Fighting Chance, A (1973)

oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's all right it's all right honey i'm right here it's only a dream again david it's only your dream you're okay now huh talk about it was the same as before it's okay now it's okay i'm right here lay back down lay back down sorry it's okay it's okay so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] your eggs are ready honey good i'm starving my hiking stick's almost finished it's so cold this morning what do you expect for november my dear well fortunately they said it would get a little bit warmer there we go you've got scrambled eggs and some of that smoked beef you like good and you've got coffee at one o'clock and juice at two o'clock great and we've got milk and the usual assortment of cold cereals what no lobster newberry just eat your eggs i already salted them okay thanks well what do you want to do today well i don't know but um buddy wanda said they'd be here around noon well it's about twelve nine now so that'll give us about three hours before they get here look i'm not going to argue with you you wouldn't be able to give time checks earliest times on the log since we went to the lake yesterday why don't we take a hike now that should give us plenty of time before buddy and wine to get here sure that's fine by me hey didn't you say there was a grassy field down the trail a bit well why don't we go down there and lie in the center wall oh i'd like that [Music] ah davey this really is a pretty place we're in a big green hill and we've got a lot of big green trees around us and there's a baseball diamond out there and some picnic tables hey listen we're gonna have to come out here for lunch this is really nice oh david there's a rabbit out there no he just left what you thinking about jobs what you thinking about jobs i'm wondering if i'll ever get one sure you will i don't know sometimes i'm not so sure of course you will you just have to keep at it that's all i've been at it for five months full time for five months i know you have davey but look something's gonna turn up you've got all the qualifications haven't you look you got a college degree from a good school you've got your fcc license you've got all that experience as a disc jockeying a station engineer i mean what more could they possibly want they want a guy that can see that david you told me yourself there isn't anything in a radio station you couldn't do as well now is before vietnam right i know that and you know that but it's getting the station manager to know what the count exactly kathy you know i'm not getting turned down because i can't do the job i'm getting turned down because i'm blind period even though they always have a polite answer i know it's because i'm blind they never even get to whether or not i'm qualified for the job when you've got a handicap you're different and when you're different you're somehow scary they don't know quite how to act so they'd rather not have me around it's just easier for them to say no than it is to say well we've never done this before but we'll give it a try isn't that natural yeah i guess but that's what's killing me i can't get the first base in these job interviews because these employers can't see past their stereotypes and because they think they can't do something without seeing it they assume that i can't do it either but you can do it and that's what's important yeah it's important but how do you get through to these guys i just get mad and frustrated every time i talk about it well then let's not talk about it yeah if we all ignore the problem it'll just go away david we're not going to ignore it but we're not going to solve it today either yeah i guess you're right but it's just that every time that i hey what you hit a tickle spot that's all but every time that i hey what dear oh what dear me that one was no accident [Music] [Music] you mean oh david i love you so much and i love you too i love you i don't know what i'd ever do without you you're pretty great yourself you know think so i know so the last job i tried to get really didn't work out too well but they sounded interested so i sent him my resume and they liked it i sent him my audition tape and they liked that the guy even sounded encouraging over the phone but when i went in for my personal interview pow i walked into that office with my long white cane and i could almost hear that man's mouth drop open so we had a nice polite interview and then about a week later i received my rejection notice in the mail he couldn't even face david with it he had to hide behind some mailman well with all those government agencies around shouldn't there be somebody that can help you get a job well sure they try to help but they can't make jobs they can't make employers hire us buddy you probably know this but maybe wanda doesn't most of the guys that come back from vietnam are orthopedic cases this means that they've lost an arm or a leg or in a wheelchair now why can't a guy with an artificial leg do a desk job as well as anyone else or a guy in a wheelchair yet you should hear some of the excuses they give for not hiring them like what kind of excuses well for guys in wheelchairs it's usually a physical thing like they have to build a ramp at an entranceway big deal 20 for a ramp and besides they could use it when they're moving heavy equipment for guys on crutches or like david well then that's usually something about job safety they're afraid they're going to fall or have some kind of an accident or get trampled in the friday afternoon stampede of the time clock and for guys with bad arms well then i guess the main hang up there is the boss has been doing the job with two hands and he doesn't see how you can do it with one there's some jobs they can't do but there are a lot they can do you'd be surprised you know what i'd like to see what's that i'd like to see the old shoe on the other foot what do you mean well i'd like to see a company that only hires handicapped people you know wheelchair blind depth the whole bit i'd like to see what happens when one of these employer guys comes in for a job interview they give him the same kind of excuses that he gives us and then the shoe would be on the other foot as you probably know many employers are overlooking a sizeable portion of the workforce by not considering anyone with a physical handicap well like most companies mr brown in order to stay in business and show a profit we have to hire the best possible workers for all our positions many years ago we discovered a lot of unused potential and some very talented people among disabled workers we started recruiting them and found out some other interesting facts as well if a disabled worker is properly placed and properly trained he'll generally out produce his non-disabled co-workers since it's so difficult for a handicapped person to get any decent job once he has one it's unlikely he will job hop from one company to another and so the extra cost of any special training is more than offset from our savings from a low turnover rate that's nice but what does that have to do with me well mr brown i'm afraid we're going to have to turn you down for this job but why i meet all the qualifications we don't feel that you would be enough of an asset to the company for us to overlook your physical condition but there's nothing wrong with me i'm in perfect shape that's what we've been trying to say those legs don't look very efficient for going down our ramps and building stairs is very expensive since you're not blind we'd have to install emergency lights in the halls for power failures if we hired too many we'd have to start an office bowling league or put in tennis courts since you're not deaf office noises will distract you so your output will be lower you'll spend half your day looking at every pretty girl that walks by we'll