"Harvey." "Your mother was a wonderful woman, Adam." "You keep her memory proud." "Come on, son." "Well, it's only you and me now, boy." "Mr. Milsap." "I'm Jane Muncie, county social services." "We met in your daughter's hospital room." " I remember." " I'll be out to see you very soon, sir." "We have some very difficult decisions to make about Adam." "Oh, but this is hardly the time." "This is Harvey Milsap, Station K219-niner-1, broadcasting in the clear on frequency 558 to outer space." "I say again, this is Harvey Milsap calling outer space." "Is anyone out there?" "Over." "Grandpa?" "Grandpa?" "It's the middle of the night." "What are you doing up?" " Couldn't sleep." " Me neither." "Why'd she have to die, Grandpa?" "I mean, first my dad, then her." "Why'd they have to leave me?" "I don't know, son." "You won't leave me, will you, Grandpa?" "Never." " You promise?" " As God is my witness." "Did you have a good sleep?" "Who can sleep all scrunched up in a back seat?" " Want me drive for a while?" " Yeah, sure." "What are you doing?" "I hate when you do that." " Oh, I'm sorry." " No, you're not." "You like it." " Hey, wait a minute." "Stop the car." " Now, how can I stop the car?" "Oh, yeah." "There." " What is it?" " Listen." "What are you listening for, a sign from heaven?" "There." "Look at that." "Will you look at that." " Let's go." " Where?" "Just follow that star." "Why did I know he was gonna say that?" "Grandpa, did you see that?" "Could it be, you know, one of them?" "Could be, I expect." "Sure landed close." "You know, might even be worth looking for." "Yeah." "Do you think we'll ever see spacemen, like you did, Grandpa?" "We sure will, boy." "You sure will." "Driving on the moon with all these potholes." "Where is this falling star of yours, anyway?" "Should be getting close." "Better slow down." "We need new shocks anyway." " Mark, you're driving too fast." " Hey, you wanna get there, don't you?" "Besides, don't worry, the suspension is already shot!" " Hey, you all right?" " Yeah, I think so." "I'm not too sure about the car." "Boy, this is the granddaddy of all potholes." "This isn't a pothole." "We're in a crater." "You mean, this is it?" "This is where the meteor hit?" " That's right." " Well, where is it?" "Shouldn't there be a big hot rock around here or something?" " That's it." " That made this hole?" "That's what's left of what made this hole." "Come on, let's go." "Hi, there." "That's all right, son." "Don't be afraid." "We're strangers here." "We need some help." "Yeah." "Crashed in the hole there." "Are you from up there?" " Up there?" "Does he know you?" " Yeah, I'm from up there." "You can call me Jonathan." "This is Mark." "We mean you no harm." " What are you doing here?" " We got a message to come." "A message?" "Wow, that's from my grandpa." "He's always sending messages into space." " Into space?" "Now, look, all we need" " Is a room for a couple of days." "Can you help us, Adam?" "Wow, you know my name." "Of course you would." "My grandpa talks about me." "Yeah, Mrs. Kelsey has a room for rent." "All right, that'll be fine." "But you got to make us a promise." "You don't tell anyone who we are or where we came from." "No one?" "Not even my grandpa?" "No one, not even your grandpa." "Agreed?" "Agreed." "Can I look in the hole?" "Sure, go ahead." "There's nothing here." "Where's your ship?" "What the--?" "Where's my ship?" "It's being repaired." "Don't worry about it." "Come on, Adam, let's see about the room." "It's easy for him to say." "He can fly." "Car only had 180,000 miles on it and it was paid for." "How long do you think you'll be staying?" "That's kind of hard to say, Mrs. Kelsey." " Oh, please, call me Mildred." " All right, Mildred." "Do you have any other boarders?" "Well, actually, you're my very first." "My son had that room until recently." "And then he got a job offer in another state, you see." "And it was for the best." "He's 30 years old." "Time he was on his own." "Land sakes, it's 10:00 already?" "I can't miss my soap opera." "Excuse me." "Sure." "Oh, no, not again." "Oh, your TV on the fritz?" "It's Harvey Milsap across the street, playing with his radio equipment and antennas and such." "Is that Adam's grandfather?" "The neighbourhood had to get a court order to stop him from operating that equipment any time except in the middle of the night." "He just ignores it." "Why don't you just tell him to shut it off?" "Oh, I'm afraid of the old coot." "He believes