"So much of what we learned in those early years was rooted in that small schoolhouse on Walton's Mountain." "I remember it warmly and well along with our teacher, Miss Rosemary Hunter." "And long after I left her school, Miss Hunter figured prominently in a special time of learning for my mother and for me, a time when each of us searched for that most elusive of persons, one's own self." "Hurry up, you slowpokes." "We're coming, Ben." " Bye-bye, Miss Hunter." " Bye!" "What makes you think I'm finished with you today?" " Aren't you?" " Not till I get to your house." " Are you walking home with us?" " I wanna talk to your mother." " It's very important." " She might not be home." " You crazy, Jim-Bob?" " Mom most always is home." "Well, it just might be a long walk for nothing." "I'll just have to take that chance." " Well, see you at home, then." " Bye." " You and Mama got a secret?" " Not yet." "You're not gonna tell us, are you, Miss Hunter?" "I just wanna talk to your mother." "Yeah, well, I'm glad you're walking home with us anyway." "Mama!" "Mama!" "Miss Hunter is here." " Rosemary, how nice to see you." " Hello, Olivia." "She's got something very important to tell you." "Yes, and I'd like it to be private." "Well, that's kind of hard to manage around here." "You girls take in the laundry basket when you go." " Can't we stay?" " No." "I knew she wouldn't tell us." "It's nice over by Drucilla's Pond." "Something private and very important." "We've set the wedding date, Matthew and I." " This Sunday right after church." " Oh, Rosemary, how wonderful!" "I can hardly believe it, even when I hear myself say it." " I'm so happy for you." " I'm so happy for me." "But this Sunday?" "I thought you had to wait till summer, till school was out." "I know." "We thought so, too, but last night, we began to ask ourselves why." " But, Olivia, part of it depends on you." " On me?" "You see, we can't have a honeymoon unless you could take over my classes while we're away." "Oh, my goodness, I don't know." "It's just a little over a week, is all." "Well, I'd have to talk to John and Grandma." "I mean, she'd have to pitch in to the house more than she already does." "I just can't think who I could turn to if you can't do it." "And there really isn't very much time." "Of course, I know what John's gonna say," ""Sure, Liv, if you want to."" "And Grandma might sputter a little, but I know she'd probably want me to, so I guess there's really no excuse to say no." "Thank you, Olivia." "Thank you!" "Jason, if you're gonna practice on the road all the time, why don't you take up the ukulele?" "You ought to be lucky I decided not to practice the piano." " Hey, Reverend, how are you?" " Hey, Reverend." "John-Boy." "Jason, how are things going at the conservatory?" "First rate, thank you." "Which do you prefer by now, playing for barn dances or picking the classics?" "Still picking and grinning, I reckon." "It's like Grandpa says, "You can take a boy out of the country," ""but you can't take the country out of the boy."" "John-Boy, may I have a moment with you outside, please?" "Certainly." "Excuse me." "You got yourself working, I see." " Well, it stays ahead of me, but I try." " Yeah?" "You know, you're almost an answer to prayer." "I find that hard to believe." "Were you praying that I'd come and help you with the yard work?" " No, nothing so small as that." " Yeah?" "John-Boy, Rosemary and I are to be married next Sunday." "Miss Hunter and you?" "That's wonderful." "Congratulations." "Thank you very much." "I know you mean it." "You know, I've always thought the world of her." " Next Sunday, huh?" " Right after church." "An old friend of mine from Charleston," "Will Ewing, is coming up to perform the service." " That's nice." " Yes, yes, it is." "But Will can't return for the sermon on the following Sunday." "What are you gonna do?" "Give everybody the day off?" "I'm asking you to take over the service for me, John-Boy." "What?" "Now, I've given it a lot of prayerful thought." "And I know you're my answer." "You mean, preach the sermon?" "Me?" "I..." "But I..." "I mean, I'm flattered, but I couldn't do that." "I'd be so inadequate." "I think it's the word "sermon" that's bothering you." "It's a lot like writing, John-Boy." "They're both just thoughts expressed in words." "But those thoughts and those words and standing up in front of people and saying them..." "You'll just be talking to friends." "I don't know." "I have to think about it." "Well, don't take too long." "I need an answer soon." " See you later, Jason." " Yep." "Daddy." " Hi, John-Boy." " Where's Daddy?" "Down by the mill." "Mama's down there now." "I think I'm in trouble." "What do you mean, you think you're in trouble?" "When I'm in trouble, I know it." "Well, Miss Hunter