Paladin, Chapter 23

 EXT. STREET - DAY

PALADIN catches up with BIG DAN.

PALADIN: Are you trying to provoke CHARLES?

BIG DAN:  Well, if you will not kill him, I gotta do it.

PALADIN:  It might not end up as you think it will.

BIG DAN:  I gotta defend what is mine.  I am not worried about a cripple.

PALADIN:  What is yours?  If your wife prefers another man, you cannot really keep her.  Find a woman who wants you.

BIG DAN:  That is bullshit.  POLLYANNA is mine.  With CHARLES out of the way, she will come back to me.  I know it.  There have been others,

PALADIN:  That is just it.  There will always be others.  She will never be yours.

BIG DAN:  It is none of your fucking business.  Stay outta my way.

BIG DAN walks away from PALADIN.  BIG DAN gets on his horse and rides away towards his ranch.  

Lake Ontario

I grew up in Oswego, New York which is located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, the eastern most of the Great Lakes of North America.

The Canadian province of Ontario is on the northern shore of Lake Ontario.  The border between the USA and Canada runs through the center of the lake.

The name Ontario is derived from the Iroquoian word Oniatari:io meaning Beautiful Lake.  It has been the name of the lake since 1641.

The port of Oswego on Lake Ontario is the first USA deep water port from the St. Lawrence Seaway.  It is one of the most productive ports in North America.

The port of Oswego is the only grain export center on Lake Ontario.  It is home to 14 companies that utilize its facilities for both domestic and international operations.

The port of Oswego serves as an economic catalyst for the central New York region.  It provides transportation services, promotes growth and environmental stewardship.

I will always think of that lake in front of my home town as Ontario. 

September 11th

September 11, 2001 started out as a beautiful sunny day in New York.  I arrived (via bus and subway) at my office at the Anti-Defamation League on East 46th Street near the UN building.

Suddenly, a colleague walked by and told me an airplane crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center (WTC).  My first thought was that during WWII a small airplane crashed into the Empire State Building.  Pilot killed, small damage to building.  

However, soon after I heard that a second airplane crashed into the second tower of the WTC.  It was no longer an accident.  It was a terrorist attack.

I later learned that a third plane crashed into the Pentagon near Washington and a fourth crashed on a field in rural Pennsylvania.

Soon, our office and many others closed for the day and my colleagues and fellow New Yorkers headed home.  However, concern for more terrorist attacks shut down all public transportation.  

No buses, no subway.  I had to walk home.

I started walking north towards the Queensborough Bridge on 59th Street.  I walked across the bridge.  

The Queens bound lanes were made exclusively for pedestrians.  Thousands were walking with me.

When I got to the apex of the bridge, I could see smoke floating across the East River from lower Manhattan.  It was from the destruction of the WTC.

When I reached Queens, I started following Northern Boulevard.  I probably walked another 2 hours east towards my home in Bayside.

At a point, I found a phone booth (no cell phones) and called my ex-wife Bonita asking her to pick me up.  It normally was a 20 minute drive.  It took her more than an hour because of the extraordinary traffic.  Likewise, it took us a long time to return home.

It was an unforgettable day.

  

 

A Child Is Waiting

 A Child is Waiting is a 1963 drama film starring Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Bruce Ritchey, Gena Rowlands and Stephan Hill.  It was written by Abby Mann.

Dr. Clark (Lancaster) is the director of a state institution for intellectually disabled and emotionally disturbed children.  He hires Jean (Garland) as a music teacher at the institution.

Jean develops a close relationship with a 12 year-old boy named Reuben (Ritchey).  She believes that Dr. Clark's methods are too strict and are not helping Reuben.

Jean is very sad to learn that neither of Reuben's now divorced parents have visited him in the two years he has been at the institution.  Yet, he readies himself every weekly visitation day assuming his mother will come.

Without Dr. Clark's permission, Jean writes to Reuben's mother (Rowlands) asking her to visit him.  Thinking he is ill she comes, but leaves when she knows the truth.  

It is too painful for her to see Reuben.  He sees her car speed away and he chases it.

Dr. Clark tries to explain to Jean how important it is for each of the children to develop as much self-sufficiency as possible.  Also, she can't favor one child over all the others at the institution.    

Reuben's father (Hill) attends the annual Thanksgiving pagaent at the institution.  He is very impressed when he sees Reuben reciting a poem. 

Variety said "Burt Lancaster delivers a firm, sincere and persuasive performance as the professionally objective, but understanding psychologist who heads the institution. Judy Garland gives a sympathetic portrayal of an overly involved teacher who comes to see the error of her obsession with the plight of one child."