in flying saucers." "Can you imagine?" "And he spends all night trying to communicate with spacemen on his radio set." "Now, there's no telling what a person like that might try to do." "Well, I'll talk to him, see what I can do." "Well, I don't know what good it would do." "Don't sell Jonathan short." "He can be mighty persuasive at times." "I'll do my best." " Was it okay?" " Hey, it was perfect." " We got a room." " Great." "Look, Adam, I wanna give you something for helping us find this place and for keeping our secret." "Wow, I've never seen a rock like this before." "Hey, that's no ordinary rock." "It came a long way from here." "It's got powers." "Powers?" "What can it do?" "Well, it all depends who has it." "It means different things to different people." "But it's got amazing power, as long as you believe." "I believe, all right." "Come on, I want you to meet my grandpa." "Okay, but remember, we got a secret." "Yeah, I know." "It's gonna be hard to keep but I will." "Let's go." "This is very serious, Mr. Milsap." "As a social caseworker, my report will weigh heavily" " in the judge's decision." " I'm the boy's grandfather." "He's all I got and I'm all he's got." "There's no decision to be made." "Yes, well, it's not that simple, I'm afraid." "You're a widower and you're unemployed." "Well, I can't help being a widower, but I'll get a job." "How's that?" "Well, there are other considerations I have to make." "Certain indications show that you are not providing the proper psychological environment for Adam." "Psychological environment?" "What the dickens does that mean?" "Certain neighbours have informed me that you spend a lot of your time doing some very bizarre things." "Like trying to contact alien beings on your radio." "Oh, that's crazy." "Who'd say a darn thing like that?" "Your neighbours." "Mrs. Kelsey, for one." "Mrs. Kelsey?" "Well, for your information, that long-nosed, old biddy doesn't even know me well enough to call me by my first name." "But let me tell you" "I say again, this is Harvey Milsap calling outer space." "Is anyone there?" "Over." "This is Harvey Milsap, Station K219-niner-1, broadcasting in the clear on frequency 55" "All right, it's true." "Just because I think the good Lord might have put other creatures on other planets, doesn't mean I'm crazy." "It means, I'm curious." "And there's nothing in the whole world that's wrong with that." "All right." "I'll accept that." "But that doesn't alter the other problems." " I said, I'll get a job." " At your age?" "I'm healthy and I'm not afraid of hard work." "Just give me time to get a job and prove myself." "I'll be back in a week." "Good day, Mr. Milsap." "Grandpa, this is Jonathan and Mark." "They're staying over at Mrs. Kelsey's house." "I'm Harvey Milsap." "Pleased to meet you." " Pleasure." " Hi, how are you?" "You got quite a place." "What do you generate?" "Close to 10 000 watts." "Built it myself from scratch." "Grandpa transmits to outer space." "He sends messages, like I told you." " He's a ufologist." " Oh, don't go on now, Adam." "Most folks don't even know what that means." "Oh, sure." "That's an expert on UFOs." "Grandpa saw one once, a flying saucer." "Hush, Adam." "You're running on like a leaky old faucet." "He watched it land and people got out, didn't they, Grandpa?" "Well, sounds kind of crazy." "Not at all." "You believe it?" "Sure." "Who knows what goes on up there?" "You know, I had a friend once that thought he saw an angel." "An angel?" "And folks call me crazy." "I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but Mrs. Kelsey wondered if you could turn off your transmitter." "She's trying to watch her soap operas." "Oh, that nosy, old busybody." "Tell her it's off." " We'll see you later." " You bet." "Oh stop by." "I got a bunch of books on UFOs." "I'll do that." " See you, Adam." " See you." "Where'd you meet those two?" "On the dirt road, while I was looking for the meteor." "You find anything?" "No." "No, not a thing." "Come on, you gotta run." "All, right." "Yeah." " All right." " Come on." "Come on, let's go." "Hey, wimp." " Hey, Adam." "How you doing?" " Okay." " How come you're not playing?" " I didn't get picked." "I never do unless they're one short." "I'm pretty lousy." "Well, you practice a lot?" "I've got no one to practice with." "Besides, I'm just no good." "Well, you never will be with that attitude." "I got a glove back at the place." "We'll toss the ball around a little bit." "You