"I usually know exactly what gift to give, but with this pretty thing, well, as you said before, we just don't know where she's headed." "This is all my fault!" "It's getting to be a regular nightclub around here." " Jason!" " Just a fight, Dad." "What does the other fellow look like?" "I'm a failure at everything." "Self-pity is just like quicksand." "It'll swallow you up quick." "I think maybe you better start thinking about somebody else besides yourself for a little while." "It had been my father's dream that each of his children receive at least a high school education." "And for a good many years, there was a Walton in every graduating class of the Walton's Mountain School." "So it was in 1937, when it came time for my sister Erin to leave behind the security of high school and to face an uncertain future." " Why don't we take this row right here?" " All right." "I've never seen Erin look so happy." "I hope she'll always be as happy as she is today." " She sure is pretty." " Yeah." " Congratulations, both of you." " Thank you." "Oh, Zeb." "Flossie, you aiming to graduate all over again?" "Oh, I wish I could be that young again." "Would that we could." " How's Esther, Zeb?" " Well, she's getting along pretty good." "Her only regret is not being here for Erin's graduation." "Well, I'm sure that Curt and Mary Ellen are taking good care of her." "They are." "They most surely are." "Oh, them doctors and nurses over at the hospital seem to be just there to help take care of Esther Walton." " Good morning." " Oh, good morning." "We're going to be a little bit late, a little delayed." "Late?" "Why so?" " Good morning." " Hello." "Don't worry." "They'll all get here." "They always do." "I'm not worried about the graduates." "It's Superintendent Tolliver." "We can't start until he gets here." "Well, he's probably giving the same speech" " all over the county this morning." " I'm afraid he is." " Good morning." " Good morning." "Good morning, Doctor." "Think you'll ever get rid of all the Waltons?" "I have a few more to go." "By the time they've all graduated, there'll be grandchildren coming along." "Oh, really?" "How many?" "Where's your wife?" " Mr. Tolliver is not going to make it." " Not going to make it?" "His car's off the road, over the other side of Lovingston." "He called and told me to tell you." "Is he all right?" "Oh, he's all right." "But he's mad as a wet hen." "I gotta go get a tow car for him." "At least he's not hurt." "Well, it doesn't matter." "You probably know that speech by heart anyway, don't you?" " Oh, don't look at me." " We couldn't ask for a better substitute." "The distinguished alumnus, the local editor and publisher and my good friend." "Oh, no, I can't do that." "Rosemary, I can't make up a speech." "You'll be happy to know that Superintendent Tolliver is not hurt, but his car is in a ditch somewhere north of Lovingston." "And at this moment, I would gladly trade places with his car." "Well, it's graduation day." "I remember it well." "It's a very important day, a day that you should hold onto in your memory." "It's a day when we, sort of, mark our new beginning in the world, when we begin to move towards the goals we set for ourselves." "And I think there's a great deal of pleasure in having goals to move towards, and an even greater pleasure in trying to achieve those goals." "Well, you've been educated and you've been supported by a very dedicated woman," "Rosemary Fordwick, so I know you're all ready for what's ahead." "And I'm sure you won't forget the support and the love you had from your families, your parents, your grandparents." "And I'd just like to wish you all happy and productive lives." " It was terrible." " You were wonderful." "I'll push him in the ditch every year." "Thank you." "I'm going to have to ask you to help me hand out the diplomas." "The names are up there." "I think we should have him run for king." "He can't even clean spark plugs!" "Well, he can't." "Jim-Bob, if he's a king, he can have other people do his own spark-plugging." "Clara Bates." "Clara's aim is a college education at Westhampton College." "Congratulations." "John Charles Ridings." "John Charles will be joining the Civilian Conservation Corps." "And we all approve of your work, John." "Congratulations." "Merle Towbridge." "Merle is bound for trade school in Westham." "His ambition is to learn to build anything." " Congratulations." " Congratulations, Merle." "And a special one." "Oh, Erin Walton, yes." "Congratulations." "Erin." "Goodness, I'm not exactly sure what Erin is going to be doing." "I guess it's a secret." "Congratulations, Erin." "Molly Zimmerman." "Molly will be a secretary at the Highway Department next year." " Congratulations." " Congratulations." "We wish you good luck." "Thank you, Mrs. Bowers." "Erin?" "There you are, alone at last." "Come on, now." "Put a smile on