7th Heaven s11e12 Episode Script
Can I Just Get Something to Eat
Just a reminder.
That deadline for the paper on Darfur is approaching.
Quickly.
So, you take the first pass, and I'll look it over and take a second pass.
Or you take the first pass.
I'll look it over, criticize your work - and write it my way.
- We have to start somewhere.
- And I'm not going to do your research for you.
-Whoa.
My research? It's not my research.
It's research research for a paper that the two of us have been assigned to write together.
Together.
Although, you and I are worlds apart on the subject of Darfur.
Well, we wouldn't be if you would actually do some research on the subject.
I have done some research.
A lot of research, considering I don't have a computer.
Have you done any research? I don't really have to do a lot of research.
I mean, when I was living in Scotland, all we did was talk politics.
I'm well aware of what the situation in Darfur is.
As well as why the situation in Darfur is what it is.
Are you, now? And, uh, all this information is the result of pub chat? You've been to one country outside the United States of America.
You think you have an education on world politics? Well, it's one more country than you've been to.
Actually, I spent a summer in Canada.
- Canada? - Yeah.
Canada.
Our neighbors to the north.
- Please.
- So, wait.
Canada doesn't count, but Scotland does? Just draft the paper.
You just draft the paper.
Don't you even think about making out with me again.
Don't worry, I won't.
What's that? I don't know.
I think it's T Bone's homework.
Where is that? Someplace called Darfur.
It says it's part of the Sudan, and the Sudan is part of Africa.
They look hungry.
I wonder why they don't have any food.
I don't know.
Don't we know people from the Sudan? Those guys who helped Ruthie get home.
Remember? They went to church with us.
Yeah.
Let's call them, see if we can do anything about this.
7th Heaven When I see their happy faces Smiling back at me 7th Heaven I know there's no greater feeling Than the love of family Where can you go When the world don't treat you right? The answer is home That's the one place that you'll find 7th Heaven Mmm, 7th Heaven 7th Heaven.
Oh! Oh.
Oh! Kevin, we don't have anything to eat in here.
We have plenty to eat.
Plenty.
And if you don't like what I buy, then go to the grocery store.
You said you were going to start buying the groceries.
When? When did I say that? Just about every day since New Year's.
And you've been waiting for me to go to the grocery store all this time? No, I don't have to buy any groceries at all.
We have plenty of groceries they're just down in the basement cabinets in the freezer.
And if you don't like what I buy for us, then you can buy whatever you want anytime you want.
My New Year's resolution was to spend less.
So I'm committed to spending less on food.
Well, what I don't understand is why.
I don't know.
Why not? We're trying to have another baby.
I figured we'd put more into savings.
We have plenty of money in savings.
- We can always have more.
- No thanks to me.
And totally because of you and your family, we're financially secure, wouldn't you say? Depends.
What is financial security, anyway? Well, it's having enough money to buy a 12-pack of toilet paper instead of 144 rolls, for one thing.
We've got plenty of room down in the basement so that we can buy in bulk.
It saves money.
Our basement looks like a small grocery store - at this point.
- What's wrong with that? A small grocery store in a developing nation.
I can't even read the packages to see what's in them.
And some of the cans are so large that I can't even lift them.
Again, you don't like what I buy, you can buy whatever you want.
I just threw out a refrigerator full of stuff that you bought that went bad before we had a chance to eat it.
Which is why we don't need to buy things in gigantic quantities.
It doesn't save money.
It wastes money.
What was bad? Well, the eggs were out of date by weeks.
That doesn't mean they were bad.
What'd you do with them? Oh don't you go near that trash can.
Those eggs were still perfectly good.
We ate them yesterday for breakfast.
Oh! Kevin! What? You ate them and didn't seem to taste that they were bad.
And if they were really out of date, you'd smell them.
I will go to the grocery store today, okay? You said that just yesterday, but you didn't.
- I will.
- I doubt it.
You know, I-I do have a lot to do today.
- But - I heard that before.
And you're probably going to hear it again and again.
Sandy is coming down to observe my teen class, and I don't even know what we're going to do this year, because I haven't had a chance to make a plan, because I've been so busy doing whatever I can to help my dad out.
Oh, please.
Don't use your dad as your excuse.
I am not using my dad as an excuse.
If anything, I'm using Sandy as my excuse.
You know, all of a sudden, with everything else that I've got going on, she's got to come down and watch everything I do and report on it.
And I don't even have a desk.
And I'm still sharing an office and a desk with my dad.
And I'm limited to when I can work, you know, when he's not working or or schooling the boys in the office.
It's no wonder that I can't get anything done.
It's no wonder that I can't even get to the grocery store.
But I will.
I-I will.
Today I will.
And I will go down and purchase, you know, things that I recognize.
Things that cost pennies more.
Since you threw all our food away, Savannah and I are going out for breakfast.
Fine.
- Do you want to come? - I don't have time.
I figured.
Wait a second.
Are Are we fighting? Are you angry with me because I'm busy at work and don't have time to shop for gigantic quantities of food and cleaning supplies stored in our basement? Because if so, that's ridiculous.
I'm not angry.
You seem angry.
Not at all.
Yeah, you are.
No, I'm not.
Have a nice day, sweetheart.
Ugh.
Hey.
Hi.
Hi.
Can I make Savannah breakfast over here? Oh, of course you can make breakfast for Savannah.
Thanks.
Hey, are you and Lucy everything okay? Everything's fine.
We just don't have any groceries.
Not upstairs anyway.
Oh, well, I'm going to the grocery store later.
I can pick something up for you.
That's okay.
I'll just go down to the basement.
Okay.
Are you sure you and Lucy aren't fighting? Aha! Morning, Luce.
He said he was going out to eat.
This is out.
No, it's not.
And if you can eat over here, so can I.
That's not up to me.
It's not my kitchen.
You're right.
It's not your kitchen.
It's my kitchen.
It's the kitchen I grew up in.
Where there was plenty of normal food in normal quantities.
Well, I hope you both feel it's your kitchen you and Kevin and Savannah.
- What is going on? Nothing.
Well, you can help yourself to anything that's here.
There's plenty of food for everyone.
We've got eggs, turkey bacon, milk whole, two percent, one percent, nonfat.
Uh, juice orange, pineapple, and, uh, three kinds of red.
Kevin and Lucy are having a fight.
A big one, over food.
Yeah? You-You You seem kind of excited about it.
- Well, yeah, I am.
- And because Because, don't you see, things are returning to normal.
I mean, really normal.
Other people normal.
Young married people normal.
Okay, if you say so.
Um, I'm going to take the boys with me to the office for school.
Can you pick them up on your way back from the grocery store? I sure can.
And I can do it in time for you to get to your checkup.
Oh, I completely forgot.
I reminded you last night.
- Yeah, I know.
- Well, that's okay, you know.
If you forgot since last night, now I've reminded you.
So you have no excuse not to go.
I ate a doughnut this morning.
Where did you get a doughnut? The girls.
Margaret and Jane brought doughnuts into the house? No, no, I I saw them coming in last night when I went to take out the trash and they had just picked up some some doughnuts.
Warm, freshly made doughnuts.
- They gave me some for the house.
-Well, you know, they they know you're not supposed to eat doughnuts.
It wasn't their fault.
I told them I'd take some for us.
You know, for all of us.
Now it's some? Some doughnuts? You ate some doughnuts? I-I only had one this morning.
Oh, and and what, three, four, five last night? The ones for me and the boys, and Ruthie and T Bone? Ten last night.
Two for each of you.
And just the one this morning.
There's still one left if you want it.
So you got to call and change the appointment.
