The River Why Page #6

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of the art of angling.

Never again would they

go fishing together...

and never would their

marriage vows waver or weaken.

[reel clicking]

[snap]

Darn it.

[thump]

Fly tying is for certain

a tedious task...

but there's no need to let it

get to you like that, my love.

Yeah, well, it ain't the

fly that's bothering me.

Hm. Gus.

I just can't help

but feel...

like we let him go.

You can't keep a person...

in a place he doesn't

want to be.

No, but can't you at

least make it a place...

that they might

wanna visit?

[sobbing]

Cripes.

Give me

the other one.

[running water]

What's that?

Um, it's

today's dreefee.

What'd you say?

When you were a kid,

didn't you have...

you know,

some stuffed animal...

or a ratty blanket

or something...

that you

just absolutely...

could not go

to sleep without?

[chuckling]

I had

the grossest pillow...

that I had

to take everywhere.

Okay. Well,

Bill Bob has dreefees.

Okay.

A dreefee is a, um...

it's a carefully

selected relic...

of that

day's adventure.

So there's a different one every night.

And just as important

as the dreefee itself...

is the placement

of the dreefee.

And if that's altered

in any way...

before Bill Bob

falls asleep...

it has the same effect

of not having one at all.

And he doesn't fuss, he

doesn't protest, he just-

doesn't go to sleep.

All night long.

M m-hm.

Wow.

[chuckling]

There was one time

that the dreefee was...

a- it was

a dried-up dog turd.

And it had just

- It had been bleached white...

by, you know, the sun

and the elements, and...

and it was shaped exactly like

a tiny sleeping polar bear.

But Bill Bob said that it was

a tiny sleeping polar bear.

And that it had been eaten by a dog

and then it had proved indigestible...

and then it

had been eliminated...

and due

to its unmentionable...

experience in the dog,

it was in a coma.

Bill Bob was going to invoke

the powers of the Tooth Fairy...

to bring it

back to life.

But Ma just threw the poor

polar bear out the window...

without a question

or even a glance...

at its miraculously

sculpted bearness.

She didn't

believe his story.

Guess not.

And he didn't

sleep all night long?

M m-mm.

[birds chirping]

Here we go.

Where are

we going?

Well, I'm going

to Portland tonight...

and you...

you're staying here.

Come on.

Come on what?

What's the lightest

leader you've got?

Three pound.

All right,

hand me the rod.

Tie it up

and bait it.

Come on.

Will it...

will it mess up

your plan if I ask...

what exactly you're doing?

[splash]

I'm fishing.

You do realize...

there's nothing

but Chinook...

in the water

right now, don't you?

I know that.

Those can weigh fifty pounds.

I know.

So...

even if it

were possible...

to hook a Chinook...

on that leader

without breaking it

you couldn't land him even

if you played him all night.

I know that.

But you have to leave

before dark.

I do.

But you don't, Gus.

Got to follow through

with the plan.

[suspenseful music]

[panting]

There. Come here, Gus.

[laughs]

Come here.

Take the rod.

[whirring]

Keep your

tip up.

Don't fight it.

[whirring and light splashing]

Play the Chinook.

What?

[whirring]

[starts engine]

[lively music]

[panting, whirring]

[grunting]

You getting a little

tuckered out there?

[panting]

Me too.

[crickets]

[reel softly clicking]

Aha.

[soft clicking continues]

[clicking faster]

[soft music]

You heading home?

[whirring]

I thought

you might be a girl.

(Gus, off)

As we walked upriver...

I felt like we were

on a primordial journey...

to some forgotten,

ancient home.

The fisherman in me

was being unmade.

With so light a line...

there could be no question...

of ever bringing

this great fish to bay.

So there would be

no betrayal.

No struggle.

No sacrifice.

No death.

There was only

a Chinook...

leading an undone fisherman...

deeper into the night.

[soft music continues]

[exhaling]

[birds chirping]

[soft guitar music]

(Gus, off) As I watched

the sun wake the valley...

I felt as though an oldest,

greatest, longest-lost friend...

had come to walk the road,

unseen, beside me.

And just as quickly

that feeling left...

and blended

with the sunlight.

I knew from this point on

there was no escape...

and nowhere to go.

I was already there.

[music becomes more lively]

[soft music]

When the bough broke

We were crossing America

You with your stories

And me hanging on

Hands on the wheel

Your hair out the window

Its counterfeit color

Danced

In the September air

When the bough broke

We were flirting

With Canada

You said prove

that you love me

And live with me there

Today's dreefee.

[running water]

And leave

All the frivolous

Back in America

You found true love

In a picture

That you saw somewhere

He took her hand

They did cartwheels

Right into the air

And then they fell

[hammering]

Eddy!

Ma?

What are you doing here?

I'm fishing with Eddy.

[soft guitar music]

(Mom)

Cripes O'Reilly.

(Mom)

It's Glum Gus.

His name is...

Gus.

(Mom)

Hen?

(Gus, off) People often don't

know what they're talking about.

But when they talk

about love...

they really don't know

what they're talking about.

The one sure thing

you can say about love...

is that there isn't much

you can say about it.

Not that you shouldn't try.

You can make analogies.

Love is like a lot of things.

One thing it's like

is a trout stream.

Try to capture

a trout stream with a dam...

and you get a lake.

Try to catch it in a bucket...

and you get a bucket

of water.

Put some under a microscope...

and you get a close-up look...

at some writhing

micro-cooties.

But a trout stream...

is only a trout stream...

when it's flowing

between its own two banks...

at its own pace...

in its own sweet way.

[running water

and chirping birds]

[soft guitar music]

Run run river

Carry me to my home

In the ocean

Carry me away

I know I have a home

Somewhere far and removed

Like the stars

That make you feeI

Like you got friends

Stars'll make you feeI

Like you got friends

Follow the empty valley

Past the hills To the

marshes Of the estuary

Come in peacefuI

river

In the light of the moon

With the river I do run

In the hope that one day

I will dive

Beneath the ocean

And that this river

Will forever run

[song ends]

[soft lively music]

Bet you're going fishing

All of the time

Baby going fishing, too

I bet your life

For your sweet wife

Gonna catch more fish

Than you

Oh, many fish bite

If you got good bait

Here's a little tip

I would like to relate

Oh, many fish bite

If you've got good bait

Oh, I'm going fishing

Yes, I'm going fishing

And my baby's

Going fishing, too

Bet you're going fishing

All of the time

Baby going fishing, too

I bet your life

For your sweet wife

Gonna catch

More fish than you

Oh, many fish bite

If you got good bait

Here's a little tip

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