My wife has been kidnapped.
There's no ransom that I can pay.
There is only the hope of rescue.
Yet, in spite of every attempt I've made, in spite of heroic attempts...
that others have made, she remains a prisoner.
A hostage.
And I don't know how this story is going to end.
I first met Milly way back in the '60s...
when I was starting out as a cub reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.
The issue is this:
The government wants this university...
to turn over all the academic rankings...
of its male students who are eligible for the draft.
They want to take the lower-ranking students...
and make soldiers out of them, while the students with better grades...
get to stay on here for a while until the other ones get killed.
- It is pretty bad, right? - Yeah!
Now, I've got to ask the question...
wasn't this supposed to be a democracy?
Everybody, stay calm, all right? Everyone, stay calm.
- All right, let's settle down here! - You have a right to protest here.
- It's your right to free assembly. - Get off the stairs.
He's got a right to free assembly here. This is a peaceful demonstration.
- Get that out of here. - We're not doing anything illegal.
Ma'am, you're gonna have to come with me.
We have a right to assemble.
Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.
I'm not going anywhere.
- Put your hands behind your... - We have the right to...
You have no business doing this right now. You're a fascist.
Hands behind your back. All right. Let's go.
- So, if your name is Millicent Martinez... - Martinez.
Martinez. Why did I bail out Rita Torres?
Because I didn't want to give them my own name.
I'd like to work for the Cook County Juvenile Court once I get my master's.
You didn't have to bail me out, you know.
- You should never have done that. - Your master's?
- In what? - Social work.
So let Rita Torres get the record.
- It was almost Rita Ginsberg. - Ginsberg?
In honour of my mother.
I'm paying you back, you know. Every penny.
- So your mother's name was Ginsberg. - No. But she was Jewish.
So what are you?
- What am I? - Yeah.
I'm part Mexican, part Catholic, part Jewish...
and I just got arrested for exercising my right to free speech.
I'm Millicent Martinez.
This is an interview, right? Not a date.
Because you didn't ask me for a date, you asked me for an interview.
No, yeah, no... yeah. Sure, it's an interview.
Then why aren't you writing anything down?
I just have to wonder about the college kids who flock to these radical groups...
just because, you know, suddenly it's hip to do that.
And I have to wonder about people who call themselves journalists...
and make snap judgements based upon appearances without careful...
and impartial investigation.
Boy, you really like the last word, don't you?
Big family. What can I say?
Yeah. Thank you for tonight.
Free speech. Not free love. Call me.
- How many? - Six.
I've never known anybody to see the same movie six times.
It's a damn good movie.
- I would have gladly bought you some. - No, yours is good. I'm hungry.
Who on earth would give you advice like that?
James Weston.
He's the Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Times.
He is the gold standard. Every young journalist in America...
I got to meet him. When he came to Dartmouth...
"See who you marry"? He actually said that?
Yeah, among other things. Like "Start on small papers," and "Work hard."
And find a Washington wife.
You know, blue blood, Vassar girl, finishing school. I get it.
Actually, I think the finishing schools came first.
But yeah, he did describe a certain type, and I wasn't about to disagree with him.
He sounds like a snob...
- and they all sound like snobs. - A snob?
And you shouldn't want to be like them, you should want to be like you.
And anybody who wants to be somebody else...
let them be Mort Kondracke, and not someone who's a snob. Okay?
- Tony, cook some sense into this guy. - Hi, babe.
- Hi, I'm Mort. - Morton. It's Morton. I'm sorry.
- Hi. It's Mort. - Tony.
- He's got the best hot dogs in Chicago. - Nice.
Two with the works and a couple Yoo-hoos.
Right.
This is my sister, Alex. She lives in London with her husband.
What?
Nothing.
This is my mother. Ida. She was so beautiful.
Everyone used to say she looked like Ava Gardner. I think so, too.
She was so beautiful.
But she had a breakdown and she ran away.
This is my father. This is Refugio.
He was an organiser for the United Packing House Workers.
The union was communist, so they said he was communist, too.
So they deported him.
The last time I saw him was through a gate at the train station. I was ten.
About three days later he died of a heart attack.
He was so strong. He was brave...
and he always smelt of cigarettes, I remember that.
And I could always feel him with me, every day.
And I'd talk to him at night in my room.
And I miss him so.
With a war on overseas and a civil rights movement at home...
there was no shortage of stories out there...
and I was determined to get on them.
But I kept getting kicked back to Metro.
I was on the sidelines of life, while Milly, as always...
was right in the middle.
- Hi. - Hi.
We just organised the probation officers into a union.
The chief judge fired everybody at the Audy Home.
The place where they put the problem kids?
- Yeah. - What?
So I had to call the state representative and get them all reinstated.
- And? - And he did it.
How about you, how was your day, huh?
- Hi. I'm Norma. - Hi.
I've known Milly since third grade. Mind if I sit?
- Hi. No, sure. I'm Mort. - I knew that.
Are you all right?
You're looking a little uneasy.
No, I'm, you know, just, maybe a little out of place.
Nonsense. You're welcome here.
So, Milly did all this?
The Dons were already around...
they wanted to call the girls the Donettes. Milly said, "No way."
The Roulettes.
So the girls made her president.
She made all the rules. She gave us a purpose.
That's Carlos. He and Milly had a thing, but not anymore. Not to worry.
- Marry her, Mort. - What?
Marry Milly.
Boy, do you always go around giving people advice you've never met?
I do when it's the right advice.
Okay, so she didn't go to Vassar, so what?
- Who said anything about Vassar? - You did. Milly told me.
- No, all I meant was... - Mort.
Marry her.
Police brutality! Stop police brutality.
- I got promoted, kind of, today. - What do you mean, promoted?
Covering politics now. There's no more Metro.
That's great, that's great! Because this mayor of ours...
somebody's got to hold his feet to the fire.
It's in Washington. Politics. It's not local.
