Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Diane and Donna decided to take Douglas Jr.'s car to Washington, D.C., during the weekend.

The two girls, whose families were not wealthy when they were young, did not go to the nation's capital to visit iconic buildings such as the White House and Capitol Hill like other middle school students.

While chatting, both of them suddenly had the idea to make up for their regrets. It happened that Douglas Jr. was going to Washington, D.C., to talk to George Jr. about election fundraising.

The two best friends took the opportunity to come over. Because of George's relationship, they enjoyed the treatment of being acquaintances of the deputy commander and had someone accompany them to play.

"Are these people visiting tourists? Why are they all carrying a small bag?" The two girls saw more and more people gathering at the entrance of the Capitol Hill, gathering in front of the Capitol Hill, and then moving toward the fallen Walk in the direction of the Soldiers' Monument.

"They came to participate in the rally. Such rallies happen every now and then, but this one is bigger..." The congressional assistant explained with a smile that the scale of this rally was quite large, with perhaps thousands to tens of thousands of people. .

"What's wrong with you? You seem to be absent-minded." Donna touched Diane's shoulder. Her good friend was not at all happy about fulfilling her childhood wish today.

"Hey, does it matter if Ronnie is going to do it?" Diane was still worried about Ronald's situation in New York. He never gets sick very often, but this time he postponed work and rested at home, which seemed to be quite serious.

"He said it was okay. You care about him so much now. You don't know who he is with in New York..." Donna looked at Diane's face and did not continue.

"It's fine..." Diane didn't want to continue this topic. She continued to walk forward. When the two were about to enter Capitol Hill, Diane suddenly called out,

"What is that?" I saw the rallies outside the Capitol, as if they had made an appointment. One by one, they took out colorful cloths the size of large towels from their small bags and raised them above their heads.

There were cloth strips of various kinds of fabrics, and they seemed to have words embroidered on them. These people started to hold up the cloth strips, and after gathering thirty of them, they set off towards the Memorial to the Fallen Soldiers, and then new people gathered.

"A protest sign, right? Oh, no." Donna covered the sun with her hands and looked into the distance.

"No, it seems to be a person's name." The two of them were more interested in this kind of large gathering than in ancient buildings, so they said hello to the congressional assistant and walked towards the crowd.

"Are they family members of veterans?" Diane came closer and felt that these people had sadness on their faces, which was not the usual angry expression of protestors at all.

There were young people holding the banners and crying, and there were also elderly parents holding the banners as high as possible so that more people could see their children's names written on them.

Diane and Donna couldn't help but walk forward with these people, and arrived at the large grassy square in front of the Memorial Monument. There were more people here.

Some staff guided those people to a place where there were many sewing machines. They sewed together the large and small pieces of cloth with names written in different fonts in the hands of those people. A group of thirty people's names was sewn into a large piece.

"Bruce Hellas...David Hertz..." In front of the white monument, there was a stage on which someone installed a large speaker and began to read the names on the unfolded and sewn cloth.

Diane and Donna looked at each other. Although this form of rally was invented by those who opposed the Vietnam War, today's ceremony was obviously not about veterans.

Such a ceremony is carried out in constant silence. Except for the host who reads out the names of the deceased on each unfolded piece of cloth, there are only the low sobs of relatives and friends in the audience.

"How many more people have to die before this government wakes up?" Finally, an angry woman rushed to the podium, grabbed the microphone, and began to condemn the inaction of the White House and Congress.

"We need AZt, the White House and CDC, more research funding, more research institutes and new drugs..." Diane and Donna, two girls, understood.

This gathering is for the families of patients who died from AIDS. On each piece of cloth is the name of a person who died due to AIDS. Their close relatives and friends take this opportunity to commemorate.

Many people cried very sadly. This disease is always considered to be the result of moral corruption, but the thousands of dead people at the scene all had relatives, friends, family members, and children who mourned for them.

In a place like this, you can no longer label them as immoral and condemned by God. …

"Ah...ah..." Ronald moaned softly on the big bed at home. One night later, instead of getting better, his flu became serious.

He knew that he had a serious fever, but he was so weak that he couldn't even get up and boil a pot of hot black tea and brew ginger slices.

"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone was still ringing, but in Ronald's ears, it seemed that there was a layer of sound behind him, and the sound was silent, as if it was coming from a far away place.

"Well..." Ronald finally reached over and pressed the hands-free button.

"Ronald, you finally answered the phone. There's a big problem with the crew. Weintraub and Michelle Cannold can't find you." It was Richard on the phone.

"What's the big deal?" Ronald's nose was blocked and his words were buzzing.

"James Crabbe, the director of photography for The Kid, didn't show up for a few days. When Weintraub went to his house, he found him dead at home."

"Hey..." When Ronald heard this, he felt anxious and sweated profusely. His body actually felt a little better. He sat up from the bed.

"What's going on? What's the reason?"

"The hospital's preliminary conclusion is that it is complications caused by AIdS... Did you shake hands or hug him at the project establishment party that day? I contacted the best private hospitals in New York and Los Angeles. You need to get a test immediately... "

"Shxt, I just shook hands with him. I'm not..., let alone shaking hands and hugging, kissing is not contagious." Ronald wondered why he had to find another photographer when encountering such an unlucky thing. guide.

"Don't take it lightly. The crew is in panic now. Everyone who has been in close contact with him is queuing up for examination at the hospital. I'm looking for the best hospital in New York. You can draw blood once and it will be given in three days." Preliminary results are out...".

"You're overthinking it. Tell Weintraub that we'll wait until I get back. He'll find a new photographer to replace him first... um... cough..."

"What's wrong with you? I seem to hear you coughing. Ronald, do you have any cold symptoms? I'll go to Los Angeles to find you right away..."

"Bang...", an angry Ronald hung up the phone. I pay attention to safety measures every time, okay, this guy...

"Uh...cough..." Ronald, who exerted too much force, coughed again. Shaking, he got out of bed, went to the bathroom and took a hot bath, then climbed back into bed and went back to sleep.

…

"Rick, does your client Ronald have a different orientation? How come it is such a coincidence that James Crabbe died and he stopped showing up? I heard that when this virus is infected, there will be a lot of people. Severe cold-like symptoms.” The agents within CAA began to gossip about Niceta and Richard.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Everyone knows that Ronald likes beautiful women. Is it because your clients can't get girlfriends of Ronald's level, so they ask you to come here and learn how to bark like a dog?" Niceta hit back hard at these colleagues. .

"I'm afraid I can't go to New York with you. There's a big fuss over James Crabb's death from AIDS. Someone is deliberately spreading rumors about Ronald. Now Kelly McGillis and Annette Bening are calling, Inquiring about Ronald's condition. Cindy Crawford also came to me through her agent to inquire about the news. The most outrageous thing was that even Madonna called me... When will Ronald get married? Does she have legs?"

"I will definitely ask Ronald to go to the hospital in the past, so that all rumors can be quelled." Richard picked up the briefcase and prepared to set off.

These female celebrities are probably afraid that they will be infected.

"Explain to Ronald that this is mainly because someone is spreading rumors about him, so you need to explain as quickly as possible. He understands."... Sure enough, someone deliberately spread rumors, and this time Ronald is suspected of being infected. The super virus spread very quickly.

Even Helen Slater in Toronto, Canada received an anonymous phone call breaking the news. Helen greeted director Cameron Crowe and ran to the hotel to make an international long distance call to Ronald.

"I received an anonymous call about you, but don't worry, AZt can now control the condition very well. Ryan White's original doctor said he could only live for six months, but he is already alive after taking the medicine. It’s been more than four years, and I still appear on talk shows frequently.”

"What are you talking about? Who is Ryan White? Ahem..." Ronald was woken up, his head was still groggy, and he couldn't understand what Helen meant.

