borrow money from me?

There's a chance to get in
on the ground floor
of something very big.

Tell me, what do we
not have on this island?

Oh, let's see,
an opera house,

ski resort,
good Thai restaurant.

Are you familiar
with water slides?

Big plastic chute thing?
Now, that's the flume.

Water flows, you slide down
in your bathing suit.

We don't have one.

I always knew
I was culturally disadvantaged.

Any idea how much money
those things pull in?

A: You will never get
a zoning permit.

- Don't be so sure.
- B: I don't have any
extra money lying around...

to throw at half-assed
business propositions.

I heard you were
about to come into some.

- Is that so?
- My sources inform me...

that you've been approached
by some big developers
from Tallahassee.

Well, your sources
don't know diddly.

Besides, C: Even if I did
have some extra money,
which I don't,

I would run it
through the leaf shredder
and use it for mulch...

before I gave
a nickel of it to you.

I hear your golfer's, uh,
decided to take a walk.

He didn't ask you
to come along
on the tour, did he?

You have any other business
with me, Steve?

I'm seriously hung over.
I gotta get back to the motel.

This is the real deal,
and you just--

It's just another scam, Steve,
like your band,

like the mail-order
iguana business,
like the treasure hunting--

Hey, hey, hey,
Skeeter Meter rocked.

Yeah, but you didn't care
about the music, did you?

You just wanted to
be rich and famous
and get laid a lot.

You know why you're stuck
runnin' that flophouse?

'Cause you got no vision.

I can't believe you think
I would loan you money
after all you put me through.

That's all over
and done with, Marly.

You can't live
in the past.

Formerly endangered
by rednecks like me,

the American alligator's
made a big comeback
in the last 20 years,

spreading out through
the swamplands and waste canals
of southern Florida...

to the point if you got
a three-foot mud puddle,

you'll have a two-foot gator
laying up in it.

We don't know much about
the Timucuas until the advent
of the Spanish,

when they were involved
in blood conflicts...

with Pánfilo de Narváez
and Ponce de León,
among others.

Ladies, ladies,
your attention, please.

Now, I've got some bad news
and some good news
from our retail sponsors.

I asked them if you-all
could keep your outfits,

and unfortunately they said
that wouldn't be possible.

- Flash Phillips!
- Hey.

Man, I used to watch
your narrow ass leave them
tacklers grabbing the wind.

How you doing?
Not bad.

Yo, baby,
this is Flash Phillips.
The Heisman guy.

Yeah, I didn't win the--
Well, you would have...

if they hadn't popped
your knee out.
That's nice of you to say.

Would've made
a decent pro, too,
you put on some muscle.

Are you local?
Uh, yeah, we live
down Lincoln Beach.

Oh, that's great,
'cause I'm hosting
a barbecue tomorrow...

over where Henry's Lounge
used to be?

You all should drop by.
Uh, more of this, uh,
Pirate Days hustle?

No, no. I'm, uh, well,
I'm gonna be your neighbor.

Hey, baby, hey,
the Florida Flash
is moving in.

- Hi. Flash Phillips.
- I know.

And you are?

- Desiree.
- Damn.

- Yeah.
- Are you still living here?

- I'm visiting my mother.
- Uh, Stokes, right?

She has a house
over on-- on Carver Street,
facing the beach.

That's her.
You running for office?

No, no, I just like to know
who my neighbors are.

- So, how you been doing?
- Great, lately.

I mean, yeah,
there was some, uh--

Well, when I got hurt, uh,

I kind of lost it
a little bit, you know?

- I left--
- I remember.

You look terrific.
Have I seen you
on TV or something?

You look familiar.
I ought to
look familiar.

No, I mean, you know,
the adult you.

- How you look now.
- I do, um,

instructional videos,
infomercials.

- Damn. You were just
a little bitty girl.
- I was their age.

You wasn't that little.
I would've been in jail.

I was 15 years old
when I won this contest.

We got together
right after that.

Yeah. Well,
I was pretty young myself.

Say, listen. I'm having
this barbecue tomorrow.

Yeah, where Henry's Lounge
used to be?

Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen.

We will be starting
the evening wear segment...

of the competition
in just a moment.

I would like to thank...

our participating retailers
here at the mall.

It's me.

Earl.

Yeah.

We should talk again.

I explained what I can do
and what I can't.

Okay, 9:00.

Same place?

