“I'm just passing on the information.”
Why it's great
Right after a killing, he files it as a casual bulletin.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I'm just passing on what I heard in the hall.
00:00 / 04:59
00:00 / 04:59
The Kitchen Plane Crash Story, Explained
SLC Punk · 1998
Chapter 5 of 10 · 4'59"
Someone complains two bags of grass are gone because people try to stiff him. A crash story follows, with the line "she never took her eyes off of me," before a sleeping friend is searched and his pockets come up empty.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:19–2:24
❝ Monologue · 22 lines The head that never looks away
65s
The Kitchen Plane Crash Story, explained
What happens
In a kitchen, someone tells Stevo the grass is gone and people try to stiff him, then claims two killings in Miami. Called on it, he tells a childhood plane crash: a crying pilot, a mother's head that never looked away, the family in pieces. A sleeping friend is woken and told to empty his pockets. They are empty. Sorry is thrown back, then I'm not mad, and a kiss.
What's really going on
The Miami boast dies fast. "You didn't kill anybody" and "Put it away. I get the joke. Now put it away" end it. A childhood crash replaces it. The mother warns things will "get bumpy," the father says not to worry, and "even at five" the teller knows better because the pilot is crying. Then "she never took her eyes off of me," and he wakes to the family "in pieces." He wants to kick the father's body "'Cause he lied." "You know what I'm trying to tell you, Stevo?" is followed by people who try at "every chance they get," then "Do you trust Bob?" Bob is asleep. They wake him and empty his pockets. "See, he doesn't have anything. I told you." "I'm sorry" comes after that. "Well, fuck you, man!" throws the sorry back. Only later come "I'm not mad," a kiss, and "Good one, buddy." He points at the father's lie, then searches a friend who has nothing.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I'm just passing on the information.”
- After the killing boast, this line pretends the story is only a tip, not a claim about being a man.
- “Why do you think I'm here? 'Cause I love this place?”
- He rejects the idea that he stays in Salt Lake because he likes it. The next line mocks the city, and he has just claimed he shot two men in Miami.
- “But, hey, even at five I knew we had trouble because the pilot was crying.”
- In the crash story, the child does not believe the father's reassurance. The crying pilot is the proof that the plane is in trouble.
- “And when I woke up, my family was all around me in pieces.”
- He comes to surrounded by his family's body parts, an arm, a leg, and a head. Here in pieces is literal, not a mood.
- “- This is fucking uncool, Mark! - We'll see about cool in a minute.”
- One side calls the pocket search uncool. The reply throws cool back and means the check is about to happen, not that the pockets are already empty.
Theme
- Trust — Someone asks whether Bob can be trusted, then a sleeping friend's pockets are emptied over two missing bags.
- Lies — A killing boast is called a joke, and the crash story turns on a father who lied.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level0/7
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“Why do you think I'm here? 'Cause I love this place?”
Why it's great
The sweeter the fake reason, the clearer he hates being stuck.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
Why do you think I stayed? 'Cause I love the night shift?
“But, hey, even at five I knew we had trouble because the pilot was crying.”
Why it's great
A child's evidence, the pilot crying, knocks down every don't worry.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
Even at ten I knew the plan was fake because Dad hid the keys.
“And when I woke up, my family was all around me in pieces.”
Why it's great
In pieces lays the wreckage out around him.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
When I opened the box, the letters were in pieces.
“- This is fucking uncool, Mark! - We'll see about cool in a minute.”
Why it's great
He steals cool from the complaint and turns it into a countdown.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
We'll see about ready when the cab gets here.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ A crash told cold
My mother told us to buckle up because things were going to get bumpy... so I did. And then like this, boom, the plane was going down. My dad was next to the pilot, and he told us not to worry. But, hey, even at five I knew we had trouble because the pilot was crying. So I looked at my sister. She was like, "Oh, man. We're getting close. " So I looked at my mom again, and she smiled at me again... and so this time I smiled. And then we hit the ground... and something came through that plane... and cut my mother's head off. So now this head was flying straight at me... and she never took her eyes off of me. That's when I passed out. And when I woke up, my family was all around me in pieces. I saw my mother's arm, my sister's leg... my brother's head... but I couldn't find my father. I wanted to, though... 'cause I was going to kick his fuckin' dead body. 'Cause he lied. You know what I'm trying to tell you, Stevo?
Every soft line is followed by a harder image, and the lie is what he wants heard.
Up next · 06Where else?The scene: Choice B Is WyomingPeople also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does the crash story get told?
He says the father told them not to worry, then says he wanted to kick the body because "he lied." After that comes "You know what I'm trying to tell you, Stevo?" The talk turns to people who "try" at "every chance they get." Only then does someone ask, "Do you trust Bob?"
Are the Miami killings treated as real here?
No. He says "In Miami I shot two men" and "I shot them in the head." The answer in the room is "You didn't kill anybody" and "Put it away. I get the joke." This scene marks the boast as a bit and tells him to drop it.
Why empty the sleeping friend's pockets?
Two bags of grass were in the kitchen and are now the thing he thinks was taken. "Do you trust Bob?" gets "Bob? Yeah," plus "He's not a thief" and "he's asleep." He still says Bob "could have taken it then" and "I think we should ask him." They wake him with "You have my shit!" and "Empty your pockets."
Does the apology get accepted?
Not at first. "I'm sorry" and "I just thought you had my shit" are answered with "Well, fuck you, man!" and "No, fuck you!" "Come on, Bob. You're like my brother" gets "No. Get away." Only after that: "All right. I'm not mad," "Give me a kiss," and "Good one, buddy." The sorry is shoved back. The anger drops once "I'm not mad" is said.
What lie is the father accused of?
Inside the story he "was next to the pilot, and he told us not to worry." The teller says that even at five he knew they were in trouble "because the pilot was crying." When the body cannot be found, he wants to kick it "'Cause he lied." The lie he names is that reassurance.