My cholesterol's going to be through the roof.
And you know how important numbers are to doctors, and he'll go nuts.
I just I can't go in today.
Eric Camden, you you ate 11 doughnuts? I know.
How could you do that? We all want you to live, you know, a long life, and and that means you have to change the way you eat.
I don't see what difference it'll make, you know.
It's not going to make my heart any smaller.
It may keep your arteries a little cleaner.
Oh, please tell me that you're not eating things you're not supposed to be eating when you're not at home.
Honestly, I do.
Well, you know, I'm I'm getting very very angry.
And, uh, maybe we should discuss this later this evening.
I don't want both your cholesterol and your blood pressure to shoot sky-high before you go see the doctor for your checkup.
And you are going to see your doctor for your checkup.
I just went to the doctor He-He had no changes to report.
So what's the point? What's the point? I don't care what the numbers are.
I-I don't care how big my heart is.
I don't care.
I don't know why, but I-I don't care.
I feel fine.
Maybe I shouldn't, but I do.
And you know what? I'll go when I go.
Not to the doctor's, but, you know, I'll I get it! But your doctor wants you to check in with him once a month, just to make sure.
Just in case things change and they can.
They could change for the better.
They could.
But not if if you keep eating doughnuts.
But we don't know that.
After all, I wasn't eating doughnuts when my heart suddenly got larger.
Annie, look, I'm going to eat reasonably well and live reasonably safe.
I just don't feel like eating so well and living so safe that I don't enjoy my life.
You do realize that this is counterproductive to everyone's prayers for you? - No, it's not.
- What good is it going to do for the community and the church and our family to keep praying for your health if if you're just going to keep eating doughnuts? It'll give everybody something to do so they don't bug me.
And it can't hurt, you know, everybody praying.
Gotta believe that prayer is stronger than doughnuts.
That's not the point.
I don't eat doughnuts every day.
- Oh, yeah.
- I'm fine.
You know, I'll go to the doctor next week, after I've had a couple of good days of healthy eating, so he doesn't panic.
Or I could just go today if that makes you happy.
$50.
79.
Doughnuts? Yeah, you shouldn't eat doughnuts.
We didn't.
Well, if you take care of your heart, starting right now, you won't grow up to have heart problems, hopefully.
So, you're counting your Christmas money? Yes, we just want to know how much we have.
Oh, 'cause you found something you want to buy? Yes, something good.
I thought you were going to save your money.
You said we could spend it.
I did.
Your mother and I both said you could spend it or you could put it away for a rainy day.
It's raining all over the world.
Hey, hold up.
I need a favor.
I can't drop you anywhere.
- I gotta take her to work.
- Sorry.
Oh, uh, I need some help.
- Yeah, you need a lot of help.
- I do.
I need a lot of help.
And you, working at an environmental company as a receptionist and being an expert in the field of world concerns, such as fossil fuels and global warming and bird pandemics, well, you could get me all the help I need, perhaps.
I need some research on Darfur.
Would you happen to have access to anything in that company of yours on Darfur? I don't know him.
It.
It's a place.
It's part of the Sudan.
In Africa.
My mistake that I thought you might have any information on the subject at all.
Have a nice day.
Wait, I have information.
Darfur's where all those people are, right? Yes, that's right.
Bye-bye.
I gave a bunch of stuff to Ruthie last week on those people.
There's a lot of them.
So Ruthie got stuff from you already? Not very good stuff.
What do you mean? They make it look like our president isn't doing anything.
Well, that's not true.
That's not true at all.
I know, but the information she gave Ruthie was It's an environmental company.
Everything we do is based on research.
I think politics affects your research.
Oh, since when do you have opinions? It's just, it's-it's Darfur, and it's important that everyone understands what's going on.
And I don't think your information is accurate.
I don't even think it makes sense.
I think somebody just made it up.
Are you calling the people that I work for liars? Well, well, maybe they just didn't do their research.
I mean, I know how difficult that is.
Do they have access to the Internet? Of course.
And I'm sure my bosses did their research.
They can't just make something up and then print it and put it out there for people to read.
Oh, but they can.
I mean, newspapers do it every day.
I can get you some research.
I have access to the Internet.
If the kid takes a long nap today, I'll pull some stuff for you.
All righty.
Great.
I'd really appreciate it.
Yeah, the computers in the library are booked through May of next year, so All right.
I don't think I would get in the middle of a fight between T Bone and Ruthie.
I'm not.
Ruthie is for helping Darfur, so that must make him against it.
I just don't think you should take sides.
I don't think he's against helping Darfur.
I-I don't think anyone is against helping Darfur.
I think it's a really complicated situation, and people don't know how to help Darfur.
I'm just getting T Bone some research.
That contradicts the research that I gave to Ruthie? There aren't two sides to this story.
There's just the truth.
And the truth is, this is genocide, and the United States of America is the first to call it genocide, which is something the United Nations refuses to do.
The United States of America has done more than anyone else in the world to end this genocide.
Genocide? What are you talking about? That was Rwanda.
It's like that.
It's just like that.
Are you sure? How can you care so much about endangered species and not know that African people are endangered people? They're being systematically murdered.
Not that there's anything wrong in caring for the environment or animals.
I mean, we're all connected, in that we're we're all part of life.
But Jane these are human beings.
All right.
Well, I didn't realize that it was that bad.
What are we supposed to do? Don't tell me that all of this is happening and you don't know what to do about it.
I don't.
I thought you had a doctor's appointment.
I thought you'd still be making up with Kevin.
What do you know about that? Just what I heard upstairs.
No groceries, huh? Shouldn't you be at the market with your mother? I'll find time to go to the market.
But I have to work.
Oh, and, Dad, you can't school the boys here today.
No offense.
None taken.
Well, I can't work at home.
Your mother isn't speaking to me.
Ah, so you two are arguing? Oh, I didn't know.
'Cause I wasn't listening in on your conversation.
Oh, you Uh, does Mom know you took them out wearing a pajama shirt and a towel? I don't know.
What difference does it make? One of the beauties of homeschooling is that you can wear anything you want without judgment from anyone, including family members.
He's wearing a towel.
It's a cape.
Oh.
Oh, and and I see that Sam's a superhero, too.
So, who are we saving today? The world.
Uh, I have teen group this afternoon.
Well, we'll be out of here long before then.
No, I have work to do.
I have to put my plan together for the year for my teen group.
You haven't done that yet? No.
And I need to.
And I need to do it sitting at a desk.
You know, I've been thinking we need another desk here.
Wait really? You have? - Mm-hmm.
-I could put another desk in here? Be-Because I-I could buy one today.
Will you have time to shop for a desk? Well, could I put another desk in here? Because I'll make time to to-to-to buy a desk to put in here.
Uh, not so fast.
We have a board of deacons who are going to want to know about any changes in the furnishings.
You know Mrs.
Vogel.
She's the head of the decorating committee.
Yeah, I think if we need a new desk in here, we can put another another desk in here.
- Well, of course you could.
- Yeah.
You really ought to get the board's approval first, so no one nobody's feelings get hurt, if you know what I mean.
Well, I know what you mean, but I don't see how my getting a desk would hurt anyone's feelings.
Except for maybe my dad's, because this has always been his office.
So if he doesn't care and he doesn't I'm getting a new desk.
Well, just say something about it first.
Maybe, uh take a vote.
A vote, huh? Well, if I'm going to call for a vote, I'm going to call for a vote for my own office.
We voted on that already.
Uh The noes have it.
You have an office.
Hi, boys.
- Hi.
- Good morning.
Yes, good morning.
Well, maybe we can talk about this outside.
