sailor ripley.  can i talk to lula?
what?.
peanut.
hey, my snakeskin jacket.  thanks, baby.  did i ever tell you that this here jacket for me is a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom?
stab it and steer.
i really did miss your mind while i was out at pee dee, honey. the rest of you, too, of course. but the way your head works is gods own private mystery. what was it you was thinkin?
i guess i started smokin when i was about six.  my mama was already dead from lung cancer.
camels, same as me.  guess both my mama and my daddy died of smoke or alcohol related illness.
its okay. i hardly used to see them anyway. i didnt have much parental guiding. the public defender kept sayin that at my parole hearin. he was a good ol boy, stood by me.  even brought me some cartons of cigarettes from time to time.
hell, peanut, you stuck with me after i planted bob ray lemon. a man cant ask for more than that.
youre perfect for me, too.
in a fire, as i recall.
you have such a pretty, long neck, like a swan.
but honey, i thought you told me your uncle pooch raped you when you was thirteen.
howd it happen, peanut? he just pull out the old toad and let it croak?
i cant hardly understand you when you talk with one of them mores in your mouth.
sorry, sugar. go on and tell me how old pooch done the deed.
didnt he say somethin?
so howd he finally nail you? right there in the kitchen?
we did it? whattaya mean? didnt he force you?
and you never told nobody about it?
here she goes again.
that aint never will happen, honey. least not in our lifetime.
you okay, honey?
just sounded like an old gal havin a good time to me.  you ready to dance?
are you going to provide me with an opportunity to prove my love to my girl? or are you gonna save youself some trouble and step up like a gentleman and apologize to her?
this is a snakeskin jacket, and for me its a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.
come here.
im sorry to do this to ya here in front of a crowd, but i want ya to stand up and make a nice apology to my girl.
thats good.  now go get yourself a beer. you fellas have alotta the same power elvis had.  yall know this one?.
cause im only gonna sing that song to my wife.
that so? you want to tell me what, if any, real thoughts you had lately?
we didnt have no tv up at pee dee, baby, you know?
twenty-three months, eighteen days is all. dont need to make moren it was. this couples goin on a date to hawaii. the girl chose him over the other two guys.
gift certificates to kentucky fried chicken.
hell, why should the datin game be different from real life? at least them boys is gonna get somethin to eat.
yeah?
you think of the weirdest damn things to say sometimes, peanut. aint we been doin a pretty fair job this far?
at pee dee, all you think about is the future, you know? gettin out? and what youll do and what youll think about when youre on the outside again.
it aint altogether terrible just to let things go along sometimes. lula, i done a few things in my life i aint too proud of, but ill tell ya from now on i aint gonna do nothin for no good reason. all i know for sure is theres moren a few bad ideas runnin around loose out there.
musta been a lesson tellin ya it was the wrong time.  what did you do, your mama find out?
you tell the boy who knocked you up?
what happened to him?
whats that, peanut?
actin funny how?
hell, peanut.
probly the rain boys from outer space.
sound like ol dells moren just a little confused, peanut.  too bad he couldnt visit that ol wizard of oz and get some good advice.
whats that?
so?
theres worse things that can happen to a man, honey.
lets go dancin, peanut. im ready.
one thing puzzles my mind, sugar.  youre twenty years old - arent you ever curious why your mama has this fixation on keepin us apart? puttin a detective on us. ill tell ya lula.  well.  its moren me killin bob ray lemon.
yeah, maybe.
no.
what are you, sick?.  im with lula.
whattya mean?
so?
youre gonna have to kill me to keep me away from lula.
its a problm i dont thinks gonna go away too soon though.  peanut, im thinkin of breakin parole and takin you out to sunny california.
you up for that?
those toenails dry yet? we got some dancin to do.
yeah, i had my first taste on that trip to juarez. at that age you still got a lot of energy.
