"Suffering in silence was not a popular pastime with me, nor my brothers and sisters." "Feelings, good and bad, in the Walton family were customarily laid out for everybody remotely concerned to see and hear and hopefully to adjust to." "Sometimes, of course, we did hide our true feelings out of hurt." "And once, in the case of my brother Jason, out of a refusal to believe he could have such bad feelings against his older brother." "Jason, let me help you." "Oh, I can manage." " What is going on out there?" " Nothing's going on." "I'm on my way to work." "Here." "Will you please just all go back to bed?" "Mama, why is Jason mad?" "Maybe I should sleep in the barn." "Maybe we should be glad you don't play a bass drum or a bull fiddle." "All right." "Go back to bed, Elizabeth." " But, Mama..." " Now." "Come on, Jason, I'll fix you some breakfast." "Mama, I don't have time for breakfast." "If I'm not out there, you know Bobby's gonna start honking." "Let him honk." "Mama, I'm not hungry, and I really don't have the time." "Seems like lately there's never any time for food or sleep." "Now I want you to sit yourself down." "I'm gonna fix you some eggs." "Hey, what's going on here at the crack of dawn?" "Is this a late snack or an early sunrise breakfast?" "See, I got everybody up." "I've been wide awake for hours." "Oh, to hear her tell it, she hasn't slept in 50 years, 52 years." "She's afraid she'll miss something." " Well, that's Bobby." " Jason, this will only take a minute." "Mama, I can't." "See you tonight." "Oh, Jason, don't forget my request, I'll Fly A way." "We'll try to work it in, Grandma." "Esther, it can barely be 5:00." "We got time to spend another hour or so in bed." "Come on." "No, no, I'm not sleepy." "When somebody gets me up with the chickens, I'm..." "Well, all right, if this old chicken is gonna stay up, this old rooster will do likewise." " A little..." " Oh, get dressed." "Get dressed." "Okay." "Come, Mary Ellen, sit down and listen." "It'll do you good." "I like them better as the Haystack Gang." "Well, friends and neighbors out there in radioland, that just about winds up this session of your favorite hymns with yours truly, Bobby Bigelow, and all the Sunrise Gospeleers." "We played that last soul rouser there especially for Mrs. Zeb Walton, who just happens to be the grandma of our lead guitar player, Jason Walton." "Hope you enjoyed that, Mrs. Walton." " Oh, I did." "I most certainly did." " Okay, friends..." "Talk louder, Esther." "They're over in Charlottesville." " I said..." " ...family Bible for just $2.95." "And, as a special bonus, we'll be sending along a special true-life photograph of all your Sunrise Gospeleers, personally autographed by yours truly, Bobby Bigelow." "Well, that's about all the time we have for this morning, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning, same time, same station." "So when you hear that old rooster crow, you pile out of bed and join us, won't you?" "Till then, so long, and may the good Lord take a liking to you." "You know, Livie, I just feel so proud." "My grandson bringing church music to all those people." "The hymn-playing and the Bible selling are fine." " It's that other part that worries me." " You mean the Haystack Gang?" "For 30 minutes every morning, they're the Sunrise Gospeleers." "The rest of the time they're the Haystack Gang, playing barn dances and old honky-tonks." "The longer he stays with that gang, the longer my prayers get each night." "No need to worry, Liv." "He's just getting experience." "It's what kind of experience he's getting that worries me." "Well, orders for Bibles are coming in real good." "And, Jason, don't forget to send one of these pictures along with each one, okay?" "Yeah, Bobby, I don't mind doing my fair share, but..." "You're doing more than that." "And believe me, I'm not gonna forget it." "Well, don't you think everybody should pitch in a little more?" "Well, everybody is, but, Jason, you're the one I can depend on." "I can't commence to tell you how much that really means to me." "Well, I'm glad you feel that way." "Well, you're my good right arm, you know, whether you're playing that guitar or addressing these labels or doing this fan mail." "Yeah, that's another thing, this fan mail..." "Is very important." "We take care of these people, they're