Globe Trekker (1994) s15e07 Episode Script
East Texas
1 WOMAN: AT SUBARU, WE BUILD VEHICLES LIKE THE RUGGED OUTBACK, WITH SYMMETRICAL ALL-WHEEL DRIVE AND PLENTY OF CARGO SPACE.
FOR THOSE WHO PACK EVEN MORE ADVENTURE INTO LIFE.
SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF "GLOBE TREKKER.
" COWBOY: ALRIGHT YOU TWO.
WHAT'S IT GONNA BE? COWBOY 2: WELL, MARSHALL IT'S LIKE THIS.
THEN YOU DON'T GIVE US MUCH OF A CHOICE.
COWBOY 3: I DON'T RECKON WE'LL GIVE YOU MUCH OF A CHANCE.
ZAY HARDING: TIME TO CLEAN UP THIS TOWN.
[GUNSHOTS.]
WELCOME TO TEXAS.
TEXAS IS THE SECOND LARGES STATE IN THE U.
S.
AND BORDERS THE GULF MEXICO TO THE EAST, AND MEXICO TO THE SOUTH.
MY JOURNEY THROUGH EAST TEXAS STARTS IN THE TWINNED CITIES OF FORT WORTH AND DALLAS.
I THEN HEAD TO THE OIL TOWN OF KILGORE BEFORE MOVING SOUTH TO VISIT THE STATE PENITENTIARY IN HUNTSVILLE.
FOR THE FINAL LEG OF MY TRIP I GO TO HOUSTON TO CHECK OU NASA'S JOHNSON SPACE CENTER AND FINISH UP CELEBRATING THE 4TH OF JULY IN THE TINY TOWN OF CHAPPELL HILL.
THE DAYS OF THE WILD WEST MAY BE LONG GONE BUT THE LEGACY OF THE COWBOY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN FT WORTH, TEXAS, LOCALLY KNOWN AS COW TOWN.
FT.
WORTH STARTED LIFE AS AN ARMY POS BUT ITS POSITION ON THE CHISHOLM TRAIL TRANSFORMED I INTO A BOOMING CENTER FOR THE CATTLE TRADE.
IN THE 19TH CENTURY THOUSANDS OF CATTLE WOULD PASS THROUGH THE CITY'S STOCKYARDS ON THEIR WAY TO THE MARKETS OF THE NORTH AND THE EAST.
TODAY THE TOWN RE-ENACTS A CATTLE DRIVE TWICE DAILY WITH ITS PRIZED HEARD OF TEXAS LONGHORNS.
I'M STAYING AT MISS MOLLY'S, A GUEST HOUSE AND FORMER HANG OUT FOR RESTLESS RANCH HANDS LOOKING FOR A COMFORTABLE BED AND A GOOD TIME.
HELLO, ANYBODY HERE? MISS MOLLY: WELL, HELLO THERE.
ZAY HARDING: WELL, HELLO THERE.
MISS MOLLY: WELCOME TO MISS MOLLY'S.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU, DON'T YOU LOOK PRETTY? MISS MOLLY: I'M MISS MOLLY, THANK YOU.
ZAY HARDING: HI MISS MOLLY, I'M ZAY.
MISS MOLLY: ZAY, YOU HERE TO SPEND THE NIGHT? ZAY HARDING: YES, PLEASE.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY, AH, JUST A LITTLE INFORMATION FIRST.
UH, THIS USED TO BE AN OPERATING BORDELLO BACK IN THE DAY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT IS A BORDELLO? MISS MOLLY: UH, BROTHEL, WHOREHOUSE.
ZAY HARDING: AH, INTERESTING, ALRIGHT.
MISS MOLLY: AND SO WE'RE TRYIN' TO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE.
ZAY HARDING: AH, IT IS A HOTEL, THOUGH NO, RIGHT? MISS MOLLY: IT IS NOW CURRENTLY A HOTEL.
HO-TEL.
ZAY HARDING: HA, OHHH! [BOTH LAUGHING.]
MISS MOLLY: JUST FOR GUYS LIKE YOU.
ZAY HARDING: WELL THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE ROOM? ZAY HARDING: I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY, COME RIGHT ALONG WITH ME.
I'LL SHOW YOU RIGHT WHERE TO GO.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: THIS IS THE COWBOY ROOM.
THIS IS A CONNECTING DOOR TO MISS JOSIE'S ROOM.
MISS JOSIE'S, OF COURSE, WAS THE MADAM'S QUARTERS AND SHE WOULD SET UP THE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EVENING, COLLECT THE MONEY, AND SEND THE GIRLS THROUGH THE CONNECTING DOORS, AND THEN THE GENTLEMEN THAT WERE SITTING IN THE PARLOR WAITING WOULD GO TO THE SPECIFIC ROOM THEY WERE TOLD TO GO TO.
ZAY HARDING: THIS WAS A FULL ON OPERATING BUSINESS.
MISS MOLLY: YES, VERY PROFITABLE BUSINESS.
ZAY HARDING: AHH.
MISS MOLLY: I THINK YOU NEED TO BE A COWBOY TONIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: OH, WELL THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: YEAH, I LIKE THAT.
ZAY HARDING: HMM, THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: NOW IF YOU'RE NOT HAPPY WITH THIS ROOM, I HAVE ONE ACROSS THE HALLWAY.
IT'S CALLED MY ROOM.
ZAY HARDING: OH YEAH, WELL UH, THIS IS, THIS IS GOING TO BE JUST FINE FOR ME.
COWBOY.
MISS MOLLY: THIS'LL DO, OKAY.
I GOTTA GET A HUG.
I HUG ALL THE COWBOYS, Y'KNOW.
ZAY HARDING: OH OKAY, WELL.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY.
ZAY HARDING: I'LL TAKE THIS ROOM.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY, WE'RE GOOD TO GO.
I'LL JUST SHUT THE DOOR AND LET YOU GET COMFORTABLE.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MISS MOLLY: ALRIGHTY, HAVE FUN! ZAY HARDING: ALRIGHT.
MISS MOLLY: NUMBER NINE! ZAY HARDING: OKAY, THANK YOU MISS MOLLY! WELL, IT IS A COMFY BED AND I DO LIKE THE STYLE OF IT.
AH, I THINK I LIKE THE IDEA OF BEING A COWBOY.
FORT WORTH CELEBRATES ITS COWBOY LEGACY ON JUST ABOU EVERY STREET CORNER BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEE REAL COWBOYS IN ACTION, PAY A VISIT TO THE COLOSSEUM, THE OLDEST RODEO STADIUM IN THE COUNTRY.
THE RODEO MAY BE A SYMBOL OF THE AMERICAN WEST BUT ITS ORIGINS GO BACK TO THE 17TH CENTURY WHEN MEXICAN RANCHERS PERFECTED THE ART OF ROPING AND BRONCO AND STEER BREAKING.
OVER TIME RIVAL RANCHES BEGAN TO COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER AND BEFORE LONG COWBOYS FROM ACROSS THE LAND WERE FLOCKING TO THE EVENTS EAGER TO TAKE HOME A CASH PRIZE.
THESE DAYS RODEOS ARE AS MUCH A SPORT AS ENTERTAINMENT BU THEY STILL ATTRACT HARD WORKING COWBOYS AND COWGIRLS EAGER FOR A SHOT A SUPER STARDOM AND YOU'D BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND A BIGGER STAR THAN PAM MINNICK.
PAM MINNICK IS AN ACTIVE, LIVING, COWGIRL, RODEO LEGEND AND AS I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A RODEO STAR, SHE'S GONNA TO SHOW ME THE ROPES.
LITERALLY.
AIN'T THAT RIGHT, PAM? PAM: YOU BET, ZAY.
ZAY HARDING: I'M SO EXCITED, I'M FIT TO BE TIED! PAM MINNICK IS A RODEO WORLD CHAMPION AND FORMER MISS RODEO AMERICA.
WINNING TOP PRIZES IN TEAM ROPING, PAM WAS INDUCTED INTO THE COWGIRL HALL OF FAME IN 2000.
PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
BUT CAN SHE SCHOOL A GREENHORN LIKE ME? PAM: SO I GOT MY SWING, TWISTIN' MY HAND OVER.
I'M GONNA GO FROM THE RIGH HORN TO THE LEFT HORN.
ZAY HARDING: HEY, NICELY DONE PAM! PAM: SO, GET A LITTLE CLOSER.
ZAY HARDING: EH, THIS IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS I HAVE TO SAY.
OH, ALMOST.
PAM: BUT THAT WAS GOOD FOLLOW THROUGH.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT THIS RIGHT HORN TO LEFT HORN; IT'S LIKE SPREADIN' BUTTER.
ZAY HARDING: C'MON! PAM: AW MAN, THAT WAS GREAT.
ZAY HARDING: HEY LOOK, I GOT HIM.
PAM: YEAH, YOU STARTED TO PULL BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY THREW ALL THE WAY OR I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST LIKE A PERFECT CATCH.
ZAY HARDING: REALLY, OKAY, SO JUST LAY IT ON FIRS AND THEN PULL IT? PAM: AND THEN PULL IT, YEAH, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU ACTUALLY ENTERED THIS SPORT AS AN ATHLETE, NOT AS A COWGIRL.
PAM: WELL, I AM A COWGIRL, BUT I BECAME A HIGH SCHOOL RODEO CHAMPION, WENT ON TO THE PROFESSIONAL RANKS AND BECAME A WORLD CHAMPION.
MY HUSBAND AND I ENJOY DOIN' IT JUST FOR, FOR FUN.
ZAY HARDING: WELL THAT SOUNDS FUN.
PAM: A LOT OF PEOPLE PLAY, PLAY TENNIS, AND WE TEAM ROPE.
ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT TEAM ROPING IS THAT THERE'S A HEADER AND A HEELER, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY PRACTICING HEADING.
THAT'S WHAT THE PERSON THA ROPES THE HORNS OF THE STEER.
UM, ACTUALLY MY SPECIALTY IN TEAM ROPING IS ROPING THE FEET.
SO AFTER THE HEADER ROPES THE, THE HORNS OF THE STEER, HE KINDA SLOWS THE STEER DOWN A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN THE HEALER COMES IN AND ROPES THE FEET, AND THAT'S HOW THEY STRETCH THE STEER OUT TO BRAND HIM OR DOCTOR HIM.
ZAY HARDING: SO IT'S A TWO PERSON JOB.
PAM: IT'S A TWO PERSON EVENT.
AND PEOPLE STILL USE THIS METHOD TODAY CAUSE IF YOU GO WIDE OPEN SPACES, YOU DON'T HAVE A CORRAL ZAY HARDING: SURE.
PAM: YOU'VE GOTTA ROPE 'EM LIKE THIS.
WHAT HAPPENED WAS ONE GUY SAID TO THE OTHER GUY, I BET I CAN ROPE HIM FASTER THAN YOU, AND THAT'S HOW THE SPORT DEVELOPED.
ZAY HARDING: RODEO PARTICIPANTS ARE STARS.
PAM: THEY ARE.
TREVOR BRAZIL, THE WORLD, THE CURRENT WORLD CHAMPION, HE'S A FOUR MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY.
THAT AIN'T ZAY HARDING: WOO! PAM: THAT AIN'T HAY.
ZAY HARDING: IF I PRACTICE, PAM THINKS SHE CAN GE ME INTO THE RODEO TONIGHT.
LOOK OUT HALL OF FAME HERE I COME OH FANTASTIC! HOT DIGGIDY-DOG! WHEN THEY SAID I HAD A SPOT IN THE RODEO, I DIDN'T KNOW THEY MEANT THIS! WHOOOO.
NOT JUST ANY BOZO CAN MAKE IT AS A RODEO CLOWN.
IT REQUIRES SKILL AND BRAVERY.
CLOWNS HAVE TO DISTRAC ANGRY BULLS AND KEEP THE CROWDS ENTERTAINED BETWEEN EVENTS.
I'M JUST HOPING TO KEEP MY FACE.
OH MY GOSH.
[WHIP CRACKS.]
AH, THIS GUY'S GOOD, MAN! HE'S GOT PRECISION.
YOU MIGHT THINK GUNS AND COWBOYS GO TOGETHER, BUT THESE DAYS IT'S MORE LIKE GUNS AND TEXANS GO TOGETHER.
TEXAS HAS MORE GUN OWNERS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE U.
S.
AND EVERY YEAR FORT WORTH HOSTS THE LONGEST RUNNING GUN SHOW IN THE STATE.
ONE THING'S CERTAIN, TEXANS LOVE THEM-SELF SOME GUNS AND THIS HERE GUN SHOW IN FORT WORTH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST IN TEXAS.
IN FACT, PEOPLE COME IN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO BUY, SELL, TRADE, AND SHOW OFF THEIR GUNS AND ACCESSORIES.
IT'S GOT EVERYTHING YOU COULD IMAGINE AND EVEN SOME THAT YOU CAN'T IMAGINE.
AND SINCE WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY, I WASN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH GUNS, I THINK NOW THAT I'M GROWN UP, I'LL DO JUST THAT.
BOY: THIS IS AN ULTRALIGHT 50 BMG.
SHOOTS A SINGLE SHO .
50 CALIBER ROUND, HAS A M-182 BARRETT BRAKE ON IT.
ZAY HARDING: HOWDY.
MAN: HOWDY.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT'S YOUR PRIZED POSSESSION HERE? MAN: THIS IS A 76 WINCHESTER.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY.
MAN: A CENTENNIAL MODEL.
YOU WANNA WORK IT? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YEAH.
LET ME LONG AS IT'S NOT LOADED.
YEAH, WE JUST GIVE IT A LITTLE, PHEW.
OH BUT I'VE GOT A LITTLE THING BLOCKING IT SO I CAN'T ACTUALLY SHOOT.
THAT'S SMART, VERY SMART.
SO YOU ACTUALLY TEST ALL THESE? MAN: OH YEAH, I CARRY 'EM HOME AND SHOOT 'EM, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: OH YEAH? MAN: COME OUT BACK AND I'LL LOAD SOME, SEE HOW FAR YOU CAN RUN.
ZAY HARDING: ALRIGHT, HA-HA.
YOUNG MAN: HOW'S IT GOIN' THERE, MAN? ZAY HARDING: GOOD, HOW ARE YOU? YOUNG MAN: GOOD, GOOD, WHATCHA LOOKIN' FOR? ZAY HARDING: AHH, I'M JUST CHECKIN' OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS.
WHAT, WHAT'S, THESE ARE ALL REALLY MODERN LOOKING, HUH? YOUNG MAN: NAH, NAH, THIS IS THIS IS VERY, VERY GENERIC STUFF THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT TODAY.
ZAY HARDING: YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS ISN'T HIGH TECH AND MODERN? CUTTING EDGE? YOUNG MAN: THIS DESIGN IS LIKE 40 YEARS OLD, MY FRIEND.
ZAY HARDING: OH, I SEE.
YOUNG MAN: OH, WHA ARE YOU LOOKIN' FOR? I MEAN HOME DEFENSE, CONCEALED CARRY, HUNTIN' ZAY HARDING: LET'S SAY, LET'S SAY HOME DEFENSE.
YOUNG MAN: HOME DEFENSE, SHOTGUN.
ZAY HARDING: THIS IS A SHOTGUN FOR HOME DEFENSE? YOUNG MAN: THAT IS A SHOTGUN FOR HOME DEFENSE.
ZAY HARDING: THAT'S HUGE! YOUNG MAN: NO, IT'S NOT HUGE! IF SOMEONE WAS TO BREAK IN YOUR HOUSE AND THEY HEARD A CLUNK-CLUNK.
ZAY HARDING: MM-HHM.
YOUNG MAN: THAT RIGH THERE IS ENOUGH TO DO THE DAMAGE WHERE THEY'RE GONNA LEAVE YOU AND NOT WANNA, Y'KNOW, SEE WHAT'S BEHIND THE DOOR.
ZAY HARDING: SO THIS IS LIKE AN ALL-AROUND YOUNG MAN: ALL-AROUND, GOOD, BEGINNER GUN.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU RECOMMEND HAVING A SPECIFIC GUN FOR EACH EVEN THAT YOU'RE DOING? YOUNG MAN: YEAH, FOR INSTANCE, SIXTEEN REMINGTON A-70'S AT MY HOUSE, CAUSE THEY'RE EACH A SEPARATE TOOL FOR ZAY HARDING: YOU HAVE SIXTEEN? YOUNG MAN: FOR A SEPARATE JOB.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT, UH, WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENT JOBS COULD THERE BE? YOUNG MAN: HOME DEFENSE, DUCK HUNTING, UH, BEAR PROTECTION, UH, GOOSE.
Y'KNOW, GOIN' TO THE RANGE PLANKIN'.
YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU, THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR JOB IS TO PICK THE RIGHT TOOL FOR IT.
ZAY HARDING: I GOTCHA.
YOUNG MAN: I MEAN IF YOU'RE GONNA COOK BREAKFAST, ARE YOU GONNA BRING THE AXE IN TO CUT THE CHEESE? ZAY HARDING: GOOD ANALOGY, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: AND WHAT ARE THESE? MAN 2: UHH, THESE ARE DOOR BREACHER, PISTOL GRIP SHOTGUNS.
ER, WHAT IT DOES IS YOU CAN ACTUALLY PUT THIS UP AGAINST A DOOR.
ZAY HARDING: UH HUH.
MAN 2: PULL THE TRIGGER AND IT WON'T BLOW THE BARREL OUT, BUT IT'LL BLOW THE DOOR COMPLETE INTO PIECES.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU PUSH THIS UP AGAINST A DOOR, AND, AND THEN MAN 2: PULL THE TRIGGER.
ZAY HARDING: AND PULL THE TRIGGER, BUT IT JUST BLOWS OU THAT AREA OF THE DOOR? MAN 2: RIGHT, WHAT HAPPENS, ALL THE GAS ESCAPES OUT THE SIDE SO IT WON' BLOW UP YOUR BARREL.
A CLOSED BARREL WOULD EXPLODE.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY, I SEE, AHH CLEVER.
DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS, HUH? MAN 2: EXACTLY.
ZAY HARDING: EVERYBODY'S BUYIN' GUNS.
MAN 2: OH YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHY IS THAT? MAN 2: THAT'S JUST THE WAY I IS IN TEXAS CAUSE WE CAN, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: IS THIS YOUR SON? MAN 2: THAT'S MY SON, AUSTIN.
ZAY HARDING: HEY AUSTIN, ZAY, NICE TO MEET YOU.
DO YOU, DO YOU OWN GUNS ON YOUR OWN OR JUST, AH, THROUGH YOUR DAD? AUSTIN: THEY'RE MY DAD'S GUNS, BUT I GET TO SHOOT 'EM.
ZAY HARDING: YOU GE TO SHOOT 'EM, DO YOU GET EXCITED ABOUT THAT? AUSTIN: YEAH, I LIKE SHOOTIN' 'EM.
I'VE BEEN SHOOTIN' SINCE I WAS PROBABLY SEVEN YEARS OLD.
ZAY HARDING: SEVEN? AND WAS THAT, LIKE, SOMETHING YOU HAD TO EARN AS A PRIVILEGE? AUSTIN: NOT REALLY, MY DAD JUST TAUGHT ME.
MAN 2: I ALSO HAVE A SEVEN YEAR OLD AND A FOUR YEAR OLD AT HOME AND, UH, SEVEN YEAR OLD'S ALREADY SHOOTIN' AND THE FOUR YEAR OLD IS, IS STARTIN' TO LEARN ABOUT IT.
ZAY HARDING: TEXAS HAS SOME OF THE MOST RELAXED GUN LAWS IN THE COUNTRY.
