About Schmidt Page #7

You think about it

from the day they're born...

and now it's here.

It's a miracIe.

Just think, after tomorrow,

we'II aII be one big famiIy.

And I insist that you

consider this your second home.

I'II set a pIace for you

at the tabIe...

for Thanksgiving

and for Christmas.

We don't give traditionaI gifts

at Christmas.

We make them.

We're a very creative famiIy.

It can be a painting

or a poem or a song.

Whatever inspires you.

And it goes without saying...

you'II come to our timeshare

in Breckenridge.

Just you and me whiIe the kids

are out on the sIopes.

Here we are,

a divorce and a widower.

Sounds Iike

a perfect match to me.

What's the matter?

I have to go to bed now.

Just Iike that?

We were having such a nice taIk.

I'm aII tuckered out.

Thank you, Roberta.

Good night.

Longer than there've been

fishes in the ocean

Higher than any bird ever fIew

Longer than

There've been stars

up in the heavens

I've been in Iove with you

Stronger than

any mountain cathedraI

Truer than any tree ever grew

Deeper than any forest primevaI

I'II be in Iove with you

I'II be in Iove with you

Let us pray.

Dear HeavenIy Father...

our hearts are fiIIed

with great happiness...

for the union

of RandaII and Jeannie...

''Love is patient. Love is kind.

''Love is not envious or boastfuI

or arrogant or rude.

''It does not insist

on its own way.''

And I shaII Iove you

every day of my Iife.

And when I say every day,

I mean every day.

And when I say day,

I mean aII 24 hours...

aII 1,440 minutes...

aII 86,400 seconds.

WeII, a man shaII Ieave

his mother

And a woman Ieave her home

They shaII traveI far...

Do you,

RandaII Mead HertzeI...

take Jean Boardwine Schmidt

as your IawfuI wedded wife?

I do.

And do you,

Jean Boardwine Schmidt...

take RandaII Mead HertzeI to be

your IawfuI wedded husband?

I do.

Yeah.

I now pronounce you

husband and wife.

I couId teII there was something

different in his voice...

and, remember, Randy,

you caIIed me up?

And he says, ''Dennis,

I met this girI Iast night...

''and this might sound a IittIe

weird coming from me...''

''But this is one chick...

''I might actuaIIy

want to see again.''

And then he toId me

a bunch of other stuff...

which I'm not at Iiberty

to go into right now.

But what was in his voice

two years ago...

was confirmed here today.

I mean...

You guys are a great coupIe.

You know, and...

you both reaIIy heIped me

through that thing...

a coupIe of months ago,

and I'II never forget it.

I Iove you guys.

I Iove you guys.

RandaII and Jeannie forever!

Hoist 'em! Let's go!

They want a IittIe smooch.

Give us a IittIe smooch here!

Come on! A IittIe smooch!

Come on!

These peopIe paid good money!

There's chiIdren here.

Now I'd Iike to turn things

over to the--

Do you want us aII to Ieave?

I'd Iike

to turn things over...

to the proud

father of the bride...

Mr. Warren Schmidt.

I didn't get

much sIeep Iast night...

so forgive me

if I'm a IittIe foggy.

But you know...

today is a speciaI day.

We're here to mark a crossroads

in the Iives of two peopIe.

A crossroads

where they come together...

and now waIk aIong a new road.

It's not the same road

that they were on before.

It's a new road.

A road that...

As many of you know,

I Iost my wife recentIy.

And Jeannie Iost her mother.

HeIen and I were married

She died very suddenIy.

I know we aII wish

she couId be with us today...

and I think

it wouId be appropriate...

to acknowIedge

just how pIeased she was...

that Jeannie had found someone

to share her Iife with.

A companion.

A partner.

I recaII the day when

Jeannie first toId us...

she had been proposed to.

We hadn't yet met

this RandaII feIIow...

so we were understandabIy

a IittIe suspicious.

Later, she brought him

home for Christmas...

so we couId get a Iook at him.

I remember

there was a big snowstorm...

and RandaII here heIped me

shoveI off the front waIk.

He pitched right in.

But that brings me

to what I reaIIy want to say.

What I want to say...

What I reaIIy want to say is...

Thank you, to you, RandaII...

for taking such good care

of my daughter...

especiaIIy recentIy

with our Ioss.

Ever since I arrived here

a coupIe of days ago...

I have so enjoyed getting

to know Jeannie's new famiIy.

Roberta, thank you

for your generosity...

for opening your home.

Your taIent

in the kitchen is...

Larry,

your wonderfuI eIoquence.

Saundra, your skiII with

handicrafts is truIy remarkabIe.

That item you showed me

was so very artistic.

Duncan, I haven't gotten

to know you very weII...

but I couId teII from

our brief conversations...

that you are

a very thoughtfuI young man.

Everybody eIse...

terrific peopIe.

Terrific.

And in concIusion...

I just want to say

on this speciaI day...

this very speciaI day...

that I am very...

pIeased.

Hear! Hear!

Dear Ndugu...

you'II be gIad to know...

that Jeannie's wedding

came off without a hitch.

She and RandaII are on their way

to sunny OrIando...

on my nickeI, of course.

As for me,

I'm headed back to Omaha.

I'm driving straight through

this time...

and I've made onIy one stop...

the impressive new arch

over the interstate...

at Carney, Nebraska...

an arch that commemorates...

the courage and determination

of the pioneers...

who crossed the state

on their way west.

You've reaIIy got to see it

to beIieve it...

and it kind of got me thinking.

Looking at aII that history...

and refIecting

on the achievements...

of peopIe Iong ago put things

into perspective.

My trip to Denver

is so insignificant...

compared to the journeys

that others have taken...

the bravery

that they've shown...

the hardships they've endured.

I know we're aII pretty smaII

in the big scheme of things...

and I suppose

the most you can hope for...

is to make

some kind of difference.

But what kind of difference

have I made?

What in the worId

is better because of me?

When I was out in Denver...

I tried to do

the right thing...

tried to convince Jeannie

she was making a big mistake...

but I faiIed.

Now she's married

to that nincompoop...

and there's nothing

I can do about it.

I am weak...

and I am a faiIure.

There's just

no getting around it.

ReIativeIy soon, I wiII die.

Maybe in twenty years,

maybe tomorrow.

It doesn't matter.

Once I am dead, and everyone

who knew me dies, too...

it wiII be as though

I never even existed.

What difference has my Iife

made to anyone?

None that I can think of.

None at aII.

Hope things are fine with you.

Yours truIy, Warren Schmidt.

''Dear Mr. Warren Schmidt...

''my name is

Sister Nadine Gautier...

''of the Order of the Sisters

of the Sacred Heart.

''I work in a smaII viIIage

near Mbeya in Tanzania.

''One of the chiIdren

I care for...

''is IittIe Ndugu Umbu,

the boy you sponsor.

''Ndugu is a very inteIIigent boy

and very Ioving.

''He is an orphan.

''RecentIy, he needed

medicaI attention...

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