All language subtitles for Episode_6_en

Last on Roots:

"We are pleased to offer you the position
of director of agriculture...

...with the academic rank of professor.

Advise us of your availability
at your earliest convenience."

You got it!

There's one thing poor people have
in common, no matter who they are.

They have no education.
Education is the key. lt's the--

lt's the way up, the way out.

That's why you must
do well in school, Alex...

...not only for yourself,
but to help others as well.

Most people live their whole lives...

...without ever having
anything important to do.

So when you've got something
that's important like your daddy has...

...you can't let anything stand
in your way. Not anything.

You just gotta see it through.

Bertha.

What are we ever gonna do without you?

You got to remember...

...and go on.

And then one day...

...you'll tell the story...

...of this family...

...to your family.

Oh, Grandma.

All right, a dollar a day.

Be here tomorrow at 6:00 in the morning
and work till 5.

Thank you, sir.

-That name again?
-Haley. Alex Haley.

By the way, you bring your own grub.

We furnish the water.

Tomorrow we'll check out
Frank's project...

...and yours, Dewey.

Dad?

Alex?

What in the world are you doing here?

Dad, this is something l've been thinking
about for a long time now, and l--

Wait, l'll bet l know.

That special report down in Alabama
with Petty John, the county agent.

They sent you home to do the research.

-How long are you going to be with us?
-That's up to me and you.

Well, you're here,
and we've all been missing you.

George and Julius are going
to be fit to be tied.

Your mother too.

My mama died seven years ago.

Zeona thinks the world of you, Alex.

You treat her with respect.

Yes, sir.

You know l'll always do that.

Hey, how you doing?

What is all that racket?

Who's buzzing in my house?

Ain't a woman got a right
to no peace?

Grandma, Alex is here.
He came home.

Aleck? What you talk? That man
dead and gone 20 year or more.

No, no, not Daddy Aleck, Mama.
My son, Alex.

Your grandson, been away to college.

Alex?

l do remember.

Now, you two hush.

Look at you, mocking your grandma.

l'll see to it that you won't
be grinning for a week.

ln 90 years, she's forgotten
more than you'll ever know.

You look good, Grandma.

Oh, l don't get around so spry.
That worries me.

They come after me,
their torches flickering...

...l won't be able to run.

And the men and their dogs,
they catch me at last.

You don't have to worry.
l'm here.

Nobody's gonna hurt you
while l'm here, Grandma.

Zeona, set another place.
Our college boy's home.

Well, Alex, isn't this the nicest surprise.

Hello.

-Now, give your mother a kiss.
-Oh, don't embarrass him, Simon.

He's probably saving his kisses
for all those pretty, young girls.

They gave him leave to research
that paper on my fieldwork in Alabama.

Alex, you look tired.
You've probably been working too hard.

-Why don't l help you unpack--
-That's all right. lt's full of dirty clothes.

Alex, l sleep in your room now.
You gonna have to sleep in the rollaway.

-You play football at Alcorn, Alex?
-No.

They play baseball in the spring, dummy.

Why so troubled?

Because, Simon, that boy is hurting.

Oh, Alex? No, he's doing fine.

Better even than l'd expected.

l don't know, if he wasn't almost 1 7
and trying so hard to be a man...

...what he'd like to do is bury
his face in his mother's apron...

...and just have a good cry,
but she's gone.

l know my son.
He's just tired and hungry.

One good meal from you,
and he'll be cocky as ever.

Well.

Come put the extra board in the table.

Getting dark.

That's when it all run together,
when the light go.

Can't make out the line
between the dream and the other.

l've got everything in my files
that you'll need for your report, Alex.

Newspaper clippings, pictures.

Can't it wait till morning, Simon?
The boy is tired.

The sooner we get started,
the sooner he gets back to school.

Alex, l'll bring your cake in here.

You don't have to bother.

And a glass of milk.

Now, first you'll want to establish
the conditions l found...

...when l went to Alabama.

Dad, listen. Now, l'm not home
to do a special paper on your work.

l'm home because l quit school.

-You did what?
-l quit Alcorn.

l dropped all my classes.

l can't believe this.

-l have a job working on the road.
-Your job is at school.

You'll stay on that job until it is completed
to my satisfaction, till you graduate.

l'm not going back.

Sit down.

The point is you are competent
to do that work.

lt's a question of self-reliance
and responsibility.

We chose very carefully.

Alcorn is one of the finest schools
in the South.

-Your mama and l always said--
-l miss Mama.

We all do, Alex.

You can't use that as an excuse
for not doing your job.

l just can't study, Dad. l can't.

l sit there, and l stare at the books.

You are my oldest son.

You are Alexander Murray Palmer Haley.

You didn't get all that name
by accident.

Now, Aleck, that was my father's name.

A patient man, facing up to all
the meanness in life and never flinching.

Now, Murray, that ties you to your
Grandma Cynthia and all her family.

Big Tom the blacksmith,
Chicken George, Kizzy and the African.

And Palmer, that's your Grandpa Will...

...coming up from working on the railroad
tracks to owning a fine lumberyard.

And Haley is what l'm trying
to pass on to you.

Son, you've got to be what
all these people were and more.

-You're asking too much of me.
-l'm asking what l know you can do.

Well, l can't.

l got two C's at midterm,
an incomplete and an F.

l will not allow that.

l will not allow that!
Summer school, tutors, whatever it takes.

And l'll talk to Dean Roberts--

-No, Dad! l am not going back!
-You can't speak to your father like that.

Don't you tell me! You're not my mama!

-Boy, don't you talk to her that way!
-Stop it! Both of you stop shouting.

-Stay out of this, Zeona!
-What are you saying, l should stay out?

Am l not a part of this family?
Never was, never going to be?

Alex's been treating me like that
for years. Now you're doing it.

Then l am not your wife,
and l am not a mother.

Good Lord, what am l? What am l?

Zeona.