TO BUY ONE ALL YOU NEED IS A LOCAL ADDRESS AND A VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE.
BUT IF GUNS AREN'T YOUR THING, THERE'RE PLENTY OF OTHER WEAPONS ON OFFER.
MACE AND PEPPER SPRAY.
LOOK AT THIS, TASERS.
A PINK WOMAN: OH! ZAY HARDING: SORRY, SORRY.
MAN 3: BE CAREFUL NOW.
ZAY HARDING: THAT THING IS STRONG.
MAN 3: YEAH, NOW THIS IS SEVEN MILLION VOLTS.
IT'S 1.
3 MILLI-AMPS, OKAY? ZAY HARDING: WHICH MEANS IT'LL JUST STUN YOU FOR A DAY.
MAN 3: THE AMBULANCE WOULD COME AND GET YOU WITH THIS ONE.
THREE SECONDS, THAT'S ALL IT TAKES.
ZAY HARDING: WOW, WHY IS IT PINK? MAN 3: WELL, I GOT BLACK TOO.
THIS IS BASICALLY FOR A LOT OF WOMEN USERS.
ZAY HARDING: SURE.
MAN 3: IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE THE WOMEN COME UP AND THEY'RE REALLY SCARED AT FIRST.
THEN, SOON AS THEY LEARN HOW TO DO IT.
"COME HERE HONEY, COME HERE HONEY!" ZAY HARDING: BACK OFF! YEAH, GUYS LIKE YOU SELLING THESE THINGS ARE MAKIN' GUYS LIKE US SCARED OF WOMEN CAUSE THEY'RE CARRYING AROUND.
AND THIS IS CLEVER.
THIS IS WHAT, YOU ACT LIKE YOU'RE TALKING ON A MOBILE PHONE? MAN 3: PHONE, UH HUH.
ZAY HARDING: AND YOU'RE LIKE, "AH-AHA, OH MY GOD I'M IN DANGER, BUT HOLD ON!" [TAZER BUZZES.]
[ZAY LAUGHING.]
.
ZAY HARDING: JUST EAST OF FORT WORTH IS ITS GLEAMING SISTER METROPOLIS, DALLAS.
THOUGH GEOGRAPHICALLY TIED TO FORT WORTH, DALLAS COULDN' BE MORE DIFFERENT.
MODERN, SLEEK AND SOPHISTICATED, THE CITY GAINED INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION IN THE 1980S WITH 'DALLAS', A HIT TV SERIES DEPICTING THE EXTRAVAGAN LIVES OF ITS OIL RICH FAMILIES BUT THE CITY HAD ALREADY ACHIEVED INTERNATIONAL FAME BACK IN NOVEMBER 1963 FOR AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT REASON.
DURING A VISIT TO DALLAS, PRESIDENT JOHN F.
KENNEDY AND HIS WIFE JACKIE RODE THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE CITY IN AN OPEN CONVERTIBLE AS PAR OF A PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE.
THEY PASSED HUNDREDS OF WELL-WISHERS.
THEN, AS THEY ENTERED DEALEY PLAZA, JUST AHEAD OF ME, ON THE EDGE OF DOWNTOWN HERE, THE COURSE OF HISTORY WAS CHANGED.
REPORTER: PRESIDENTIAL CAR COMING UP NOW.
WE KNOW IT'S THE PRESIDENTIAL CAR.
YOU CAN SEE MRS.
KENNEDY IN A PINK SUIT.
THERE'S, SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE.
SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG.
SOMETHING, I REPEAT, HAS HAPPENED IN THE MOTORCADE ROUTE.
THERE'S NUMEROUS PEOPLE RUNNING UP THE HILL.
THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SHOT.
ONE WITNESS HAS SAID HE DEFINITELY WAS SHOT ZAY HARDING: THE ASSASSINATION OF JFK HAS GONE DOWN AS ONE OF THE DARKEST DAYS IN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CAS A SHADOW ACROSS THE CITY OF DALLAS FOR DECADES.
EVER SINCE THAT FATEFUL DAY PEOPLE HAVE FLOCKED HERE TO MOURN PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S DEATH AND TO TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT HAPPENED.
IN AN EFFORT TO HELP PEOPLE COME TO TERMS WITH THE TRAGEDY THE CITY CREATED THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM, HERE, IN THE VERY LOCATION THE PRESIDENT'S KILLER COMMITTED THE CRIME.
THIS IS WHERE THE ASSASSIN, LEE HARVEY OSWALD, FIRED THE SHOTS.
AT THE TIME, THIS BUILDING WAS A SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY AND OSWALD WAS AN EMPLOYEE, SO HE HAD ACCESS TO THE SITE.
ON THAT CHILLING DAY, HE CAME UP HERE, LINED UP HIS RIFLE THROUGH THAT OPEN WINDOW, AND WAITED FOR THE MOTORCADE TO PASS.
AT THE TIME, THE TREES WEREN'T SO GROWN OVER, SO HE HAD A CLEAR VIEW OF THE STREET AND THE PRESIDENT.
THOSE "X'S" DOWN THERE, MARK EXACTLY WHERE HIS SHOTS STRUCK THE TARGET.
OSWALD ESCAPED UNNOTICED, BUT THE POLICE CAME UP FOUND HIS BULLET SHELLS HERE, AS WELL AS A RIFLE AT THE STAIRWELL.
AND THAT HELPED THEM TRACK DOWN AND APPREHEND THE ASSASSIN.
I HAVE TO SAY, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A MUSEUM, AND THIS IS JUST A RECREATION OF THE SCENE, IT'S STILL REALLY CHILLING HERE.
PEARCE ALLMAN WAS A REPORTER FOR A LOCAL RADIO STATION A THE TIME AND WITNESSED THE HORRIFYING EVENT FIRST HAND.
PEARCE: THE PARADE CAME DOWN ELM STREET, WHICH IS THAT STREET.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
PEARCE: AND TURNED, MADE THIS TURN, AND THEN TURNED VERY SLOWLY HERE TO COME IN FRONT OF WHA IS KNOWN THEN AS THE SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY BUILDING.
ZAY HARDING: RIGHT.
PEARCE: AND I WAS STANDING RIGHT HERE AND ZAY HARDING: YOU WERE STANDING RIGHT HERE DURING THE EVENT? PEARCE: YEAH, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: SO WHAT WAS THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT HAPPENED THEN, ONCE YOU GOT HERE? PEARCE: WELL, THE MOTORCYCLE ESCORTS CAME FIRST, AND THEN THE POLICE CHIEF, AND THEN THE LIMO WAS RIGHT BEHIND HIM, AND, AND I WAS JUST FOCUSED ON THE PRESIDENT AND JACKIE.
THEY JUST, THEY LOOKED GREAT.
IT'S LIKE YOU WANT A KING AND QUEEN TO LOOK OR THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY TO LOOK.
ZAY HARDING: SURE, YEAH.
PEARCE: JACKIE WAS ON THIS SIDE; HAD ON THE PINK SUI AND THE LITTLE PINK HAT.
AND I REMEMBER SHOUTING OUT, LIKE, "WELCOME TO DALLAS," OR, OR WHATEVER, AND THEN JUST AS THEY TURNED, BOOM.
IT WAS THIS REAL LOUD, REVERBERATING EXPLOSION.
AND I REMEMBER THINKING, AH, I TURNED TO THE GUY WITH ME, I SAID, Y'KNOW, "IF THAT'S A FIRECRACKER, ITS POOR TASTE, " AND THEN BOOM, AGAIN.
AND I GLANCED UP, AND I THOUGHT I SAW A RIFLE BARREL BUT AT THAT STAGE I REALLY COULD NOT BE SURE.
AND THEN AFTER THE THIRD SHOT, JACKIE GOT UP AND STARTED CRAWLING OVER THE BACK OF THE CAR, RIGHT DOWN THERE, AND THE MYTHOLOGY AT THA TIME WAS THAT SHE WAS TRYING TO GET OUT, AND THAT SIMPLY WASN'T TRUE.
AS IT TURNED OUT, SHE WAS REACHING FOR A SIZABLE PIECE OF HER HUSBAND'S SKULL THAT HAD BEEN BLOWN OUT AND WAS LYING ON THE BACK.
THAT TIME, INSTINCT WAS, I GOTTA GET TO A PHONE.
Y'KNOW, I, I NEED TO CALL THE STATION AND TELL 'EM THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED.
SO I WENT UP TO THE FRONT DOOR OF THE DEPOSITORY BUILDING RIGHT THERE AND I ASKED A GUY COMIN' OUT, I SAID, "WHERE'S A PHONE?" AND HE JERKED HIS THUMB AND SAID, "IN THERE.
" I SAID, "THANK YOU.
" TWO WEEKS LATER ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
PEARCE: SECRET SERVICE CALLED AND WANTED TO DO AN INTERVIEW AND I SAID, "FINE.
" AND THEY SAID, "ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE TESTIMONY OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD FOLLOWING HIS ARREST?" I SAID, "NO.
" PEARCE: THEY SAID, "WELL HE STATES AS HE WAS LEAVING THE BUILDING, A YOUNG MAN WITH A CREW CUT RUSHED UP, IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS A NEWSMAN AND ASKED WHERE A PHONE WAS.
" AND HE SAID, "BASED ON WHAT YOU SAID AND BASED ON WHAT HE SAID, THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY YOU ASKING THE ASSASSIN WHERE A PHONE WAS.
" ZAY HARDING: OH MY GOD.
SO YOU ACTUALLY MET THE ASSASSIN.
PEARCE: EVIDENTLY, ACCORDING TO THE SECRET SERVICE.
ZAY HARDING: LIKE, MINUTES AFTER IT HAPPENED.
PEARCE: YEAH, WITHIN MINUTES.
ZAY HARDING: WITHOUT KNOWING IT.
PEARCE: WITHOUT KNOWING IT.
ZAY HARDING: THAT IS REMARKABLE.
I MEAN, THAT'S CRAZY.
PEARCE: IT IS.
IT'S A BIT STUNNING AND, UH, NOW AND THEN I NOW AND THEN I THINK ABOUT IT, REFLECT ON IT.
THERE'S STILL A SENSE OF UNREALITY THAT THIS SIMPLY COULDN' HAPPEN IN YOUR HOMETOWN.
THAT, THAT WAS, THAT WAS MY REACTION.
THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS HAPPENED, THIS TOOK PLACE, THE PRESIDENT WAS KILLED.
THIS IS WHERE I LIVE.
THIS, IT, IT CAN'T BE.
AND THAT IS, IS SOMETHING THAT YOU SIMPLY NEVER GET OVER.
ZAY HARDING: WITHIN HOURS OF THE ASSASSINATION OSWALD WAS ARRESTED BUT BEFORE HE COULD STAND TRIAL HE WAS FATALLY SHOT BY A LOCAL NIGHTCLUB OWNER NAMED JACK RUBY.
REPORTER: THIS IS A BA BEEN SHOT, OSWALD HAS BEEN SHOT! LEE OSWALD.
ZAY HARDING: THE ABSENCE OF A TRIAL CAUSED MANY TO SPECULATE ON THE MURDER AND UNLEASHED A TIDAL WAVE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES CASTING DOUBT ON THE OFFICIAL LINE AND POINTING THE FINGER AT EVERYTHING FROM THE CIA TO ALIENS.
ONE OF THE MORE ENDURING THEORIES IS THAT THERE WAS A SECOND GUNMAN INVOLVED WHO ALLEGEDLY FIRED SHOTS FROM HERE, WHAT HAS NOW BECOME KNOWN AS THE INFAMOUS GRASSY KNOLL.
MAN: THE GRASSY KNOLL HAS BEEN ON MY MIND FOREVER.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHY? MAN: BECAUSE I BELIEVE ONE OF THE FATAL SHOTS CAME FROM RIGHT HERE.
ZAY HARDING: AND YOU AGREE? WOMAN: I AGREE.
MAN 2: WHAT HAPPENED UP IN THAT WINDOW WAS ONLY A DECOY.
ZAY HARDING: MMM.
MAN 2: DRAWIN' THE ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE GUNMAN BEHIND THE WOODY PICKET FENCE.
THAT GRASSY KNOLL AREA.
MAN 3: THE ACOUSTIC TEST, THEY SAID 95% POSSIBILITY OR PROBABILITY, RATHER, THA THERE WAS A SECOND SHOOTER, UM, AND I AND IT WAS FROM HERE.
ZAY HARDING: BEFORE THE SHADOW OF KENNEDY'S DEATH FELL UPON THE CITY, DALLAS WAS SYNONYMOUS WITH ONE THING: OIL.
BUT MOST OF THE OIL WASN' DISCOVERED IN DALLAS, THE MOTHER LOAD WAS FOUND ABOUT 120 MILES EAST, IN THE TINY TOWN OF KILGORE.
FOR A BRIEF SPELL IN THE 1930'S, THIS STRETCH OF ROAD IN KILGORE WAS THE CENTER OF THE RICHES ACRE IN THE WORLD.
THE BIGGEST OIL FIELD ANYWHERE.
AND ALL THESE ELECTRICAL PYLON LOOKING TOWERS ARE ACTUALLY DERRICKS, METAL FRAMES FOR OIL PUMPS THAT OPERATED HERE, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN.
HOME TO JUST A HANDFUL OF FARMERS, KILGORE WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A TINY STOP ON THE RAILWAY LINE TO THE COAST.
BUT IN 1930 ALL THA CHANGED, LITERALLY OVERNIGHT, WHEN THEY STRUCK OIL.
IT WAS THE TIME OF THE GREA DEPRESSION AND NEWS OF THE DISCOVERY SPREAD QUICKLY TRANSFORMING THE LITTLE TOWN INTO AN OVERCROWDED AND BUSTLING CITY PACKED WITH THOUSANDS OF HOPEFUL CHANCERS LOOKING TO STRIKE IT RICH AND A FEW WHO ACTUALLY DID.
WELL, THE DAYS OF THE GREA EAST TEXAS OIL BOOM MAY BE OVER, BUT KILGORE FONDLY REMEMBERS THEM WITH A FANTASTIC MUSEUM THAT HAS RECREATED AN ENTIRE 1930'S STREET.
I'M MEETING CLAUDE, A LOCAL, TO GET THE LOWDOWN ON KILGORE'S HAY DAY.
SO CLAUDE, WHAT HAPPENED TO KILGORE ONCE IT HIT OIL? CLAUDE: WELL, IT WENT FROM 800 TO ABOUT 8,000 OVERNIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: WOW.
CLAUDE: WHICH, UH, CAUSED ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS.
PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PLACE TO SLEEP OR EAT AND THEY WEN FROM A TOWN WHERE YOU KNEW EVERYBODY IN TOWN TO A PLACE WHERE YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHO THE STRANGERS WERE THAT WERE HERE.
ZAY HARDING: THAT'S TRUE.
CLAUDE: OR WHA THEY WERE HERE FOR.
ZAY HARDING: THAT SOUNDS CHAOTIC.
I MEAN, YOU GOT, YOU GO SUCH A SMALL TOWN NOT READY FOR ALL THESE PEOPLE COMIN' IN.
CLAUDE: THERE'RE STORIES THA THEY WENT INTO A BARBERSHOP, CLEARED THE BARBERSHOP, AND DRILLED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
ZAY HARDING: REALLY, FIND ANYTHING? CLAUDE: AND, UH, THEY MOVED CHURCHES TO DRILL WHERE THE CHURCHES WERE.
ZAY HARDING: SERIOUSLY? WOW! CLAUDE: WHEN YOU'RE DRILLING 1,100 WELLS IN A TOWN SMALL AS KILGORE, YOU DRILL THEM ALL OVER THE PLACE.
ZAY HARDING: KILGORE'S OIL DAYS AREN'T OVER YET.
THE TOWN CONTINUES TO PRODUCE THOUSANDS OF BARRELS A YEAR WITH MANY PUMPS STILL OPERATING THROUGHOUT THE TOWN.
THEY CALL THIS CONTRAPTION HERE THE ROCKING HORSE, AND THIS IS HOW THEY'VE BEEN EXTRACTING OIL HERE SINCE THE 1930'S.
PUMPING DAY AND NIGHT, GETTIN' THAT BLACK GOLD.
TEXAS TEA.
OIL THAT IS, TO YOU AND ME.
I'M HEADING SOUTH TO VISI THE TEXAS STATE PENITENTIARY IN HUNTSVILLE BEFORE CONTINUING ON TO HOUSTON.
TEXAS IS A FIERCELY INDEPENDENT STATE THA BELIEVES PASSIONATELY IN THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL, BUT IF THAT INDIVIDUAL CROSSES THE LINE THE STATE HAS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST PENAL SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY.
THE MAJORITY OF TEXANS SUPPOR THE DEATH PENALTY AND THE STATE PERFORMS MORE EXECUTIONS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE U.
S.
THIS IS HUNTSVILLE PRISON WHERE ALL THE EXECUTIONS OF THE STATE ARE CARRIED OUT.
JUST BEHIND THIS WALL HERE IS THE INFAMOUS DEATH UNIT WHERE THOSE WHO ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH SPEND THEIR FINAL HOURS.
I'M NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER THE PRISON BUT I CAN VISIT THE HUNTSVILLE PRISON MUSEUM, ONLY MINUTES AWAY.
THE MUSEUM CHARTS THE HISTORY OF THE PRISON AND EXPLAINS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEATH PENALTY FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF HANGING THROUGH TO THE ELECTRIC CHAIR AND THE PRESENT DAY METHOD OF LETHAL INJECTION.
JIM WILLETT WAS A WARDEN ON THE INFAMOUS WALLS UNIT, THE DEATH HOUSE INSIDE HUNTSVILLE PRISON.
HE OVERSAW NUMEROUS STATE EXECUTIONS AND TODAY HELPS TO CURATE THE MUSEUM.
JIM: ZAY, THIS IS "OLD SPARKY.
" UH, IT IS THE TEXAS ELECTRIC CHAIR.
IT WAS USED TO EXECUTE 361 MEN.
ZAY HARDING: THIS VERY CHAIR, THAT'S WHERE IT HAPPENED? JIM: YES, YES, THIS IS NOT A MODEL.
THIS IS THE REAL THING AND IT WAS GIVEN THA NAME BY INMATES.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY.
JIM: AND THEY ALSO HAD A TERM THAT THEY USED FOR THE ACTUAL ELECTROCUTIONS.
WAS "RIDING THE THUNDERBOLT".
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, I BET IT WAS.
WHAT A HORRIBLE WAY TO GO, HUH? JIM: YEAH, I WOULD THINK SO.
ZAY HARDING: MMM, AND THEN THEY STARTED DOING INJECTIONS AFTER THAT, RIGHT? JIM: YES, AND TEXAS WAS THE FIRST STATE TO DO LETHAL INJECTION.
ZAY HARDING: AND WHAT, WHAT IS THAT PROCESS LIKE? JIM: THERE'S A SERIES OF THREE DRUGS, ONE PUTS THEM TO SLEEP, ONE COLLAPSES THE LUNGS, AND ONE STOPS THE HEART.
ZAY HARDING: BUT YOU WERE INVOLVED WITH ACTUALLY GIVING LETHAL INJECTIONS? JIM: YES.
THE WARDEN IS THE ONE WHO TELLS THE EXECUTIONER WHEN TO DO WHAT HE'S GOT TO DO.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT WAS THAT LIKE, BEING THERE? WITNESSING THIS? JIM: WELL ZAY HARDING: FOR YOU? JIM: IT WAS AN UNBELIEVABLE FEELING THE EARLY ON, ESPECIALLY THE VERY FIRS ONE BECAUSE, Y'KNOW, YOU'VE GOT A PERFECTLY HEALTHY BODY, UH, LYIN' THERE IN FRON OF YOU AND, Y'KNOW, IN JUST A FEW MINUTES, UH, BECAUSE OF AN ORDER YOU'RE GIVEN, AND THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE CARRIED OUT, THAT, Y'KNOW, THIS PERSON'S GONNA BE DEAD.
