Blue Like Jazz Page #7

that's the face

I'd like you to remember.

Um, are there any questions?

Lauryn.

The amount of misery and suffering

in that part of the world

seems so overwhelming.

I just... I don't know

how you deal with it.

Is that a question, Lauryn?

I mean, I don't mean

to get personal,

but I know you have

these religious beliefs,

and...

don't you ever wonder why God

doesn't just do something?

Look, I don't mean to go

all Mother Teresa on you,

but she believed that the spiritual

poverty of the West

was far more oppressive

than any physical poverty

she saw in India.

All I know is that

when I was there,

away from all the noise

and distraction,

I never felt so close to God.

I can't explain it.

I just want to go back.

Thank you.

Don?

Are you there?

Don.

Where were you tonight?

What are you doing

with my phone?

Um, I fixed it with my hair dryer.

You shouldn't hang up on your mom.

You didn't talk to her, did you?

We chatted... briefly.

She needs you, Don.

Stay away from me, Penny.

Don!

Don, wait!

Don, she made a mistake.

No, dialing the wrong number

is a mistake.

Having a baby with a married man,

that's being a slut.

You're talking about your mother.

Yeah, I think I know her

a little better than you do.

What else did she tell you?

Not that much.

Were you really assistant

to your youth pastor?

Get the hell away from me.

Why are you trying

to hide who you are?

'Cause I'm done with those freaks.

What, like me?

- You wouldn't understand.

- Why not?

Because your mom isn't having sex

with a youth pastor.

No, my mom is just roaming the streets

of God knows where

having sex with JFK.

- At least she's got an excuse.

- And what's my excuse?

I stopped visiting her

when I was in high school

because I was too ashamed.

Now I have no idea

where she is.

I didn't know.

Yeah, there's a lot you don't

know about everybody.

People are human.

People are flawed.

We all have our crap.

I abandoned my mom.

Talk to her.

I want to be alone.

I'm taking this.

Don't look at the flame.

If you start pushing people away,

eventually they just leave you alone...

with your thoughts,

with your demons,

with the sound of your own breathing.

But if you're going to have

an existential crisis,

Portland in winter is hard to beat.

The city is a shadow.

The clouds are a blanket

pulled over your head.

School year seems like

it's never going to end.

And it's easy to avoid

the people you're trying to avoid.

By the end of finals,

you're so burned out

on the pursuit of knowledge

that any sign of life,

even if it's artificial,

seems worth pursuing.

Hey, hey, hey. What's up?

We're almost there. Lauryn!

I found her barking up a tree.

I think she's dehydrated.

Let's get her to a cot.

Hey, Miller! Little help?

- Hey.

- Hey.

Thank you for returning my e-mails.

Sorry. School has been crazy.

Yeah, you promised me last month

you'd help me with this.

I don't do well around blood.

Or that.

Miller.

Leaded or unleaded?

Time will tell.

So... your first Renn Fayre.

What do you think?

Snacks are good.

You have no idea.

You gonna miss being The Pope?

You know, it's weird.

Certain people see the hat coming,

and it's almost like...

It's almost like it gives them hope.

Go with dog, my son.

If God's dead, what's the point?

'Cause people need this sh*t,

and they always will.

The people with steel balls

are the ones who never cry out to God.

I mean, they've looked into the abyss,

and they know, man.

There is no one coming to the rescue.

How do you know that?

I know what I know, Miller.

That kid,

the one in the booth last year,

who got abused by the priest...

What about him?

Nothing.

To the great nothing.

What's this?

It goes with the brownies.

Let's do some damage.

Yeah!

The air is heavy with anticipation

as the silent crowd awaits the decision.

The Pope has made his selection.

Prepare for the crowning

of the new Pope!

Candidates, present yourselves!

Huzzah! Huzzah.

Ah, this is gonna get nasty.

The Pope considers the Russian.

And the Russian has been passed over!

Who shall it be?

The young foppish prince?

It is not to be, my friends!

Will the ginger lady ragdoll

be our new Pope?

She is not.

The rabbit stands alone.

Prepare for the crowning

of our new Pope!

No! The rabbit

has been rejected.

This is unprecedented!

Who now?!

Who now amongst us

shall be The Pope?

The Pope considers the Texan.

What madness is this?

It's just a hunch, Miller.

The Pope will now remove his miter.

Hold your applause.

His Eminence can be fickle.

The Pope has been chosen!

Citizens of the Reed,

we have a new Pope!

Yeah!

Let the christening

of the pagans commence!

Prepare yourself...

to kiss The Virgin.

Virgin! Virgin! Virgin!

Virgin! Virgin! Virgin! Virgin!

Faithful subjects of Reed,

greet your new Pope!

The Pope is down!

We have a down Pope!

Oh, God.

Climax.

Oh, God help me.

The final C in SCCR.

Hello!

Hello?

Somebody!

I'm trapped in... in this thing!

Hello! Help me!

Hello?

Hello. Hello. Get me out of here!

Uh, hold on.

Hey, n-no. I'm trapped in here!

Please get me out of here!

Please! Please get me out!

I... I think I'm gonna have to roll this.

Okay. Okay, I don't care.

I don't care. Go.

All right, you ready?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just do it.

Try again. Try...

You okay?

It's okay. Just take my hand.

My daddy has a dress like that.

Don't forget your miter.

Very good, Sophie.

When dawn breaks in Echo Park

near downtown Los Angeles,

the locals begin to...

Breaking news report.

The government is calling it the deadliest

earthquake in India's history,

and the devastation took

the greatest toll on Kashmir,

with local officials confirming

at least 16,000 dead,

a number they fear may double,

as area refugee camps face a shortage

of food, water and medical supplies.

Penny.

Penny?

She left.

Gone to India.

When?

Last night after the news about

the earthquake broke.

Dude, she was trying

to find you.

Um, I'm doing laundry,

so you want to...

Yeah.

I'll use the delicate cycle.

Thanks.

Don't look.

- Don't flatter yourself.

- Shut up.

No peeking.

Are those owls?

Penguins.

Told you not to look.

Sorry.

Sometimes you have to watch

somebody love something...

before you can love it yourself.

Penny loves Jesus.

My dad loves jazz.

He told me jazz is like life,

because it doesn't resolve.

And he gave me his record

collection to prove it.

But I've been listening

to those records over and over,

and every time I put on

Coltrane's A Love Supreme,

I could swear I hear something

my father says isn't there.

I hear a resolution.

Resolution,

the final element in story.

I know not everybody hears

the universe this way,

but what if Penny's right?

What if God is trying

to compose something?

What if all these stars

are notes on a page of music,

swirling in the blue like jazz?

Hey, Mom.

Don, is that you?

I'm glad you called, Mom.

How are you?

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