play baseball where you come from?" "Sure we do." "And we're good, too." "And you know why?" " Why?" " Practice, boy, practice." "Come on, run." "All right, now you're gonna see what practicing can do." "All right, back up to the sidewalk there." "All right, now, get your body into it." "Come on, now, pitch it right in here." "See?" "I'm just lousy." "You're not giving yourself a chance, Adam." "Hey, Adam, what happened to the stone?" "Nothing." "It's right here in my pocket." " Then why don't you use it?" " I'm not sure how." "All right." "You got the stone, so all you have to do is believe you can do it." " Believe in yourself." " That's it?" "That's it." "Go on, why don't you try it again, huh?" "And this time, believe." "Come on, Adam, what are you doing?" "You giving up?" " No, I'm not quitting." " All right." "All right, pitcher, let's see your fastball." "Put it right in here." " It works." " Well, sure, it works." "I gotta get Grandpa." "I want him to see." "Okay, but remember our secret." "Oh, I know." "I just want him to see me pitch." " You give him the stuff, huh?" " No, he always had the stuff, he just didn't believe it." "Why didn't you tell him it wasn't the stone?" "I will." "When the time comes." "Grandpa." "Grandpa." "Grandpa." "Wait'll you see." "I can pitch great, really great." "Grandpa?" "I know." "I cry sometimes too." "But we're gonna be all right, just you and me." "That's just it, son." "They're trying to stop it from being you and me." "What do you mean?" "I mean, that lady that was here the other day?" "She's from the county." "They're trying to take you away from me." "What do you mean?" "They can't do that." "Oh, yes they can." "They can do anything they darn well please." "They don't care about love or..." "They just care about the rules." "I got no wife." "I got no job." " But you can get one." " I tried." "It ain't very good." "You know, you reach a certain age and folks won't hire you for nothing." "But they will, they will." "You just wait and see." "Today's just one day." "You'll find something tomorrow." "God, I pray that you're right, son." "I pray you're right." " Now, who is that one?" " That's Cameron." "He's engaged to Iris." "He used to be married to Phyllis." "Phyllis?" "Now, she's the one that Cameron's boss is blackmailing, right?" "Very good, Mark." "You learn fast." "Look out Iris, Cameron's gonna open the door." "Oh, no." "It's no use." "When Harvey Milsap turns on his machines over there, it just messes up everything." "Well, I'll just go have a little talk with Mr. Milsap." "Mildred, I think it's about time you took the bull by the horns and went over there and talked to him yourself." "You know, you're right." "Enough is enough." "Mr. Milsap, I'd like a word with you." "Well, I'm busy right now." "You were told not to turn on that contraption of yours while other people are trying to watch television." "I know that." "Well, then, why are you doing it now?" " I'm not." " You are." "And I'm telling you I ain't." "Hold on a minute." "Are you saying that the transmitter's not on?" "No." "I'm just going out to look for work." "Why would I want to have it on now?" "Must be your TV set this time." "But I never had any trouble with that set." "Well, you do now." "Mildred, I'm afraid he's right." "Well, then I apologise." "Cranky old biddy." "Oh, come on, Harvey." "She had good reason to think it was you." " Well, it wasn't." " Well, she apologised, didn't she?" "Why don't you go over there and see if you can't fix her set for her." "Why should I?" "She said some bad things about me." " Then show her she was wrong." " What for?" "I don't like her." "Harvey, you don't even know her." "Come on, what's it gonna hurt to be a good neighbour, huh?" "All right, let's go." "There you go." "It's as good as new." "Well, I declare, that is a better picture than I've had in years." "Oh, it just needed a little adjustment, a little tightening here and there." "I don't know how to thank you, Mr. Milsap." "Well, just being a good neighbour, Mrs. Kelsey." "Mildred." "I mean, we are neighbours." "We should be on a first-name basis." "All right, Mildred." "Well, I gotta be going." "Harvey?" "I've got a hot apple pie in the kitchen, if you'd like some." "Why, thank you, but I gotta get going into town." "Well, maybe another time." "Yeah." "Yeah, that'll be nice." " Mind if I ride into town with you?" " Be my guest." "I guess you found out Mildred's not a screeching banshee after