Adventures in Odyssey

Chris: Hi, this is Chris. Welcome to Adventures in Odyssey!

Jules: Okay, Connie, I just pulled up to the restaurant. I need to figure out what to tell Buck. Of course I'm going to tell him I'm a Christian, but I need to do it carefully. He's going to be so weirded out by it. Things have already been awkward since we broke up, and I'm just surprised he even wanted to meet me while he's here.

It just felt like we were the only two non-Christians in town and that really bonded us. It's probably why we became such good friends in the first place. What's he going to think of me? It's even more of a wedge between us. Hey, he's walking up now. I've got to go. Bye.

Buck: Hey, stranger!

Jules: Hi.

Buck: Listen, can we meet at Hal's Diner instead? There's a big church crowd here right now and I just can't deal with that.

Jules: Of course. Sure.

Buck: Great. I'll meet you over there.

Jules: He's not going to understand at all. It's really good to see you.

Buck: You too. Thanks for meeting up with me. My parents showed me the news article about your accident. That must have been a terrifying thing to go through.

Jules: It was something. Did you hear anything else?

Buck: That they finally decided to construct railings along that area of the national forest? Is that what you mean?

Jules: Yeah. So, tell me, what's been going on with you?

Buck: Well, a lot, actually.

Jules: I'm all ears.

Buck: Where to begin? I guess it all started when we were at the school football banquet a couple weeks ago.

Jules: We?

Buck: Lexi and me.

Jules: Right.

Buck: We went together. She started talking to me about this "ministry" thing.

Jules: What's that look?

Buck: Did I? Well, you know how religious stuff makes me skeptical. Anyway, Lexi being Lexi, she insisted this was the real deal.

Lexi: It's called Delivering Biblical Blessings. It's such a great organization, Buck. I'm telling you, if you just had an open mind, you could see it does a lot of great things.

Buck: Someone's making a profit off of it somewhere.

Lexi: No, the head of the ministry doesn't even take a paycheck.

Buck: I'm sure he doesn't.

Lexi: Can't you just acknowledge helping other people is a good thing?

Buck: It is a good thing. I'm just not sure this organization is.

Lexi: You are so cynical. Fine, just tell me how it works. Okay, our group, all teenagers, helps the older people at the assisted care facility, run errands, organize games and activities, that sort of thing. And instead of giving money to us, they give money to kids in Burundi. Here, you have to see this video.

Narrator: Richard never thought he'd be able to go to school. But now, through Delivering Biblical Blessings, your generous contributions are allowing him to finish up his third year. He's able to read and write, and he excels at math and science.

Richard: My plan is to go to university and become a doctor. Then I can help the sick people in my village.

Narrator: And with your help, Richard's dream is truly possible.

Lexi: Isn't that incredible? There are dozens of stories like that.

Buck: It seems like a good thing, I guess.

Lexi: And the organization really follows how the Bible tells us to live, to help out the poor and hungry and hurting. Mr. Bergum is always saying blessings beget blessings. We give what we have, time and energy, and the older people give what they have, finances, to these kids who can't afford to go to school.

Buck: If you can find enough people who just want to help out of the goodness of their heart.

Lexi: A lot of people do want to make a difference in the world, Buck. Even you.

Buck: I'm not signing up for this.

Lexi: I'm saying you do the same thing with Chase. You saw a need in the foster community and you became a mentor in order to be a good influence on him. And you are. Isn't that rewarding in itself?

Buck: Well, sure, but it's also that I'm kind of paying off a debt.

Lexi: What do you mean by that?

Buck: I was in a situation like Chase, and people helped me. So I feel like I need to do the same for someone else, like I owe it to the world or something.

Coach: Excuse me, everyone. Okay, hope you've enjoyed your first course. Before we move on to the next one, I'd like to present our first award for the evening: Most Valuable Player on Offense. This young man scored 22 touchdowns and had over 1600 yards receiving despite starting the season late. This award goes to Buck Meltsner!

Jules: Offensive Player of the Year? Impressive.

Buck: Thanks. Anyway, Lexi got me thinking about how I was helping Chase.

Jules: The boy in foster care who you mentor.

Buck: Yeah, and how I was introduced to that program through her church. So I should at least check out this Delivering Biblical Blessings thing.

Jules: You agreed?

Buck: I told her I'd stop by the nursing home and see what it's all about. I even brought Chase. Once he heard about it, he wanted to help. Remember, speak up when you talk to the residents, okay?

Mrs. Clementine: Yes, can I help you?

Buck: Good morning, Mrs. Clementine! We wanted to let you know about some activities we have planned today.

Mrs. Clementine: Why are you talking like that?

Buck: I just want to make sure you can hear me, in case you're going deaf.