ZAY HARDING: DO YOU STILL THINK ABOUT THAT? JIM: NO, ONLY WHEN I'M TALKIN' TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
ZAY HARDING: NO, OH, OKAY.
OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT CAME IN, Y'KNOW, WAS THERE A FAVORITE LAST REQUEST? JIM: FOR A LAST MEAL.
ZAY HARDING: FOR A LAST MEAL.
JIM: YEAH, YEAH.
THIS IS PROBABLY GONNA COME AS A SURPRISE, BUT IT'S A CHEESEBURGER AND FRENCH FRIES.
ZAY HARDING: I'M NOT SURPRISED.
I THINK THAT MIGH BE MY REQUEST AS WELL.
CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES.
THE ALL AMERICAN MEAL.
JIM: YES.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT WERE THEY LIKE WHEN THEY CAME IN TO YOU? KNOWING THAT THIS IS THE, THIS IS IT? JIM: I OVERSAW 89 EXECUTIONS.
LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY, 86 OF THOSE MEN, I WENT TO THEIR CELL RIGH AFTER SIX O'CLOCK AND I CALLED THEM BY THEIR LAS NAME AND I SAID, "IT'S TIME TO COME WITH ME TO THE NEXT ROOM.
" THE CELL DOOR WAS OPEN, I TURNED MY BACK TO THAT PERSON, I WALKED INTO THE DEATH CHAMBER WITH THEM BEHIND ME AND THOSE INMATES JUS FOLLOWED ME IN THERE.
THEY HAD NO RESTRAINTS ON 'EM, NOBODY HAD A HAND ON ANY PART OF THEIR BODY, THEY JUST WALKED IN.
I'D SAY, "LIE DOWN ON THE GURNEY WITH YOUR HEAD UP A THE OTHER END" AND THEY DID.
ZAY HARDING: DID YOU EVER DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANYONE WHERE IT WAS REALLY TOUGH FOR YOU TO ACTUALLY DO THIS TO THEM? JIM: YOU WANT TO HEAR A STORY? ZAY HARDING: MMM-HMM.
JIM: THIS GUY CAME OVER.
HE'D BECOME A CHRISTIAN, HE WAS READY TO DIE, AND HE WAS, HAD A GREAT PERSONALITY; JOKIN' ALL THE TIME AND, UM, WHEN I GOT BACK THERE THAT NIGHT TO GET READY FOR THE EXECUTION, I COULD HEAR THE OFFICERS IN THERE WERE ALL LAUGHING.
HE, THIS GUY'S TELLIN' JOKES AND JUST HAVIN' A BIG TIME.
WE GET HIM IN THERE, WE PUT HIM ON THE GURNEY, AND HE SAYS, "I SURE WISHED I'D A BROUGHT A PIECE OF GUM IN HERE WITH ME, I'VE GOT COTTON MOUTH.
" ZAY HARDING: HAH! JIM: THE EXECUTIONER WAS STANDIN' RIGHT BEHIND HIM, AND HE REACHES IN HIS POCKET AND HE PULLS OUT, Y'KNOW THE CANDY COMES ONE TO A PACK? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
JIM: AND HE HANDED I OVER TO THE CHAPLAIN SO THE CHAPLAIN COULD ACTUALLY AND HE, CHAPLAIN DROPS I INTO HIS MOUTH AND THIS GUY IS REALLY SUCKIN'.
I CALL HIS LAS NAME AND I SAY, "WAS THAT A LIFESAVER THEY GAVE YOU?" AND HE SAID, HE SAID, "YES, SIR WARDEN, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA WORK.
" ZAY HARDING: AHH, IRONIC.
IRONIC NAME, YEAH.
JIM: YEAH, HE SAID, "I DON' THINK IT'S GONNA WORK.
" ZAY HARDING: AH.
DESPITE OVERWHELMING SUPPOR FOR THE DEATH PENALTY IN TEXAS IT IS STILL AN EMOTIONAL ISSUE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH LOVED ONES INSIDE.
BUT NOT EVERYBODY HELD IN HUNTSVILLE IS AWAITING A DEATH SENTENCE.
THE PRISON HOLDS ALL KINDS OF OFFENDERS AND TODAY SOME OF THEM ARE ABOUT TO BE RELEASED.
HI, MIND IF I SIT HERE? WOMAN: NO, PLEASE, SIT.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU'RE WAITIN' FOR SOMEBODY.
WOMAN: MY HUSBAND.
ZAY HARDING: OH, YOUR HUSBAND, OH NO.
HOW LONG DOES HE? WOMAN: THREE YEARS.
ZAY HARDING: THREE YEARS, MY GOD.
WOMAN: IT'S A LONG TIME.
SOME PEOPLE THINK, "THREE YEARS, OH, THAT'S NOT THAT LONG.
" YES IT IS, IT IS A LONG TIME.
ZAY HARDING: YOU JUS HAVE TO WAIT IT OUT.
WOMAN: YOU JUS HAVE TO WAIT IT OUT.
HERE COMES THE GUYS WHO'VE JUST BEEN RELEASED.
EX-CONVICT : HI.
ZAY HARDING: HELLO.
EXCUSE ME SIR, HOW YOU DOIN'? EX-CONVICT 2: GREAT, HOW ARE Y'ALL DOIN'? ZAY HARDING: GOOD, CONGRATULATIONS EX-CONVICT 2: ALRIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: WELCOME BACK TO FREEDOM.
EX-CONVICT 2: YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YOU, HOW, HOW LONG DID YOU SERVE? EX-CONVICT 2: OH, FIVE YEARS.
ZAY HARDING: FIVE YEARS, MY GOSH.
DID YOU EVER THINK THIS DAY WOULD COME? EX-CONVICT 2: OH, ABSOLUTELY NOT.
ZAY HARDING: NO? EX-CONVICT 2: NO.
ZAY HARDING: IT'S UNBELIEVABLE, HUH? EX-CONVICT 2: YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW? EX-CONVICT 2: OH, I'M VERY NUMB.
ZAY HARDING: NUMB? EX-CONVICT 2: ANXIOUS TO GO HOME, SPEND TIME WITH MY FAMILY; I'M HAPPY TOO, THOUGH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
EX-CONVICT 2: THIS IS MY FAMILY.
THIS IS MY DAD, HE'S BEEN HERE WITH ME THE WHOLE TRIP.
ZAY HARDING: AW, MAN.
EX-CONVICT 2: SISTER.
ZAY HARDING: SISTER, HEY.
EX-CONVICT 2: YEAH, BOTH OF 'EM BEEN THERE.
ZAY HARDING: DO YOU MIND ME ASKING WHAT YOU DID? OR WHAT YOU GO CONVICTED FOR? EX-CONVICT 2: BURGLED A HOUSED, IT WAS REALLY A BOGUS STORY, WE, THESE GUYS, WE, WE COULDA BEEN TAKEN CARE OF.
DAD: ATTEMPTED THEFT OF A BOOM-BOX.
EX-CONVICT 2: THEY HAD ME IN THERE WITH GUYS WHO HAD AGGRAVATED TIME FOR MURDER AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
ZAY HARDING: WERE YOU SCARED FOR HIM? DAD: YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? DAD: THAT HE MIGHT GET KILLED.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHAT WERE YOUR FEELINGS THE WHOLE TIME HE WAS GONE? SISTER: UM, I WAS KINDA NERVOUS CAUSE HE CHANGED A WHOLE LOT.
I JUST DID A LOT OF PRAYING AND JUST TRIED TO HAVE FAITH ABOUT THE SITUATION THA HE'D GET OUT AND BE SAFE AND HE'S OUT AND SAFE.
ZAY HARDING: DESPITE ITS GRIM REPUTATION, HUNTSVILLE, AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT, IS ABOUT LIFE AND FREEDOM.
WEIRD FEELING, BU IT'S EXCITING AND, AND IT'S A DARK AND HAPPY FEELING AT THE SAME TIME.
ONE GUY LOOKED AT MY SHIR AND SAID, "DON'T WORRY, I AIN'T GONNA MESS WITH TEXAS NO MORE.
" AND THE OTHER GUYS LAUGHED, SAID, "YEAH, THAT'S TRUE.
" Y'KNOW, IT'S, AH, HA-HA, IT'S, IT'S A DEFINITE GRADUATION FEEL RIGHT NOW, WALKING OUT.
AND IT'S REALLY NICE TO SEE THAT COUPLE REUNITED.
ABOUT AN HOUR'S DRIVE FROM HUNTSVILLE IS HOUSTON, THE LARGEST CITY IN TEXAS AND THE 4TH LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY, BUT I'M NOT STOPPING HERE.
I'M HEADING JUST A FEW MILES EAST TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE.
WELL, OKAY, MAYBE A FEW PEOPLE HAVE GONE BEFORE, BUT IT'S STILL ONE OF THE MOS AMAZING PLACES ON THE PLANET, THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONS JOHNSON SPACE CENTER.
AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST TOURIS ATTRACTIONS IN THE COUNTRY THE CENTER GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO GIVE VISITORS AN AUTHENTIC COSMIC EXPERIENCE.
REAL MOON ROCK.
I SORTA THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE MORE LIKE CHEESE.
BUT WHAT'S TRULY AMAZING ABOUT THIS PLACE IS ITS GROUNDBREAKING ACHIEVEMENTS IN SPACE EXPLORATION.
SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1961, NASA'S SPACE CENTER HERE IN HOUSTON HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN OVER 150 MANNED MISSIONS INTO SPACE.
NOW IRONICALLY, THIS ONE, THE SATURN 5, NEVER EVEN TOOK OFF.
BUT, THEY PUT IT ON DISPLAY HERE AND IT REALLY GIVES YOU A SENSE OF ITS SCALE.
IT MAKES ME WONDER, HOW DID THEY EVER GET BEASTS LIKE THIS OFF THE GROUND, AND YET, INTO SPACE? IT'S CRAZY.
MAN: 5-4-3-2-1, LIFTOFF.
WE HAVE LIFTOFF AT 9:34 AM, EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME.
ZAY HARDING: FROM THE EARLIES DAYS OF MANNED SPACE FLIGH TO THE LAST SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION IN 2011, NASA'S HOUSTON FACILITY HAS TRAINED AND PREPARED ASTRONAUTS FOR THEIR COSMIC MISSIONS AND DEVELOPED JUS ABOUT EVERY DEVICE YOU CAN THINK OF TO ENSURE HUMANS ARE ABLE TO COPE WITH LIFE IN SPACE.
I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.
CAPTAIN HARDING REPORTING FOR DUTY.
HELLO.
MICHELLE: HI, WELCOME TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU.
MICHELLE: I'M MICHELLE.
ZAY HARDING: MICHELLE, ZAY.
MICHELLE: NICE TO MEET YOU.
ZAY HARDING: NICE TO MEET YOU.
IT REALLY FEELS LIKE WE'RE THERE.
MICHELLE: YES, THIS IS ACTUAL LIFE SIZE MOCKUP OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
ZAY HARDING: ASTRONAUTS FACE MANY CHALLENGES LIVING IN SPACE AND ONE OF THE BIGGES IS LEARNING HOW TO ADAPT TO A WEIGHTLESS ENVIRONMENT WHERE EVERYTHING FROM EATING TO SLEEPING IS AN ORDEAL.
ASTRONAUT: SO THIS IS THE SLEEPING BAG ITSELF.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY.
ASTRONAUT: AND THIS CAN GE HUNG UP USING THESE SAME, KIND OF, CLIPS.
ZAY HARDING: PEOPLE FLOAT AROUND AND STUFF? ASTRONAUT: YEAH, THE AIRFLOW WILL PUSH YOU AROUND.
THERE YA GO.
ZAY HARDING: SO, YOU GUYS HELP EACH OTHER DO THIS CAUSE I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STRAP MYSELF IN.
ASTRONAUT: THERE YA GO AND YOUR ARMS COME OUT.
ZAY HARDING: OR MAYBE THAT'S WHAT THIS IS FOR, OKAY.
ASTRONAUT: THERE YA GO.
ZAY HARDING: THERE'S ZERO GRAVITY IN HERE, RIGHT? ASTRONAUT: RIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: SO IT WOULDN' MATTER IF YOU'RE SLEEPING UPSIDE DOWN OR NO CAUSE THERE'S NO BLOOD GOING TO YOUR HEAD.
ASTRONAUT: EXACTLY RIGHT, WHAT HAPPENS IS, INSTEAD OF THE BLOOD BEING PULLED DOWN TO YOUR LEGS, IT GOES ALL THE WAY THROUGH YOUR BODY MORE EVENLY.
AND IT GIVES YOU KIND OF A STUFFED UP HEAD FEELING.
YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE GO A HEAD COLD A LITTLE BIT.
WE HAVE A PILLOW THA GOES BACK BEHIND YOUR HEAD LIKE THIS.
ZAY HARDING: AHH.
ASTRONAUT: OKAY? AND THEN IT HAS A STRAP THAT GOES ACROSS YOUR HEAD.
ZAY HARDING: AHH, OKAY, OKAY.
ASTRONAUT: SO THA IT HELPS KEEP YOUR HEAD FROM FLOATIN' FORWARD.
ZAY HARDING: INTERESTING.
ASTRONAUT: EH, THA COULD BE USED THAT WAY, SURE.
ZAY HARDING: AHH, THIS ZERO GRAVITY IS MAKIN' ME REALLY TIRED.
GOODNIGHT.
OKAY, THERE'S ONE AREA OF SPACE LIFE YOU DON'T HEAR MUCH ABOUT, BUT IT'S VITAL TO BE TRAINED FOR IT, OTHERWISE THINGS COULD GET VERY, VERY MESSY ASTRONAUT 2: ALRIGHT, WELL USIN' THE BATHROOM IN SPACE IT'S WHAT EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT, AND ONLY FIVE YEAR OLDS ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO ASK.
SO, WE HAVE HERE THE WASTE COLLECTION SYSTEM, OR WCS, CAUSE AT NASA WE HAVE ACRONYMS FOR EVERYTHING.
ZAY HARDING: UH-HUH.
ASTRONAUT 2: IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
YOU HAVE A, A FUNNEL.
AND EACH PERSON HAS THEIR OWN LITTLE ADAPTOR THAT WILL STICK IN THE FUNNEL.
AND THAT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
YOU GOT A LITTLE SUCTION THAT'LL GO THROUGH THE HOSE, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING GETS PULLED DOWN AND AWAY.
ZAY HARDING: PEEING INTO A VACUUM? ASTRONAUT 2: YUP, YOU'RE BASICALLY PEEING INTO A VACUUM.
AND YOU GOTTA GO NUMBER TWO ZAY HARDING: MMM-HMM.
ASTRONAUT 2: YOU GET TO, YOU SIT DOWN, YOU CAN STRAP YOUR FEET INTO THESE LITTLE BRACKETS HERE.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ASTRONAUT 2: AND HAND HOLDS TO HOLD ON.
AND THEN YOU GOTTA AIM RIGH DOWN THIS LITTLE HOLE HERE, WHICH IS ONLY ABOUT THAT BIG.
AND FOR THAT REASON, WE HAVE THIS WCS OVER HERE.
IT'S AIMING PRACTICE.
ZAY HARDING: IT'S GOT A LIGHT COMIN' OUT FROM ASTRONAUT 2: THERE IS A CAMERA THAT COMES UP FROM THE BOTTOM AND YOU SEE ON THE MONITOR OVER HERE WHA YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
THIS WAY YOU CAN PRACTICE, SINCE YOU CAN'T SEE THINGS.
ALRIGHT, SO I'M AIMED RIGH LOOKING AT THE CAMERA, NOW, WHAT DOES MY BUTT FEEL LIKE? ZAY HARDING: MM.
ASTRONAUT 2: WHAT DOES MY MUSCLE FEEL LIKE? CAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY IN SPACE YOU KNOW TO GE EVERYTHING LINED UP AND IN THE HOLE CAUSE OTHERWISE IT STARTS FLOATING.
ZAY HARDING: MMM.
ASTRONAUT 2: AND IT WILL FLOAT OUT INTO THE AIR, AND ZAY HARDING: MMM, UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS WITHIN OUR SPACESHIP.
HOW DID IT GET IN? ASTRONAUT 2: YES, VERY UNPLEASANT.
IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.
ZAY HARDING: KLINGONS HAVE PENETRATED OUR SPACESHIP HERE SOMEHOW.
ASTRONAUT 2: BUT ON THE SPACE STATION, IT ACTUALLY, UH, HAS AN EXTRA TWIST: THE URINE IS, GOES THROUGH A URINE RE-PROCESSOR AND IS PROCESSED INTO DRINKING WATER.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE CREW USE TO COOK THEIR MEALS.
ZAY HARDING: COME AGAIN? YOU'RE SAYING THEY ASTRONAUT 2: THEY RECYCLE THEIR PEE ONBOARD THE SPACE STATION.
ZAY HARDING: WELCOME TO OUTER SPACE.
LEARNING HOW TO LIVE IN SPACE IS ONE THING, LEARNING HOW TO WORK IN SPACE IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALL GAME.
WITH THE HELP OF VIRTUAL REALITY, ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE A SERIES OF MAINTENANCE TASKS TO GE THEM READY FOR THE REAL DEAL.
REALITY? VIRTUAL? I CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
NOW I'M LOOKING INTO DEEP, DARK SPACE.
THE FINAL FRONTIER.
OH, I CAN SEE EARTH.
THAT'S PRETTY COOL.
ASTRONAUT 3: NOW IS I ABOVE YOU OR BELOW YOU? ZAY HARDING: IT'S ABOVE ME.
ASTRONAUT 3: SURE? ZAY HARDING: WELL, IT'S ALL RELATIVE ISN'T IT? ASTRONAUT 3: THAT'S RIGHT.
IN ZERO G, THERE'S BASICALLY NO UP OR DOWN.
ZAY HARDING: SO, EVEN WHEN I'M UPSIDE DOWN IN SPACE, I FEEL LIKE I'M RIGH SIDE UP LIKE THIS? ASTRONAUT 3: WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING DOWN, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE EARTH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S UP OVER YOUR HEAD.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, IT'S HARD TO TELL WHICH WAY IS UP AND DOWN CAUSE IF I BREAK THROUGH THE WINDOW HERE ASTRONAUT 3: SHOULD BE ABLE TO POKE YOUR HEAD RIGHT OUT.
ZAY HARDING: I CAN SEE OUTSIDE THE SPACESHIP LOOKING IN.
ASTRONAUT 3: THAT'S RIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: IT'S COMFORTING LOOKING AT EARTH, I THINK.
AS MUCH AS WE WAN TO GO UP INTO SPACE, WHEN YOU'RE UP HERE, YOU WANT TO LOOK BACK AT EARTH.
ASTRONAUT 3: YOU READY, GAME OVER? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, ALRIGHT.
WHOA, AND JUST LIKE THAT I'M BACK THERE.
ASTRONAUT 3: THERE YA GO.
ZAY HARDING: TO COMPLETE THEIR TRAINING ASTRONAUTS HEADING FOR SPACE MUST COME HERE, THE SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGH SIMULATOR, WHERE THEY WILL PERFORM SOME 1,500 TAKE OFFS AND LANDINGS BEFORE GOING ON THE REAL THING.
COME IN HOUSTON I'M READY FOR TAKE OFF.
WOMAN: FLIGHT CREW OTC, CLOSE AND LOCK YOUR VISORS AND INITIATE O2 FLOW.
