Can I tell you the story of my son?
Well, perhaps, more the story of his father,
A good bit of what you're about to see
is true as it happened,
More is true, though, as to how it felt,
And more than that, I suppose, is true of how it will be,
Dad!
I want to come home, dad,
I want to come home,
I know, son, I know,
Please, dad, Please,
Benny!
Where are you?
Is this a copy? I don't know,
That's Ginny, but,,,
Wait, I've already been through this box,
Hi, this is Genevieve,
Leave your message after the beep,
Yeah, hey, Ginny,
I could use some help with these photo albums,
I know you're busy,
Anyway, um, and I,,,
Well you may not be able to get to it right away,
but listen, give me a call when you can, okay?
Thank you,
Ah, okay,
Yeah,
Ginny!
Hello?
Ginny,,,!
Dad, is that,,, hello?
Dad!
Oh my god, what is wrong?
Mr, Whitmore?
The cath lab team will be here soon,
They may need to place some more stents in your heart,
He'll need to stay here a few more days
a massive heart attack causing significant,,,
He shouldn't drive for at least several weeks,,,
He's going to need 'round the clock nursing care at home,,,
You grew up here?
Yeah, but without all the clocks,
It's a hobby of his,
He's always talked about turning it into a business,
but usually ends up repairing everything for free,
He used to be a history teacher,
professor Benjamin Whitmore sr,
That's how I remember him growing up,
Where does he eat?
Usually at the counter over here,
Mustard packets, styrofoam cups,
Why doesn't he just use real glasses?
He has them right here,
Oh, come on,
My mom,
Oh,,, she's beautiful,
She was a dancer, ballet and modern,
I've always wanted to do that,
Me and my brother, Benny,
Sweet,
Mom and dad,
Right in here,
What's this bed doing down here?
You'll be sleeping downstairs for a few weeks,
No arguments,
It's too noisy down here,
I can't sleep down here,
- Is that so? - Yeah,
I thought you liked the sound of ticking clocks,
Who are you?
Hello, Mr, Whitmore,
I'm Holly Christmas,
Huh?
Holly Christmas,
Christmas Holly?
No, sir,
Christmas is my last name,
Holly is my first name, Holly Christmas,
Miss Christmas is here to help you,
I don't need any help,
You're getting stay-at-home care,
It's too expensive,
Doctor's orders and insurance paid for it, so zip it,
Miss Christmas is staying here overnight,
Where's she gonna sleep?
Oh, I won't be sleeping, Mr, Whitmore,
I'm gonna be up all night long,
I'm gonna be on duty and I'll probably just sit
in that chair over there and maybe watch some TV,
So you're gonna stay up all night,
All night, making sure that you're okay,
That's my job,
See?
I'm gonna go, but I'll be back
to check on you in the morning, okay?
Maybe we can work on those photo albums together,
Yeah,
All right,
I'm gonna hold you to that, Ginny,
Please do,
Thank you, miss Christmas,
You're very welcome,
Well, come on,
Help me get out of this chair,
Of, course,
Here, let me get this blanket off,
Thank you,
- You're welcome, - Thank you,
What about your coat?
- You want me to take your coat? - Yeah, yeah,
Mmm, Can I get you some more?
Yeah, I wouldn't mind it,
You're a good cook,
Well, always thank the chef,
You know, your daughter was showing me
some of the family photos,
Yeah?
You're a blessed man,
Thank you,
There you go,
No, it's too much,
Just eat what you can,
But I don't like to waste food,
Okay, well, I'll tell you what,
Whatever is left over, we'll just put it
in the fridge, okay? How's that?
Uh huh,
Christmas, get the phone,
Answer the phone,
Christmas!
The phone!
Christmas Holly, get the phone!
It's ringing,
Hey!
Wake up!
The phone!
Hello,
Ben Whitmore, please,
Speaking,
Hello, this is nurse Nakamura
from middle mouth security hospital,
Good morning, sir,
Good morning,
How's your day going, sir?
I don't know,
What time is it?
This comes as a big surprise, right?
But I have good news to share with you,
Yes?
- Your son, Benny, - Yes?
Benny is going home,
Could,,, what?
Say that again,
Your son, Benny,
Benny's being discharged today,
Benjamin Whitmore Jr,
You are excited, right?
Decision is now final,
You got the letter?
- No, - You moved house?
- No, - Hmm,
Well, anyway, wonderful news, right?
How soon can you get here, Mr, Whitmore?
Three, four hours?
Okay, See you later, then,
Yeah,
Yeah, I,,,
Can I talk to him?
No, he's asleep,
Okay, I'll see you later,
- Okay, goodbye, - Thank you,
♪ Go down Moses ♪
♪ way down in Egypt land ♪
Mr, Whitmore!
You better not be driving that car!
You better not!
You put it right back in that garage,
Mr, Whitmore!
♪ Let my people go ♪
♪ go down, Moses ♪
♪ way down in Egypt land ♪
♪ tell old pharaoh ♪
♪ let my people go ♪
Pain will not last forever,
And disappointment fades with time,
How many years has it been now?
Admittedly, They have blended together,
but I have not given up hope,
I have not given up hope, and I never will,
Benjamin, Genevieve, David,
These are my treasures,
- Good morning, - Good morning,
- ID? - Yeah,
Who are you seeing today?
