Northern Exposure (1990–1995): Season 5, Episode 18 - Fish Story - full transcript

Joel hooks a legendary fish. Ruth Anne runs off on Chris's motorcycle and runs with a motorcycle gang. Holling has an artistic crisis.

I'm surprised to see bread
in the house.

With Passover coming up, aren't you
supposed to get rid of all the haymetz?

It's pronounced "hametz. "
And we never did that in my family.

What do you know
about Passover anyway?

Well, I've just been doing
a little reading.

About Passover?
What, are you having trouble sleeping?

Well, actually, I was gonna
surprise you, Fleischman.

Surprise me? Mm-hmm.
With a Passover dinner.

You wanna have a Seder?

Yeah. For you.
You could invite everyone over.

We can have a little Paschal
Lamb, matzo. What do you think?



Well, for one thing, Paschal Lamb went out
with the Second Temple, and for another thing-

- So you don't want it?
- Please, don't get me wrong here.

I think it's- it's very sweet.

I mean, that's not necessary.

You know, it'd be like me wanting to have
an Easter egg party for you or something.

- What's wrong with that?
- Nothing. I don't know.

- It's- - I don't get it. I'm just
trying to give you part of your culture.

Oh, please. Come on.
I don't wanna fight about this.

You know, I think it's very sweet.
I- I just- I don't know what to say.

I'm not comfortable with it, you know?
Can't we just leave it at that?

Yeah, yeah.
Aw, come on.

O'Connell.

See ya.

Oh, for pity's sake.



I'm closed, Chris. Come on.
It'll only take a minute.

I'm not an a. m. p. m. mini-mart,
you know.

- Chips, chips, chips, chips.
- I've closed out the register.

- Ruth-Anne, you're out of salt and
vinegar chips. - Shipment comes in Thursday.

Well, I was kinda, you know,
dreaming of those chips.

They were the light
at the end of the tunnel.

If you'd ever plan ahead-

All right.

Barbecue it is.

Wait a second. New game plan.
I don't like barbecue.

How about some, uh, creamed herring
and those Stoned Wheat Thins?

"Time is but the stream I go a-fishin' in. "

Henry David Thoreau.

Pass me a sandwich.
Ed Chigliak.

Boy, I love this.

It's just so relaxing and easy.
No women.

I mean, why is it...

that women feel they
have to horn in on everything, you know?

I mean, I don't understand why they
just can't leave well enough alone.

It's like you're gettin' ready
to watch a football game,

and some girl comes in and she says
she's a big fan and can she watch too.

Right? You know, I mean,
she's not there to watch football.

She's there to talk or laugh or gossip,
anything but watch football.

- You know what I mean?
- Happens to you a lot, huh, Joel?

- I'm just making a point.
- You'd better check your line there, Dr. Fleischman.

Yeah. I guess I'm caught
on those weeds again.

Come on. Whoa.

Give it a little side-to-side
action there.

Yeah. Maybe I need
a little better angle.

There we go.
It moved a little.

You must be bringing up
half the bottom.

Whoa. Whoa!

- That's a fish.
- Whoa!

Man!

It feels like a submarine to me.

Don't break your line.
Yeah. Yeah. Get your tip up.

I'm tellin' you, it won't budge.

You think?
What else could it be?

This close to shore?

There's a big drop-off out there.
Gunaakadeit.

This thing is not budging.

Whoa. Whoa.

Number two keg's leaking
again, H. Be down in a minute.

How's the pooper?
Oh, she's fine.

Whoa!
You like it?

Are you kidding?
Virtual reality.

I feel like I could soak
my little piggies in that water.

Instructions called for a little
more six in the shadows,

but I thought it was too green,
so I used number eight.

Well, you went right, babe.
This is goin' on the wall downstairs.

You think it's that good? This
blows the doors off your Last Supper.

Well, I think I do have a kind of
a special feel for the outdoor scenes.

Who would've guessed my big hunk would be
high-fiving it with the Sistine Chapel guy?

Well, it's just
paint-by-the-numbers.

Move over, Elvis.
Gunaakadeit is back.

That's right, folklore fans. Cicely's
own version of the Loch Ness Monster...

was hooked today by our own
Dr. Joel Fleischman...

at about 1: 12 in the afternoon.

