“I am here on an island”
Por qué es buena
Distance captured by geography alone.
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literary
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I am here on the night shift while everyone else sleeps.
I am here on a business trip while my family celebrates at home.
00:00 / 02:55
00:00 / 02:55
A Mother Waits and Tells Jokes, Explained
Come from Away · 2021
Capítulo 14 de 22 · 2'55"
A mother stranded in Gander keeps calling to find her firefighter son, leaving messages until the machine is full. Unable to reach him, she does the one thing she can: "But I do know a few jokes." The joke that follows is silly, and it is also how she holds on.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:10–1:07
❝ Monólogo · 14 frases Hannah on hold
Messages, busy signals, I should be there: she nails herself to the phone.
57s - 1:46–2:08
She Can't Help, So She Tells Jokes
23s - 2:10–2:44
❝ Monólogo · 9 frases Beulah's sailor joke
Clumsy setup, dirty punchline, filling the minute she cannot actually help.
34s
A Mother Waits and Tells Jokes, explained
What happens
Hannah is stuck in Gander while her son Kevin, a firefighter, is missing in New York. She leaves message after message and cannot stop thinking that she should be there searching for him. Knowing there is nothing she can do, she decides to tell a joke, the same way her son always made her laugh.
What's really going on
The scene is about helplessness and what people do inside it. Hannah can only call and wait, saying that "I know there's nothing I can do to help.", and the line she keeps returning to — "I should be there for my son But instead I am here" — turns the whole town into a place she should not be. Her answer is not despair but a joke, because jokes are how her son loves her and how she can still reach him from far away. "But I do know a few jokes." is both a small act of love and a survival tactic, and when someone calls it a stupid joke and asks for another, the scene shows that sharing it worked. Grief and laughter sit in the same seat here.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I am here on an island”
- A line from her call home: stranded on Newfoundland, she can only say where she is, not what she fears.
- “I should be there for my son But instead I am here”
- The central contradiction of the scene: her place is with her son, and the crisis has put her a continent away.
- “I know there's nothing I can do to help.”
- Her clear-eyed admission of helplessness, before she finds the one thing she still can offer.
- “But I do know a few jokes.”
- The turn from despair to action: if she cannot help, she can at least do what her son always did for others.
- “That was a really stupid joke.”
- The listener's verdict, which is also thanks; the joke was meant to land exactly this way.
Theme
- Parenthood — A mother cannot be with her endangered son, and she fills the distance with the jokes he taught her to love.
- Death & grief — Waiting for news, she holds fear at bay the only way she can, by making other people laugh.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel3/4
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“I should be there for my son But instead I am here”
Por qué es buena
Guilt built on two place words.
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literary
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I should be there for my daughter's birthday, but instead I am here.
I should be there for the final match, but instead I am here on a call.
“I know there's nothing I can do to help.”
Por qué es buena
Helplessness admitted without decoration.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I know there's nothing I can do to help from this far away.
I know there's nothing I can do to help, so I just stay close.
“But I do know a few jokes.”
Por qué es buena
One small skill offered against total helplessness.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
But I do know a few songs that might cheer you up.
But I do know a few tricks that could fix this sink.
“That was a really stupid joke.”
Por qué es buena
Grief and humor meeting in one flat verdict.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
That was a really stupid thing to say in front of the boss.
That was a really stupid move, but it somehow worked.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ Hannah on hold
Hello? Hello. It's me again. Any news? I am his mother I'm far away, stuck here I'm trying to find out if-- Fine, I'll hold again. I should be down there And checking the hospitals Putting up signs, doing something Instead, I am here I am here in Canada I am telling you, listen My son, he takes risks He's not missing He's helping or hurt He'll get out of this Yes, I'll keep trying And, yes, here's the number And, yes At the grade school in Gander I'll be here I should be there When it's over and done When he comes through the door And says, "I'm home, Mom" I should be there for my son But instead I am here
Messages, busy signals, I should be there: she nails herself to the phone.
❝ Beulah's sailor joke
There was this sailor who was stationed in the South Pacific, far away from his wife, who he'd just married. And when he was away, he wrote her a letter. He said, "We're gonna be apart for a long time, and this island is full of young, attractive local girls. I need something to take me mind off 'em." So his wife sends him an accordion and says, "Why don't you learn to play this then?" So finally he comes home from his tour of duty and he says to his wife, "I can't wait to get you into bed." And she says, "First, let's see how well you play that accordion."
Clumsy setup, dirty punchline, filling the minute she cannot actually help.
Siguiente · 15a moment of silenceLa escena: A Gas Station Falls SilentPreguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy can't Hannah get hold of her son?
Her son Kevin is a firefighter in New York, and she is stranded in Canada with the phone lines jammed. She can only leave messages and wait for word.
What is Hannah afraid has happened?
She believes he is not simply missing. As a firefighter who takes risks, he is probably helping somewhere or has been hurt, which is why she cannot relax.
Why does she tell a joke?
Because it is the one thing she can still do. Jokes connect her to her son, who always made her laugh, and they give the waiting some purpose.
What does "there for me" mean in this scene?
It means always present when someone needs you. She says her son is always there for her, which is why his absence is so hard.
How does the scene mix sadness and comedy?
The wait is painful, but it ends with a silly joke. The film lets both feelings share the same moment, because that mix is how people survive.