How are you going to cover Washington politics from Chicago?
It's what I'm interested in, Milly. It's what I've always been interested in.
- I don't buy it. - What do you mean, you don't buy it?
Mort, you know all kinds of things.
Dartmouth things, really important things, I'm sure. But I know people.
I know when they're lying, I know when they're telling the truth...
I know when they're phoney and when they're for real.
And that's your weakness, Mort. You don't know these things.
You'll get to Washington and you're going to find out...
and it will all be too late, because I won't be there.
You will die there without me.
This is something I have to do alone, Milly.
If I were to bring you along, if I were to bring anyone along...
Who said anything about coming along? Who would want to do that?
Milly...
You've made it pretty plain. I'd be a liability back there.
Who wants to be dead weight? Okay, Mort, go to Washington, be happy...
be fruitful and multiply or whatever it is you're gonna do.
Milly, just wait.
If you haven't noticed, we're doing something here.
And in case you're wondering, we just broke up.
Stop corrupt police! Power to the people!
Kondracke, the Chicago Sun-Times. I've been waiting for over an hour.
I know that, Mr Kondracke. I've already told you, the senator has had a big...
- He cares about gun control. - Of course he does.
And since I'm writing a story on gun control, or at least I'm trying to...
So is he. Excuse me.
- Thank you. - Yes.
Fred Barnes.
- Baltimore Sun. - Right.
Mort Kondracke. I've read some of your work.
- Can't say I agree with it, but... - Same here.
So how did you do that?
- How did I do what? - How did...
- Well, how did you... - See you around.
Can I have one with everything, and a Yoo-hoo?
- Hey, Tony, how are you doing? - Mr Sun-Times.
- Yeah. - Where you been?
- Washington. - You back now?
Just for a couple days. I'm here to help them set up the election coverage.
- Close, huh? - Yeah, no cigar.
They don't have hot dogs in Washington?
Hey, now.
Not like they do here.
It just doesn't make sense. I'm not supposed to love you. I'm not...
I don't want to love you, and then I...
I see you in that stupid raincoat with your legs sticking out, and then all...
None of the other stuff makes sense.
What do you mean? What raincoat?
Well, how many do you have? The yellow one. That yellow thing.
When I went to pick you up in the rain, and I saw you standing...
And everything that I was convinced that I wanted just went out the window.
And I wanted to tell you right then and there that I loved you.
- So you love me, but you'd rather not. - I'd rather marry you. You know?
I'm brushing my teeth the other night, I had this image.
I'm walking down the Capitol steps, you're coming up and you're...
on the arm of this... Someone else, a senator, and I'm an idiot.
And I just don't want to spend my life being an idiot.
So do you want to marry me because you love me...
or because you don't want to see me marry some senator...
who might have a better life than you?
Because I love you.
Say that again.
I love you.
And nothing else matters but that.
Milly always talked about how she thought it was fate...
that brought us back together.
That it wasn't just the day she came home early when I was back in town.
And even though it was no accident that I was in her neighbourhood...
she said it was fate all the same.
I just knew for the first time ever, that I was happy and completely in love.
For peace in this world and justice in this country.
For now and forever.
- For the rest of our lives. - For the rest of our lives.
I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss your bride.
What I remembered most about that day is finally feeling confident...
utterly satisfied that I'd just made the best decision of my life.
And I never regretted it.
In sickness or in health.
- Carol Bates? Senator Bates. - That's right.
Hi. I was in your office this afternoon.
I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk a little bit about...
- the Watergate investigations. - I'm sorry, and you are...
Morton Kondracke. Chicago Sun-Times.
- Kondracke? Milly's husband? - Excuse me?
Milly Kondracke. I was just up in your apartment.
What an organiser she is, a real dynamo. You're a very lucky man.
I'm sorry, I have to run, but I think we will be able to help you.
We have to let them know that they can't keep raising our rents like this.
So if we act right now and stick together and refuse to pay these increases...
nobody's going to get thrown out on the streets...
just like they did to the Coopers and the Ligitas.
That's right. So we need each of you to sign this.
Hey, baby.
- So once we go... You all right? - Yeah.
Okay. So once the strike starts, we have to stay with it, okay?
They're going to throw everything they can at you...
and it's going to get messy and really ugly...
and their whole intent is to get you to drop it.
So, Mr Democratic National Committee...
is now reduced to working in my kitchen.
When Mr Committee's wife is crusading against...
rapacious land-owning swine.
- It's you and me. - Mort and Mark.
And a bottle.
You know, sometimes when I want to talk to Jill, I call her on the phone.
You know, the next time you talk to her...
you should tell her to tell Milly to tell her friends in Congress...
to return my calls. I can't even get them on the phone.
You know, she's got one in the living room.
You know they're going in on office space together?
Two therapists, no waiting.
I should be a client. I'd see her more.
There's a common area, you know? There's a whole social hall downstairs.
Nobody uses it.
People don't wanna meet in a cold, empty room.
They wanna meet in a house...
where they can smell cooking and where there's togetherness.
Your idea of togetherness is a rent strike?
Seven families have already had to move out.
Do you want to wait till there's seven more?
No, I'm saying, the home is the home. It's our home.
The outside world should stay that way.
Nobody's breaking their backs to make us any happier.
You keep up that attitude and nobody ever will!
Come here.
The next few years were so filled with activity, it's hard to imagine.
Our two beautiful daughters were born a year apart...
and Milly's practice grew like a brushfire.
She was an amazing therapist...
and helped people through some of the hardest periods of their lives...
whether they could afford it or not.
Kennedy anticipated that Orrin Hatch would co-sponsor...
And my career was taking off as I'd always hoped it would.
When I arrived in Washington and was fortunate enough to meet Fred Barnes...
we became very close friends.
So in addition to the regular TV exposure...
we were both getting on The McLaughlin Group...
we even started our own television show, The Beltway Boys.
But life with Milly was still life with Milly.
