Northern Exposure (1990–1995): Season 6, Episode 4 - The Letter - full transcript

MAGGIE: By the time
you read this, you'll be 30.

A card-carrying adult,
living a life I can
only dream about.

Sometimes I picture it,
there you are, fresh
from a courtroom triumph.

You tuck in the kids,
step onto the veranda,

the city lights strung like
diamonds across
your forever view.

Your husband hands you
a glass of French champagne,

not that he has to be
John Travolta, or anything.

One lingering kiss
says it all.

It's a long way
from Grosse Pointe, isn't it?

I'm really jealous of
all the important things
you've done,

the glamorous places
you've been.



Know this,
I never doubted you
for a minute.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
MOTHER: Let's get a move on,
young lady!

You're going to be late
for your tennis lesson.

I'm doing something, okay?
Give me a second!

I told you 10 minutes ago
we had to leave.

Maggie?

I'm coming, Mom, I'm coming.

Second time in a month
I've gotten stuck in the mud.

With all the traffic there is
on the Strayhorn, you'd think
we could get it paved.

I know. Hey, why don't you
write a letter to the mayor?

What good would that do?
Edna's in Costa Rica.

Oh, I have a letter for you.

I think it's from your dad.

What does Edna do
down there, anyway?



Well, beside drinking
Cuba Libres
and avoiding winter,

I'm sure I can't tell you.
Oh, Shelly, I believe
you got some mail, too.

Oh.

Okay, what do we have here?
Let's see.

Two cans of chili.
What's this?

$1 .79.

And this is 99 cents...

MAGGIE: By the time
you read this, you'll be 30.

A card-carrying adult,
living a life I can
only dream about.

Oh, my God.

No bad news, I hope.

No, it's a letter that I wrote
to myself when I was 15.

Kind of as a goof, you know,
not to open until I was 30.

My dad said he found it
when he was throwing out
the National Geographics.

SHELLY: Listen to this.

„You hold in your hand
a link to the spirit world
of ancient Mesopotamia.

If you make five copies
of this letter and promptly
send them to five friends,

you will be showered
with good fortune.”

Chain letter.
Haven't seen one of those
for a while.

„Ignore this letter
at your own peril.”

Yeah, right.

MAGGIE: It's a long way
from Grosse Pointe, isn't it?

I'm really jealous of all

the important things
you've done...
See ya.

...the glamorous places
you've been.

Maggie?

Know this,
I never doubted you
for a minute.

Maggie?
Hmm?

CHRIS: Whoever it was
that said, „Give me
a head with hair,”

neglected to add,
„and a barber who knows
what to do with it.”

Chris Stevens with
a message of hope, citizens.

Lay down your Flowbees.
What's it been?

Two years since
the good barber, Earl, hit us

below the sunbelt
and split for Tampa?

Well, the bad hair days
are behind us.

'Cause I'm pleased
to welcome

Cicely's newest tradesman,
Angelo Maxwell.

Bartenders and headshrinkers
notwithstanding,

nothing's more conducive
to a good conversation

than a visit to
the pomade-scented
bastion of civility,

the neighborhood clip joint.

Early reviews feature
superlatives usually reserved

for the art of
the pre-Raphaelites.

What price genius?

Haircuts start at nine bones.

HOLLING: Oh, yeah, sure.
Well, I'm sorry, too.

I don't believe it.

What's wrong, H?

That was the Edgecombe Lodge
in Fairbanks.

I sent that deposit in
two weeks ago.

They say they didn't
receive it till yesterday.

What?
We're too late.

They're booked
to the rafters.

So much for
the tavern owner's convention.

Well, it's not just that.

That was our
one getaway weekend.

I don't care how
great a parent you are,

if you don't get a break
once in a while,
you can go majorly filbert.

What about another hotel?

Well, according to this
gentleman, every room
in Fairbanks

is booked through the 18th.

It just so happens
that the All-Alaskan Logging
Championship is the same week.

Oh, mega-bummer.

What luck.

Two thousand members
in our association,

it has to be our reservation
that gets lost.

JOEL: So, just a tad
off the sides.

