Field of Dreams Page #5

"found their way

into the child's pocket."

You wrote that.

The day he died .

Can l see that?

You're a good writer.

So are you .

(PHON E Rl NG l NG)

Something's missing .

Well , he sounds like

he was a wonderful man .

Half the towns

in North America have

a Doc Graham .

What makes this one so special

we travel across the country

to find him

1 6 years after he died?

There's got to be more.

What else?

He always wore an overcoat,

he had white hair,

and he always carried

an umbrella.

What was the umbrella for?

lt got to be a habit,

something to hang on to.

He said he used it to beat

away his lady admirers.

Tell me about his wife.

Alicia.

She moved to South Carolina

after Doc passed .

She passed

a couple years later.

She always wore blue .

The shopkeepers in town

would stock blue hats

because they knew

if Doc walked by,

he'd buy one.

When they cleaned out

his office,

they found boxes of blue hats

that he never got around

to give her.

l'll bet you didn't know that.

No, l didn't.

No screwing , no drinking ,

no opium ,

no midnight abortions,

no illegitimate children ,

no shady finances.

You sound disappointed .

Shoeless Joe had a problem .

That's why he needed you .

This guy doesn't need us.

Terence.

Do you know you're missing?

Oh , God .

"H is father,

who lives in Baltimore,

"notified police

after receiving no answer

to repeated telephone calls."

Shoot.

l better call him .

You want me to. . .

Thanks.

l'm taking a walk.

Be back in a while.

What do l tell him?

"This year's"?

Dr. Graham?

My name's Ray Kinsella.

l'm from lowa.

Are you "Moonlight" Graham?

No one's called me

"Moonlight" Graham

in 50 years.

Well , l've come

a very long way to see you .

l couldn't sleep tonight.

Usually l sleep like a baby.

l told Alicia

l was taking a walk.

Do you mind if l join you?

l'd like to talk to you .

Let's walk over to my office.

What do you want

to talk to me about?

When you got to the majors,

you played only one inning

of one game.

What happened that inning?

G RAHAM:
lt was the last day

of the season ,

bottom of the eighth ,

we were way ahead .

ln three weeks,

l hadn't seen any action .

Suddenly old John McGraw

points a bony finger

in my direction

and he says, "Right field ."

l jumped up like l was sitting

on a spring ,

grabbed my glove,

and ran out on the field .

RAY:
Did you get to make

a play?

They never hit the ball

out of the infield .

The game ended .

The season was over.

l knew they'd send me

back down .

l couldn't bear the thought

of another year in the minors.

So l decided to hang them up .

Go on . Sit down .

Thank you .

So what was that like?

lt was like coming

this close to your dreams,

then watch them

brush past you ,

like a stranger in a crowd .

Then , you don't think

about it.

We just don't recognize life's

most significant moments

while they're happening .

Back then l thought, "Well ,

there'll be other days."

l didn't realize that

that was the only day.

And now,

l want to ask you a question .

What's so interesting

about half an inning

that you'd come from lowa

to talk to me about it

50 years after it happened?

l didn't really know

till just now,

but l think it's to ask you

if you could do

anything you wanted ,

if you could have a wish . . .

And you're the kind of a man

who could grant me that wish?

l don't know. l'm just asking .

Well , you know,

l never got to bat

in the major leagues.

l'd have liked to have had

that chance, just once,

to stare down

a big-league pitcher.

Then just as he goes

into his windup , wink.

Make him think

you know something he doesn't.

That's what l wish for.

The chance to squint

at a sky so blue it hurts

your eyes to look at it,

to feel the tingle

in your arms as you connect

with the ball ,

run bases, stretching a double

into a triple and flop

face first into third ,

wrap your arms around the bag .

That's my wish .

That's my wish .

ls there enough magic

out there in the moonlight

to make this dream come true?

What would you say

if l said yes?

l think

l'd actually believe you .

There's a place where

things like that happen .

lf you want to go,

l can take you .

This is my most special place

in all the world .

Once a place touches you

like this, the wind never

blows so cold again .

You feel for it,

like it was your child .

l can't leave Chisholm .

l understand . l do.

But l really think you're

supposed to come with us.

No.

But your wish?

lt'll have to stay a wish .

l was born here, l lived here,

l'll die here, but no regrets.

Fifty years ago, for 5 minutes

you came this close.

lt would kill some men

to get that close

to their dream

and not touch it.

God . They'd consider it

a tragedy.

lf l'd only gotten to be

a doctor for five minutes,

now that would have been

a tragedy.

l better be getting home.

Alicia will think

l got a girlfriend .

RAY:
And he smiled.

And then l figured , maybe

we're not supposed to take him

with us.

l don't know.

l don't know why in the hell

we were supposed to come here.

Maybe it's to find out

if one inning can change

the world .

Think it did?

Did for these people.

lf he'd gotten a hit,

he might have stayed

in baseball .

l don't know.

Oh , your wife called .

She wants you

to call her tonight.

(TELEPHON E Rl NG l NG)

Ray?

l'm fine.

l'm just so glad it's you .

Listen , l talked to the bank,

and l asked them

if we could miss

a payment or two ,

and they told me

that they had just sold

the note on the farm

to Mark and his partners.

Right.

So they own the paper now.

He says

if we don't sell to them ,

they're going to foreclose.

Ray, we don't have the money.

Look, l've got to take

Mr. Mann back to Boston first.

Okay? So , it's . . .

MAN N :
No.

Wait a second .

l'm going to lowa with you .

We're coming home.

MAN N :
Hell , l can't quit now.

l got to see this ballpark.

RAY:
Not everyone can see it.

You might not.

Give it a try.

l need all the karma

l can get right now.

Thanks.

You're the first car by.

How far you going?

lowa.

lf it's okay,

l'll just ride along a while.

l play baseball .

Hop in .

All right.

l'm looking

for a place to play.

l heard that

all through the Midwest,

they have towns with teams.

ln some places,

they'll find you a day job

so you can play ball

nights and weekends.

lt's your lucky day.

We're going someplace

kind of like that.

All right.

l'm Ray Kinsella.

This is Terence Mann .

H i .

l'm Archie Graham .

lt's funny the way

he described towns

finding you a job

so you could play

on their team .

They haven't done that

for years.

Dad did that for a while,

but that was in the '20s.

What happened to your father?

He never made it

as a ballplayer. He wanted

his son to make it for him .

By 1 0 , playing baseball got

to be like eating vegetables

or taking out garbage.

When l was 1 4 ,

l started to refuse.

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