Listen, I think the less emotional of us should start things off.
- Fine, as long as it's not you. - What's that supposed to mean?
It means that whenever somebody's an expert at something...
- you roll right over for them. - You're changing the subject.
When are you gonna learn that it's almost...
always the experts who mess up?
Always. Right.
Okay, not always, and it's not even the experts.
It's the people who swallow whatever they have to dish out.
We have to go in here united.
We are united. We just disagree.
Okay.
- No, absolutely not. - We tested her twice, Mrs Kondracke.
- Listen to me... - And both times...
Listen to me, you're not...
...she came away with exactly the same...
Look, you're not putting her in a special class, okay?
She needs to stay with the kids she's with right now.
She is every bit as smart as they are.
But without the ability to read, Mrs Kondracke.
She has the ability and she can read.
Milly, let's just first listen to what they have to say.
- Then we can... - No, no. There's something wrong here.
Listen, you segregate these kids into two groups...
the smart ones and the dumb ones, and then you mark them for life.
And Andrea is not dumb, and I'll bet the other ones aren't, either.
We test them, Mrs Kondracke. We test them extensively.
I do not randomly group people by my own personal whimsy.
So test her again, or use better tests...
because this girl last year was doing math two grade levels above her own.
She learnt to tell time before her older sister could.
- There's nothing slow in that. - Mrs Kondracke...
She needs to be taught.
- And you people are either too lazy or... - Milly.
Or you're too ill equipped to give that girl what she needs.
Did you ever consider, Mrs Kondracke...
that it might not be Andrea who needs to be reached?
But of course, Milly was right.
Andrea was dyslexic, and Milly stayed with her until someone caught it.
And I learnt what Milly already knew...
that loving somebody isn't enough if you don't also believe in them.
And if you believe in someone, then you don't give up.
And for anyone keeping score, I should mention that Andrea continued on...
to graduate from Johns Hopkins Medical School.
You don't have to be so nervous, you know. It's just dinner.
I'm not nervous. And it's not just dinner.
No, it's dinner at the British Embassy...
with a group of people that you're uncomfortable with...
because you can't figure out...
if you're higher or lower on the scale than they are.
- No, that's ridiculous. - Because if they're higher than you...
then you feel inferior to them...
and if they're lower, you're too good for them...
so you end up spending the rest of the evening talking to me...
which is not what these events are about.
- I like talking to you. - You won't if you try tonight.
Hello.
Mort, it's Alex. I need to talk to Milly right away.
Yeah, hang on a second. It's Alex.
- My sister? - Yeah, something's up.
Okay. Alex? What's the matter?
I've only got a second.
A friend staying with us here in London really needs Mort's help.
Who is it?
What am I supposed to tell them, Mort? She's my sister.
She didn't ask to stumble onto an international incident.
I know she didn't ask to. I'm just telling you what my source at State said.
If Alex's Bulgarian poet friend wants to defect...
he has to get himself to the embassy in London.
They can't go pick him up.
Did you tell them he might get killed if they find him on the streets?
Milly, I did everything I could.
No, you did what you're comfortable doing. You made one phone call.
You need to act like you're not afraid to act.
- I'm not afraid to act. - So prove it.
Your breath smells like whiskey.
Peter.
What're they doing down at spy central, you're hanging out here?
I can't help your friend, Mort. Excuse me. I'll have a merlot, please.
- Sorry, sir. Tonight we have cabernet. - Excellent. I will have a merlot.
There's the ambassador. Why not try her?
Thanks.
- I'll be sure to tell her. - Thanks, I will.
- Nice to see you. - You, too.
Thank you so much for having us this evening. Thank you.
- Madame Ambassador. - Mr Kondracke.
I've been told to avoid you this evening. Nice to see you.
Thank you. You got... We have a bit of a situation here...
and I think if I have to write it up, it's not going to look good as an obituary.
I see.
- I gave it... - No, I don't have them.
- You've got them, you've got the tickets. - I don't have them.
- There. I have them. - Yeah. Thank you.
- Ticket, please. - Hi.
The package will be on the plane.
Does that mean...
- That was like a spy movie. - He is a spy.
Look at you, you're just all satisfied with yourself.
Are you?
Thank you.
I couldn't have done it without you.
That was like a spy movie. God.
Thank you.
Hi, Craig.
By the fall of 1984, we could finally afford to move...
and Milly and I found a great old place in Chevy Chase.
A dream house, the kind we'd always wanted.
And Milly planned to redo the garage and put her office out there...
so she could keep a closer eye on our two teenage daughters.
- You got to check it out. - Good.
- Chimney's okay? - Chimney is better than we expected.
- Let's take a look. - That's just dangerous.
I saw this when we got married. I saw this before we got married.
I just... I guess I thought that...
I just didn't want to believe it.
But still...
I...
Okay, so now that I can see him for what he is...
I don't know what to do.
- Yeah. - Did you hear about the spy network?
No.
Mum's got the whole neighbourhood organised...
to figure out how to keep us from having any fun.
You know your mother. She goes even a week without organising something...
- she starts to rearrange the furniture. - It's not funny, Dad.
Can you please talk to her?
We're not little kids anymore, Dad. We just want to hang out with our friends.
Why can't we just go out somewhere?
Why can't she just trust us...
and not have networks of neighbours reporting in?
Because that's the way your mum looks out for you.
- You want her not to look out for you? - Please, Dad?
We promise not to take drugs, or join gangs, or get pregnant, okay?
Just please talk to her.
Is she inside?
- Yeah. And Rosa wants to talk to you. - Oh, good.
- Can I help you? - Thanks, I'm cool.
Okay.
You know, you should really get the organic ones.
Organic?
The eggs.
There's a co-op in College Park.
It's like they know the chickens by name over there.
Okay.
- Mr Mort. - Yeah.
The seņora says I should remind you about the green card.
- But Rosie, you have a green card. - For my brother.
Oh, yeah. Okay. Right, right.