came and took Mama off and talked to her." "Now Mama's down talking to Daddy all because I haven't written my theme yet." "Why haven't you written your theme yet?" "Well, it's supposed to be about my favorite person, and I don't have one." "Wait a minute." "I thought I was your favorite person." "You're impossible, Jim-Bob." "Sure, Liv, if you want to." " I told Rosemary you'd say that." " Why'd you ask me, then?" "To prove I was right." "I'm glad they're getting married." "Make a nice couple." "It's gonna be kind of exciting, teaching school." "Yeah." "It'll be a change for you anyway." "Think I'll be any good at it?" "Sure, Liv, if you want to." "You two sure look pleasant." "We just had some pleasant news." "Miss Hunter and Reverend Fordwick are..." "Getting married next Sunday." "I know." "Who told you?" "The Reverend waved me down and told me about it." "You gonna tell him your news?" "Miss Hunter wants me to teach school while they're on their honeymoon." "That's real nice." "You'll probably be real good at it." "What's the matter with you?" "Well, Reverend sort of asked me to take over the church service that he's gonna miss while he's away." " You mean preach a sermon?" " Well, no, you know, talk..." "Yeah, preach a sermon, and I told him I have to think about it." "I mean, it's a little out of my line." "Why, you're gonna be just wonderful, and don't you dare think anything different." " Can't wait to go tell Grandma." " Don't do that." "I thought we could talk about it, at least." "We can talk about it." "Well, I wouldn't know what to say." "I mean, that sort of thing has been very far away from my thoughts." "I wouldn't know what to do about that." "Well, now, if the Reverend asked you to preach, Son, he must think you have something to say." "If you do have something to say, say it." "Well, I wish it was that simple." "Maybe you're making something harder than it is." "Daddy, you could probably count the number of times that you've been in church on the fingers of both your hands." "Now, if you'll forgive me for saying it, that hardly makes you an expert on preaching." "You got a point there, Son." "But I should tell you, there's no use trying to be somebody you're not or trying to say something you don't believe." " Thanks." " You're welcome." "I don't know if I can bear the joy of it." "John-Boy preaching?" "Standing up there on the pulpit and us all looking up at him," "I never pictured that." "Livie, what would you give if John-Boy had the call to preach?" "I'm so happy now, I don't dare think about that." "I'm gonna pray on it." "John-Boy," "I'm just so full of pride and love for you." "Well, I wanna deserve that." "I'm gonna do my best." "I know you will, and I'm gonna help you all I can." "Well, thank you." "We're looking forward to next Sunday, John-Boy." "Indeed we are." "I can remember Papa speaking at the church on one occasion." "Well, that's an occasion that should be forgotten, Sister." "Papa was asked to leave the services prematurely." "Why is that?" "The church had taken a stand for prohibition." "Prohibition against what, Sister?" "The spirits of some sort, Sister." "Of course, you wouldn't understand." "Well, at any rate, we're looking forward to a splendid sermon." "Good." "Here they come!" "Hurray!" "Here they come!" " Happy honeymoon!" " Happy honeymoon!" "Happy honeymoon!" " Happy honeymoon!" " Happy honeymoon!" " Have a nice trip!" " Happy honeymoon!" " Happy honeymoon!" " What a happy day!" " Bye-bye." " Bye." "I mean, I understand he's a fine boy." "I see him in church on Sunday." "But he's still just a boy." "I mean, what's he know about preaching the gospel?" "Well, I can't think of anything he'd have to say worth listening to." "As a sermon, I mean." "Because he doesn't..." "How are you doing on your sermon?" "Well, right now, I'm somewhere between the devil and the Red Sea, and I don't know which way to turn." "You'll find your way." "How about you?" "You all excited about tomorrow?" "I'm excited, and I'm scared." "It seems like you couldn't feel both ways at once, but I do." " That's called ambivalence." " What do you take for it?" "What are you scared of?" "How to act, tests and papers, what to wear, what to say." "Well, you've done things before that you were scared of." "That's not like you." "I know, but right now, it's exactly like me." "Well, I'm sure Miss Hunter left some kind of schedule of things for you to do." "Yeah, and it all looks very simple all put down on paper." "Well, all you have to do is just do there what you've been doing here for years." "John-Boy, all I've been doing here for the past 20 years is having babies and pouring coffee." "And you've brought every one of those babies up from grade to grade, and I'm sure you've read those textbooks so many