MAN: READY.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY, READY.
MAN: OKAY, 45 SECONDS TO LAUNCH.
ZAY HARDING: I'M VERY NERVOUS.
MAN: THERE'S 23 SECONDS TO LAUNCH.
ZAY HARDING: WHOA.
MAN: FIVE SECONDS, MAIN ENGINES COMIN' UP.
ZAY HARDING: HA-HA, WHOA, THERE GOES THE TOWER! OH! MAN: THAT'S TOWER CLEAR.
ZAY HARDING: AHHHH, HOW FAST ARE WE GOIN' NOW? [INAUDIBLE.]
MAN: THERE WE GO.
ZAY HARDING: WHOA! MAN: THAT'S THE SOLID ROCKETS LEAVING.
ZAY HARDING: WOW, HELLO HOUSTON, ARE WE IN SPACE YET? I GOTTA GO BATHROOM.
TRAINING AT NASA IS OUT OF THIS WORLD.
IT'S GOT TO BE THE NEXT BES THING TO GOING INTO SPACE, BUT NOTHING CAN BEAT THE REAL DEAL AND I'M GONNA MEE SOMEONE WHO'S ACTUALLY BEEN THERE.
BACK IN 1969 ALAN BEAN WAS A MEMBER OF THE APOLLO 12 MISSION AND BECAME THE 4TH MAN TO WALK ON THE MOON.
MAN: 6796, SLOW DOWN INTO [INAUDIBLE.]
.
30 SECONDS WAIT, 4 FEET CONTACT LIGHT ROGER, COPY CONTACT I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, AMAZING.
FANTASTIC! ZAY HARDING: TODAY, ALAN IS AN ARTIST LIVING IN HOUSTON WHERE HE HAS TURNED HIS COSMIC EXPERIENCE INTO AN INFINITE SOURCE OF CREATIVITY.
THE ARTWORK HERE IS AMAZING! I ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE I'M ON THE MOON LOOKING AT THIS GUY.
ALAN: THAT'S GREAT.
ZAY HARDING: IS THIS EXACTLY HOW IT FELT? ALAN: YEAH, IT'S GREAT, I'M HOPING YOU GET THAT REACTION.
ZAY HARDING: I MEAN THERE'S A NEAT 3D QUALITY ABOUT HIM.
LIKE, HOW DO YOU GET THESE, THESE RIPPLES AND RIDGES THA ARE GOIN' ON IN THE TEXTURE OF IT? ALAN: ONE DAY I SAID TO MYSELF, "WHY AM I USING EARTH TOOLS WHEN I'VE GOT MOON TOOLS?" THIS IS A TRAINING BOO JUST LIKED WE TRAINED IN.
AND YOU SEE THE TREAD ON THE BOTTOM, AND IT FITS EXACTLY THERE.
ZAY HARDING: MMMM.
ALAN: ONE OF THE THINGS THA I WANTED ON THESE PAINTINGS WHAT I WANTED MOON DUST IN 'EM, SO ZAY HARDING: THERE'S MOON DUST IN THESE PAINTINGS? ALAN: THAT'S RIGHT, HERE'S A PIECE OF MY FLAG.
THIS WAS FROM MY SUIT AND OVER HERE'S A DIFFEREN PIECE OF FABRICS.
THEY'RE DIRTY WITH MOON DUST.
ZAY HARDING: WITH ACTUAL MOON DUST ON THEM? ALAN: YEAH, THERE IT IS.
THERE'S MOON DUST IN THERE.
SO AT THE END THEN, I'VE GOT A VERY TEXTURED SURFACE THAT'S NOT LIKE ANY EARTH PAINTING I'VE EVER HEARD OF.
ZAY HARDING: HOW DID THAT CHANGE YOUR LIFE? GOING ALL THE WAY TO SOME PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SEE EARTH JUST GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER? ALAN: WELL, IT'S KINDA SCARY.
YOUR NECKS OUT 250,000 MILES, NOBODY'S GONNA COME SEE YOU IF YOU MAKE A BIG MISTAKE.
YOU HOPE THAT THE PEOPLE THAT SEWED THAT SEAM ZAY HARDING: OH, YEAH, YEAH.
ALAN: RIGHT THERE OR FIGURED A WAY TO CONNEC THAT GLOVE CONNECTS, AND THAT VISOR DOESN'T CRACK.
BECAUSE IF SOMETHING LIKE THA GOES WRONG, YOU'RE FINISHED.
ZAY HARDING: DO YOU HAVE ANY SELF-PORTRAITS? ALAN: OH, SURE, SURE.
THERE'S ONE OF ME RIGH THERE, RUNNING ALONG THE MOON.
AND THE REASON I'M ON MY TIP TOES THERE IS THE JOINTS, THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY ARE TO MOVE.
ALAN: AND SO IF I MOVE MY HIPS MUCH OR KNEES MUCH THEN IT WAS A LOT OF WORK AND I WAS TRYING TO SAVE MY ENERGY.
ZAY HARDING: IT REALLY CAPTURES THE FEELING.
ALAN: I THINK IT DOES.
I FELT SO LIGHT UP THERE.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ALAN: AND I FELT STRONG, I KNEW THAT IT WAS LIGHT GRAVITY.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ALAN: BUT STILL WHEN I WAS DOING WORK OR JUMPING OR RUNNING, I COULD DO THINGS THAT I COULD NEVER DO ON EARTH ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ALAN: AND SO I FELT LIKE, "WOW, I'M STRONG TODAY.
" YOU KNOW? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YEAH.
SO HOW HAS THIS EXPERIENCE CHANGED HOW YOU VIEW LIFE ON EARTH? ALAN: FREQUENTLY, I WOULD LOOK UP AT THE EARTH AND SAY "THAT'S THE EARTH, THIS IS THE MOON!" 'CAUSE IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE TO ME TOO, DON'T FORGET.
ACTUALLY SEEING THIS TINY EARTH DOWN THERE IN THIS HUGE BLACK VOID AND LOOKING A IT AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, RIGHT ON THAT BEAUTIFUL EARTH IS ALL THE HUMANITY THAT WE KNOW OF AT THE MOMENT AND SO I DO HOPE THAT WE CAN PRESERVE THIS EARTH, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE CAREFUL.
ZAY HARDING: FOR THE FINAL LEG OF MY JOURNEY I'M HEADING JUST 70 MILES EAS OF HOUSTON TO THE TINY TOWN OF CHAPPELL HILL, A CLASSIC SLICE OF SMALL TOWN AMERICA.
CHAPPELL HILL BEGAN LIFE IN THE 1800'S AS A STAGECOACH STOP BETWEEN HOUSTON AND AUSTIN AND GREW INTO A COMMERCIAL CENTER FOR LOCAL COTTON FARMERS.
HOWDY, DOODY HELLO.
THESE DAYS NO MUCH HAPPENS HERE, EXCEPT FOR ONCE A YEAR WHEN THE WHOLE TOWN SPRINGS TO LIFE IN A CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE.
TEXAS HAS AN INDEPENDENT SPIRIT, BUT IT'S STILL PROUD TO BE AMERICAN, AND NOWHERE IS THIS MORE APPARENT THAN RIGHT HERE IN CHAPPELL HILL.
IT MAY BE A TINY LITTLE TOWN, BUT THEIR FOURTH OF JULY PARADE IS BIG.
HELLO.
MAN: HEY, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! ZAY HARDING: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO YOU TOO, SIR.
I LIKE YOUR SHIRT.
MAN: THANK YOU.
ZUZU: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! ZAY HARDING: OH MY, GOODNESS, THANK YOU.
YOU HAVE SO MUCH SPIRIT.
ZUZU? ZUZU: YEAH! ZAY HARDING: YEAH! ZUZU: IT WERE TODAY WE ARE 235 YEARS YOUNG.
ZAY HARDING: 235 YEARS TODAY? ZUZU: I DO BELIEVE.
ZAY HARDING: WOW.
ZUZU: YEAH, IT'S THE MOS IMPORTANT DAY OF THE YEAR.
ZAY HARDING: THAT'S TRUE.
I BETTER GET A MOVE ON.
THE PARADE'S ABOUT TO START AND I'M SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF IT.
IS THIS WHERE WE GET KAZOOS? WOMAN: YES! ZAY HARDING: I'M SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE KAZOO BAND.
GIRL: I'M DOING FLAG TWIRLING.
ZAY HARDING: FLAG TWIRLING? THAT'S SO FUN.
HAVE YOU BEEN, HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING? GIRL: YEAH, I BEEN PRACTICING FOR A COUPLE WEEKS.
ZAY HARDING: OH, GOOD, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU.
YOU BETTER BE GOOD, KID.
GIRL: YUP! [LAUGHTER.]
.
[KAZOOS.]
.
MAN: CANON READY TO FIRE? [KAZOOS.]
.
MAN: FIRE! [CROWD GASPING AND CHEERING.]
.
ZAY HARDING: THE 4TH OF JULY IS THE MOST PATRIOTIC EVENT OF THE YEAR AND COMMEMORATES THE DAY THE UNITED STATES DECLARED ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN BACK IN 1776.
IRONICALLY TEXAS WAS A SPANISH POSSESSION AT THE TIME AND DIDN'T JOIN THE U.
S.
UNTIL 1845, BUT WHERE INDEPENDENCE IS CONCERNED NO PEOPLE CELEBRATE IT QUITE LIKE THE TEXANS.
WOMAN: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ZAY HARDING: THIS YEAR'S PARADE IS IN HONOR OF THE COUNTRY'S MILITARY BUT FARM MACHINERY MIGHT BE STEALING THE SHOW.
WOMAN: BEING A TEXAN AND AN AMERICA, IT'S VERY SIMILAR IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE A TRUE APPRECIATION FOR WHA IT MEANS TO BE FREE.
AND, YOU KNOW, TEXAS, WE FOUGHT FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE AND WE'RE STILL DOING THAT TODAY FOR AMERICA.
WOMAN 2: YOU CAN BE IN TEXAS AND YOU CAN GO TO DIFFEREN PARTS OF THE STATE AND IT'S LIKE BEING IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT COUNTRY.
MAN: IT'S THE BIGNESS, IT'S THE ONENESS, YOU CAN BE AN INDIVIDUAL, YET YOU CAN BE PART OF A MASSIVE GROUP.
YOU THINKIN' PROUD.
I WASN'T AT THE ALAMO, OF COURSE, BUT I REMEMBER THE ALAMO.
AH, IF YOU COME TO TEXAS, THIS IS EXACTLY WHA YOU'RE GONNA BE, "BUSY, BUSY, BUSY.
" THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF THINGS TO DO OR SEE AROUND THIS GREAT STATE AND YOU'RE SURE TO MEET TRUCKLOADS OF FRIENDLY PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY.
BUT IT'S A BIG'OL STATE AND I'VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO TO GET HOME.
THIS HERE VEHICLE AIN'T VERY FAST EITHER, BUT AT LEAST I WON'T HAVE TO MAKE ANY REST STOPS.
HAPPY TRAILS, PARTNER! NARRATOR: STAY TUNED FOR A SPECIAL "GLOBE TREKKER" EXTRA.
ANNOUNCER: FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED BY, SUBARU.
WOMAN: AT SUBARU, WE BUILD VEHICLES LIKE THE RUGGED OUTBACK.
WITH SYMMETRICAL ALL-WHEEL DRIVE AND PLENTY OF CARGO SPACE.
FOR THOSE WHO PACK EVEN MORE ADVENTURE INTO LIFE.
SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF GLOBE TREKKER.
MAN: YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOU THIS SERIES ON OUR WEBSITE.
PROGRAMS FROM THE GLOBE TREKKER SERIES ARE AVAILABLE ON DVD AND NOW ON DEMAND FROM GLOBETREKKER.
TV.
MUSIC FROM THE SERIES IS AVAILABLE ON CD, YOU CAN ALSO ORDER THE NEW GLOBE TREKKER ANNUAL FEATURING INFORMATION ON FESTIVALS, EVENTS AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.
TO ORDER GLOBE TREKKER PRODUCTS CALL 888-565-0361 OR VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.
GLOBETREKKERTV.
COM JUSTINE SHAPIRO: HELLO.
DRIVER: HELLO.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHERE DO I PUT THIS? DRIVER: RIGHT THERE.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: MEMPHIS HAS THIS GREAT SYSTEM OF TROLLIES, THEY'LL TAKE YOU ANYWHERE DOWNTOWN FOR A DOLLAR! ONE TRAM STOP ON THE DOWNTOWN LINE WILL TAKE YOU BACK IN TIME TO A HISTORIC LOCATION THAT HAS TRANSFORMED THE VESTIGES OF A DARKER ERA INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE.
DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
WAS ASSASSINATED ON APRIL 4, 1968 RIGHT HERE IN MEMPHIS AT THE LORAINE HOTEL.
THEY PRESERVED THE FAÃADE OF THE HOTEL AND BUILT THE NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM AROUND IT.
THE MISSION OF THE MUSEUM, WHICH OPENED IN 1991, IS TO CHRONICLE KEY EPISODES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND THE LEGACY OF THE MOVEMENT WITH EXHIBITIONS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE, A RECREATION OF ROSA PARKS MONTGOMERY BUS OF 1955, THE ORIGINAL GREENSBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA WOOLWORTH'S LUNCH COUNTER WITH A DEPICTION OF THE FOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO LAUNCHED THE FIRST SIT-IN WHEN THEY WERE REFUSED SERVICE, AND THE ORIGINAL MOTEL ROOMS WHERE DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
STAYED, LEFT INTACT, THE DAY HE WAS ASSASSINATED.
THE ERA OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS WELL DOCUMENTED BY JOURNALISTS, BUT ONE PHOTOGRAPHER HAD ESPECIALLY PRIVILEGED ACCESS TO DR.
KING, THE LATE ERNEST WITHERS.
I MEET UP WITH THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY FOUNDATION THAT MANAGES WITHERS' LEGACY HIS DAUGHTER, ROSALIND WITHERS.
SO WAS YOUR FATHER HERE THE DAY THA DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
WAS ASSASSINATED? ROSALIND WITHERS: WHEN HE GOT HERE, IT WAS A CROWD, HE WAS ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE CROWD BECAUSE PEOPLE KNEW HIM AS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND HE DID CAPTURE MOMENTS AFTER THE ASSASSINATION BUT THE MOMEN OF THE ASSASSINATION HE DID NOT GET.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: DID HE TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF DR.
KING'S BODY? ROSALIND WITHERS: HE WAS THE ONE THAT WAS ALLOWED TO TAKE THE FIRS PHOTOGRAPH AFTER HE WAS SHOT.
HE HAS EXTENSIVE COVERAGE IN ALL THE CATEGORIES OF LIFESTYLES, CIVIL RIGHTS, MUSIC, SPORTS.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE IMAGE.
THIS IS THE IMAGE THAT I FEEL THAT REALLY CAPSULATES THE IMPACT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHAT WAS THE THINKING DO YOU THINK OF.
ROSALIND WITHERS: SEPARATION, COMPLETE SEGREGATION, I MEAN YOU'RE HERE, YOU'RE THERE, I MEAN I HAVE SO MANY OF DAD'S IMAGES THAT SHOWS WHITE WATER FOUNTAINS, "WHITES ONLY", IT WAS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE, ALL OF, ALL OF THE SOUTH AND VERY, VERY STRONG IN MEMPHIS.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: I RECOGNIZE SOME OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR FATHER.
ROSALIND SHAPIRO: THAT IS TRUE AND A LOT OF THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT HE WAS A, A BLACK MAN DOING PHOTOGRAPHY AND HIS WORK HAS BEEN PLASTERED ON "LIFE" AND "TIME MAGAZINE", MANY TIMES HE ACTUALLY TOOK A ROLL OF FILM AND SENT IT TO THESE MAGAZINES AND HE DIDN'T GET CREDIT, EVEN HERE LOCALLY THEY DIDN'T GIVE HIM CREDIT.
HE HAD THREE CAMERAS, HE WAS KNOWN FOR CARRYING THREE CAMERAS AROUND HIS NECK, SO HE WOULD SEND A ROLL TO THE WHITE PRESS, THE BLACK PRESS AND THEN HE'D KEEP A ROLL.
SO WE HAVE RECORD OF EVERYTHING THAT HE RECORDED AND EVEN THOUGH OTHERS MAY TAKE CLAIM TO HIS IMAGES, WE KNOW THA THEY'RE HIS IMAGES.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHEN IN MEMPHIS, ALL ROADS LEAD TO GRACELAND.
EVEN THOUGH ELVIS PRESLEY DIED IN 1977, HIS HOME CONTINUES TO BE A VERY POPULAR TOURIS DESTINATION AND A SHRINE TO THE LATE, GREAT KING OF ROCK AND ROLL.
THE KING MAY BE LONG GONE, BUT HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON IN GRACELAND WHICH HAS OVER A HALF MILLION VISITORS A YEAR, MAKING IT SECOND ONLY TO THE WHITE HOUSE, AS THE MOST VISITED RESIDENCE IN THE USA.
SEE WHERE ELVIS RELAXED, COOKED HIS MEALS, ATE HIS MEALS, ONLY THE UPSTAIRS, WHERE ELVIS DIED, IS OFF LIMITS.
THEN YOU CAN HEAD OUT TO THE POOL AREA, WHERE YOU CAN VISI THE KING HIMSELF.
THE LATEST ADDITION TO GRACELAND IS ELVIS'S CAR MUSEUM, WHICH FEATURES 33 OF HIS FAVORITE VEHICLES, INCLUDING THE ICONIC PINK CADILLAC HE PURCHASED IN 1955 AND GAVE TO HIS MOTHER.
ALSO ON DISPLAY ARE BOTH OF HIS PRIVATE AIRPLANES PERSONALLY DECORATED BY THE KING HIMSELF.
WOMAN: YOU NEED TO GET YOU SOME BUSINESS, AND LEAVE MINE ALONE.
YOU NEED TO GE YOU SOME BUSINESS, AND LEAVE MINE ALONE.
ALL YOU NOSEY NEIGHBORS.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: THIS LITTLE NORTH MEMPHIS DIVE, ATTRACTS ALL KINDS OF BLUES LOVERS AND IS THE PERFEC PLACE FOR ME TO FIND SOME BLUES EXPERTS AND ASK, "WHAT IS THE BLUES?" MAN: WELL IF YOU'RE PLAYING THE BLUES THE WAY I LIKE TO PLAY IT, IT REACHES THE PEOPLE AND MAKE YOU FEEL; IT'S A FEELING.
WOMAN: BLUES COULD BE HAPPY BLUES, I MADE A LOT MONEY TODAY.
YOU KNOW? AND I'M HAPPY.
I NEED A MAN, WHO KNOWS WHAT TO DO.
I NEED A MAN, WHO KNOWS WHAT TO DO.
MOVE IT TO THE LEFT, MOVE IT TO THE RIGHT AND DO.
MAN: REALLY THE THING WHAT GIVES YOU THE BLUES, IS WHEN YOUR WOMAN LEAVE YOU.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHEN YOU WOMAN LEAVES YOU? MAN: WHEN YOUR WOMAN LEAVE YOU, THAT'S WHAT MAKE YOU REALLY, REALLY THINK.
YOU THINK ABOU HOW I LOVE HER.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: AND HOW YOU MISS HER.
MAN: YEAH, HOW I MISS HER.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: HOW YOU WANT HER BACK.
MAN: YEAH, I WANT HER BACK, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GONNA GET HER BACK.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: HOW YOU GONNA GET HER BACK? MAN: I GOTTA KEEP ON TRAVELLIN'.
FOR THOSE WHO PACK EVEN MORE ADVENTURE INTO LIFE.
SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF "GLOBE TREKKER.
" COWBOY: ALRIGHT YOU TWO.
WHAT'S IT GONNA BE? COWBOY 2: WELL, MARSHALL IT'S LIKE THIS.
THEN YOU DON'T GIVE US MUCH OF A CHOICE.
COWBOY 3: I DON'T RECKON WE'LL GIVE YOU MUCH OF A CHANCE.
ZAY HARDING: TIME TO CLEAN UP THIS TOWN.
[GUNSHOTS.]
WELCOME TO TEXAS.
TEXAS IS THE SECOND LARGES STATE IN THE U.
S.
AND BORDERS THE GULF MEXICO TO THE EAST, AND MEXICO TO THE SOUTH.
MY JOURNEY THROUGH EAST TEXAS STARTS IN THE TWINNED CITIES OF FORT WORTH AND DALLAS.
I THEN HEAD TO THE OIL TOWN OF KILGORE BEFORE MOVING SOUTH TO VISIT THE STATE PENITENTIARY IN HUNTSVILLE.
FOR THE FINAL LEG OF MY TRIP I GO TO HOUSTON TO CHECK OU NASA'S JOHNSON SPACE CENTER AND FINISH UP CELEBRATING THE 4TH OF JULY IN THE TINY TOWN OF CHAPPELL HILL.
THE DAYS OF THE WILD WEST MAY BE LONG GONE BUT THE LEGACY OF THE COWBOY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN FT WORTH, TEXAS, LOCALLY KNOWN AS COW TOWN.
FT.
WORTH STARTED LIFE AS AN ARMY POS BUT ITS POSITION ON THE CHISHOLM TRAIL TRANSFORMED I INTO A BOOMING CENTER FOR THE CATTLE TRADE.
IN THE 19TH CENTURY THOUSANDS OF CATTLE WOULD PASS THROUGH THE CITY'S STOCKYARDS ON THEIR WAY TO THE MARKETS OF THE NORTH AND THE EAST.
TODAY THE TOWN RE-ENACTS A CATTLE DRIVE TWICE DAILY WITH ITS PRIZED HEARD OF TEXAS LONGHORNS.
I'M STAYING AT MISS MOLLY'S, A GUEST HOUSE AND FORMER HANG OUT FOR RESTLESS RANCH HANDS LOOKING FOR A COMFORTABLE BED AND A GOOD TIME.
HELLO, ANYBODY HERE? MISS MOLLY: WELL, HELLO THERE.
ZAY HARDING: WELL, HELLO THERE.
MISS MOLLY: WELCOME TO MISS MOLLY'S.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU, DON'T YOU LOOK PRETTY? MISS MOLLY: I'M MISS MOLLY, THANK YOU.
ZAY HARDING: HI MISS MOLLY, I'M ZAY.
MISS MOLLY: ZAY, YOU HERE TO SPEND THE NIGHT? ZAY HARDING: YES, PLEASE.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY, AH, JUST A LITTLE INFORMATION FIRST.
UH, THIS USED TO BE AN OPERATING BORDELLO BACK IN THE DAY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT IS A BORDELLO? MISS MOLLY: UH, BROTHEL, WHOREHOUSE.
ZAY HARDING: AH, INTERESTING, ALRIGHT.
MISS MOLLY: AND SO WE'RE TRYIN' TO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE.
ZAY HARDING: AH, IT IS A HOTEL, THOUGH NO, RIGHT? MISS MOLLY: IT IS NOW CURRENTLY A HOTEL.
HO-TEL.
ZAY HARDING: HA, OHHH! [BOTH LAUGHING.]
MISS MOLLY: JUST FOR GUYS LIKE YOU.
ZAY HARDING: WELL THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE ROOM? ZAY HARDING: I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY, COME RIGHT ALONG WITH ME.
I'LL SHOW YOU RIGHT WHERE TO GO.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: THIS IS THE COWBOY ROOM.
THIS IS A CONNECTING DOOR TO MISS JOSIE'S ROOM.
MISS JOSIE'S, OF COURSE, WAS THE MADAM'S QUARTERS AND SHE WOULD SET UP THE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EVENING, COLLECT THE MONEY, AND SEND THE GIRLS THROUGH THE CONNECTING DOORS, AND THEN THE GENTLEMEN THAT WERE SITTING IN THE PARLOR WAITING WOULD GO TO THE SPECIFIC ROOM THEY WERE TOLD TO GO TO.
ZAY HARDING: THIS WAS A FULL ON OPERATING BUSINESS.
MISS MOLLY: YES, VERY PROFITABLE BUSINESS.
ZAY HARDING: AHH.
MISS MOLLY: I THINK YOU NEED TO BE A COWBOY TONIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: OH, WELL THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: YEAH, I LIKE THAT.
ZAY HARDING: HMM, THANK YOU.
MISS MOLLY: NOW IF YOU'RE NOT HAPPY WITH THIS ROOM, I HAVE ONE ACROSS THE HALLWAY.
IT'S CALLED MY ROOM.
ZAY HARDING: OH YEAH, WELL UH, THIS IS, THIS IS GOING TO BE JUST FINE FOR ME.
COWBOY.
MISS MOLLY: THIS'LL DO, OKAY.
I GOTTA GET A HUG.
I HUG ALL THE COWBOYS, Y'KNOW.
ZAY HARDING: OH OKAY, WELL.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY.
ZAY HARDING: I'LL TAKE THIS ROOM.
MISS MOLLY: OKAY, WE'RE GOOD TO GO.
I'LL JUST SHUT THE DOOR AND LET YOU GET COMFORTABLE.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MISS MOLLY: ALRIGHTY, HAVE FUN! ZAY HARDING: ALRIGHT.
MISS MOLLY: NUMBER NINE! ZAY HARDING: OKAY, THANK YOU MISS MOLLY! WELL, IT IS A COMFY BED AND I DO LIKE THE STYLE OF IT.
AH, I THINK I LIKE THE IDEA OF BEING A COWBOY.
FORT WORTH CELEBRATES ITS COWBOY LEGACY ON JUST ABOU EVERY STREET CORNER BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEE REAL COWBOYS IN ACTION, PAY A VISIT TO THE COLOSSEUM, THE OLDEST RODEO STADIUM IN THE COUNTRY.
THE RODEO MAY BE A SYMBOL OF THE AMERICAN WEST BUT ITS ORIGINS GO BACK TO THE 17TH CENTURY WHEN MEXICAN RANCHERS PERFECTED THE ART OF ROPING AND BRONCO AND STEER BREAKING.
OVER TIME RIVAL RANCHES BEGAN TO COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER AND BEFORE LONG COWBOYS FROM ACROSS THE LAND WERE FLOCKING TO THE EVENTS EAGER TO TAKE HOME A CASH PRIZE.
THESE DAYS RODEOS ARE AS MUCH A SPORT AS ENTERTAINMENT BU THEY STILL ATTRACT HARD WORKING COWBOYS AND COWGIRLS EAGER FOR A SHOT A SUPER STARDOM AND YOU'D BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND A BIGGER STAR THAN PAM MINNICK.
PAM MINNICK IS AN ACTIVE, LIVING, COWGIRL, RODEO LEGEND AND AS I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A RODEO STAR, SHE'S GONNA TO SHOW ME THE ROPES.
LITERALLY.
AIN'T THAT RIGHT, PAM? PAM: YOU BET, ZAY.
ZAY HARDING: I'M SO EXCITED, I'M FIT TO BE TIED! PAM MINNICK IS A RODEO WORLD CHAMPION AND FORMER MISS RODEO AMERICA.
WINNING TOP PRIZES IN TEAM ROPING, PAM WAS INDUCTED INTO THE COWGIRL HALL OF FAME IN 2000.
PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
BUT CAN SHE SCHOOL A GREENHORN LIKE ME? PAM: SO I GOT MY SWING, TWISTIN' MY HAND OVER.
I'M GONNA GO FROM THE RIGH HORN TO THE LEFT HORN.
ZAY HARDING: HEY, NICELY DONE PAM! PAM: SO, GET A LITTLE CLOSER.
ZAY HARDING: EH, THIS IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS I HAVE TO SAY.
OH, ALMOST.
PAM: BUT THAT WAS GOOD FOLLOW THROUGH.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT THIS RIGHT HORN TO LEFT HORN; IT'S LIKE SPREADIN' BUTTER.
ZAY HARDING: C'MON! PAM: AW MAN, THAT WAS GREAT.
ZAY HARDING: HEY LOOK, I GOT HIM.
PAM: YEAH, YOU STARTED TO PULL BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY THREW ALL THE WAY OR I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST LIKE A PERFECT CATCH.
ZAY HARDING: REALLY, OKAY, SO JUST LAY IT ON FIRS AND THEN PULL IT? PAM: AND THEN PULL IT, YEAH, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU ACTUALLY ENTERED THIS SPORT AS AN ATHLETE, NOT AS A COWGIRL.
PAM: WELL, I AM A COWGIRL, BUT I BECAME A HIGH SCHOOL RODEO CHAMPION, WENT ON TO THE PROFESSIONAL RANKS AND BECAME A WORLD CHAMPION.
MY HUSBAND AND I ENJOY DOIN' IT JUST FOR, FOR FUN.
ZAY HARDING: WELL THAT SOUNDS FUN.
PAM: A LOT OF PEOPLE PLAY, PLAY TENNIS, AND WE TEAM ROPE.
ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT TEAM ROPING IS THAT THERE'S A HEADER AND A HEELER, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY PRACTICING HEADING.
THAT'S WHAT THE PERSON THA ROPES THE HORNS OF THE STEER.
UM, ACTUALLY MY SPECIALTY IN TEAM ROPING IS ROPING THE FEET.
SO AFTER THE HEADER ROPES THE, THE HORNS OF THE STEER, HE KINDA SLOWS THE STEER DOWN A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN THE HEALER COMES IN AND ROPES THE FEET, AND THAT'S HOW THEY STRETCH THE STEER OUT TO BRAND HIM OR DOCTOR HIM.
ZAY HARDING: SO IT'S A TWO PERSON JOB.
PAM: IT'S A TWO PERSON EVENT.
AND PEOPLE STILL USE THIS METHOD TODAY CAUSE IF YOU GO WIDE OPEN SPACES, YOU DON'T HAVE A CORRAL ZAY HARDING: SURE.
PAM: YOU'VE GOTTA ROPE 'EM LIKE THIS.
WHAT HAPPENED WAS ONE GUY SAID TO THE OTHER GUY, I BET I CAN ROPE HIM FASTER THAN YOU, AND THAT'S HOW THE SPORT DEVELOPED.
ZAY HARDING: RODEO PARTICIPANTS ARE STARS.
PAM: THEY ARE.
TREVOR BRAZIL, THE WORLD, THE CURRENT WORLD CHAMPION, HE'S A FOUR MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY.
THAT AIN'T ZAY HARDING: WOO! PAM: THAT AIN'T HAY.
ZAY HARDING: IF I PRACTICE, PAM THINKS SHE CAN GE ME INTO THE RODEO TONIGHT.
LOOK OUT HALL OF FAME HERE I COME OH FANTASTIC! HOT DIGGIDY-DOG! WHEN THEY SAID I HAD A SPOT IN THE RODEO, I DIDN'T KNOW THEY MEANT THIS! WHOOOO.
NOT JUST ANY BOZO CAN MAKE IT AS A RODEO CLOWN.
IT REQUIRES SKILL AND BRAVERY.
CLOWNS HAVE TO DISTRAC ANGRY BULLS AND KEEP THE CROWDS ENTERTAINED BETWEEN EVENTS.
I'M JUST HOPING TO KEEP MY FACE.
OH MY GOSH.
[WHIP CRACKS.]
AH, THIS GUY'S GOOD, MAN! HE'S GOT PRECISION.
YOU MIGHT THINK GUNS AND COWBOYS GO TOGETHER, BUT THESE DAYS IT'S MORE LIKE GUNS AND TEXANS GO TOGETHER.
TEXAS HAS MORE GUN OWNERS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE U.
S.
AND EVERY YEAR FORT WORTH HOSTS THE LONGEST RUNNING GUN SHOW IN THE STATE.
ONE THING'S CERTAIN, TEXANS LOVE THEM-SELF SOME GUNS AND THIS HERE GUN SHOW IN FORT WORTH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST IN TEXAS.
IN FACT, PEOPLE COME IN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO BUY, SELL, TRADE, AND SHOW OFF THEIR GUNS AND ACCESSORIES.
IT'S GOT EVERYTHING YOU COULD IMAGINE AND EVEN SOME THAT YOU CAN'T IMAGINE.
AND SINCE WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY, I WASN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH GUNS, I THINK NOW THAT I'M GROWN UP, I'LL DO JUST THAT.
BOY: THIS IS AN ULTRALIGHT 50 BMG.
SHOOTS A SINGLE SHO .
50 CALIBER ROUND, HAS A M-182 BARRETT BRAKE ON IT.
ZAY HARDING: HOWDY.
MAN: HOWDY.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT'S YOUR PRIZED POSSESSION HERE? MAN: THIS IS A 76 WINCHESTER.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY.
MAN: A CENTENNIAL MODEL.
YOU WANNA WORK IT? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YEAH.
LET ME LONG AS IT'S NOT LOADED.
YEAH, WE JUST GIVE IT A LITTLE, PHEW.
OH BUT I'VE GOT A LITTLE THING BLOCKING IT SO I CAN'T ACTUALLY SHOOT.
THAT'S SMART, VERY SMART.
SO YOU ACTUALLY TEST ALL THESE? MAN: OH YEAH, I CARRY 'EM HOME AND SHOOT 'EM, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: OH YEAH? MAN: COME OUT BACK AND I'LL LOAD SOME, SEE HOW FAR YOU CAN RUN.
ZAY HARDING: ALRIGHT, HA-HA.
YOUNG MAN: HOW'S IT GOIN' THERE, MAN? ZAY HARDING: GOOD, HOW ARE YOU? YOUNG MAN: GOOD, GOOD, WHATCHA LOOKIN' FOR? ZAY HARDING: AHH, I'M JUST CHECKIN' OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS.
WHAT, WHAT'S, THESE ARE ALL REALLY MODERN LOOKING, HUH? YOUNG MAN: NAH, NAH, THIS IS THIS IS VERY, VERY GENERIC STUFF THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT TODAY.
ZAY HARDING: YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS ISN'T HIGH TECH AND MODERN? CUTTING EDGE? YOUNG MAN: THIS DESIGN IS LIKE 40 YEARS OLD, MY FRIEND.
ZAY HARDING: OH, I SEE.
YOUNG MAN: OH, WHA ARE YOU LOOKIN' FOR? I MEAN HOME DEFENSE, CONCEALED CARRY, HUNTIN' ZAY HARDING: LET'S SAY, LET'S SAY HOME DEFENSE.
YOUNG MAN: HOME DEFENSE, SHOTGUN.
ZAY HARDING: THIS IS A SHOTGUN FOR HOME DEFENSE? YOUNG MAN: THAT IS A SHOTGUN FOR HOME DEFENSE.
ZAY HARDING: THAT'S HUGE! YOUNG MAN: NO, IT'S NOT HUGE! IF SOMEONE WAS TO BREAK IN YOUR HOUSE AND THEY HEARD A CLUNK-CLUNK.
ZAY HARDING: MM-HHM.
YOUNG MAN: THAT RIGH THERE IS ENOUGH TO DO THE DAMAGE WHERE THEY'RE GONNA LEAVE YOU AND NOT WANNA, Y'KNOW, SEE WHAT'S BEHIND THE DOOR.
ZAY HARDING: SO THIS IS LIKE AN ALL-AROUND YOUNG MAN: ALL-AROUND, GOOD, BEGINNER GUN.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU RECOMMEND HAVING A SPECIFIC GUN FOR EACH EVEN THAT YOU'RE DOING? YOUNG MAN: YEAH, FOR INSTANCE, SIXTEEN REMINGTON A-70'S AT MY HOUSE, CAUSE THEY'RE EACH A SEPARATE TOOL FOR ZAY HARDING: YOU HAVE SIXTEEN? YOUNG MAN: FOR A SEPARATE JOB.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT, UH, WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENT JOBS COULD THERE BE? YOUNG MAN: HOME DEFENSE, DUCK HUNTING, UH, BEAR PROTECTION, UH, GOOSE.
Y'KNOW, GOIN' TO THE RANGE PLANKIN'.
YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU, THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR JOB IS TO PICK THE RIGHT TOOL FOR IT.
ZAY HARDING: I GOTCHA.
YOUNG MAN: I MEAN IF YOU'RE GONNA COOK BREAKFAST, ARE YOU GONNA BRING THE AXE IN TO CUT THE CHEESE? ZAY HARDING: GOOD ANALOGY, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: AND WHAT ARE THESE? MAN 2: UHH, THESE ARE DOOR BREACHER, PISTOL GRIP SHOTGUNS.
ER, WHAT IT DOES IS YOU CAN ACTUALLY PUT THIS UP AGAINST A DOOR.
ZAY HARDING: UH HUH.
MAN 2: PULL THE TRIGGER AND IT WON'T BLOW THE BARREL OUT, BUT IT'LL BLOW THE DOOR COMPLETE INTO PIECES.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU PUSH THIS UP AGAINST A DOOR, AND, AND THEN MAN 2: PULL THE TRIGGER.
ZAY HARDING: AND PULL THE TRIGGER, BUT IT JUST BLOWS OU THAT AREA OF THE DOOR? MAN 2: RIGHT, WHAT HAPPENS, ALL THE GAS ESCAPES OUT THE SIDE SO IT WON' BLOW UP YOUR BARREL.
A CLOSED BARREL WOULD EXPLODE.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY, I SEE, AHH CLEVER.
DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS, HUH? MAN 2: EXACTLY.
ZAY HARDING: EVERYBODY'S BUYIN' GUNS.
MAN 2: OH YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHY IS THAT? MAN 2: THAT'S JUST THE WAY I IS IN TEXAS CAUSE WE CAN, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: IS THIS YOUR SON? MAN 2: THAT'S MY SON, AUSTIN.
ZAY HARDING: HEY AUSTIN, ZAY, NICE TO MEET YOU.
DO YOU, DO YOU OWN GUNS ON YOUR OWN OR JUST, AH, THROUGH YOUR DAD? AUSTIN: THEY'RE MY DAD'S GUNS, BUT I GET TO SHOOT 'EM.
ZAY HARDING: YOU GE TO SHOOT 'EM, DO YOU GET EXCITED ABOUT THAT? AUSTIN: YEAH, I LIKE SHOOTIN' 'EM.
I'VE BEEN SHOOTIN' SINCE I WAS PROBABLY SEVEN YEARS OLD.
ZAY HARDING: SEVEN? AND WAS THAT, LIKE, SOMETHING YOU HAD TO EARN AS A PRIVILEGE? AUSTIN: NOT REALLY, MY DAD JUST TAUGHT ME.
MAN 2: I ALSO HAVE A SEVEN YEAR OLD AND A FOUR YEAR OLD AT HOME AND, UH, SEVEN YEAR OLD'S ALREADY SHOOTIN' AND THE FOUR YEAR OLD IS, IS STARTIN' TO LEARN ABOUT IT.
ZAY HARDING: TEXAS HAS SOME OF THE MOST RELAXED GUN LAWS IN THE COUNTRY.
TO BUY ONE ALL YOU NEED IS A LOCAL ADDRESS AND A VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE.
BUT IF GUNS AREN'T YOUR THING, THERE'RE PLENTY OF OTHER WEAPONS ON OFFER.
MACE AND PEPPER SPRAY.
LOOK AT THIS, TASERS.
A PINK WOMAN: OH! ZAY HARDING: SORRY, SORRY.