We had quite a little society
in Jacksonville at the time.

Young ladies were presented
when they were 16.

Often there'd be
a piano recital,

then a formal dance.

This is my sister
at her cotillion.

Are there pictures
of yours?

Oh...

by the time my turn
came along, it was--

My father had suffered
a financial reversal,

as did many of the
other important people
in the community.

Here we are
at the beach.

In so many other ways,
we were on the outside
looking in.

But this was ours.

No, they all went
to check out the titty bars
down in Jacksonville.

They're all right.
They're just, uh, guys.
Right.

We start clearing
Monday.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, doesn't the teacher
make allowances for that?

Well, tell her
I flunked it too.

No, don't tell her that.

Tell her I'll work with her
on it when I get home.

No, we go to Alabama after this.
Then there's a break.

I miss you too.

Think about me,
all right?

It's yellow
with a black tip.

Skeeter Meter.

- Huh?
- Your T-shirt.

Oh, yeah, right.
You remember them?

Brother, I was them.
Lead guitar and vocals.

Yeah, right. You dressed
in all that lizard skin.

Iguana. Uh, you with them,
uh, construction guys?

Yeah, we're clearing
a site.
Listen.

You ever build
a water slide?

What the hell.

Seafood's
a good bet.

We guarantee it's only
been thawed out once.

Hi.

How'd you end up here?

Uh, I skipped out on dinner
with a couple
of potential buyers.

I'm not much
of a salesman.
You just move
the dirt around.

There's some
drainage issues too.
Now I am really impressed.

Somebody told me
you're like a big name
in this land architecture deal.

Yeah, I guess.
You go to school for it?

I went
to business school.

Came out and...
I made a lot of money
buying and selling companies.

It was nice
while it lasted.
You didn't like it?

My boss
went to jail.
Oops.

It was a musical chairs
kind of a thing.

The music stopped, he was in
a compromising position and--

So you went back to lawns?

There's this guy,
Frederick Law Olmstead--

The one who designed
Central Park in New York?

Right.
It was an answer
on Jeopardy.

"Famous Parks
and Monuments."

Yeah. Well, he's-- he's
kind of the granddaddy
of what I do.

You take land that's,
um, wild and...

inaccessible
and you refine it some.

You showcase the natural beauty,
you accentuate the topography,

you create, uh,
a space for everybody--
rich, poor, in-between--

where they can come together
and appreciate it.

So we're all invited
over to Exley Plantation
for a fish fry?

Well...
the populist part of it
has fallen away.

But you know
what I mean, though.
No, I do.

Do you, uh,

remember
on the golf course?

Something about being out there
with some guy I hardly knew.

You get Sundays off?

Are you sure you can
pull this off, Earl?

They'll listen to me.

The old college try
isn't going to do it for us.

We need results.

With my vote
and two more I swing,
it's done.

- And it can't be too obvious.
- It won't be.

But you're on your own,
water management.

I'm not worried about that.
That's just technical stuff.

It's these
anti-growth people.

We can't have
too much noise from them
when the rezoning comes up.

There'll always be
a few diehards.

I understand.

The usual format for this
is to open an account
for you offshore.

Does that work
for you?

- It needs to be cash.
- Cash?

Hundred-dollar bills.
New ones.

Well, we have been
a naughty boy, haven't we?

Hi. I'm here today
to introduce you to an exciting
new grilling system...

that will revolutionize
the way you feed your family.

Now, this is not
just another kitchen gadget...

but a scientific breakthrough...

pioneered by
certified health professionals.

Now, I don't know about you,
but the mess and the bother...

of conventional
grilling--
Desiree.

* In the pathway

* Of duty
Mm-hmm *

* If I work

* To the close

* Of the day, Lord
Mm-hmm *

* I shall see

* The Great King in all

* His beauty

* When I've gone

* The last mi-i-i-ile

* Of the way, Lord
Yes, sir *

* If I work for Christ

* To proclaim
the last story *

* O Lord

* If I seek

* For his sheep

* Who've gone astray
O Lord *

* I am sure

* He will show me

* In his glory

* When I've gone

* The last mi-i-i-ile

* Of the way, Lord
Yes, sir *

* Oh, yes,
when I've gone *
* When I've gone

* The last mile
* The last mile

* Of the way
* When I've gone

* The last mile
of the way *

* I shall rest
* I shall rest

* At the close
* At the close

* Of the day
* I shall rest

* Yes, I will
* At the close of the day

* For I know
* For I know

* There are joys
* There are joys

* That await
* For I know there are joys
that await *

* When I've gone
* When I've gone

* The last mile
* The last mile

* Of the way
* When I've gone
the last mile *

* Of the way *

Amen.