times you know them by heart yourself." "You're gonna do just fine." "Well, you're very comforting." "Does my heart good to see a son of mine studying the Bible." "Well, I'm trying." "It's the best source book I know." "I have all the faith in the world in you." "Thank you, Mama." "Here's the horde." " Bye-bye, Grandma." " Bye, Grandpa." " Have a nice day, everyone!" " Bye-bye." "Come on, scoot, scoot, scoot." "And don't slam the door!" "Grandma, I feel like I'm leaving you with such a mess." "I have the whole silent morning, and the work will keep me company." "Thanks." " I wish you well, Livie." "Good luck." " Bye-bye, Livie." "I feel like I'm leaving home for good." " Carry your books, ma'am?" " I don't think I know you well enough." "Have you decided on your sermon, John-Boy?" "Not yet, Grandma." "Well, I know not every word." "I understand that." "But I mean the subject." "What are you gonna talk about?" "Well, I don't really know yet." "John-Boy, may I suggest you take a firm stand against sin?" "Sin, that goes a long way with the Baptists." "He's right, now." "Now, you mind, I said I'd help you all I can." "OK, I'll remember it, Grandma." "Thank you." "Goodbye." "Hey!" "Don't leave without me." "Where's his mind these days?" "Wait a minute!" "In the heavens!" "Now, old man, you encourage him in this, you hear?" "You help him to think right." "Well, you'll find a way, Esther." "I'm gonna write down all my thoughts, yeah, as they come to me." "Well," "I'm glad to see you all." "And I'm glad we all know each other, so there's no need for introductions." "Now, let's all do our best for Miss Hunter..." "I mean, Mrs. Fordwick." " Mrs. Walton." " Yes, Martha Rose." "You and Mr. Walton had a honeymoon, didn't you?" "Why, yes, we did." "We went to Virginia Beach just last year." "Well, why did you wait till you were so old?" " You're such a pain, Martha Rose." " That'll do, Mary Ellen." "Now, you were all reading your themes aloud." "Martha Rose, why don't you read yours?" "Well, I did mine last week, Mrs. Walton, and I already got a B on it." "Don't you talk to her like that, and don't laugh at her, either." "Well, just 'cause she's your mother." " She's still just a substitute." " You better take that back!" " Everybody knows..." " Martha Rose..." " Girls!" " Shut up!" "Girls, now stop that." "Stop it." "Well, she doesn't have to act that way." " You're not helping things, Mary Ellen." " No, you are not, Mary Ellen." "Now sit down, both of you." "That's enough of that." "This is just not helping, Mary Ellen." "Children, cut it out." "Children." "Children!" "Jim-Bob, let's hear your theme." "I don't have one." "What do you mean, you don't have one?" "I just don't." "Then you will stay after school until you do." " Professor Ranney." " John." "Yes, sir?" "I can only hope you've checked out something that will elevate your trigonometry average." "Well, actually, no, not this time." "Comparative Religion," "Philosophy of Ethics, Introduction to Religion." " And Selective Writings of..." " Goethe." "You haven't changed your major, have you, John?" "No, no, this is just a little something extracurricular." "Let me commend two volumes to you by Nielsen." "They're not heavy at all, and they're very curricular." "Oh, good." "Logarithmic and Trigonometric Tables and the other titled simply Trigonometry." "Thank you." " Hi, Daddy." "Hi, Grandpa." " Hi, Grandpa." "Hi, Granny." " Hey." " Hi." "Where's your teacher?" "She made Jim-Bob stay after school, so she had to stay there with him." " What did he do?" " Well, it's what he didn't do, Grandpa." "We were all supposed to write a theme a couple of weeks ago, but he never wrote his." "So when Mama asked him to read his, well..." "Here, Pa." "Give us a hand, Son." "Hoister." "Something especially tough about this theme?" "Not that I know of." "We all had a different subject to write about, and Jim-Bob had to write about his favorite person." "But he keeps on saying he doesn't have one." "That sounds like a flimsy excuse to me." "He better get himself a favorite person." "Well, Mama says he has to stay at school until he does." " Got it, Pa?" " Yeah, got it." "Mama has to stay after school with Jim-Bob, so I'm supposed to help you." "Grandma?" "Oh, Erin, hello." "What is it, dear?" "I have to help you get supper." "No, supper's most ready." "I won't need your help." "What I would like is a little quiet around here to do what I'm doing." "It's an awful lot of writing." "Yeah, it's all to help John-Boy with his sermon." "I've been thinking, Grandma." "What does John-Boy know about preaching a sermon?" "Likely not a great deal." "Well, that's why I'm doing this." "Here." "You read that one." ""Put away from me a forward mouth."" "Jim-Bob, looking out that window is not gonna put words