gonna take care of us." "Jason, them friends and neighbors out there in radioland are the most important thing." "Without these cards and letters coming in everyday, what's gonna remind this radio station it needs Bobby Bigelow and his gang?" "It's very important, very important." "Yeah, it just takes up so much of my time, though." "It's time well-spent, Jason." "Take my word for it." "Look at me jawing at you, when you got 20 better things to do than listen to me." "I got my own bases to cover." "I'll see you tonight." "I'll be by to pick you up about 6:30, 6:45." "We'll go over and set up for the dance tonight." "Okay." "I doubt if I'll be through here by tonight." "You, there." "Let me have that." " Those spines are so fragile." " I'm sorry, sir." "What are you doing in the stacks?" "I have an appointment with Dr. Hoadley." "Secretary said I could find him down here." "Well, you have." "I happen to enjoy the company of books." " Who are you?" " John Walton, sir." "I'm applying for the NYA job." " I hope I didn't harm the book?" " No." "No." "Just what qualifies you to work back here with me?" " Any previous experience?" " No, not really." "Except maybe as a customer." "I love books." "I don't spend as much time as I'd like to in the library." "I certainly could use the money." "If you'd like to speak with Professor Parks in the English department and maybe Mr. Fletcher down at the newspaper," "I'm sure they'd give you a reference." "What's your connection with the newspaper?" "I'm what you call a stringer." "I sort of fill in, you know, special assignments." "That sounds like very uncertain employment." "That it is." "But I like it, and it would give me plenty of time to work here." "You like books, do you?" "I think I can honestly say that the only thing" "I enjoy more than reading is writing." "I'm working on one now." "There are enough books in the world already." "I know what you mean." "And maybe some day you'll have room on your shelves for just one or two of mine if they're good enough." "What's your major?" "Journalism." "Ever thought of Library Science?" "No, not till now." "Well, maybe you should." "Natural choice for a young man who finds pleasure in books." "I can't imagine a more challenging or rewarding vocation." "And naturally, in selecting a young man for this NYA job," "I would tend to prefer someone who would dedicate his future to the work." "I can understand that." "Well, you think about that." "In any case, it's quite nice to meet you, John." " Thank you." " NYA will notify you in a day or two." "All right." "Excuse me." " Now, what's that?" " What kind of food do we have?" "Well, it smelled like stew." "I knew it was." "All right." " Oh, Mama, that looks so good." " Here, sweetheart." " Okay." " Here we go." " Don't spill it, Elizabeth." " Let's see now." "Erin, I think it's your turn to say grace." "Should I wait for Jason?" "We could all starve waiting for Jason." "Go ahead, honey." "Thank you, Lord, for giving us this nice day and for letting each of us go his own way." "And thank you for letting us all be gathered here to enjoy this good food and company." " Amen." " Amen." "You said that very well, Erin." " Very nice, honey." " It has been a nice day." "I've seen 30,000 days, more or less, good or bad, long and short, and nary a one of them has been like the other." " Jason, got time for some supper?" " Here he is." " Oh, sorry, Daddy." "I haven't." " Then make time." "Mama, I can't." "I promised Bobby I'd be ready early, so I could help set things up for the dance." "Some things are more important than promises made to Bobby Bigelow." "Now you sit yourself down and take some nourishment." " I'll have this on the way." " Jason!" " See you all later." " John!" "Now, honey, it'd be nice to have all the children sit with us all the time, but when a man has a job to do, he's got to get it done." "This catch-as-catch-can musician's job is no good for a growing boy." "Remember the time John-Boy got involved with that marathon dance?