Frequency Page #6

GORDY JR.

Dad, check it out. Fire Department! Can

I open it up?

John thinks about it for a second. Noting the curious glee

in little Gordy's face, nods OK.

Gordy Jr. pops open the latches, opens the trunk. Gordo

crouches down beside his son, checks out the dusty contents.

HOLD ON JOHN'S REACTION to what Gordy Jr. finds in the trunk.

GORDY JR. (CONT'D)

Wow.

Gordy Jr. reaches in and takes out: FDNY HELMET & JACKETS.

Briefly puts on the enormous helmet, then sets it aside.

Reaches back into the trunk and pulls out the disassembled

pieces of a 12 gauge SHOTGUN.

GORDO:

Hey! Gimmie that!

Gordo takes the shotgun from the boy and places it gingerly

inside the closet.

Simultaneously, Gordy Jr. hands off a leather-bound SCRAPBOOK

to John. Before John can react, Gordy Jr. lifts up an

AMATEUR RADIO TRANSCEIVER.

GORDY JR.

What's this, Dad?

ANGLE BACK ON JOHN

Powerful memories fill his face.

GORDO:

John, that's your Dad's old ham radio.

Remember? Remember how we used to beg

him to let us talk on that thing?

CLOSE ON:

the transceiver and microphone - mint condition 1965 Yaesu FT

101, and a "Silver Eagle" Astatic D-104 microphone.

JOHN/GORDO

This is not a toy.

GORDY JR.

Can we try it Dad, can we try it?

Gordo looks at John.

JOHN:

What the hell.

INT. SULLIVAN HOUSE - STUDY - CONTINUOUS

Glass doors separate the study from the family room. The HAM

RADIO is set on a dusty wooden desk. Scotch-taped to the top

of the radio is a diagram for the radio setup and "QSL"

cards:
certificates from around the world acknowledging

"contact" with "WB2YXB" -- FRANK SULLIVAN, BAYSIDE NY.

Gordo hooks up the radio. Gordy Jr. shuts off the TV.

GORDY JR.

So this was what people used before the

Net, huh?

GORDO:

Man, do I feel old.

GORDO TURNS THE RADIO ON. Shows Gordy how it works. Gordy

rotates the tuning dial, nothing but "dead bands." STATIC.

JOHN:

It's junk, kid. Nobody uses those things

anymore.

KNOCK. Front door opens. John's head turning around. Meet

ELLEN, 35, Gordo's wife. The grown-up in the family.

ELLEN:

Gordo, do you know what time it is?

(a beat)

Hi, John.

JOHN:

Ellen.

Ellen notices John's weary look but says nothing. We get the

sense she knows what is wrong.

ELLEN:

C'mon Gordy, let's go.

GORDY JR.

Oh, mom...

EXT. SULLIVAN HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Gordo and family pour into the yard between the two houses.

John shuffles out behind them. Gordo and Gordy Jr. quickly

disappear into their house, but Ellen lingers for a moment -

looking back at John standing alone.

ELLEN:

You all right, John?

JOHN:

Oh, yeah.

Ellen holds her glance for a moment. John smiles, thinly

masking his sadness. Ellen nods okay, and she is gone. John

looks up at the stars, then down to the HAM RADIO ANTENNA on

his roof, now looking raggedy from 29 years of neglect.

INT. SULLIVAN HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - LATER

CLOSE ON:

TV:
LARRY KING is interviewing STEPHEN HAWKING.

John is back on the Bushmills. He races clumsily for the

CORDLESS PHONE. CLOSE ON SPEED DIAL BUTTONS. John hits #3.

JULIA:

(answering machine voice)

Hi, this is Julia. Please leave a

message after the tone.

JOHN:

Hey, Ma, it's me. Checking in. Probably

at work. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow

night. Love you.

John puts down the phone. Stares at the FDNY trunk. He

stumbles to it. Sits down and opens it up. It's filled with

his Dad's stuff. He picks up and leafs through the old

SCRAPBOOK - PHOTOS and CLIPPINGS illustrate FAMILY HISTORY...

A quick glimpse of Dad's high school baseball team; Mom and

Dad's 60's wedding.

CLOSE ON PHOTO:

John at his First Communion pictured with his MOTHER - WE

SENSE LOSS AND SADNESS IN HIS EYES - THIS BOY LOOKS HURT.

A folded newspaper drops out. John picks it up. Front page

of the DAILY NEWS. Top half READS: "October 13, 1969.

AMAZIN'S TAKE GAME 2 - SERIES EVEN." The lower half READS:

"FIREMAN KILLED IN WAREHOUSE BLAZE"

He shoves the paper back in the scrapbook. Puts the album

down - he can't deal with those wounds. He glances up at the

TV:

LARRY KING:

Is this anomaly connected to the space

storm and the NASA satellite that

disappeared in 1969?

HAWKING:

We don't know. But given the

similarities of their location and

appearance, this is a question that

merits further investigation.

NOTE:
Larry King's show plays for the duration of this

scene.

John settles in, takes off his work shirt. Underneath he has

on a T-shirt. We notice a NICOTINE PATCH on his arm.

Doesn't stop him from burning another Marlboro.

JOHN IS SUDDENLY STARTLED BY A NOISE FROM THE STUDY - A LOUD

BURST OF STATIC.

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