have to buy you a chair for your desk he won't be as careful as we are you'll have more accidents so take more coffee breaks would you want your sister to marry one i just wish i knew what i could do about it well dave why don't you just consider waiting around till the job market is better when the demand for workers is high even higher than misfits huh no i didn't say that but you were thinking it dave you've got to face up to reality there are a lot of able-bodied men who are looking for work now it just makes sense that employers are going to hire these guys first makes sense how can you say that it makes sense to put a guy at the bottom of the heap just because he's got a handicap dave you've got to realize there are a lot of other important considerations like brains education personal drive and ability yes these things are important but you've got to realize that the physical ability buddy do you still have that bad knee yeah but what's that got to do with anything look you're not in perfect condition either but it didn't keep you from landing a job that's different how is it different because my knee doesn't affect my work so why should it hinder me that's just my point what do you think i'm applying for a job as a fighter pilot david okay okay look buddy i wouldn't even be trying to apply for this job if i didn't really believe that i could do it and do it as well as a sighted guy as they have now it's just so much of a hassle to get any job that it just wouldn't make sense for me to go through all this to get a job i might not be able to do but you have to admit there are a lot of able-bodied men out of work now there's no reason why you should be put ahead of them i'm not saying that i should be what are you saying then i'm saying this i'm saying that if a man can do a job even if he has some kind of handicap he should be given an even chance with a man who doesn't all i'm asking for is a fighting chance to prove myself i don't want special treatment i've had it for months in hospitals and rehabilitation all i want now is the opportunity to make it on my own like everyone else a fighting chance that's all i'm asking for and i can't even get that do you want anything else david no i've had enough do you know where the soap is yeah it's in that pile of stuff on the right side of the tent well i couldn't find it this morning would you help me [Music] well tomorrow's a big day huh yep baby i could use another marshmallow man i know you'll just knock em dead with a mouth like yours what radio station could turn you down hey stop worrying about it everything's gonna go fine i've got confidence in you yeah man all you have to do now is to get psyched up for it oh i'll be psyched all right i've got a method that never fails yeah what's that music [Music] hmm [Music] [Music] well how do i look daisy you look terrific oh honey i know you're gonna get this job today i can just feel it well i'm gonna give it the old college try cause i'm really psyched oh this is wonderful you wanna ride downtown no i'll take the bus it's just as easy you knocking bedtime that i will my beard you later bye-bye between sunset and sign up there are only four there are only four full-time announcers here mister only two only two part-timers one of our full one of our double timers double specifications first-class engineer another the other of the guys sells time along along with me so you see mr hansen wyco is a small station which means we don't have the budget to support a very large staff so generally we have very few if any openings i'm sorry we can't offer you a position at this time but we'll keep your resume on file and let you know if any jobs open up that fit your uh qualifications excuse me but i was told you needed a night disc jockey right now and that's a job i can do i'm sorry mr hansen but we don't have any job for you what if you just stop i'm sorry mr hansen now uh here's your audition tape and it's been nice talking to you i'm getting turned down because i'm blind i've been at it for five months full time for five months i just get mad and frustrated every time i think about it these employers can't see past their stereotypes makes sense how can you say that it makes sense they're just as blind as i am how do you get through to these guys they're just as blind as i am you know you're just as blind as i am i beg your pardon i said you're just as blind as i am i might not be able to see but at least i'm not blind to what you're doing and i think you are you're trying to insulate yourself from a situation just because it's unfamiliar to you i'm sorry now just a minute i listen to you talk all about station policy now i want you to hear me out okay you are making a big mistake every time you reject a guy just because he's got a handicap there are hundreds of handicapped people working at all kinds of jobs jobs you wouldn't even think of i don't know how they get these jobs but i can tell you how they keep them they earn their keep that's how they're damn good workers and when an employer finally gets it through his head that a disability isn't the end of the world he finds that his disabled workers are producing as much if not more than his regular employees this handicap thing just doesn't make any difference now you listen to me i'm not turning you down for this job just because you've got a handicap i'm turning you down because i don't think you can do the job that's all look i wouldn't care if you came in here with two heads as long as you can do the work and i'm telling you that i can do it frankly mr hansen i don't believe you could since we're a small station every disc jockey has to run a combo show no engineer he has to announce write his own levels cue up his music read commercials and announcements from the copy book keep his log run his own cart machine for jingles get the weather from the airport take remotes from the newsroom i'll admit you have a fine air voice your style is good your delivery solid and if we had engineered shows i'd be glad to hire you as an announcer but for you to run the whole thing has just no way what you mean is you don't know of any way all right look let's start with the basics you can't see a vu meter so you couldn't possibly run decent levels that's wrong i've got an electronic unit at home that gives me an audible tone every time the signal strength hits 100 modulation plus or minus one half db which is more accurate than your studio meters look i'm not going to argue with you you wouldn't be able to give time checks earliest times on the log look at your watch the correct time is 223 right oh sure but you know you've got to be more accurate than that you've got to have it to the second for twenty dollars a friend of mine will build me a desk clock with a minute hand and a second hand i'll set it next to me on the control board and my fingers will be just as accurate as your eyes are the log i'll do over every day before i go on the air on my braille typewriter i'll do the same with my ads in the other copy you go to all that extra trouble just to get this job yes i would look we don't have any experience with this kind of stuff this is all too iffy we don't have any assurance it will even work if you just give me a fighting chance i could prove it to you i'm afraid that on our limited budget we can't afford to take that chance all right look i'll make you an offer you can't refuse a no risk guarantee you let me work here for two months no salary just let me get to learn the board and show you what i can do at the end of two months if i've proven to you that i'm as good as the other djs then you agree to hire me at full salary and if you don't then i'd shake your hand walk out of your life and you've had two months of free labor i don't know we've never done this sort of thing before just give me the chance well save it high honey [Music] [Music] you