on your paper." "I don't know why I had to get this dumb assignment anyway." "I'm probably the only person in the whole world that doesn't have a favorite person." "Well, I can't change it." "You'll just have to think of someone." "One thing about Miss Hunter, she tries to help you, talks to you, asks you stuff, and the first thing you know, you're thinking." " I am not Miss Hunter." " You're sure not." " Hey, Sister." " Hi, Jason." "Hi, Reverend Walton." " Every guy needs a funny sister." " When do I get to hear your sermon?" "Maybe Sunday." "Maybe never." "John-Boy." "I saw you drive up." "Could you come in for a minute, please?" " OK, sure." " It won't take long." "Now, you just sit there and make out like you're in church." "All right." ""For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return!"" "You see, that way you get their attention right off, and that's very important." "Yeah, it sure works." "Yeah." ""For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."" "You remember when God got so mad at Adam and all that commotion about Adam and Eve and eating the forbidden fruit?" " I remember." " Yeah." "Well, I thought you might like to talk against original sin." "And..." "Well, it goes on from there, you know." "And that all that begetting went on for the longest time until they peopled the earth." "And you know what people are." "Yeah, and..." ""And God saw the wickedness..."" "Excuse me." ""And God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth," ""and all the imaginations of his thought," ""of his heart was nothing but evil continually."" ""And..." Well, I skipped a verse there." ""And God said, I will destroy man" ""who I have created from the face of the earth."" "Except Noah." "Now, he walked with God." "You're still in Genesis, aren't you?" "Yeah, well, then came the flood, the ark, the animals, and then all that begetting started again." "So I skipped." "Yeah." ""If thou will do evil..." Here it goes again." "Don't you do that on the pulpit, you hear?" ""If thou do which is evil, be afraid!"" "Now evil is one of those words you can drive home." "And vengeance is another one." ""Vengeance is mine, saith the..." ""Vengeance is mine, I shall repay, saith the Lord!"" "It's all here for you, John-Boy." "Study it and..." "Well, you know, I've listened to the Gospel most all my life." "When I was a girl, we used to go to what they called "protracted meetings,"" "where the preaching went on for a whole week." "And sometimes, we had a dozen preachers in or more." "Reverend Fordwick is all right, but I like those oldtime preachers." "And what I did was, I just took the best of everything they said and..." "And well, I've put it down for you." "Well, they're for you, John-Boy." "Thank you." " Did you hurt your hand?" " Well, it'll work out." "It's..." "You know, maybe you ought to practice that, that pounding, because there must be a knack in doing it right." "I will." "Grandpa." ""For in her tongue is the law of kindness."" "Proverbs, 31, Verse 20..." " Six." " Six, yes." "All about a virtuous woman." "For her price is far above that of rubies." "Thank you, Zeb." "You two plan to spend the night?" "We don't seem to have any plan here." " It's time to come home, Liv." " I'd rather walk home." "Do some thinking while you're walking." "First day didn't go too good, huh?" "Any day I lose my temper is not a good day." "I'm so ashamed." "Something must've happened to start you off." "It seems like a lot of things happened." "And when I called on Jim-Bob, it was almost a cry for help." "And he failed you, huh?" "It felt that way." "Now he's been sitting here telling me how understanding Rosemary is and how I'm not the least bit like her." "You'll feel better when you get home, Liv." "I'm mighty glad to see you." "Seems like a long, long time since this morning." "John-Boy." "Come on." "Open up the windows of your mind, and let the cooling breeze blow right through." "I'm sure trying." "You don't have to try up here, John-Boy." "Sit down." "It'll take care of itself." "I tell you, Grandma's sure working hard for me." "Yes, in her own sweet way." "You know, she's always had her own way with the man upstairs." "The Lord Almighty has been mighty patient with her, too." "No, no, I understand what she's been saying, and she certainly is a fine woman." "It..." "I don't know if I could..." "I don't know if I could do it with all that hellfire and brimstone and..." "No, I'm inclined to let the good Lord take care of the big things in life." "I don't wanna bother him with the little small things." "Let him take care of the wars and the depressions and the famines and floods, catastrophes and life and death." "And me, I..." "You know, I really only go to church because of the hymn singing." "But you do pray