You are not working on a road gang,
and that's final.

Now...

...go to bed.

l was trying to protect you.

Simon, l came into this marriage
with my eyes wide open.

Second wife, stepmother to three boys.
l have tried to be a mother to those boys.

But l am not Bertha.

And l will never be to them
what she was.

But you know l care.
ln my own way, l care.

l know, l know.

The boy is just stubborn.

-l'll talk to him. lt'll be fine.
-No.

No, we sent him off to college
too young. He was only 1 5.

That's when l should have spoken up.
But no, l knew he was resenting me...

...taking his mother's place.

Sending him off to Alcorn
made it easy for us...

...but very hard for him.

Well, all l know is he quit school.

But not to spite you, Simon.
He had a reason.

Because it was hard work?

-Because he just couldn't buckle down?
-Simon. Simon...

...not everybody has your strength.
Not everybody can be like you.

Alex can. Alex will.

You cannot lead his life.

"Raise up a child,"
that's what the Bible says.

A father has to show his son
the right path.

Simon, listen to him.
Let him find his way.

Zeona.

l love you.
l love the child we're going to have.

And you love Alex.

Of course.

Well, tell him.

He knows.

Oh, Simon.

l don't have time for games.

What l hear?

-Oh, they coming with the dogs!
-Grandma!

l got to keep running. Them hounds are--

lt's all right, Grandma.
lt's all right.

-Look, it's only the neighbor's dog.
-l has to get ahead of them. l can do it.

They can't run this girl to the ground.
l too fast!

Nobody is after you, Grandma.

You're safe here.

You Alex?

Oh, the running dream took me.

Don't often come in the daytime.

-lt was the barking.
-Yeah, the barking.

Grandma, those men with the dogs...

...if they had caught you,
what would have happened?

They had ropes.

They would have hanged me
and then burned me.

Just because that white store lady lied
and said that you sassed her?

l ran for my life that night, 1 5 miles...

...to a place where everybody
was colored, and l was safe.

That's a good feeling,
you know, to be safe.

lt's all right, Grandma.
Sometimes l dream l'm running.

You do? For a fact?

-Who's chasing you?
-Nobody. You see, it's different.

lt's what's ahead.

There's this place that l got to get to,
and time just keeps going and--

Well, l keep stumbling around
in the dark, making mistakes.

Don't you fret yourself.

lt may take you a long, long time
to get where you're going.

You may think you just can't go on,
can't take one more step...

...but you do. You just--

You do what you bound to do.

These past two days,
l've been asking myself, "What's wrong?

Why is Alex failing? How can l help?"

Now, Zeona gave me the answer.
She tells me l've been...

...trying to put a man's load
on a boy's shoulders.

We sent you off
before you were ready.

You mean, l don't have to go back?

That's correct.

We should consider
your leaving school temporarily.

Not quitting blindly,
but taking time out...

...with a definite plan in mind.
You see the difference?

Dad, maybe l can do something
for you at the college?

Well, l considered that possibility...

...but l decided that your being
at home is not the answer.

Dad, l promise
that l won't upset you or Zeona.

Now, that isn't the problem, son.
l was--

Well, l was thinking,
you need a chance to grow...

...to put your life in order,
to learn to face challenges.

l think a hitch in the military
would be the making of you.

Military?

You mean, you want
to put me in the Army?

Well, the Army is where l served.

As you know, l enlisted right out
of college, during the Great War.

l know, Dad,
but there isn't a war now...

...and l just got home.

Everybody in the Army is older than me.
l don't know anybody there.

You'll make friends, good friends.

Like Doxey Walker.

l never would have met a man like him
except in the Army.

What do you think, Alex?

After all,
are you ready to go back to Alcorn?

No.

l mean--

lt's a jim-dandy step in the right direction,
isn't it?

Well, l guess.

l mean, if l got to go away somewhere....

-But the Army?
-Two, three years...

...you'll come out
of the Army a grown man.

You'll have some money saved
and go back to college...

...have a degree by the time you're 22,
perfect for graduate school.

You'll become a college professor,
a dean...

...president of a Negro college.

Dad, it doesn't have to be the Army,
does it?

Well....

No, but....

l'd seen some sailors in town.

Some Navy, some Coast Guard.

l think that they are based in Norfolk.

l like those uniforms.

Alex, you're not going into the service
to swagger around in a uniform.

No, sir.

Your orders?

Okay, follow me.

-Where's Scotty?
-l don't know.

-New boot?
-Yeah.

He can wait here for Scotty.

Sit right there. lt won't be long.

Now, hear this. Now, hear this.

Mr. Gilbert, your presence
is requested on the bridge.

New boot?

Yeah.

Where they find you boys?

Looks like they done fished down
to the bottom of the barrel.

Now they're scraping the underside.

Well, l'll put it as plain as l can
so you can understand.

Now...

...there's God almighty up in the sky.

There's the captain up on the bridge.

But down here, there is me.

l'm the boss, the steward in charge.

Steward first class, Percival T. Scott.

You got that
through your thick head, boot?

You ever done this kind
of work before?

lt figures.

Where you from?

What the hell you doing,
spitting all over my clean floor?

Clean it! Every damn bit.

l ain't never seen anything like it.

Aboard five minutes,
and you way up on my list.

You bound to make
Portsmouth brig by suppertime.

Now, l asked you before,
where are you from?

Elizabeth City.

What you do there? Chop cotton?

l been going to college.

-You been doing what?
-Been going to college, sir.

College!

Hell, they done sent old Scotty
a college boy!

Moses and Aaron on a sharp stick.

What they learn you
at that there college, boy?

-Well--
-l bet you a dirty skipper's shirt...

...against a year's pay they ain't teach you
nothing that count for a hill of beans.

Now, you watch and you listen,
and l just might pound enough sense...

...into that thick head to get you
through from Monday to Tuesday.

Now, what are you doing
out of uniform?

l'm sorry, sir, l don't have a uniform.