I mean if you have to err,
err on the side of the length.
You know what I mean?

Not a clue.

That's good.
I like that.

A little levity
to make your customers
feel at ease.

Unless you're willing
to pay for the service,
Mr. Fleischman...

It's Dr. Fleischman, actually.

Dr. Fleischman,

I'd appreciate
a thorough shampooing
before you show up.

Okay, well,
I happen to have washed
my hair yesterday,

but, please, I'm serious,
just an inch
at the most, tops.

I'll give you the haircut
you need.

If that's not acceptable,
I got a customer waiting.

It's just... Easy,
you know, come on,

I happen to be
a little particular about
my hair, if you don't mind.

So, tell me, why Cicely?

And don't tell me you think
haircuts are a growth industry
up here.

No pun intended.

I needed a change.
Yeah?

Chin down.

Change from what?
Where are you from?

I said, chin down.

Okay, sorry,
I thought barbers
liked to chat.

Hmm.

What?

Hit your head?

Hey, what is that?
That's weird.

I hadn't noticed that.
That's like a bump.

Feels like a meningeal cyst.

What did you say?

Meningeal cyst.

Meningeal cyst?

Look, I'll tell you what,
you don't play doctor
and I won't do any marcels

within 100 yards of your
storefront, all right?

Could be some tiny
perforation or scar tissue
letting it through the bone.

I'm very impressed.
You got yourself a barbershop

and an HMO,
all under one roof.

You don't want my opinion.
Fine.
Great.

Three years ago, Baton Rouge,

I caught a cerebral aneurysm
in a customer.

Guy drags his left foot
a little, but he's alive
today, thanks to me.

Look, no offense,
but all I really want
from this relationship

is not to have hair
down the back of my shirt
when we're done, okay?

So, have you ever
gotten a bump somewhere
and not known how you got it?

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
we all do.

So, Fleischman, look...
Okay, let me ask you this.

Your 15-year-old Fleischman,

if he were to see you today,
would he consider you
a disappointment?

I mean, on a good day, no.

I guess when I was 15,
I just had all these
grandiose visions.

Not very original.

I mean, conventional
when you get right down to it,

but what did you expect?
I mean, you have to realize
where I was growing up.

I mean, Grosse Pointe,
Michigan, was never exactly

the mecca
for alternative lifestyle.

And I guess that's why
I had to rebel.

But you know,
I never wanted to be a lawyer.

I was doing that
for other people.
You know, it just wasn't me.

Law? Wait a minute.
What are you talking about?

You're telling me
you studied law?

You know, I did
two semesters at Michigan.

So, wait a minute, what?
How come I don't know
anything about this?

The point is, Fleischman,
I just don't think that
my teenage Maggie O'Connell

would be impressed
how things turned out,
you know.

She expected me
to be some kind of
heavy hitter by now,

ensconced in a penthouse
with a rich husband
and 2.3 children.

She thought life was
one long romance.

God, H. Are you
going to cook all night?

No, but this
oxtail stew is,

just as soon as
I add a little liquid.

(SCREAMING)

Jesus!
Holling?

I'll get some ice.

Oh!

I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry, Holling.

You? You didn't do anything.

(TAKE A CHANCE ON ME
PLAYING ON STEREO)

Oh, wow.

Finally, I thought you were
going to sleep all day.

What did you do with all
the Doobie Brothers albums?

It's you. It's me.

Yeah, well, I've had
a few surprises myself.

Like finding out
this is where you live.

What the heck
are these things?

Compact disks.

Who are these people?

Queen Latifah,
Concrete Blonde,
Yanni Live At The Acropolis?

Tell me. The eyelashes
are yours, right?

Why am I doing this?

I shouldn't be
doing this to myself.

What's the matter
with your hair?

What do you mean?

It's kind of flat
or something.

Okay, this isn't healthy.
Right?

This kind of
self-introspection
is obsessive.

I like the place.
It's rustic.

Kind of reminds me
of the place
on Lake Huron.

Oh, yeah.
You know, it does,
doesn't it?

Duh. That was a summer house.
This is where you live.