Benjamin Whitmore Jr,
- You know where to go? - Oh, yeah,
Thank you,
Have a good visit,
Oh, it's, uh, it's not a visit,
I'm taking him home,
We have a history of mental illness in the family, yes,
but I never thought it would touch him,
No, not him,
It came and took him away,
It took him away from all of us,
But now,,,
I'm taking him home,
I wonder if he still has that purple shirt I got him,
I want him to wear it when we leave here,
Purple, The color of royalty,
That's my son, That's my son,
Hello, I'm here to pick up Benjamin Whitmore Jr,
ID?
I always wondered what form his healing would take,
Would it be sudden before my eyes?
Or would I walk into his room one morning
and find him sitting there,
healed and in his right mind?
Benjamin Whitmore?
Wait here,
Yeah, I know the drill,
Dr, Dhopte,
conference room c, main level,
Dr, Dhopte, conference room c, main level,
,,,including those with co-occurring morbidities,
Client-based communities below the 49th parallel,
Mental recovery in ancient, and inclusion,,,
Old-fashioned,,, milky way,,,
Mr, Whitmore?
Dr, Bitter man,
Won't you join us, please?
Yeah,
- This way, - Thank you,
Please take a seat, Mr, Whitmore,
Thank you,
Good morning, Good morning,
How's everybody doing?
How you doing, Mr, Whitmore?
Ah, nurse Nakamura, "Konnichiwa",
You gave me quite a start this morning,
I called early, right?
You did, you did, but I did not mind,
It was such a pleasant surprise, such exciting news,
I wasn't aware that this news
took you by surprise, Mr, Whitmore,
Well, I've been out of touch a bit, admittedly,
several months or so, at least,
Maybe more, Three months, four?
I've been having health issues,
which have curtailed my visits and,,,
Hand this to Mr, Whitmore,
I am somewhat out of touch,
And nurse Nakamura mentioned there was a letter
that came to me, but I never got a letter,
so I'm not sure what that was about,
So you need a signature here somewhere,
You're Benny's guardian, so yes, you need to sign it,
- Okay, - And um, make sure you date it,
You know, I always knew this day would come,
I always believed it would happen,
And it's finally here,
I mean, it's hard to take in,
Weren't you the ones who told me
that he would never get out of here?
That he was a lifer?
Dr, Bitter man, didn't you say that?
Remember how you leveled with me, Dr, Dhopte,
that Benny's condition was just too grave,
too serious, that he would never leave this hospital,
And now, from one day to the next?
It's like a miracle,
I call it a miracle,
What do you call it, Dr, Bitter man?
Just sign the paperwork, Mr, Whitmore, please,
We have other meetings to get to,
So I just sign at the bottom somewhere,
- And the date, - Where are the page numbers?
- Who writes this stuff? - Put down the date,
What is the date, anyway?
Does anybody really know what time it is?
It's the 13th of the month,
If you say so,
You know, I was in the visitor's room just a while ago
and looking at your mission statement on the wall,
I noticed you have it up here, too, right behind me,
Same mission statement,
And you know, I sat there,
This happened more than once, doctor,
In fact, it's happened every time I've ever come here,
I start to read the mission statement
and I get through the first sentence,
That makes sense, somewhat,
And then I read the second sentence, which does not make
as much sense as the first sentence, but I read
the third and that's totally out of the ballpark
and I have no idea what I'm reading,
So I go back to the first and I try to read that
as well as the second and the third,
kind of get the big picture, but at the end of the day,
it just kind of all runs together and puts me to sleep,
Yeah,,,
And then you realize that there is no big picture,
It's just a lot of broken pieces,
Mr, Whitmore, please,
We're running out of time,
Time, Hmm,
So if I sign this, it means that I take Benjamin
home with me today,
Is that right?
The date, please,
Put down the date,
What is that?
Huh? What is that?
I'll take you to Benny now,
Let's go,
Don't you dare,,,
Okay,,, I got you now!
I will take you back on the ward now, Mr, Whitmore,
But I didn't sign the paperwork,
You can do that later,
Let's go,
Ah, I remember him,
Vincent van Gogh,
Sir, excuse me, sir,
Can I get a hug, sir?
Sorry, no touching allowed,
Do that with family,
Not much has changed since my last visit,
Vincent, the painter,
- What's up, Oscar? - I don't have a family!
I've gotta pee so bad,
Go ahead and pee, Oscar,
Oscar and his chronic need to use the bathroom,
Standing up or sitting down?
Standing,,,
I don't have a family, ma'am,
Go pee, Oscar,
Are you sure it won't hurt you?
Sonny and another puzzle,
I won't flush you down the toilet, will I?
What about the roller coaster?
It won't chop your head off, will it?
I gotta pee so bad,
And somewhere in the midst of all this, my son,
Last time, he came right by me,,,
Let me out of this hell hole!
How is it some are stricken, others not?
A broken bone will mend,
But a broken spirit?
Who can cure it?
This is the full measure of man,
Hmm, he's not here,
He might be in the infirmary for a checkup,
You stay here and you pack up his things, okay?
I will come back with some boxes,
All right,
Happy day, right?
Yeah,
You'll be with your son again,
Nurse Nakamura,,,
"For dad, 1 corinthians 15:19-20,
If only for this life, Benny,"
Ah, Mr, Awale,
Good to see you, sir,
Good morning, Mr, Whitmore,
Nurse Nakamura asked me to give you these,
Ah, thank you, Thank you,
It must have been sudden,
What is that?
Benny, getting better like that,
I didn't find out about it myself until this morning,
I always believed he would get better, Mr, Whitmore,
Yeah, I wrote this little book about him,
I've seen him with the book many times,
Looks like he must have read it,
Started out as prayer letters sent to friends,
Code blue, Medical response team,
People I could trust to pray for him,
Seems your prayers
have been answered, Mr, Whitmore,
Yeah, All I ever, all I ever wanted for him
was to have some dignity, you know?
