"Around the Fire" > The Chemist

Cut to: Two girls standing next to each other, staring straight, not doing anything standing staring straight ahead.

Chemists' assistant, Neal (whispering): Jodie, Mary. Can you hear me? They've been dimming all night. Even with the extra protection you can't help to, but get high. Doc offered them some pours (?) they just said they'd rather just ride it out.

Simon (regular high voice): Riding out they're.

Neal: Shh!

Simon (whispers): Sorry man.

Trace (to Neal): Where's Doc?

Neal: Doc is involved as we speak.

Neal takes Simon and Trace to where Doc is.

Neal knocks on a door which has a picture of a person's mouth opened real wide. The door opens upward. The Doc, who's standing there is bald, wears glasses and wears a white apron. The Doc looks over to Trace.

Trace (whispers): Hey what's up Doc?

Chemists (loud): What?

From where the Chemist is standing it's pretty hard to hear.

Trace (still whispering): This is my friend Simon.

Chemist: Jesus Chris. What?!

The Chemist looks over at Neal. He gets out to the other side where Neal, Simon and Trace are standing and takes Neal to the side to talk to him.

Chemist (whispers): Neal. Neal, how many times have we talked about this neurotic whispering shit?

Neal: Well—

Chemist: Shh! Whenever you whisper you make everything very tense.

The Chemist stops whispering.

Chemist: And there's enough tension as it is. Okay? Neal (still whispering): Okay.

The two girls walk in, they're holding and looking down at a cherry pie and laughing at it.

Trace: Uhm, yo Doc. This is my friend Simon Harris, the one I was tellin' you about.

Chemist: Ah yes.

He looks at Simon.

Chemist: Are you ready to go see how you do?

Cut to: Piano playing in the background, two mixed drinks called Bloody Mary's are on the table in front of Simon and Trace who are both looking at the drinks. Simon and Trace are sitting on the sofa while the Doc (the Chemist) is sitting on the Couch next to them. Simon goes to pick up one of the drinks, but Trace stops him. "Hey."

The Doc shuts off the piano music using his remote control for it.

Doc (to Simon): Do you know who that is?

Simon: Uh, Scott Joplin "Make Believe", right?

Doc (nods): Very good. Uh, Trace, how do you like your Bloody Mary's?

Trace: To tell you the truth Doc, I'm kind of scared of the god damn things.

Doc (laughs): Well, lemme give it a try.

The Doc gets up from his seat and takes Trace's Bloody Mary from the see-through glass table, he takes a big long sip of the mixed drink and sits back down having a sour, bitter look on his face from the drink.

The Doc tries to speak.

Doc: It's a good batch.

Trace looks shocked, yet thinks the Doc is crazy for drinking that.

Doc (to Simon): Now, I'm going to play a particular verse of "Brown Eyed Woman". I want you to hear this.

The Chemist, with his remote control for his radio, plays a version of "Brown Eyed Woman".

..1920 when I stepped into the bar drank two drinks from some whiskey in the bar. 1930 when the walls caved in he made his way...

Trace and the Doc were both singing some of that throughout that verse. The Doc stops it a little after that spot. Doc puts his remote control for his radio down on the desk next to where he's sitting.

Doc (to Simon): Who wrote that?

Simon: Robert Hunter wrote the words and uh Jerry put it to music.

Doc: That's...that's exactly right. But I don't know if you're making the connections young man, now what are they talking about in this tune?

Simon: Um..they're they're basically talking about partying in the roaring 20's and the great depression of the 30's.

Doc: Yes, yes yes yes! It's about America's past, but it's also about our mythological past, it's also about our present. About the intoxication of high times and the depression it accompanies the come down.

Simon: It's like a universal thing, really.

Doc: Oh, you're a bright boy, but do you see the real genius of this? Scott Joplin played Make Believe at the turn of the century, Robert Hunter wrote Brown Eyed Woman in the early 70's. They were talking about universal themes that have no temporal limitations and they're hiding them right there for us to find them, right there in their own mythology, right there for anyone to see!

Simon: Not everybody can see...

Doc: Because they haven't taken my LSD.

Simon (smiles): Uh-huh.

The Doc gets up from where he was sitting, walks over to a cabinet nearby and takes out a manilla folder.

Doc: 1943, the physicist was playing, then he came up with a recipe for nuclear fusion, the first atomic bomb. Thousands of miles away in Switzerland Doctor Albert Hoffmand was trippin his face off because he accidentally injected a tiny amount of his new discovery, LSD 25. LSD will do to you whatever LSD wants to.

The Doc starts to hand the folder carrying the LSD to Simon. Simon immediately goes to grab it, but the Doc reverses it.

Doc (to Simon): Pay attention.

Simon looks up at the Doc.

Cut to: His father at his mother's funeral looking down at him, then smiling.

Back to: Simon.

Simon: I will.

The Doc gives him the envelope.

Back 12.31.2007.