that pretty face of yours." "Here is something that your grandma was keeping especially to give to you on your graduation." "Thank you, Grandpa." "You needn't open it because I can tell you what's in it." "It's that little gold locket that has your great-grandma's picture in it." "Oh, Grandpa!" "She knew that you'd take special care of it." "Come on, now, say hello to all your friends." "It's your graduation day." "Erin?" "Here, you can open it later." "Oh, thank you, Mrs. Brimmer." "I usually know exactly what gift to give, but with this pretty thing, well, as you said before, we just don't know where she's headed." "That's not exactly what I said." "Whatever Erin chooses to do, we know she can do." "She just doesn't know what it is yet." "It was simple enough with John-Boy and Jason and Mary Ellen." "We always knew what they were going to be." "But..." "Good luck, dear." "Such a nice party." "I'll bet Olivia could use some help about now." " Oh, I'll do that." " Not today, Erin." "This is your day." "A used typewriter?" "New typewriters cost up to $50." "I can't afford that!" "Well, I'd think the university would have some typewriters you could use." "They do, they do." "But you gotta rent them." "The rate I type, by the time I finished working on the manuscript," "I'd have been able to afford a new one." "I don't know what to do about it." "Erin." "Erin!" "You haven't opened any of your presents." "Oh, no." "Will you put these with the others?" "Do you really have a secret ambition, like Mrs. Fordwick said?" "With the others, all right?" "Why would you want to keep it a secret?" "Erin?" " Are you in there?" " I'm all right, Mama." "I hope so." "Lot of excitement for one day." "I'll bet you're dead tired." "I don't think it's that." "High school graduation." "Not many days like that in life." "Days that you plan for and look forward to, and you can't imagine what they're gonna be like, and just when you think they're never gonna get here, they've come and gone." "I don't see why." "Well, days have to end, honey." "And when they've been lovely days, you feel kind of hurt and let down." "It's natural." "It doesn't feel that way." "I feel so strange and different." "It's like I was something, and now I'm not." "This won't last, Erin." "And after this little while, you'll look forward to the next big day." " And what's that?" " Well, that's up to you." "Are you coming downstairs?" "As the truck pulled out of the yard, the young man looked for as long as he could back at the house." "But then the house was gone in a turning of the road, and only the memory of the warmth and happiness he had known there remained." "On the bus he found himself seated beside an old farmer." ""Going far, son?" the old man asked." ""Right far, " the boy replied, and watched as the bus arrived at the crest of the mountain and went on into the beckoning world." "By the way, John-Boy, you talked really good today." "Thank you." "Have you ever thought about going into politics?" "No, never." "Never." "Well, you should." "You sound real good at the time, and then later on, no one knows what you said." "Just read the proof, will you?" "It's true!" "It's good for you." "You'll realize it one of these days." "Well, this is a dumb ad." "Yeah?" "Well, you write the ads." "Not this one, look." ""Wanted." "Typewriter in good condition." ""Urgent need." "Contact John Walton, Jr., care of this newspaper."" "What's wrong with that?" " "Urgent need." You sound desperate." " Well, I am desperate!" "I can't afford to pay much for a typewriter, and publishers demand typed manuscripts." "John-Boy, you can be desperate." "You just can't sound desperate." "If you are, you lose all your bargaining position." "Just print the ad." "Another graduation gift?" "It's from G.W." "What did he give you?" "A quart of oil?" "It's cologne." "It really smells, too." "It's too bad G.W. was late." "Well, I guess I'd better go take this dress off." "You look real pretty in it, honey." "Thank you, Daddy." "The party was real nice, Mama." "We wanted you to have something fine to remember." "Well, I guess it's all over now." "Her grandma not being here must've been hard on her." "It's hard on all of us." "She hasn't smiled since she got her diploma." "I keep thinking it's just the letdown." "Well, Rosemary's right." "She's the first one of our children who doesn't have a special ambition." "I never even thought of it." "She's a looker, though, like her ma." "She'll do just fine." "Hey, John-Boy, Ben, Jason." " Hello, Mary Ellen." " Mary Ellen." "I just came from the hospital." "Grandma sends her love." " Oh." " How's she feeling?" "Oh, she's fretting and restless." "You know Grandma when she can't be moving around." " Yeah." " Caged bobcat." "But she seems to be feeling better." "Well, I'm sure she is if she's starting to get ornery." "If she was just sitting around that