Mrs. Clementine: You should be more concerned about going blind if you can't tell that I am two feet in front of you.

Buck: Sorry, I told him to speak up. We just want to let you know we're playing bingo in the rec room in an hour.

Mrs. Clementine: Oh, bingo again. Ever since I made Albert Finkley's blood pressure alarm go off in a friendly game of cribbage, they've relegated us to bingo.

Buck: If it makes you feel better, there'll be snacks.

Mrs. Clementine: Like those peanut butter cookies that darling Lexi girl makes?

Buck: She makes cookies?

Mrs. Clementine: You know Lexi? Isn't she a doll? You two would actually make a cute couple.

Buck: I don't know.

Chase: He's turning Lexi pink. It's his usual shade when I bring her up to him.

Mrs. Clementine: Well, that's like my Mr. Clementine, God rest his soul, when he was courting me. Lexi comes to visit me a couple of times a week. I'll put in a good word for you.

Buck: You don't need to do that.

Mrs. Clementine: Lex pretty, Lexy red now, don't you think?

Chase: Yeah, his ears look like sliced tomatoes on the side of his head.

Buck: It's nice that she visits you. So, about the activities?

Mrs. Clementine: Oh, it's not just a visit. She's my philanthropical advisor.

Buck: Your what?

Mrs. Clementine: You might not be able to tell, but I'm older. I want to make sure my money is going to go to good places, to do good things. And the organization she works with does some great work.

Buck: The Biblical Blessings thing.

Mrs. Clementine: Have you ever seen what that ministry is doing? I have videos.

Buck: Lexi's shown me. She's a real fan.

Mrs. Clementine: I'm always happy to write them a check.

Buck: You use checks?

Mrs. Clementine: Most of the folks around here do. Now, come with me. You've got oatmeal on your shirt.

Buck: I guess I dropped some at breakfast.

Mrs. Clementine: How are you going to impress that girl if you eat with the skill of a toddler? Let's get you cleaned up. And we should probably pluck your eyebrows while we're at it.

Buck: They're that bad?

Mrs. Clementine: We better go in. And while I pluck, we'll talk about what you should say to Lexi.

Buck: Is that the brochure for the charity?

Mrs. Clementine: It is. Take a look while I find my tweezers.

Buck: I think I will. Buck. Jason, what's going on?

Jason Whittaker: Hi, Buck. Listen, when you have time, I was wondering if you could look into something for me.

Buck: Please don't tell me you found another terrorist in Baltimore. My day planner is filled out.

Jason Whittaker: Not quite. It might not mean anything, but I have a friend who's involved in this charity organization and the publicity materials looked oddly familiar.

Buck: Where have you seen it before?

Jason Whittaker: It looked like the stuff Mr. Skint showed people when he was scamming them for donations for a good cause. I'm a little skeptical.

Buck: Sure. Give me the details and I'll look into it.

Mom: Hi, Mom.

Buck: Buck, hi.

Mom: What's wrong?

Buck: What makes you think there's something wrong? Because you're looking at me like you want to wrap me up in a blanket and give me a teddy bear.

Mom: Your dad's on his way home. We can talk about it then.

Buck: So it's really bad.

Mom: I just don't know how you're going to react.

Buck: Now you definitely need to tell me.

Mom: I got a call today from the state penitentiary in Philadelphia. That's where Mr. Skint is serving his time.

Buck: Did he escape?

Mom: He's dying, Buck. They've transferred him to the local hospital where he's being watched by a guard. They don't think he'll last much longer.

Buck: Do you want to go see him? Philadelphia's only an hour away by train. I'll go with you.

Mom: I don't know. Should I?

Buck: This will be your last chance, if there's anything you wanted to say.

Mom: Honestly, I wouldn't know what to say. Goodbye, or maybe that you forgive him.

Buck: Mr. Skint doesn't care about forgiveness. He doesn't think he's ever done anything wrong.

Mom: He might now. People can change. You've changed.

Buck: You don't know Mr. Skint.

Mom: Just think about it. I'm sorry.

Buck: Why? He's a horrible person.

Mom: Who used to be your guardian, a father figure of sorts.

Buck: Not a good one. It's okay, Mom. I'd rather not go.

Jules: You didn't want to see him?

Buck: No. I mean, yes, but I didn't know what to think. He raised me for fifteen years.

Jules: And got you in a lot of trouble.

Buck: When other kids were learning to ride a bike, I was learning to pick their bike locks. Everything was a scam, a con, a twist of the truth. It totally skewed what I thought was right and wrong.

Jules: From what you've said, it does sound like he genuinely cared about you, though.