Yeah.
Do you have someplace to go?
Yeah, my sister-in-law. Yeah, I'm close to her.
- But that's his sister. - You can stay here.
Excuse me. I'm sorry.
We need to talk.
I'm with somebody, Mort. Can this wait?
No. I walk into the kitchen, there's a total stranger in there.
He's criticising our eggs while he's cleaning us out of them.
That would be Caroline's boyfriend.
She had to go to Philadelphia to see her family.
Why didn't he go with her?
- Because they don't know about him. - What's he doing here?
He's waiting for her, Mort, to come back.
Now I'm working here, okay?
Who's Caroline?
Really? That's an interesting strategy for Central America.
Okay. So, Peter, how much time do I have?
I can give you a one day head start on the story.
I mean, I'm doing it because I like your column...
- and because you've always been fair. - Thanks, Peter. I appreciate it.
But if it doesn't run tomorrow, there's nothing I can do.
- The exclusive will be gone. - It'll run. You have my word.
So she moved her practise out of the garage.
- Now she's back in her old office. - To victory.
- Not a victory? - That's just it. What have I won?
She replaces one project with ten more.
They all cost money, which she keeps insisting that we have.
You know, it's like those movies where you cut off the thing's head...
and three more grow back in its place.
You don't like Sheldon Adler?
Sure I do. I'm drinking his 20-year-old scotch.
No, what I don't like is when contemporaries write books before I do.
You all right, Mort?
Sure, Fred.
Fine.
Okay.
Look who's taking on the guest of honour.
We'll talk about this in the car, okay?
How necessary is it, Milly, you have to pipe up every time?
Can no one say anything and just have it go by you?
You want me to just nod politely? Would that make you happy?
I would pay you to nod politely.
Half of Washington is constantly nodding politely.
You can't just learn that just once?
He completely discounted her, Mort.
Sheldon Adler, the big fancy author, treats her like she's nothing.
And why? Because she says she stays home and takes care of the kids.
Like that's not the contribution. Motherhood is not a contribution.
I'm not going to sit there and listen to that.
- You don't get it, do you? - I get it.
- Go have another drink. - You don't get it.
Have another drink!
I get it. You wanted a Vassar girl and you blew it, buddy.
Give me the ticket, because you are not driving.
- You don't tell me what to do. - Give me the ticket.
- You don't tell me... - Give me the...
Mum? Where's Dad?
- He's on his way home. - Why didn't you come home together?
There's some behind the couch in the den.
In the den?
- And in the basement. - Where else?
- And in the backyard, by the swings. - He's been busy. Thank you.
- Hello. - Mort, it's Fred.
Did you see it? It was absolutely extraordinary.
What?
Sheldon Adler went on all three morning shows and talked about Milly.
That whole scene at the party last night, it was completely unbelievable.
Sorry. Say that again.
Yeah, I heard all about the morning shows.
Of course I'm proud of her, why wouldn't I be proud of her?
Yeah, I heard what he did. The great Sheldon Adler changed his mind.
He talks to Milly at a party and just like that...
he sees the world in a whole new way. It's a wonderful thing.
Mort. It's Peter Evans.
- Peter. - I thought we had a deal.
- Deal? - I gave you an exclusive.
You said you were going to print it and you didn't print it.
Peter, I forgot.
- I'm sorry. - You forgot.
Yeah, I can, you know, I can take...
- That was... - I know who it was.
Did you sleep last night?
Anyway, I've been thinking...
and what I've been thinking is that you're an alcoholic.
- Excuse me? - Come on, Mort.
Your dad was an alcoholic, he died from it.
Your grandfather had the same problem.
- Why don't you admit it? - Okay. So the problem isn't...
that you just can't go to a simple book party...
without lashing into the guest of honour and ending up on national TV.
The problem is I drink sometimes.
The problem is that you drink more than sometimes.
You even drive drunk. You're going to kill somebody...
It goes with the territory. Journalists drink.
That is weakness talking, and I didn't marry a weak man.
- I didn't marry a drill sergeant. - So divorce me.
- Don't tempt me! - Find someone who'll stand by...
and be cheerful while you ruin your life because l...
You can marry a sheepdog.
It'll wag its tail and do what you want.
Maybe it'll stay sober and have a better memory!
All right. You were...
I guess we could take the bus.
I'll take you.
With me. Contigo.
No, that's "with you". With me.
- Conmigo? - Excelente.
Boracho.
Drunk.
Boracho. Just like Dad.
What'd you say?
Is that what you think? Are you calling me a drunk?
Mort.
No. No "Mort". I want to know. My daughter just called me a drunk.
They think that's funny. Is that it, is that what you think?
- Stop it. You're scaring them. - Somebody has to.
You're just sitting there letting them talk to their father like that.
Everybody else, you'd jump to the front of the line to defend them, why not me?
I don't defend people who are drunk. I counsel them to get help.
You think they would let a drunk...
ask questions of the President of the United States?
You think they'd fly a drunk halfway around the world...
to interview the leaders of 22 different countries?
- I don't think so. - Yeah, I think they do it all the time.
And I think you need to calm down.
You know, I think you don't want a drunk staying here.
Drunk for a husband, drunk for a father. What was the word you used?
Boracho.
You know, I think borachos should probably stay in hotels.
Till their families learn some respect.
Information.
May I have the number of the Mayflower Hotel, please?
You're not going anywhere.
You're not the only one who can spend money we don't have.
I didn't go to a hotel that night...
but I didn't sleep, either.
In the morning, I called Alcoholics Anonymous...
and I haven't had a drink since the day I walked into my first meeting.
So Milly, by being Milly, had saved my life.
Just in time for me to try and save hers.
Every year we spent Christmas in Vermont...
with Fred and Mark, their wives, and the kids.
We all looked forward to closing ourselves off...
from the world for a few days.
But the world didn't always stay out.
And this was going to be one Christmas in Vermont I would never forget.