And the battle's still ragin'
over at East Loon Lake.

For those of you
that aren't up on the legend,

Goony, known to locals for a century
as a fabulous sea monster,

has been making guest appearances on
totems and all kinds of representative art.

The first modern sightings
were in 1931.

Now, he's been poppin' up about,
oh, once every 15 years.

Scientific speculation has centered on the
idea that a landlocked sturgeon species...

may have been trapped
in the last glacier.

Now, attempts to photograph
this mythical bottom dweller...

have been frustrated by the turbidity
and the depth of Loon Lake,

although a marine biology team
from the University of Washington...

did report unusual sonar findings
in 1973.

For all the Goony news as it happens,
keep your radio turned to 57 on the AM.

How big you think he is, Ed?

A sturgeon can go a thousand pounds,
Dr. Fleischman.

- A thousand pounds.
- Fourteen, 15 feet.

Uncle Anku says they used to use oxen
to haul 'em out of the Columbia River.

One thousand pounds. Man!

I think they're ready with your
chair over there. All right.

Keep the tip up now.
Yep.

Oh, my back!

You know, old Walt's the only other
one to ever get old Goony on a hook.

Yeah? Back in July of'68 I believe it was.

Fought him for seven hours.
What happened?

Well, he got his finger
snagged in the line.

Get an extra joist under there. And
I want jam nuts on all those bolts.

You hear me?
Yes, sir.

Hey, Doc, giveJerry your rod
while you put this on.

All right, Jerry.
Here you go.

It's from the V. F. W. Hall. It's a
flag holder, but it should do the trick.

Okay. We're transferring
you to this deep-sea rig,

but don't get any ideas
of horsing this fella in.

He'll snap your line in a minute.
Let him run.

All right.
If you got slack, take it.

All right, Jerry. I spliced your
line onto this heavier pole, Doc.

How's that?
Feels all right.

I don't need to tell you
you're in for the fight of your life.

Every time it rains, I remember
this little souvenir that Goony gave me.

I'll be with you all the way, Doc.
If you need me, just holler.

All right, Walt.

Gimme one of them
disposable cameras, Ruth-Anne.

I'm out.
Even the panoramic ones?

How am I gonna get
a picture of Goony?

You're a little late, Hayden.
I don't believe this.

The angling event of the century,
and you're out of cameras?

You might get yourself a real camera
and buy some film.

Nah.

That's 18 dollars
and 23 cents, Doris.

Just put it on my tab.

May I help you?

Yeah. I was looking
for, uh, teriyaki jerky.

This stuff's all pepperoni
and salami.

The jerky is on the corner
of the counter.

Always has been.

Well, thanks.

What are you doing? I thought you might've
missed one of these cameras back here, Ruth-Anne.

I told you I was out.
Ohh!

All right. This is it!

Hey, listen up.
We're closed.

- What?
- You heard me. Everybody out. Go.

- Get. Scoot!
- Ruth-Anne!

Bye. Look, here's a sawbuck if you'll
just give me a bag of them Doritos.

Twirl on your Doritos, Hayden.
Ahh!

She's got the cutest
little burps, Chris.

Like, I thought that part was gonna
totally gross me out, you know? Yeah.

You get that watery spit-up running
down your sweater. Smells kinda cheesy.

Ew.
But she makes these little squeaks.

Hey, isn't that Ruth-Anne?

Yeah.
Isn't that your bike?

Yeah.

When'd you do that, Holling?
Bitchin', isn't it?

Let me get an eyeball to that.
Bring it over.

Some painting, huh?

Hell, that's not painting.
That's paint-by-numbers. So?

So? Well, that's therapy
for the artistically challenged, Shelly.

That's what they prescribe
for cretins in dayrooms.

For your information, Mr. Bogus,
it took Holling a week to do that painting.

- Shelly.
- He doesn't just follow the instructions either.

Sometimes he mixes his own colors,
and he paints over the lines too.

- Maurice is entitled
to his own opinion, Shelly.

I'd like to see him
try one of these sometime.

I'll tell you what, Shelly. I'll rush
out to the house to take down my Monet...

and make room
for a genuine Vincoeur.

Holling, you think you can paint me
one of those sad-faced clowns...

and maybe a couple of kittens
playing with a ball of yarn?