Then get your shiny tail up to the ship store
and draw you a set of dungarees.

lt will be a month of Sundays
before you need dress whites.

When you get back,
then we start with shining shoes...

...move on to bed making,
polishing silver.

And if you turn out
to be smarter than you look...

...maybe in nine or 1 0 years,
you'll be up to waiting tables.

Why did you join this bathtub Navy, kid?

l saw a Coast Guard booklet, all about
chasing smugglers, rescues at sea...

-...lifeboats in the surf.
-That hero stuff is for white boys.

You and me are going to be mess men,
stewards or maybe ship's cooks.

That's all there is for colored,
Coast Guard or Navy.

You know what it say
on the Coast Guard flag?

-"Semper Paratus."
-"Always ready."

That's right.

As long as you're in that uniform,
you better always be ready...

...to be house nigger
to these white officers.

Coming up to sling a cat?

You seasick?

No, sir.

What's the matter?

l don't know.

lf you ain't seasick, why you on deck
in the middle of the night?

When l woke up down below,
felt the ship moving...

...saw the men sleeping all around me,
one was moaning.

A feeling come over me.

l just had to come up on deck,
see the sky, breathe the air.

You ever been at sea before?

No, sir.

That was the strange part.
l felt like l had.

You get used to it.
We got a month of sea duty ahead.

A whole month?

Norfolk's gonna look mighty good
when we get our liberty.

You go home on liberty?

Home?

This old tub's my home.

College boy. You don't even know
what a man does on liberty, do you?

Well, you stick with me, boy.

Scotty teach you
what liberty's all about.

Haley, why you drag me in here?

A church. What the hell kind
of liberty you got in here?

Scotty, that's no kind of language
to be using in a church.

-That's why l'm getting the hell out.
-Good evening, brothers.

Welcome.

lt sure is the Lord's blessing to have
you boys come back from the sea...

...to the bosom of the church.
lt sure is kindly of you, brother...

...to guide this young boy to wholesome
and Christian recreation.

You'll find refreshments at the table.

Please, make yourselves at home.

Haley, come back here.

-l'll get you some cookies and lemonade.
-Lemonade?

Well, you said you wanted
something to drink.

Lemonade ain't to drink.
lt been drunk.

Hey, you said we'd find some pretty girls.
Well, here they are.

The girls l want to see
are waiting at Miss Lila's.

l want a liberty, son,
not the First Baptist Bible Class.

-l'm getting out of here.
-You go ahead.

l see a girl l want to dance with.

Well, when you're ready
for some action...

...you find your way over
to Miss Lila's.

That's on Spring Street.

Excuse me.

-Would you care to dance?
-All right.

My name is Alex, Alex Haley.

l'd like to know your name.

Nan.

Nan.

That's a pretty name.

Everything about you is pretty.

Why you shake your head?
l'm telling the truth.

My papa warned me about sailors.
Told me not to believe them.

l'm different.

Now, what's the joke?

My papa told me every sailor
is going to say, "l'm different."

Seems your papa did a good job
teaching you how to take care of yourself.

The trouble is, l am different.

Can't we have this dance too?

We're supposed to mingle,
not dance two in a row with the same man.

How about some lemonade?

Well, l guess that would be all right.

Thank you.

What's your last name?

Branch.

Do you live near here?

Where do you live?

Papa told you not to give
a sailor your address?

l'd like to see you again.
Somewhere else, somewhere we can talk.

-What's the matter with the lights?
-They're telling us the dance is over.

But it can't be over. lt's only 9:00.

You've got to go home early
on a Saturday night...

...so you can be in church early
on Sunday morning.

But l will see you again.

You always come
to these church socials?

lt depends.

You shouldn't tease a poor
sailor man like this. lt's unpatriotic.

Wouldn't you like to see me again?

l wouldn't mind.

Nan, wait for me.

lt certainly is nice seeing
you this evening.

l want you to come back again,
do you hear? Soon.

Bring your friends.

No, thanks.

Your friend is mighty quiet.

He done waste his youth
drinking lemonade.

Playing "don't touch the merchandise"
at church socials.

A college boy.

So you bring him to Lila's
for his graduation, huh?

Well, we gonna give him his diploma.

Fix him up with Ruby or Daisy.

The rest of them wildcats
would scare him to death.

Hey, you girls in there!

Get the lead out!

Customers waiting.

Scotty!

You old sea gull!

Where you been hiding?

We figured the salt water done shriveled
you up to nothing at all.

Honey, l'm still one salty dog.

Good luck, boy.

What's the matter with that child?

-He too young for his life to be over.
-Over, hell, his life's just beginning.

Hey, sailor.

Lila says it's you and me.

You're cute, honey. Quiet, but cute.

But you ain't here for conversation,
are you? Come on.

Oh, l'm Daisy.

Mama called all us girls after flowers.

There was Lily and Rose...

...ended up with a whole damn garden.

Come on.

Well, ain't you at least gonna
take your hat off?

Oh, my God.

l got the kindergarten class again. Look,
honey, you got to take your shoes off...

...because l got me a new quilt.

Go on!

-Here, honey, let Daisy help.
-That's all right. l don't need any help.

A girl wears herself out bailing these
sailor pants with the 1 3 buttons in front.

The buttons represent the 1 3
original states of the Union.

Honey, l know that.

Let's start with Delaware...

...move on to Pennsylvania...

...and work our way right
down to little Rhode lsland.

Yesterday...

...December 7, 1941...

...a date which will live in infamy.

The United States of America...

...was suddenly
and deliberately attacked...

...by naval and air forces
of the empire of Japan.

With confidence in our armed forces...

...with the unbounding determination...

...of our people...

...we will gain the inevitable triumph.

So help us God.

Well, men, we got ourselves a war.

Now, you know what that means to you.

You gotta do your duty.

So get yourselves down to the galley...

...and polish them pots.