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "There's all kinds of growing to be done, Liv." "Well, I know the kind of growing I want for Jason, and I'm gonna tell him, and he's gonna listen." ""In the distance, flowing over the pine trees" ""from the swamp over the..." Over the pond?" ""In the distance, flowing over the pine trees from the swamp," ""came the many-voiced choir of frogs." ""Once only came the saddest sound in the world," ""the single unanswered voice of a whippoorwill." ""But there was no one to hear it," ""for everyone in the house was asleep."" "You going out or you coming in?" " Lately, I'm never sure." " Well, good night." "Good night." "That boy is so tired, he can hardly put one foot in front of the other." "Why aren't you in school?" "Well, after the radio show, I decided not to go to my classes." "Jason, you are so rundown, I worry about you every minute of the day." "I'm just so far behind in my work," "I thought I'd give myself a chance to catch up." "The way you've been overdoing it, you'll never catch up." "Now you march inside and upstairs and put on your pajamas and pile into bed." "Mama, I'm not sick." "I'm just a little tired." "Go on, now." "Do like I say." "Come on." " Oh, Mama, I can't." " Jason, I don't want an argument." "Mama, I have all that fan mail to answer, and then I have to send out a dozen Bibles, and then I gotta get some music written so that I can face Professor Thaxton tomorrow." "Now you hear me out." "You've spread yourself too thin." "You take on one more job, you'll likely disappear altogether." "Now, your Mama's right." "You've been galloping off in 10 different directions." "Now, you gotta make up your mind whether you want this, that, or the other thing." "Well, trouble is, Grandma, I want it all." "This, that, and the other thing." "Well, it can't be." "Now, you've got to make a choice." "Now, you stick to your hymn-singing and your studies." "And forget about playing dances and honky-tonking all over the country with Bobby Bigelow." "But Bobby's depending on me, Mama." "And, besides, the money's good and I'm learning." "Anyway, I gotta get busy." "The morning's almost gone and I won't have done a thing." "Well, I'm certainly grateful for the chance, Dr. Hoadley." "I intend to give it my best." "If at any time you feel I'm not doing something I should be doing, then you just let me know 'cause I wanna learn about it." "It pleases me and it reassures me to hear you say that, John." "You won't find your work too difficult." "Arranging these books, filing them in the stacks." "This will be your desk." "You know, John, there is an opportunity here for the right man to get far more from this job than just a little paycheck." "Well, a little paycheck is gonna be a mighty big help, though." "I'm glad, but I think that you will benefit from this in the larger way as well." " Yes, sir?" " You have imagination." "Yes, sir." "Sometimes too much." "It takes imagination to appreciate what working in a library really means." "I'm sorry to say that too many of my staff immerse themselves in the routine, the detail, filing, the cross-filing." "It's all very important but it's only a part of a true librarian's vocation." "We are the custodians of the thoughts, the theories, the hopes, the fears of all men for over the last 3,000 years." "It's quite a responsibility." "You know, I sometimes think of us as the pharmacists of the mind and the spirit." "A man or a woman need a prescription." "They want comfort or pleasure or information or inspiration, so they come to us." "We reach into the collection and we find the medicine." "Are you familiar with the poetry of Emily Dickinson?" "Sure." "Here's one that every true librarian should know by heart." ""There is no frigate like a book" ""To take us lands away" ""Nor any coursers like a page" ""Of prancing poetry" ""This traverse may the poorest take" ""Without oppress of toll" ""How frugal is the chariot" ""That bears a human soul!"" "I don't know that one." "Well, you think about that the next time you're cross-eyed from working with your card-index, you're bored with your filing, your back is aching, shoving these book carts, and you remember that even though you're starting here in a basement library" "somewhere in the hills of Virginia, all these books lead us back to those who cared for the great library in Alexandria and even to those who started the collection in the Vatican." "I hope I'm up to it." "I think you'll make a fine librarian." "I'm wasting your time." "I just didn't have time to finish it." "You're doing too many things." "You have to devote yourself to the reason you got