hospital not saying anything, I'd get worried." "That's what Curt says." "Must bother her though, not being able to know what everyone's doing around here." "Well, she's concerned that we're upset, and she's the cause of it." "She wants us to go on like she was here." "Well, I reckon that's what we've been doing." "Come on, Erin, we're both gonna be late!" "Since she graduated from high school, she doesn't hurry to do anything." "That's not true." "She'll catch it from Miss Fanny Tatum if she's ever late." "How much you want?" "I'll just be here a minute." "I gotta get Erin to Miss Fanny's." "Don't block the gas pump." "Doesn't matter." "Nobody's coming around here anyway." " Darnedest thing." " What?" "Seems like just lately somebody's been wearing banana oil." " Are you sure?" " Well, I know banana oil." "That's what I paint my model airplanes with." " Is it this?" " That's it." "This is the cologne G.W. gave me, Jim-Bob." "Hey!" "Somebody's got a typewriter for sale in Rockfish!" "Hey, John-Boy, you know Erin's making model airplanes?" "Let's go, John-Boy." "Jim-Bob." "I'm paying you good money to watch that gas pump out there, and not to come in here and sample the cold pop." "Well, if anybody drove up and says, "Fill 'er up," I'd fall dead from surprise." "Well, this post office brings lots of people in here." "You know, like John-Boy." "Of course, not all of them buy, but we in the grocery business, we call that "traffic."" "Why do you want traffic if nobody buys anything?" "Because sometimes they do." "You know, they remember things that they wanted." "Of course, John-Boy, he's different." "Now, lots of times, when he comes to the store, and he says he's asking for mail, it's just an excuse." "But what he really comes in for is to get stories from me." "Well, he's always looking for stories." "And I got that figured out, though." "You know that book he says he's writing?" "I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that he's writing that book about me." "He says it's about the family." "Well, he says it's about the family, but, you know, when he comes in here, I notice the way he watches me, and it's like he's making notes in his mind." "And everybody knows that this store here is the center of everything that happens on Walton's Mountain." "Everybody knows that." "I guess so." "Oh, no, that's for sure." "This General Merchandise store is the crossroads of life around here." "If I were writing a book about this area," "I'd come right in here and come right up to me." "Do you..." "Did you ever read John-Boy's book?" "No." " Do you know who it's about?" " No." "Well, I provided him with the Godsey family tree, and I gave him the Godsey photo album with pictures of me way back to when I was a baby." "That book has gotta be about me." "Nobody else." "Like I said, Ike, I just don't know." "Jim-Bob, would you do me a favor?" "Sure." "Next time you're around where John-Boy is writing his book, would you kind of take a look?" "Well, there's nothing wrong with that." "I mean, after all, we're all gonna read the book sooner or later anyway, right?" "Well, I don't think he wants anybody to read it till it's finished." "Well, wait a second." "You and I are just not "anybody."" "You are his blood brother." "And I am..." "Well, I'm about as close to an uncle as anybody could get, right?" "And besides, I've done you some favors." "Remember I gave you my bike and you rode it in the motorcycle race?" "And then I gave you the job here, pumping gas." "I think the next time that you got an opportunity that, you know, maybe you could just kind of take a look in his book and kind of skim through it, huh?" "Would you like some pop?" "I just don't know." "Well, I have to think about it." "Closest I ever got to a typewriter was that old one" "I used to borrow from the Baldwin ladies." "And that one burned up in the fire." "John-Boy, how long have you wanted to be a writer?" "Well, I can't ever remember not wanting to be one." "Seems like I was probably born that way." "Must be nice knowing exactly what you want." "Oh, it is." "But what I want right now is a typewriter." "Good luck with the typewriter." " All right, I'll pick you up later." " Okay." "Number, please?" "Thank you." "Number, please?" "Thank you." "Oh!" "That music is so stirring." "Why, it's no wonder we all march straight away from graduation to meet the challenge of our world." "Number, please?" "Thank you." "Oh, how I wanted to be at your graduation." "It was real nice." "Oh, thank you." " Could you guess what it is?" " No, ma'am, I can't." "I can't bear it." "I can't wait!" "Sure is a pretty bow." "Can't remember when I couldn't tie a bow." "I really fancy a nice bow." "Miss Fanny, I really appreciate these." "Oh, my goodness, child." "They're yours to enjoy." " Would you like to try them on?" " Oh, sure." "Number, please?" "Thank you, Mr. Shelby." "Oh, they