Don't listen to him, H.
He's just jealous.

Oh.

Attention, K-Bear shoppers.

While Ruth-Anne Miller's
off doing her Kerouac thing,

we've set up a special food
and hardware hotline...

to keep those staples flowing for
the duration of our general store crisis.

Now, it says Kim Green is making a run to
Cantwell this afternoon for baked goods.

Get your orders in toute de suite.

Ivory Springer has butter and milk, but
rumor has it that he's charging 3.50 a quart.

Now, Ivory, if you're price gouging,
a pox upon your house.

Got a little Goony update here.

"Closing in on five hours since
Dr. Joel hooked the big guy,

some 200 yards
of line expended-

both fish and fisherman doing fine,

although Dr. Joel's developed
a hankering for a salami sandwich. "

Keep that in mind if you're headed
out that way. Go easy on the Dijon.

What's up, Holling? Oh, I thought maybe
you might have some use for these, Chris.

What, you hanging up your
brushes? Uh, something like that.

Thought you had
a groove thing goin' there.

Well, it's no fun for me anymore.

No fun.

Well, maybe it's just a, uh, sign of growth,
you know, 'cause, hey, artists have to suffer.

I don't think it's
anything like that, Chris.

Fact is, no matter how much
I put into my paintings,

I don't think they'd ever
be what you'd call... art.

What's art, Holling, huh?
Is a da Vinci art? Dada art?

If, uh, you wrap up the whole
Reichstag in toilet paper, is that art?

Well, I can't give you
a complete definition,

but I think it would be something that Maurice
would be willing to give good money for.

Yeah, well,
you're starting to scare me.

Because if that's art, then I
gotta get a whole new gig, you know?

Why? He come down
and dump on your work?

You know, I only started painting
because I had time on my hands,

what with the babysitting
and all.

But the more I got into it,
the more I thought, well,

maybe I've got a little talent.

Oh, and now you don't?

It was like a bucket of cold ice water
being dumped on my head.

All right. You got a very
basic problem, Holling.

You're confusing product
with process.

Most people, when they criticize, whether they like
it or they hate it, they're talking about product.

That's not art.
That's the result of art.

All right? Art, to the degree of
whatever we can get a handle on-

I'm not sure we really can-
is a process, all right?

It begins in here, here
with these and these.

All right? Now, Picasso said, " The
pure plastic act is only secondary.

What really counts is the drama
of the pure plastic act-

that exact moment
when the universe comes out of itself...

and meets its own destruction. "

Uh, well, I-I'd still like people
to like my paintings.

Right. Yeah, of course.
But the thing we gotta do with you...

is get your ego out of the product
and put it back in the process.

Unless you don't want to.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I do.
Hey.

We're buds.
We'll work it out.

Hey, Walt. Whoa. Walt!

Walt!

Walt!

Hey! Walt, get over here!

Come on!

Walt!

Walt!

Walt!

Hey! Walt!

Walt!

Everything all right?
No, everything is not all right.

I ordered this steak rare,
and this is medium.

And don't reheat those fries.
I want a fresh batch.

Yes, ma'am.
And here.

This time put a full
two jiggers in, will ya?

- Is that your shovel head out there?
- Excuse me?

The Harley, is it yours?

Yes.

It was blocking
the handicap ramp.

We moved it for you.
Thanks.

What?

Double Wild Turkey, neat.
Gentlemen?

You know what we want, girl.
And make it fast.

Whew!
Some bike you got, Ma.

Nothing to that big knucklehead
I used to ride.

Yeah? What year?
'48.

Chopped?
Extended front end, bobbed fenders.

Is that your old man's bike
or yours?

My old man wouldn't go near it.
Scared the hell out of him.

Maybe you heard of us.
We're the Diablos.

- No.
- Terror of the Tundra?

That's what The Sleetmute
Sentinel called us. Maggots.

Leave it!

Where you headed, Ma?
Wherever.

Yeah. I can dig it.
Tell you what.

How'd you like to ride
with the Diablos tonight?

We'rejammin'with the Rattlers.
Gonna run the gauntlet to Delta Junction.

- " Run the gauntlet"?
- Open throttle all the way.

- No stops.
- But you have to go through Greeley, don't you?