Government setting up different... All these operations.
- Mort? - I missed this.
You missed what?
Everything, all of it, every year. Everything we do here.
Even this same argument that Fred and Mark are having right now.
And both of you are wrong...
but I would have been right in the middle of it, and I'd...
In the morning I wouldn't have remembered anything about it.
Because I was just floating through this week...
like I floated through everything else and...
But you know, I wasn't floating, I was sinking. I was drunk and I was sinking.
And you pulled me out.
Because of you, this is orange juice.
It's because of you, everything.
- To Milly. - To Milly.
But NYU has what I want.
There's what you want and what you can use.
Does NYU have what you can use?
It's the number one film school in the East, Mum.
Do you want me to go West?
Alex, I want you to be able to go wherever you want.
- As long as it's not Vassar. - What's wrong with Vassar?
Mum?
Get Dad.
Get your father right now.
What is it?
Look at the "K" in Kondracke.
- Milly... - Look at the "R".
Okay, you got to help me out here.
They're crooked, Mort. They're crooked, the letters.
- They're fine. There's nothing wrong... - No, you don't get it.
Look, they felt crooked. And look at this.
Don't you see it?
- What am I looking at? - It's the small finger, it's shaking.
Something's wrong.
Very strange.
And Milly kept insisting that her handwriting was changing.
Then a few months later, there was a tingling in both hands...
and she'd developed a tremor in her right foot.
- So it's just this ulnar neuropathy. - Believe me, it only sounds bad.
Pinched nerve in the elbow.
This should take care of it.
Symmetrel?
I've never heard of this.
It should remedy the tremors and tingling.
I doubt you'll need to come back.
If you do, I'm here.
Thank you.
We're just gonna have to agree to disagree on that again, Mort.
For a change.
And we'd like to thank our guests this week.
Join Mort and me next week when the boys are back in town.
- And you're out. - That wasn't bad.
We could've done better on that second interview.
Good guests, though.
Mort, Milly called you, needs you home right away.
I'm not going back to that doctor. He lied to me.
No, we don't know that. Symmetrel could be for lots of things.
No, it's for Parkinson's disease, Mort.
What kind of a doctor tricks a person like that?
I don't think he was tricking you. There's more than one explanation.
- There has to be. - I have seen people with Parkinson's.
I've counselled them. Their whole bodies shake...
they can't walk, they choke on their food. I cannot have this disease, Mort!
I'm not taking this medicine and I'm never going back to that...
- lying bastard doctor again! - Okay, okay.
- Look, just... - No!
- Hey, look... - No, no, no!
- No, no "okay", no "look". - We'll find somebody else.
Okay? We'll find someone else, I promise.
We won't go back there.
- I'll find someone else. - Yeah.
So I'm going to prescribe Sinemet.
Now, the way this works is a little backwards.
So, it won't stop the tremors?
It might stop the tremors.
If it does, however, then what that means is...
Parkinson's.
I've read about this, and...
the kind of tremors...
that respond to Sinemet are associated...
with Parkinson's disease, so if I take this and...
the tremors stop, that's what it means.
That's what I have, right?
That's right, yes.
Okay.
Guess who's going to China?
Air Force One. Me and Ron.
Every letter is perfect and smooth.
That doesn't have to mean it.
It doesn't have to mean what they say.
Right?
Hey, hey.
- People die from this, don't they? - Yeah. Some do, but not everybody.
Lots of people live with Parkinson's for 30 or 40 years.
Yeah, but how?
Well, that's the point. I mean, we just don't know yet...
how it's going to affect each person individually, so...
your mum might have the lightest case of it in the world.
She might not have it at all.
So I...
I think we should just try and stay optimistic.
I'm going to medical school.
Well, I am.
Milly, it's the middle of the night.
- Go back to bed. - Well, I'll rub the cramps out for you.
I work all day. I have a full day of clients.
When am I supposed to clean this house?
You're not supposed to clean the house. Rosa does that.
You're supposed to get some rest.
I hate this vacuum.
The doctors say rest and conserve your energy...
and then you start these night workshops at Anacostia.
- That's 'cause there's a need. - No, what you need...
is to conserve your energy, and what you need is to cut back.
If I do that, my clients will quit.
No, your clients aren't going to quit.
They love you. They're not going anywhere...
but you should start thinking about seeing fewer of them.
Honey, you almost fainted yesterday. Your blood pressure's out of control.
I mean, you're losing weight you can't afford to lose.
Then you start with these new projects...
that you don't have the strength to finish.
- What are you trying to say? - I'm trying to say, slow down.
And I want you to go to NIH.
They are the pros, and they'll figure it out.
We're not going to find a cure for Parkinson's...
in the Whole Earth Catalogue.
And we will at the National Institute of Health?
No, you know what I mean.
Just agree with me for once, just agree with me.
Say I'm right.
Then I'll do your other leg, and we can go to sleep.
What I'm more concerned with...
is the effect that all these medications are having.
Principally, I'm seeing dehydration...
which alone is enough to interfere with the Sinemet's ability to do its job.
So what do we do?
I think we should go back to zero.
Take you off everything, gradually.
Then start again with the Sinemet, in precise, measured doses...
until we can determine what's ideal.
We'll have to check you in here, though.
Let's figure on two weeks.
- Not possible. - Milly, if that's what he says...
- that's what we should do. - No, I'm sorry, okay?
- I have clients. - Too many people count on me.
You want clients 10 years from now?
Good afternoon, Mrs Kondracke.
Blood pressure time. Oh, my God!
Room 707, now!
No, this can't happen. This can't happen ever again.
She was like a living corpse.
- Part of the strategy... - I want her back on the Sinemet...
yesterday and don't you give me...
- a reason why that can't be done. - Right. We can do that.
But Mort, there's something else.
Milly's situation is more complicated than most.
A tenth of the people we test for Parkinson's...
come under a category we've been calling Parkinson's Plus.