Well, wait a minute,
let's not just
run the house down.

I mean, I think we've been
rather happy here.

And who was that dork
you were with last night?

Tell me that's not your guy.

Fleischman?

Well, my guy.
No, I don't think
I'd use that terminology.

That's a relief.

But I wouldn't call him
a dork, either.

All right, all right,
he's not exactly
the kind of guy,

you, we, I would have
gone for in high school.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

CHRIS: Hey, you in there?

Yeah.

Hi, come on in!

Hey.
Hey.

Who's here?

Well, nobody.

Actually, nobody.

I was just kind of
talking to myself.

All right, well,
I just wanted to
bring this back.

Oh, thanks. Okay, you can
just put that right there.

Wow, I tell you
this pottery's not what
it's cracked up to be.

My best piece imploded
right before reaching
orbital velocity.

Hmm.

He's hot.

I might break down
and buy one, you know, 'cause,

spinning wheel,
very meditative.

Kind of weird,
but a real fox.

You okay?

Yeah.

All right.
Hang by your thumbs.

What?

Hang By Your Thumbs,
Bob and Ray,
old radio heroes.

Oh.

Never mind, you all right?

Yeah.

Okay, see you later.

Okay, bye.

Why didn't you
ask him to stay?
He's righteous.

No. He's just a nice guy.

That doesn't hurt, either.

So, what's the road
less trod upon like?

You must be
the only lawyer
within 100 miles.

You did become a lawyer,
didn't you?

Not exactly.

What exactly do you do?

Well, I'm a bush pilot.

No, I mean your real job.

(PLAYING HARMONICA)

Chris in the Morning?

Hey, all the live long day.
You're Angelo, right?

I'd like to run an ad
on your show.

Well, weren't you listening?
I practically ran one for you.

All I heard was
a lot of incoherent babble.

That's why I want my own ad.

Okay. All right,
I can do that.

Angelo, everybody's
really excited to see that
pole spinning again.

No, hey, I'm serious.

You know,
you're the talk of the town.

Dexterity like yours,
that goes a long way
around here.

You got nothing
better to do than
follow me?

Time was,
when being a good barber
meant something.

Hasn't been
that way for ages.

You'd know all about that,
Mr. DJ. Bet you're a big fan
of that David Crosby.

„Almost cut my hair.”

„Almost cut my hair.
It happened
just the other day.”

Yeah, yeah. Crosby,
Stills and Nash, right.

It was really those
damn teabags
from over in England.

The Beatles,
The Stones, Cream.

The '60s. Yeah.

I can see how a barber would
have a real slack period.

Slack period?

It was the battle
of Chancellorsville.

Twenty thousand men dead
after the first hour.

I should have gotten out
after A Hard Day's Night.

Well, I never thought of
the destruction of
the barber profession

as a byproduct
of counterculture.

I mean, long hair.
It's come and it's gone,

I don't know, a dozen times.
Don't you think?

It's not just hair length,
it's the wholesale
breakdown of values.

The decline of
goods and services.

The death of
personal accountability.

Yeah, but you can't
blame all that on John,
Paul, George and Ringo.

Why am I
wasting my breath?

Look at you.

You're exactly what
I'm talking about.
Forget the ad.

You're the last person
I'd want promoting my shop.

You... You make me
want to throw up.

Hey, Shelly.

You know, you don't have to
go down in there.
You can just come to the edge

and dump stuff.

Oh, I'm not dumping, Ed.

I'm looking for something
I threw away by mistake

while I was at Ruth-Anne's.

Oh. Well, what is it?
I'll help you.

It's a letter.

You know, one of those
year-end tax dealies.

Only I used it for hoops.

It's okay, Ed.
You don't have to help me.

Oh, I don't mind, Shelly.
Tell you the truth,
I kind of like the dump.

Any identifying features?

Well, it's a paper ball
about yea big.

Actually, Ed,
it's not a tax thing,

it's a chain letter.

Since I deep-sixed it, we lost
our Fairbanks reservations,

Holling's gotten
a second-degree burn

and this morning I had to
jump-start the truck.

Whoa.

Why did I have to dis fate?