There's a state police station
in Greeley.

Greeley.

Yeah.
We own Greeley, man.

So what do you say, Ma?

You feel like getting down?

All right.
I'll make you a deal, fish.

You take me home, I promise I will
cut the line as soon as we get there.

Whoa. Whoa!
What's goin' on?

- Rabbi Schulman!
- Will you give me a hand, Joel?

I- I-I don't believe this.
What are you doing here?

You okay?

Okay. Okay.
Oh, boy.

What's goin' on?
Are you all right?

I'm fine. Just fine.
Got a towel or something?

I don't understand what happened.
Did I hook you?

No, I grabbed your line. Whatever
you've got is still down there.

What are you doing here, Rabbi?
Remember Cantor Landsmann?

Yeah.
Well, had a mild heart episode,

decides to retire,
move to Phoenix.

My father didn't tell me that. I don't see
your father in shul very much anymore, Joel,

especially since we had that argument
at the driveway improvements.

But listen,
that's another story.

Anyway, I'm under pressure from the
search committee to get a female cantor.

Not that I have
any objections, mind you.

It's just that it took a little while
to get used to it, you know.

Rode the fence for a while.
Eventually, we did hire a female.

Emily Greenblatt.
Want some Sen-Sen?

Thanks.

Anyway, we don't hit it off
right away.

Emily accuses me of dragging my feet
during her selection. She resents it.

Next thing you know, the Liturgy
Committee, headed by Emily,

is insisting on gender-free services.

You don't know about this?
This is a very big thing.

It's no longer correct to refer to the Lord as a
masculine presence as in, " Blessed be his name. "

Now it's, " Blessed be his or her name,"
or " Blessed be Adonai's name. "

So I thought, can I live with this?
I don't know.

I think it over, I decide I can,
and I make the switch.

But apparently, not soon enough,

because two weeks ago,
the committee came to me and said...

that I will be the rabbi emeritus.

Oh? So they wanted
to keep you upstairs?

Seems they want somebody more on the
cutting edge to lead the community.

Cutting edge, Joel.

When I was going through the seminary,
believe me, this was not a major consideration.

What is it that you're doing here?

Looking for guidance...

in his or her name.

I- In East Loon Lake?
Is that what they call this?

Rabbi, you're in Alaska.

We'll see.
Wherever the search takes you.

Well, what's it like down there?

It's dark, Joel.

It's dark and it's deep.

Oh, boy.

So, where's the Rattlers, man?

Those skanks are always late.

Well, they better not be too late. I gotta take
Courtney to the friggin' orthodontist tomorrow.

Braces?
No, palette extender.

Her teeth look okay to me.
How they hangin', Ma?

Well, that's from thumb sucking,
isn't it?

How come we've never
seen you before?

I've been stuck behind a counter,
I guess.

You know, I realized,
as we were riding up here,

I've been in Cicely longer than
I've ever been anyplace in my entire life.

Yeah. Mail his teeth back
to his office.

Yeah? Shut up, men.
I can't hear.

I hate these damn things.

Yeah? Yeah. Yeah,
that's much better.

Hey, Ma, let me ask you somethin'. Shoot.

You're in retail, right?
Yeah.

Well, I own a couple of snowboard
franchises myself. Half a dozen employees.

This new change to the Medicare tax,
is that gonna hurt me?

Not unless you make more than
$130,000 in a year.

Huh. All they did was
take away the wage limit.

- Told you, man.
- Son of a bitch!

- Uh-oh. Turk's pissed.
- They're not coming.

- What?
- That was Sonny.

He's having
elective surgery tomorrow.

You're kidding!

He went in for rectal bleeding.

Turns out they're gonna have to
take out part of his colon.

Diverticulitis.
Yeah.

The colon! Man!

All right.
Let's burn rubber.

Without the Rattlers?

We're still the Diablos, aren't we?

We're still the Diablos, aren't we?

Diablos, man!
All right!

Ruth-Anne Miller runs the only general store
within a hundred-miles radius.

We depend on that store
for our necessities.

That makes her the equivalent
of a public employee.

And as President Reagan demonstrated...

when those PATCO Wobblies
took a powder,

that public servants
cannot go on strike!

What do you propose we do,
Maurice?