Buck: In a weird way, I suppose he did. Then I was the one responsible for sending him to jail. That was the last time I saw him. I couldn't imagine he'd want to see me after that. So I decided not to visit. Until the next day, when I went back to see Mrs. Clementine. Buck, so nice of you to visit. Come in.

Mrs. Clementine: I'd like you to meet my daughter, Chloe.

Buck: Hi, Buck. My mother tells me you're part of this Delivering Biblical Blessings group.

Mrs. Clementine: Sort of. My foster kid brother and his friends are involved and, well, I like hanging out with Mrs. Clementine.

Buck: Told you he was charming, especially now with the new eyebrows. So this organization does a lot of good things, according to my mother.

Mrs. Clementine: I don't really know that much about it, to be honest. Now, Chloe, Buck is new. It's a good charity, and the bracelet will be far more useful to them than it ever will be to us.

Chloe: But it's been in our family for generations.

Mrs. Clementine: It's just a thing, and gaudy enough that no one would even wear it anymore. Selling it and donating the money would actually be using it to do something good.

Chloe: But I remember grandmother wearing it.

Mrs. Clementine: And I remember her unfortunate taste.

Buck: What bracelet?

Chloe: Mother wants to donate a family heirloom, a gaudy piece of jewelry, to do work for the Kingdom. Well, it's yours to do with as you want, of course, but Mom, please, just think about it.

Jules: I mean, I can see both sides of it. It's a sentimental piece, but it could also become medicine for sick kids. It could save lives. That's a big deal.

Buck: Well, there's a third side to it: my side.

Jules: What do you mean?

Buck: You know about my past, how I used to scam people.

Jules: Yeah, sure. What about it?

Buck: Talking to Mrs. Clementine and her daughter yesterday reminded me about a con I pulled when I was about eleven or twelve. Mr. Skint convinced this woman that he could sell her ring and invest the money in some "guaranteed to come back ten times more" business.

Jules: I'm guessing there was no business.

Buck: There never was. But in this case, I remember her daughter crying, asking her mother not to give away the ring. And her mother kept saying that this would give her an inheritance, that she was doing it to provide for her daughter. Of course, Mr. Skint ended up with the ring. The ring ended up being pretty much worthless from a financial standpoint, but it had so much sentimental value to the daughter. Such a waste.

Jules: What did Skint end up doing with it?

Buck: Saved it, thinking he could scam someone else with it down the road. He had a storage unit where he kept all that stuff.

Jules: I wonder if he still has it.

Buck: Maybe. But where? We traveled through so many towns doing our shtick. It could be anywhere.

Jules: Then you need to let it go.

Buck: Maybe I don't. I'm going to take a trip to Philadelphia this weekend.

Jason Whittaker: Buck, hi. What's going on?

Buck: Hey, Jason. Listen, when you have time, I was wondering if you could look into something for me.

Jason Whittaker: Please don't tell me you found another terrorist in Baltimore. My day planner is filled out.

Buck: Not quite. It might not mean anything, but I have a friend who's involved in this charity organization and the publicity materials looked oddly familiar.

Jason Whittaker: Where have you seen it before?

Buck: It looked like the stuff Mr. Skint showed people when he was scamming them for donations for a good cause. I'm a little skeptical.

Jason Whittaker: Sure. Give me the details and I'll look into it. Delivering Biblical Blessings is an actual organization, registered with the state as a nonprofit.

Buck: So it's a legitimate charity?

Jason Whittaker: Not necessarily. Looking through the organization's financial records, it's all pretty confusing. The money moves around from account to account, even overseas.

Buck: Maybe because they're doing projects in other countries?

Jason Whittaker: Except it doesn't seem to land anywhere, and certainly not in the countries they're claiming to work in. The back and forth between accounts is really convoluted, and no one there's returning my calls.

Buck: Like they're trying to hide it.

Jason Whittaker: Well, hide something. I'm attempting to find the places where the money actually ends up to see if they're doing the humanitarian work that they're claiming to do.

Buck: Thanks for looking. Let me know what you find.

Jason Whittaker: Sure thing.

Buck: Ah, here it is. 406.

Jason Whittaker: What?

Buck: I was looking for a room, which I found.

Guard: You can't go in there. Jebidiah Skint is a ward of the state.

Buck: I'll call you later, Jason. Bye. Hi, sir. I was hoping I could talk to Mr. Skint. I knew him a while back.

Guard: What's your name?

Buck: Buck Oliver, but he probably...

Guard: Yeah, you're on the list.

Buck: The list?

Guard: Next of kin. It's not much of a list, actually. You're the only one on it.

Buck: Oh.

Guard: You're free to go in. I'll be watching through the window, though, just so you're aware. Because of his throat cancer, he doesn't talk real loud, so you'll have to get up close to him. And he has a little whiteboard he can write messages on in case he needs to rest his voice. Word of warning, by the way, he's pretty weak and thin. He'll look a bit different from when you last saw him.