Just a little dignity,
A job of some sort,
A janitor, maybe, I,,,
I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way,
No, I understand,
Yeah, those were dark days, Mr, Awale,
Dark days indeed,
When was the last time you saw him?
I had a dream about him a few days ago,
But dreams don't count, do they?
Yeah,
Anyway, we should be rejoicing, right?
This is a day of celebration,
Look at this,
No more of this,
I don't even know if I should put 'em
in the box or in the trash can,
but maybe you could gimme a hand?
- I'd sure appreciate it, - Sure, happy to help,
I heard you crying,
How do you cope?
Sometimes, I play the guitar,
Attention,
Your attention, please,
Paging Benny Whitmore,
Benny Whitmore, please
I'm sorry, I have to go,
,,,at once,
Benny Whitmore, come to the infirmary,
Miss Nakamura,
Oh, Mr, Whitmore, we were just looking for you,
We need you in the infirmary,
Let me show you the way,
Attention, code blue, third floor,
Big hungry, come on,
Third floor, Step on it,
Something wasn't adding up,
- Attention, - Code blue, third floor,
Why was Mohamed warning me?
I became even more intent on finding my son,
I don't want hurt him,
If I go I'll hurt him, but I don't wanna hurt anybody,
But if I don't, no, I don't wanna hurt anybody,
Shh, shh, one word at a time,
I said, is god okay?
What do you mean?
When I go pee, do I hurt god?
No, No, of course not,
Are you sure?
I'm sure,
Just go to the bathroom, it'll be okay,
Standing up?
Well, yeah, if you have to go pee, stand up,
And wash my hands after, right?
Do you, do you hear that?
The music,
You'll be all right, though?
Go to the bathroom,
Okay, everyone,
We're going to do something different today
and I think you're going to enjoy it,
Oh, come in,
Please, come in,
Your attention please,,,
I heard the music,
Of course, Of course you did,
Garbage receptacles to the loading dock,
But,,,
Wanna have a seat?
What's your name, friend?
- My name? - Yes,
Yes, friend,
Whitmore,
Ben Whitmore sr,
Everyone, let's give a warm welcome to Ben Whitmore sr,
Welcome,
Thank you,
You know, it sounded like my son, David,
was in here playing the piano,
Your son, David?
Mm, I could hear the music from outside,
It was coming from in this room,
Whitmore,
Do you happen to have another son named Benny?
- Yes, - Benny Whitmore,
Yes, my oldest,
Of course, of course,
It's so nice to meet you,
I'm glad is peregrino, social worker,
Oh, pleasure,
Yeah, they called me early in the morning
to come and get Benny,
but I don't know where he is,
Do you guys know Benny?
You must know Benny, right?
This is my son, Benny,
Does this look familiar?
Benny, yeah,
They called me up at, I don't know what time it was,
to come and get him, that he's being discharged,
Well, I'm sure he'll turn up,
Yes,
Here, why don't you grab a mask and show us how you feel,
- Like, like they're doing? - Yes,
Kind of reminds me of a venetian party mask,
All right, everyone,
I'm going to say a word or a short phrase,
and I would like you to use your mask to show us
how that word or phrase makes you feel, All right?
Okay, here we go,
Um,,, childhood,
Terri, you have a happy face,
Would you tell us what made your childhood happy?
I got that one wrong,
Oh, well then tell us what made your childhood sad,
- Everything, - Everything?
So, no rays of sunshine along the way?
Hmm, We'll have to work on that, okay Terri?
It's all about perspective,
Oh, yes, gonzalo?
How may we help you?
Attention, your attention, please,
Rosencrantz and gildenstern, Rosencrantz and gildenstern,
Your Chinatown delivery is up front,
Chinatown delivery up front,
"N-n-n-non fui, Fui,
Non sum, Non,,, Non curo,"
What was that, Sidney?
I couldn't understand you,
"Non f-f-f-fui, Fui,
Non s-s-s-sum, Non c,,, C-C-Curo!"
You speak Spanish?
Yes, yes,
That's Latin,
- "Non fui," I was not, - Of course,
"Fui," I was, meaning I was born,
I came into the world,
"Non sum,"
Right? "Non sum"?
"Non sum," I no longer am,
I have died, basically,
And then, "non curo",,,
Well, who cares?
It's all over, It's all gone,
From nothing to nothing,
Epicurus, Greek philosopher of the 4th century, bc,
- Impressive, - Yeah,
You f-f-follow my teacher?
Well, I wouldn't say I follow him,
On a bad day, maybe, you know,
Depression gets the best of a lot of us, I suppose,
What are we up to now?
20 million nationwide? 30 million?
So do I understand you, Sidney,
you're saying your life does not have any purpose?
My life's got purpose,
Damn right,
I'm glad to hear that, jock,
Very glad to hear,
'Cause we all need purpose in life, right?
"Non fui, Non sum,,,
F-f-f-f-f-f,,,
- Jock! - "Curo"!
Jock, that's not very nice,
What?
He annoys me, all right,
Talking his f-f-foreign languages and crap,
Okay,
He should be in speech therapy,
This?
This is a mental hospital, right?
Jock, please,
For people with real problems,
Come on, jock,
- Not for freaks, - Not for people like him,
All right, sit down,
- Right? - Right now,
Not for morons, not for losers and phonies,
- Jock, please sit down, - Just freaks,
Hey, hey, hey, Sit down,
- Sit down, okay? - M-m-miss,,,
- M-Miss p-p-p-p,,, - Thank you, All right,
P-p-peregrino?