A member of the community
has a word for us today.

It is my hope that you
give your heart...

and your mind
to his thoughts.

Dr. Lloyd.

Thank you,
Reverend Sutcliff.

Good morning.

The, uh, matter
I came to discuss...

is not exactly religious,

but it is a matter
of the spirit.

Name is Temple.
Marly Temple.

I'm visiting Jack Meadows.

Is this where
they're putting you up?

No, this is one
of the few units
that hasn't sold.

I was trying to
figure out why.

I haven't been in here
since your outfit took it over.

- It's pretty.
- Thanks.

Before, unless you were
hunting armadillos--

So, uh, you decide
what trees live
and what ones die?

- That's part of it.
- That's kind of like being God.

You remember
the last hurricane?

- It was Elmo.
- Now that's God.

I'm just a hired hand.

Now, last year
we had a majorette...

breathe so much truck exhaust,
she nearly passed out.

So, if you see the spacing
getting too cramped,

I need you to get on down there
and direct some traffic. Okay?

Honey, I'm gonna be riding
with the fire department.

So, can you drop the car off
at the high school
parking lot...

and get somebody to give you
a ride downtown?

You're an angel.

Where is the driver
of the Tropical Paradise float?

We cannot have that thing
sitting there all morning long.

We can't move anything.
Where is he?

They were bombing around town
in a car...

they kind of borrowed
without asking.

And there was this officer
went after 'em.

He was new on the force.
Otherwise, he would have
just called my daddy...

and had him take it
out of their hides the next day.

They were trying
to get away?

They hit the causeway here
doing 90,

and they saw
a couple patrol cars waiting
down there at the other end.

And they did one of
those 180s, like out of
a Burt Reynolds movie.

And they flipped.

Yeah.

The divers
who pulled them out
couldn't remember...

which was in the driver's seat
because they were identical.

Dickie and Danny.

They younger
or older than you?

Three years older.

They played sports,
honor roll,
the whole deal.

Must have been tough
on your parents.

My daddy never expected
much of me, but the twins--

I'll bet they were laughing
till the minute
they hit the water.

Excuse me.

We saw your mermaid.
This is it, isn't it?

- I mean, if you're not done
burying the treasure--
- We could come back.

I wish you had gotten
to know him.

Yeah.

He was strong.

He didn't talk
about it much, but...

you could tell
he'd been through
a lot of things.

And all these
other people?

Oh, this goes back
to when the island
was a cotton plantation.

They'd bury the slaves here
when they wore them out.

Leave off with that. Mama.

They don't belong
in here.

It's bad enough
we've got to pass through
all their security...

to visit our dead,

they got to throw
this trash in here.

I don't think they mean to.

It's a resting place,
not a playpen.

My daddy's people come out
of the turpentine camps...

and the pulp mills.

They were just
hired hands mostly,
couldn't read or write.

So, having his own business--

The thing is,
it's his dream,
it's not mine.

And it sure isn't
my mother's.
She doesn't work there?

No. She would drive
six blocks out of her way...

so's not to have to
look at it.

Her own daddy was a minister
up in Valdosta,

so she feels like she was
raised for a higher calling.

Community theater.

Last year she starred in
Mother Courage.

Year before that
it was Electra.

Whoa.

I think people come out
to see what the crazy lady's
gonna do next.

You wanted to
be an actress?
Hell, no. Oceanographer.

Yeah?
My friends call me
Jacqueline Cousteau.

But you didn't--
Shit happens,
you know?

And a lot of it
happened to me.

You like what you do,
don't you?

The actual work, yeah.
The politics--

People fighting
over land.

I tend to get there
after the dust has settled.

And home is?
Head office
is in La Jolla.

- California.
- Yeah.

But I just go
from job to job these days.

No family?

An ex and two kids. They live
in Connecticut, with their--

She's remarried.

This guy I know is going out
on that P.G.A. tour.

Different town every week,
maid makes your bed.

Hang out in the hotel bar,
check out the local talent.

Living the dream.

I saw a manatee
in here once.
Yeah?