look real pretty." "The keys sure do jam up, don't they?" "If we do work this trade, how long you gonna run my ad?" " Paper's not free, you know." " Sorry." "Maybe a nice picture in here, catch the eye." "Mr. Carr, I'm gonna need a typewriter that works." "Some beauties there." "Thirty, thirty-five, high as $50." "This one's as smooth as a Super Six." "Yeah, well, what's the chance I could get this one fixed up?" "Sure." "New platen, keyboard needs some help." "Those strikers are bent, ribbon's worn through." "Rollers slip something awful." "Fix all that up, you're talking 15, 20 more dollars." "I'm sorry, Mr. Carr, but I don't think we're going to be able to do business." "Might be your need wasn't as urgent as you thought." "Sorry." "Erin, what's wrong with staying on with Miss Tatum?" "You wouldn't understand." "You get to talk to people all the time." " But I never see them." " But you know all of them." "And they never see me." "It's as if I haven't got a face or a name." "And besides, I've gone as far as I can with that job, anyway." "I'd be going through the rest of my life saying, "Number, please?"" "It seems to me Miss Tatum's pretty happy there." " Well, I believe she is." " Well, then what's the problem?" "I told you you wouldn't understand." "You're right." "Erin, I don't know what Daddy's gonna think." "I won't be long." " Want me to go in with you?" " No, just wait out here." " Well, wish me luck." " Good luck." "Just a minute." "Nine-five, eight, one..." "Eight, two, eight, one, and there, one makes 19." "Hello." "The sign says you're looking for a waitress." "Well, you're no waitress." "Oh, but I could be." "You see, I come from a real big family." "I take plates to the table and I clear it, and I even wash and dry dishes." "I can do everything a waitress does." "Everyone at your house so ugly?" "I don't know." " Still in school?" " No, I graduated from high school." "Well, I don't run a tea room." "Your mother know you come to ask for this job?" "I'd want that." "You go ask your folks." "If it's right with them, it's right with me." "All right." "Well, Mama, what do you think?" "I think if we don't sit down and eat, supper's gonna get cold." "Mama, where's Jim-Bob?" "He's having supper with Patsy at Mrs. Brimmer's." "You really do have a secret ambition, don't you, Erin?" "Be a better time to talk about this." " Oh, but, Daddy, I've got to know." " You don't have to know this second." "Oh, that truck stop's not a bad place." "Well, you sure won't find the King of England there." "Prince of Wales maybe, looking for Mrs. Simpson, but I doubt if you'll find the King of England hanging around any of our truck stops." "Daddy?" "As far as I'm concerned, it's all right, honey." "Thank you." "Well, Mama, what do you think?" "Well, it seems to me, I've been saying "no" to you all most of your lives." "If your daddy says it's all right, I respect his decision." "I can understand you wanting to be independent and do something on your own." "Just remember you're a young lady." "Make sure those people you're working for know that." "I will, Mama." " Thank you, Mama." " Now, Pa, say some grace." "Dear Father, look down upon us this evening, remember those missing from amongst our company." "Look down with favor upon them also." "Amen." "Ben?" "Ben!" "Ben..." "Oh, it's you, Jim-Bob." "Well, I was looking for Ben." "He's not here." " Where's John-Boy?" " He's not here, either." "Just you?" "What're you doing in here, anyway, young man?" "'Cause you look like a cat just got caught dipping its paw into the goldfish bowl." "What are you up to?" "Nothing, Grandpa." "Oh, yes, you are." "I can tell by the expression on your face." "Don't you fib to me." "What are you doing in here anyway?" "Well, I was looking in the book John-Boy is writing." "That is an invasion of privacy, James Robert." "Yes, sir." "I'm sorry." "Invasion of privacy." "Of course, after all, he is writing about the family, isn't he?" "Let's just have a look and see what he's been up to." "He won't mind." "Well, let's begin at the beginning." "Here, "It is spring on Walton's Mountain." ""The dogwood and the trailing arbutus..."" " Grandpa?" " Oh, dear." " What are you two doing out here?" " Oh, well, I..." " I just come in here..." "I come in here..." " Pencil." "A pencil." "That's right." "Thank you, James Robert." "A pencil." "I found it." "Oh, dear, he's plumb wore out his eraser." "Well, how do I look?" "You just smile at the customers and be the girl your daddy said you were." "Now, you can start by cleaning those dishes off that table over there." "All right." "Give me a cup of coffee and a ham on rye, baby!" "Oh, Jason." "Did Mama and Daddy send you down here to watch me?" "No, we just didn't know what time you'd be through." "I'll be done at 10:00." " All right, I'll pick you up." " Okay." " Good luck." " Oh, thank you." " You