Uh, I'll be outside.
Can we try Nicodemus again? Sure, go ahead.
When did the deacons vote on the office? I don't know.
Uh, last month, month before.
- It comes up occasionally.
- Why were the deacons - against me having an office? - This isn't personal.
They just see you as as on the go.
I mean, you work in all areas of our community.
Your work is everywhere.
Your desk is everywhere.
You're all over.
It's so much more than being just at a desk - or in an office.
- Really? That's what they think? Or-Or do they think that I just don't work? And-And that I I'm just still in training? I didn't say that.
This can't be what you came to see us about.
No.
No.
Th-That's old business.
This is new business.
Oh, this is not old business.
This is new business.
It's news to me that nobody wants me to have an office and that I have to ask permission to even buy a desk.
- I am getting a desk.
- If the new desk is approved, you'll have to do just that, because no money was set aside for a desk.
So you would have to buy it yourself.
So I'd have to ask permission to buy the desk? No, no, no, no, no, no.
You'd need to ask permission to put the desk you buy into the church, because all new furnishings have to go through Mrs.
Vogel.
What's the new business? Yesterday in Sunday school, Ruthie made a case for, uh, donating money to one of any charity for Darfur.
Oh.
Yeah, she and T Bone are doing a paper about it for school, but I didn't know about this request.
I think she wanted no favoritism shown.
Well, that's nice.
Well, it is nice, and no favoritism was shown.
Uh, again, the noes have it.
Some of our deacons feel that, uh, Darfur is a highly political issue and we have problems closer to home to worry about, like feeding our own community.
Well, we can do that, too.
We should do that, in fact, but Darfur is not exactly what I would call a political issue.
Genocide is a a human issue.
Well, who to blame for the genocide is political.
Is the issue who to blame or who'll take responsibility? - We just don't want any trouble.
I'll tell you what.
I'll buy the desk, and you get me permission to put it in my own office any teeny-tiny room in the church will do and I will answer any and all phone calls and mail about anybody who's upset with us donating money for the situation in Darfur.
Lucy, it was a no vote.
So, uh, why don't you just let Ruthie know that? Well, I thought you'd like to know.
I think she'll want to know.
Then, you'll tell her? No, I won't tell her.
She didn't ask me.
If she had asked me, I I would have said yes.
And when did all these votes start happening that I don't even know about? That we don't even know about? Oh, the deacons decided years ago to vote on what to not let you know about.
Or to let you know about or more on what to what to not bother you with or-or what to bother you with.
Uh, both of you.
Well, Lou, I'm not taking no on this one.
And I'm not taking no on a desk.
Well, there, you see? It's causing problems already.
I'll speak to the deacons.
No, no, wait, I'll speak to the entire congregation.
I don't think the deacons alone get to decide who we help and who we don't help.
Yeah.
Okay.
You remember us, right? Of course I remember you.
Do you know anyone in Darfur? I do.
I'm not from that region, but I have friends who have relatives there.
We'd like to buy them some food.
We have $50.
Would that help? Really? $50? That will help a lot.
I can send them $50 from my savings, and you can pay me back.
I will send it today.
When will they get the money? I will e-mail a friend in Uganda who will pick up the money at the Western Union and take it to them the next day.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Tell Sam thank you as well.
- And hello to your family.
- Okay.
Bye.
Hi, Lou.
Hi, Luce.
I'm just here to pick up the boys.
Oh.
Good to see you, too.
N-Nice talking to you.
I ate 11 doughnuts.
She's not speaking to me.
You did what? Yeah.
You tell him, Luce.
You tell him, too, he should be embarrassed to have our sons out in public in pajamas and a towel.
Cape.
- Good-bye.
- Good-bye.
I know that battle.
I used to let our son go to the doctor's office in his bathrobe because he liked it better than anything they had there.
If I were in your position, I'd be eating doughnuts and steak five times a day.
Don't encourage him.
You know, there's going to be a desk in that office tomorrow.
I'll alert the, uh, deacons.
Please do.
And, uh, please also alert them that, you know, Lucy and I are are going to take a vote, and we're going to decide whether or not we want the deacons controlling the world.
Okay.
I have a doctor's appointment.
So, even though you have your own computer and access to the Internet, you get your research from Crazy Jane.
I got some research from her company, yes.
Were you planning to share that with me? Well, I was going to hold onto it to use as a rebuttal to whatever you were writing.
I don't know what I'm writing.
I haven't gotten enough information yet.
Yes, well, by the time you get enough information, there may be no one left in Darfur.
You're blaming Darfur on me? I actually suspected that you would blame Darfur on our president, although you may be surprised to learn that the United States of America has contributed almost $2 billion in assistance to improve the situation in refugee camps.
So? So the United States is the single largest international donor to the Sudan, and we provide from the UN World Food program to Darfur, and 70% of the contributions to Sudan overall.
And we're contributing $16 million to a humanitarian campaign to prevent rape and treat victims and build crisis centers.
And? And going back to the years 2003 to 2005, in those two years alone, the U.
S.
contributed $2 billion in assistance to refugee camps.
Hmm.
Let's see.
I'm not that good with numbers, but I know that whatever we're doing, it's not enough.
Why is it always, "What's the U.
S.
doing?" Why isn't it about, "What's the world doing?" You mean, why not just pass the buck? Because people are starving, women are being raped, children are being enslaved and orphaned, men and women are having their lips and ears and limbs cut off.
Someone has to do something.
We're supposed to be a superpower, so why don't we use our superpowers for good instead of evil? We're doing everything we can possibly do.
Or maybe we're not.
You know, the very people who criticize us for policing the world are the same people that criticize us for not doing more in Darfur.
- So? - So why can't the UN send in more peacekeeping troops? Uh, why can't the UN even establish a no-fly-over zone? Why are we supposed to do it? Why are we supposed to even pressure the UN to do it? Why don't they just do it? I'll tell you why.
It's a very complicated situation.
I mean, any time you've got oil, you've got a complicated situation.
- Oil? - Oil.
Yeah.
The whole world revolves around oil.
- Oil? - Mix oil with religion and politics, add a century or more of greed, murder and violence, and then get all the victims in one place without food or shelter or water or proper medical care, and subject them to one horror after another, and then have the whole world look the other way, and what have you got? Darfur.
A very complicated situation.
Yeah, well, someone better uncomplicate it quick before there is no more Darfur.
Mom, do you have a stamp? Oh, sure, honey.
It's right in that drawer.
Who are you writing to? Nicodemus.
Oh.
Nicodemus Lim, from the Lost Boys? That's so nice.
Hello.
Eric.
Tell me you're okay.
Fine.
Then, I'm still not speaking to you.
I would like to send $50, please.
Hi.
This is Lucy Kinkirk.
- Hey.
- Hey.
What are you doing? Oh, I was just sitting at my new desk, which is all the way across the office from the phone, but it's a desk.
I got a desk.
- Oh.
You got a desk.
- Yeah.
My dad said that I could put my own desk in his office, but what I'm really hoping for is to put my own desk in my own office.
So I went shopping today and bought a desk.
So I guess I guess that's step one.
a desk.
an office.
- Step three? - Well, I don't know.
Your own church? Hmm.
Maybe.
Can't imagine what that would be like.
I beg your pardon? I called to apologize about this morning.
Oh.
Good.
But now I don't feel like it.
Don't feel like it because? You had time to shop for a desk, but you didn't have time to shop for food, so don't come home and complain about what I buy if a desk is your priority.
Fine.
Then you keep eating your big food and saving money or or wasting money whichever way you want to look at it, and I will continue eating over at my parents' house where food doesn't come in giant cans, and herds of animals aren't kept in the freezer! Oh.
Hi.
Uh come on in.
Come on in.
Um, it's just yeah, okay.
Well, I got a new desk.
It's nice, isn't it? I hope I'm not late.
Martin didn't pick up Aaron until almost 2:00.
- Hi, Luce.
- Hi.
Hi.
I'm Sandy.
I'm going to be part of your class this semester.
Are you the Sandy that had the baby? Wow.
I can't wait to hear about that.
Well, I don't know if we're going to have any time for personal stories.
Um, but I thought that we might, uh, focus on the situation in Darfur for today.
Actually, for every day for the whole year.
Um, didn't you also have a problem with alcohol and drugs? Uh, when I was much younger, I guess I did.
Yeah, I absolutely did.
Yeah, but we're not here to discuss Sandy.
Okay, but can we just ask her a couple of questions? So, did you get married? No.
Uh You know, I don't mind answering questions if you don't mind if I talk about myself.
Oh, please tell her it's okay, Reverend Kinkirk.
It's one thing to to talk about sin, but it's another if you've, uh, been there and done that.
- You know what I mean? - Yeah, I know what you mean, but doesn't anyone want to talk about the crisis in Darfur? I have no problem with Sandy talking about her life, but what about the millions of lives that are being affected by what we know is genocide? Believe me, my story can wait, but the situation in Darfur can't.
Okay.
Well, what can we do about it? What can we do? Well, I think we should all figure that out together.
In the meantime Sandy, was Martin your first? I'm starving.
No, you're not.
You're not starving.
I'm not starving.
The people in Darfur are starving.
I know that, okay? I got it.
I understand.
What I don't understand is what we're supposed to do about it.
I mean, why is anyone starving? There's plenty of food to feed everyone.
Hi.
Hey.
What's in the box? Chicken.
Where's it from? Turkey.
I told Annie I'd bring it over, so let her know it's here.
She can take whatever she wants and freeze the rest.
How many chickens are in there? Why? You got a problem with bulk-food purchasing, too? - Too? - Never mind.
I don't need your criticism.
Buying in quantity saves money.
Yeah, but it's the quantity that just grosses me out.
I mean, who needs 37 chicken wings? I don't know.
The 18 and a half chickens who lost them? The half is just really putting me over the edge.
It's gross.
That many chickens? That many chickens and a half? and it's just in one box in one store in one community.
Think of all the frozen chicken parts all over the country.
Why do we need that much food? Why can't we feed everyone? Why can't we feed Darfur? Maybe we could if we could get the food into Darfur.
But that situation is not just about the people not having food.
It's about the people not having any power.
It's a genocide.
Can't someone empower those people? Can't anyone stand up for them? Do you two even know who those people are? - People in western Sudan.
- Yes.
They're tribal people.
Most of them are Muslim.
No, no, I did my research today.
They're being killed by the Janjaweed, and they're Muslims.
And Muslims don't kill Muslims, do they? The Janjaweed are Arab militia who are radical Muslims.
And I guess just some of the questions are: who is backing the Janjaweed, how are they able to get away with killing so many people without the Sudanese government stepping in, why aren't they recognizing the situation as a genocide, and why hasn't the UN stated it's a genocide? The people of Darfur are made up of a lot of tribes, but they're mostly Muslim.
I thought that they were Christians, like your friends the guys we met uh, the Lost Boys.
Yeah, those guys are Christians, and they live in southern Sudan.
This is western Sudan.
Darfur is in western Sudan.
It's a complicated situation.
Is that what we're telling the people in the refugee camps? "Sorry, we can't do anything.
It's complicated"? I know.
What are they thinking? What are we thinking? What is the whole world thinking? I don't think anyone is thinking.
People look at our generation, and they criticize us because we don't do anything, but we're not the ones in charge.
We have no control.
We are so far removed from any decision-making process that we feel completely useless.
I mean, it's not like I don't want to do anything.
It's just, I don't know how.
Please answer the question to show us that this transmission is for you.
It's like a code to pick up your money.
Your friend Nicodemus says to ask, "What is the name of your brother?" Every man.
Have a nice evening.
Thank you.
So, I need your help.
I need you to go home and talk to your families about supporting our program here at our church so we can all do something about Darfur.
We have to do something.
We can't just keep saying that.
We have to live that.
My dad is presenting the issues in front of the church members, and you are all church members, so you have a say in this.
Oh, I'll get it.
It's probably my husband.
Hi.
This is Reverend Kinkirk.
Okay.
No more personal questions, okay? My life is not more important than the millions of people in refugee camps in Darfur.
I just wanted you to know that I just loaded up all the food in the basement and I'm donating it to a shelter so that it can be used before it expires.
That's a great idea.
And then I'm going to make a donation to help save Darfur, because when you think about it, we have enough enough money, enough food, enough clothes, enough.
We do.
We absolutely do.
And I'm I'm so sorry about everything.
Me, too.
Don't stop at the grocery store.
Don't stop for anything.
Come home to me.
Okay.
I love you.
Bye.
You know aren't we all so lucky to have the luxury of fighting over the stupidest things? You know, like what we eat or when we eat or where we eat or who we eat with or whether we get a desk or not.
You know, our priorities are so confused.
Like today the most important thing to me was was getting a desk.
Instead, I should have been realizing that the most important thing is that my my dad is alive and well and I am so fortunate to be able to share this space and and time with him.
You know, we all have to be there for each other.
So what are we going to do about Darfur? There are lots of organizations that are trying to help, so even if my dad doesn't talk the church into doing something, there's other ways that we can help.
Yeah, I cannot believe that the church didn't come through.
Why didn't you just, you know, ask your dad in the first place? Because I wanted to feel like I was initiating some kind of change.
But even if that doesn't work out, this isn't really about me.
And there's lots of organizations that we could choose from.
Yeah, but I mean, how do you know which to choose? Well, there's Web sites that tell you how the money for each organization is spent how much of each dollar goes towards administration and how much goes towards the actual supplies.
You know, I saw this Jewish organization called MAZON that seemed pretty good.
It's a Jewish response to world hunger.
I wonder, though, if it's a Jewish organization, why wouldn't they just help Jewish people? You think the Jewish people don't know about genocide? This is genocide.
Right.
Got it.
There's a Catholic organization called Catholic Relief Services.
There's UNICEF, there's Bread for the World, Second Harvest, there's the International Medical Corps.
There's lots of people that are trying to help.
I mean, other than trying to find some place to donate money to, what are you and I doing? I mean, what are we doing about Darfur? Hi.
I'm over the doughnuts.
- Are you? - Yeah.
The boys told me that they sent their savings all of their savings to Nicodemus, who's sending it to a friend he has in Uganda, who's going to then take it to the people he knows in Darfur.
I knew they called him again, but really? Yeah.
So our eight-year-olds have figured out how to do what the rest of the world hasn't.
I'm sorry.
Me, too.
I shouldn't have been so concerned about the doughnuts or what the boys were wearing today.
I mean, the important thing is that they have anything to wear at all, you know? And that they are concerned that other people have something to wear, something to eat and a place to live.
And how are you? The same.
Just the same.
I'm I'm a lucky man.
And we're all lucky people.
We just forget it sometimes because we're so comfortable.
No changes? No.
So you don't have the cholesterol test back? No, but I know sometimes those things just don't seem important.
No, they don't.
So what are we going to do about Darfur? I want to see you holding on So hold on Hold on Hold on Hold on I don't want to see you going down I want to see you holding on If you give it time, you'll come around I want to see you holding on I don't want to see you going down I want to see you holding on Yeah If you give it time, you'll come around I want to see you holding on So hold on.