MAN 3: BE CAREFUL NOW.
ZAY HARDING: THAT THING IS STRONG.
MAN 3: YEAH, NOW THIS IS SEVEN MILLION VOLTS.
IT'S 1.
3 MILLI-AMPS, OKAY? ZAY HARDING: WHICH MEANS IT'LL JUST STUN YOU FOR A DAY.
MAN 3: THE AMBULANCE WOULD COME AND GET YOU WITH THIS ONE.
THREE SECONDS, THAT'S ALL IT TAKES.
ZAY HARDING: WOW, WHY IS IT PINK? MAN 3: WELL, I GOT BLACK TOO.
THIS IS BASICALLY FOR A LOT OF WOMEN USERS.
ZAY HARDING: SURE.
MAN 3: IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE THE WOMEN COME UP AND THEY'RE REALLY SCARED AT FIRST.
THEN, SOON AS THEY LEARN HOW TO DO IT.
"COME HERE HONEY, COME HERE HONEY!" ZAY HARDING: BACK OFF! YEAH, GUYS LIKE YOU SELLING THESE THINGS ARE MAKIN' GUYS LIKE US SCARED OF WOMEN CAUSE THEY'RE CARRYING AROUND.
AND THIS IS CLEVER.
THIS IS WHAT, YOU ACT LIKE YOU'RE TALKING ON A MOBILE PHONE? MAN 3: PHONE, UH HUH.
ZAY HARDING: AND YOU'RE LIKE, "AH-AHA, OH MY GOD I'M IN DANGER, BUT HOLD ON!" [TAZER BUZZES.]
[ZAY LAUGHING.]
.
ZAY HARDING: JUST EAST OF FORT WORTH IS ITS GLEAMING SISTER METROPOLIS, DALLAS.
THOUGH GEOGRAPHICALLY TIED TO FORT WORTH, DALLAS COULDN' BE MORE DIFFERENT.
MODERN, SLEEK AND SOPHISTICATED, THE CITY GAINED INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION IN THE 1980S WITH 'DALLAS', A HIT TV SERIES DEPICTING THE EXTRAVAGAN LIVES OF ITS OIL RICH FAMILIES BUT THE CITY HAD ALREADY ACHIEVED INTERNATIONAL FAME BACK IN NOVEMBER 1963 FOR AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT REASON.
DURING A VISIT TO DALLAS, PRESIDENT JOHN F.
KENNEDY AND HIS WIFE JACKIE RODE THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE CITY IN AN OPEN CONVERTIBLE AS PAR OF A PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE.
THEY PASSED HUNDREDS OF WELL-WISHERS.
THEN, AS THEY ENTERED DEALEY PLAZA, JUST AHEAD OF ME, ON THE EDGE OF DOWNTOWN HERE, THE COURSE OF HISTORY WAS CHANGED.
REPORTER: PRESIDENTIAL CAR COMING UP NOW.
WE KNOW IT'S THE PRESIDENTIAL CAR.
YOU CAN SEE MRS.
KENNEDY IN A PINK SUIT.
THERE'S, SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE.
SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG.
SOMETHING, I REPEAT, HAS HAPPENED IN THE MOTORCADE ROUTE.
THERE'S NUMEROUS PEOPLE RUNNING UP THE HILL.
THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN SHOT.
ONE WITNESS HAS SAID HE DEFINITELY WAS SHOT ZAY HARDING: THE ASSASSINATION OF JFK HAS GONE DOWN AS ONE OF THE DARKEST DAYS IN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CAS A SHADOW ACROSS THE CITY OF DALLAS FOR DECADES.
EVER SINCE THAT FATEFUL DAY PEOPLE HAVE FLOCKED HERE TO MOURN PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S DEATH AND TO TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT HAPPENED.
IN AN EFFORT TO HELP PEOPLE COME TO TERMS WITH THE TRAGEDY THE CITY CREATED THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM, HERE, IN THE VERY LOCATION THE PRESIDENT'S KILLER COMMITTED THE CRIME.
THIS IS WHERE THE ASSASSIN, LEE HARVEY OSWALD, FIRED THE SHOTS.
AT THE TIME, THIS BUILDING WAS A SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY AND OSWALD WAS AN EMPLOYEE, SO HE HAD ACCESS TO THE SITE.
ON THAT CHILLING DAY, HE CAME UP HERE, LINED UP HIS RIFLE THROUGH THAT OPEN WINDOW, AND WAITED FOR THE MOTORCADE TO PASS.
AT THE TIME, THE TREES WEREN'T SO GROWN OVER, SO HE HAD A CLEAR VIEW OF THE STREET AND THE PRESIDENT.
THOSE "X'S" DOWN THERE, MARK EXACTLY WHERE HIS SHOTS STRUCK THE TARGET.
OSWALD ESCAPED UNNOTICED, BUT THE POLICE CAME UP FOUND HIS BULLET SHELLS HERE, AS WELL AS A RIFLE AT THE STAIRWELL.
AND THAT HELPED THEM TRACK DOWN AND APPREHEND THE ASSASSIN.
I HAVE TO SAY, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A MUSEUM, AND THIS IS JUST A RECREATION OF THE SCENE, IT'S STILL REALLY CHILLING HERE.
PEARCE ALLMAN WAS A REPORTER FOR A LOCAL RADIO STATION A THE TIME AND WITNESSED THE HORRIFYING EVENT FIRST HAND.
PEARCE: THE PARADE CAME DOWN ELM STREET, WHICH IS THAT STREET.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
PEARCE: AND TURNED, MADE THIS TURN, AND THEN TURNED VERY SLOWLY HERE TO COME IN FRONT OF WHA IS KNOWN THEN AS THE SCHOOL BOOK DEPOSITORY BUILDING.
ZAY HARDING: RIGHT.
PEARCE: AND I WAS STANDING RIGHT HERE AND ZAY HARDING: YOU WERE STANDING RIGHT HERE DURING THE EVENT? PEARCE: YEAH, YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: SO WHAT WAS THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT HAPPENED THEN, ONCE YOU GOT HERE? PEARCE: WELL, THE MOTORCYCLE ESCORTS CAME FIRST, AND THEN THE POLICE CHIEF, AND THEN THE LIMO WAS RIGHT BEHIND HIM, AND, AND I WAS JUST FOCUSED ON THE PRESIDENT AND JACKIE.
THEY JUST, THEY LOOKED GREAT.
IT'S LIKE YOU WANT A KING AND QUEEN TO LOOK OR THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY TO LOOK.
ZAY HARDING: SURE, YEAH.
PEARCE: JACKIE WAS ON THIS SIDE; HAD ON THE PINK SUI AND THE LITTLE PINK HAT.
AND I REMEMBER SHOUTING OUT, LIKE, "WELCOME TO DALLAS," OR, OR WHATEVER, AND THEN JUST AS THEY TURNED, BOOM.
IT WAS THIS REAL LOUD, REVERBERATING EXPLOSION.
AND I REMEMBER THINKING, AH, I TURNED TO THE GUY WITH ME, I SAID, Y'KNOW, "IF THAT'S A FIRECRACKER, ITS POOR TASTE, " AND THEN BOOM, AGAIN.
AND I GLANCED UP, AND I THOUGHT I SAW A RIFLE BARREL BUT AT THAT STAGE I REALLY COULD NOT BE SURE.
AND THEN AFTER THE THIRD SHOT, JACKIE GOT UP AND STARTED CRAWLING OVER THE BACK OF THE CAR, RIGHT DOWN THERE, AND THE MYTHOLOGY AT THA TIME WAS THAT SHE WAS TRYING TO GET OUT, AND THAT SIMPLY WASN'T TRUE.
AS IT TURNED OUT, SHE WAS REACHING FOR A SIZABLE PIECE OF HER HUSBAND'S SKULL THAT HAD BEEN BLOWN OUT AND WAS LYING ON THE BACK.
THAT TIME, INSTINCT WAS, I GOTTA GET TO A PHONE.
Y'KNOW, I, I NEED TO CALL THE STATION AND TELL 'EM THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED.
SO I WENT UP TO THE FRONT DOOR OF THE DEPOSITORY BUILDING RIGHT THERE AND I ASKED A GUY COMIN' OUT, I SAID, "WHERE'S A PHONE?" AND HE JERKED HIS THUMB AND SAID, "IN THERE.
" I SAID, "THANK YOU.
" TWO WEEKS LATER ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
PEARCE: SECRET SERVICE CALLED AND WANTED TO DO AN INTERVIEW AND I SAID, "FINE.
" AND THEY SAID, "ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE TESTIMONY OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD FOLLOWING HIS ARREST?" I SAID, "NO.
" PEARCE: THEY SAID, "WELL HE STATES AS HE WAS LEAVING THE BUILDING, A YOUNG MAN WITH A CREW CUT RUSHED UP, IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS A NEWSMAN AND ASKED WHERE A PHONE WAS.
" AND HE SAID, "BASED ON WHAT YOU SAID AND BASED ON WHAT HE SAID, THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY YOU ASKING THE ASSASSIN WHERE A PHONE WAS.
" ZAY HARDING: OH MY GOD.
SO YOU ACTUALLY MET THE ASSASSIN.
PEARCE: EVIDENTLY, ACCORDING TO THE SECRET SERVICE.
ZAY HARDING: LIKE, MINUTES AFTER IT HAPPENED.
PEARCE: YEAH, WITHIN MINUTES.
ZAY HARDING: WITHOUT KNOWING IT.
PEARCE: WITHOUT KNOWING IT.
ZAY HARDING: THAT IS REMARKABLE.
I MEAN, THAT'S CRAZY.
PEARCE: IT IS.
IT'S A BIT STUNNING AND, UH, NOW AND THEN I NOW AND THEN I THINK ABOUT IT, REFLECT ON IT.
THERE'S STILL A SENSE OF UNREALITY THAT THIS SIMPLY COULDN' HAPPEN IN YOUR HOMETOWN.
THAT, THAT WAS, THAT WAS MY REACTION.
THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS HAPPENED, THIS TOOK PLACE, THE PRESIDENT WAS KILLED.
THIS IS WHERE I LIVE.
THIS, IT, IT CAN'T BE.
AND THAT IS, IS SOMETHING THAT YOU SIMPLY NEVER GET OVER.
ZAY HARDING: WITHIN HOURS OF THE ASSASSINATION OSWALD WAS ARRESTED BUT BEFORE HE COULD STAND TRIAL HE WAS FATALLY SHOT BY A LOCAL NIGHTCLUB OWNER NAMED JACK RUBY.
REPORTER: THIS IS A BA BEEN SHOT, OSWALD HAS BEEN SHOT! LEE OSWALD.
ZAY HARDING: THE ABSENCE OF A TRIAL CAUSED MANY TO SPECULATE ON THE MURDER AND UNLEASHED A TIDAL WAVE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES CASTING DOUBT ON THE OFFICIAL LINE AND POINTING THE FINGER AT EVERYTHING FROM THE CIA TO ALIENS.
ONE OF THE MORE ENDURING THEORIES IS THAT THERE WAS A SECOND GUNMAN INVOLVED WHO ALLEGEDLY FIRED SHOTS FROM HERE, WHAT HAS NOW BECOME KNOWN AS THE INFAMOUS GRASSY KNOLL.
MAN: THE GRASSY KNOLL HAS BEEN ON MY MIND FOREVER.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHY? MAN: BECAUSE I BELIEVE ONE OF THE FATAL SHOTS CAME FROM RIGHT HERE.
ZAY HARDING: AND YOU AGREE? WOMAN: I AGREE.
MAN 2: WHAT HAPPENED UP IN THAT WINDOW WAS ONLY A DECOY.
ZAY HARDING: MMM.
MAN 2: DRAWIN' THE ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE GUNMAN BEHIND THE WOODY PICKET FENCE.
THAT GRASSY KNOLL AREA.
MAN 3: THE ACOUSTIC TEST, THEY SAID 95% POSSIBILITY OR PROBABILITY, RATHER, THA THERE WAS A SECOND SHOOTER, UM, AND I AND IT WAS FROM HERE.
ZAY HARDING: BEFORE THE SHADOW OF KENNEDY'S DEATH FELL UPON THE CITY, DALLAS WAS SYNONYMOUS WITH ONE THING: OIL.
BUT MOST OF THE OIL WASN' DISCOVERED IN DALLAS, THE MOTHER LOAD WAS FOUND ABOUT 120 MILES EAST, IN THE TINY TOWN OF KILGORE.
FOR A BRIEF SPELL IN THE 1930'S, THIS STRETCH OF ROAD IN KILGORE WAS THE CENTER OF THE RICHES ACRE IN THE WORLD.
THE BIGGEST OIL FIELD ANYWHERE.
AND ALL THESE ELECTRICAL PYLON LOOKING TOWERS ARE ACTUALLY DERRICKS, METAL FRAMES FOR OIL PUMPS THAT OPERATED HERE, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN.
HOME TO JUST A HANDFUL OF FARMERS, KILGORE WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A TINY STOP ON THE RAILWAY LINE TO THE COAST.
BUT IN 1930 ALL THA CHANGED, LITERALLY OVERNIGHT, WHEN THEY STRUCK OIL.
IT WAS THE TIME OF THE GREA DEPRESSION AND NEWS OF THE DISCOVERY SPREAD QUICKLY TRANSFORMING THE LITTLE TOWN INTO AN OVERCROWDED AND BUSTLING CITY PACKED WITH THOUSANDS OF HOPEFUL CHANCERS LOOKING TO STRIKE IT RICH AND A FEW WHO ACTUALLY DID.
WELL, THE DAYS OF THE GREA EAST TEXAS OIL BOOM MAY BE OVER, BUT KILGORE FONDLY REMEMBERS THEM WITH A FANTASTIC MUSEUM THAT HAS RECREATED AN ENTIRE 1930'S STREET.
I'M MEETING CLAUDE, A LOCAL, TO GET THE LOWDOWN ON KILGORE'S HAY DAY.
SO CLAUDE, WHAT HAPPENED TO KILGORE ONCE IT HIT OIL? CLAUDE: WELL, IT WENT FROM 800 TO ABOUT 8,000 OVERNIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: WOW.
CLAUDE: WHICH, UH, CAUSED ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS.
PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PLACE TO SLEEP OR EAT AND THEY WEN FROM A TOWN WHERE YOU KNEW EVERYBODY IN TOWN TO A PLACE WHERE YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHO THE STRANGERS WERE THAT WERE HERE.
ZAY HARDING: THAT'S TRUE.
CLAUDE: OR WHA THEY WERE HERE FOR.
ZAY HARDING: THAT SOUNDS CHAOTIC.
I MEAN, YOU GOT, YOU GO SUCH A SMALL TOWN NOT READY FOR ALL THESE PEOPLE COMIN' IN.
CLAUDE: THERE'RE STORIES THA THEY WENT INTO A BARBERSHOP, CLEARED THE BARBERSHOP, AND DRILLED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
ZAY HARDING: REALLY, FIND ANYTHING? CLAUDE: AND, UH, THEY MOVED CHURCHES TO DRILL WHERE THE CHURCHES WERE.
ZAY HARDING: SERIOUSLY? WOW! CLAUDE: WHEN YOU'RE DRILLING 1,100 WELLS IN A TOWN SMALL AS KILGORE, YOU DRILL THEM ALL OVER THE PLACE.
ZAY HARDING: KILGORE'S OIL DAYS AREN'T OVER YET.
THE TOWN CONTINUES TO PRODUCE THOUSANDS OF BARRELS A YEAR WITH MANY PUMPS STILL OPERATING THROUGHOUT THE TOWN.
THEY CALL THIS CONTRAPTION HERE THE ROCKING HORSE, AND THIS IS HOW THEY'VE BEEN EXTRACTING OIL HERE SINCE THE 1930'S.
PUMPING DAY AND NIGHT, GETTIN' THAT BLACK GOLD.
TEXAS TEA.
OIL THAT IS, TO YOU AND ME.
I'M HEADING SOUTH TO VISI THE TEXAS STATE PENITENTIARY IN HUNTSVILLE BEFORE CONTINUING ON TO HOUSTON.
TEXAS IS A FIERCELY INDEPENDENT STATE THA BELIEVES PASSIONATELY IN THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL, BUT IF THAT INDIVIDUAL CROSSES THE LINE THE STATE HAS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST PENAL SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY.
THE MAJORITY OF TEXANS SUPPOR THE DEATH PENALTY AND THE STATE PERFORMS MORE EXECUTIONS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE U.
S.
THIS IS HUNTSVILLE PRISON WHERE ALL THE EXECUTIONS OF THE STATE ARE CARRIED OUT.
JUST BEHIND THIS WALL HERE IS THE INFAMOUS DEATH UNIT WHERE THOSE WHO ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH SPEND THEIR FINAL HOURS.
I'M NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER THE PRISON BUT I CAN VISIT THE HUNTSVILLE PRISON MUSEUM, ONLY MINUTES AWAY.
THE MUSEUM CHARTS THE HISTORY OF THE PRISON AND EXPLAINS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEATH PENALTY FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF HANGING THROUGH TO THE ELECTRIC CHAIR AND THE PRESENT DAY METHOD OF LETHAL INJECTION.
JIM WILLETT WAS A WARDEN ON THE INFAMOUS WALLS UNIT, THE DEATH HOUSE INSIDE HUNTSVILLE PRISON.
HE OVERSAW NUMEROUS STATE EXECUTIONS AND TODAY HELPS TO CURATE THE MUSEUM.
JIM: ZAY, THIS IS "OLD SPARKY.
" UH, IT IS THE TEXAS ELECTRIC CHAIR.
IT WAS USED TO EXECUTE 361 MEN.
ZAY HARDING: THIS VERY CHAIR, THAT'S WHERE IT HAPPENED? JIM: YES, YES, THIS IS NOT A MODEL.
THIS IS THE REAL THING AND IT WAS GIVEN THA NAME BY INMATES.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY.
JIM: AND THEY ALSO HAD A TERM THAT THEY USED FOR THE ACTUAL ELECTROCUTIONS.
WAS "RIDING THE THUNDERBOLT".
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, I BET IT WAS.
WHAT A HORRIBLE WAY TO GO, HUH? JIM: YEAH, I WOULD THINK SO.
ZAY HARDING: MMM, AND THEN THEY STARTED DOING INJECTIONS AFTER THAT, RIGHT? JIM: YES, AND TEXAS WAS THE FIRST STATE TO DO LETHAL INJECTION.
ZAY HARDING: AND WHAT, WHAT IS THAT PROCESS LIKE? JIM: THERE'S A SERIES OF THREE DRUGS, ONE PUTS THEM TO SLEEP, ONE COLLAPSES THE LUNGS, AND ONE STOPS THE HEART.
ZAY HARDING: BUT YOU WERE INVOLVED WITH ACTUALLY GIVING LETHAL INJECTIONS? JIM: YES.
THE WARDEN IS THE ONE WHO TELLS THE EXECUTIONER WHEN TO DO WHAT HE'S GOT TO DO.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT WAS THAT LIKE, BEING THERE? WITNESSING THIS? JIM: WELL ZAY HARDING: FOR YOU? JIM: IT WAS AN UNBELIEVABLE FEELING THE EARLY ON, ESPECIALLY THE VERY FIRS ONE BECAUSE, Y'KNOW, YOU'VE GOT A PERFECTLY HEALTHY BODY, UH, LYIN' THERE IN FRON OF YOU AND, Y'KNOW, IN JUST A FEW MINUTES, UH, BECAUSE OF AN ORDER YOU'RE GIVEN, AND THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE CARRIED OUT, THAT, Y'KNOW, THIS PERSON'S GONNA BE DEAD.