Yes, Sidney?
Code red, Code red,
May I be allowed to s-s-say the final word?
Of course,
I would s-s-simply like to s-s-say,,,
S-s-s-spit it out,
Come on, Go on,
Come on, come on, come on,
S-S-Simply like to say,
- Code red,,, - "There is no s-s-sin
like s-s-stupidity,"
Oscar Wilde,
Oh, here we go,
Are you making fun of me?
Are you calling me stupid?
He can't even get two sentences out!
Boys,
You're the reason they put directions on shampoo b-b-bottles!
Spit it out! Spit it out!
Noise!
You ate too much paint chips!
Stuttering punk!
Noise!
You're disturbing the other patients,
Keep it down in here,
All right?
Or I'll put a beating on you!
Attention, code blue, third floor,
- Medical response team, third floor, - Okay,
- I know where you sleep, buddy, - Okay,
I know right where you sleep,
All right, all right,
Let's use our coping skills,
Let's take a deep breath, everyone, Come on,
Ben,
We're having dance therapy later,
Would you like to join us?
I have to find my son,
Your attention please,
Let's breathe one more time, Come on,
Dr, Josef bitter man,
please report to lost and found,
very nice,
Before cartoons, after cartoons, before chess, okay?
"Vámonos",
That's it, let's go,
I love to see it,
"Muy bien, Gracias, gracias",
Please come to lost and found
and in between,
Excuse me, you're a doctor, I presume,
How may I help you?
Do you happen to know my son Benjamin?
Benjamin Whitmore Jr?
Benny?
Everyone here knows Benny,
Uh, very interesting case,
I don't believe we've met,
I'm Ben Whitmore sr,
Doctor Alejandro,
They called me really early this morning
to come pick him up and take him home,
and,,, but I don't know where he is,
- That is curious, - Yeah,
Maybe you could point me to the infirmary,
You don't want to go there,
Why not?
Dr, Bitter man said I should go to the infirmary,
Let's see, Whitmore, Benjamin,
Ah yes, yes, yes,
Date of birth, April 1983,
Schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type,
Current episode, hypomanic to manic,
experiencing hallucinations, delusions,
paranoia, aggression towards self and others,
Medicinas, clozapine for psychosis,
200 milligrams at 8:00 am, 12 noon, 6:00 pm,
Depakote for seizures,,,
How could he possibly get better with all those meds?
,,,One milligram twice daily for anxiety,
Propranolol, 40 milligrams twice daily for impulsivity,
Zoloft, 100 milligrams each day for depression,
Trileptal, 900 milligrams twice daily for agitation,
St, John's wort as needed,
Zyprexa, 10 milligrams twice daily for psychosis,
30 milligrams Zyprexa every night at bedtime,
also for psychosis,
Miralax powder and senna plus for constipation,
He was a normal boy,
There was nothing wrong with him,
I failed him,
I couldn't steer him in the right direction,
I thought I was taking him home,
They told me to come and get him,
It's time for your meds, Alejandro,
Here you go,
Come along, Alejandro,
It's nap time,
How many times have I told you not to disrupt me
when I am consulting my patients?
Do you know who you're talking to?
Yes, doctor,
Alejandro,
Vice president,
speaker, members of the senate,
and the house of representatives,
Yesterday, December 7th,
1941,
a date which will live in infamy,
the United States of America was suddenly
and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces
of the empire of Japan,
Knock off the screaming, will ya?
Come on!
Sit down, now,
Hey, hey, get back here, Sit down,
Shhh,
How many times do we have to tell you this, Maria?
Nobody likes it when you scream, all right?
Gonzalo, open her mouth,
Hey!
Hey, what are you jackasses doing?
Leave her alone,
Pick on somebody your own s- what are you doing in here?
- Ow! - You gotta go,
Come on, Gonzalo, get the door!
Attention, your attention please,
Are we going to the infirmary now?
Move it,
Sir?
Can I get a hug now, sir?
What's your name?
Jeff, My name is Jeff, sir,
All right, Jeff,
Move it,
Visiting hours are over,
You know what?
The more time I hang around here, the more questions I have,
Are you letting Benny go because he's better?
Or do you need his room for another patient?
Ah, come on, Come on,
Dance therapy time!
"Vamos", Let's do this, everybody,
Kick those problems,
Let's do this,
♪ Whoa ♪
Whoo!
♪ Whoa ♪
Feel the music,
Show me what you're feeling,
♪ Whoa ♪
Express yourselves,
All right, let's do this,
♪ Whoa ♪
You're free, You're free!
Be gentle with yourself,
♪ Whoa ♪
Attention all units,
Code gray, Code gray,
Ben Whitmore sr, On the run,
Ben Whitmore sr,
Code gray, Code gray,
Attention all units, Code gray, Code gray,
Ben Whitmore sr, On the run,
Ben Whitmore sr,
Code gray, Code gray,
I'm the grass, I cover all,
Austerlitz,
- Austerlitz, - Excuse me,
Pile the bodies high at austerlitz and Waterloo,
Can you tell me
where the infirmary is?
Shovel them under and let me work,
I am the grass,
- What about Mohamed? - I cover all,
Mohamed? Where can I find Mohamed?
Shovel them under and let me work,
And pile them high at gettysburg,
And pile them high at ypres,
I am the grass,
I cover all,
- Hey, hey, - Let me work,
Hey, We're looking for a very tall guy with a beret,
Have you seen him?
Where'd he go? Here? Here?