to him, don't you?" "Oh, yes, yes." "Yes, of course I pray in my own fashion, in thanks and gratitude." "We recognize one another." "Yes, I know he's always around somewhere listening." "You know, I enjoy most of all listening to him when I'm out fishing or sometimes when the old woman is haranguing me." "And then I listen to him, and I go about things in my own fashion." "I know what you mean." "But, well, like the way I feel about something, it's..." "It's so much of a feeling." "It's such a personal thing." "It's hard to make it come out as a statement, a fact or..." " You know what I mean?" " Yes, I know." "Some of those spellbinding preachers, they can get in the way of your own feelings." "Oh, yes." "I've heard them on the radio, you know." ""Repent!" "Repent!" ""You'll fall into the deepest, darkest abyss..." " "...of corruption and infamy."" " I know." ""Repent!" "Repent or perish!"" "Grandma must've known a whole passel of those." "Yeah." "I mean, they do know the right and the wrong of it, though, and I just..." "But they are men, you know." "Just men like the rest of us." "And you..." "You know that man was only created by God on the sixth day." "He created everything else, you know." "Heavens, the stars, the infinite spaces, the grasses, the herbs, trees, animals." "And he invented man." "And he had to rest a full day for his labor." "He did all that before man." "That ought to give us a rough idea in the scheme of things just where man belongs." "Along with everything." "Mama in here?" "No, last time I saw her, she was downstairs with Jim-Bob." "Are you reading all those books?" "Trying to." "Most of it." "Now, if you're gonna read all that, you'll be talking so much Sunday," "I'll be hard put to stay awake." " I just want it to be good." " Why won't it be good?" "I don't know." "I..." "I've been to Reverend Fordwick's sermons, and he always seems to have something real thoughtful to say." "He knows just what to say and how to say it." "Reverend Fordwick's been studying preaching for years." "I know." "That's just it." "How am I supposed to be a preacher in a week?" "There's no way you can become a preacher in one week, Son." "Well, at least I'd like to be what people expect me to be, but I don't even know what that is." "They all want something different." "I mean, even in these books here, I don't know who to please." "You know, maybe it's time you put away these books, stop listening to everybody including your Grandma, get real quiet and figure out how you feel." "You got a way with words." "Once you know how you feel about things, it'll come out real good." "You're right." "Ma's having her problems, too." "She's not Miss Hunter, but she's a pretty good teacher." "I bet you come up with a good sermon." "Hey, wait up." " Neither one of them is gonna give in." " He's been writing something." "Yeah." ""My favorite person is parts of a lot of people." ""If you put them together, they'd be swell." ""Orville and Wilbur Wright, on account of the airplane." ""Grandpa, the way he laughs and makes you laugh." ""John-Boy is a good big brother" ""when he doesn't treat me like a little brother." ""Mama's pretty and nice mostly when she's just being a mama." ""And then Daddy, the way you can go to him and ask and always get an answer."" "Over there in the shade of those trees." "We'll be a lot more comfortable there." "Good idea." "All right, now, everybody form a halfcircle here." " You all right, Elizabeth?" " Yeah." " Lots cooler here, Mrs. Walton." " Seems so to me." "Feel that breeze, children?" "Now, let's get on with our lesson." "You all remember we were talking about the Virginia Convention and..." "Martha Rose, what is it?" "Well, I don't have to sit on the ground with everybody else." "No, you don't." "You can stand there, or you can lean against that tree, or you can sit on that log over there, but what you can't do is disrupt the class." "Now, when you two have finished giggling, we'll get on with our lesson." "This will be your good deed for the day, John-Boy." "Another star in your crown." " Well, shall I put these in the back?" " Yes." "Thank you." "One and two." " Thank you." " You're very welcome." "Dare we ask how the sermon is coming?" "Well, I'm a little bit nervous about it." "Sister and I have every faith in you." "We do understand, John-Boy." "It is a grave responsibility, and your experience at preaching must certainly be limited, to say the least." "I agree." "Afternoon, Mrs. Brimmer." "Oh, John-Boy, ladies." "Nice, warm afternoon." " A bit stifling, though." "Try not to overdo." " I will." " About the nervousness you mentioned..." " Well, it's not really nervousness." "I just don't seem to be able to get my ideas organized." "Sometimes, when one is on edge, so to speak, a bit of the recipe