Big naked-looking thing,
like an old fat lady
in a bathhouse.

I felt guilty
for watching it.

They were planning
on building all along here.

One of those
assisted-living deals.

Would have done it, too,
if the Feds hadn't
snapped it up first.

- That wasn't my company.
- No, I didn't say it was.

But there are
a lot of misconceptions.

I mean, sure, most outfits,
it's all scorched earth,

- and then they put up
some high-rise.
- Yeah, people hear motel,

they figure I'm running
some sort of hot-sheets
operation.

- For trysts.
- Yeah. Trysts.

Don't put
so much muscle into it.
We're not in a hurry.

And first of all,
we'd like to congratulate...

the folks who got
to our treasure first:

Mr. And Mrs. Morley Crandall
of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

And now our newly-crowned
Pirate Queen,

Donna Jean Stamper,
will do the honors.

Oh, my Lord,
look at that.

That is a genuine
diamonique necklace
from Kweskin Jewelers...

at the Citrus Highway
Shopping Center.

And here we've got $500...

worth of gift certificates
from our local merchants.

Donna Jean,
help Mrs. Crandall on with
some of that beautiful jewelry.

Doesn't she look pretty?

We used to come down here
Saturday nights after the games.
Wild times.

Take them local girls
up in the dunes.

Yeah. Those were the days.

I still remember
that run you tore off
against Georgia Tech.

Orange Bowl.
My freshman year.

Reversed field three times
and just flattened that safety.

- You go to State?
- No, I was up North.
High school.

- Uh-huh.
- I played the same position,
had the same number.

- Number 23.
- Even used to leave my chin
strap hanging like you did.

Drove Coach crazy.

Where'd you play college?

My grades dipped some,
so my parents had me
sit out senior year.

Hit the books.
Then in college--

My high school grades
was too low to do
to any dipping.

- So you're moving in?
- Well, Buster's Place here.

The folks who owned it haven't
been paying their county taxes.
I took over the payments.

Then I picked up
a few more lots,
kind of scattered around.

Speculation.

More like preservation.
This place was part of my--

You know, like growing up.

Don't want it
to fall to pieces.

We got plenty of neighborhoods
full of empty buildings.

Yeah.

Don't get to church
much anymore.

Sundays when I'm down here,
I go visit Etta Mae.

We saw Daddy today.

Yeah, he's one of a kind,
your father.

The old breed.

Businessman, race man.

We'd go
into Jacksonville.

People would say,
"Oh, you're
Mr. Stokes's daughter."

Then they'd all
fuss over me.

Yeah, those days
we didn't have politicians.
We had men like your father.

Carried some weight
in that city.

It got to where
I could hardly breathe
when I was near him.

That man loved you
to death.

I only felt his eyes
on me, judging me.

It's hard to...

live up to what
come before us.

One way or the other.

I don't suppose
I could get you to...

come out to this
protest rally tomorrow?

I burned my bridges here
a long time ago.

Eunice wants you to have
her place when she's gone.

That's too far ahead
for me to think about.

Maybe.

Which one did you play?

I had a solo number.

"Siren of the Deep."

I hated to come up.
It was like I was meant
to live down there.

You're soaring, you know?
Weightless.

I still do the routine
in my dreams.

Well, it's good
you live by the ocean.

I don't swim anymore.
No?

When you leave the job,
they make you hand in
your tail fin.

I haven't been
in the water for years.

You married, Lee?
I was.

Kids?
Two.

Don't get to see
enough of them.

Their mother
moved down to Miami,
married some Cuban guy.

Listen, I'm really glad
that I found you again.
Yeah?

There's something I've been
thinking about for a while,

something I need
to talk to you about.

Here we are.

It's-- It's about your
mother's property.

You don't want to wait too long
before making plans.

For my mother?
What I worry about...

is that you'll try
to hold on to the house there...

till it's just too late.

Too late for what?

All these new resorts
and time-sharing outfits
over in Delrona...

have sent their property taxes
through the roof.

So what we're offering
is a chance for the people
here to sell...

before they get
taxed out of their homes.

- We?
- I'm putting together
a small group of investors.

Now, if your mother were
willing to set a precedent,

the terms might even be
a little more favorable.

- You'd pay her more?
- Sure.

It's in the spirit
of the thing.

I mean, since she's been here
from the beginning and all.

No big pressure.

Just think about it.

Sure.

