Joe Pera Talks with You (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Joe Pera Shows You Iron - full transcript
In which Joe Pera, a middle school choir teacher, presents to viewers? the importance of Northern Michigan geology, especially iron. Also copper, azurite, tourmaline, and Lake Superior agate.
Man: Iron.
It makes up most
of the earth's core
and is in our blood.
It's also the reason
we're here, for the most part.
In 1844,
the Marquette Iron Range
was discovered.
And soon after,
north Michigan iron
was building the country,
shipped through
Marquette's harbor
and across the Great Lakes
to be made into steel
for railroads, skyscrapers,
ships, and bridges.
♪♪
So if you like
this train bridge,
you have iron to thank.
Hello.
My name is Joe Pera,
and unlike previous
family generations,
I'm not a miner,
but a soft-handed choir teacher
who is just in awe
of Michigan's geological
splendor.
Simply put, the upper peninsula
is a rock hound's paradise.
And I'd like to introduce you
to some of the most special
of our rocks and minerals.
♪♪
The story of an area
can be told by its rocks.
Geologically speaking,
the U.P. is very old
and has been through a lot.
Two billion years --[ Knock on door ]
Two billion years ago,
geologists said --[ Doorbell rings ]
Uh, excuse me for a moment.
Hi.
I'm Sue Melsky.
Is now a good time?
Yeah,
it's a good time.
Okay, great.
Oh, you want to come in?
Yeah,
we were looking at houses
and saw your sign
out front.
Don't touch that.
Don't touch that.
[ Chuckles ]
You want to ring it?
You can look around
the room, okay?
[ Bell jingles ]Yes. Here's a bell.
Someone else put
the sign on my lawn,
but I guess I gotta honor it.
Should we take
our shoes off?
Yes, please.Okay. Come on.
I'm Mike.
That's Nicole, Josh, and Kelsey.
Oh, nice to meet you.
This is, uh, Gus.
We're thick as thieves,
and we share everything.
That's where Gus sits.
That's where I sit.
Uh, what are those
rocks for?
I'm doing a presentation.
Are you a teacher?Yes.
This is my music room,
but it's also got technology.
[ Sour piano notes playing ]
Ho! Up![ Laughs ]
What a lovely
back yard and garden.
I don't know
how it happened,
but this year is
the year of zucchini for me.
What are
you doing?
I'm looking
at the appliances.
Don't they look really
well maintained?
Yeah.
Thank you.
I wipe them down
every time I use them.
Hey, how about
we make some turkey, huh?
Aah!Huh?!
You want to get in the oven?!
Come on!
Let's get you in the oven!
[ Laughs ]
[ Mike and Kelsey screaming ]
[ Screams ]
This is seriously
one of the top 10
best kitchens I've ever
been in in my life, okay?
Do you entertain a lot?
Sometimes
Gene will come over
and we'll watch
"Phenomenon."
This room's mine.
Okay.
I know this sounds crazy,
but I love this bedspread.
[ Piano playing continues ]
[ Kelsey screams ]
Here. Mike and I
wrote down a number.
We hope it's all right.
Our contact info
is on there, too.
Let us know
when you can, okay?
All right.
Can I have this copper?
Yeah, sure.
Thanks so much for letting
us take a look around.
♪♪
♪♪
Man: Hematite.
Azurite.
Pyrite.
And the Lake Superior agate.
These are a few of my
favorite regional minerals.
Joe: Wow.
My friend Gene
is a true rock hound
and agreed
to share what he knows
about
the Lake Superior agate.
I was gonna ask you
about minerals, Gene,
but can I ask you
something else first?
Okay.
Is your house for sale
if someone else puts
a for sale sign on your lawn?
I think I'm being pranked
again by local teens.
One time, I was at
a yard sale with Lulu.
I got a blue dot sticker
stuck to my shirt.
[ Chuckles ] Someone offered me
three dollars for it.
W-What happened, Gene?
I thought about selling it,
but I couldn't.
It's a shirt
my sons designed for me.
Yeah.
And also,
I didn't want anyone
to see my nipples.
I understand that.
I was a chubby boy.
Yes.
The family
was so nice, though,
and I don't think I can bring
myself to let them down.
At the same time,
I can't imagine
moving away
from Marquette.
Remember the time
we talked about
how different
our lives would be
if we lived
in Thunder Bay, Ontario?
To throw stones
into Lake Superior
from the other direction.
It's only eight hours away.
[ Bird squawks ]
Oh. Can you give this
to Nana?
I must be a magician
'cause I made all those
cookies disappear.
[ Both laugh ]
I'm gonna miss you, Gene.
♪♪
Joe: Walking across
the four-billion-year-old
quinine peridotite
and worrying about
my upcoming move to Canada,
I reminded myself that,
if there's anything
I have learned from rocks,
it's that change
is a good thing,
that, without the underwater
volcanic activity
along the mid continental rift,
there would be no copper
in the U.P.
And if the Laurentian
Ice Sheet hadn't formed,
then retreated,
there would be no Great Lakes,
and when Lake Superior
was just a shallow sea trough,
if iron sediments
didn't build up
and become part of
the Huronian rock formation,
there would be no Marquette,
no walks by the Lower Ore Dock,
or watching freighters
load at the Upper Ore Dock.