We got captain's inspection at 0900.

Alex.

Nan, couldn't we--?

l haven't asked the question.

Well, you ask me
the same question every time.

"Can we go somewhere else?"
The answer's got to be the same.

-Nothing's changed.
-Everything's changed.

Don't start on me about the war.

Nan, l can't shut my eyes and pretend
that there's not a war.

There is. l'm in it. You're in it.

lt's all so far away.

The war is right here this very minute,
touching me and touching you.

-lf you really care anything about me--
-You know l do.

You say you do.

l've been here eight times,
and all l get is conversation.

lf you care, let's go somewhere
where we can be alone.

Alex, how am l supposed to get past
my mother and the other sisters?

Any day now, l'm getting
my orders, shipping me off...

...to North Africa or the South
Pacific or God knows where.

And you and me won't ever have
had one minute to ourselves.

Maybe we could go in the back,
in the kitchen.

You know, we could--

We could wash up some glasses
or some punch cups and--

Well, we'd be alone.

Sort of.

-Alex, if somebody comes in here--
-Let them.

l love you, damn it.
l want to show that l do.

You shouldn't swear in church
or anywhere else.

Say it.

You know.

l want to hear it out loud.

-Why is that so important?
-Say it!

l love you, Alex.

Alex, you're soaking me!

Will you marry me?

Well, l--

Why does everything
have to be so awful fast?

Time is running out.
You want to marry me?

l'm not even sure
why you want to marry me.

Because l love you.
Don't you believe that l love you?

You say you do.

l've been waiting my whole life
to love somebody...

...to be loved by someone...

...to touch, to hold. Please, l don't
want to waste another minute.

Will you marry me?

Yes.

l knew you were waiting somewhere.

l just had to find you.

Now, just let me look at you both.

Oh, Simon, isn't your son
a handsome devil in that uniform?

And a married man!

We would have liked to have had you come
to Norfolk for the wedding, but--

But we had to keep it simple,
and we didn't want to wait.

Nowadays, nobody wants to wait.

Young people use the war as an excuse
to hurry into anything and everything.

lf you'll all excuse me a minute,
l better check on the baby.

She usually doesn't nap this long.

-Nan, would you like see the baby?
-Oh, yes, l would, Mrs. Haley.

Well, then come along, Mrs. Haley.

Dad.

The reason l didn't wanna tell you
before the wedding is--

You knew l'd disapprove.

So you went ahead on your own...

...bring it to me as
an accomplished fact.

l'm sorry you feel that way about it.

This marriage is badly timed, Alex.

-lt's impulsive and shortsighted.
-l love Nan. What's wrong with that?

l put you in the Coast Guard
as a chance to grow up.

lf you weren't mature enough to be
a student, how can you be a husband?

Or, God help us, a father?

There are lots of married men on my ship.
There's an allotment.

l'll just work harder to take care of Nan.

Earning $60 a month as a mess man?

You had no right to do that--

Dad, you quit school to join up
in World War l.

l graduated first.

-And l didn't jump into a fool marriage.
-Dad, don't--

Well, you woke her.

Alex. Oh, Alex, come and see the baby.

Oh, she's the cutest thing ever.

She's a sweet girl.

Simon.

Simon, please don't spoil their visit.

They're in love,
and Alex will be going away soon.

l'm disappointed, that's all.
l'm disappointed in my son.

Well, l want you to keep it to yourself.

l mean it, Simon.

-But if l could point out to him--
-Simon.

Darling, l know....

l know that you love
that boy very much...

...but don't point out anything,
don't explain anything to him.

Simon Haley, would you please--
Just hush your mouth.

Oh, Simon. Simon.

Oh, Simon.

l'm gonna be so worried about you
all the time you're gone.

Hey, now, l keep telling you
that this sailor is different.

Nothing's gonna happen to me.

Who loves you more than anything
in the world?

You do.

And for how long?

For as long as you live and beyond.

-Smith!
-Here.

Haley!

Another Haley!

Wiznowski!

-Adams!
-Back here.

Haley!

Haley again!

-Dima-- Dimmer--
-Me!

-Lindstrom!
-Right here.

Haley.

That's it.

Hey, Haley!

Hold it.

Yes, chief?

-How many letters did you get?
-Thirty-three.

Thirty-three letters in one mail call?

That's a record for the S.S. Murziim
and maybe all the ships at sea.

How do you rate all that mail?

l write a lot of letters.

l write to family, friends,
acquaintances, teachers...

...even teachers who failed me.
Anyone l think will write.

Yeah? Well, what do you put
in a letter like that?

l don't know, anything l think of.

Funny things that happen, how l feel...

...the sunset, watching the waves
shine at night, flying fish. Just things.

Hey, let me tell you something.

The last time we made port
in Auckland, Orcutt and me...

...we met these two women.
And mine was special.

Big woman with free and easy ways--

l know. You told us the whole story,
with the gestures.

Yeah, but we don't make
New Zealand for two months.

And a gal like that got a short memory.

Now, l'd like to see that woman
standing on the dock...

...just waiting for old Scotty
to drop his hawser.

-You follow me, Haley?
-No.

You're gonna write me a letter.

You mean a love letter?

Oh, now, chief, l can't do that.

No, l can't write a love letter
for somebody else.

Yes, you can, son, and you're going to.

Chief....

What's her name?

-Hey, Vernon. How did liberty go?
-This here town is dead.

But they ain't got around
to cover it up.

The beer is warm and the gals are cold.

But Auckland girls, now usually,
they're very friendly.

The Aussie fleet's in.
They've been here all week.

Every place you saw one Auckland girl,
you saw two Aussie sailors.

You didn't happen to sort
of bump into the chief?

Scotty? No.

l wouldn't want to cross his path.
Those gals weren't making no exceptions.

Well, what did you do, Haley?
Stay aboard and write letters?

Yeah.

Oh, excuse me, l gotta go.