I propose that, uh, Ed there open the store
and carry on business as usual.

Oh, I don't know, Maurice.

Ruth-Anne told me to only use this
if'n she says so.

Do you wanna clear out
the earwax there, Chigliak?

This is an emergency.

Now, I propose we take a vote.

- Second.
- Let's just slow down, all right?

Let's take
a constitutional minute here...

before we put a major tear
in our social fabric, okay?

- You got a point there, Stevens?
- Yes, I do.

All right. On the one hand, we have
the good of the public to consider-

our need for Huggies
and Dove bars.

On the other hand, we have our
legislated guarantees of personal freedom,

such as the right for people to feel secure
in their persons, their houses, their papers...

and their effects.

I wouldn't want anybody
breaking into the bar.

All right, people.
There is a time for debate,

and there's a time
to shut up and do something.

Yeah, what are we supposed
to do for fresh broccoli?

Yeah, and I am
kinda low on brewskis.

- Chris.
- All right. All in favor-

No! I won't let you!
You can't make me!

Hey, when was the last time
you saw land, Rabbi?

It's been quite a while.

We got a couple oars here,
and I gotta tell ya,

I'm about just ready to cut my losses
and row back to shore.

Joel, wait.
Wait, wait, wait.

I don't think we
should do that, Joel.

I don't think you should break off
connection with what's down there.

Joel, we could be onto
something very big.

Something big? What do you mean? Big, like
- like how?

You think- He- or she-whose
name may not be uttered.

You mean God? You think God
is at the other end of this line?

Fish imagery is very big
in theJudeo-Christian canon.

Jonah, the miracle of
the loaves and the fishes,

even the earliest sign
of Christianity.

In fact, before the cross
was the fish.

Okay.

So, uh, what's new
with Joel Fleischman?

It has been quite a while, my friend.

I don't know.
I- I, um-

I just- I've been in Alaska
serving my sentence.

What happened to that girl
you were going with? Uh, Eileen?

Elaine.
Elaine.

Yeah. She dumped me.

Oh, sorry.

You seeing anybody else?

Yeah. Her name's
O'Connell. Maggie O'Connell.

NiceJewish girl.
You two serious?

Serious?

I don't know, you know?

We started out hating each other, and
now she wants to cook me Passover dinner.

Really?
That's very nice.

It's not nice?

Uh, you know, to tell you the truth,
it- it makes me very uncomfortable.

Why?
I don't know.

What? I don't know. We're not moving.

- I think your line's gone slack, Joel.
- Oh. There's nothing there, Rabbi.

I think I lost him, Rabbi.
I don't think you've lost him.

- What do you mean?
- Don't you hear that?

Hear what?

Listen.

Whoa!

He's breaching!

Explain it to me again, Chris.

Holling, one more time.

We're gonna liberate the art
from the artist, remember?

All I remember is you said
I had to burn my painting.

It's not your painting anymore,
Holling.

It stopped being your painting
the moment that you finished it.

Okay. Holling,

Native Americans make these
little sand sculptures.

They spend days just sprinkling these little
colored bits of sand into this painting.

Now, when they're all finished,
they destroy it.

They scatter it to all four winds.
You know why?

'Cause they know what's
important, Holling. Now, come on.

You're gonna feel a whole lot better
when this is over, believe me.

You do it.
It's your odyssey.

You feel that, Holling, huh?

You feel that catharsis,
that letting go of ego?

You're a free man, Holling Vincoeur.

You make a little room for yourself
to experience this, buddy.

Hey!
You got any get-well cards?

Yeah. Over there.

Sonny'll really appreciate this.

He's gonna be in the
hospital a week. At least.

Hey, this is a funny. " Heard you got laid up.
Hope you get it sideways and upside down too. "

Hey, that's not funny, man!

When you're sick in the hospital,
a thing like that falls flat.

Here.
Short and sweet.

"Thinking of you.
Get well soon. "

Hey, that's it.
That says it all.

- I'll take this one.
- Uh, anything else?

Yeah. You got any
mercuric oxide? Damn sty.

I keep tellin' Doreen to get rid
of them down pillows.

One or two percent?
Two.

Okay, let's ride.

I don't know, Turk.
What?

Maybe we oughta
cool it tonight, huh?