[ Bell clangs in distance ]
No football
at the Superior Dome,
the largest wooden dome
in North America,
no bingo supplies, no books,
smoked whitefish,
fried whitefish,
and no great view from
the Range Bank parking deck
where you can just stand
by your car and look.
I don't want to move to Ontario.
But I also can't have another
lawsuit in my life right now.
I need an ice cream.
[ Door creaks, doorbell chimes ]
Mike: Can I have
some of your ice cream?
May I?
Thank you.
That's very nice of you.
Hi, Mike.
Hi, Sue. Hi, kids.
Hey, Joe. We're just
having a celebratory...
May I please
tell you something?
...sundae.
I-I'm not a rock.
I'm a person, and I can
choose where I live,
and I decided that, right now,
I've gotta be here.
It's my fourth year
teaching,
and I know good things
are up for me and my choir,
but also, it's my house.
It's where I grew up.
It was my grandparents',
but now, in the garden,
I plant my own squash,
if you know what I mean.
And it's got
my best thinking spots --
the piano bench,
the chair that faces the yard,
and my side of the bed
where I can look
out the window
and think about stuff
like, "What is the future
of casual dining?"
[ Stammers ]
[ Sighs ]
Because it's cold in m--
Because I am a single man
in a place where it's cold
most of the year,
I have plenty
of thinking time.
I know I'm no Mr. Einstein,
but I do try
and think about
interesting stuff,
like, "How come some birds
live at the airport?
And what's the number one
Chinese lake?"
Plus, Gus lives there,
too, and one time,
seven wild turkeys walked
through my back yard
and I fed them Apple Jacks
and I'm hoping
they'll come back.
Please don't buy my home.
Sure.
Uh, we called the number
on the for sale sign
to get in touch
and found out
it was the Johnson's house
across the street,
which we ended up buying.
Sorry we didn't let you know.
We just figured
it was a little weird anyhow.
Oh.
Um...
well,
since you now live here,
you should own
some iron.
♪♪
Uh, here.
Lake Superior agate.
♪♪
[ Birds chirping ]
Hi, Nana.
I have good news.
I'm not moving
to Thunder Bay.
What's that, honey?
Also, Gene gave you
a Lake Superior agate.
Joe: But I gave it
to the Melskys
so that they wouldn't
buy my house.
I-I also gave them
iron and copper.
That's all right, honey.
I think I have
enough paperweights.
♪♪
Oh.
I should be forward
about the lawsuit I'm in.
Me and Gene are just
suing each other
to learn
about the legal system,
also to determine if there's
racial bias in the courts.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
It makes up most
of the earth's core
and is in our blood.
It's also the reason
we're here, for the most part.
In 1844,
the Marquette Iron Range
was discovered.
And soon after,
north Michigan iron
was building the country,
shipped through
Marquette's harbor
and across the Great Lakes
to be made into steel
for railroads, skyscrapers,
ships, and bridges.
♪♪
So if you like
this train bridge,
you have iron to thank.
Hello.
My name is Joe Pera,
and unlike previous
family generations,
I'm not a miner,
but a soft-handed choir teacher
who is just in awe
of Michigan's geological
splendor.
Simply put, the upper peninsula
is a rock hound's paradise.
And I'd like to introduce you
to some of the most special
of our rocks and minerals.
♪♪
The story of an area
can be told by its rocks.
Geologically speaking,
the U.P. is very old
and has been through a lot.
Two billion years --[ Knock on door ]
Two billion years ago,
geologists said --[ Doorbell rings ]
Uh, excuse me for a moment.
Hi.
I'm Sue Melsky.
Is now a good time?
Yeah,
it's a good time.
Okay, great.
Oh, you want to come in?
Yeah,
we were looking at houses
and saw your sign
out front.
Don't touch that.
Don't touch that.
[ Chuckles ]
You want to ring it?
You can look around
the room, okay?
[ Bell jingles ]Yes. Here's a bell.
Someone else put
the sign on my lawn,
but I guess I gotta honor it.
Should we take
our shoes off?
Yes, please.Okay. Come on.
I'm Mike.
That's Nicole, Josh, and Kelsey.
Oh, nice to meet you.
This is, uh, Gus.
We're thick as thieves,
and we share everything.
That's where Gus sits.
That's where I sit.
Uh, what are those
rocks for?
I'm doing a presentation.
Are you a teacher?Yes.
This is my music room,
but it's also got technology.
[ Sour piano notes playing ]
Ho! Up![ Laughs ]
What a lovely
back yard and garden.
I don't know
how it happened,
but this year is
the year of zucchini for me.
What are
you doing?
I'm looking
at the appliances.
Don't they look really
well maintained?
Yeah.
Thank you.
I wipe them down
every time I use them.
Hey, how about
we make some turkey, huh?
Aah!Huh?!
You want to get in the oven?!
Come on!
Let's get you in the oven!
[ Laughs ]
[ Mike and Kelsey screaming ]
[ Screams ]
This is seriously
one of the top 10
best kitchens I've ever
been in in my life, okay?