- Come on, - Shovel them under,
- come on, gonzalo, - And let me work,
We can't let him get away again,
Let me work, Let me work,
Pile the bodies high,
Mohamed,
Come inside, Mr, Whitmore,
- Have a seat, - Thank god,
Can I get you some water?
Yes, please,
How did you find me?
They were gonna throw me out,
Out?
And send me away without Benny,
- More? - Yes,
Thank you,
How long have you known Ben,,,
Can I help you fellas with something?
We're looking for that peckerwood, Ben Whitmore,
Have you seen him?
Nobody here but us chickens,
I told you he didn't come this way,
Let me do the thinking,
Mr, Whitmore,
You might want to get into this,
Okay,
Stay here, Don't go anywhere,
I'll be right back,
- Can I give this to you? - Mm hm,
It will keep you out of trouble
until we figure out what happened to Benny,
Don't go anywhere, Please stay here,
♪ We need more angels ♪
♪ we need more angels ♪
♪ down here on the ground ♪
♪ we need more angels now ♪
♪ down here on the ground ♪
♪ We need more angels now ♪
♪ We need more angels ♪
♪ we need more angels ♪
♪ down here on the ground ♪
♪ we need more angels now ♪
♪ down here on the ground ♪
♪ we need more angels now ♪
♪ Down here on the ground ♪
♪ we need more angels now ♪
W-W-What happened
to your s-son, Benny?
You should have seen him run,
He was a normal boy,
No, No, that's not quite right,
He was extraordinary,
handsome, athletic,
His high school track coach told me
he had dollar signs on his feet,
That particular day, he had camped out
in a neighbor's yard with our dog,
and the neighbor called the police,
But all he did was sit in the guy's yard,
And wouldn't leave when asked and then he pushed him,
which, technically speaking, that's assault,
Yeah,
Look, I kind of know how you feel,
My brother had to be institutionalized,
Then after about 10 years or so,
well, he started getting better,
I think the medication helped, but he always maintained
that it was his faith that got him through,
And today he leads a fairly normal life,
He takes his meds,,,
Look, all I'm trying to say is that there's hope,
Here, give that number a call tonight,
You can check in on him,
Dad?
Why do they got me in here?
When Benny turned 18,
he was involuntarily committed here to middle mouth,
"Mentally ill and dangerous," they called him,
A traveling judge would come
every six months to review his case,
The guy always reminded me of an auctioneer,
the way he'd talk, It was like,
And then bang would the gavel go on the desk,
And Benny would be recommitted for another six months,
Five and a half years passed,
Dr, Bitter man told me he'd never leave the hospital,
I couldn't accept that and began making other plans,
I became Benny's legal guardian
and that gave me the leverage I needed,
I got him out of middle mouth
and we moved as a family to Mexico, Mexico City,
Why Mexico?
Have those guys been bothering you again?
If they do, you come to me,
I'll fix 'em,
And your name, young lady?
Maria,
Mexico is far away, you know,
That's the key,
But I'll tell you what I think,
Nobody cares what you think,
Every door has a key, you see,
- Shut up, - Oh, come on,
The key is the key, even here in middle mouth,
And once the key has set you free, you'll be free indeed,
Every key has a
every, every door has a key, you see?
Please continue, Mr, Whitmore,
We're all very interested,
- That's the key,,, - Come on, guys, Let's listen,
Well, Benny went to a psychiatric hospital in Mexico City
and then after a few months, the doctors sent him home,
They thought he would do better with his family,
And for a while he did,
He did do better at home,
Sometimes the best cure is love,
Patience,
peace,
I hired two local men, Samuel and césar,
to help me take care of him,
Hey, Benny,,,
Genevieve and David, Benny's sister and brother,
handled it well, for the most part,
They began learning Spanish,
going to school, making friends,
Okay, that sounds good,
I was asking a lot of them, I know,
doing all this for their brother's sake,
but they adapted to their new home
and well, I began to finally see a way forward,
You know, there's a lot we can learn from Mexico,
Like what, professor?
Professor? How did you know I was a professor?
Just had a feeling, I guess,
And your name, young lady?
I'm Terri,
T-e-r-r-i,
- Terri, Okay, - Hi, Terri,
Maria and Terri,
Well, it's a warm-hearted culture, Terri,
They call it "calor humano" in Spanish,
Kind of touchy-feely, if you will,
You won't easily find yourself left alone in Mexico,
and you'll crowd more people into a car
than you can possibly fit,
Maybe you'll go over to a friend's house unannounced
and stay for dinner,
Maybe you'll just cry on their shoulder
and they'll cry on yours,
Okay, pop quiz,
What's the first thing that comes to mind
when you think of Mexico?
Taco bell?
I wager it won't be an ice skating rink,
but that was just one of the things we enjoyed as a family,
Well, maybe not David as much,
He liked to play the piano and cook,
Ah, but méxico,,,
The people showed us great kindness,
They offered us refuge, a place to gather strength,
And Benny?
Well, Benny began to slowly recover,
We went swimming in the pacific ocean,
We rode on horses,
hiked through the mountains,
Whoo!
Okay, "otra", Another one,
We moved to the valle de bravo area
and rented a house next to lake avándaro,
It was quite the place,
I heard it was owned by a drug lord,
I didn't ask too many questions, as you can imagine,
but the rent was reasonable, so we moved in
and lived there for about a year,
Sir, sir, can I get that hug now, sir?
I'll hug you,
Here we go,
You're Jeff, right?
Why don't you go hug yourself?