ZAY HARDING: DO YOU STILL THINK ABOUT THAT? JIM: NO, ONLY WHEN I'M TALKIN' TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
ZAY HARDING: NO, OH, OKAY.
OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT CAME IN, Y'KNOW, WAS THERE A FAVORITE LAST REQUEST? JIM: FOR A LAST MEAL.
ZAY HARDING: FOR A LAST MEAL.
JIM: YEAH, YEAH.
THIS IS PROBABLY GONNA COME AS A SURPRISE, BUT IT'S A CHEESEBURGER AND FRENCH FRIES.
ZAY HARDING: I'M NOT SURPRISED.
I THINK THAT MIGH BE MY REQUEST AS WELL.
CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES.
THE ALL AMERICAN MEAL.
JIM: YES.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT WERE THEY LIKE WHEN THEY CAME IN TO YOU? KNOWING THAT THIS IS THE, THIS IS IT? JIM: I OVERSAW 89 EXECUTIONS.
LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY, 86 OF THOSE MEN, I WENT TO THEIR CELL RIGH AFTER SIX O'CLOCK AND I CALLED THEM BY THEIR LAS NAME AND I SAID, "IT'S TIME TO COME WITH ME TO THE NEXT ROOM.
" THE CELL DOOR WAS OPEN, I TURNED MY BACK TO THAT PERSON, I WALKED INTO THE DEATH CHAMBER WITH THEM BEHIND ME AND THOSE INMATES JUS FOLLOWED ME IN THERE.
THEY HAD NO RESTRAINTS ON 'EM, NOBODY HAD A HAND ON ANY PART OF THEIR BODY, THEY JUST WALKED IN.
I'D SAY, "LIE DOWN ON THE GURNEY WITH YOUR HEAD UP A THE OTHER END" AND THEY DID.
ZAY HARDING: DID YOU EVER DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANYONE WHERE IT WAS REALLY TOUGH FOR YOU TO ACTUALLY DO THIS TO THEM? JIM: YOU WANT TO HEAR A STORY? ZAY HARDING: MMM-HMM.
JIM: THIS GUY CAME OVER.
HE'D BECOME A CHRISTIAN, HE WAS READY TO DIE, AND HE WAS, HAD A GREAT PERSONALITY; JOKIN' ALL THE TIME AND, UM, WHEN I GOT BACK THERE THAT NIGHT TO GET READY FOR THE EXECUTION, I COULD HEAR THE OFFICERS IN THERE WERE ALL LAUGHING.
HE, THIS GUY'S TELLIN' JOKES AND JUST HAVIN' A BIG TIME.
WE GET HIM IN THERE, WE PUT HIM ON THE GURNEY, AND HE SAYS, "I SURE WISHED I'D A BROUGHT A PIECE OF GUM IN HERE WITH ME, I'VE GOT COTTON MOUTH.
" ZAY HARDING: HAH! JIM: THE EXECUTIONER WAS STANDIN' RIGHT BEHIND HIM, AND HE REACHES IN HIS POCKET AND HE PULLS OUT, Y'KNOW THE CANDY COMES ONE TO A PACK? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
JIM: AND HE HANDED I OVER TO THE CHAPLAIN SO THE CHAPLAIN COULD ACTUALLY AND HE, CHAPLAIN DROPS I INTO HIS MOUTH AND THIS GUY IS REALLY SUCKIN'.
I CALL HIS LAS NAME AND I SAY, "WAS THAT A LIFESAVER THEY GAVE YOU?" AND HE SAID, HE SAID, "YES, SIR WARDEN, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA WORK.
" ZAY HARDING: AHH, IRONIC.
IRONIC NAME, YEAH.
JIM: YEAH, HE SAID, "I DON' THINK IT'S GONNA WORK.
" ZAY HARDING: AH.
DESPITE OVERWHELMING SUPPOR FOR THE DEATH PENALTY IN TEXAS IT IS STILL AN EMOTIONAL ISSUE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH LOVED ONES INSIDE.
BUT NOT EVERYBODY HELD IN HUNTSVILLE IS AWAITING A DEATH SENTENCE.
THE PRISON HOLDS ALL KINDS OF OFFENDERS AND TODAY SOME OF THEM ARE ABOUT TO BE RELEASED.
HI, MIND IF I SIT HERE? WOMAN: NO, PLEASE, SIT.
ZAY HARDING: SO YOU'RE WAITIN' FOR SOMEBODY.
WOMAN: MY HUSBAND.
ZAY HARDING: OH, YOUR HUSBAND, OH NO.
HOW LONG DOES HE? WOMAN: THREE YEARS.
ZAY HARDING: THREE YEARS, MY GOD.
WOMAN: IT'S A LONG TIME.
SOME PEOPLE THINK, "THREE YEARS, OH, THAT'S NOT THAT LONG.
" YES IT IS, IT IS A LONG TIME.
ZAY HARDING: YOU JUS HAVE TO WAIT IT OUT.
WOMAN: YOU JUS HAVE TO WAIT IT OUT.
HERE COMES THE GUYS WHO'VE JUST BEEN RELEASED.
EX-CONVICT : HI.
ZAY HARDING: HELLO.
EXCUSE ME SIR, HOW YOU DOIN'? EX-CONVICT 2: GREAT, HOW ARE Y'ALL DOIN'? ZAY HARDING: GOOD, CONGRATULATIONS EX-CONVICT 2: ALRIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: WELCOME BACK TO FREEDOM.
EX-CONVICT 2: YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YOU, HOW, HOW LONG DID YOU SERVE? EX-CONVICT 2: OH, FIVE YEARS.
ZAY HARDING: FIVE YEARS, MY GOSH.
DID YOU EVER THINK THIS DAY WOULD COME? EX-CONVICT 2: OH, ABSOLUTELY NOT.
ZAY HARDING: NO? EX-CONVICT 2: NO.
ZAY HARDING: IT'S UNBELIEVABLE, HUH? EX-CONVICT 2: YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: WHAT ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW? EX-CONVICT 2: OH, I'M VERY NUMB.
ZAY HARDING: NUMB? EX-CONVICT 2: ANXIOUS TO GO HOME, SPEND TIME WITH MY FAMILY; I'M HAPPY TOO, THOUGH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
EX-CONVICT 2: THIS IS MY FAMILY.
THIS IS MY DAD, HE'S BEEN HERE WITH ME THE WHOLE TRIP.
ZAY HARDING: AW, MAN.
EX-CONVICT 2: SISTER.
ZAY HARDING: SISTER, HEY.
EX-CONVICT 2: YEAH, BOTH OF 'EM BEEN THERE.
ZAY HARDING: DO YOU MIND ME ASKING WHAT YOU DID? OR WHAT YOU GO CONVICTED FOR? EX-CONVICT 2: BURGLED A HOUSED, IT WAS REALLY A BOGUS STORY, WE, THESE GUYS, WE, WE COULDA BEEN TAKEN CARE OF.
DAD: ATTEMPTED THEFT OF A BOOM-BOX.
EX-CONVICT 2: THEY HAD ME IN THERE WITH GUYS WHO HAD AGGRAVATED TIME FOR MURDER AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
ZAY HARDING: WERE YOU SCARED FOR HIM? DAD: YEAH.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? DAD: THAT HE MIGHT GET KILLED.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, WHAT WERE YOUR FEELINGS THE WHOLE TIME HE WAS GONE? SISTER: UM, I WAS KINDA NERVOUS CAUSE HE CHANGED A WHOLE LOT.
I JUST DID A LOT OF PRAYING AND JUST TRIED TO HAVE FAITH ABOUT THE SITUATION THA HE'D GET OUT AND BE SAFE AND HE'S OUT AND SAFE.
ZAY HARDING: DESPITE ITS GRIM REPUTATION, HUNTSVILLE, AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT, IS ABOUT LIFE AND FREEDOM.
WEIRD FEELING, BU IT'S EXCITING AND, AND IT'S A DARK AND HAPPY FEELING AT THE SAME TIME.
ONE GUY LOOKED AT MY SHIR AND SAID, "DON'T WORRY, I AIN'T GONNA MESS WITH TEXAS NO MORE.
" AND THE OTHER GUYS LAUGHED, SAID, "YEAH, THAT'S TRUE.
" Y'KNOW, IT'S, AH, HA-HA, IT'S, IT'S A DEFINITE GRADUATION FEEL RIGHT NOW, WALKING OUT.
AND IT'S REALLY NICE TO SEE THAT COUPLE REUNITED.
ABOUT AN HOUR'S DRIVE FROM HUNTSVILLE IS HOUSTON, THE LARGEST CITY IN TEXAS AND THE 4TH LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY, BUT I'M NOT STOPPING HERE.
I'M HEADING JUST A FEW MILES EAST TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE.
WELL, OKAY, MAYBE A FEW PEOPLE HAVE GONE BEFORE, BUT IT'S STILL ONE OF THE MOS AMAZING PLACES ON THE PLANET, THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONS JOHNSON SPACE CENTER.
AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST TOURIS ATTRACTIONS IN THE COUNTRY THE CENTER GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO GIVE VISITORS AN AUTHENTIC COSMIC EXPERIENCE.
REAL MOON ROCK.
I SORTA THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE MORE LIKE CHEESE.
BUT WHAT'S TRULY AMAZING ABOUT THIS PLACE IS ITS GROUNDBREAKING ACHIEVEMENTS IN SPACE EXPLORATION.
SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1961, NASA'S SPACE CENTER HERE IN HOUSTON HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN OVER 150 MANNED MISSIONS INTO SPACE.
NOW IRONICALLY, THIS ONE, THE SATURN 5, NEVER EVEN TOOK OFF.
BUT, THEY PUT IT ON DISPLAY HERE AND IT REALLY GIVES YOU A SENSE OF ITS SCALE.
IT MAKES ME WONDER, HOW DID THEY EVER GET BEASTS LIKE THIS OFF THE GROUND, AND YET, INTO SPACE? IT'S CRAZY.
MAN: 5-4-3-2-1, LIFTOFF.
WE HAVE LIFTOFF AT 9:34 AM, EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME.
ZAY HARDING: FROM THE EARLIES DAYS OF MANNED SPACE FLIGH TO THE LAST SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION IN 2011, NASA'S HOUSTON FACILITY HAS TRAINED AND PREPARED ASTRONAUTS FOR THEIR COSMIC MISSIONS AND DEVELOPED JUS ABOUT EVERY DEVICE YOU CAN THINK OF TO ENSURE HUMANS ARE ABLE TO COPE WITH LIFE IN SPACE.
I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED.
CAPTAIN HARDING REPORTING FOR DUTY.
HELLO.
MICHELLE: HI, WELCOME TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
ZAY HARDING: THANK YOU.
MICHELLE: I'M MICHELLE.
ZAY HARDING: MICHELLE, ZAY.
MICHELLE: NICE TO MEET YOU.
ZAY HARDING: NICE TO MEET YOU.
IT REALLY FEELS LIKE WE'RE THERE.
MICHELLE: YES, THIS IS ACTUAL LIFE SIZE MOCKUP OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
ZAY HARDING: ASTRONAUTS FACE MANY CHALLENGES LIVING IN SPACE AND ONE OF THE BIGGES IS LEARNING HOW TO ADAPT TO A WEIGHTLESS ENVIRONMENT WHERE EVERYTHING FROM EATING TO SLEEPING IS AN ORDEAL.
ASTRONAUT: SO THIS IS THE SLEEPING BAG ITSELF.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY.
ASTRONAUT: AND THIS CAN GE HUNG UP USING THESE SAME, KIND OF, CLIPS.
ZAY HARDING: PEOPLE FLOAT AROUND AND STUFF? ASTRONAUT: YEAH, THE AIRFLOW WILL PUSH YOU AROUND.
THERE YA GO.
ZAY HARDING: SO, YOU GUYS HELP EACH OTHER DO THIS CAUSE I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STRAP MYSELF IN.
ASTRONAUT: THERE YA GO AND YOUR ARMS COME OUT.
ZAY HARDING: OR MAYBE THAT'S WHAT THIS IS FOR, OKAY.
ASTRONAUT: THERE YA GO.
ZAY HARDING: THERE'S ZERO GRAVITY IN HERE, RIGHT? ASTRONAUT: RIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: SO IT WOULDN' MATTER IF YOU'RE SLEEPING UPSIDE DOWN OR NO CAUSE THERE'S NO BLOOD GOING TO YOUR HEAD.
ASTRONAUT: EXACTLY RIGHT, WHAT HAPPENS IS, INSTEAD OF THE BLOOD BEING PULLED DOWN TO YOUR LEGS, IT GOES ALL THE WAY THROUGH YOUR BODY MORE EVENLY.
AND IT GIVES YOU KIND OF A STUFFED UP HEAD FEELING.
YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'VE GO A HEAD COLD A LITTLE BIT.
WE HAVE A PILLOW THA GOES BACK BEHIND YOUR HEAD LIKE THIS.
ZAY HARDING: AHH.
ASTRONAUT: OKAY? AND THEN IT HAS A STRAP THAT GOES ACROSS YOUR HEAD.
ZAY HARDING: AHH, OKAY, OKAY.
ASTRONAUT: SO THA IT HELPS KEEP YOUR HEAD FROM FLOATIN' FORWARD.
ZAY HARDING: INTERESTING.
ASTRONAUT: EH, THA COULD BE USED THAT WAY, SURE.
ZAY HARDING: AHH, THIS ZERO GRAVITY IS MAKIN' ME REALLY TIRED.
GOODNIGHT.
OKAY, THERE'S ONE AREA OF SPACE LIFE YOU DON'T HEAR MUCH ABOUT, BUT IT'S VITAL TO BE TRAINED FOR IT, OTHERWISE THINGS COULD GET VERY, VERY MESSY ASTRONAUT 2: ALRIGHT, WELL USIN' THE BATHROOM IN SPACE IT'S WHAT EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT, AND ONLY FIVE YEAR OLDS ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO ASK.
SO, WE HAVE HERE THE WASTE COLLECTION SYSTEM, OR WCS, CAUSE AT NASA WE HAVE ACRONYMS FOR EVERYTHING.
ZAY HARDING: UH-HUH.
ASTRONAUT 2: IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
YOU HAVE A, A FUNNEL.
AND EACH PERSON HAS THEIR OWN LITTLE ADAPTOR THAT WILL STICK IN THE FUNNEL.
AND THAT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
YOU GOT A LITTLE SUCTION THAT'LL GO THROUGH THE HOSE, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING GETS PULLED DOWN AND AWAY.
ZAY HARDING: PEEING INTO A VACUUM? ASTRONAUT 2: YUP, YOU'RE BASICALLY PEEING INTO A VACUUM.
AND YOU GOTTA GO NUMBER TWO ZAY HARDING: MMM-HMM.
ASTRONAUT 2: YOU GET TO, YOU SIT DOWN, YOU CAN STRAP YOUR FEET INTO THESE LITTLE BRACKETS HERE.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ASTRONAUT 2: AND HAND HOLDS TO HOLD ON.
AND THEN YOU GOTTA AIM RIGH DOWN THIS LITTLE HOLE HERE, WHICH IS ONLY ABOUT THAT BIG.
AND FOR THAT REASON, WE HAVE THIS WCS OVER HERE.
IT'S AIMING PRACTICE.
ZAY HARDING: IT'S GOT A LIGHT COMIN' OUT FROM ASTRONAUT 2: THERE IS A CAMERA THAT COMES UP FROM THE BOTTOM AND YOU SEE ON THE MONITOR OVER HERE WHA YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
THIS WAY YOU CAN PRACTICE, SINCE YOU CAN'T SEE THINGS.
ALRIGHT, SO I'M AIMED RIGH LOOKING AT THE CAMERA, NOW, WHAT DOES MY BUTT FEEL LIKE? ZAY HARDING: MM.
ASTRONAUT 2: WHAT DOES MY MUSCLE FEEL LIKE? CAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY IN SPACE YOU KNOW TO GE EVERYTHING LINED UP AND IN THE HOLE CAUSE OTHERWISE IT STARTS FLOATING.
ZAY HARDING: MMM.
ASTRONAUT 2: AND IT WILL FLOAT OUT INTO THE AIR, AND ZAY HARDING: MMM, UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS WITHIN OUR SPACESHIP.
HOW DID IT GET IN? ASTRONAUT 2: YES, VERY UNPLEASANT.
IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.
ZAY HARDING: KLINGONS HAVE PENETRATED OUR SPACESHIP HERE SOMEHOW.
ASTRONAUT 2: BUT ON THE SPACE STATION, IT ACTUALLY, UH, HAS AN EXTRA TWIST: THE URINE IS, GOES THROUGH A URINE RE-PROCESSOR AND IS PROCESSED INTO DRINKING WATER.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE CREW USE TO COOK THEIR MEALS.
ZAY HARDING: COME AGAIN? YOU'RE SAYING THEY ASTRONAUT 2: THEY RECYCLE THEIR PEE ONBOARD THE SPACE STATION.
ZAY HARDING: WELCOME TO OUTER SPACE.
LEARNING HOW TO LIVE IN SPACE IS ONE THING, LEARNING HOW TO WORK IN SPACE IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALL GAME.
WITH THE HELP OF VIRTUAL REALITY, ASTRONAUTS PRACTICE A SERIES OF MAINTENANCE TASKS TO GE THEM READY FOR THE REAL DEAL.
REALITY? VIRTUAL? I CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
NOW I'M LOOKING INTO DEEP, DARK SPACE.
THE FINAL FRONTIER.
OH, I CAN SEE EARTH.
THAT'S PRETTY COOL.
ASTRONAUT 3: NOW IS I ABOVE YOU OR BELOW YOU? ZAY HARDING: IT'S ABOVE ME.
ASTRONAUT 3: SURE? ZAY HARDING: WELL, IT'S ALL RELATIVE ISN'T IT? ASTRONAUT 3: THAT'S RIGHT.
IN ZERO G, THERE'S BASICALLY NO UP OR DOWN.
ZAY HARDING: SO, EVEN WHEN I'M UPSIDE DOWN IN SPACE, I FEEL LIKE I'M RIGH SIDE UP LIKE THIS? ASTRONAUT 3: WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING DOWN, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE EARTH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S UP OVER YOUR HEAD.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH, IT'S HARD TO TELL WHICH WAY IS UP AND DOWN CAUSE IF I BREAK THROUGH THE WINDOW HERE ASTRONAUT 3: SHOULD BE ABLE TO POKE YOUR HEAD RIGHT OUT.
ZAY HARDING: I CAN SEE OUTSIDE THE SPACESHIP LOOKING IN.
ASTRONAUT 3: THAT'S RIGHT.
ZAY HARDING: IT'S COMFORTING LOOKING AT EARTH, I THINK.
AS MUCH AS WE WAN TO GO UP INTO SPACE, WHEN YOU'RE UP HERE, YOU WANT TO LOOK BACK AT EARTH.
ASTRONAUT 3: YOU READY, GAME OVER? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, ALRIGHT.
WHOA, AND JUST LIKE THAT I'M BACK THERE.
ASTRONAUT 3: THERE YA GO.
ZAY HARDING: TO COMPLETE THEIR TRAINING ASTRONAUTS HEADING FOR SPACE MUST COME HERE, THE SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGH SIMULATOR, WHERE THEY WILL PERFORM SOME 1,500 TAKE OFFS AND LANDINGS BEFORE GOING ON THE REAL THING.
COME IN HOUSTON I'M READY FOR TAKE OFF.
WOMAN: FLIGHT CREW OTC, CLOSE AND LOCK YOUR VISORS AND INITIATE O2 FLOW.
MAN: READY.
ZAY HARDING: OKAY, READY.
MAN: OKAY, 45 SECONDS TO LAUNCH.