Eugene's suspenders.

I wonder why he
threw these away?

Oh. Clip's broken.

I hate freaky things
like this.

In junior high,
everybody was into
ouija boards.

Freaked me out. I mean,
maybe it's all moose caca,
but what if it isn't?

Maurice's Weapons of Moroland
display.

I must have asked him
four different times
if he wanted this.

Bingo! A bunch
of gnarly old deli meats.

These are from Ruth-Anne's
store. We gotta be close.

„Ignore this letter
at your own peril.”

That's it!
Ed, you found it!

Cool.

See, right here.
Where the bulge is.

Does it look
like broken skin?

Your hand's in the way.

All right.
Well, just take a close look

and first tell me
if there's any discoloration.

And then tell me,
does it look like a bruise?

It's flesh-colored.

All right, feel it, will you?

Marilyn.

I don't want to touch it.

It's not going to hurt you,
believe me.

Okay, I just...
I really... I need to know,
does it seem like you can

pull it away from the bone,
or does it seem stuck there?

It's stuck.

And the morphology
is oval, would you say?

Octagon.

What?

Well, kind of oval-octagon.

All right, look.

Look at these drawings here.
Does it remotely look like
any of these?

No.
You're sure?

This is great,
this is just...

If this were anyone else's
noggin, I could walk in there,
take a number 10 scalpel,

excise it
and I'd be done with it.

Now I'm gonna have to
fly to Anchorage
to see a doctor for

probably nothing more than
a sebaceous buildup.

An innocuous growth,
I gotta fly to Anchorage.

Angelo says
it's a meningeal cyst.

Angelo?

I don't believe this,
he told you that?

I had a cut
and a hot oil treatment.

You know, I just, I...

I don't believe this.
That, you know, that confirms
every single cliche

about blabbermouth barbers.

Please tell me,
what gives that man
the right to think

he can just shoot
his mouth off like that?

He knows heads.

I did it!
I finally got my letters off.

Uh-huh.

My chain letters, H.

It wasn't easy
getting my picks
down to five.

Mmm-hmm.

Hey.

Oh, you again.

Is this yours?
Mmm-hmm.

Hey,

did you know I have
3,000 hours in the air.

That's like 20 times
around the world. That's
pretty impressive, huh?

Oh, yeah, real impressive.

Oh, what?

You know, what? What's wrong?

It's just that
it's not the same as
going around the world.

Look, I'll tell you something.

Anybody can pony up
a ticket on a jumbo,

but I fly this plane.

Do you know,
just like you always
dreamed you would.

I know, I know. I just...

I mean, I thought I would have
gotten this stuff
out of my system by now.

What stuff?

You know, the tomboy thing.

I don't really see
this as a
masculine-feminine issue.

Look, I don't think
you understand what
an important job you...

I have.

Do you know? Hundreds of
people rely on us every day
for vital services.

Their economic lives
are at stake.

ED: Hey, Maggie.

For your Anchorage run.

Sixty-one issues of
Cahiers du Cinema.

A book dealer down there
is gonna take them
on consignment for me.

Vital services?

I thought I'd keep the Godard
interviews. Well, you know,
sentimental purposes.

Right.

Whoa.

What is it?

Maggie.

What?

You know.

You see something?

Really?

Kind of a luminous egg.

Wow.

Oh, I'm sorry.
You probably want to be alone
with your manifestation.

No.

See you later.

Bye.

Cool jacket.

SHELLY: Uh-huh. Well, yeah.

Any idea when we can
get a copy?

You will? Bitching.

Thanks. Oh, yeah.
Thanks again for calling.

Hey.

Have you ever heard of
the Gault Mille, Mille...

Something or other guide?
A tour book?

Yeah, the Gault Millau.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's sounds right.

Well, that's
a good guidebook.

It saved my ass once in
Aix-en-Provence.

I had to find a brasserie
that would feed
25 NATO bigwigs.

Guess what?

We're gonna be in it.
The Brick?

The newest Alaskan edition.
That was the editor
on the phone.

Traditional Alaskan cuisine
amidst a setting of antiques.