has the most quieting effect." "Why, Sister, I've always found the recipe more stimulating than quieting." "I can't agree with you, Sister." "It was very quieting to me the last time I recited at the Shelley Society." "And as I recall, you were quite good, Miss Emily." "Thank you." "I was told so by many in attendance." "Well, you can always trust the recipe." " Yes, well..." " Well..." " Here, I'll get the door for you." " Thank you, John-Boy." "You're welcome." "Just one minute." "I'll get the door for you." "I don't know." "It sounds to me like Olivia's got a good idea, teaching those kids outside where the air's stirring around." "Well, in the school where I attended, there was discipline." "We were made to sit in our seats like a little row of soldiers." "You'd think she was having a picnic." "Well, it's revolutionary, there's no questioning that." "Exactly my feeling, revolutionary." "Another of those modern educational frills." "Well, now, we don't actually know that she was teaching." "I mean, you weren't close enough to hear what she was talking about, were you?" "I mean, what do you think she was talking about?" "Well, I'm sure I wouldn't know." "I wouldn't eavesdrop, you know." "Well, you know, I was surprised when I heard that they had asked Olivia to teach." "My goodness, I have more of an education than she has." " Corabeth, I..." " Well, you know I have." "And discipline is another thing." "That's the word I was trying to think of, "discipline."" " Why, she has no more..." " Why, John-Boy, my goodness!" " Just getting my mother's order here." " Yeah, got it right here for you, John-Boy." "I imagine you're hard at work on your sermon, John-Boy." "We..." "All of us imagine you are." "Seems to me I get new ideas for it all the time." "You know, the sound of that machine makes things seem even hotter." "Everything about this day, Pa, makes it seem hotter." "Yeah." " It's always cooler up there." " Yes." "I've never known a day when there wasn't an easy breeze blowing up there on Walton's Mountain." "Pa, let's close up shop." "Whatever Ma's got cooking for supper, we're going to eat up there on that mountain." " Come on!" " Hallelujah!" "Grandma." " Yeah, honey?" " Be careful, it's heavy." "Remember?" "That chicken should be covered." "Stop that." "Put it back." "Here you go, Grandma." "John-Boy, how's the sermon coming?" " You boys are pigs!" " Now they got it." " Set the table." " OK." "And get the knives." "You feeling tired?" "Everyone seems to think so." "They won't let me help much." " How's it coming along?" " Much better." "Hot as sin, of course, but a lot easier than the first day." "Yeah, it'll get easier and easier as you go along." "How's your work coming?" "Well, it's..." "It's coming pretty slowly actually." "Mostly it's just the thoughts." "You know, I've got to sift them out in my mind and sort them out and organize them." "I've got to have some reason to stand up there and talk to those people, and they've got to have some reason to sit there and listen to me." " It's coming." " I knew it would." "It's like him to think of coming up here for supper." "Yeah, he comes up here every chance he gets." "Feel that breeze." "I can feel the ragged edges just smoothing away." "Land and the pine trees is a sermon in itself, all right." "It's the summing up that's hard for me." "Daddy!" "Honey, you broke it, huh?" "Or it broke itself." "Let's see here." "Oh, yeah, I see." "I hope her problems are always that small." "I hope he's always there to solve them." "There it is." " Thank you." " All right, baby." " Hey, Daddy." " What?" "Can we go down to the creek?" " You know, I used to hunt frogs down there." " Yeah, we're gonna get some frogs." "OK." "We eat in a little while, so don't be long." " OK." "Thank you, Daddy." " OK." " Catch any big ones, you gotta eat them." " Be right back." "It's my turn." "What you've been doing?" "Admiring the view." "Something to see, isn't it?" "Something wrong?" "Liv, I can hardly wait for these hard times to be over, and we can start building our house." "Once that house is built, I bet I don't get anything done." "Probably just stand here staring off into all this space." "We can just put windows all across the front." "No use shutting out this view." "We are standing on the front porch, aren't we?" "No." "Now you are." "You just made our living room bigger." " It was a little skimpy, didn't you think?" " Now I'm gonna have to get new furniture." "Anything you want, me and the boys will build you." "New benches around the kitchen table with nice soft cushions." "Now, there's my dream." "Gonna need two or three extra benches for the grandchildren." "You build it, the kids will fill it." "It's gonna be a fine house, Liv, someday." "I think it already is." " We're