Drinking in the Desert

...And he's trying to tell me the money's in cold climates

I said, 'Bert, nobody's interested in staying cool anymore'

I mean, maybe with global warming

He thought, Well, let me find a block of ice somewhere

And build on that

But I'm telling you

People adapt

They evolve

The world gets hotter?

You need to get hotter right along with it

Did you hear I had to leave Izzy in Egypt?

Bad situation, Bert

Just...just bad, you know?

I loved that girl like crazy

But she's got a hammer and two nails

And she's trying to put together something

That just isn't there

And I'm saying--

Izzy, the Sahara's done

It's done

It's last week

We're trying to build an empire here

We're trying to make a life for ourselves

And you're pushing plywood down into sand

Saying one day it's going to be something

And it's not, you know?

It's just not

Maybe in 2050 you could make something

In a place like that

But this is 2100

You gotta start where something's already been started

So I come here

Because the Amazon Desert

Is on everybody's radar

I want to get in on the action, you know?

And why start at step one

When you can start at step five?

I'm a Roman, Bert, you know that

I don't create

I improve upon

Leaving Izzy back in Egypt was like--

Like, I was abandoning her, you know?

I mean, I had to have a helicopter come get me

Because the whole place is one day away

From being nothing but an empty parking lot

So I'm flying away

And she's just standing there

Watching me

And at the last minute

I held out my hand to her

And I said, 'Iz, c'mon, this is nuts.

Come with me'

And she said, 'No, Joe.'

That's it

Just 'No'

She's probably still out there

Trying to dig

Trying to strike gold

Trying to...

...Who the hell knows, right?

And here I am

At the best restaurant in South America

Drinking wine at midnight

Because the town's just getting started

And I can't even enjoy myself

Because I'm still thinking about her

You know what you have to do

To get back to Egypt

These days?

The country's in lockdown

The Sahara weather's getting worse

Sandstorms four times a day

And she's there

And I...

I'd go back, you know

If I thought she'd leave with me

But she wouldn't

She'd just ask me to stay

And it's...

Gotta save somebody, right?

That's the world we live in, Bert

All the martyrs died out

Years ago

Now all that's left are the survivors

The people who know when to stay

And when to run

Cheers to that, right?

Drink up, man

Who knows how much longer

We're going to have wine

In our cups