So you
and straight-arrow--

Reggie.

You, uh--
Just married.

Seems like
a real nice guy.

Yeah.

He is.

Totally clueless.

I know.

People just think
it's there,

like Thanksgiving
or Christmas.

They don't realize
how difficult it is...

to invent a tradition.
You do it so well, baby.

And at the end of the day,
is there acknowledgement?

Is there so much
as a thank you?

I know--
Not a peep.

I might as well
be their mother.

It's an important role.
If you weren't there--

And the time involved.

Oh, my God.

And now I neglect you.
No.

What have you
been up to anyway?

I've hardly seen you.

Oh, the usual.

You're my rock.

You know that,
don't you?

Sure.

Even during
all that bad stretch...

when you had
your gambling problem.

I always knew it wasn't
gonna last forever 'cause...

you are my rock.

And I count on you.

I thought the parade
went awful well this year.

Did you really?

You said the guy's
name was Lee.

Leotis.

Leotis "Flash" Phillips.

I'm sorry.

- Nothing to be
sorry about, baby.
- I should have told you more.

What? That he was a celebrity,
a used-to-be-famous
kind of thing?

You're not jealous?

Hey, I didn't know you then.

- And if I had, you would've
completely ignored me.
- Reggie.

I couldn't compete
with the jocks in high school,

much less Mr. Heisman Trophy.

Come on.

And now you're with the guy
that puts people to sleep
for a living.

Stop.

- Does he even know?
- I don't think so.

You going to tell him?

- Is there any point?
- I don't know.

If the baby had lived--

If the baby had lived,
everything would be different,
but it's not.

Yeah.

How you doing
with Terrell?

Kid's pretty good with
a claw hammer and a handsaw.

If this was 1925,

he'd have a future.

Idiot.

Come on, dogs!

There you go. Hey.

Daddy?

- That you, Marly?
- You need any help?

No.

I can still
see light, shapes.

You on your way to work?

Sort of.

I used to see the dawn
come up every day.

Only people that got up earlier
were the shrimpers.

You remember Clarence Green,
used to work for me
in the kitchen?

He'd be back there.
I'd come in in the morning,
"Morning, Clarence."

"Morning, Mr. Furman,"
he'd say.

They don't call you
like that no more.

Not for a long time, Daddy.

I said that...

how if the integration comes,
I was going to close up.

And then one day there it is,
four of them, young, polite,

sitting in a booth waiting
for my girls to serve them.

Clarence was in the back
trembling like a leaf.

Didn't know how
I was going to react.

I said, "What do you think
about this, Clarence?"

He said, "Now, Mr. Furman,

"I reckon if you serve them
this one time,

ain't none of them
going to come back."

"How's that?" I said.

"Excuse me
for saying it, Mr. Furman,

the food's just a lot better
down at Buster's Place."

Spend a lot of time
worrying about...

a day coming,
and when it does,
it ain't so bad.

I can't do it anymore, Daddy.

- Those developers
been getting to you, huh?
- No, it's not them.

Spend so much time worrying
about the damn swamp buzzard.

- Snail kite.
- I'll tell you who
the endangered species is.

It's the small businessman.

I know, Daddy. But it's me.

I hate going in there.

People used to come
to Plantation Island and ask,

"Where can I stay the night?
Where can I get a good meal?"

"Furman Temple,"
they'd tell them.

"Right down there on
the beach. You go see Furman.
He'll take care of you."

I know, Daddy.
But what should I do?

Get the best price you can.

- I can't be the one--
- It's all yours, darling.

You're a sensible girl.
You always have been,

if you don't count
marrying that musician.

- You'll figure it out.
- I'm sorry.

I've already been
out in the world,
done my damage.

Now it's your turn.

Come on, dogs!

Supposed to be retired,
not running around.

Hi.

"Score Big Savings with
our All-American Sales Team."

- Yeah?
- You work here?

Some of the time, sure.

What's the problem?

Who are you buying
property for?

It's mine.
My name's on it.

No, no who are buying it for?
Whose money you use to buy it?

Okay.

These people own
a lot of things--

businesses, uh,
real estate--

- They own Exley Plantation?
- Technically, yeah.

But if it--
Look, if-if it came to the point
where they took it over,

it'd be a different style,
different names,

more modest-income units.

- Which you would get to sell.
- That's part of the deal, yeah.

What you get
for tricking people?