keeping it out, Grandma." " I thought you'd have the table set by now." " It is." "We're all ready." " They can just come and get the plates." " Get them all together." " We don't wanna set them down." ""Like my heart beats for you..." How does that poem go?" "Tell me how that poem goes." ""My heart beats for you..."" "You may be seated." "Today is Sunday, and once again, we are privileged to come together in the warmth and the fellowship of the house of our Lord." "I think this morning, all of our thoughts are with our Reverend Fordwick and his bride Rosemary as they start their new life together." "And I'm sure that our prayers are with them also that their new life may be a happy one." "What does a young man know?" "And how does a young man learn?" "I don't have to remind you all that I am not a minister." "And to many of you, what I have to say this morning will not seem like a real sermon." "But Reverend Fordwick asked me to be here in his absence and to speak to you, so I'm gonna try." "While I was preparing to speak with you this week," "I learned things that I did not know before, and I was reminded of some things that I had forgotten or at least misplaced for a time." "And I would like to share these things with you." "I learned some of the many different ways that people have of worshipping God." "And I think I learned that everybody, in his own way, has a different way." "Now, I don't know the Bible as well as most of you, and I'm sure that all of you in here could quote me back chapter and verse to prove your belief, which I might not be able to do." "But I'll bet that if we really looked into it, we'd find that each of your beliefs is in some way different and special from everybody else's, just as you all, as people, are different and special from everybody else." "Now, I'm..." "I go to college." "I'm a college man, and I tend to read a lot of books, and I tend to feel that the answers are gonna be in the books." "So I went to college this week, and I took out a lot of big, heavy books, and I looked through them, and I looked for the answer." "And I found a lot of answers." "I didn't find the answer." "But I also found an answer in an afternoon walk with my grandfather on the mountain." "Now, he told me that God is everywhere all the time and that all we really have to do is just acknowledge that and listen." "I spoke with my grandmother who knows her gospel, and she knows the right of it, and she knows the wrong of it in her own special way." "She is a fine woman." "This week, I didn't have too much chance to talk with my mother because she was busy herself and she had things of her own to do." "I watched her, and I found out that the Lord guides her in her footsteps in ways that are unique to her, in ways that make her different from everybody, whether it's the way she tends a sick baby" "or the way she chooses to conduct her class at school." "This week, I looked over the shoulder of my younger brother, and I saw these words that he had written about our father." ""You can always go to him and ask and get an answer."" "Now, you all know John Walton, our father." "Now, you don't necessarily know him from seeing him in church every Sunday, but let me tell you that what Jim-Bob said is right." "You can always go to him and ask and get an answer, and he is always there for us." "And just as he has his special way of being with his family and giving them his answers, he also has a special way of being with his God" "and getting answers from his God." "We are all blessed by our families and by our loving friends, who help us and who give us support." "And we can be daily examples to each other and nourish each other and help each other in spite of our differences and also, many times, because of them." "Just as my earthly father is always with his family, so our Father in heaven is always with his family, which embraces all of mankind." "And it seems to me I've learned this week that our Lord must be very, very great indeed" "to be able to encompass so many different kinds of feelings and so many different kinds of people in his everlasting love." "Will we now turn to hymn number 335 in the hymnal, Amazing Grace?" "I was never again to stand in for Reverend Fordwick." "But it was a humbling experience and a growing time." "One that I learned much from and have had occasion to recall many times during my life." "Mama, do I get an A on my favorite-person theme?" "You deserve it, Jim-Bob." "But he wrote about five favorite persons." " So I ought to get five As." " Grabby." " I think you deserve them, Jim-Bob." " Thanks, Elizabeth." "You stayed after school longer than anyone else ever did." "You're a champion recordholder." " Good night, Elizabeth." " Good night, Mama." "Good night, Daddy." "Good night, honey."