a scholarship here." "I don't know." "Maybe I am." "It's just that everybody's expecting too much from me." "You and my family and Bobby Bigelow, everybody." "You're wearing too many hats, Jason." "Pick one, put the others in the closet." "Maybe I should just forget serious music for now and let you help somebody who has the time and the energy." "Sooner or later, you will have to choose." "I'll see you at the usual time on Monday." "Thank you." "Jason, it's no crime to admit limitations." "Everybody has some." "Everybody?" "You never met my big brother." "Evening." "Two tickets?" "Okay, here you go." " Hi." " Hey, Betsy." " Want to buy a ticket?" " Oh, Ralph will get the tickets." "Where's that beautiful man?" " Who might that be?" " Why, my dreamboat, Bobby Bigelow." "Oh." "Well, he's over there someplace." "Oh, don't you just love his smile?" "Makes you feel all warm and glowy inside, but at the same time it gives you chills." " Oh, I hadn't noticed." " I could just look at him all night." "Here you go." "Have a nice time." "Hey, you." "I seen you talking to my girl just now." "Oh, you mean the girl who just went by here?" "Betsy?" "How come you know her?" " Oh, I knew her in school." "A little." " Just how little?" "Very little." "It was a small school and you knew everybody." "Very little." "Betsy is my girl, you understand?" "So don't get any ideas." "Look, I haven't got time even for ideas." "Bobby, when you play like you do, I just get wobbly all over." "Well, sugar, maybe you ought to see a nerve doctor." "Now, wobbly knees usually calls for medicine not music." "Now, don't you go teasing me, Bobby Bigelow." "I just never did hear nobody play so darn perfect." "Girl, you are a true music-lover." "Say, Jason, you didn't give us very much on that last guitar break, son." "I did the usual." "You behave yourself, Ralph." "I told you to stay away from that grinning git fiddler." "I'm gonna go get a bottle of pop." "I don't take my orders from you, Ralph Sorly." "Let go of my arm." " Ow." "Bobby, he's hurting me." " You're coming with me right now." "Hey, you let go of her." "Come on, you guys." "Come on, break it up." "Don't get up, Jason." "Come on." " Yes, yes, yes." " Ralph!" "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "Hold it!" "Now what's this all about?" "This guy's asking for trouble and he's about to get it." " What do I smell on your breath?" " Hey!" "Corn liquor?" "I bet I know where the rest of this pint is." "Come on." "Out!" "Oh, Jason." "You were so brave." "Wasn't he just the bravest thing?" "Yeah, bravest thing I ever saw." "Hey, you didn't jam your picking hand, did you, partner?" " Oh, you poor, sweet thing." "Does it hurt?" " Some." " Oh, you poor thing." "Oh, I'll take care of it." " You don't have to." "Well, it's the least I can do, after you stood up for me and practically saved my life." "After the next set." "Floor show's over, folks." "Time for a little bit of music here." "Come on." "Play." "Come on." "It's all over." "Just a little dancing and a song, that's all." "Gather around, folks." "Gonna pick one for you." "One, two, three, four." " Good night, Betsy." " Good night, Bobby." " I'll just be a minute." " Okay." "Now stay close to me, Jason." "I don't think you ought to worry about Ralph being around here." "Well, if he is, he'll take to his heels." "You showed him who was the better man." "Oh, I was just lucky." "Jason, I'm so glad we're back together again." "Well, here you are, safe and sound." "You're in such a hurry to go, a body would think you had another girl waiting somewhere." "Well, it's just that Bobby's in a hurry and..." "You should know, I'm a very jealous person." "Good night." "I do believe this has been the most important evening of my life." "See you later." "Jason, wait." "My Papa-Daddy's not home." "You just can't leave me alone." "I've gotta get home!" "Well, I'm afraid to be by myself." "Suppose Ralph is just waiting out there." "Betsy, I really don't think you have to worry." " You could take me home with you." " I can't do that!" "Well, then you'll just have to stay here and look out after me." "Jason, please." "Oh, all right." "Go on ahead, Bobby." "And take care of my guitar." "You're every bit as kind and understanding a gent as I figured you must have been in high school." "I don't know what my