Haley!

Where you going, sailor?

Chief, now, you can't blame me.
lt isn't my fault.

Now, l try to do the best l can. lt's not fair
to put me down in the grease trap...

-...just because the whole Aussie--
-Haley, shut your mouth.

l'm sorry, chief, that you struck out.

Oh, Haley, what you talking about?

Boy, that gal was waiting on the dock
with a fifth of Scotch she'd paid for herself.

-You mean she--
-Over and over.

Haley, l don't know what you wrote
in that letter...

-...but you ought to bottle and sell it.
-She liked the letter?

Yeah. She was ready.
l mean semper paratus.

Haley...

...after l sleep this off,
l want you to come to the galley...

...and l'm gonna fix you one of those
officers' steaks and a fresh salad.

Thanks, chief. You know,
l'm glad everything worked out.

And then we're gonna talk
about what come next.

Morrison.

Morrison....

Chester.

"Girl's name: Alice. Blond, green eyes.

Body that didn't stop,
beach behind limey service club."

Not quite.

"My darling Alice...

...how many empty days
and lonely nights l have spent...

...since you and l strolled arm in arm
on the beach to the very edge of joy.

Though some would say that hundreds
of miles of ocean lie between us...

...in my mind and in my heart...

...you are alongside me every step l take.

Your sparkling green eyes
are in the depths of the emerald waves.

Your soft blond hair
is in the fleecy clouds floating above.

The breeze that touches me as
l roam the lonely deck at night...

...is the caress of your sweet hands.
Alice, my dearest, l live to see you again.

When we are next in port, l hope my Alice
will take me all the way to wonderland."

Yeah.

That's the best yet.

Okay.

Copy it in your own handwriting.

Next.

Here he is.

We hear you're a daddy.

Yeah. l got a radiogram this afternoon.

-Boy or girl?
-Girl.

Congratulations.

Hey, look at it this way.

ln a white world, black girls
have it easier than black boys.

The captain's gonna want his coffee.

lt seems being a daddy
don't make you too happy.

l'm happy.

l just wish l could have been there,
that's all.

You have to be there to lay the keel...

...but you don't have to be there
for the launching.

l mean, a child's being born.
What's the father supposed to do?

Being the baby was a girl...

...l wanted to name her
for my Grandma Cynthia.

But the wife had other ideas, huh?

She named her Lydia, after her mama.

Call the next one what you like.

And then, l remember my
Grandma Cynthia told me...

...when l was born,
my Grandpa Will, he took me...

...right when l was born, you understand...

...and he carried me out into the yard,
and he held me up under the moon.

What the hell for?

l don't know.

lt's just something in the family
from way back.

Maybe to slavery times, you know.

l know it's crazy.

Maybe, as far as l know,
all the way back to Africa.

Yeah.

l was just thinking about that, that's all.

Africa.

All l know about Africa comes
from watching Tarzan in the movies.

-Feels funny.
-What?

l have a little girl.

You hear, you old moon?
l have a daughter.

"The temperature at ground zero
is estimated to have been...

...1 00 million degrees Fahrenheit...

...three times the temperature
in the interior of the sun.

Ten thousand times the heat
on the sun's surface."

Lord, have mercy.

lt says the estimates
of the dead range...

...from 60,000 to over 1 00,000.

Where?

Hiroshima, a city in Japan.

And all our boys who'd be killed
invading Japan...

...well, they're going to be saved.

Well...

...then you think the war
will be over soon?

Oh, yes. Yeah.

That's what H.V. Kaltenborn
said on the radio last night.

That means Alex will be coming
home soon to Nan and his little girl.

Six long years out of his young life.

But he can get started again.

He can pick right up.

-l think l'm going--
-Simon.

There is nothing we have to do...

...but open our arms
and welcome him back, that's all.

Well, sure, sure...

...but the opportunities
that boy's going to have....

We've got to start planning right away.

What you going to do now, Haley,
with the war over?

Well, the whole plan was to go back
after my bachelor's...

...then go for my master's,
probably in education.

-That what you want to do?
-Oh, yeah.

No, not exactly.

lt was sort of the plan, my father's plan.

He figured that l'd be president
of a college somewhere.

So, what do you want?

l'd like to please my father, but....

But what?

l don't know. lt's funny.

All these months and months
of writing letters for the other guys....

But later...

...it got to be a challenge.

l really got a charge out
of putting the words together...

...finding some new combinations
to say the same old thing.

Anybody can set gals up like pins
in an alley has got a gift from the Lord.

You hear?

-You keep on writing.
-Yeah.

lf l thought l could make a life
for myself writing--

When l hear myself say that out loud,
it really sounds crazy.

-What are you gonna do?
-l don't know what's ahead for me neither.

Now that the war is over,
they're bound to force me to retire.

You'll have a pension.

Money. l'm not talking money.

Look.

Here on the ship, in my uniform,
l'm somebody.

Chief Steward's Mate Percival T. Scott,
that's who l am.

But what l want to know is, who the hell
l'm gonna be out there on that beach, huh?

Not knowing where you came from,
who you are.

When l enlisted, l promised myself
that l was gonna grow up...

...find out who l was.

Listen to old Scotty.

You can grow up, you can grow old...

...and still not know who you are.

l just want to tell you, Scotty...

...you pounded a lot of sense in my head
to get me from Monday to Tuesday.

l'll never forget it.

Yerba buena.

That means "peppermint" in Spanish.

Mentha piperita.

Bet you looked that up
before you took the train.

Something l don't know, l look up.

Mother well?

She sends you her love.

Spoke on the phone
to Nan and Lydia last night.

Strange feeling, hearing my daughter's
voice for the first time.

And she's already talking.

George? Julius?

They're both fine.

George is finishing up his undergraduate
work at Morehouse College.

Then l plan for him to go after
a major university law degree.

Sounds like George is right on schedule.

l'd like to see him enrolled
at one of the Southern state universities...