You can call me Jeff,
- Sit down, - But none of the rest of yo use,
- Sit down, - I'm Mr, Jeffrey to you,
Mr, Jeffrey, Loser,
Looney tunes,
- Every time, Jeff, - Jeff,
You shut up,
Sit down before I put you down,
- I'm getting a hug from him, - It's okay, it's okay,
Go hug the moon, you freak,
Sir, I want that hug, sir,
- Hug me, hug me, hug me, - You shut up,
Okay, Jeff,
Sir, I want that hug, sir,
- Maybe later, okay? - Okay,
Where was I?
Mexico,
- You was in Mexico, - Come on, professor,
Finish the story,
A few miles away was a monarch butterfly sanctuary,
The butterflies migrate there from Canada every winter,
a distance of about 3,000 miles,
It's amazing how they'll fly all around you,
but never seem to quite touch you,
Ah, you've never seen anything so beautiful,
In valle de bravo, it seemed I had my son back,
I truly thought he was being healed,
I'm free!
Thank you, lord!
And they all lived happily ever after,
Isn't that how the story ends, Mr, Whitmore?
A happy ending?
Many of you know my son, Benjamin Whitmore Jr,
You call him Benny,
I call him Benny sometimes, too,
I hope he didn't hit any of you,
I got a call early in the morning
to come and pick him up today to bring him home,
Haven't found Benny yet, but I suppose I will,
And when I went to gather his personal effects together,
I found this note that he had left for me, "for dad,"
He had written down a scripture verse,
1 corinthians 15:19-20,
I have to believe it must have
some special significance for Benny,
or he wouldn't have left it for me,
Can I read it to you from the Bible?
Would that be okay?
Dr, Bitter man, is that all right?
I'm gonna read it to you,
This place is full of bibles,
Here's one,
1 corinthians 15:19-20,
"If only for this life, we have hope in Christ,
"We are of all people most to be pitied,
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,
The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep,"
Preach it, brother,
By golly, I think I will,
Praise the lord!
It is a free country, after all,
We're in a chapel,,,
So what's the first fruit?
The one on top, usually a cherry,
Maybe I could use an example from nature,
The caterpillar, for instance, the lowly caterpillar,
Does this mean we go home now?
It's born of an egg,
gorges itself on leaves and plant life
during its brief lifetime, wraps itself
into a cocoon and dies, but is that the end of the story?
No,
Well, what happens next?
It becomes a butterfly,
A butterfly, yes,
A beautiful butterfly,
Yes, a beautiful butterfly,
What, hey?
What's going on here?
- Hey, no, - I'm preaching here,
I got rights, I'm talking!
Equal rights for the mentally ill,
Bunch of punks!
Let him go,
Move it,
Thank you, Dr, Bitter man,
As I was saying, I came here earlier today
to pick up my son who was being discharged
and I was told to come and get him to pick him up,
but I can't find him,
No one knows where he is,
No one can tell me where he is,
Have you seen Benny?
Nobody can tell me where he is,
Where is my son, Dr, Bitter man?
Are you hiding him somewhere?
Schizophrenia is an incurable disease, Mr, Whitmore,
Incurable?
Incurable,
Yeah, Benny, of course, he is an exception,
He shall rise like the Phoenix from the ashes,
Isn't that right Mr, Whitmore?
But go on, Finish your story from before,
What else happened in Mexico that you haven't told us about?
- Mexico? - Yes, Mexico,
Did you get your happy ending?
It was around the new year,
Excuse me, we can't hear you,
The new year,
Go on,
Around the new year, Benny had a sudden relapse,
Everything just fell apart,
No one could control him,
The poor boy ran through town at night,
"completamente loco",
He had fallen in love with a local girl
he met at the church we were attending,
Her name was lluvia, Spanish for "rain",
Lluvia thought she could cure Benny with her love,
her pure, virginal love,
But Benny couldn't be cured,
These are pretty good,
He hit me many times,
Benny, no,
I'm sorry,
Broke down doors and windows,
Let me go, I'm sorry,
Hit other people,
Tell him I'm sorry,
Dad, I'm sorry,
Let me go!
I didn't wanna take him back to the hospital,
but how could I keep him at home?
Ginny, you okay?
We left that night for cholula,
near the city of puebla, about four hours away,
I remember stopping along the way
so he could relieve himself,
Samuel and césar eventually bound him with ropes
and we finished the trip to cholula,
Dad!
With Benny in the trunk,
I thought I was gonna die that night,
There was just nothing left,
And his mother?
Well, she never came with us to Mexico,
We were divorced by then,
She had her own struggles, which made it hard for her,
Yeah,
But she loved Benny,
I know she loved him, but,
I was on my own,
The hospital was called San Juan de dios,
founded by a religious order centuries ago,
No! No,
"El manicomio",,,
- The insane asylum, - Dad!
Dad! No!
The head psychiatrist, Dr, González, was a good man,
- A good man, - No!
But nothing he tried, medically speaking,
seemed to make a difference,
Dad, where are you?
Benny stayed at the hospital in cholula
for two and a half years,
Don't leave me here, No!
When I eventually did take him out of the hospital
in cholula, we went to Belize,
I thought we could start life over there and,,,
Live on an island maybe,
But that didn't work out,
We made our way back to the states
and Benny lived at home for about six months,
but it wasn't possible to keep him, Then,,,
It was back to middle mouth,
Back to where,,,
Back to where it started,
Thank you for sharing with us, Mr, Whitmore,
I know it's been very hard for you and your family,
In truth, your story
underscores what I have been saying all along,
Benny will do best in an atmosphere
of therapeutic positivism, a non-judgmental space
where he feels no pressure
to improve his mental health through his own efforts,
But I've told you all this before, Mr, Whitmore,
Sidney, could I have that hymnal please?