all, huh?" "She's a nice lady." "What are you gonna do about keeping custody of your grandson?" " How do you know about that?" " He told me." "Well, they said I should get a wife or a job to raise Adam properly." "Jobs ain't easy to get at my age." " What'd you do before?" " Carpentry." "Too tough at my age." "Many people said I was too old to work, lost my usefulness." "Can't even care for a 9-year-old boy anymore." " Sounds to me like you're giving up." " No, I ain't giving up." "Honestly, Jonathan, I don't know what to do." "I'd think a man with your skills would have no trouble finding work." "What skills?" "Electronics." "I mean, look at the way you fixed Mildred's TV set back there." "That's just a hobby." "Well, maybe that's what you'd call it, but TV repairmen do darn well." "Yeah?" "You know, I never thought about that." "By golly, I think you've got something there." "Hey, I'd like to hire you." "Lord knows I could use the help." "But that sign in my window says," "I only use certified technicians in my place." "If you'll only give me a chance to show you what I can do." " Sorry." " Well, how do you get certified?" "The state gives a test once a month." "The next one's Saturday morning down at city hall." "I know because my nephew's taking it." "It'll be his fourth time." "He hasn't passed it yet." "This test, it's tough, is it?" "It's tough, all right." "Anyone passes it really knows his stuff." "Hey, well, that's Harvey." "Nobody knows more about electronics than he does." "Well, then go on down and sign up for the test." "Cost you 20 bucks." "If you pass, you got a job." "Well, Harvey, it looks like today is your lucky day, huh?" "Why is that?" "Well, you heard the man." "You take the test and you got a job." "He said, if you pass the test, you get a job." " No way I can pass that test." " Come on, how do you know that?" "Because I know." "I got no formal education." " But you've got practical experience." " Big deal." "These young whippersnappers today, they're all like wizards." "No." "No, I can't pass it." "I hate to see you let the boy down just because you're afraid of failing." " I don't wanna let the boy down." " Well, then take the test." "You can't pass it if you don't take it." "Come on, get some guts, Harvey." "Well, let's just say I can't afford the $20 right now." " Hey." "Hey, look at this." " Where is that...?" "Hey, who cares where?" "Are you telling me this isn't a sign?" "You need $20 to take a test and, bingo, you got $20." "You got no excuses." "You take this down to city hall and you sign up for that test." "I'll see you later." "All right, I will." " Do you think--?" " Sir, this is your admission form." "Be sure to bring it with you on Saturday or you won't be allowed to take the test." "Yes, ma'am." "I'll remember." " And good luck." " Thank you." "You know, you're gonna need all the luck you can get." "Oh, you think so?" "It's that hard, is it?" "No, it's a snap, if you're an electrical engineer." "If not, then good luck." " You've taken the test?" " Twice." "Failed it twice, even though I took every correspondence course I could find." "Do you know what they say?" "Third time's the charm." "Yeah." " Well, good luck." " Thanks." "Good luck to you too, sir." "Hold that piece of paper, that's gin." "Oh, Jonathan, that's four in a row." "You are lucky at cards." "It can't last." "I'm not a good card player." " Go on." " Yeah, go on." "Be right back." "My deal." "Jonathan, it is not much fun when you use the stuff." "I would think you'd let the lady win one." " I didn't use the stuff." " You swear?" "Is that really necessary?" "I'm an angel." " Look who's here." " Hey." "Hi, Harvey." "How you doing?" "And look at the lovely flowers that he brought me." "Oh, hey, those are really pretty." "We're just playing some cards, Harv." "You want to join in?" "Oh, no, thank you." "I just came to ask Mildred if she wanted to walk down and get some ice cream." "Wednesday night they got this crazy Bubble Gum and Cream." "Well, I hate to leave my guests." "Oh, no, go ahead." "I'm really getting tired of watching him win anyway." "Well, all right, if you don't mind." "Let's go." "Hey, Harv, you get signed up for the test all right?" "Oh, yeah." "Yeah, I did." "See you later." "A cute couple." "You know, I think Harvey's sweet on her." "Yeah." "I just hope it's for the right reasons." "Well, I did it again." "Got half the ice cream on my shirt." "Well, that's not your fault." "They put too much in