We know very little about it. Or how to treat it.
After about a week, Milly came home again, but...
she was never the same after that.
She had less control over her body, and her speech was getting worse.
And sometimes she'd get so depressed that...
she'd talk about killing herself, and then in the next breath she'd...
bring in a new client or add some other project to take on, and...
nothing I said, nothing anybody said, could slow her down.
All I'm saying is that if Rosa hadn't called the ambulance...
you'd be sitting on the bottom of the porch right now.
You're totally overreacting...
...drive yourself to the hospital. - I slipped on the stairs.
And that's when we learnt that one of the features...
of Parkinson's Plus is the loss of balance...
and from that point on, Milly would trip over kerbs...
over carpets, over anything or nothing at all.
On days when it's wet, you should take the car...
to the back...
I know, I'm sorry.
- Mr Kondracke? - One bag at a time. Yeah.
- I need to ask you some questions. - I'll be back in a second.
What kind of questions?
Your wife's injuries, Mr Kondracke, they raise a red flag.
What are you trying to say?
From our records, this isn't her first fall.
The staff here, they're trained to be on the lookout.
- You think I hit her? - No, I'm not saying that.
You think that's why she keeps falling? 'Cause I push her?
Mr Kondracke, domestic violence, even the possibility of it...
is something that we have to look into.
- Excuse me. - Mr Kondracke.
Yeah, you're right. This is not her first fall.
You check with the staff. Ask virtually any one of them.
What's the matter with you, lady? You can't see?
I saw you, but my foot moved.
Your foot moved? What the hell is that?
- It... - What's the matter with you, lady?
It slipped. I don't know what happened.
- Please, I'm sorry. - What are you, drunk?
It's 10:00 in the morning. Are you drunk?
No, I have a disease. I have Parkinson's disease.
I'm sorry.
I'll take cabs and get rides.
I'll move the office back to the garage.
Everything else we can work on. The medicine, especially.
'Cause every time your situation changes, so do the treatments.
Yeah, okay.
You're always elusive.
I've lived a good life.
I've been good.
What have I done?
You haven't done anything, Mill. It's just not the way it works.
I've always believed in God, so why is he punishing me?
What have I done?
Nothing.
I'm not going to be able to do things on my own anymore.
And our friends are going to disappear...
and I'll be weighing you down while you'll be wiping dribble from my chin...
- and dreaming of your Vassar girl. - No.
Your Washington wife could have gotten you places.
No, not where I am right now.
You're gonna put me in a nursing home and you're gonna forget about me.
- No, no, I'm not. - I can't die...
I'll die like that if you do.
I'll die like that.
Never.
- I didn't know you were still driving. - No, she's not, she's not anymore.
But she's still losing her balance.
And then she's having trouble turning over in bed...
and then she'll turn over too far, so we ended up...
putting a rail along the side.
But her lips have been pursing. They're kind of pulling in all tight.
Dystonia.
It's not medication, it's just part of the package.
It's uncomfortable and it's unpredictable.
And I hate the tremors.
We've been hearing about cell transplants.
Yes, very exciting. But, I think, medically premature.
Well, are there any other options?
There is a surgical procedure.
It's called a pallidotomy.
They're doing it at Emory down in Atlanta.
They use an electrode on a needle...
to probe certain areas of the brain.
The patient is actually awake during the surgery, helping them out.
I think we should try this.
Milly, there are pros and cons with this treatment.
On the pro side, there can be dramatic improvement.
But some patients aren't that lucky.
The brain can haemorrhage.
Some get permanent blindness.
I like the pro side.
There you go. It's okay.
I'm doing it, Mort. I'm going to Atlanta.
Milly, we have to look into it a little more. It's a serious operation.
You heard what he said.
- There are dramatic results. - Yeah. No, I heard the other stuff, too.
For some people it's a lot worse.
- I'm not going to be one of those people. - No, you...
I'm going, Mort. With or without you.
I can't live like this anymore. I won't, okay?
Mr Kondracke, she's coming out of Prep.
- Hey. - Who's got a kiss?
Everybody's thinking about you.
The phone at home's just ringing off the hook.
Forget about that. How do I look?
- You look great, Mum. - Sure do.
You look beautiful.
Never better.
Buy me some hats.
How many places can I wear this one?
Quit that, now.
Love you.
Fred.
I was in Miami.
Apparently, Atlanta's on the way to Washington.
- You all right? - Yes.
I don't know if I can get up.
I'll help you up.
Oh, boy.
So?
You should have seen her. It was...
I mean, I've seen so many things I never wanted to see.
You know, what I want is Milly the way she was...
and it just makes me crazy that she can't ever be that way.
You know, something that you said to me...
that the best prayer you could ever make is "Thank you".
And I've been here for an hour and a half just saying thank you for...
"Thank you for Milly."
"Thank you for the girls."
"Thank you for giving me the things I need...
"instead of the things that I think I need."
Then I asked, "What am I supposed to do?"
And I was so in it. I was just...
I said, "What's your plan?"
"What's my purpose?"
Anything?
You're gonna think I'm crazy, but I...
I heard a voice.
What'd it say?
It's, you know, it's not really a voice. It's a message.
"Take care of Milly."
That is some purpose, Mort.
I'm going to get this right.
Whatever it takes.
Whatever I have to do. This is one thing in my life I'm going to get right.
Nurses station.
I'm sorry. You want me to put...
- Dad? - Hi.
- Here you go. - Thanks.
I just wonder how many nights you're gonna be in hospitals like this...
the one people are waiting for, you know, to come out and...
give them the news.
I don't know. I might veer towards research, stay away from this end.
No.
No, you're too good with people.
That's your strength. It's just like your mum.
Dad, we've got to talk about the rough stuff.
What's rougher than your mum's brain being opened up like a can of tuna?
Like what happens when they close it.
And if Mum doesn't make it.
What I'm afraid of is we won't just lose her if that happens...
we'll lose each other.