What are you sayin' to me, Frog?
What are you tellin' me?

Are you tellin'me that Turk Tortelli
doesn't lead the Diablos anymore?

- No, Turk.
- Then what are you sayin'to me, man?

I'm tellin' you it's not the same
without the Rattlers, okay?

He's right, Turk.

You know, I hear they got some
pretty good frozen yogurt here.

Rabbi?
Right here.

Where are we?
Wait a second.

Let me make this brighter.
Oh.

You smoke? Just the occasional
white owl, Joel. I don't inhale.

Geez, it stinks, huh?

Hold it.
What is this?

Ooh, a light.

Hey, a baseball bat.

Hey, Rabbi, this is mine.

This is my old Thurman Munson.

My father's Mishna.
Hmph.

And a skate key. I haven't
seen one like this in 50 years.

Oh, look at this.

Spider-Man, number one.

I knew I didn't throw this away.

What's goin' on here?
We're inside, Joel.

Inside what?
The fish.

The belly of the beast.

Oh, my God.

Oh, God.

Hey, Rabbi, that looks very much
like alveoli.

Let me tell you something.
If that is,

we stand a very good chance of being
slimed to death by digestive enzymes.

I think we better get outta here,
like, fast. We could make a fire.

I took my son to see
a movie just like this.

What are you talkin' about?
Pinocchio? That's right.

The whale just coughed him
right out.

And it's Walt Disney. It's a movie. Oh.

All right, look.
I mean,

stomachs and-and coughing, anatomically
speaking, have no correlation, but-

I can't believe I'm having this conversation
with you. If we attempt an esophageal exit,

we have a small matter
of teeth to consider.

I think it would be best
if we went colorectal.

You mean
- I mean that every living creature has to excrete.

And I think this is safest.
Come on.

Joel.
What?

I thinkJonah is the key to
all of this. Key to what?

The meaning behind all of this.
Think about it for a minute.

Why was Jonah swallowed
by the whale in the first place?

The Lord said go to Nineveh,
cry out against their wickedness.

Instead, Jonah hops a boat
and goes to Tarshish.

The Lord raises a ruckus,
Jonah gets the heave-ho.

What's the meaning
behind all of this?

Uh, next time go to Nineveh.
Responsibility.

Jonah was trying to avoid
his responsibility.

Come on, Rabbi.
On your knees.

Hmm.

Hey, I think
I got something here.

What?
Watch your head.

Easy.
Okay.

You got a token?
Token?

Only one. All right. You
go ahead. I'll jump it.

Go ahead, Rabbi.
Who's gonna tell?

Yo, monkey boy!
Hit me again.

I'd really like to close up, fellas.

M- Macadamia-vanilla swirl, right?

What's up, Ma?
You look a little down.

I think I've run out of road,
Turk.

Are you speaking metaphorically?

Physically too.

When I left Portland for Cicely,
I wanted the wide-open spaces.

Look at me now. What's left? Vladivostok?

But as long as we've got it in here,
there's always the open road.

Ma's right, man.

Frontier's over.
It's history.

We've all read Hunter Thompson.

The biker movement was started
by dissatisfied G. I. s...

who weren't willing to buy into the
phony prosperity of the late '40s.

- You tell it. Yep.
- It was a reaction, a revolt.

Um, you remember Brando's line
in The Wild One?

Yeah. Dude asks,
"What are you rebelling against?"

Brando says,
"What do you got?"

Yeah. But what
does it mean anymore, huh?

I mean, how can it mean anything
in a society...

where lawyers are wearin' earrings
and fashion models have tattoos, huh?

Have you been in
a Harley dealership lately?

A new ultra-classic stock.

No chrome, no nothing.
Lists at $16,000.

Who's buying these bikes?
I'll tell you who.

Doctors, chefs, account executives,
that's who.

The affluent middle class.
And you wanna know what?

- We're part of it.
- What if we are?

You know, I'll tell you,
for the first time in my life, I'm happy.

Shirley's great,
the kids like school,

the Dow went over 3,900.

I mean, what's so bad
about feeling good?

Well, I guess the major thing I'm rebelling
against these days is my arthritis.

But what about the open road, man?

Ah, geez, look at the time.
Yeah.