How about that?

It's about time we got
a little press attention
around here.

Oh, wow.

It's the chain letter,
it's got to be.
I just sent them out!

Don't give up on
those Fairbanks rez's yet, H.

Could be we have
the whole Babylonian
empire on our side.

Hey, Angelo.

You know, I was thinking about
what you were saying earlier
about the

trashing of
Western civilization.

Yeah, and I was thinking
maybe you and I,
we just need to

view this in a broader,
historical context.

You know, like
post-war boom, or...

You know, the decline
of agricultural economy.

You know, US involvement
in foreign conflicts.

What do you think about that?

Morning, Chris.

Morning.

There we go.

A little sailor's
double hitch.

Yeah, yeah.

We're done.

It didn't come off the bone
very easily, did it?

No. It was pretty stubborn,

which pretty much rules out
a sebaceous cyst.

Yeah. I think we're dealing
with a neurofibroma,
you know.

I mean, possibly
extradural tissue fiber,

something with
the external lining,
obviously, right?

Possibly.

Well, let's just
have a look and see.

Okay.

Harvard Medical School?

Mmm-hmm.

What brings you
to Alaska?

It's one of these
trade-off programs.

They pay for my education,
and I work it off here.

Yeah, I've heard of those.

I guess I'm one
of the lucky ones, though.

I've heard of guys
getting stuck here
three and four years.

Somehow, Massachusetts General
struck a deal to get
me back next fall.

MGH?

You're going there?

Uh-huh. They're
holding a residency.

Works out perfectly
with my fiancee
at Tufts next semester.

Oh, that's great.

I mean, no offense,
but you seem a little young
for a residency.

Twenty-three.

No Doogie Howser jokes,
please. I've heard them all.

What? Was it
an accelerated program?

Two years undergrad
and three years med school.

Not that I recommend it.

Didn't leave much time
for a social life.

Signing bonus does take
the sting away,
I gotta say.

Signing bonus?

All right, Dr. Rojas, Rudy...

I have to apologize
for taking so much time
for something

that's obviously
so minor but...

I'm not sure I'd call
this minor, Joel.

I'll need a biopsy
to be sure,

but every indication is that
this is a malignancy.

It's a boy, Mrs. Fleischman.
A beautiful baby boy.

Give your Aunt Doreen
a big kiss, bar mitzvah boy.

We expect big things
from you, Joel.

Very big things.

YOUNG MAGGIE:
You're reading a book?

MAGGIE: So what?

It's Saturday night. You're
going to tell me that has
no significance in the 1990s?

Listen, I am sick
of listening to you.
I have had it!

I'm sick of listening to you,
to me, to us.

You know, you act like
I'm some kind of
underachiever

who does what she does
'cause she couldn't cut it

doing anything
really challenging.

You call it
doing your own thing.

I call it compromising
yourself into nonexistence.

I am not listening to this.

I am not gonna
drive myself crazy

because I haven't
lived up to some
Town & Country image

of what you think
success is.

How do you think I feel?
I expected to be
somebody, you know?

Meaning what?

Billing somebody
in five-minute increments?

Driving an E-Class Mercedes?

At least you
could have had a family.

Like that's the be-all
and end-all of everything.

I have had it!
I am not gonna
listen to you anymore!

Hey, I'm not
finished with you!

Hello, Mr. Maxwell.

Oh, Ruth-Anne sent me over.

This coupon you used
to purchase that
wintergreen air freshener,

well, it turns out
it's expired.

So you owe us 56 cents,

but you don't have to
pay us now. You can come by
and pay us anytime.

That's all right.
I don't like to be
beholden to anybody.

Thanks.

That's some head of hair
you've got there.

I'm real sorry.

What are you apologizing for?

Well, Chris told me
you don't approve of long hair
and it ruined your life.

But I just want you to know
that I have this
for professional reasons,

on account of
I'm a shaman in training.

I don't disapprove
of all long hair.

And yours is resplendent.
Have a seat.

Well, what for?

I'll take care of those
split ends for you.
On the house.

Oh, well.
Sit down.

Right.

So, you're a friend of
Chris Stevens, huh?