family is gonna think." "Well, heavens, you're a man." "Men often stay out all night, like my Papa-Daddy." "You mean, he may not come home at all?" "Oh, he has some old girl he likes over on Route 29." "Over by Witt's store." "Where's your mama?" "Mama went to heaven in July of the year 1931." "But that means that you and..." "That means that you'll sleep out here on the swing and I'll sleep inside." "We'll be just like Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night." "Betsy, I really don't think I ought to stay after all." "I know who I'm gonna be dreaming about." "What's wrong?" "Jason hasn't come back from the dance yet." "The way that Bobby Bigelow drives that car just gives me the chills." "No, no." "If it had been an accident, we'd have heard." "Yeah, that's right." "We would have." "Well, does John know?" "He and John-Boy are out looking for him now." "You have a sensible boy, and he's gonna be all right." "I'm gonna start the coffee." "They didn't find him." "No sign of him." "Well, what could've happened to him?" "Well, we rousted the sheriff out of bed, and it seems there was a little trouble at the dance last night." "What kind of trouble?" "Jason sort of got into a fight with a fellow named Ralph Sorley." " Was Jason hurt?" " Sheriff said no one was hurt." "A deputy confiscated Ralph's bottle of corn and escorted him from the dance." "What on earth was Jason fighting about?" "What do men usually fight about?" "A girl?" "Jason fighting in a public place over a girl?" "Well, I guess he was trying to protect her, Liv." "That's Bobby Bigelow." "Maybe he knows where Jason is." " Hey, Bobby." " Good morning, John-Boy." "Hey, where's my redheaded fiddler?" "Well, we thought maybe you'd have the answer to that." "You mean he didn't come home at all last night?" "That boy is growing up faster than I thought he was." "What is that supposed to mean?" "Well, I left him over at Betsy Morgan's about midnight, and I'll give you odds that's just where he stayed." "Look, I'll stop by over there at that place and if Jason is safe and sound, I'll let you know on the broadcast, okay?" "Thank you." "Looks like that old boy's blue moon has turned to gold!" "See you." "Well, Bobby says he's 99.5% sure that Jason spent the night with a friend." "Bless you, radio friends." "Welcome to another inspirational 30 minutes with your Sunrise Gospeleers." "Thank the Lord we're all here to praise Him this morning." "We lost one of our lambs temporarily, but the Walton family prayers were answered and the little woolly lamb is safe back in the fold once again." "In fact, we're gonna dedicate this first hymn to Jason this morning." "Well, Liv, you can stop worrying about your son now." "Stop worrying." "One of our sons stays out fighting all night without a thought to any of us?" "I'm sure he had a good reason, Mama." " It's his first offense, Livie." " And his last." "Well, don't forget he's at that age where he's discovering a lot of confusing things about himself." " I'm at the same age." " You always have been." "Well, I don't care how confused he is." "He'd better face up to the truth." "You can't fight and rowdy around all night and expect to wash it away with hymn-singing in the morning." " Liv, the boy's 18 years old." " I know how old he is, John." "Pa, say grace, please." "Forgive us, Oh Lord." "Amen." "Look at all this mail." "Hey, do they love us, Jason?" "Bobby, I'd appreciate it if you could take over for me today." "Well, I just wish I could, Jason, but I have this really important meeting." "Hey, it could mean a lot more money for all of us." "But I've got to get home." "Don't forget we have to play for that party tonight at the Elks Club, okay?" "See you." "I can't believe this is happening to me, sitting in a radio station with a real celebrity." "I guess we owe a lot of thanks to Ralph, don't you think, Jason?" "I mean, if he hadn't tried to haul me away..." "Betsy, I've got work to do." "I don't want you to call me Betsy." " I want you to call me Bette." " Bette?" "All right." "Bette." " Don't you even want to know why?" " Why what?" "Why I want you to call me Bette!" "It's after Miss Bette Davis, the great movie actress." "Lord, I saw her in Of Human Bondage and she just drove the man who was in love with her crazy." "Now that I'm Bette, doesn't it wanna make you