Jacob's Ladder Page #4

JACOB:

Goddamn it! What the hell ... ?

WINO:

(pleading)

I didn't take nothin'. I was just

napping. Don't hit me. I was cold.

JACOB:

(lifting the man up)

What the hell do you think you're

doing? You can't do this. This is

government property.

He begins opening the door. The WINO begs.

WINO:

Don't throw me out. They're gonna get

me. They'll tear me to pieces.

He holds on to JACOB's leg. JACOB tries to pull away.

JACOB:

Come on. You can't stay here.

WINO:

Please! I never hurt anybody when I

was alive. Believe me. I don't belong

here.

JACOB gives the WINO a strange look and then escorts him

from the truck. A hundred eyes peer out of motionless cars

and follow him as he leads the WINO to the sidewalk. JACOB

pulls a dollar bill from his pocket and places it in the

WINO's hand. The OLD MAN crumples it into a ball and turns

away. He has a frightened look on his face. JACOB returns to

the truck shaking his head.

JACOB:

New York!

He climbs into his seat and glances into his rear view

mirror. He notices the WINO edging fearfully along the side

of a building. A horn honks and traffic begins moving. When

JACOB looks back the WINO is no longer there.

INT. GARAGE - DAY

JACOB drives his mail truck into the huge POST OFFICE

PARKING GARAGE on 34th Street. His mind seems distracted. He

has difficulty parking.

INT. POST OFFICE - DAY

We see a vast room filled with hundreds of PEOPLE sorting

and moving mail.

JACOB, carrying a bag of McDonald's hamburgers, walks

stiffly through the aisles, his left hand rubbing his back.

Several workers greet him and grab for his french fries. He

offers them around.

ANGLE ON a conveyor belt sorting mail. A hand reaches in,

correcting mistakes. Suddenly a hamburger passes by. JEZZIE

looks up and smiles.

JEZZIE:

Jake!

JACOB:

How's it going?

She takes the hamburger and shrugs.

JACOB:

(continuing)

I'm going home.

JEZZIE:

What's wrong?

JACOB:

I don't know. One of these days, I'm

gonna see Louis. My back's killing

me.

JEZZIE:

Now? What about the boss? He's not

gonna like it.

JACOB shrugs.

JEZZIE:

(continuing)

Well, I'll miss riding home with you.

I was looking forward to it.

JACOB:

I'll be glad to avoid the crush.

JEZZIE:

I enjoy crushing into you.

She grabs him and hugs him tightly.

JACOB:

Gently. My back.

JEZZIE ignores him and squeezes again.

INT. CHIROPRACTIC OFFICE - DAY

CUT ON A SCREAM to JACOB in a CHIROPRACTOR'S OFFICE. He is

lying on a long leather padded device that looks like an

instrument of torture. LOUIS, the Chiropractor, is a giant

of a man, 280 pounds. He is adjusting JACOB's spine.

LOUIS:

Come on, Jake. That didn't hurt.

JACOB:

How do you know?

LOUIS:

I know you. How come you're so tense

today?

JACOB:

What can I tell you?

LOUIS:

I saw Sarah the other day.

JACOB:

Her knee acting up?

LOUIS:

A bit.

JACOB:

What did she have to say?

LOUIS:

Turn on your right side.

(he turns on his left)

How about the other "right?"

(JACOB turns back)

I don't understand you philosphers.

You've got the whole world figured

out but you can't remember the

difference between right and left.

JACOB:

I was absent the day they taught that

in school. What did she say?

LOUIS:

Who?

JACOB:

Sarah.

LOUIS:

Not much. She's like you that way.

Two clams. No wonder your marriage

didn't last. Put your hand under your

head. Take a breath and then let it

out.

He makes a rapid adjustment pushing down on JACOB's thigh.

JACOB groans.

LOUIS:

(continuing)

Ah, good. Now turn to your left.

JACOB:

She talk about the boys?

LOUIS:

She says she can't get them new coats

because you haven't sent the alimony

for three months.

JACOB:

She told you that?

(he shakes his head)

Did she tell you about the $2,000 I'm

still paying for the orthodontist?

I'll bet she didn't mention that.

LOUIS:

She said you were a son of a b*tch

and she regrets the day she set eyes

on you.

JACOB:

I thought you said she didn't say

much.

LOUIS:

She didn't. That's about all she

said. Put your hand up. Good. I think

she still loves you. Take a breath

and let it out.

He makes an adjustment. JACOB screams.

JACOB:

Loves me!? She hasn't said a kind

word about me in years!

LOUIS:

Right. She doesn't stop talking about

you. You're always on her mind.

That's love, Jake.

JACOB:

She hates me, Louis.

LOUIS:

You should go back to her.

JACOB:

What? She threw me out, remember. She

wanted some professor to carry her

far away from Brooklyn. Only we

didn't make it. She can't forgive me

that she still lives in the same

house she grew up in.

LOUIS:

Her problem is that you spent eight

years getting a PhD and then went to

work for the post office.

JACOB:

What can I tell you, Louis? After Nam

I didn't want to think anymore. I

decided my brain was too small an

organ to comprehend this chaos.

LOUIS:

(looking at JACOB with

affection)

If it was any other brain but yours,

I might agree. Relax, this is going

to be strong.

JACOB:

I can't relax.

LOUIS:

Wiggle your toes.

JACOB wiggles his toes. At that instant, LOUIS twists

JACOB's neck rapidly. There is a loud cracking sound.

EXT. VIETNAM - NIGHT

THERE IS A FLASH OF LIGHT. A MAN rushes at the camera

yelling.

MAN:

I found one. He's alive.

He shines a flashlight into the lens creating rings and

halos.

CHIROPRACTIC OFFICE - DAY

Suddenly LOUIS reappears, a halo effect still visible behind

his head.

JACOB:

God almighty. What did you do to me?

LOUIS:

I had to get in there. A deep

adjustment. Rest a moment and let it

set a bit.

JACOB:

I had this weird flash just then.

LOUIS:

What?

JACOB:

I don't know. I've been having them

recently.

(he thinks a moment,

then changes the

subject)

You know, you look like an angel,

Louis, an overgrown cherub. Anyone

ever tell you that?

LOUIS:

Yeah. You. Every time I see you. No

more Errol Flynn, okay? Your back

won't take it. You tell your girl

friend to calm down if she knows

what's good for you.

JACOB:

Louis, you're a life saver.

LOUIS:

I know.

EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS - EVENING

JACOB is walking down Nostrand Avenue. He is singing to

himself and imitating Al Jolson.

JACOB:

When there are gray skies, I don't

mind the gray skies, as long as

there's you ...

He hums. It is near dusk and lights are just coming on. The

shop windows have a particularly garish look about them. The

mannequins are dressed in inexpensive, almost tawdry,

clothes and have a pathetic appearance. A few shops have set

up their Christmas decorations.

The ornamentation seems strangely out of place; almost

blasphemous.

JACOB passes a street gang standing in the doorway of a

local drug store. They chortle and make taunting sounds.

GIRL:

(shaking her tits,

singing)

"Hey, Mr. Postman ... "

JACOB stops and stares at them. To their surprise, he begins

to sing with them. He knows the words. They like that. It is

a sweet moment.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes