and put up with me being . . . a little less than fun. But she wanted to do stuff and travel and you know . . . see the world like young, pretty girls do . . . and should. And I . . . couldnât do that. So . . . she hung in there as long as she could, but . . . eventually, she had enough. And the last time I saw her we were standing in my driveway and she handed me that record of Irish folk music.
He smiles.
Myron      And youâre not a fighter pilot.
Charlie      No. Iâm not. That just sounded exciting.
Myron      What are you then? Lemme guess: a motivational speaker.
Charlie      Iâm an air traffic controller. I was an air traffic controller.
The scrim panels slide in. The pre-shot video is projected on the scrim. We see a close-up of the radar screen. The camera reveals
Charlie
looking off distracted. We hear the sound effects of an air traffic controller office.
As real-life
Charlie
speaks, he crosses in front of the scrim. The imagery in the film is projected on top of him and the scrim.
Myron
is picked out the whole time with a light special behind (or beside) the scrim.
Charlie (
actor
)Â Â Â Â Â Normally I handled the busiest section of the approach into Newark, JFK and Laguardia. I mean this is like the craziest airspace in the entire country. But my supervisor knew it had been a particularly rough week for me, so heâd put me on a sector further south in the middleof the state that was less busy. And one day, as Iâm staring off into space, I got distracted by these two ants on my console.
We see a close-up of the two ants.
Charlie      They were fighting over a tiny crumb from the
Pop-Tart
I had eaten for breakfast. It was the strangest thing. It was like I went into a trance. All I could see were these two little insects, fighting over something that was so important to them; so crucial to their survival. But they couldnât see it from my perspective. But I could see with such clarity that that
Pop-Tart
crumb meant absolutely nothing. And then I thought well, if there is a God, thatâs probably how he feels when he looks down at me. Heâs probably cracking himself up watching me wrestle myself over nothing. And so for the first time in my life, I felt this odd connection to God. And so I thought I should pray. So I closed my eyes and I prayed. I prayed for him to help me see how I was being just as ridiculous as those two stupid ants.
Charlie
walks in front of the imagery, itâs projected on his face and body. In unison with his projected self in the flashback, they say the following prayer . . .
Charlie/Flashback Charlie      âGod? Iâm here. I need help. And I know Iâm not starving, Iâm not fighting in a war, Iâm not sick, but Iâm stuck in this pit. Can you help me? Can you pull me out? Can you save me with a sign?â
Pilot 1 (
on radio
) Â Â Â Â Â New York Approach, Gulfstream 34AD, weâre getting a TCAS warning, but weâre in complete IMC, please advise about traffic at our two oâclock!
Pilot 2 (
on radio
) Â Â Â Â Â New York Approach, this is Cirrus PD1, weâve got the same warning at our seven! Is it an error? Heâs at our altitude; it looks like this guyâs headed right for us!!
A supervisor comes over.
Supervisor      Holy shit. 34AD, turn to heading 270! Cirrus climb at best rate now! Charlie, what the fuck are you doing??!!
The imagery of the two planes on the radar screen hit and then disappear. Screaming and mayhem on the radio echoes!!! Lights up behind scrim. The scrim panels slide out.
Myron (
putting it all together
) Â Â Â Â Â The six people. I remember it on the news.
Charlie      Five died on impact. One of the planes actually had a parachute that deployed. The mother of the family lived through the night.
He smiles.
Myron      And youâre not a fighter pilot.
Charlie      No. Iâm not. That just sounded exciting.
Myron      What are you then? Lemme guess: a motivational speaker.
Charlie      Iâm an air traffic controller. I was an air traffic controller.
The scrim panels slide in. The pre-shot video is projected on the scrim. We see a close-up of the radar screen. The camera reveals
Charlie
looking off distracted. We hear the sound effects of an air traffic controller office.
As real-life
Charlie
speaks, he crosses in front of the scrim. The imagery in the film is projected on top of him and the scrim.
Myron
is picked out the whole time with a light special behind (or beside) the scrim.
Charlie (
actor
)Â Â Â Â Â Normally I handled the busiest section of the approach into Newark, JFK and Laguardia. I mean this is like the craziest airspace in the entire country. But my supervisor knew it had been a particularly rough week for me, so heâd put me on a sector further south in the middleof the state that was less busy. And one day, as Iâm staring off into space, I got distracted by these two ants on my console.
We see a close-up of the two ants.
Charlie      They were fighting over a tiny crumb from the
Pop-Tart
I had eaten for breakfast. It was the strangest thing. It was like I went into a trance. All I could see were these two little insects, fighting over something that was so important to them; so crucial to their survival. But they couldnât see it from my perspective. But I could see with such clarity that that
Pop-Tart
crumb meant absolutely nothing. And then I thought well, if there is a God, thatâs probably how he feels when he looks down at me. Heâs probably cracking himself up watching me wrestle myself over nothing. And so for the first time in my life, I felt this odd connection to God. And so I thought I should pray. So I closed my eyes and I prayed. I prayed for him to help me see how I was being just as ridiculous as those two stupid ants.
Charlie
walks in front of the imagery, itâs projected on his face and body. In unison with his projected self in the flashback, they say the following prayer . . .
Charlie/Flashback Charlie      âGod? Iâm here. I need help. And I know Iâm not starving, Iâm not fighting in a war, Iâm not sick, but Iâm stuck in this pit. Can you help me? Can you pull me out? Can you save me with a sign?â
Pilot 1 (
on radio
) Â Â Â Â Â New York Approach, Gulfstream 34AD, weâre getting a TCAS warning, but weâre in complete IMC, please advise about traffic at our two oâclock!
Pilot 2 (
on radio
) Â Â Â Â Â New York Approach, this is Cirrus PD1, weâve got the same warning at our seven! Is it an error? Heâs at our altitude; it looks like this guyâs headed right for us!!
A supervisor comes over.
Supervisor      Holy shit. 34AD, turn to heading 270! Cirrus climb at best rate now! Charlie, what the fuck are you doing??!!
The imagery of the two planes on the radar screen hit and then disappear. Screaming and mayhem on the radio echoes!!! Lights up behind scrim. The scrim panels slide out.
Myron (
putting it all together
) Â Â Â Â Â The six people. I remember it on the news.
Charlie      Five died on impact. One of the planes actually had a parachute that deployed. The mother of the family lived through the night.
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