never leave my side, just stay by me night and day?" "Betsy, we'll be together lots, but first I have to work and I have to go to school and, before I do anything else, I've gotta get home." "I could go with you." "I'm dying to meet your mama." "I heard she's real religious and deep down I am, too." "I just know we'd get along." " Not today." " Jason." "Not today." "Soon, soon, but not today." "Say, Pa, what was that fellow doing around here this morning with that shotgun?" "Oh, there was a perfect stranger come by this morning looking for a tall, gangly boy who kept his daughter out all night." "Oh, yeah?" "Sure he wasn't around trying to tree possums, was he?" "No." " Morning, son." " Oh, hello, Jason." "Morning." "I'm sorry about not getting home last night." "I spent the night with a friend." "I used to call it staying up all night with a sick friend." " Your friend do that to your eye, son?" " No." "Well, we heard you spent the night with a girl." "No." " No?" " No?" "Well, yes." " Yes." " Yes." "Well, see, I was at Betsy's because she was afraid to stay there by herself." "But she was on the inside of the house, and I was outside on the porch swing," "and she said it was like that movie It Happened One Night." "It Happened One Night?" "Yeah." "Does Mama know about Betsy?" "About Betsy, no." "She doesn't know about Betsy yet." "But she's pretty upset anyway, son." "Yeah." "She's..." "She's waiting for you." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "I'm real sorry, Mama." "Is that all you have to say for yourself?" "I'm..." "I'm sorry I had you worried." "Who was the friend you stayed with?" "No one you know yet." "Your poor cheek." "It doesn't hurt much." "What about your reputation, brawling over a girl?" " Who told you about that?" " It's probably all over the county by now." "Well." "Well, the other fellow was hurting her." "You wouldn't want me to just stand there and watch, would you?" "No." "Not if he was hurting her." "What was her name?" "I don't know." "It was just, just some girl." "Mama, I've got to get to the Conservatory." "I'm going to be late for my session with Professor Thaxton as it is." "You're always rushing off somewhere." "Tonight you and your daddy and I are gonna sit down and come to an understanding." "You're a model of efficiency and industry, John." "Well, thank you." "I'm just trying to get this done today." "You may even lead me to revise my whole attitude toward the NYA students." "I dug out these three catalogs." "I suggest you glance at them on your own time, of course." "Harvard University, Yale, William and Mary College." "Three of the finest schools for Library Science." "Excuse me, sir." "I don't think I could afford any of these schools." "Not as an undergraduate, perhaps, but now's the time for us to begin planning your advanced degrees." "Well, I certainly appreciate the trouble you've gone to." "They have grants, they have scholarships, jobs available." "Now, my feeling is that you should try for your master's at William and Mary, then go for your doctorate at either Harvard or Yale, and then an apprenticeship at one of the great private libraries." "You look dazed." "Am I going too fast?" "Yes, sir." "I think you're suggesting that I change my major to Library Science." "You are interested, aren't you?" "That was certainly the basis for my giving you this job in the first place." "Was I misled?" "Well, no." "I mean, I'm very interested." "I enjoy the work and I'm trying to do a good job." "There's no complaint on that score." "But as I told you before, I think of this job as a kind of initiation." "John, it would be an exercise in futility to train a young man who had no intention of using his experience." "That's true." "So if you don't want those catalogs..." "Well, I'll take them home tonight and read them." "Good." "I'll let you get back to your work." "You okay, Jason?" " You okay?" " Oh, perfect." "I'm starving." "I'm lower than a snake's belly." "I'm walking in my sleep and I'm mad." " Who are you mad at?" " Everybody." "Oh, just nobody's satisfied with what I do." "My best just ain't good enough." "Come on." "No." "Professor Thaxton's disappointed," "Bobby's disappointed, Mama's disappointed." "Look, you don't have to tell me." "I know exactly how you feel." "No, you don't." "You don't know anything about my