maybe two, three months after juarez. i was visitin my cousin, junior train, in savannah, and we were at some kids house whose parents were out of town. a girl comes up to me that was real tall, taller than me.
she looked right at me and run her tongue over her lips and put her hand on my arm - told me her name was irma.
told her my name. then she said somethin like, its so noisy down here. why dont we go upstairs so we can hear ourselves? she turned around and led the way. i knew i had an important lesson to learn that day.
when she got almost to the top step i stuck my hand between her legs from behind.
thats just what she said. i had a boner with a capital o. i went to kiss her but she broke off laughin and ran down the hallway. i found her lyin on a bed in a room filled with assault weapons and penthouse magazines. she was a wild chick. she was wearin bright orange pants with kind of spanish lookin lacy black stripes down the sides. you know, them kind that doesnt go all the way down your leg?
i guess.
she just rolled over onto her stomach and stuck her ass up in the air. i slid my hand between her legs and she closed her thighs on it.
her face was half-pushed into the pillow, and she looked back over her shoulder at me and said, i wont suck you. dont ask me to suck you.
sorta brown, blonde, i guess. but dig this, sweetie. then she turns over, peels off them orange pants, and spreads her legs real wide and says to me.
say no more.  but go easy on me, sweetheart.  tomorrow we got alotta drivin to do. hottern georgia asphalt?
what do you mean by necessary? shes probly already called the cops, my parole officer, her p.i. boyfriend johnnie farragut.
you guess? my parole was broke two hundred miles back when we burnt portagee county.
you got about six more big states to go before we find out.
that dont smell like a more.
they sure do stink.
you aint gonna begin worryin about whats bad for you at this hour, are you, sugar? i mean, here you are crossin state lines with a a- number one certified murderer.
okay, manslaughterer whos broke his parole and got in mind nothin but immoral purposes fars youre concerned.
you please me, too, peanut.
life is a bitch and then you marry one.
what it says on the bumper sticker up front. on that pickup.
almost. i figure we should find us a place to stay and then go eat.
we oughta stay somewhere outta the way. not in no holidays or ramadas or motel six. if johnnie farraguts on our trail hell check those first.
looks more like the ghost of the old south, but well try her.
come look at this.
there aint no water in the swimmin pool. just a dead tree fell in, probly from bein struck by lightnin.
lets get fed, sweetheart. the lights fadin fast.
lula.  i learned somethin interestin today on a science show i heard on the radio.  how leeches is comin back into style.
got you a pack of mores again, huh?
heard on the radio how doctors is usin leeches again, just in old times. you know, when even barbers used em?
yeah, well listen to this.  radio said back in the 1920s a i-talian doctor figured out that if, say, a fella got his nose cut off or bit off in, say, a barfight or somethin, theyd sew one of his forearms to his nose for a few weeks.  then put leeches on it.
how they used to do it. course they got more sophisticated ways now. radio said the chinese, i think it is, figured a better idea is by insertin a balloon in the forehead and lettin it hand down on the nose.
honest, lula. i probly aint precisely got all the facts straight, but its about what they said.
were about dry bones, sweetheart. we dont wanna have to push this bird into new orleans.
all i wants ten bucks regular. oh yeah, and a mounds bar.
i aint got my american express card with me, so i gotta use cash. hope thats okay.
i really do think the country done changed just a little while i was away, peanut.
you really are dangerously cute, honey. i gotta admit it.
lets head out into the crazy world of new orleans.  i gotta get somethin to eat.
dont know that i have.  should i know about you for anythin in particular?
if your neighbors didnt mind, howd you get put out of business?
what happened on the charges?
what lesson do get outta that story, lula?
whats that, peanut?
aint it the way.
huh?
my god, it better be, darlin, cause itd be the last.  what time is it?
lula, sometimes i gotta admit, you come up with some weird thoughts.
you got me, peanut.
i aint never met anyone come close to you, sugar.
i do.