Chris, yeah.

He might even be
my best friend.

What do you know about him?

Well, Chris likes poetry.

Shoots a mean game
of eight ball.

He's got high blood pressure.

He's on some kind
of medication.

Oh, of course, you realize
I'm only telling you this

in case he fainted
or something,

and you were around,
you could help him.

Don't feel bad about talking.

People tend to open up
in the barber's chair.

Oh, okay.

Well, he was in prison.

Is that so?

Yep. Armed robbery.

Convenience store.

I guess he planned
the whole job.

Well, if the shoe fits.

Hi, Marilyn.

Sorry I'm late.
I got stuck on hold
with my medical insurer.

I hope I didn't
keep him waiting.

He's not here.

Who, Joel?
Uh-huh.

I had a 2:15, right?

He missed his 1 :30, too.

Any idea where he is?

Maybe he's gone out
on the ice.

Hmm?

He thinks it's his time.

(SIREN WAlLlNG)

POLICEMAN ON RADIO: Pull your
vehicle to the side of the
road and turn off the engine.

Can I see your
driver's license
and registration, please?

Yeah.

The registration is over here,
so...

It's a friend of mine,
Chris Stevens.

He let me borrow it.
You can check.

I clocked you going
90 miles per hour.

All right, I'd like you to
step away from the bike,
please,

over here to the white line.
I want you to spread
your arms out

and walk along
the white line.

Hey, I haven't been drinking.

Okay.

You know, you can...

You can write me the tickets
if you want,
but I got to tell you

I'm probably
not gonna show up.

Turn around, please.

I'm not trying to be
a wiseass or anything.

I just... I know you fellows
have to schedule these
court appearances

on your days off,
and I'm just trying to

save you the trouble,
you know.

You can spend
some quality time
with your loved ones.

God knows that's important.

You ever seen anybody
who's ridden on their skull
for 300 feet?

Hey, Officer, I'm a doctor.
I've seen it all.

And not enough.

Look,
can I ask you a question?

Mmm-hmm.

How old are you?

Twenty-seven.

You got your
whole life ahead of you.

You be careful now.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I mean it.

Hey, Ed.
Can I get some quarters?

The change machine
in the laundromat's
on the fritz.

Sure thing.

Actually, I just cracked
open a new roll.

Why don't you
give me a box of Snow Caps?
We'll make it legit.

All righty. You know,
it's a good thing
you're here, Shelly.

You were short on postage
for those letters
you dropped off the other day.

Well, what do you mean,
short on postage?

Well,
you used postcard stamps.

So you were short
on all five.

What are you telling me, Ed?

You sent them out anyway,
didn't you?

Sorry, Shelly.

The post office is
pretty strict about
insufficient postage.

My chain letters.
They never went out?

You can still
make the 4:00 pickup.

But we got the news
about the guidebook,

Randi stopped teething,

and my chain letters
never went out.

Would you like to
buy some more stamps?

What does it all mean, Ed?

Hey, Angelo.

Anybody home?

(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)

Hey?

Did a little baking here.

Got some crowberry tarts,
six pack of Heine.

Hey,
there's the man, Angelo.

(GRUNTING)

Hands on top of
your head, Mr. DJ.

Oh, man, come...
Look, will you please

just put that
piece down, okay?

You don't fool me, Stevens.
You're a con.

Now get back out there in the
light and empty your pockets.

So somebody told you
I did time. So?

It's not like
somebody had to tell me.
It reeks out of you.

I've been running
from people like you
all my life.

Hoodlums, punks, torpedoes!

Well, that's going to stop.
Enough.

Basta!
I'm not running anymore.

Please, Angelo,
can I just get up?

Youngest barber in
the history of the
Park Sheraton.

People said I had

scissor technique
that comes along
once in a lifetime.

Did a trim on
Arthur Godfrey that
would make you cry.

And just like that,
it was all over.

Look, what did that have
to do with me, man?

I wasn't even born yet.

One of our customers
at the shop
was Mr. Albert Anastasia.

The Albert Anastasia?

Capo di tutti capi
of murder, incorporated.