Helen heard on the phone that Ronald seemed to be very ill. She couldn't help it and burst into tears.

"I...I mean...Ronald, I'm very worried about you...I'll take leave to go back to see you and accompany you to the hospital for a checkup. This virus is very serious. But medicine is developing very quickly now, so don't worry... ” She was afraid that Ronald would hear her crying, so she quickly covered the receiver.

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's just the flu. I'm very sleepy and want to go to bed. Don't ask for leave, the movie is important..." Ronald felt dizzy for a while and hung up the phone. He felt a chill again and quickly put it down. Wrapped in quilt.

"Who are you? Why are you saying this to me?" Cameron Crowe also received an anonymous call over there. He asked who the other party was, but only heard the sound after hanging up.

…

"It turns out that this disease is not completely caused by people with abnormal orientation?" Diane and Donna watched the rally for a long time, and there were volunteers distributing various popular science pamphlets to bystanders.

Neither the CDC nor the White House are willing to acknowledge the severity of the AIDS epidemic, so they are left alone to promote society's awareness of the disease.

The booklet is told from the perspective of a boy named Ryan White. He is a hemophiliac who contracted a virus during a blood transfusion. Because the school did not allow him to continue going to school, he chose to go to court and returned to school after winning.

He talked about a lot of the discrimination he suffered because of this disease, and explained the origin of the virus.

Finally, I call on everyone not to discriminate against patients, and please support calling on the White House and Congress to speed up the CDC's approval of the use of the effective drug AZt, as well as investment in the research and development of new drugs.

Because this little boy is a victim with no moral flaws, his perspective is very convincing.

Many people have begun to agree that these patients do not all deserve it, and that pathology and drug treatment must be studied as soon as possible, otherwise this will become a problem for the whole society.

Diane read some popular science and knew that simple insurance measures can basically prevent infection. The two girlfriends walked all day today, ordered takeout and went into the hotel to start dinner.

"CDC Director Fauci said that the first case of death from influenza this year was a Wisconsin woman who visited the local pig market with her husband and unfortunately died. After testing, the influenza belonged to the H1N1 type. Fauci called on everyone to get vaccinated, which can greatly reduce the risk..."

"Huh?" Diane looked at NBC News and thought of Ronald.

"Do you think Ronald will be okay? This flu seems to be very fierce..."

"Why don't you call him and ask..." Donna felt that it didn't seem so serious.

"All..." Diane put down the phone. She had called three times in a row, but Ronald didn't answer the phone.

Her heart began to hang...

"No, Donna, I can't accompany you. I have to go back to see..." Diane began to pack her clothes.

"Okay, I'll call Doug and we'll go back together." Donna suspected that Ronald might just not have heard the call.

But she was just in case.

"When you get to New York, call me back..." Little Doug quickly got a car with a driver and sent them back overnight.

"I know, take care of yourself..." Donna kissed little Douglas on the face and called Diane who was still watching TV,

"Diane..."

"The third presidential debate will be held tomorrow. There is news that Governor Dukakis may have been infected with the latest flu, but the campaign team refused to comment on it and said that there were no rumors that could affect Dukakis's attendance." Diane became more and more panicked. She ran out of the door to get in the car without saying hello to Douglas.

...

"Dong Dong Dong..." Diane was knocking on the door vigorously,

"Ronald, are you there?" It was already past eleven o'clock in the evening. After more than four hours of driving, Diane and Donna, who had just returned to their house on Fifth Avenue, came to the door of Ronald's house under the guidance of the housekeeper.

"I'm his relative. Open the door and let's see. Ronald may be sick..." Donna took out her driver's license and showed it to the housekeeper. After checking the name of the emergency contact Ronald left, the housekeeper took out the spare key and opened the door.

"Ronald..." Diane ran into the bedroom, messy quilt

"Ah..." Ronald was awakened by the glaring light, looking at Diane and Donna behind him with caring eyes,

"Why are you here?" Drinking the hot ginger black tea brewed by Diane and eating the pizza she ordered, Ronald, who had been hungry for a day and had not drunk hot water, recovered some strength.