Thank you,
Remember when I brought you a hymnal, Dr, Bitter man?
It had a red cover just like this,
This is not about me, Mr, Whitmore,
Yeah well, maybe it is, more than you realize,
I remember hoping, praying that one of these old hymns
of the faith would touch your heart, like this one,
♪ Come thou fount of every blessing, ♪
♪ tune my heart to sing thy grace ♪
♪ streams of mercy ♪
C'mon,
♪ Never ceasing, ♪
♪ call for songs of loudest,,, ♪
- Hey professor, look out, - Hey, no,
Hey, back off,
Let go of him!
He's one of us, He's one of us!
Step aside, Back off,
One of us! One of us!
Where did he go?
I said move over,
Where's Whitmore?
We need backup in here,
Come on, gonzalo, we gotta find him,
Your attention, your attention please,
The quiet room is now open,
Quiet!
- Give me an e, - E!
- Give me a c, - C!
- Give me a t, - T!
- What have we got? - Ect!
Benny! Benny!
We're going home, Benny,
We're going home,
Benny?
No! No, Benny,
No, my son, My son!
Let me have my son!
Help me here,
No, No!
♪ Take my heart, take my heart and seal it ♪
♪ seal if for thy,,, ♪
♪ Seal it for thy courts above ♪
- Near as I can tell, Mr, - Whitmore, you've been having
a series of small strokes throughout the day
and as you may know,
that can cause attenuated psychosis syndrome,
Go ahead,
Okay, open up, Say, "ah,"
- Ah, - Bite down,
Good,
Okay, Put these on him,
A little further back,
No, forward,,, yep,
Yep, Good, good, good,
♪ Take my heart,,, ♪
Okay,
Good,
Okay, hold him down now,
♪ Take my heart ♪
Are we ready?
♪ My heart and seal it ♪
Hold him down,
♪ Seal it in,,, thy,,, ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ he's got the whole world ♪
♪ Got the whole world ♪
♪ He's got the whole world in his hands ♪
Benny!
♪ Little bitty baby in his hands ♪
♪ In his hands, he's got the whole world ♪
♪ In his hands ♪
♪ in his hands, he's got you and me, sister ♪
♪ in his hands, he's got you and me, brother in his hands ♪
♪ - ,,,Whole world in his hands, ♪
♪ He's got the whole world ♪
♪ in his hands ♪
♪ he's got the whole world ♪
♪ in his hands ♪
♪ he's got the whole world,,, ♪
Damn it,
It's the one, it's the one,
Got to fit,
Following ect, it's not uncommon to experience headaches
or pain in the jaw, accompanied by drooling,
You may also experience some short-term memory loss,
You're in the patient's ward
of middle mouth security hospital,
Your son is Benjamin Whitmore Jr,,
otherwise known as Benny,
schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type,
I've offered a second opinion
to the hospital staff here on several occasions,
but they've rebuffed me each and every time,
Get in there,
Get in there, dammit,
You've got the wrong piece, Sonny,
That piece doesn't go there, Sonny,
Piss off, you quack,
That doesn't fit because it was not designed to go there,
It'll never fit there, "idiot a",
I don't wanna hurt him,
If I go, then I'll hurt him,
but I don't wanna hurt anybody,
But this is the piece,
This is the one,
It fits here, It fits right here,
Remind me of the definition of insanity,
It's the one,
My son,
It's the right one,
It goes there,
It goes right there,
Okay, okay,
Just relax, señor,
I can hear the music,
Mohamed, Mohamed, a hand please,
- Mohamed, - Yes,
Can you hear it?
Mohamed?
Hey, hey,
Benjamin?
Never put your brain in this hospital,
Hey, come back,
Come back,
You can be my son,
You look like him,
I'll take you home today,
We'll go home today,
I can't save him,
I can't save any of you,
I can't, I can't save you,
But,,,
I can love you, love you,
I can love you,
Sir? Do you want a hug, sir?
A different spirit came over me that day,
I had not found my son, yet I could see him,
I was with him and he with me,
I did it,
Way to go, Sonny,
- Great job, - I did it,
You did it,
Let's bring this to the arts and crafts room,
- Now? - Yes, come with me,
"Muy bien", Sonny, "Muy bien",
Penny Miller, departure, gate 29,
How are you feeling, Mr, Whitmore?
Your attention, please,
I have a headache,
That's perfectly normal, Don't be alarmed,
We have some pills for you,
Your Lincoln continental has arrived
and is waiting for you at gate 29,
That's a lot of pills,
They're necessary, I'm afraid,
I must be really sick,
I've seen worse cases,
Go ahead, They'll make you feel better,
"Medice, cura te ipsum,"
"Physician, heal thyself,"
I never said I didn't believe, Mr, Whitmore,
I only said, how can you know?
Perhaps you would like to stay in your son's room tonight?
But that's not possible,
Well, doesn't it say in the good book
that there are many rooms in the father's house? Hmm?
This ain't the father's house,
Well, let's not be overly judgmental,
About my meds, Dr, Bitter man,
Yes,
I think I should go back on the risperdal,
30 milligrams twice a day,
I was thinking the same thing, Dr, Alejandro,
Might want to try 40 milligrams, though,
and we can tweak the lithium,
Hmm, Up or down?
Slightly up, I think,
It can be difficult finding the right balance of meds,
It'll be all right,
I don't know,
I sometimes have terrible bouts of depression,
Dark, troubling thoughts
You care about people,
- You care about your patients, - I do, yes, I do,
I really try, I do,
- I really do, - You see,,,
That's the best kind of doctor there is,
Me and you,,,
Hear that?