I'll never forget it.

October 25, 1957.

Mr. Anastasia
was the next chair over.

Two of Vito Genovese's guys
walk in and blow him away.

I looked one of them
right in the eye.

Wow, man.

I was one of the first
in the Barber
Protection Program.

They got a relocation program
for barbers, huh?

As if you didn't know
a lot of those goombahs
got whacked in the chair?

Aside from waiters,
barber's seen

more gangland murders
than anybody.

They hit Brenda,
the manicurist,
on an outcall.

Jimmy, the shoeshine boy,
took a header off

the Triborough Bridge,
Christmas day, 1961 .

Man, that's...
That's grievous.

You have no conception.

Never putting down roots.

Always looking
over your shoulder.

Well, you dish out a lot of
greenstick fractures

to everybody who
brings you baked goods?

You put this witch hazel
on your shins.

You got any contacts
in the life,

you tell them
Angelo's not afraid.

They stole my future.

There's nothing
they can do to me
worse than that.

Hi.

I thought you weren't
gonna deal with me
anymore.

Yeah, well,
I changed my mind.

How did you know
where to find me?

Hey, you know,
who do you think invented
these stakeouts?

Huh?

I'm waiting for Chris
to come home.

I just want
one more look.

Yeah, you know
I can just see you

trying to fit all that
Ethan Allen furniture
into that trailer.

You don't know me
as well as you think
you do.

And you know me?

Look, do you think
all my aspirations
stopped at 15?

I know you didn't
become a lawyer.

Well, I didn't
shrivel up and die.

God, look,
there are a thousand things
I want to do with my life.

I had ambitions
that make yours pale.

You didn't accomplish
any of those things, either.

Maybe not 100% .

I think I hear
his motorcycle.

(ENGINE RUMBLING)

Look, I didn't come here
to argue with you.

(CHUCKLES)

I didn't. I came here
to tell you that

I actually think you're right
about some things.

My job, flying.

It's great,
but it's not enough anymore.

(ENGINE RUMBLING)

Here he comes.

It's the dork. What's
he doing on Chris' bike?

Fleischman?

Fleischman!
Hey.

What are you doing?

Just out for a little ride.

You're hurt.
What happened to you?

Oh, nothing.

Everything. I don't know,
I don't think I've ever
felt this alive in my life.

Look at his face.

Yeah, yeah, Fleischman,
you look terrible.

I know. It's so amazing.
I actually laid it down
in a curve,

right, and then I hit a pile
of moose droppings,
believe it or not.

The back wheel goes
out of course, and,
I don't know, I'm okay.

Chris here?
No, I don't think so.

All right, well, look,
obviously I'm sorry,

tell him, you know,
and I'll pay for any damages.

Can I give you a ride?

No. No, thanks.
I have a truck.

Are you sure
you're okay, Fleischman?

Yeah, yeah.
I'll see you tomorrow?

Yeah, yeah, night.

Do you want some
more coffee, Walt?

No, thanks, I'm good.

Something wrong, Shelly?

I guess what happens when life
really isn't in our hands.

There's nothing we can do.

That's a little fatalistic,
isn't it?

I don't know about that,
but it sure is a drag.

I mean, things are
gonna go their own way
no matter what you do.

Predetermination.

It's been debated
for centuries.

Hey, if Calvin was right,
if everything is preordained,
why make plans?

Go to the doctor,
go to work.

Hell, why do anything?

Well, if the deck
isn't stacked,

then why do things
happen the way they do?

Destiny is not
a matter of chance,
it's a matter of choice.

It isn't something
to be waited for.

It's something
to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan.

Sensible man,
although he was pretty
atavistic on Darwin.

Huh?

I'm talking about free will.

Descartes, Locke.
That crowd.

Let me tell you,
on Wall Street,

if you convince yourself
that fate rules,

you're going to be
hocking your wingtips
in a hurry.

Of course, it never hurts
to carry a lucky bottle cap.

I've had my Nehi for years.

Hey, Marilyn,
what do you say?
What do you know?

Gorgeous day, huh?

You ever noticed
how the light is
this time of year?