we didnt do nothin special i can remember. just talked, is all.
too bad they dont give an award for talkin.  youd win first prize. especially with those tits.
no, i like gettin up around four a.m. and talkin bout wild animals .  though you woke me up this time in the middle of a dream. i kinda wish i didnt remember it. up at pee dee, i couldnt remember any of my dreams.
it wasnt no fun, lula. the wind was blowin super-hard and i wasnt dressed warm. only instead of freezin, i was sweatin strong.
the water was rollin off me. and i was dirty, too, like i hadnt had no bath in a long time, so the sweat was black almost.
i know. i kept walkin, i headed for your house, only it wasnt your house, really. you let me in only you werent real pleased to see me. you kept askin, whyd you come to see me now? why now? like itd been a long time since wed seen each ohter.
i know, peanut. but it wasnt all like you were so unhappy i was there, just you were upset. my bein there was upsettin to you. you had some kids there, little kids, and i guess youd got married and your husband was comin home any minute.
i tell you, lula. i was shakin wet. all this black sweat was pourin off me, and i knew i was scarin you, so i took off.
well, i aint upset about it, darlin. just give me an odd feelin there a minute, is all.
gotta hex from a voodoo?
you do.
where?
im goin.
who knows, baby?
lula, darlin.  makes no difference anyway.  were outta here.
sweetheart, keep your panties up. were in jimmy swaggart country.
hes just a regular guyt needs help, honey. look at him.
my names sailor, and this heres lula. whats yours?
what you got in the box?
where you from, roach?
you dont feel you was a little hard on the guy, honey?
just part of life on the road, peanut.
hard to tell whats shakin in a place like this, honey. you dont want to be walkin in the wrong door.
someone up here might know somethin.
got enough, thanks. were lookin for a place has some music, where we can maybe do some dancin - get somethin to eat, too. anything like that around here?
whats the name of it?
you say its straight ahead a mile?
thanks.
you ready for this?
this is a snakeskin jacket, and for me it represents a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.
uh huh.
yeah.
honey, we bein strangers here and all, this is the kinda place we dont want to make nothin of nothin.
i tend to like em with a little more meat on the bones. face aint bad, though.
whats wrong, sweetheart? somethin botherin you?
moren likely.
i aint so sure its a great idea, but thats up to you. just dont tell her where we are.
i was just wastin time, peanut, till you come back.
honey, im sorry. it wasnt nothin. come on and get up and well take off.
told you not to call your mama.
under a hundred.
not in houston. wed be better off in some place more out of the way.
thatd be good, lula.
whats that, peanut?
this aint news, sweetheart. i hate to tell ya.
powermad!!!
you know, lula, i never told you what all i was doin before i met you.
not exactly, sugar.  one reason were in all the trouble were in right now is cause of what i was doin.  i tried to tell you this before.
well, theres a good side as well as a bad side to it.  the good side is i knew your daddy, and i thought clyde was a good ol guy.
yes i did.  i sure did.  the bad side of it is i did some drivin for a man named marcello santos.
i quit workin for im, but just before i did, i ended up one night at a house.  i dont know what it is they all think i saw that night, but i was just sittin out in the car till the whole place went up in flames.
i know, sugar.  but while the place was burnin.  before santos came out - i pitched some rocks at the second floor windows case anyone was upstairs sleepin.  afterwards.  when i met you, i always liked to think i mighta saved your life.
we all got a secret side, baby. hope you dont think i been lyin to you bout other things, sugar.
lula, you there?
you upset with me?
i didnt want to say it .  but i had a feelin santos was up to somethin with your mama.
they have, sugar.
its a comfortin idea.
theres worse places, honey.
trust me on it.
well be alright, peanut, long as weve got room to move.
i dont know.  looks like clothes.
one bad car accident.
i dont know, honey, but we gotta help that girl - get her to a town and hope no one catches on i broke parole.
lets get ahold a her quick.