Okay,
Hear that?
Knock it off,
You sound like a broken record,
Hear that?
Look, I'm having a conversation here,
Go on, beat it,
Hear that?
What do you hear, Arthur?
Birds,
I don't hear no birds, Arthur,
The birds are singing,
Your attention, please,
Ben Whitmore sr, Paging Ben Whitmore sr,
Yes, I do hear them, Arthur, I do,
Departure gate 17,
- I didn't know birds sing in winter, - Ben Whitmore sr,
- Departure gate 17, - Chickadees
chickadees sing in the wintertime,
Ben Whitmore sr,
Paging Ben Whitmore sr,
Departure gate 17,
I can't see,
He's calling you, Mr, Whitmore,
Death be not proud,
Though some have called thee mighty and dreadful,
it is not so,
Look at him run,
Dollar signs on his feet,
You're a good man, Mr, Awale,
Only one is good, Mr, Whitmore,
Only one,
Here you go, Mr, Whitmore,
Glad is, thank you,
"De nada",
Terri?
Terri, what's wrong?
I wish someone was looking for me
the way you look for your son,
Someone is looking for you, Terri,
Someone's looking for all of us all the time,
Take this,
Thank you, Sonny,
Give it to your son,
For the journey,
Thank you, jock,
Can I?
Consider it a carry-on,
How will I find him?
He'll find you, Mr, Whitmore,
Just keep a steady pace,
What do you think Benny might have been, Mohamed?
I don't know, Mr, Whitmore,
I can't say,
Thanks,
I'll see you on the other side,
As it happened,
As it felt,
As it shall be,
Where can I go from your spirit?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there,
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there,
Goodbye, son,
He fell asleep soon enough, but then he woke up,
I don't know what time it was,
I get so confused with all of these clocks,
I found him down the hall trying to take a picture
out of one of those frames,
It took a bit of talking,
but I was able to get him to lie back down,
Hello?
I didn't hear the phone ring,
Who's he talking to?
Speaking,
Dad,
Yes, yes,
I'll, I'll be there,
I'll be there,
Thank, thank you,
Who was that?
The hospital,
Dr, Knight?
No,,,
Benjamin,
Ben jam,,,
Dad,
Who's Benjamin?
They're discharging him,
They want me to come pick him up,
I need to change,
Dad, just go lie down, please,
Now the dreams make sense,
Who's Benjamin?
My brother, Benny,
he's, um, he's schizophrenic,
We haven't seen him for,,,
Four years,
The last time he was discharged,
he ended up on the street, and,,,
So now we don't even know if he's,,,
Oh, you've been through an awful lot, sweetie,
An awful lot,
Come here,
If only for this life, we have hope,
Dad,
Over here,
Over here, dad,
Over here,
For those whom you think you overthrow,
die not, poor death, nor yet can you kill me,
You are slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
and poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
and better than your stroke; Why then do you swell?
One short sleep past,
we wake eternally,
and death shall be no more;
Death, you shall die,
Come on, dad, let's go, Follow me,
Run, dad, run,
Benny?
Keep your eyes open,
I can't,
- You can, - Mr, Whitmore,,,
- You can, - I'm dying, I'm dying,
You're not dying,
Just keep your eyes,,,
Look at me, Look at me,
That's right, stay with me,
I found him,,, Ginny,,,
Yes,,,
Your brother,,,
Yes,
Mr, Whitmore!
Good afternoon,
- Good afternoon, - I'm here to see Daniel krusen,
Okay and your ID, please,
Yeah, Here you go,
Do you know where you're going?
Yes, sir, I do,
Alright, Have a good visit,
Thank you very much,
Hey, Daniel,
Hey, dad, How you doing, daddy?
I miss you so much, Whoo!
I miss you, too,
Would you like to go for a walk, dad?
Will they let us go for a walk?
- Of course, - All right, well, let's go,
You can cut your own grass,
That would be awesome,
You can ride a bicycle,
Yeah, that would be awesome,
You know, run down the beach, Go swimming,
Yeah, run down the beach,,,
And play basketball, okay?
We'll play basketball, yes,
I'm gonna try to beat you this time,
Let's go sit down over there,
We'll sit down here,
Yeah, that's good,
- Sorry, - No, that's okay,
Well, I used to play this one
when you'd go to bed at night,
Oh,
"In the desert, a flower grows,"
Oh that's good, I love that song,
- Yeah, you remember that one? - Yeah, I do,
♪ In the desert, a river flows ♪
♪ in the desert, a flower grows ♪
♪ in the desert, god makes a way ♪
♪ wait and see ♪
♪ he's bringing forth a new day ♪
- A new day, - New day,
♪ Has your youth, just flown away ♪
♪ like a lovely bird that would not stay ♪
♪ do you feel you can walk no more ♪
♪ lift your eyes ♪
♪ he's at the door waiting for you ♪
♪ in the desert, a river flows ♪
♪ in the desert, a flower grows ♪
♪ in the desert, god makes a way ♪
♪ wait and see ♪
♪ he's bringing forth a new day ♪
Let's do the one about the youth,
♪ Has your youth just flown away ♪
♪ like a lovely bird that would not stay ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ he's got the whole world in his hands ♪
♪ he's got the little bitty baby in his hands ♪
♪ he's got the whole world in his hands ♪
♪ he's got you and me, brother, in his hands ♪
♪ he's got you and me, sister, in his hands ♪
♪ he's got you and me, brother ♪