Jayne Mansfield's Car Page #6

let the other two in.

You know, people say they don't

like to talk about war

because it brings up

the bad memories

and the nightmares

and everything.

I don't believe that. I believe

they don't talk about it

because nobody wants to hear it.

See, in the early part

of the war

the Japanese were good pilots,

better than we were really.

Later on we got better, but...

I made a mistake that day.

It was a clear blue day

and he got in behind me

and I got hit right here

and back up there in the back.

And I couldn't believe

I'd been shot.

And at the same time I'd been

expecting it all the time,

you know?

I... one way or another...

I bailed out.

I didn't want to.

I was scared to.

But I didn't want to burn

to death.

That's what we were mostly

worried about up there.

Yeah.

You know how lucky I am?

No.

I landed right in the middle

of the goddamn US marines.

It knocked me out.

I broke my right leg,

collarbone, a few ribs, pelvis,

both hands.

I don't remember a lot about it,

to tell you the truth.

November the 12th, 1942,

Guadalcanal.

I woke up in a hospital,

had both my hands in casts

and my right leg,

just tore to pieces.

And...

the hospital got hit.

And I nearly burned to death.

I saw a guy coming at me

with a big ol' wet blanket

or something and he threw it

over my head.

I thought he was trying

to kill me.

But he saved my face,

as Jimbo says,

for what that's worth,

and got me out of there.

Carroll got to come visit me

a couple of times.

That's real special.

And that was the end

of the war for me.

I mean, God damn, honey, you

can't get out of your own skin

no matter what it is.

Anyhow, it takes

five kills

to become an ace.

And I got six.

I'm an ace.

Skip.

Uh, I didn't

beat off.

Come on, I know a place.

JIM:
Her and her boyfriend

and her chauffeur...

they all got killed in Louisiana

in the middle of the night.

The kids was in the back seat,

didn't hardly even get hurt.

A little ol' dog of hers...

...deader than Rin Tin Tin.

KINGSLEY:
Yes, I can remember

when it happened.

It's always shocking

when the rich and famous die.

There's no reason for us

to believe

that they should have immunity,

- but we seem to.

- Yeah. Yeah.

You reckon how many people

would live to ripe old age

if we didn't go anywhere,

'cause transportation

kills a lot of people.

Yeah. What if the last thought

in the world was,

"God damn it, here comes a car

across the center line

about to kill me, 'cause I had

to get out at 10:00 at night

for a roll of toilet paper.

Well, I wish I would have

just wiped my ass

with a sweetgum leaf."

Yes, I've been thinking a lot

about last thoughts recently.

I hope I don't have one.

Yeah?

I'd rather go in my sleep

so there wouldn't be

any conscious thoughts...

- Oh, that's good.

- ...just a dream instead...

Yeah.

- ...hopefully a good one.

- Yeah. Yeah.

Three, please.

Whew.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Move over, son,

so we get a better look.

Yeah.

Mm.

There it is. Whew.

Mm.

Yeah.

What they said was, there was...

the car was headed through

a road in the swamps.

And there was a mosquito truck

on the road spraying pesticide.

And it comes drifting

across the road like a cloud,

just this fog of poison.

And this tractor trailer rig

slowed down

when it hit the fog.

And Jayne Mansfield's car

slid right under it.

That was it.

That was all she wrote.

Yeah. Mm.

She was decapitated, wasn't she?

A lot of people think that,

but it wasn't the whole head.

No, it was just the top of it.

Yeah. Mm.

Kingsley, you spend

a lot of your time

figuring things out?

You know, Jim,

these days I think

I spend more time

accepting things.

Not me.

I spend all of my time

figuring things out.

Yeah.

BOY:

That ain't her real head.

Sh*t, don't you think

I know that?

My daddy says it's probably

not even really her car.

Ain't you got anything better

to do than to pester me?

Huh? Huh?

That's right. Yeah.

- I'll be in the truck.

- Yeah.

Well, mm,

seen enough?

Just about. Just about.

Whew. Mm.

Mm.

JIM:
Yeah.

A dead man's stare

ain't any different than

that plastic head's stare.

Ain't nothing

in either one of them.

I saw it on the battlefield

many times.

I'm sure you did too.

Yes, I'm afraid I did.

The fact is

we all have a crash

of some sort awaiting us.

Yeah. Hey, you hear that?

Yeah. Yeah.

I put pieces together

all the time

and they all fall apart.

Before I can ever get it all

put together,

they all fall apart.

JIM:
That's it exactly.

Everything's been turned

upside down.

Yeah.

Listen,

I love my boys,

but for the life of me

I can't figure them out.

Jimbo is a good hand

around here,

turned out normal,

didn't even see combat.

The other two

was out-and-out heroes,

turned out to be hardly naught

but hobos.

You think it'd be

the other way around.

Yeah.

Yes, well, I have to say

that Phillip has been a bit

of a disappointment to me too.

Yeah, well, times are changing.

Good life's disappearing.

Sometimes I pray

I'm not here to see it go.

Oh my God, do you believe them?

They're acting like

long-lost buddies.

I know. I'm amazed.

JIM:
Let's go sit down a bit,

all right?

KINGSLEY:
It's really quite a storm.

JIM:

Rest your bones.

VICKY:

Look at them.

No telling what they was up to

while we was at church.

JIM:
Yeah.

PHILLIP:

I'm gonna go freshen up.

DONNA:

Well, hey, sister Vicky.

Let's take a walk.

DONNA:

We had fun riding.

It's about my sister.

- JIM:
You what?

- DONNA:
We had fun riding.

You need to leave her

the f*** alone.

Well, now, see here, I don't

know what you're getting at.

No, no, no, no, I'm...

I'm not pissed off at you.

I don't even like you.

I only get pissed off

at people I like.

There's nothing in this for me.

This is for your own damn good.

Don't get mixed up with her.

The power's out!

JIM:

See what I got to put up with?

Like I was fixing to tell you,

she ain't a bad gal sometimes.

But she can suck you down

in the hole

you'll never be able

to crawl out of.

Neal used to be

a slim, muscular,

good-looking,

humble guy.

Now he runs his mouth off

like a threshing machine

just so he doesn't have to

hear himself think.

And if you look at him,

he can't even hardly squeeze

into a damn leisure suit,

eats whatever you put

in front of him,

drinks two cases of beer a day.

DONNA:

Like all the sh*t you done.

JIMBO:
You want to have some

spending money in your pocket...

- JIM:
Careful, careful.

- ...and not to have to work

like a slave,

keep your sanity, let her be.

She's tricky.

She's as whiny

as a two-week-old cat.

JIMBO:
I ain't even sure

them's his daughters.

JIM:
...stop and see

what's going on now.

- JIMBO:
Get me?

- JIM:
Hippies, dope, laziness.

JIM:
They call it free love.

It's a free ride is what it is.

KINGSLEY:
What astounds me

is the lack of respect.

You know, the people

that we fought

and that died next to us...

if they were to see

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