dont know, but shes gonna bleed all over our car, ill tell ya that.  hey.  hello.  girl.  you gotta come with us, honey.
im afraid she is, baby.
lets get outta here, honey.
well, it aint exactly emerald city.
thisll do.
not bad for eleven dollars a day.
fan works.
lets get a sandwich and find out about some work.
yeah?
okay, honey, ill see you later.
you red?
names sailor ripley. katy over at the drugstore thought you might have some work i could do.
i aint no enzo ferrari, but they used to call me wrench when i was a kid.
my girl and i are lookin for a place to settle. were bunked down at the iguana motel.
no, we just got in a hour and a half ago.
been nice meetin yall. preciate the beer. ill be seein yall soon.
the only one.
maybe. met a guy named red, owns a garage, could have some work in about a week. met a few hard luck boys whos stayin here. whats that smell?
you sick?
yeah?
it aint gonna be forever, peanut.
susan day.
you was in the marines, huh?
ill come along.
man, that barf smell dont fade fast.
anything i can do for you?
i know you aint particularly pleased bein here.
its okay by me, peanut.
love you, too.
i know this aint easy, lula, but i aint gonna let things get no worse, i promise.
just passin through on my way to who knows where.
hopin you could tell me if theres a contract out on me. i really need to know.
i think santos or marietta fortune.
you heard right.
life is unpredictable.
i didnt see nothin.
is there a contract?.  we made a deal once that wed tip each other off if we ever heard.
well?.
thanks.
thanks, bobby, bout done.
thatd be fine, bobby.
no, havent heard of it.
this your car?
restin in our room. she aint been feelin well.
new orleans, huh?.  we was just there.
thought you said this was a private club. how come im allowed in without bein a member?
no.
no.
they look like a bunch of good ol boys to me. i guess its oil money, huh?
wouldnta guessed it, thats sure.
why not?
whats that?
no.  i dont think so, man.
whattaya mean family?
lula tell you shes pregnant?
when did you talk to lula?
she really say she was pregnant?
i aint fuckin sure, bobby.
have now.
forty bucks.
i dont particularly care for that kind of talk, bobby.
yeah .  yeah.  i guess so.  that kinda moneyd get us a long way down that yellow brick road.
but damn man.  this better go smooth.
few beers is all. feelin any better?
that smells still fillin this room good.
and bobby too, i hear.
you talk to im some?.
oughta make em happy.
went with bobby.
uh huh?
were goin to, lula, real soon.
we got about forty bucks, sweetheart. thatd get us to el paso.
you shouldnt be smokin if youre pregnant. aint smart.
what could i be up to, lula?
i killed bob ray lemon, didnt i?
that was in vietnam.
lula, i got to get some sleep.
what?
lula, he mighta did, i dont know. but it dont matter now. lotta guys go outta control in a war and it aint their fault.
whats she doin here?
why should it?
what is it?
bobby!!!! stop it, man!!!
first pack of tailor-mades i had in a while.
you must be my son.
pleasure to meet you, pace. i read a lot about you.
lead the way.
no rag top, huh?
dont worry, son. just stay here.
boys frightened, lula. this aint no good.
its a mistake, honey. you two go on. ill walk back to the depot.
he aint never known me, lula, so there aint much for him to forget. not seein each other for six years makes it next best to simple for us, too.
what makes sense, is all.
oiga, amigo. if ever somethin dont feel right to you, remember what pancho said to the cisco kid.  lets went, before we are dancing at the end of a rope, without music.
you been doin fine without me, peanut. there aint no need to make life toughern it has to be.
what do you faggots want?
the good witch.
but im a robber and a manslaughterer and i havent had any parental guidance.
but im wild at heart.
yes, i have.  and i wanna apologize to you gentlemen for referring to you as homosexuals. i also want to thank you fellas, youve taught me a valuable lesson in life. lula!!!!
lula!!!!