That deadline for the paper on Darfur is approaching.
Quickly.
So, you take the first pass, and I'll look it over and take a second pass.
Or you take the first pass.
I'll look it over, criticize your work - and write it my way.
- We have to start somewhere.
- And I'm not going to do your research for you.
-Whoa.
My research? It's not my research.
It's research research for a paper that the two of us have been assigned to write together.
Together.
Although, you and I are worlds apart on the subject of Darfur.
Well, we wouldn't be if you would actually do some research on the subject.
I have done some research.
A lot of research, considering I don't have a computer.
Have you done any research? I don't really have to do a lot of research.
I mean, when I was living in Scotland, all we did was talk politics.
I'm well aware of what the situation in Darfur is.
As well as why the situation in Darfur is what it is.
Are you, now? And, uh, all this information is the result of pub chat? You've been to one country outside the United States of America.
You think you have an education on world politics? Well, it's one more country than you've been to.
Actually, I spent a summer in Canada.
- Canada? - Yeah.
Canada.
Our neighbors to the north.
- Please.
- So, wait.
Canada doesn't count, but Scotland does? Just draft the paper.
You just draft the paper.
Don't you even think about making out with me again.
Don't worry, I won't.
What's that? I don't know.
I think it's T Bone's homework.
Where is that? Someplace called Darfur.
It says it's part of the Sudan, and the Sudan is part of Africa.
They look hungry.
I wonder why they don't have any food.
I don't know.
Don't we know people from the Sudan? Those guys who helped Ruthie get home.
Remember? They went to church with us.
Yeah.
Let's call them, see if we can do anything about this.
7th Heaven When I see their happy faces Smiling back at me 7th Heaven I know there's no greater feeling Than the love of family Where can you go When the world don't treat you right? The answer is home That's the one place that you'll find 7th Heaven Mmm, 7th Heaven 7th Heaven.
Oh! Oh.
Oh! Kevin, we don't have anything to eat in here.
We have plenty to eat.
Plenty.
And if you don't like what I buy, then go to the grocery store.
You said you were going to start buying the groceries.
When? When did I say that? Just about every day since New Year's.
And you've been waiting for me to go to the grocery store all this time? No, I don't have to buy any groceries at all.
We have plenty of groceries they're just down in the basement cabinets in the freezer.
And if you don't like what I buy for us, then you can buy whatever you want anytime you want.
My New Year's resolution was to spend less.
So I'm committed to spending less on food.
Well, what I don't understand is why.
I don't know.
Why not? We're trying to have another baby.
I figured we'd put more into savings.
We have plenty of money in savings.
- We can always have more.
- No thanks to me.
And totally because of you and your family, we're financially secure, wouldn't you say? Depends.
What is financial security, anyway? Well, it's having enough money to buy a 12-pack of toilet paper instead of 144 rolls, for one thing.
We've got plenty of room down in the basement so that we can buy in bulk.
It saves money.
Our basement looks like a small grocery store - at this point.
- What's wrong with that? A small grocery store in a developing nation.
I can't even read the packages to see what's in them.
And some of the cans are so large that I can't even lift them.
Again, you don't like what I buy, you can buy whatever you want.
I just threw out a refrigerator full of stuff that you bought that went bad before we had a chance to eat it.
Which is why we don't need to buy things in gigantic quantities.
It doesn't save money.
It wastes money.
What was bad? Well, the eggs were out of date by weeks.
That doesn't mean they were bad.
What'd you do with them? Oh don't you go near that trash can.
Those eggs were still perfectly good.
We ate them yesterday for breakfast.
Oh! Kevin! What? You ate them and didn't seem to taste that they were bad.
And if they were really out of date, you'd smell them.
I will go to the grocery store today, okay? You said that just yesterday, but you didn't.
- I will.
- I doubt it.
You know, I-I do have a lot to do today.
- But - I heard that before.
And you're probably going to hear it again and again.
Sandy is coming down to observe my teen class, and I don't even know what we're going to do this year, because I haven't had a chance to make a plan, because I've been so busy doing whatever I can to help my dad out.
Oh, please.
Don't use your dad as your excuse.
I am not using my dad as an excuse.
If anything, I'm using Sandy as my excuse.
You know, all of a sudden, with everything else that I've got going on, she's got to come down and watch everything I do and report on it.
And I don't even have a desk.
And I'm still sharing an office and a desk with my dad.
And I'm limited to when I can work, you know, when he's not working or or schooling the boys in the office.
It's no wonder that I can't get anything done.
It's no wonder that I can't even get to the grocery store.
But I will.
I-I will.
Today I will.
And I will go down and purchase, you know, things that I recognize.
Things that cost pennies more.
Since you threw all our food away, Savannah and I are going out for breakfast.
Fine.
- Do you want to come? - I don't have time.
I figured.
Wait a second.
Are Are we fighting? Are you angry with me because I'm busy at work and don't have time to shop for gigantic quantities of food and cleaning supplies stored in our basement? Because if so, that's ridiculous.
I'm not angry.
You seem angry.
Not at all.
Yeah, you are.
No, I'm not.
Have a nice day, sweetheart.
Ugh.
Hey.
Hi.
Hi.
Can I make Savannah breakfast over here? Oh, of course you can make breakfast for Savannah.
Thanks.
Hey, are you and Lucy everything okay? Everything's fine.
We just don't have any groceries.
Not upstairs anyway.
Oh, well, I'm going to the grocery store later.
I can pick something up for you.
That's okay.
I'll just go down to the basement.
Okay.
Are you sure you and Lucy aren't fighting? Aha! Morning, Luce.
He said he was going out to eat.
This is out.
No, it's not.
And if you can eat over here, so can I.
That's not up to me.
It's not my kitchen.
You're right.
It's not your kitchen.
It's my kitchen.
It's the kitchen I grew up in.
Where there was plenty of normal food in normal quantities.
Well, I hope you both feel it's your kitchen you and Kevin and Savannah.
- What is going on? Nothing.
Well, you can help yourself to anything that's here.
There's plenty of food for everyone.
We've got eggs, turkey bacon, milk whole, two percent, one percent, nonfat.
Uh, juice orange, pineapple, and, uh, three kinds of red.
Kevin and Lucy are having a fight.
A big one, over food.
Yeah? You-You You seem kind of excited about it.
- Well, yeah, I am.
- And because Because, don't you see, things are returning to normal.
I mean, really normal.
Other people normal.
Young married people normal.
Okay, if you say so.
Um, I'm going to take the boys with me to the office for school.
Can you pick them up on your way back from the grocery store? I sure can.
And I can do it in time for you to get to your checkup.
Oh, I completely forgot.
I reminded you last night.
- Yeah, I know.
- Well, that's okay, you know.
If you forgot since last night, now I've reminded you.
So you have no excuse not to go.
I ate a doughnut this morning.
Where did you get a doughnut? The girls.
Margaret and Jane brought doughnuts into the house? No, no, I I saw them coming in last night when I went to take out the trash and they had just picked up some some doughnuts.
Warm, freshly made doughnuts.
- They gave me some for the house.
-Well, you know, they they know you're not supposed to eat doughnuts.
It wasn't their fault.
I told them I'd take some for us.
You know, for all of us.
Now it's some? Some doughnuts? You ate some doughnuts? I-I only had one this morning.
Oh, and and what, three, four, five last night? The ones for me and the boys, and Ruthie and T Bone? Ten last night.
Two for each of you.
And just the one this morning.
There's still one left if you want it.
So you got to call and change the appointment.
My cholesterol's going to be through the roof.
And you know how important numbers are to doctors, and he'll go nuts.
I just I can't go in today.
Eric Camden, you you ate 11 doughnuts? I know.
How could you do that? We all want you to live, you know, a long life, and and that means you have to change the way you eat.
I don't see what difference it'll make, you know.
It's not going to make my heart any smaller.
It may keep your arteries a little cleaner.
Oh, please tell me that you're not eating things you're not supposed to be eating when you're not at home.
Honestly, I do.
Well, you know, I'm I'm getting very very angry.
And, uh, maybe we should discuss this later this evening.
I don't want both your cholesterol and your blood pressure to shoot sky-high before you go see the doctor for your checkup.
And you are going to see your doctor for your checkup.
I just went to the doctor He-He had no changes to report.
So what's the point? What's the point? I don't care what the numbers are.
I-I don't care how big my heart is.
I don't care.
I don't know why, but I-I don't care.
I feel fine.
Maybe I shouldn't, but I do.
And you know what? I'll go when I go.
Not to the doctor's, but, you know, I'll I get it! But your doctor wants you to check in with him once a month, just to make sure.
Just in case things change and they can.
They could change for the better.
They could.
But not if if you keep eating doughnuts.
But we don't know that.
After all, I wasn't eating doughnuts when my heart suddenly got larger.
Annie, look, I'm going to eat reasonably well and live reasonably safe.
I just don't feel like eating so well and living so safe that I don't enjoy my life.
You do realize that this is counterproductive to everyone's prayers for you? - No, it's not.
- What good is it going to do for the community and the church and our family to keep praying for your health if if you're just going to keep eating doughnuts? It'll give everybody something to do so they don't bug me.
And it can't hurt, you know, everybody praying.
Gotta believe that prayer is stronger than doughnuts.
That's not the point.
I don't eat doughnuts every day.
- Oh, yeah.
- I'm fine.
You know, I'll go to the doctor next week, after I've had a couple of good days of healthy eating, so he doesn't panic.
Or I could just go today if that makes you happy.
$50.
79.
Doughnuts? Yeah, you shouldn't eat doughnuts.
We didn't.
Well, if you take care of your heart, starting right now, you won't grow up to have heart problems, hopefully.
So, you're counting your Christmas money? Yes, we just want to know how much we have.
Oh, 'cause you found something you want to buy? Yes, something good.
I thought you were going to save your money.
You said we could spend it.
I did.
Your mother and I both said you could spend it or you could put it away for a rainy day.
It's raining all over the world.
Hey, hold up.
I need a favor.
I can't drop you anywhere.
- I gotta take her to work.
- Sorry.
Oh, uh, I need some help.
- Yeah, you need a lot of help.
- I do.
I need a lot of help.
And you, working at an environmental company as a receptionist and being an expert in the field of world concerns, such as fossil fuels and global warming and bird pandemics, well, you could get me all the help I need, perhaps.
I need some research on Darfur.
Would you happen to have access to anything in that company of yours on Darfur? I don't know him.
It.
It's a place.
It's part of the Sudan.
In Africa.
My mistake that I thought you might have any information on the subject at all.
Have a nice day.
Wait, I have information.
Darfur's where all those people are, right? Yes, that's right.
Bye-bye.
I gave a bunch of stuff to Ruthie last week on those people.
There's a lot of them.
So Ruthie got stuff from you already? Not very good stuff.
What do you mean? They make it look like our president isn't doing anything.
Well, that's not true.
That's not true at all.
I know, but the information she gave Ruthie was It's an environmental company.
Everything we do is based on research.
I think politics affects your research.
Oh, since when do you have opinions? It's just, it's-it's Darfur, and it's important that everyone understands what's going on.
And I don't think your information is accurate.
I don't even think it makes sense.
I think somebody just made it up.
Are you calling the people that I work for liars? Well, well, maybe they just didn't do their research.
I mean, I know how difficult that is.
Do they have access to the Internet? Of course.
And I'm sure my bosses did their research.
They can't just make something up and then print it and put it out there for people to read.
Oh, but they can.
I mean, newspapers do it every day.
I can get you some research.
I have access to the Internet.
If the kid takes a long nap today, I'll pull some stuff for you.
All righty.
Great.
I'd really appreciate it.
Yeah, the computers in the library are booked through May of next year, so All right.
I don't think I would get in the middle of a fight between T Bone and Ruthie.
I'm not.
Ruthie is for helping Darfur, so that must make him against it.
I just don't think you should take sides.
I don't think he's against helping Darfur.
I-I don't think anyone is against helping Darfur.
I think it's a really complicated situation, and people don't know how to help Darfur.
I'm just getting T Bone some research.
That contradicts the research that I gave to Ruthie? There aren't two sides to this story.
There's just the truth.
And the truth is, this is genocide, and the United States of America is the first to call it genocide, which is something the United Nations refuses to do.
The United States of America has done more than anyone else in the world to end this genocide.
Genocide? What are you talking about? That was Rwanda.
It's like that.
It's just like that.
Are you sure? How can you care so much about endangered species and not know that African people are endangered people? They're being systematically murdered.
Not that there's anything wrong in caring for the environment or animals.
I mean, we're all connected, in that we're we're all part of life.
But Jane these are human beings.
All right.
Well, I didn't realize that it was that bad.
What are we supposed to do? Don't tell me that all of this is happening and you don't know what to do about it.
I don't.
I thought you had a doctor's appointment.
I thought you'd still be making up with Kevin.
What do you know about that? Just what I heard upstairs.
No groceries, huh? Shouldn't you be at the market with your mother? I'll find time to go to the market.
But I have to work.
Oh, and, Dad, you can't school the boys here today.
No offense.
None taken.
Well, I can't work at home.
Your mother isn't speaking to me.
Ah, so you two are arguing? Oh, I didn't know.
'Cause I wasn't listening in on your conversation.
Oh, you Uh, does Mom know you took them out wearing a pajama shirt and a towel? I don't know.
What difference does it make? One of the beauties of homeschooling is that you can wear anything you want without judgment from anyone, including family members.
He's wearing a towel.
It's a cape.
Oh.
Oh, and and I see that Sam's a superhero, too.
So, who are we saving today? The world.
Uh, I have teen group this afternoon.
Well, we'll be out of here long before then.
No, I have work to do.
I have to put my plan together for the year for my teen group.
You haven't done that yet? No.
And I need to.
And I need to do it sitting at a desk.
You know, I've been thinking we need another desk here.
Wait really? You have? - Mm-hmm.
-I could put another desk in here? Be-Because I-I could buy one today.
Will you have time to shop for a desk? Well, could I put another desk in here? Because I'll make time to to-to-to buy a desk to put in here.
Uh, not so fast.
We have a board of deacons who are going to want to know about any changes in the furnishings.
You know Mrs.
Vogel.
She's the head of the decorating committee.
Yeah, I think if we need a new desk in here, we can put another another desk in here.
- Well, of course you could.
- Yeah.
You really ought to get the board's approval first, so no one nobody's feelings get hurt, if you know what I mean.
Well, I know what you mean, but I don't see how my getting a desk would hurt anyone's feelings.
Except for maybe my dad's, because this has always been his office.
So if he doesn't care and he doesn't I'm getting a new desk.
Well, just say something about it first.
Maybe, uh take a vote.
A vote, huh? Well, if I'm going to call for a vote, I'm going to call for a vote for my own office.
We voted on that already.
Uh The noes have it.
You have an office.
Hi, boys.
- Hi.
- Good morning.
Yes, good morning.
Well, maybe we can talk about this outside.
Uh, I'll be outside.
Can we try Nicodemus again? Sure, go ahead.
When did the deacons vote on the office? I don't know.
Uh, last month, month before.
- It comes up occasionally.
- Why were the deacons - against me having an office? - This isn't personal.
They just see you as as on the go.
I mean, you work in all areas of our community.
Your work is everywhere.
Your desk is everywhere.
You're all over.
It's so much more than being just at a desk - or in an office.
- Really? That's what they think? Or-Or do they think that I just don't work? And-And that I I'm just still in training? I didn't say that.
This can't be what you came to see us about.
No.
No.
Th-That's old business.
This is new business.
Oh, this is not old business.
This is new business.
It's news to me that nobody wants me to have an office and that I have to ask permission to even buy a desk.
- I am getting a desk.
- If the new desk is approved, you'll have to do just that, because no money was set aside for a desk.
So you would have to buy it yourself.
So I'd have to ask permission to buy the desk? No, no, no, no, no, no.
You'd need to ask permission to put the desk you buy into the church, because all new furnishings have to go through Mrs.
Vogel.
What's the new business? Yesterday in Sunday school, Ruthie made a case for, uh, donating money to one of any charity for Darfur.
Oh.
Yeah, she and T Bone are doing a paper about it for school, but I didn't know about this request.
I think she wanted no favoritism shown.
Well, that's nice.
Well, it is nice, and no favoritism was shown.
Uh, again, the noes have it.
Some of our deacons feel that, uh, Darfur is a highly political issue and we have problems closer to home to worry about, like feeding our own community.
Well, we can do that, too.
We should do that, in fact, but Darfur is not exactly what I would call a political issue.
Genocide is a a human issue.
Well, who to blame for the genocide is political.
Is the issue who to blame or who'll take responsibility? - We just don't want any trouble.
I'll tell you what.
I'll buy the desk, and you get me permission to put it in my own office any teeny-tiny room in the church will do and I will answer any and all phone calls and mail about anybody who's upset with us donating money for the situation in Darfur.
Lucy, it was a no vote.
So, uh, why don't you just let Ruthie know that? Well, I thought you'd like to know.
I think she'll want to know.
Then, you'll tell her? No, I won't tell her.
She didn't ask me.
If she had asked me, I I would have said yes.
And when did all these votes start happening that I don't even know about? That we don't even know about? Oh, the deacons decided years ago to vote on what to not let you know about.
Or to let you know about or more on what to what to not bother you with or-or what to bother you with.
Uh, both of you.
Well, Lou, I'm not taking no on this one.
And I'm not taking no on a desk.
Well, there, you see? It's causing problems already.
I'll speak to the deacons.
No, no, wait, I'll speak to the entire congregation.
I don't think the deacons alone get to decide who we help and who we don't help.
Yeah.
Okay.
You remember us, right? Of course I remember you.
Do you know anyone in Darfur? I do.
I'm not from that region, but I have friends who have relatives there.
We'd like to buy them some food.
We have $50.
Would that help? Really? $50? That will help a lot.
I can send them $50 from my savings, and you can pay me back.
I will send it today.
When will they get the money? I will e-mail a friend in Uganda who will pick up the money at the Western Union and take it to them the next day.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Tell Sam thank you as well.
- And hello to your family.
- Okay.
Bye.
Hi, Lou.
Hi, Luce.
I'm just here to pick up the boys.
Oh.
Good to see you, too.
N-Nice talking to you.
I ate 11 doughnuts.
She's not speaking to me.
You did what? Yeah.
You tell him, Luce.
You tell him, too, he should be embarrassed to have our sons out in public in pajamas and a towel.
Cape.
- Good-bye.
- Good-bye.
I know that battle.
I used to let our son go to the doctor's office in his bathrobe because he liked it better than anything they had there.
If I were in your position, I'd be eating doughnuts and steak five times a day.
Don't encourage him.
You know, there's going to be a desk in that office tomorrow.
I'll alert the, uh, deacons.
Please do.
And, uh, please also alert them that, you know, Lucy and I are are going to take a vote, and we're going to decide whether or not we want the deacons controlling the world.
Okay.
I have a doctor's appointment.
So, even though you have your own computer and access to the Internet, you get your research from Crazy Jane.
I got some research from her company, yes.
Were you planning to share that with me? Well, I was going to hold onto it to use as a rebuttal to whatever you were writing.
I don't know what I'm writing.
I haven't gotten enough information yet.
Yes, well, by the time you get enough information, there may be no one left in Darfur.
You're blaming Darfur on me? I actually suspected that you would blame Darfur on our president, although you may be surprised to learn that the United States of America has contributed almost $2 billion in assistance to improve the situation in refugee camps.
So? So the United States is the single largest international donor to the Sudan, and we provide from the UN World Food program to Darfur, and 70% of the contributions to Sudan overall.
And we're contributing $16 million to a humanitarian campaign to prevent rape and treat victims and build crisis centers.
And? And going back to the years 2003 to 2005, in those two years alone, the U.
S.
contributed $2 billion in assistance to refugee camps.
Hmm.
Let's see.
I'm not that good with numbers, but I know that whatever we're doing, it's not enough.
Why is it always, "What's the U.
S.
doing?" Why isn't it about, "What's the world doing?" You mean, why not just pass the buck? Because people are starving, women are being raped, children are being enslaved and orphaned, men and women are having their lips and ears and limbs cut off.
Someone has to do something.
We're supposed to be a superpower, so why don't we use our superpowers for good instead of evil? We're doing everything we can possibly do.
Or maybe we're not.
You know, the very people who criticize us for policing the world are the same people that criticize us for not doing more in Darfur.
- So? - So why can't the UN send in more peacekeeping troops? Uh, why can't the UN even establish a no-fly-over zone? Why are we supposed to do it? Why are we supposed to even pressure the UN to do it? Why don't they just do it? I'll tell you why.
It's a very complicated situation.
I mean, any time you've got oil, you've got a complicated situation.
- Oil? - Oil.
Yeah.
The whole world revolves around oil.
- Oil? - Mix oil with religion and politics, add a century or more of greed, murder and violence, and then get all the victims in one place without food or shelter or water or proper medical care, and subject them to one horror after another, and then have the whole world look the other way, and what have you got? Darfur.
A very complicated situation.
Yeah, well, someone better uncomplicate it quick before there is no more Darfur.
Mom, do you have a stamp? Oh, sure, honey.
It's right in that drawer.
Who are you writing to? Nicodemus.
Oh.
Nicodemus Lim, from the Lost Boys? That's so nice.
Hello.
Eric.
Tell me you're okay.
Fine.
Then, I'm still not speaking to you.
I would like to send $50, please.
Hi.
This is Lucy Kinkirk.
- Hey.
- Hey.
What are you doing? Oh, I was just sitting at my new desk, which is all the way across the office from the phone, but it's a desk.
I got a desk.
- Oh.
You got a desk.
- Yeah.
My dad said that I could put my own desk in his office, but what I'm really hoping for is to put my own desk in my own office.
So I went shopping today and bought a desk.
So I guess I guess that's step one.
a desk.
an office.
- Step three? - Well, I don't know.
Your own church? Hmm.
Maybe.
Can't imagine what that would be like.
I beg your pardon? I called to apologize about this morning.
Oh.
Good.
But now I don't feel like it.
Don't feel like it because? You had time to shop for a desk, but you didn't have time to shop for food, so don't come home and complain about what I buy if a desk is your priority.
Fine.
Then you keep eating your big food and saving money or or wasting money whichever way you want to look at it, and I will continue eating over at my parents' house where food doesn't come in giant cans, and herds of animals aren't kept in the freezer! Oh.
Hi.
Uh come on in.
Come on in.
Um, it's just yeah, okay.
Well, I got a new desk.
It's nice, isn't it? I hope I'm not late.
Martin didn't pick up Aaron until almost 2:00.
- Hi, Luce.
- Hi.
Hi.
I'm Sandy.
I'm going to be part of your class this semester.
Are you the Sandy that had the baby? Wow.
I can't wait to hear about that.
Well, I don't know if we're going to have any time for personal stories.
Um, but I thought that we might, uh, focus on the situation in Darfur for today.
Actually, for every day for the whole year.
Um, didn't you also have a problem with alcohol and drugs? Uh, when I was much younger, I guess I did.
Yeah, I absolutely did.
Yeah, but we're not here to discuss Sandy.
Okay, but can we just ask her a couple of questions? So, did you get married? No.
Uh You know, I don't mind answering questions if you don't mind if I talk about myself.
Oh, please tell her it's okay, Reverend Kinkirk.
It's one thing to to talk about sin, but it's another if you've, uh, been there and done that.
- You know what I mean? - Yeah, I know what you mean, but doesn't anyone want to talk about the crisis in Darfur? I have no problem with Sandy talking about her life, but what about the millions of lives that are being affected by what we know is genocide? Believe me, my story can wait, but the situation in Darfur can't.
Okay.
Well, what can we do about it? What can we do? Well, I think we should all figure that out together.
In the meantime Sandy, was Martin your first? I'm starving.
No, you're not.
You're not starving.
I'm not starving.
The people in Darfur are starving.
I know that, okay? I got it.
I understand.
What I don't understand is what we're supposed to do about it.
I mean, why is anyone starving? There's plenty of food to feed everyone.
Hi.
Hey.
What's in the box? Chicken.
Where's it from? Turkey.
I told Annie I'd bring it over, so let her know it's here.
She can take whatever she wants and freeze the rest.
How many chickens are in there? Why? You got a problem with bulk-food purchasing, too? - Too? - Never mind.
I don't need your criticism.
Buying in quantity saves money.
Yeah, but it's the quantity that just grosses me out.
I mean, who needs 37 chicken wings? I don't know.
The 18 and a half chickens who lost them? The half is just really putting me over the edge.
It's gross.
That many chickens? That many chickens and a half? and it's just in one box in one store in one community.
Think of all the frozen chicken parts all over the country.
Why do we need that much food? Why can't we feed everyone? Why can't we feed Darfur? Maybe we could if we could get the food into Darfur.
But that situation is not just about the people not having food.
It's about the people not having any power.
It's a genocide.
Can't someone empower those people? Can't anyone stand up for them? Do you two even know who those people are? - People in western Sudan.
- Yes.
They're tribal people.
Most of them are Muslim.
No, no, I did my research today.
They're being killed by the Janjaweed, and they're Muslims.
And Muslims don't kill Muslims, do they? The Janjaweed are Arab militia who are radical Muslims.
And I guess just some of the questions are: who is backing the Janjaweed, how are they able to get away with killing so many people without the Sudanese government stepping in, why aren't they recognizing the situation as a genocide, and why hasn't the UN stated it's a genocide? The people of Darfur are made up of a lot of tribes, but they're mostly Muslim.
I thought that they were Christians, like your friends the guys we met uh, the Lost Boys.
Yeah, those guys are Christians, and they live in southern Sudan.
This is western Sudan.
Darfur is in western Sudan.
It's a complicated situation.
Is that what we're telling the people in the refugee camps? "Sorry, we can't do anything.
It's complicated"? I know.
What are they thinking? What are we thinking? What is the whole world thinking? I don't think anyone is thinking.
People look at our generation, and they criticize us because we don't do anything, but we're not the ones in charge.
We have no control.
We are so far removed from any decision-making process that we feel completely useless.
I mean, it's not like I don't want to do anything.
It's just, I don't know how.
Please answer the question to show us that this transmission is for you.
It's like a code to pick up your money.
Your friend Nicodemus says to ask, "What is the name of your brother?" Every man.
Have a nice evening.
Thank you.
So, I need your help.
I need you to go home and talk to your families about supporting our program here at our church so we can all do something about Darfur.
We have to do something.
We can't just keep saying that.
We have to live that.
My dad is presenting the issues in front of the church members, and you are all church members, so you have a say in this.
Oh, I'll get it.
It's probably my husband.
Hi.
This is Reverend Kinkirk.
Okay.
No more personal questions, okay? My life is not more important than the millions of people in refugee camps in Darfur.
I just wanted you to know that I just loaded up all the food in the basement and I'm donating it to a shelter so that it can be used before it expires.
That's a great idea.
And then I'm going to make a donation to help save Darfur, because when you think about it, we have enough enough money, enough food, enough clothes, enough.
We do.
We absolutely do.
And I'm I'm so sorry about everything.
Me, too.
Don't stop at the grocery store.
Don't stop for anything.
Come home to me.
Okay.
I love you.
Bye.
You know aren't we all so lucky to have the luxury of fighting over the stupidest things? You know, like what we eat or when we eat or where we eat or who we eat with or whether we get a desk or not.
You know, our priorities are so confused.
Like today the most important thing to me was was getting a desk.
Instead, I should have been realizing that the most important thing is that my my dad is alive and well and I am so fortunate to be able to share this space and and time with him.
You know, we all have to be there for each other.
So what are we going to do about Darfur? There are lots of organizations that are trying to help, so even if my dad doesn't talk the church into doing something, there's other ways that we can help.
Yeah, I cannot believe that the church didn't come through.
Why didn't you just, you know, ask your dad in the first place? Because I wanted to feel like I was initiating some kind of change.
But even if that doesn't work out, this isn't really about me.
And there's lots of organizations that we could choose from.
Yeah, but I mean, how do you know which to choose? Well, there's Web sites that tell you how the money for each organization is spent how much of each dollar goes towards administration and how much goes towards the actual supplies.
You know, I saw this Jewish organization called MAZON that seemed pretty good.
It's a Jewish response to world hunger.
I wonder, though, if it's a Jewish organization, why wouldn't they just help Jewish people? You think the Jewish people don't know about genocide? This is genocide.
Right.
Got it.
There's a Catholic organization called Catholic Relief Services.
There's UNICEF, there's Bread for the World, Second Harvest, there's the International Medical Corps.
There's lots of people that are trying to help.
I mean, other than trying to find some place to donate money to, what are you and I doing? I mean, what are we doing about Darfur? Hi.
I'm over the doughnuts.
- Are you? - Yeah.
The boys told me that they sent their savings all of their savings to Nicodemus, who's sending it to a friend he has in Uganda, who's going to then take it to the people he knows in Darfur.
I knew they called him again, but really? Yeah.
So our eight-year-olds have figured out how to do what the rest of the world hasn't.
I'm sorry.
Me, too.
I shouldn't have been so concerned about the doughnuts or what the boys were wearing today.
I mean, the important thing is that they have anything to wear at all, you know? And that they are concerned that other people have something to wear, something to eat and a place to live.
And how are you? The same.
Just the same.
I'm I'm a lucky man.
And we're all lucky people.
We just forget it sometimes because we're so comfortable.
No changes? No.
So you don't have the cholesterol test back? No, but I know sometimes those things just don't seem important.
No, they don't.
So what are we going to do about Darfur? I want to see you holding on So hold on Hold on Hold on Hold on I don't want to see you going down I want to see you holding on If you give it time, you'll come around I want to see you holding on I don't want to see you going down I want to see you holding on Yeah If you give it time, you'll come around I want to see you holding on So hold on.