...be one of the first Negroes admitted.

You do plan big.

These are exciting times, Alex.

We won the war overseas,
now we have to win the one here at home.

We are moving.

A federal judge in South Carolina...

...has ruled all qualified Negroes have
to be enrolled to vote.

The NAACP is starting cases
up through the courts.

Hey, wait a minute, Dad.

Should l be taking notes,
you gonna give me a quiz?

Well, l....

l guess l do lecture a little.
Occupational disease.

Well, all right,
l came out here because l knew you...

...were anxious
to get started back to school.

-l've drawn up a timetable.
-Dad--

You can have your bachelor's degree
in a year.

Then we move right on
to your master's, your doctorate.

l've already spoken to some of my friends
at Cornell, they'll make you feel welcome.

You remember the story you used
to tell me about that?

You were in Henning years ago...

...and told the story over and over.

Everybody was crowded around
Professor Haley, so impressed.

And you were twirling the key.

And Sister Scrap Scott...

...she came up to you, and she said,
"Professor Haley, what's that?"

And you told her it was a key...

...an academic honor
that only few could achieve.

And Sister Scrap, she stared at it.

Finally, she said,
"A key? What do it open?"

That's right.

l've often told that story on myself,
as a curb...

...to intellectual pride.

Dad, the key do open
something for you.

lt opened the doors.
You're a college professor, a success.

That's the point.
lt's going to be so much easier for you.

You'll have the G.l. Bill
to help support you.

The opportunities are going to be
so much greater for black professors...

...than they were ten years ago,
five years ago.

Dad, you're forgetting,
l'm not a free man yet.

l'm still tied to the Coast Guard.

No problem. l've already spoken
to your commanding officer here.

l explained the circumstances...

...and he's promised to consider you
for early discharge, as a hardship case.

Damn it, Dad,
you had no right to go to my CO!

No right?

You had no right to speak
to my commanding officer...

...without consulting me first.

l'm a grown man. l'm not a wet-nose kid!

l was smoothing the path.
You had to get out immediately.

Dad, l don't want out!

You have to enroll in school.

l'm not going back to school.
l am staying in the Coast Guard.

That way, Nan and l will have some security
while l'm looking for what l can do...

...what l want to do.

You listen to me.

Boy, you listen to me!

How dare you.

How dare you just slough off
your responsibility...

...to your mama...

...to your family,
to your race and to me.

Turn your back on everything you
were born to be.

Hear me. You are
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley.

You're one of the talented tenth
Dr. Du Bois said would lead the race.

Oh, stop it, Dad!
Now, l don't know if l can lead myself.

l don't know what the hell l am.

But l've got to support a wife and a child
till l find out.

-l can do that in the Coast Guard.
-Alex--

No.

Alex...

...you have it in you
to make everybody so proud.

For God's sake, son,
don't disappoint us all, living and dead.

Oh, Dad, listen. Hear me.

Now stop, and don't pile them on me,
the whole family...

...you and Mama,
Grandma and Grandpa...

...and all the old people...

...that they used to talk about
on the porch at Henning.

Tom the blacksmith, Chicken George.
l don't even remember the other names...

...but don't pile them up on me
because l can't carry them!

l'm sorry if you're not proud of me,
but l can't go any other way.

l've got to find some meaning
in my life.

What the meaning may be, l don't know.
But l know l've got to go and find it.

And Dad, l've got to find it for myself.

-What did l do to deserve that?
-Just being here.

One-handed drivers
don't make you nervous?

l'll risk it.

l have to tell you.

The Coast Guard had another assignment
for me, but l wanted New York.

-l asked for it.
-Why?

Well, l've been thinking that maybe
what l want to do is be a writer.

And New York is the best
place to work at that.

-That makes good sense.
-Figure if l'm close to the editors...

...l have a better chance
to know what they want.

And l'll be able to work on my articles
on nights and weekends when l'm off duty.

You're going to have an office
in our new apartment?

Some folks may call it a breakfast table.

You'll see.
lt's big enough for all of us.

Home two months
and the man's got me pregnant again.

Must be doing something right.

lt's going to be a boy this time,
then another girl.

Then a boy.

-And then maybe twins.
-Whoa, girl.

lf you're going to go through that,
you should rest.

-lt'll be dark soon.
-You must be tired too.

And l can't just curl up like Miss Lydia.

Well, l've seen lots of auto courts.

-Yes?
-Good afternoon.

l need a room for my wife,
my little girl and myself.

A double bed and cot would suit fine.

Oh, l'm so sorry,
l don't have a thing left for tonight.

The sign says "vacancy."

You know, l've been so rushed,
l just forgot to turn the "no" on.

-l see.
-lt's early. You'll find something, l'm sure.

Thank you.

There's nothing available.

She forgot to turn on
the "no vacancy" sign.

Good afternoon.

l'd like to rent a double room
for the night.

Full up.

l stopped because
l saw your "vacancy" sign.

Well, boy, l'm telling you
that there is no vacancy here for you.

Now, would you like to dispute my word?

Would you like me to call a cop?

Can l help you?

l'm looking for the manager.

You found him. What's on your mind?

l'm under orders, driving up to New York
to report to the Coast Guard district office.

Trouble is, my family and l can't seem
to find a motel that will accommodate us.

ls that so?

When l saw the sign, VFW,
Veterans of Foreign Wars...

...l thought for sure that this would be
a place l could get some help.

l'm sorry.
We don't have rooms here.

Why, l know...

...but you could suggest a place
in this town...

...where a veteran and his family
will be welcome.

Well, l'll tell you...

...ordinarily, we would try
to arrange something...

-...but it's a very crowded time of year.
-November?

Look, l'd like to help you...

...but under the circumstances,
l really can't offer any suggestions.

Except, maybe, keep moving.

Thank you, sir.

l heard about it,
but it never happened to me.

So l took a long look at myself
in the mirror.