Ronald's thermometer was still quite high, but after being examined by the doctor Donna found, it was said that there was no special danger.

Ronald asked them to stay three meters away from him to prevent being infected by him. He repeatedly said that he was fine and could rest assured.

He just fell asleep and didn't hear the phone call outside. But Diane refused to leave Ronald alone in the big house like this, insisting on accompanying him, just in case.

Ronald had no choice but to make it clear that they couldn't sleep in the same room, so he asked Diane to sleep in the next room, and he wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow.

To be honest, Ronald didn't want Diane to leave. He felt very pitiful that he was alone in a big house and there was no one to boil water or order takeout when he was sick.

Diane didn't insist. After checking Ronald's condition, she asked Donna to go back to her apartment to sleep and come back to take over her shift tomorrow.

After replenishing hot water and food and recovering some energy, Ronald finally had a good sleep and woke up when it was bright the next morning.

He seemed to hear Diane making a phone call outside. Ronald, who was still a little weak, lay quietly on the bed with his eyes closed.

"Hey, Mom, do you know how to boil eggs? Just put them in a pot with hot milk and boil them? How long do you need to boil them? Yes, they can't be too old, he doesn't like them too old... um, six and a half minutes, right? How do you make scrambled eggs? What kind of pan do you use? A frying pan, and you need to put butter, two spoons of butter? Put the egg liquid with milk on medium-low heat, and add salt when it's almost cooked. Got it." Diane wanted to make a breakfast for Ronald in the morning. She had never done it before, so she had to call her mother for advice.

While making a long-distance call, she boiled and fried eggs, and it turned out well. She added some bacon and vegetables, toasted two slices of bread, and a good breakfast was ready.

"Ding Dong... Ding Dong..."

"Here she comes..." Diane knew that Donna was here to take over.

"Diane, what did you cook? Well, it tastes good. You need to flip the omelette a few more times to make it just right. You can add some pepper. Ronald likes it and it's good for the flu." In addition to Donna, Aunt Karen also came in with a big pot of chicken soup that she had cooked early in the morning. She came to see Ronald.

She took a quick look at the breakfast in the kitchen, checked it and was very satisfied, and then taught Ronald a few tricks that he liked.

"Diane, are you there? I want to drink some hot water..." Ronald gathered his strength and opened the curtains. The sun shining in made him feel comfortable, so he asked Diane to give him some water.

"Chicken soup is good for colds..." Aunt Karen scooped a bowl of chicken soup for Diane and motioned her to bring it in with the breakfast.

Then she left with Donna with a smile.

"Ding ding, room service..." Diane brought a large tray with bacon, fried eggs, and chicken soup on it, which stunned Ronald for a moment.

Ronald always prepared breakfast for the ladies the next morning after sex. Among so many women he had had relationships with, Diane was the first to make breakfast for him.

The warm chicken soup flowed into Ronald's stomach, and the delicious scrambled eggs with pepper added tasted very good. Ronald ate it very well, as if it was similar to Aunt Karen.

"Would you like some more?" Diane saw that Ronald was eating very happily. Ronald shook his head, indicating that he was full.

"Then you have a good rest. I'll be here. Call me if you have anything." Diane turned on the TV for Ronald, then helped him to put a pillow under him, and went out with the tableware.

"The Dukakis campaign team said the governor will definitely attend the debate tonight..."

"CDC Director Fauci said he heard the appeals of AIdS victims in Washington yesterday, and that more funds and resources, as well as top researchers, are needed to hope to discover new treatments..." Ronald took the remote control, turned down the volume, and lay down to sleep, finding a more comfortable position.

Ronald seemed to still smell the faint aroma of chicken soup and the smell of Diane, a housewife busy in the kitchen.

Ronald looked at the white roof, motionless, the sun shining on his body, his body warm.

It really feels good to have someone you love take care of you.