What do you mean?
Mum's the glue, Dad.
She's what holds us all together.
All I see is everyone going separate ways, checking in, maybe.
Mum's the gravity. She always was.
I don't want to see us all three sail off.
- Am I that bad a father? - No!
No, Dad, no. It's just...
Mum's the glue.
It's because it comes to her so naturally.
But I can be that, too.
Sweetheart, I can.
I can learn to be the glue.
Hi.
Little squeeze.
See, that's a grip.
Where are the girls?
They're out. They're buying hats for you.
Not just hats. I want a wig.
Cover my head while my hair grows.
Why don't you just let it stay short?
You let your own hair stay short.
I want long, dark hair.
What's the matter with white? White will look great.
Go do something.
I don't want to do anything. I just want to hear you talk.
Listen.
The doctor says you should get up on your feet.
He must've said that before he put the Roto-Rooter through my brain.
No, let's show him what you've got. Let's...
We'll set some records.
After the surgery, they put her back on the Sinemet...
and there were improvements right away.
She even allowed me to win the argument and let her hair grow white.
- Hey. - Hi.
I spoke to both the girls today. They can make it to Vermont.
Oh, good.
And I made some calls about some new clients.
What do you mean, new clients?
Well, not new clients...
old ones. Old ones that need me.
The foundation's fine.
All we have to do is extend it out...
30 feet for the new addition.
We may have to do redo some of the stonework...
- a couple of fences. - The new addition?
We need a family room, Mort.
It'll work out perfectly, Mr Kondracke.
There's plenty of room out the back.
But any improvements were only temporary.
Before long, Milly's symptoms returned and got worse. She kept falling.
And soon it became apparent we were going to have to move...
to a place all on one floor.
By that time her balance was so far gone that she needed a wheelchair...
and it broke her heart to have to leave the house that we both loved so much.
- Hi. - Hello.
I will call you, okay?
Okay, don't be a stranger.
Rosa, who'd been with us all these years, was so affected by Milly's...
deterioration that her own health went bad...
and she couldn't stay with us anymore.
Everything's turning out very nicely, Milly.
I don't care.
No one will visit.
Sure they will.
Why should they?
- Because they love you. - Oh, yeah?
And where have they been?
We're almost finished in the kitchen.
Maybe you could show us how you want the food in the cupboards?
The cupboards. Yes, I'll show you the cupboards.
I hate this house...
and I hate needing two people to take care of me.
I took care of everyone.
I hate this life and I hate this wheelchair...
- and I'll do the kitchen myself. - No, don't, Milly.
Damn it, Milly, what's the matter with you?
You're in a wheelchair for a reason.
Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Oh, God. I'm sorry.
We're running out of time, Mort.
I can feel it.
No, I'm just saying there's a fine line between debate and argument.
I'm sure they didn't mind. You invite them on the show...
and talk all the way across what they were trying...
- lf they'd had something worth... - Mort Kondracke?
- Yeah. - I'm Joan Samuelson...
Parkinson's Action Network.
Hi. Pleasure. This is Fred Barnes.
- Sorry. Hi, Fred, nice to meet you. - Pleasure.
- I'll see you later. Nice meeting you. - You, too.
- How can I help you? - We need each other.
Annual NIH funding for AIDS currently comes in at $1,100 per patient.
Next comes cancer at $400, MS at $150...
heart disease at $100, and here we have Parkinson's.
$34.
And it's the one researchers know the most about.
More than Alzheimer's, more than MS.
Parkinson's is the gateway to the entire brain.
Yet when it comes to money, well, you can see for yourself.
Why does AIDS get so much? Because AIDS activists learnt how.
They're relentless.
Look at all the high visibility people...
they've gotten to sign on to plead their cause.
You're joking. You mean, we need celebrities?
Nike uses them. Why not us?
So we're waiting for someone famous and popular to get the disease...
before we can get any meaningful attention...
from the celebrity chasers in Congress?
It's sad...
but true.
I have a question.
What's in it for you?
Who do you know who has Parkinson's?
I know me.
I know, you can't really see it...
but everybody gets a different package.
And I'm just one of the lucky ones, so far.
- Joan, l... - This is where you come in.
We need you to use every connexion you have...
to get every appointment you can.
And then the three of us will go in there and we'll make our case.
Me? What do I have to offer?
Just be yourself.
That's all you have to do.
There's no better case we could make.
Take a look at her chart. Look at the difference.
Right now you're looking at next year's budgets.
You can fit it in, make it more even, to save people like Milly.
And he has to take me into the bathroom at night.
He has to feed me...
because I can't feed myself.
And I feel like I'm a burden...
and I don't want to be a burden.
Joan was right. Milly was a star.
There wasn't a dry eye in one of those offices after we left.
But unfortunately, this being Washington...
it didn't do very much good.
There were handshakes and promises, and that's all they were.
Where is everybody? Girls?
- Hi, Grelanda. - Hello.
Hello.
I can take over from here.
- How'd you guys do today? - Oh, she did fine.
- She ate almost everything. - Oh, good.
- And she watched your show. - Oh, no!
Thanks for staying so late.
See you in the morning, Milly.
- Tomorrow. - I'll see you tomorrow.
Tell me I didn't read your mind.
Oh, my favourite.
You look tonight...
It's okay, just take a deep breath, just say the first word.
Handsome.
Handsome. Thank you. Have a chocolate.
There you go.
What'd you do today?
Yoga, and had tea with Jill.
New classes here.
Going to redo the office.
Okay.
It's a good project.
You ready for bed?
Okay.
One, two, three. There. Here we go.
I'm sorry I was so late this...
A generator broke down at the office, and Fred and I...
had to completely redo the whole first half of the show.
Poor Fred.
Thanks for the sympathy.
- I love you. - I love you, too.
- Mort. - Yeah?
I talk to God, too.
Because I don't have to deal with any words.
He listens...
and He knows.
- I'm sorry. - It's okay.
It's okay.
No, it's okay.
I told you that it...
would come to this.
And I told you I'd be here for it.
I want you to marry someone nice someday.
I did that already. Thirty years ago.
- Listen to me. - No, you listen.
You listen, okay? You always have the last word.
I'm just going to have the last word for a change.
This is the last word: I love you.
I've always loved you. I'm always going to love you.
And even where we are right now...
I still feel lucky that I'm the one you married...
I'm the one you had kids together with.
I'm glad it's me and not someone else that's here...
with you right now.
You tell me you wouldn't do the same for me.
It was Milly who insisted on another surgery, and this time...
it was a double deep brain stimulation.
It was the first one they'd ever done at Emory.
But any progress was quickly reversed. Her ability to speak...
declined dramatically, and we tried using...
microphones with amplifiers and speakers...
but her voice didn't even have enough volume to make...
them work, so finally...
because she still had the use of her hands...
I rigged up two laptops.
Don't stop caring just yet.
I got cruise tickets for Christmas.
We're going to the Mediterranean...
and see, I can do projects, too. You finally got me on board...
You can't do that.
The tickets are non-refundable.
Don't say that.
Hello. Joan, hi, yeah.
Yeah, what channel? Thank you. Milly!
That the star of Family Ties and the Back to the Future movies...
has announced he is leaving Spin City, his current hit TV show.
Fox, who recently revealed he has Parkinson's disease...
has decided to forgo the demands of a weekly series.
The actor said he will focus on managing his health...
and will spend his time concentrating on raising...
funding and awareness towards finding a cure for Parkinson's.
Now, over to you, Bill.
I had hidden my symptoms and struggles very well...
through increasing amounts of medication...
through surgery...
and by employing the hundreds of little tricks and techniques...
a person with Parkinson's learns to mask his or her condition...
for as long as possible.
The war against Parkinson's is a winnable war...
and I have resolved to play a role in that victory.
What celebrity has given me is the opportunity to raise the visibility...
of Parkinson's Disease and focus attention on the desperate need...
for more research dollars.
But I was shocked and frustrated to learn the amount of funding...
for Parkinson's research is so meagre.
Increase funding for Parkinson's research by $75 million...
over the current levels for the coming fiscal year.
Make this a down payment for a fully funded Parkinson's research agenda.
It will make Parkinson's nothing more than a footnote in medical textbooks.
I would like to close on a personal note.
With the help of daily medication and selective exertion...
I can still perform my job...
in my case, in a very public arena.
I can still help out with the daily tasks and rituals involved in home life...
but I don't kid myself. That will change.
I can expect in my forties to face challenges most won't expect until...
their seventies or eighties, if ever.
But with your help...
if we all do everything we can to eradicate this disease...
in my fifties, I'll be dancing at my children's weddings.
And mine will be one of millions of happy stories.
Thank you for your time and attention.
How can they say no?
Maybe it's just the magic of hope...
or maybe it's the strength of her new friendship with Michael...
or both.
But Milly seems to be gaining strength in ways that we can't explain.
Things come back that we thought were gone for good.
And so much so that she...
now feels strong enough to insist that we fly back to Chicago...
for the fortieth reunion of her old club.
She's now more determined than ever to stick around...
long enough, in her words, "to see you guys fix this".
So if Milly Martinez Kondracke, through all the pain...
and all the horror, can still have the will to fight on...
then you'd better have the will to do what has to be done.
To fix it. Find the money.
Get it done.
Thank you.
Did you reach Norma, finally?
- I left her a message. - Okay.
But you didn't hear from her.
Well, no, but she'll probably be here.
You okay?
- Norma. - Oh, Milly. I missed you so, Milly.
This is the last time I give you my blessing to run off...
with a brilliant journalist to Washington, do you hear me?
I want you back every spring.
The Chicago reunion was the high point.
It's nature, right?
What goes up.
And lately she's just been...
just dropping like an iron weight. We did a PAT scan and...
Iooked like acid was eating away at her brain.
Just awful.
She can barely swallow, so she's going to need a feeding tube soon.
Can't move her hands on the keyboard.
So we're down to hand signals.
It's one finger for yes, two for no.
All she wants is for me to help her die.
And God says, "Take care of Milly".
If taking care of her means helping her die...
how do I do that?
Mort, I...
Let's just pray, huh?
Oh, wow.
Remember this?
You know, it took me forever...
to realise that it wasn't just the speech you gave, it was those tights.
You were wearing those tights. I just didn't get it.
I was such a serious little journalist, interviewing you.
But you knew...
you just knew all along, I was a goner.
There was nothing ever, anywhere...
more beautiful than you were on that day.
Ever.
Milly...
I did what you wanted.
And found it all out.
And when it comes time for the feeding tube, you're going to have a choice.
So if you refuse the tube...
we'll go to a hospice, and I'll be there every minute...
and they say they promise you won't feel any pain.
But I have to tell you, I hate it.
I hate it, with everything.
And I'm praying you don't ask me to follow through.
But if that's what you want...
when the tube comes and that's what you want, that's what I'll do.
Is that what you want?
Okay.
Okay, my love.
Mort...
You were...
my...
best...
project.
Before watching tonight's film you probably knew a little bit about me...
probably something about Mort.
Now you've met Milly, and I'm sure you'll never forget her.
I wish I could thank Milly for...
all the strength and determination she's inspired in me and...
so many others whose lives have been touched by Parkinson's.
I mean, Milly's whole life was proof that...
one's dignity can be attacked...
cruelly mocked, but it cannot be taken away...
only surrendered, and Milly...
never surrendered.
Just like thousands of others who aren't surrendering.
Nor should they have to.
In the '80s, doctors said that with the right attention and resolve...
and with the funding...
Parkinson's could be cured in a matter of...
five to ten years.
Now, two decades later...
they're still saying the same thing.
Thank you and goodnight.