them." " You can't eat them before they melt." " I used to when I was a kid." "Oh, well, we used to do a lot of things when we were kids." "Yeah, ain't that the truth." " We probably still could." " Could what?" "Do a lot of things that we don't do." "We get lazy and we stop trying." "I suppose." "But maybe we're afraid of trying." "Well, here we are." " Seems like we just went out." " Yeah." " Look, do you like the movies?" " You mean, go out to one?" " Yeah." " Oh, I haven't done that in years." "Seems like in all of them, everybody says "hell,"" "and the next thing you know, they're naked." " We can always cover up our eyes." " Okay." " Tomorrow night?" " What?" "Go to the movies." "I suppose I could find us a PG." " I'd like that." " Tomorrow night then?" "Can I play?" "No way, wimp." "Get lost." "Yeah?" "I bet I could strike you out." "You?" "No way." " Why don't we see?" " Okay, wimp, get on the mound." "Oh, no." "It's in my other pants." "Hey, let's go, wimp." " Yeah, let's go." "Come on." " Come on." " I gotta go home for a minute." " What for?" "I just gotta go." "I'll be back in a few minutes." "It's probably Old Man Milsap's suppertime and Rogers has to go home and spoon-feed the crazy old man his oatmeal." " My granddad's not crazy." " Oh, of course not." "Has he seen any flying saucers lately?" "My dad says Milsap the Sap is nutty as a fruitcake." " He ought to be put away." " Take it back, Jeff." " Make me." " I can't today." "Coward." "I'm not a coward." "I just can't today." "Well, how's Saturday, before the game?" "Does that suit you better?" "Yeah, yeah." "I'll be here." "Milsap's a sap and so is his chicken grandson." "Milsap's a sap and so is his chicken grandson." "Milsap's a sap and so is his chicken grandson." "We got that hedge of yours in the back yard trimmed down to size." " Oh, you boys didn't have to do that." " No trouble at all." "Mrs. Kelsey?" "I'm Jane Muncie." "We spoke last month concerning Mr. Milsap across the street." " Yes, of course." "Won't you come in?" " Thank you." "And these are my new boarders." " Jonathan Smith and Mark Gordon." " Hi." "Nice to meet you." "Mrs. Kelsey, what I have to discuss with you is of a private nature." " Private?" " Yes." "It concerns your engagement to Mr. Milsap." " My engagement?" " Yes." "He told you that we were engaged?" "Yes." "He said you were to be married within the month." "Isn't that correct?" "No." "Why should he say such a thing?" "Well, I'm afraid he was using you." "You see, I told him he needed employment or a wife if he wanted to have custody of his grandson." "I see." "Mr. Milsap, this is Mildred Kelsey." "I'm afraid that I have to decline our date for tonight." "No, not tomorrow, not ever." "I have just spoken with Miss Muncie and I must ask you not to see me again." "Not ever." "Excuse me." " Hello." " Hey, Rogers." "Jeff." "Just wanna make sure you didn't forget about our little date tomorrow." " No, I didn't forget." " You mean, you're gonna show up?" "Of course I'm gonna show up." "Well, I gotta give a few friends a call, make sure they don't miss it." "Like Hollie Sims, the one you're keeping your eye on all the time." "I don't care who you call." "We'll see how big you talk tomorrow." "What are you sitting out here for, Grandpa?" "Just thinking." "Aren't the mosquitoes biting you?" "No, there's not enough blood left in an old man to make it worth their while." "It's getting late." "What time you gotta take that test tomorrow, Grandpa?" " Grandpa?" " I ain't taking it." "What do you mean?" "Oh, because there's no way in heaven that I can pass the test." "Folks go to school and they study books year after year to learn everything they know." "I never had any schooling in electronics." "Everything I learned, I learned by myself." "But you know everything." "Nobody knows everything, son." "Especially an ignorant old man like your grandfather, who quit school in the eighth grade." "But you gotta pass that test, Grandpa." "You know what that lady said:" "She'd take me away from you." "I don't wanna leave you, Grandpa." "And I don't want to leave you, son." "But there's nothing I can do." "I wasn't supposed to say nothing about this, but I gotta now." "See this rock?" "It's got the power." " What are you talking about?" " It's true, Grandpa." "I can't tell you anything except I got it from an alien." "Like the ones you seen that time." "They gave it to me." "You can do anything if you got it." "That's nonsense." "That's what