I'm not tricking anybody.

They don't want to sell,
they don't have to.

They do want to sell,
they get a decent price.

Hell--

- Who do you work for?
- That's different.

Life moves on.
Shit gets bought and sold.

There's a handful of people
who run the whole deal,

and then there's the rest of us
who do what they say...

and get paid for it.

That neighborhood was over
years ago. Hell, you got out
as soon as you could.

I left because I was 15
and I was pregnant.

- Oh.
- That's right.

You, uh,
you never let me know.

- What would you have done?
- Back then?

My life was kind of
falling apart, so I guess
I wouldn't have been much help.

And you had other girls.

Yeah.

When I started to show,

my mama and daddy sent me
to my Aunt Thelma's in Macon.

Then I lost the baby.

And I just kept going.

- You lost the baby?
- Yeah, a little boy.

I was going to name him Lee.

How'd you, uh,
how'd you get by
on your own?

I lied a lot.

I lied about my age.
I lied about my experience.

I hooked up with
anybody who was likely
to do me some good.

You, uh,
ever have kids after?

No, I can't.
There were complications,
I was so young.

You must be
pretty mad at me.

There's a 19-year-old
football player.

He thinks he's got
the world in his pocket.

I'd like to smack him
upside his oversized head.

Not much of it
left to smack.

It was who I was too.

But if we had brought
somebody in the world--

My mama is not going
to sell her house.

Hello? Hello?
Anyone here?

Who's there?

Terrell Wilkins.

Who's Terrell Wilkins?

We brought over
Miss Delia's box.

You can leave it
on the front step.

It's kind of big.
We had to borrow
a pickup to bring it over.

What kind of a box is it?

It's a coffin
made out of pinewood.

She's getting ready
to plant me under.

It's for a play she's doing.

How old are you?
You don't sound like you can be
driving a pickup truck.

- My daddy brought it over.
- He a carpenter, your daddy?

He works at the hospital,
an anesthesiologist.

He gives people the gas.
Yes, sir.

- Well, how old are you?
- Thirteen.

You over at the junior high?
Uh-huh.

Know where they keep
those trophies?

They still got a picture
of two boys holding basketballs?

They look the same?

They was my boys.

Dickie and Danny.

They set them some records.
Uh-huh.

'Course it was segregated then.
It's a whole new game now.

- You from Delrona
or from Lincoln Beach?
- Lincoln.

You got a nice spot
on the water?
Uh-huh.

- You get out there and swim?
- No.

You don't know how,
or you don't get around to it?

There's an undertow.

Of course there is.

There's always going
to be one of those.

The trick is
you don't try to fight it.

You swim parallel to the shore
till the pressure eases up.

You struggle
with that whole wide ocean,

and you're a goner.

'Cause no matter
how strong you are,

no matter
how much grit you got,

you try to take it head-on,
it'll pull you under.

Miss Delia,

she's off selling away
my whole life.

Leave that pine box
on the lawn.

- Give the neighbors
something to buzz about.
- Okay.

Terrell Wilkins?

You can't live on no beach
and be afraid of the water.

Marly tells me
you're an actress.

More of an impresario
than a performer these days.

Of course,
Marly had her own flirtation
with the theatrical life.

Ma.
She portrayed a mermaid in
a popular roadside attraction.

Very successfully,
I gather.
We should talk money.

Hey, I'm really glad you folks
have come around to this.

Whenever there's
an economic shift,
like what's about to happen,

somebody gets left
holding the bag.

Stuck with their property.

After it's been
dramatically devalued.

If you'd waited any longer,
I'd hate to think what--

Just what are your development
plans, Mr. Forrester?

Uh, well, that's not really
my end of the business,

but I assume...

that the whole beachfront area
will undergo some sort of, uh,

change that-- that would
have negatively impacted...

on your ability
to continue to do
business as usual.

So our development board--

Out of the goodness
of their heart.

We prefer not to destroy
anything when we come
into an area, Mrs. Temple,

whether it be an ecosystem
or a small businessperson.

That's extremely
charitable of you.

However, in view of the fact
that we have no crystal ball...

to inform us on the scope
of your investment group's
future activities,

I think some sort of
continuing participation
would be in order...

on top of your very generous
initial offer, of course.

C-Continuing?

An escalator clause.

I'm not really sure
what you're--

Let's say five years from now,
you have transformed our
little beachfront...

into one of those
cash-generating monstrosities...

that grace the coastal areas
further to the south.