Buck: Thanks.

Guard: He sees you through the window. He's smiling. That's new. Follow me. I'll remove his restraints while you visit. I'll be right outside.

Buck: Hi, Mr. Skint. It's been a while.

Mr. Skint: Buck, my boy. I'm guessing you're still angry with me. You conned me, Buck.

Buck: I know.

Mr. Skint: You have a gift. You can do great things.

Buck: You mean great cons. I don't know. It's not really what I do anymore.

Mr. Skint: Don't give up. It's in your blood. It's who you are. I recognized that when you were five.

Buck: That long ago, huh? I did want to say goodbye, Mr. Skint, but, well, I was also hoping for something else. I remember that you kept a storage unit for stuff you were going to use later. I was hoping you could tell me where it is and give me the key.

Mr. Skint: Leaping locomotion. You have a plan.

Buck: Not exactly a plan, but there was a ring in there that I wanted to return. It had sentimental value to the woman's daughter.

Mr. Skint: So she'll pay more than it's worth to get it back. Smart.

Buck: Probably, but that's not why I want it.

Mr. Skint: Arlenville Storage. The key, side pocket, my duffel bag.

Buck: Where's the bag?

Mr. Skint: With the guard outside your door. But he won't just give it to me, will he? You remember Des Moines? Cookie cart comes at four o'clock. Right, pretend to choke on the cookie, double over, grab the key. Derek will help you. He's got ideas too.

Buck: Dirtbags? Wow. Haven't heard about him in ages. Where is he now?

Mr. Skint: You work with him. Don't miss the cookie cart. Talk to the guard. Hurry.

Buck: Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes. Done in there?

Guard: Not quite. He wanted to give me something. It's in his bag.

Buck: We only allow access to his things in his final days.

Guard: Isn't that where we are right now?

Buck: Maybe, but I'll have to check with my supervisor first. Sorry, kid. Ah, here comes the cookie cart. Best part of the day.

Lois: Cookie anyone?

Guard: Thanks, Lois. The oatmeal raisin ones are great.

Buck: Actually, I don't think so. Thanks anyway.

Lois: Have a nice day!

Guard: You okay? You look really torn about that cookie. Trying to go low carb or something? Something like that. What's happening?

Nurse: Nurse! Coming! Move, please! Where's the patient? On the floor by the window. Mr. Skint! Mr. Skint! He's lost consciousness. Pulse is very weak. He's in respiratory distress. Help me get him back into the bed. Someone page Dr. Philmont.

Buck: Will he be okay?

Nurse: Sir, you need to get out of here. Now!

Jules: What happened?

Buck: He... they couldn't revive him.

Jules: He died?

Buck: Minutes later. It was weird. Sad because someone who I had spent a big chunk of my life with was suddenly gone, but also sad about his life. What it all came down to was one more scam, one more escape. He always told me we were the freest people in the world, doing whatever we pleased. But when he died, he was a prisoner to the law and his own delusions, too.

Jules: So that whole "go out and choke on a cookie" thing?

Buck: Just a plan for me to distract the guard so he could try to escape. He probably didn't even realize I hadn't gone through with it.

Jules: Well, was there even a key?

Buck: Not in the bag like he said. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. My only surprise is that he didn't actually tell me where I could find it. Why was he hiding it from me?

Guard: Buck. It was all kinds of crazy in there, but I did want you to know I'm sorry about your loss.

Buck: Thank you.

Guard: And the nurses found something they thought you should have. Seems Mr. Skint wrote something on his whiteboard before he was laying on his bed. Here. Doesn't make much sense to me, but they were his last words.

Buck: Key, other, raves.

Chris: I hope Mr. Skint's words don't confuse Buck, and not just "key other raves," whatever that means. Rather, what he told Buck about conning people being in his blood and saying that's who Buck is. We know better, and I hope Buck does too.

In Deuteronomy chapter 30, God gave his people a choice between good and evil, between life and joy and death and disaster. And the key, the key to life was and still is following God. Buck may not follow God, but he's surrounded by people who do. I know they'll guide him in the decisions that he has to make in the days ahead.

Adventures in Odyssey's a presentation of Focus on the Family. Value of a Buck, Part 1 was written and directed by Kathy Buchanan, with sound design by Luke Gagne and music by John Campbell. Our executive producer was Dave Arnold. Our cast included Brenley Brown, Robbie Bruce, Zander Chin, Townsend Coleman, Matt Hurwitz, Mela Lee, Patty McCormick, Jim Meskimen, Shona Rodman, and Audrey Wasilewski. And I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey!