Connect with English - Episode36

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Episode 36
The Farm
PART 1
1 FARM—DAY
2 A car is driving along a road in Midwest farm country, approaching the Casey farm. It passes by a pond and
3 then turns up a road, revealing a big red barn, a silo, and a farmhouse sitting atop a small hill.
4 OUTSIDE THE FARMHOUSE
5 The car arrives in front of the farmhouse. Brendan blows the horn. He, Rebecca, and Kevin get out and
6 stretch, looking around as they do. Anne comes out of the house to welcome them.
7 ANNE (embracing Rebecca, then Kevin) Well, welcome! So nice to see you. . . Come on in.
8 BRENDAN Hey, wait a minute! Don’t I get a kiss?
9 Anne gives him a kiss on the cheek.
10 BRENDAN Aw...
11 Anne leads everyone inside.
12 FARMHOUSE
13 Anne leads them first to the kitchen, where she offers refreshments.
14 ANNE	Come on in…
15 Brendan carries in Rebecca’s bags and guitar.
16 BRENDAN I’ll put these inside and try to unload.
17 ANNE There’s a bathroom over there (pointing), if you want to freshen up after that long
18	drive. How ‘bout some coffee, tea. . . You wanna soft drink? Kevin, how about
19	some homemade ice cream? Any flavor you want, as long as it’s vanilla...
20	(smiles)
21 KEVIN	That’d be great.
22 Anne puts an ice cream dish in front of Kevin.
23 KEVIN	Thanks.
24 REBECCA (looking around) Your house is lovely...
25 ANNE	Oh, thank you. We think it’s homey.
26 BRENDAN How about a quick tour of the farm?
27 ANNE Honey, why don’t you give them a chance to catch their breath? Here.. . I have
28	some messages for you...
29 Anne picks up a few telephone messages and hands them to Brendan.
30 ANNE And there are some faxes by your computer. The trucking people seem to want to
change their pickup schedule. . . again.
32 BRENDAN (scanning the messages) Oh, really? It’s always something...
33 He leaves the kitchen. Anne laughs as she watches Kevin eat his bowl of ice cream quickly.
34 ANNE Kev, enjoy your ice cream. . . Rebecca, let me show you to your room.
35 Anne leads Rebecca up the stairs to the second-floor bedroom. They wind their way through the rooms.
36 REBECCA How long has your family had the farm?
37 ANNE My family bought the farm in the early 1900s and it’s been in the family ever
38	since.. . And this is your room...
39 BEDROOM
40 They enter a comfortable bedroom.
41 REBECCA Oh. . . what a cozy room. . . I love this quilt.
42 She puts her bag on the floor and sees a framed photograph of a young man in his early thirties on the
43 dresser. This must have been his room when he was young. It is now the guest room.
44 REBECCA Is this your son, Michael?
45 ANNE	Yes. He and his wife live in town.
46 REBECCA Do they have any children?
47 ANNE	Two. And here are their pictures...
48 She hands Rebecca the photo and points to each child.
	49	ANNE	This is Kate, and that’s Erin.
	50	REBECCA	They look so lively and happy. How old are they?
	51	ANNE	Kate’s eight, and Erin’s. . . hmm, almost six.
	52	REBECCA	Do you see them often?
	53	ANNE	Well, not often enough. But the whole family will be here for Thanksgiving. And
	54		they are so eager to meet their Boston cousins.
	55	REBECCA	This will be our first Thanksgiving without Dad...
	56	ANNE	It must be so hard for you. Well, we’ll do what we can to make it easier.
57 Rebecca smiles and pats Anne’s hand.
58 REBECCA Thanks.
59 ANNE	(smiling brightly) It’s good to have you here.
60 Anne leaves. Rebecca’s smiles fades into a look of sadness as she lies down on the bed.
PART 2
61 FARM
62 Brendan is taking Rebecca and Kevin on a tour of the farm. Brendan talks to both, but perhaps a bit more
63 to Kevin.
64 BRENDAN This is primarily a dairy farm. We have a hundred-twenty cows here, but we get
	65		milk from only about sixty at a time.
66 KEVIN	How come?
67 BRENDAN Because only the cows which recently had calves give milk...
68 BARN
69 Breridan leads them through the barn.
70 BRENDAN Here’s where we milk the cows. It takes us two hours to milk the entire herd.
71	And we have to do it twice a day.
72 KEVIN	Even on Sundays?
73 BRENDAN We don’t have that many religious cows. (He laughs.) Yup, three-hundred-sixty-
74		five days a year, even on Sundays.
75 FARMHOUSE—EVENiNG
76 Brendan and Kevin are sitting at Brendan’s computer. Brendan is showing Kevin how he figures how much
77 seed he must buy and other business calculations. Kevin seems interested, even eager.
78 KEVIN	Can you actually make money farming?
79 BRENDAN Well, some people do, but it’s a struggle to run a small family farm. That’s why
80		there are very few small farms left. Every time the demand for milk goes down or
81		seed prices go up. . . we’re in trouble. See. .. (pointing to the spreadsheet on the
82		monitor) this year.. . we’re in trouble.
83 KEVIN 	What are you gonna do?
84 BRENDAN I won’t get the tractor fixed.. . and I’ll, uh. . . probably have to lay off one of
85		the farmhands.
86 The two exchange looks.
87 FARMHOUSE BEDROOM—NIGHT
88 Rebecca is in her nightgown, brushing out her hair. There is a knock on the door.
89 REBECCA Who is it?
90 KEVIN	It’s me. . . Can I come in?
91 Kevin stands at the door.
92 REBECCA Sure.
93 He enters and sits on the edge of the bed.
94 REBECCA You and Uncle Brendan were at the computer half the night.
95 KEVIN	It’s amazing—he knows where every dollar goes.
96 REBECCA I guess he has to. . . Do you want to talk about something?
97 KEVIN	Uncle Brendan said this is a bad year for the farm. . . They’re losing money...
98		He’s gotta lay off one of the farmhands.. . I wish I could help somehow.
99	 REBECCA	What could we do? We don’t know anything about farming.
100 KEVIN	 Well, maybe there is something we could do.
101 	REBECCA Like what?
102 KEVIN Well… First, we have to figure out…(voices fade)
PART 3
103 BARN—DAY
104 Kevin and Brendan are cleaning up the barn.
105 KEVIN Do you ever get used to the smell in here?
106 BRENDAN Oh, you bet. Take a deep breath. It’ll put hair on your chest.
107 KEVIN If I breathe through my mouth, it’s not so bad...
108 BRENDAN Not much a person can do about it, anyway. It’s the price of doing business on a
109		dairy farm. Look out.
110 FARM— EARLY MORNING
111 Anne is cooking and setting up house for Thanksgiving. Rebecca comes into the kitchen.
112 REBECCA Mm, smells yummy!
113 ANNE	So.. . how’d you sleep, Hon?
114 REBECCA I slept like a baby.. . For the first time since Dad died, I slept through the night.
115 ANNE	Oh, good. Can you check the turkey?
116 REBECCA Mm-hm...
117 Rebecca checks the oven.
118 REBECCA It looks great. . . and smells great, too!
119 ANNE	The baster’s right over there...
120 Rebecca bastes the turkey.
121 BARN—DAY
122 KEVIN	I never realized that farmers used computers.
123 BRENDAN Hey, darn right we do. . . You gotta be high-tech in today’s world. I took a bunch
	124		of night classes down at the community college. They have one heck of a
	125		computer program there. Oh, and I should know. . . My son teaches the course.
	126	KEVIN	Cousin Michael?
127 BRENDAN One and the same.
128 Brendan starts to put the stuff away.
129 BRENDAN That’s it, Kevin. We’re taking the rest of the day off. . . It’s Thanksgiving. And
	130 	Michael and Peggy and our little granddaughters are on their way. And you’ll
	131 	finally get to meet your youngest cousins.. . if they can stand your smell.
132 KEVIN You know, Uncle Brendan, I’m really glad you invited me here.
133 BRENDAN I’m glad, too.
134 KEVIN 	Rebecca and I had a talk last night. And we kind of made some decisions...
135		And if it’s all right with you and Aunt Anne, I think I’d like to stay here awhile.
136 BRENDAN I like the sound of that. It’s quite a change of heart, huh?What happened?
137 KEVIN It’s been a long time coming. . . Riding across the country kinda gave me some
138	time to think.
139 BRENDAN We’ll have to check with the boss.. . your aunt, of course.
140 KEVIN I figure I can help you out on the farm, and I’ll pay you for room and board as
141	soon as I get my dad’s insurance money...
142 BRENDAN Kevin, you’re my brother’s son. Do you think I would charge you room and
143	board?
144 KEVIN I saw the books last night.. . The farm isn’t making a lot of money...
145 BRENDAN It hasn’t been a great year, but wait till next...
146 KEVIN You and I both want Rebecca to go back to college, right? And we both know she
147	thinks of me as a little kid…
148 BRENDAN I wouldn’t say that...
	149	KEVIN	But I would. So, here’s how I figure it… Rebecca’s not gonna go back to college
	150		unless some adult is watching over me. . . . to make sure I make my bed and
	151		brush my teeth...
152 BRENDAN (with a smile) She’s that bad, huh?
153 KEVIN She’s a royal pain in the neck. So, with you and Aunt Anne keeping an eye on
154	me, Rebecca will be able to go back to school. And, what’s in it for me? My job is
155	a dead end. My girlfriend’s in college and starting to see other guys...
156 BRENDAN It happens...
	157	KEVIN	It’s a free country—she can do whatever she wants. So, if I stay here, I can get to
	158		know my long-lost family and help out. And all this deep breathing in here will
	159		put a lot of hair on my chest...
160 BRENDAN Sounds like you have it all figured out.
161 KEVIN	And I wanna pay my own way.
162 BRENDAN No, no, no. . . no. You save your money for college. But I’ll gladly accept your
	163		help—you know we need it. . . Now I’ve seen the way you eat, maybe I’ll let you
	164		contribute a little something to the food kitty.
165 They look at each other earnestly and then shake hands.
166 BRENDAN Now, get inside and get cleaned up. We’ve got company coming. And Kevin, let’s
	167		wait until the right moment to tell everyone...