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[ Water Lapping ]

[ Vessel Creaking ]

[ Glass Breaking ]

[ Man ] In the beginning, there was nothing.

[ Man #2 ] 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.

[ Man #1 ] 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.

** [ Jingle Plays Over Loudspeaker ]

[ Man Over Loudspeaker ] 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--

[ Man Continues, Indistinct ]

[ Engine Stops ]

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.

[ Bell Jingles ]

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

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

[ Scoffs ] Buzzards.

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?

[ Chuckles ] 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.

[ Man ] H.Q. says that's where we establish our beachhead.

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.

[ Man #2 ] A key property.

Point of weakest defense.

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

Somebody on the inside?

Working on it.

[ Cracking ]

[ Pants, Sighs ]

[ Sighs ] 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. [ Reporter ] Local police officials--

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?

[ Reporter ] ...replica of a 19th-century pirate vessel.

[ Knocking ] Hello!

[ Woman ] 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. [ Car Door Slams Shut ]

Oh, my. Would you look at that?

[ Mrs. Pierce ] 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?

[ Reggie ] 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.

[ Woman ] 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.

[ Man ] 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?

[ Sighs ] 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.

[ Dr. Lloyd ] I want to register a protest.

[ Chairperson ] 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.

[ Woman On Radio ] * 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.

[ Sighs ] This is too weird.

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.

[ Waves Crashing In The Distance ]

You can hear the ocean.

[ Chuckles ] Yeah.

I always loved that.

[ Man On Loudspeaker, Indistinct ]

All hands on deck. Hey, Arky.

[ Man On Loudspeaker Continues, Indistinct ]

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. [ Chuckles ]

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.

[ Chuckles ] Yeah.

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.

[ Attorney ] 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. [ Chuckles ]

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-- [ Sighs ]

I kind of wanted to apologize.

- For what? - For Carter.

[ Scoffs ] 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? - [ Laughing ]

Girl, we ate that shit up.

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

being the tragic ex-girlfriend and all.

[ Chuckles ] Like that was gonna make me feel better.

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.

[ Chuckles ] Elton Lloyd.

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.

[ Sighs ] I blame it on the drugs.

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.

** [ Funk Playing On Radio ]

[ Radio Clicks Off ] 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.

[ Chuckles ]

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! [ Chuckles ]

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? [ Woman ] Gwendolyn.

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.

[ Woman ] Testing one, two, three.

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. [ Laughing ]

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.

[ Boy ] I held that pose for so long.

It is you, isn't it?

Hello, Miss Delia.

Desiree!

It is so wonderful to see you. [ Laughing ]

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. [ Chuckles ]

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! [ Drumroll ]

[ People Applaud ]

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?

[ Man ] 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.

[ Inhales Deeply ]

This isn't the guy I meant.

[ Exhales ] 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.

[ Waves Crashing Gently ]

[ Dog Barking In Distance ]

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'.

[ Man ] The polar ice cap is melting.

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. [ Mr. Temple ] 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.

[ Grumbling ]

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.

[ Bell Rings ] [ Race Announcer Indistinct ]

Get in there. Get in there.

Come on! Cut him off. Get in there.

[ Race Announcer Continues, Indistinct ]

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.

[ Man ] Squad, attention!

- 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.

[ Sighs ]

- 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.

[ Bell Dings ]

[ Man ] 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.

[ People Talking At Once ]

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.

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

- 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?

[ Francine ] 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?

[ Sighs ]

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?

[ Liquid Pouring ]

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.

[ Woman ] * If I walk

* 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 * [ All ] * 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 *

[ All ] 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. [ All ] 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.

** [ Woman Vocalizing ]

[ Man ] 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.

[ Marly ] 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.

[ Applause ]

And now our newly-crowned Pirate Queen,

Donna Jean Stamper, will do the honors.

** [ Drumroll ]

[ Applause ] 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.

[ Applause ] 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.

[ All Laughing ]

- 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.

[ Man ] Heads up! Still got them hands.

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.

[ Chuckles ]

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.

** [ Organ ]

Which one did you play?

I had a solo number.

"Siren of the Deep."

[ Chuckles ] I bet you were something.

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.

** [ Continues ]

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.

- [ Sighs ] 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?

[ People Chattering, Shouting ]

Stop the digging now! Stop the digging now!

[ Chanting Continues ]

I'm with Exley.

[ Chanting Continues ]

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!

[ Chanting Continues ]

[ Engine Starts ]

[ Engine Stops ]

[ Chanting Stops ]

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.

[ Horn Honks ]

[ Splash ]

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 **