Do you entertain a lot?
Sometimes
Gene will come over
and we'll watch
"Phenomenon."
This room's mine.
Okay.
I know this sounds crazy,
but I love this bedspread.
[ Piano playing continues ]
[ Kelsey screams ]
Here. Mike and I
wrote down a number.
We hope it's all right.
Our contact info
is on there, too.
Let us know
when you can, okay?
All right.
Can I have this copper?
Yeah, sure.
Thanks so much for letting
us take a look around.
♪♪
♪♪
Man: Hematite.
Azurite.
Pyrite.
And the Lake Superior agate.
These are a few of my
favorite regional minerals.
Joe: Wow.
My friend Gene
is a true rock hound
and agreed
to share what he knows
about
the Lake Superior agate.
I was gonna ask you
about minerals, Gene,
but can I ask you
something else first?
Okay.
Is your house for sale
if someone else puts
a for sale sign on your lawn?
I think I'm being pranked
again by local teens.
One time, I was at
a yard sale with Lulu.
I got a blue dot sticker
stuck to my shirt.
[ Chuckles ] Someone offered me
three dollars for it.
W-What happened, Gene?
I thought about selling it,
but I couldn't.
It's a shirt
my sons designed for me.
Yeah.
And also,
I didn't want anyone
to see my nipples.
I understand that.
I was a chubby boy.
Yes.
The family
was so nice, though,
and I don't think I can bring
myself to let them down.
At the same time,
I can't imagine
moving away
from Marquette.
Remember the time
we talked about
how different
our lives would be
if we lived
in Thunder Bay, Ontario?
To throw stones
into Lake Superior
from the other direction.
It's only eight hours away.
[ Bird squawks ]
Oh. Can you give this
to Nana?
I must be a magician
'cause I made all those
cookies disappear.
[ Both laugh ]
I'm gonna miss you, Gene.
♪♪
Joe: Walking across
the four-billion-year-old
quinine peridotite
and worrying about
my upcoming move to Canada,
I reminded myself that,
if there's anything
I have learned from rocks,
it's that change
is a good thing,
that, without the underwater
volcanic activity
along the mid continental rift,
there would be no copper
in the U.P.
And if the Laurentian
Ice Sheet hadn't formed,
then retreated,
there would be no Great Lakes,
and when Lake Superior
was just a shallow sea trough,
if iron sediments
didn't build up
and become part of
the Huronian rock formation,
there would be no Marquette,
no walks by the Lower Ore Dock,
or watching freighters
load at the Upper Ore Dock.
[ Bell clangs in distance ]
No football
at the Superior Dome,
the largest wooden dome
in North America,
no bingo supplies, no books,
smoked whitefish,
fried whitefish,
and no great view from
the Range Bank parking deck
where you can just stand
by your car and look.
I don't want to move to Ontario.
But I also can't have another
lawsuit in my life right now.
I need an ice cream.
[ Door creaks, doorbell chimes ]
Mike: Can I have
some of your ice cream?
May I?
Thank you.
That's very nice of you.
Hi, Mike.
Hi, Sue. Hi, kids.
Hey, Joe. We're just
having a celebratory...
May I please
tell you something?
...sundae.
I-I'm not a rock.
I'm a person, and I can
choose where I live,
and I decided that, right now,
I've gotta be here.
It's my fourth year
teaching,
and I know good things
are up for me and my choir,
but also, it's my house.
It's where I grew up.
It was my grandparents',
but now, in the garden,
I plant my own squash,
if you know what I mean.
And it's got
my best thinking spots --
the piano bench,
the chair that faces the yard,
and my side of the bed
where I can look
out the window
and think about stuff
like, "What is the future
of casual dining?"
[ Stammers ]
[ Sighs ]
Because it's cold in m--
Because I am a single man
in a place where it's cold
most of the year,
I have plenty
of thinking time.
I know I'm no Mr. Einstein,
but I do try
and think about
interesting stuff,
like, "How come some birds
live at the airport?
And what's the number one
Chinese lake?"
Plus, Gus lives there,
too, and one time,
seven wild turkeys walked
through my back yard
and I fed them Apple Jacks
and I'm hoping
they'll come back.
Please don't buy my home.
Sure.
Uh, we called the number
on the for sale sign
to get in touch
and found out
it was the Johnson's house
across the street,
which we ended up buying.
Sorry we didn't let you know.
We just figured
it was a little weird anyhow.
Oh.
Um...
well,
since you now live here,
you should own
some iron.
♪♪
Uh, here.
Lake Superior agate.
♪♪
[ Birds chirping ]
Hi, Nana.
I have good news.
I'm not moving
to Thunder Bay.
What's that, honey?
Also, Gene gave you
a Lake Superior agate.
Joe: But I gave it
to the Melskys
so that they wouldn't
buy my house.
I-I also gave them
iron and copper.
That's all right, honey.
I think I have
enough paperweights.
♪♪
Oh.
I should be forward
about the lawsuit I'm in.
Me and Gene are just
suing each other
to learn
about the legal system,
also to determine if there's
racial bias in the courts.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