feelings." "Oh, yes, I do." "A year ago, I was right where you are now." "No, you weren't!" " Because I'm different!" " Don't yell at me." "As long as I can remember, I've had to take your old hand-me-downs, the things you didn't need anymore." "All your old books and all your old clothes and all your old toys, but I don't need your old feelings." "I've got my own." " Calm down, Jason." "Calm down." " No." "Look, I don't need you to show me the best way, the easy way, your way." "I'm tired of playing follow-the-leader with you, John-Boy." "I'm going off in my own direction, and if I fall flat on my face in the mud at least nobody's gonna say, "He couldn't keep up with number one."" " You want to start right now?" " Sure." "Good." "Jason!" "Don't get out of the car." "I shouldn't have said those things." "Let's just go home." "You are not going out of this house tonight." "Mama, I have to go." "Bobby's counting on me." "Are you going to deliberately disobey me?" " I'm sorry." " John." "Liv, he has obligations." "People are depending on him." "One of our children is bent on hurting himself grievously." " It is our place to stop him." " Mama." " I am one of your children." " I thought you'd forgotten." " But I'm not a child." " You're acting like one." "Well, I feel like a man." "Almost." "That's Bobby." "John, he is sick." "Anyone can see that." " Hi." " Betsy." " Bette." " Oh, yeah." "Bette." "I thought maybe you didn't hear Bobby honking." "Anyway, I was dying to meet your family." "Hi." "I'm Bette Morgan." "I guess Jason told you all about him and me and everything." " Oh, you're the friend he did the favor for." " Well, that's a funny way of putting it." "Mama." "Jason's not going with Bobby Bigelow tonight." "Oh, I am." "Yes, I am." "Maybe I wish I didn't have to, but..." "Jason." "Jason's going to be fine." "I know." "He'll be up and about in a day or two." " Just stretched himself a little thin." " It's not his health I'm worried about." "I just can't stand by and see what he's doing to himself." "This kind of thing happens to most boys, Liv." "He's destroying himself." "He's just trying to find out who he is." "We tell him one thing." "We say, "This here is Jason."" "Bobby Bigelow comes along and says, "No, sirree, this is Jason."" "His professor's pointing him in one direction." "That young lady is probably giving him her ideas." "Jason doesn't know whether he's here, there or yonder." "That's always a painful situation." "So much easier when they were little." "You say that now." "Remember those 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 feedings?" "Yes, I do." "And I loved them." "I did." " Is he still feverish?" " No, nice and cool." " His eyes are clear." " Yeah." "I'm going to devil some eggs for his lunch." "His favorite." "I don't want you to go to any trouble, Grandma." "But you'll be pleased if I fix them, won't you?" "Sure." "Well, then it's worth the trouble." "You know, you were the one of our children decided earliest to walk?" "Trying to catch up with John-Boy even then." "You were so small, so frail." "But you would pull yourself up, stand free, take a tottering step or two, and then fall down." "Oh, the bruises." "First I used to follow you around, taking your hand, trying to steady you, trying to keep you from hitting the floor." "I was a problem even then." "And one day I reached out for you, your Daddy grabbed my arm and stopped me." "The two of us just stood there watching you struggle." "Getting up." "Falling down." "And then finally, you did it." "You walked across this room all by yourself." "I can still see the smile on your face." "Mama," "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you." "I know I made a lot of mistakes, but I want you to trust me to learn from them and not make the same ones too often." "There's just one thing, Jason." "You have no idea how some girls can maneuver." "Now, if I were you, I wouldn't do anything to encourage that Bette Morgan." " Well, another week's work well done." " Thank you, sir." "Dr. Hoadley, I wanted to return these catalogs to you." "They're yours to keep." "You may want to give them to somebody else." "You're not interested?" "No, sir." "I'm a writer, I'm not a librarian." "When I gave you this job, I was under another impression." "Yes, sir." "I'm sorry if I've misled you, and