- Next Saturday, Turk?
- Well-

No. Saturday's tight.

Ricky's soccer team
made the play-offs.

How about, um, Sunday?

Okay.
Tiny?

- Fine with me.
- Deal.

Be good, Ma!

And if you can't be good-

Be quick!

Jonah was in the fish three days.

Yeah, well, fine for him. I gotta teach
a nutritional class in Sitka tomorrow.

I'm supposed
to see the board.

What are you gonna tell 'em?
I've decided to fight it out, Joel.

Easy to take the money and run. They
don't want me, good-bye and good luck.

But they're still my flock.
It's like my children.

I still have things to teach them,
and like it or not, they should listen.

And maybe I was
a little too brusque with Emily.

Maybe I could've been
a little more sensitive.

Some fences I could mend there.

Hey.

So you think I should have
Passover with O'Connell?

She may be your Nineveh, Joel.

This is what you're
running away from.

It may not be my field, but maybe by denying
her Passover, you're denying her intimacy.

Yeah, okay. But, I mean,

if it turns out that we're really
serious about each other,

I mean, that's a pretty basic conflict,
isn't it?

Potentially, yes.

Isn't that what you're
trying to avoid?

Suppose I came to you and said
we're gonna get married.

She doesn't care about converting. We're
gonna worry about the children later.

I mean, what do you say to that?

The cutting edge part of me says go and be
happy, follow love wherever it leads you.

My gut says find a niceJewish girl.

We live in a very confusing age, Joel.

Here we are, as close to the Almighty as we're liable
to get in this life, and still there's no clarity.

I mean, do you hear any voices?

The Lord spoke to Moses directly.
There was no allegory involved.

And what was Moses's problem? You
don't like slavery? Get out of Egypt.

What's to ponder?

Yeah.

Be strong and of good courage.

Oop! See?

We're moving.

We're goin'over by the elk wood.

Swing it around to the left.

He knows how to swim.
He just probably swam ashore, right?

I'm sure he's okay, Maggie.
I mean, come on, he's a doctor.

Something smashed this boat
to pieces.

Gosh, you can't see a thing.

What is it?
A ticket to Shea Stadium.

Just keep movin'.

Ruth-Anne!

What are you doing, Ed?
Oh, nothing.

Oh, well, just watching.
Are you all right?

Oh, I'm fine.
Well, thank you for minding the store.

Ah.
Let's open up, okay?

All right!

Over here.

Fleischman? Fleischman?

Come on, Fleischman.
Talk to me. Oh!

He's okay!
Are you okay?

O'Connell, where's the rabbi?

- What rabbi?
- You had a boating accident, Joel.

- I must've dozed off, Joel.
- Yeah.

I was- I was running out of line,
and I got in the- the little boat,

and the fish pulled me out.

Then what happened?

I don't know.
I guess I fell asleep.

- How'd you get here?
- I think the fish brought me.

- Brought what?
- I think he said the fiyh brought him.

Awesome, H.
It's even closer than the last time.

This one is for Walt. I'm starting
a seascape for Lowell Grippo next.

Cape Cod Morning?
That's the one.

You're cranking 'em out
like sausages, babe.

You know, Shel,
Chris says it's all in the doing.

Tell you the truth, I think there's
a lot to be said for the having.

Me too.

Here we go. Page 10, please.

Um, Marilyn, why don't you tell us
about the karpas, if you would?

Which is the parsley.

Okay. " The karpas"-
You have to pick it up.

Oh. " The karpas represents...

our gratitude to God
for the bounty of the earth.

We dip it in saltwater to remind us...

of the tears our ancestors shed when
we were slaves in the land of Egypt. "

Very nice. Okay, everyone,

you dip the- the karpas,
and you can eat it if you like.

Okay. Next page, everyone.

Maggie, why don't you tell us
about the matzo, if you would?

"Behold the bread of affliction our ancestors
ate when we were slaves in the land of Egypt.

Let it remind us of people everywhere
who are poor and hungry.

Let it call to our minds people today who
are still enslaved and without freedom.

May all in need come
and celebrate Passover with us.

May God redeem us
from all servitude and trouble.

Next year at this season,
may the whole house of Israel be free,

and may all people enjoy liberty,
justice and peace. "