It's almost like clear,
like cut crystal. You know?

Even sounds are sharper.
They're crisper.
It's like

the whole world is
in bold relief. Like...

Like we're all just here
for a moment, but, boy,
what a beautiful moment it is.

What's this?

From Dr. Rojas.

Dr. Rojas?

Extradural meningioma.

Unusual, but benign.
Result of excretion
of meninges from skull.

Nothing to worry about.
Yes! Yes!

Why didn't you
tell me he called?

It's in your box.

Marilyn, a message
of this magnitude.

What... You don't just
put it in the inbox.
Don't you realize that...

I've been taking S-curves,
do you know this?

At 70 miles an hour
without my helmet.

I mean, I could have been
creamed, I could have been...

I could have been roadkill
on the Alcan, Marilyn.

Right.

You're right. Got it.

Morning.

I was wondering
if you had time to
squeeze in a haircut.

You?

Yeah, maybe a shave.

What do you say?

I don't take instructions.

Okay.

Hey, Wilbur, Earl.

Chris.

(CLEARS THROAT)

Nice day.

Not too hot.

Yeah, it is.

Shelly?

Hey, babe.
I've got our stuff packed.

Maybe I overdid it?

Wait a minute?
Did those people from
Edgecombe call back?

Nope, I just decided
we ought to go anyway.

Randi's already
settled in with Doris.

Oh, Shelly, we can't
drive all the way
to Fairbanks

to just show up
without reservations.

You think the pioneers
who came to Alaska
made reservations first?

No way. They went out there
and made their own
manifold destiny.

How's that?

You know. Wagons ho!

We've got to get looser,
Holling. Take some risks.

What happens to the goalie
who always guesses left?

I don't know, but I do know
that no vacancy generally
means no vacancy.

So, maybe there'll
be a cancellation,
maybe we'll sleep in the car.

This time of year?
In Fairbanks?

Shelly, a cold front moves in,
ice and fog,
we'd freeze to death.

Well, you never know.

Shelly, honey.

That's what makes it
so slamming, H.

Come on, I want to
hit the road.

All right.
Give me a minute.

Fleischman, hey.
Hey.

Congratulations on your head.
Thanks.

Yeah.

Boy, you're cheery.
Just happy I'm alive,
are you?

Well, of course,
but there's something else.

I've decided to run for mayor.

Mayor?
Yes.

Of Cicely?

No, Fleischman,
of Buenos Aires.
Of course, Cicely.

And you can be
the first to sign
the petition.

I have to have 50 names
to get on the ballot.

Well, it's a bit sudden,
isn't it?

No, actually, actually,
I've been doing
a lot of reevaluating,

a lot of reflecting.
Don't you ever do that?

Oh, yeah, I'd say,
from time to time.

Yeah, well,
I guess you can say

I sat myself down
and had a good long talk.

Yeah, well,
you couldn't be
any worse than Edna.

Well, there are
a lot of things
I want to do.

I mean, there are no
bike paths, the electrical
grid is obsolete,

and Strayhorn should've
have been paved
three years ago.

Well, allow me to be
the first to wish you
the best of luck.

Thank you.

So?

Okay, do I print
or write my name?

Print and then you write.

Chris in the Morning here,
fresh from the chair of
maestro Angelo Maxwell.

All clipped and combed,
smooth and scented.

I'm primed and ready
to face the first day
of the rest of my life.

What a journey it is.
You never know

what's going to be
in that bend in the road.
Will it be

the tiger or the lady?
Ali Baba's treasure
or a cement overcoat?

You know that signpost
up ahead just might be
a barber's pole.

But take heart, 'cause I'm
gonna paraphrase the words
of Joe Campbell who said,

„Nothing is exciting
if you know what
the outcome is going to be.”

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

MAGGIE: The next time you
read this you will be 45.

I hope I didn't
catch you during
a midlife crisis.

You'll be 45.

That's almost half a century.

Dear Maggie,
I'm not even going to guess

about where you are,
who you're with,

what you're doing.

In fact,
I don't even want
those answers.

(THE TIDE IS HIGH PLAYING)