I can certainly understand it if you feel that you have to replace me." "I just want you to know I've already learned a great deal from you." "This is a great disappointment." "Yes, sir." "I'm sorry." "We're all very pleased with your work." "I've always thought this job should be available to the student who wanted it for more than just a financial stopgap." "Of course." "I understand that." "Just a minute, John." "It would be awkward to break in someone new at this point, so if you wish, you can keep the job for the balance of the semester." "Well, thank you." "I regret your decision, of course." "But I admire your honesty." "I won't put any more pressure on you." "And remember there is a space for your first novel" "right up there." "I appreciate this." "I'll see you Monday." "Jason, we really missed you, boy." "Well, I listened to the program this morning." "Without you, there's a hole in our arrangements big enough to drive a truck through with the doors open." "So when you gonna stop playing like an invalid and come back to work?" "Well, I'll tell you." "You know, I like you." "And I like playing with the gang." "And I want to come back." "So what are you waiting for?" "Well, if I do come back, I'll do my fair share, you know, with the Bibles and the tickets and the fan mail and all of it." "But no more carrying the whole load." "Jason, I was just gonna bring up that very thing." "Well, I just feel that if the work isn't spread around equally, then I'm just gonna have to find myself another job." "Hey, friend, you come back and we're all gonna pull together." "I swear on a stack of Bibles, our own radio specials." " Okay?" " Okay." "Hey, listen, there's somebody out in the car who would like to see you." "Yeah?" "Who's that?" "Oh, Jason." "My poor, poor Jason." "You know I want to be here taking care of you day and night." " Just like Joan Crawford in that movie..." " Betsy." "...when the man she was crazy in love with was dying" " of some perfect..." " Betsy!" "Don't holler at me." "And it's Bette." "I don't want to holler at you, Bette." " Well, I thought you liked me." " I do like you." " I like you a lot." " Well, then?" "But you talk too much." "You talk when you don't have anything to say." "But when you're quiet, like now, you're really a beautiful girl." "Oh, Jason." "Now, if you and I are gonna be friends, or more, then we have to have a 50-50 relationship." "Now, if you expect certain things from me, then I should expect certain things of you." "Now, if I'm kind and considerate, you should be kind and considerate, see?" "But you have to understand that a person can like someone without giving them 100% of their time and attention." "Right?" "So, you want to try it out and see how it works?" "Oh, yeah, sure." "You'll see." "I'll be so quiet, you'll think you're in a silent movie." "That's my girl." "Hey, hey, everybody." "This is Bobby Bigelow and his Haystack Gang broadcasting by remote control direct to you from our Big Harvest Benefit dance at the Elks Hall in Charlottesville." "Now here's a real breakdown featuring our guitarist, Jason Walton." " Listen to him go." " He is good." "And getting better all the time." "I still like the hymns best." "Is that why your feet are tapping?" "No doubt Betsy, or should I say Bette Morgan, is swooning right there at Jason's elbows." "Well, she never seems far away." "Say what you will about Betsy, girls," "I think she's done a heap of good for Jason's self-esteem." "Oh, he's a lucky boy to have a good woman like that." "You've lived with one for 50 years, old man." "Out of that breakdown my brother emerged with a new maturity, and he and I came to a better understanding." "We stopped the old game of follow-the-leader and began to face things together." "To my mother, Jason and all the rest of us would always be "the children."" "With my father's help, she learned not to rush in and try to pick us up after every tumble." "Still, we knew she was there, ready to help if ever and whenever we reached out." " Night, Livie." " I cannot understand it." "Understand what?" "Why Jason would give a girl like Bette Morgan a second glance." "Well, you gotta remember, honey." "Love is blind." "But I thought boys looked for girls who put them in mind of their mothers." "Yeah, well..." " Good night, Liv." " Good night." "English"