We would receive
a percentage of the gross
proceeds from all rentals,

or adjusted gross
if you will,

depending on
our ability to audit.

Don't gape at me, darling.

I've operated a nonprofit
theater for 25 years.

I'm going to have to
get back to you on that.

I imagine you will.

Cheryl?

Bring Mr. Forrester a slice
of your key lime pie.

People tell me
it's exceptional.

- Hey, Mama. What you cooking?
- Lunch.

You used to always
fry your own.

When I was a girl,

we pulled the feathers off
and threw the feet
in a pot for soup.

- Don't do that anymore either.
- That's too bad.

When you left here,
you couldn't boil water.

Casserole too?

I'm taking that
to Mrs. Pierce.

She hasn't been feeling well.

You buried the hatchet
with Mrs. Pierce
after all these years?

No.

But she's my neighbor.

Hey, Mama, if anybody
comes to talk to you
about selling this house--

I put all the property
in your name.
But you're still alive.

You've got yourself
a really good man
there. Responsible.

You mean unlike me?

We can't change
how things went, Desiree--

Growing up here,

the way everybody
looked up to you and Daddy,
I just couldn't be good,

I had to be perfect.

- Nobody expected that.
- Of course they did.

And when I went off
the straight and narrow
and everybody knew it--

Nobody knew about that.

Everybody knows everything here.
If you didn't know about
me and Lee Phillips,

it's because
you didn't want to.

How was I going
to come back here and
look people in the eye?

Your family was here.

Daddy ran away
from his family.

Your father lived
in a sharecropper's shack,

and he was
nearly full grown.

He was 15,
the same age as me.

He was a young man,
and those times
were different.

You-- both of you--
had these ideas...

about what a decent person was,
how they acted.

You broke
your father's heart.

And when you sent me away,
you broke mine.

Your father...

worked so hard to
maintain a degree of...

respectability.

Everybody
was watching him--

white people,
black people.

And there I go,
showing my color.

Isn't that what
they used to call it?

I thought it would be
better for you,
for all of us.

Mama,

young girls get pregnant
and have babies every day.

We were trying
to put an end to that.

We were hoping
for a better life.

- Moving up.
- Taking care of ourselves.

Taking care of each other.

Well.

Talking isn't going to change
what's been done, is it?

How you doing, Mama?

Dr. Lloyd--

I will live until I die.

If-- If anything
should happen...

and you're worried about money
to take care of Terrell--

Baby,

what good is money
going to do for Terrell?

Stop the digging now!
Stop the digging now!

I'm with Exley.

What did I tell you?
Just the same handful
of malcontents.

We'll frame them out.
It won't hurt to get some
footage of the machinery.

The chanting?
Don't worry.
We won't run the sound.

Keep your shirt on.
Stop Plantation Estates!

Stop the digging now!

We got bones, Boss.
Uh, yeah, you know,

they used to
raise cattle here.
Don't look like no cow to me.

Sure is a fuckload of them.
And they been dead a long time.

Okay. Everybody,
I'm going to have to ask you
all to leave the premises...

while we continue
this investigation, please.

Tell me that's not
an arrowhead.
Folks, please.

They say the only bad Indian
is a dead Indian.

Please. Excuse me.
Please back it up.

Archaeologists from the state
university say the find is
of enormous importance,

the remains almost definitely
those of the first known...

Native American inhabitants
of Plantation Island.

The site seems to be a well
or cistern of some sort.

We've discovered quite a few
crucifixes amongst the bones.

And based on
a forensic examination,

I'd have to say we're
dealing with a mass burial
following a massacre.

This mean
you're out of here?

Hi.

Turn over a rock,
there's no telling what
you'll find underneath it.

I've been shut down by fish,
I've been shut down by birds.

Never by people?

Not by dead ones.

So where to now?

They're flying me
to a site on Vieques Island...

tomorrow.

Puerto Rico.

So kind of bad timing, huh?
With us?

Yeah.

You have fun down there.