My medals were here,
the United States eagle was here...

...and you know what l saw?
Not a war hero, no, sir.

Not a veteran, not a serviceman.

l saw what they saw:

A nigger in a fancy monkey suit.

Haley, Cmdr. Munroe wants
to see you.

Haley...

...in 30 years of journalistic experience...

...this may be the worst piece
of news copy l've ever read.

Pen lsland release, sir?

Never use one simple word
when 1 0 elegant ones will do.

Haley, our public are simple folk.

Try to lead them in a straight line
from A to B.

l'll redo it right away, sir.

Just a minute.

l was just going over your record there.

You were a good mess man and steward
for seven years.

Why were you so hell-bent
to move into an area...

...about which you know
less than nothing?

l want to learn, sir.

l want to try to be a writer.

l must confess,
all ambitious men make me nervous.

Ambitious black men
give me stomach cramps.

Part of my Southern heritage.

Do you have any idea what the odds are
against your making it as a writer?

The odds would be high, sir,
but l still have to keep on.

Well...

...what have you written
besides these flatulent press releases?

Magazine articles. On my own time, sir.

-They all come back?
-They all come back.

Give me the story you think was best,
l'll tell you why it came back.

l'd surely appreciate that, commander.

What you doing up so early?

l reached for you and you weren't there.

That's a lonely feeling.

Nan...

...l'm trying to finish this article
before l go to the office.

-Come on back to bed.
-Nan.

-Oh, be with me, really with me.
-Oh, l--

-Just for a little while.
-Nan, honey...

...you know that l've been trying
to finish this article.

Let me get it out of the way first,
and then we're going to have lots of time.

-You want coffee?
-What is it?

-l just asked if you wanted some coffee.
-Look, l know you're teed off.

Now, what's the matter?

You make me feel like a stranger.

A stranger pushing in, taking up your time.

Nan, l am working double hard, triple hard.
This article--

-But why?
-You know. The Reader,s Digest.

-They read unsolicited articles--
-l mean why?

Me and the kids, we're not asking you
to work double hard.

-We just want you with us.
-Nan, listen--

You leave before we get up
in the morning.

-You come back after we're in bed.
-Nan, l'm sorry.

No, let me be.
Just go on back to what really matters.

Nan, l don't want it to be like this.

Now, listen.

When l get my leave,
we'll go to Henning...

...see Grandma Cynthia.

Things are going to be different.
l promise.

Who loves you?

You do.

For how long?

For as long as you live...

...and beyond.

Ain't that something?

Little Alex with babies of his own.

Lydia.

There ain't no end to it.

Ain't gonna be no end to it.

That's a family. Goes both ways.

Back to the beginnings and forwards.

Only God knows the end to it.

This family,
we've got so much to be proud of.

That's the plain truth.

lt's been a special family ever since
the first one come from Africa.

He went out of his village
to chop some wood.

No, Cousin Georgia.

He went out to cut down a tree
to make a drum.

Oh, well, now,
ain't cutting down a tree chopping wood?

That village was on the banks of a river.

Kambi Bolongo.

And they took that man.

Name was Kunta Kinte.

And they brought him
over the water to Annapolis.

That's where they sold him for a slave.

Tried to give him a slave name, Toby.

But he said, "My name Kunta Kinte."

Boy.

What you doing out here?

You asked me that before.
Remember, Grandma?

Of course l remember.

You was 1 1 or 1 2 when my Bertha died.

Yeah, and l cried.

What would you think
if l cried now, Grandma?

How you getting along, boy?

Same old tricks.

Coast Guard.

lt's not a bad kind of life.

Your daddy still mad at you
because you didn't go back to school?

l don't know. Maybe.

l was thinking about
Sister Carrie Warner tonight.

Such a wonderful teacher.

l was so careless with my spelling.

And one time, Sister Carrie,
she put my name on a slate.

And--

l already told you this story
a dozen times before.

What you got to do, if l start to tell you
a story you heard before...

...you put your hand up,
and l'll stop running my mouth.

Don't ever stop telling me
your stories, Grandma.

-l'll stop sooner or later. Don't no need for--
-Grandma!

Now, now, we ain't talking about that.

Your daddy don't think so...

...but the good Lord
takes care of all of his children...

...whether they got the Ph.D. or not.

Truth is, you got to be
what you got to be.

You got to know
where you come from.

But there ain't nobody can tell you
where you be going.

You just got to trust.

The Lord has got something
in mind for you.

That old tree slice,
the one Grandpa had...

...l'd like to show it to Lydia.

That old tree got the carpenter's ants.

We had to haul it away
to the dump 1 0 years ago.

lt was rotten, crumbling to dust.

All old things goes to dust...

...sooner or later.

Nothing left to tell the tale.

Are you all right, Grandma?

Alex...

...l'm so happy you come...

...so l could be with you...

...know your wife, see your children.

There are going to be lots of visits.

All old things goes to dust.

"We regret."

"We regret."

"We're sorry your submission
does not meet our present needs."

Always the same!

l made more money
writing love letters during the war.

Maybe l'm asking too much money
for my stories.

Maybe l ought to just give them away!

Or maybe no one wants them,
even for nothing.

Now, Daddy isn't feeling very well.

Lydia, why don't you take Billy
and go look at a picture book.

Alex, maybe....

l mean, maybe you should give it up.

-Maybe it wasn't meant to be.
-lt was.

Oh, honey, we already have so much.

You work at a good job.
Our children are healthy, smart.

l love you. You say you love me.

Oh, for God's sakes, give us a chance.

l've got this feeling so strong.

There's something special l was born to do.
l used to tell my papa that.

l don't know what it is...

...but when the time comes to do it,
l've gotta be ready.

And part of being ready is being a writer.

lt's just that nobody
believes that l am!

All right.

You're making a special life
for yourself...

