The Wizard

1

There's two boys holding

Stars for the wishing

Yeah, one boy's sure

One says, I don't know

But sometimes I feel

We been missing

Ooh, love I try

And away they go

Oh, oh

And this old town

The wind starts blowing

And the radio sings

the blues for free

Mmm, mmm

We got the bottle down

For soaking dreams, yeah

And tears of a clown

Well, hey, that's me

And hearts

that fall in two

Pretend they don't show

Holding back the rain

Baby, let it go

You don't get much

without giving

You don't get much

without giving

Hey, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, yeah

You don't get much

You don't get much

Hey, wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

I found him.

I found him.

His mother was right.

He's about three miles south

of the old Butte Road.

I got it.

On my way.

Son.

Son.

Yeah, it's him all right.

Whoa. Whoa, son. Now just where

do you think you're going, boy?

California.

Sure, kid.

We all want to go to California.

My wife wants to go

to California.

Joe. Come in, Joe.

You just stay put.

Now what do you want

me to do with him?

Take him to his mother's place.

She's remarried.

Her name's Christine Bateman. She

lives on the south side of town.

You got that?

Yeah, yeah, I got it.

Okay, son, time to go.

Upsy-daisy. Your mom's

waiting for you now.

So, on these trips

that he takes,

has he tried to see Corey or

Nick or his natural father?

Christine!

Oh, I'm sorry.

What did you say?

Look, he just picks up his little

lunch pail... What is in that thing?

And off he goes.

I mean, he could go anywhere,

downtown, the canyons, the river.

He doesn't go to the river. He

never even goes near the river.

Okay.

He stays away from the river.

But I'm telling you, anytime, I

mean, he could just pick up and go.

The Happy Wanderer,

at the stroke of midnight,

if he feels the urge,

in the middle

of his Frosted Flakes.

I got the neighborhood on red alert,

and I'm putting the cops on overtime.

Mr. Bateman!

Though Jimmy is

a heavily traumatized boy,

he has a certain fixation with

building, stacking things.

These little monuments he makes,

I'd like to think

they mean something.

I'd like to think that he's searching

for a way to express himself.

But you don't.

Look, we've been sending

this boy here for two years.

I think it's time we started

exploring some, uh, alternatives.

We're thinking about, uh, putting

him into an institution,

a home.

Is that something original, Dad?

I'm trying to cook you guys

a decent meal.

You can't be living off

of burgers and pizza.

It cannot possibly belong to one

of the four major food groups.

It's a casserole, genius. Doesn't

it look like a casserole?

Huh?

We saw Jimmy yesterday, Dad.

Yeah?

So how is he?

They're talking about

putting him in a home.

That's Christine's decision. She

has custody now. You know that.

Well, I'm, uh, I'm not really too hungry.

I'll grab some a little later.

I wanna know about the pickup. I found

it this morning covered with mud.

You took it again.

Just gimme a break, please. This

has nothing to do with the pickup.

It has everything to do with it!

I wanna know why you disobey me

when I give you a direct order?

Why do you do this? They're

gonna put him in a home, Nick!

He hasn't changed

ever since Jennifer.

Dad! He doesn't do anything.

He doesn't say anything.

What about it, man? What

about the rules around here?

Don't call me "man," all right?

What? The pickup, the rules? You

always do this. Corey, come on.

No, Dad, will you listen to me? What,

you wanna see that happen? Huh?

You wanna see 'em put Jimmy in a home?

Corey...

Fine, Dad. Just because he's our half

brother, he doesn't matter, right?

Cor...

Huh?

Enjoy your casserole.

Ohh.

Corey?

Leave me alone.

Why do you keep doin' this to yourself?

It's been two years.

Yeah, what do you care?

Why don't you and I just go over to the

Dairy Queen, huh? We'll kick back a couple.

Come on, it's on me.

No.

You didn't even care about him

when you had the chance.

All you care about is yourself.

What bothers me is that you

seem to have no respect for me

or no appreciation

for living in this house!

What do you care

about what I do anyway?

Jimmy's in a home

and you don't care.

If Mom was still alive,

she'd be...

Don't you tell me what I care about,

young man. You don't care about us!

You steal my pickup and now you're

drinking, and I don't like it!

You have no sense of

responsibility for this house!

I do.

For you to carry out

the trash is a big deal!

South Dakota.

Wash my truck every once in a while.

Arkansas.

Nebraska.

California.

Come on.

Let's go.

Jimmy.

Jimmy, we're gonna do a little

traveling, just you and me.

What do you think?

California?

Yeah.

Yeah, California.

Come on.

Do you like chocolate?

Yeah.

Good. Get in.

You understand, Mr. Woods, we don't have

the manpower to be pursuing runaways,

even if the one boy

is handicapped.

Hey, look, he's not handicapped.

Whatever he is.

They were seen hopping a truck.

Uh, can we get to the, uh,

the point here?

Woods, your son, Corey,

has taken Jimmy.

They're both my sons.

Oh. Okay. Okay.

For the record, your two sons, one of

whom I am legally responsible for,

have decided

to eat their way across...

I don't see why we're standin'

here talkin' about it.

Because you are

missing the point.

I have an obligation to

the welfare of this child.

I have to see that he is returned here

for the kind of treatment he needs.

Now, granted,

the police are looking.

We've hired someone to find him.

Mr. Putnam.

Mr. Putnam retrieves

runaways professionally.

He's going to bring back Jimmy.

What about Corey?

Well, Corey, uh, wants to

run away, doesn't he?

I mean, even if we brought him

back, would it do any good?

You know, Bateman, I, uh, I

always knew that you were a jerk.

I just, until now, thought

it was guilt by association.

Pop.

What?

I want to go with you. Forget it. You

can get a ride back with Bateman.

I don't think so.

Uh, Mr. Woods. Excuse me.

Just so you know, I make my

money by bringing kids in,

and I don't make it if someone

else brings the kid in first.

You catch my drift?

So let's not be getting

in my way, okay?

Have a nice day.

We better drop by the house,

pick up some clothes.

- End of the line, Ben?

- Yeah, it's my last stop.

Come on.

Do you have to make

such a pig out of yourself?

Come on.

Stay there.

Hey! Jimmy!

Hey, wait up!

How about that cupcake?

We got plenty of Twinkies.

Personally, I'm a Ho Ho man myself.

How about you?

Okay.

So, according to this

we're in Goblin Valley.

Great.

I mean, I mean, I mean, it couldn't

be Happy Valley or Wonderful Valley.

Goblin Valley.

Why not Ax Murderer's Valley?

Great.

There's a bench outside. The bus'll be

here any minute. Stay here for a minute.

Well, go ahead. Play.

Two tickets

to California, please.

You got someplace

specific in mind,

or would you just like

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