* You told me, baby
one more time *

* Don't make me
sit all alone and cry *

* Well, it's over I know it
but I can't let go *

* I'm like a fish out of water
a cat in a tree *

* You don't even
wanna talk with me *

* Well, it's over I know it
but I can't let go *

* He won't take me back
when I come around *

* He says he's sorry
then he pulls me out *

* I got a big chain
around my neck *

* And I'm broken down
like a train wreck *

* Well, it's over I know it
but I can't let go *

* He won't take me back
when I come around *

* He says he's sorry
then he pulls me out *

* I got a big chain
around my neck *

* I'm broken down
like a train wreck *

* Well, it's over I know it
but I can't let go *

* It's over I know it
but I can't let go *

* It's over I know it
but I can't let go **

It's bright daylight outside,
Mama. You don't need the flash.

Terrell, get in
the picture. Come on.

Yeah, stand in between us,
Terrell.

That's it.
Smile now.

That's going to
be a nice one.

I'm serious about
those grades, Terrell.
Uh-huh.

I'll send you a copy
when he gets them.

You hear that?
There's no escape.

Take as much time
as you need.

Thanks.

Before it was land
it was gold.
Gold.

That was the dream.
To be richer than kings.

Ponce de León wanders ashore,
and he runs into a native...

wearing a three-pound
gold necklace.

He says to him,
"Where did you get that stuff?"

And the native demonstrates
in sign language,

"I picked it off the ground."

Well, before you know it,
the place is lousy with Spanish.

They killed off entire tribes,
forcing them to look
for the stuff.

Wherever you found
a Spaniard,

you found six Indians
with shovels sweating
their asses off,

but not one nugget
did they find.

So where'd
the native guy get it?

He picked it off the beach.

It washed ashore
from Spanish galleons...

that were always sinking
in the neighborhood,

full of precious
metals from Bolivia,
Peru, where they had mines...

and an inexhaustible supply
of Indians to work them.

Chasing after
their own treasure.

Chasing the dream.

What do we have today where
you can strike it rich
like that,

transform your life
in an instant?

Hap Gordon
won the Florida Lottery
where you scratch the card.

It lacks poetry.

When we lived in Lauderdale,
I had a metal detector.

Used to work the beaches
every morning.

- And?
- Mostly tabs from beer cans.

We live in impoverished times.

What do our young
people dream of?
Appearing on quiz shows.

Dating supermodels.
That's something.

Compared to pieces of eight?

There's no mystery anymore.

There are human
footprints on the moon.

They say there might
be gold on the moon.

There's a thought.

Prospecting in outer space.

But what will we do
for Indians?

* Everybody sings
of the sunny South *

* That's the song that clings
to the singer's mouth *

* They ragtime it
and boast the climate *

* Way up to the sky

* I never cared a lot
for the Suwannee shore *

* There's another spot
that I'm rooting for *

* I've been there
and I must declare *

* It can't be praised
too high *

* If I had my way
I'd always stay *

* In Florida among the palms

* With its peaceful air
of I don't care *

* And lazy atmosphere
that calms *

* My one favorite haunt

* Is a palm tree
and all I want *

* Is someone

* Just to rest in my arms

* I'd love to live among
the bamboo huts
the coconuts *

* There's something
in the climate that charms *

* Heaven's corridor
is sunny Florida *

* Home of
the sheltering palm **

* Florida

* Take a ride
See the sights *

* Have your fun
in the sun *

* See the old
See the new *

* For Florida
belongs to you *

* Plan a trip
and do it soon *

* Here today
Tomorrow the moon *

* Take the kids
Have a ball *

* For Florida's
the greatest of them all *

* From the Gulf
to the Atlantic *

* And the Keys just beyond

* It's beautiful
and so gigantic *

* And you can dream
you're Ponce de León *

* Tell the world
Sing it loud *

* It's your state
* Say you're proud

* More to see
Lots to do *

* For Florida
belongs to you **

* Down on the Okeechobee
where the gators crawl *

* The water trickles slower
than a cracker's drawl *

* Folks will take you in
and boy this ain't no lie *

* You haven't lived until
you've tasted skeeter pie *

* Skeeter pie
Skeeter pie *

* Just one bite
and kiss your heart good-bye *

* Southern girls
are gonna make you cry *

* With just another helping
of that skeeter pie *

* From the Tallahassee
way down to the Florida Keys *

* There's lots of appetite for
grits and black-eyed peas *

* When the boys have got
some other fish to fry *

* They got to get you out there
chasing skeeter pie *

* Skeeter pie
Skeeter pie *

* Just one bite
and kiss your heart good-bye *

* Southern girls
gonna make you cry *

* With just another helping
of that skeeter pie **