...and there's no room in it
for me and the kids.

l don't want it to be like that.
Don't you turn away from me.

l know l haven't been fair to you,
to the kids.

Please, let me try to make it different.

One more chance.

One more.

Thanks.

Who loves you more than anything?

You do.

For how long?

For as--

For as long....

-Haley.
-Evening, commander.

All the years you've been stationed
in the building, l've never seen you...

-...in this watering hole.
-l'm not much of a drinker, sir, ordinarily.

So the stress tonight
must be extraordinary.

Join me? Fear not.

You may drink with me,
so long as you continue to call me "sir."

Thank you, sir.

l'll have another.

Bourbon and water.

You know, despite the annual outpouring
of Yuletide propaganda...

...many people find this period
between Thanksgiving and Christmas...

...terminally depressing.

l can't blame my mood
on the holidays, sir.

ln fact, l can't blame it on anything
or anyone except myself.

That is frustrating.

l can always find someone else
to blame for anything.

Well-- No.

As long as you can't shift the blame...

...might as well submerge it.

l've been thinking about your offer,
about being transferred to a ship...

...where l can be what l am, a steward.

You ready to throw in the towel
and forget writing?

-Yes, sir.
-You disappoint me, Haley.

-Commander, you said--
-l know, l know. l know.

One of the few pleasures left to me
is contradicting myself.

lf you want consistency,
look to the politicians.

Sir, l just don't know how l can go on.

And why should l?

Seems like all the people that l care about
are either dead or cut off from me...

...mostly through my own doing.

They say,
"Write about what you know best."

Well, l could set down the last word
on failure.

Failure as a son, a father, a husband...

...writer.

You could do a pretty convincing
autobiographical piece on self-pity.

l've been wanting to talk to you
for several months...

...but somehow, in the office,
it didn't seem appropriate.

Haley...

...the only time l've ever seen you
slip outside that damn steward's mask...

...was the time you told me about that trip
you made with your wife and kid...

...after the war, when...

...to paraphrase the gospel,
there was no room in the motel.

Yes, sir.

l just couldn't accept the fact
that it was happening to me, to us.

Yeah. Once you did face it,
you were furious!

-Gloriously, uncontrollably furious.
-Yes, sir! And l still am!

Yeah, you see?

Must be many stories like that.

Stories out of your own hurt,
your own pain...

...your own anger...

...your own gut.

You have something very special to say,
why not say it?

On the other hand...

...you're a hell of a steward.

Life's a lot easier.

See you in the office.

Good night, sir.

l think these will give you any statistics
you want to quote in your article.

Statistics that Esquire readers
are interested in are 38-24-38.

Any questions on the technical stuff,
give me a call anytime.

Right.

Hey, l'm sorry l tied you up here
Christmas Eve.

But when Gingrich gives out
an assignment, you jump.

-How the hell do you do it?
-What?

-Get an assignment.
-Fiction? Articles?

Both.

They were rejected without regard
to length, form...

-...race, creed or color.
-Oh, listen.

There is this one market...

...Coronet.

They run these stinking little short shorts,
600-word, tops.

Bernie Glazer was telling me, the editor,
he can't get enough of them.

-For one thing, they pay lousy.
-What kind of material?

Well, you know, human-interest stuff.

Little-known facts about the famous,
bizarre historical anecdotes.

-Why don't you give it a shot?
-Yeah, maybe l will.

Merry Christmas.

-Hey, thanks a lot.
-Merry Christmas.

Try that Coronet thing.

-What have you got to lose?
-Yeah, yeah.

Merry Christmas, Mel.

Oh, yes.

And now when Daddy gets here
with the tree...

...we're gonna put all these
pretty trimmings and lights on.

Then we're going to church
where Lydia is going be an angel...

...bringing in the good news.

Behold. l bring you
good tidings of great joy.

What happened? Old man
dump something on you last minute?

No. This is my stuff.

l am on my way.
Closed down the switchboard--

Okay.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

ls Daddy coming home before church?

Honey...

...we'll go along to church, and when
we get back, Daddy will be here...

...and Santa will have left
all the presents.

l bet you Santa doesn't get here
till Daddy does.

Now, we better hurry.
We can't have an angel late...

...with the good tidings.

Daddy!

Daddy!

There's no one here, Mama.

Daddy didn't bring the tree.
There's no presents.

Oh, now, Billy, hush, hush.
Don't cry. Don't you cry.

-You promised.
-Oh, darling...

...you're going to get your fire truck.

You're gonna get it, now.

-Mama, when is Daddy coming?
-l don't know...

...but l'm sure he'll be home soon.

Now, why don't we....

Daddy!

Nan.

-We're going to visit Grandma Lydia.
-You're not going anywhere.

You finish putting the bags in.

And you children, go and wait in the taxi.

-Wait!
-Alex!

No more.

Go along!

Nan, l'm sorry.
l know there's no excuse that--

-There isn't.
-But l got this idea.

-A short about Scotty.
-l don't want to know!

-You remember Scotty.
-l don't want to know!

-Please, don't go. Nan, you can't leave me!
-You left me a long time ago.

Maybe you were never with me.
Maybe it was a mistake from the start.

-Maybe l was just a small-town girl--
-Don't say that. You shut up!

Nan, l love you.

Go on, finish it.

l love you, in my own way.

Well, loving your way isn't my way.

When l love somebody,
he comes first...

...and l want to be first with him!

Maybe you don't need a family,
but l do and your children do!

-We can work this out.
-There isn't anything to work out!

You're not gonna say anything
l want to hear!

lf you did, l wouldn't believe it!

Alex, l don't know what you want!

l don't know what you're looking for!
l swear to God, l don't think you know.

But you're going to lose a whole lot more
before you find it.

Nan, this is crazy.
Nan, we can work it out.

l am sorry, Alex.

Mostly, l'm sorry for myself
and the children...

...but a little bit for you.

l wish l could have helped.

l hope you find it.

And l hope it was worth all of this.