the folks said when you told them about the spacemen." "And they were right." "What?" "They were right." "I never saw such a thing." "Never." "But why?" "Well, because people call me crazy and silly and I wanted my grandson to think I was more than I was." " But I'm not lying, Grandpa." " Adam." "On my mother's grave, I'm telling you true." "Do you know what you're saying?" "You know I wouldn't say it unless it was so." "Sleep good, Grandpa." "It'll be all right." "Quite a boy." "Where'd you come from?" "You gave him this stone." "Where did you come from?" "That doesn't matter." "What matters is you take that test tomorrow." "Well, I can't." "I figured I couldn't pass the test, so I I threw the certificate away." "The lady said I couldn't take the test without it." "God, I wish I hadn't thrown it away." "Jonathan, look." "Jonathan, Jonathan." " Hi, Adam." "How's it going?" " Here." " What's this?" " A letter to my grandpa." "I wanted to tell him how much I love him." "Why don't you just tell him yourself?" "I gotta fight Jeff today." "I might get killed or something." "I wanted him to know." "See, I gave Grandpa the stone so he could pass his test." "Now I gotta fight Jeff without it." "Oh, I see." "I'll tell you, that was a pretty brave thing you did, giving him that stone." "Look, Adam, I have a confession I'm gonna have to make to you." "That stone I gave you, there's nothing magical about it." "It's just a piece of meteor fragment I found." "It doesn't have any powers." "But I pitched perfect strikes." "I threw better than I ever could." "That's right, you did." "But the stone didn't have anything to do with it." "Then, why'd you say it was magical?" "Oh, I don't know," "I wanted to give you something to believe in." "I'll tell you something." "The magic's all inside of you, if you believe in yourself." "Then, I don't need the stone?" "Never did." "Just in case I don't believe in myself enough, be sure to give the note to Grandpa." "I will, Adam." "Bye." "Come and get it, runt." " Come on, go get him!" " Come on, get him!" "Hit him!" "I still say your grandpa's loony." "Milsap the Sap." "You can say whatever you want about me, but don't you ever say anything against my grandfather." "Hey, Adam." "Hey, Adam, come on." "Now look, come on, that's enough." "Adam, that's enough." "Hey, hey." "Hey, that's enough." "I guarantee you, he's not gonna say anything about your grandfather again." "Come on, let's go home." "Where do you think you're going with that boy, miss?" "Well, you know good and well where." "And from the looks of Adam, it's none too soon." "Well, what the devil happened to you?" "I was in a fight." "But I won." "Well, if you won, I'd sure hate to see the other fella." "Come on, Adam." "Now, hold on, miss." "You and me got a bargain." "You are looking at a genuine, certified, electronics technician." "And I got me a job starting Monday, making more money than I ever made in my life." "I'll have to confirm that, of course." "Oh, you do as you like." "But, until then, you get back in that buggy of yours and scoot." " You passed the test?" " With flying colours." "But I couldn't have done it without this." "Your magic stone." "I must have lost it in the hole in my pocket." "It doesn't matter, Grandpa." "We don't need the stone." "The magic's inside of us." "Well, Mildred, we're on our way." "We wanna thank you for all of your hospitality." "Yeah." "I can't remember the last time I tasted cooking as good as yours." "You sure you can't stay just a few more days?" "I wish we could, but we've got some work we have to do." "Of course." "The house just gets so empty." "Looks like your television set's on the blink again." "That's Harvey Milsap again." "This time I am going over there and put a stop to this nonsense." "Evening, Mildred." "Mr. Milsap, your radio antenna is disrupting my TV programmes." "It hasn't been on." "It hasn't been for two days." "I apologise." "Good night." "Mildred." "I don't blame you for the way you feel about me." "In the beginning, it was a plan." "I was scared of losing my grandson." "But now I want you to know that this crazy old man who lives across the street from where you live," "loves you dearly." "Hi, Mrs. Kelsey." "Are Jonathan and Mark at home?" "They're moving out, dear, but maybe if you hurry..." "Excuse me." " He's a nice boy." " I couldn't lose him, Milly." "That's why I did what I did." "Could you forgive me?" "It's something worth talking about." "Jonathan?" "Mark?"