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  The Following is an excerpt from the 
  screenplay "Pathos Bill" by Mark W. 
  Gray.  Any unauthorized duplication 
  or distribution is strictly 
  prohibited.
  
  ©1998 Mark W. Gray
  WGA Registered 
  #686823
       
       
    



       INT TEXAS PETE'S AUTO SHOP - DAY

       The Cadillac slowly rises on the hydraulic lift.  Close on 
       the underneath of the car, we see a chunk of metal the shape 
       of a chicken bone protruding through an eruption in the grime-
       encrusted oil pan.  A pair of chubby, greasy mechanic's 
       fingers reach up and fiddle with it.

                           EDDIE
                 Yep.  'At's a thrown rod; classic 
                 example.  Whoo, look at that.  Shot that 
                 sucker right through there, see?

       Bill and EDDIE, a big-and-tall auto mechanic wearing greasy 
       coveralls, stand under the Cadillac, peering up at the rod in 
       question.

                           BILL
                 Yeah.... Shit.

                           EDDIE
                     (calling outside)
                 Hey Pete!  C'mere and look at this rod!

                           BILL
                 So this is pretty bad, right.

                           EDDIE
                     (laughs)
                 Yeah, pretty bad, I'd say.  How fast were 
                 you goin'.

                           BILL
                 I dunno.  Seventy.

       PETE, a grizzled old mechanic wearing thick glasses shuffles 
       in for a look.  Behind him, an Indian, STANDS-IN-DOOR, stands 
       in the doorway stoically.

                           EDDIE
                 Whoo!  You're lucky it went down 'stead 
                 of back at ya.  That fucker'll take a 
                 piece outa ya.

                           BILL
                 Huh?

                           EDDIE
                 W'look at that oil pan.  That's steel!  
                 Fucker damn near shot right through 
                 there.  Hey Pete, guy threw a rod doin' 
                 seventy.

                           PETE
                     (tries to pull it out)
                 Oh yeah?  'At's a damn shame. Pretty car. 
                 '61?

                           BILL
                 What?  Yeah, '61, I think.  Look, is this 
                 something you can fix.

       Pete steps a little too close to Bill. He pulls his belt down 
       and his shirt up exposing a pink welt on his white flesh in 
       the vicinity of his hip bone.

                           PETE
                 See that?

                           BILL
                 Yeah.

                           PETE
                 'At's a broke rod.  '73 Lincoln 
                 Continental.

                           STANDS-IN-DOOR
                 He's lucky to be alive.

                           PETE
                 Always liked that Lincoln... until then.

                           EDDIE
                 That rod came through the fire wall like 
                 a fuckin' bullet!  But that ain't 
                 nothin'.  I had me a 76 Cordoba with a 
                 bad U-joint.  I let my moron brother-in-
                 law put me on a new one.  That fuckin' 
                 moron forgot to put the retaining clips 
                 on; you know, up in the front where it 
                 hooks on the transmission?  So I'm goin' 
                 forty, forty five mile an hour.  All of a 
                 sudden, the fuckin' drive shaft comes 
                 loose, and BAM!  It jams right into the 
                 road like a Goddamn pole vault!  Lifts up 
                 the back end five feet off the ground, 
                 bends the back axle, rips through the gas 
                 tank, and digs this big fuckin' trench in 
                 the road. So I climb out of the damn 
                 thing, pick up my teeth, and hit the dirt 
                 just in time for the whole thing to go up 
                 like a Goddamn roman candle.
                     (laughs)
                 That fuckin' moron.

                           BILL
                 Yeah.  So anyway, what do I need?  A new 
                 rod or...

                           EDDIE
                 Boy, you need a fuckin' rebuild.

                           BILL
                 Really?

                           PETE
                 ...a damn shame.

                           STANDS-IN-DOOR
                 Damn pretty car.

  ©1998 Mark W. Gray
  WGA Registered 
  #686823