ZAY HARDING: I'M VERY NERVOUS.
MAN: THERE'S 23 SECONDS TO LAUNCH.
ZAY HARDING: WHOA.
MAN: FIVE SECONDS, MAIN ENGINES COMIN' UP.
ZAY HARDING: HA-HA, WHOA, THERE GOES THE TOWER! OH! MAN: THAT'S TOWER CLEAR.
ZAY HARDING: AHHHH, HOW FAST ARE WE GOIN' NOW? [INAUDIBLE.]
MAN: THERE WE GO.
ZAY HARDING: WHOA! MAN: THAT'S THE SOLID ROCKETS LEAVING.
ZAY HARDING: WOW, HELLO HOUSTON, ARE WE IN SPACE YET? I GOTTA GO BATHROOM.
TRAINING AT NASA IS OUT OF THIS WORLD.
IT'S GOT TO BE THE NEXT BES THING TO GOING INTO SPACE, BUT NOTHING CAN BEAT THE REAL DEAL AND I'M GONNA MEE SOMEONE WHO'S ACTUALLY BEEN THERE.
BACK IN 1969 ALAN BEAN WAS A MEMBER OF THE APOLLO 12 MISSION AND BECAME THE 4TH MAN TO WALK ON THE MOON.
MAN: 6796, SLOW DOWN INTO [INAUDIBLE.]
.
30 SECONDS WAIT, 4 FEET CONTACT LIGHT ROGER, COPY CONTACT I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, AMAZING.
FANTASTIC! ZAY HARDING: TODAY, ALAN IS AN ARTIST LIVING IN HOUSTON WHERE HE HAS TURNED HIS COSMIC EXPERIENCE INTO AN INFINITE SOURCE OF CREATIVITY.
THE ARTWORK HERE IS AMAZING! I ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE I'M ON THE MOON LOOKING AT THIS GUY.
ALAN: THAT'S GREAT.
ZAY HARDING: IS THIS EXACTLY HOW IT FELT? ALAN: YEAH, IT'S GREAT, I'M HOPING YOU GET THAT REACTION.
ZAY HARDING: I MEAN THERE'S A NEAT 3D QUALITY ABOUT HIM.
LIKE, HOW DO YOU GET THESE, THESE RIPPLES AND RIDGES THA ARE GOIN' ON IN THE TEXTURE OF IT? ALAN: ONE DAY I SAID TO MYSELF, "WHY AM I USING EARTH TOOLS WHEN I'VE GOT MOON TOOLS?" THIS IS A TRAINING BOO JUST LIKED WE TRAINED IN.
AND YOU SEE THE TREAD ON THE BOTTOM, AND IT FITS EXACTLY THERE.
ZAY HARDING: MMMM.
ALAN: ONE OF THE THINGS THA I WANTED ON THESE PAINTINGS WHAT I WANTED MOON DUST IN 'EM, SO ZAY HARDING: THERE'S MOON DUST IN THESE PAINTINGS? ALAN: THAT'S RIGHT, HERE'S A PIECE OF MY FLAG.
THIS WAS FROM MY SUIT AND OVER HERE'S A DIFFEREN PIECE OF FABRICS.
THEY'RE DIRTY WITH MOON DUST.
ZAY HARDING: WITH ACTUAL MOON DUST ON THEM? ALAN: YEAH, THERE IT IS.
THERE'S MOON DUST IN THERE.
SO AT THE END THEN, I'VE GOT A VERY TEXTURED SURFACE THAT'S NOT LIKE ANY EARTH PAINTING I'VE EVER HEARD OF.
ZAY HARDING: HOW DID THAT CHANGE YOUR LIFE? GOING ALL THE WAY TO SOME PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SEE EARTH JUST GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER? ALAN: WELL, IT'S KINDA SCARY.
YOUR NECKS OUT 250,000 MILES, NOBODY'S GONNA COME SEE YOU IF YOU MAKE A BIG MISTAKE.
YOU HOPE THAT THE PEOPLE THAT SEWED THAT SEAM ZAY HARDING: OH, YEAH, YEAH.
ALAN: RIGHT THERE OR FIGURED A WAY TO CONNEC THAT GLOVE CONNECTS, AND THAT VISOR DOESN'T CRACK.
BECAUSE IF SOMETHING LIKE THA GOES WRONG, YOU'RE FINISHED.
ZAY HARDING: DO YOU HAVE ANY SELF-PORTRAITS? ALAN: OH, SURE, SURE.
THERE'S ONE OF ME RIGH THERE, RUNNING ALONG THE MOON.
AND THE REASON I'M ON MY TIP TOES THERE IS THE JOINTS, THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY ARE TO MOVE.
ALAN: AND SO IF I MOVE MY HIPS MUCH OR KNEES MUCH THEN IT WAS A LOT OF WORK AND I WAS TRYING TO SAVE MY ENERGY.
ZAY HARDING: IT REALLY CAPTURES THE FEELING.
ALAN: I THINK IT DOES.
I FELT SO LIGHT UP THERE.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ALAN: AND I FELT STRONG, I KNEW THAT IT WAS LIGHT GRAVITY.
ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ALAN: BUT STILL WHEN I WAS DOING WORK OR JUMPING OR RUNNING, I COULD DO THINGS THAT I COULD NEVER DO ON EARTH ZAY HARDING: YEAH.
ALAN: AND SO I FELT LIKE, "WOW, I'M STRONG TODAY.
" YOU KNOW? ZAY HARDING: YEAH, YEAH.
SO HOW HAS THIS EXPERIENCE CHANGED HOW YOU VIEW LIFE ON EARTH? ALAN: FREQUENTLY, I WOULD LOOK UP AT THE EARTH AND SAY "THAT'S THE EARTH, THIS IS THE MOON!" 'CAUSE IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE TO ME TOO, DON'T FORGET.
ACTUALLY SEEING THIS TINY EARTH DOWN THERE IN THIS HUGE BLACK VOID AND LOOKING A IT AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, RIGHT ON THAT BEAUTIFUL EARTH IS ALL THE HUMANITY THAT WE KNOW OF AT THE MOMENT AND SO I DO HOPE THAT WE CAN PRESERVE THIS EARTH, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE CAREFUL.
ZAY HARDING: FOR THE FINAL LEG OF MY JOURNEY I'M HEADING JUST 70 MILES EAS OF HOUSTON TO THE TINY TOWN OF CHAPPELL HILL, A CLASSIC SLICE OF SMALL TOWN AMERICA.
CHAPPELL HILL BEGAN LIFE IN THE 1800'S AS A STAGECOACH STOP BETWEEN HOUSTON AND AUSTIN AND GREW INTO A COMMERCIAL CENTER FOR LOCAL COTTON FARMERS.
HOWDY, DOODY HELLO.
THESE DAYS NO MUCH HAPPENS HERE, EXCEPT FOR ONCE A YEAR WHEN THE WHOLE TOWN SPRINGS TO LIFE IN A CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE.
TEXAS HAS AN INDEPENDENT SPIRIT, BUT IT'S STILL PROUD TO BE AMERICAN, AND NOWHERE IS THIS MORE APPARENT THAN RIGHT HERE IN CHAPPELL HILL.
IT MAY BE A TINY LITTLE TOWN, BUT THEIR FOURTH OF JULY PARADE IS BIG.
HELLO.
MAN: HEY, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! ZAY HARDING: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO YOU TOO, SIR.
I LIKE YOUR SHIRT.
MAN: THANK YOU.
ZUZU: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! ZAY HARDING: OH MY, GOODNESS, THANK YOU.
YOU HAVE SO MUCH SPIRIT.
ZUZU? ZUZU: YEAH! ZAY HARDING: YEAH! ZUZU: IT WERE TODAY WE ARE 235 YEARS YOUNG.
ZAY HARDING: 235 YEARS TODAY? ZUZU: I DO BELIEVE.
ZAY HARDING: WOW.
ZUZU: YEAH, IT'S THE MOS IMPORTANT DAY OF THE YEAR.
ZAY HARDING: THAT'S TRUE.
I BETTER GET A MOVE ON.
THE PARADE'S ABOUT TO START AND I'M SUPPOSED TO BE PART OF IT.
IS THIS WHERE WE GET KAZOOS? WOMAN: YES! ZAY HARDING: I'M SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE KAZOO BAND.
GIRL: I'M DOING FLAG TWIRLING.
ZAY HARDING: FLAG TWIRLING? THAT'S SO FUN.
HAVE YOU BEEN, HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING? GIRL: YEAH, I BEEN PRACTICING FOR A COUPLE WEEKS.
ZAY HARDING: OH, GOOD, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU.
YOU BETTER BE GOOD, KID.
GIRL: YUP! [LAUGHTER.]
.
[KAZOOS.]
.
MAN: CANON READY TO FIRE? [KAZOOS.]
.
MAN: FIRE! [CROWD GASPING AND CHEERING.]
.
ZAY HARDING: THE 4TH OF JULY IS THE MOST PATRIOTIC EVENT OF THE YEAR AND COMMEMORATES THE DAY THE UNITED STATES DECLARED ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN BACK IN 1776.
IRONICALLY TEXAS WAS A SPANISH POSSESSION AT THE TIME AND DIDN'T JOIN THE U.
S.
UNTIL 1845, BUT WHERE INDEPENDENCE IS CONCERNED NO PEOPLE CELEBRATE IT QUITE LIKE THE TEXANS.
WOMAN: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ZAY HARDING: THIS YEAR'S PARADE IS IN HONOR OF THE COUNTRY'S MILITARY BUT FARM MACHINERY MIGHT BE STEALING THE SHOW.
WOMAN: BEING A TEXAN AND AN AMERICA, IT'S VERY SIMILAR IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE A TRUE APPRECIATION FOR WHA IT MEANS TO BE FREE.
AND, YOU KNOW, TEXAS, WE FOUGHT FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE AND WE'RE STILL DOING THAT TODAY FOR AMERICA.
WOMAN 2: YOU CAN BE IN TEXAS AND YOU CAN GO TO DIFFEREN PARTS OF THE STATE AND IT'S LIKE BEING IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT COUNTRY.
MAN: IT'S THE BIGNESS, IT'S THE ONENESS, YOU CAN BE AN INDIVIDUAL, YET YOU CAN BE PART OF A MASSIVE GROUP.
YOU THINKIN' PROUD.
I WASN'T AT THE ALAMO, OF COURSE, BUT I REMEMBER THE ALAMO.
AH, IF YOU COME TO TEXAS, THIS IS EXACTLY WHA YOU'RE GONNA BE, "BUSY, BUSY, BUSY.
" THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF THINGS TO DO OR SEE AROUND THIS GREAT STATE AND YOU'RE SURE TO MEET TRUCKLOADS OF FRIENDLY PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY.
BUT IT'S A BIG'OL STATE AND I'VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO TO GET HOME.
THIS HERE VEHICLE AIN'T VERY FAST EITHER, BUT AT LEAST I WON'T HAVE TO MAKE ANY REST STOPS.
HAPPY TRAILS, PARTNER! NARRATOR: STAY TUNED FOR A SPECIAL "GLOBE TREKKER" EXTRA.
ANNOUNCER: FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED BY, SUBARU.
WOMAN: AT SUBARU, WE BUILD VEHICLES LIKE THE RUGGED OUTBACK.
WITH SYMMETRICAL ALL-WHEEL DRIVE AND PLENTY OF CARGO SPACE.
FOR THOSE WHO PACK EVEN MORE ADVENTURE INTO LIFE.
SUBARU, A PROUD SPONSOR OF GLOBE TREKKER.
MAN: YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOU THIS SERIES ON OUR WEBSITE.
PROGRAMS FROM THE GLOBE TREKKER SERIES ARE AVAILABLE ON DVD AND NOW ON DEMAND FROM GLOBETREKKER.
TV.
MUSIC FROM THE SERIES IS AVAILABLE ON CD, YOU CAN ALSO ORDER THE NEW GLOBE TREKKER ANNUAL FEATURING INFORMATION ON FESTIVALS, EVENTS AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.
TO ORDER GLOBE TREKKER PRODUCTS CALL 888-565-0361 OR VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.
GLOBETREKKERTV.
COM JUSTINE SHAPIRO: HELLO.
DRIVER: HELLO.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHERE DO I PUT THIS? DRIVER: RIGHT THERE.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: MEMPHIS HAS THIS GREAT SYSTEM OF TROLLIES, THEY'LL TAKE YOU ANYWHERE DOWNTOWN FOR A DOLLAR! ONE TRAM STOP ON THE DOWNTOWN LINE WILL TAKE YOU BACK IN TIME TO A HISTORIC LOCATION THAT HAS TRANSFORMED THE VESTIGES OF A DARKER ERA INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE.
DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
WAS ASSASSINATED ON APRIL 4, 1968 RIGHT HERE IN MEMPHIS AT THE LORAINE HOTEL.
THEY PRESERVED THE FAÃADE OF THE HOTEL AND BUILT THE NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM AROUND IT.
THE MISSION OF THE MUSEUM, WHICH OPENED IN 1991, IS TO CHRONICLE KEY EPISODES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND THE LEGACY OF THE MOVEMENT WITH EXHIBITIONS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE, A RECREATION OF ROSA PARKS MONTGOMERY BUS OF 1955, THE ORIGINAL GREENSBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA WOOLWORTH'S LUNCH COUNTER WITH A DEPICTION OF THE FOUR AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO LAUNCHED THE FIRST SIT-IN WHEN THEY WERE REFUSED SERVICE, AND THE ORIGINAL MOTEL ROOMS WHERE DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
STAYED, LEFT INTACT, THE DAY HE WAS ASSASSINATED.
THE ERA OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS WELL DOCUMENTED BY JOURNALISTS, BUT ONE PHOTOGRAPHER HAD ESPECIALLY PRIVILEGED ACCESS TO DR.
KING, THE LATE ERNEST WITHERS.
I MEET UP WITH THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY FOUNDATION THAT MANAGES WITHERS' LEGACY HIS DAUGHTER, ROSALIND WITHERS.
SO WAS YOUR FATHER HERE THE DAY THA DR.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
WAS ASSASSINATED? ROSALIND WITHERS: WHEN HE GOT HERE, IT WAS A CROWD, HE WAS ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE CROWD BECAUSE PEOPLE KNEW HIM AS A PHOTOGRAPHER AND HE DID CAPTURE MOMENTS AFTER THE ASSASSINATION BUT THE MOMEN OF THE ASSASSINATION HE DID NOT GET.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: DID HE TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF DR.
KING'S BODY? ROSALIND WITHERS: HE WAS THE ONE THAT WAS ALLOWED TO TAKE THE FIRS PHOTOGRAPH AFTER HE WAS SHOT.
HE HAS EXTENSIVE COVERAGE IN ALL THE CATEGORIES OF LIFESTYLES, CIVIL RIGHTS, MUSIC, SPORTS.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE IMAGE.
THIS IS THE IMAGE THAT I FEEL THAT REALLY CAPSULATES THE IMPACT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHAT WAS THE THINKING DO YOU THINK OF.
ROSALIND WITHERS: SEPARATION, COMPLETE SEGREGATION, I MEAN YOU'RE HERE, YOU'RE THERE, I MEAN I HAVE SO MANY OF DAD'S IMAGES THAT SHOWS WHITE WATER FOUNTAINS, "WHITES ONLY", IT WAS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE, ALL OF, ALL OF THE SOUTH AND VERY, VERY STRONG IN MEMPHIS.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: I RECOGNIZE SOME OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR FATHER.
ROSALIND SHAPIRO: THAT IS TRUE AND A LOT OF THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT HE WAS A, A BLACK MAN DOING PHOTOGRAPHY AND HIS WORK HAS BEEN PLASTERED ON "LIFE" AND "TIME MAGAZINE", MANY TIMES HE ACTUALLY TOOK A ROLL OF FILM AND SENT IT TO THESE MAGAZINES AND HE DIDN'T GET CREDIT, EVEN HERE LOCALLY THEY DIDN'T GIVE HIM CREDIT.
HE HAD THREE CAMERAS, HE WAS KNOWN FOR CARRYING THREE CAMERAS AROUND HIS NECK, SO HE WOULD SEND A ROLL TO THE WHITE PRESS, THE BLACK PRESS AND THEN HE'D KEEP A ROLL.
SO WE HAVE RECORD OF EVERYTHING THAT HE RECORDED AND EVEN THOUGH OTHERS MAY TAKE CLAIM TO HIS IMAGES, WE KNOW THA THEY'RE HIS IMAGES.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHEN IN MEMPHIS, ALL ROADS LEAD TO GRACELAND.
EVEN THOUGH ELVIS PRESLEY DIED IN 1977, HIS HOME CONTINUES TO BE A VERY POPULAR TOURIS DESTINATION AND A SHRINE TO THE LATE, GREAT KING OF ROCK AND ROLL.
THE KING MAY BE LONG GONE, BUT HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON IN GRACELAND WHICH HAS OVER A HALF MILLION VISITORS A YEAR, MAKING IT SECOND ONLY TO THE WHITE HOUSE, AS THE MOST VISITED RESIDENCE IN THE USA.
SEE WHERE ELVIS RELAXED, COOKED HIS MEALS, ATE HIS MEALS, ONLY THE UPSTAIRS, WHERE ELVIS DIED, IS OFF LIMITS.
THEN YOU CAN HEAD OUT TO THE POOL AREA, WHERE YOU CAN VISI THE KING HIMSELF.
THE LATEST ADDITION TO GRACELAND IS ELVIS'S CAR MUSEUM, WHICH FEATURES 33 OF HIS FAVORITE VEHICLES, INCLUDING THE ICONIC PINK CADILLAC HE PURCHASED IN 1955 AND GAVE TO HIS MOTHER.
ALSO ON DISPLAY ARE BOTH OF HIS PRIVATE AIRPLANES PERSONALLY DECORATED BY THE KING HIMSELF.
WOMAN: YOU NEED TO GET YOU SOME BUSINESS, AND LEAVE MINE ALONE.
YOU NEED TO GE YOU SOME BUSINESS, AND LEAVE MINE ALONE.
ALL YOU NOSEY NEIGHBORS.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: THIS LITTLE NORTH MEMPHIS DIVE, ATTRACTS ALL KINDS OF BLUES LOVERS AND IS THE PERFEC PLACE FOR ME TO FIND SOME BLUES EXPERTS AND ASK, "WHAT IS THE BLUES?" MAN: WELL IF YOU'RE PLAYING THE BLUES THE WAY I LIKE TO PLAY IT, IT REACHES THE PEOPLE AND MAKE YOU FEEL; IT'S A FEELING.
WOMAN: BLUES COULD BE HAPPY BLUES, I MADE A LOT MONEY TODAY.
YOU KNOW? AND I'M HAPPY.
I NEED A MAN, WHO KNOWS WHAT TO DO.
I NEED A MAN, WHO KNOWS WHAT TO DO.
MOVE IT TO THE LEFT, MOVE IT TO THE RIGHT AND DO.
MAN: REALLY THE THING WHAT GIVES YOU THE BLUES, IS WHEN YOUR WOMAN LEAVE YOU.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: WHEN YOU WOMAN LEAVES YOU? MAN: WHEN YOUR WOMAN LEAVE YOU, THAT'S WHAT MAKE YOU REALLY, REALLY THINK.
YOU THINK ABOU HOW I LOVE HER.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: AND HOW YOU MISS HER.
MAN: YEAH, HOW I MISS HER.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: HOW YOU WANT HER BACK.
MAN: YEAH, I WANT HER BACK, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GONNA GET HER BACK.
JUSTINE SHAPIRO: HOW YOU GONNA GET HER BACK? MAN: I GOTTA KEEP ON TRAVELLIN'.