look real good." " Thanks." " Bye-bye." " Bye-bye." "I'm glad Grandma doesn't have to know where Erin's working." "She'd have something to say about it, all right." "I guess it's worth it if the job lifts Erin's spirits." "She's been so downed by everything, ever since the graduation." "That's why I let her do it." "I guess there comes a time when parents have to do more than be against their children's ideas." "And this is one of those times." "Why don't you try and get some sleep?" "I'll stay awake until she gets home." "Oh, hi, Jason." "I'll be through in a minute, all right?" "Okay." "Thank you." "There you go." "Little lady?" "Come here a minute." "Can I get you something, sir?" "Yeah, who's that skinny kid over there, is that your boyfriend?" "No, that's my brother." "Well, I'm sure he wouldn't mind you being a little bit friendly, would he, now?" "Would he, huh?" "Can I get you something, sir?" "You sure can." "Why don't you come on over here..." " Let go off my arm, please!" " Come on over." "I wanna talk to you." "Please?" "Let go off my arm!" " Please?" "Let go!" "Please, let go!" " All right, mister, cut it out." " Jason, no!" "Jason, no!" " Cut it out." "Jason!" "All right, stop!" "Jason, stop!" "Jason, no!" "Stop it!" "Stop!" "Stop it!" "Jason!" "Sorry." "Sit down." " Erin, is that you?" " Yes, Daddy." " Jason with you?" " Yes." " I can't believe all of this happened." " Well, try." "I'm gonna go up to bed." "No, Jason, sit down." "You're bleeding." "I've got to wipe your face." "That's just fine." "Thanks." "That's enough." "I've got to help you." " Milk." "A glass of milk would be great." " All right." "Everything all right?" "Oh, no." "This is all my fault!" "It's getting to be a regular nightclub around here." " Jason!" " Just a fight, Dad." "What does the other fellow look like?" "I didn't hurt him much." "I hope it's not as bad as it looks." "You look awful." "It's not that bad, Mama." " What's the matter with your hand?" " It's all right." "I just want to go to bed." "Yeah, why do you hold your wrist like that for?" "Better have Curt look at this in the morning." " What's going on?" " Oh, it's Jason, a fight." "Jason in a fight?" "Jason, what happened to you?" "Well, some big fellow down at the diner took a fancy to Erin's arm and didn't want to let go." "I told you this was all my fault." "Erin, if it's anybody's fault, it's ours." "We never should have let you go there." " Are you all right?" " Ever hear of a one-handed guitar player?" "Can you move those fingers?" "Mrs. Brimmer, I just don't know a thing about it." "You have to ask what got into John Walton." "Well, from what I heard, he wasn't even there." "But he gave Erin leave to take that waitress job and I ask "why"?" "You'll just have to ask John when you see him." "Well, I wouldn't pry!" "Oh, here comes John-Boy now." "You can ask him." "John-Boy, we were just speaking about Jason, the poor boy." "Yeah, how is he?" "Is he as bad as we've heard?" "Well, probably not." "Everyone's taking pretty good care of him." "I think he's doing as well as can be expected." " Well, that's wonderful news." " Yeah, that's good news." " And I suppose you're here for mail, huh?" " That's exactly what I'm here for." "Sorry." "Wouldn't you think there'd be somebody in the county that'd have a typewriter for sale?" "John-Boy, I believe I have one." "It's in a nice case up on the storage shelf." "You have a typewriter?" "Well, at least he said it was a typewriter." "Charley, Mr. Greenwood left that here, must be a year ago now." "Well, I don't know how he could have forgotten it." "I think he meant to." "He was behind in his rent payments." "I think he drank some." "In fact, the night before he left," "I heard this terrible crash like he'd crashed down in the room." "There was this awful thud." "Awful thud." "You think that's why Mr. Greenwood never came back for it?" "Mary Ellen, what's taking so long?" "They're probably just talking." "They'll be out in a minute." " Jason isn't gonna die, you know." " Mary Ellen, don't talk like that." "Well, don't act like that, Erin." "Jason's been in fights before." "He'll probably be in fights again." "Yeah, but this one was my fault." " If I hadn't been there..." " Well, you were there." "And I shouldn't have been." "Well, you can't change that now." "Besides, you didn't hit Jason." "The guy who tried to maul you did." " What if he hadn't been there?" " But he was." "That's what I mean." "Erin, you've got to take things the way they are, not the way you wish they were." "Jason?" " It's not broken." " I don't believe you." "It's not." "He's got some bone-bruises and the muscles and the ligaments need to mend." "The sling's mostly to rest his hand." "And remind him not to use it." "Curt, how long do you think it'll be before it heals?" " About a month, maybe longer." " A month?" "Oh, Jason, that means you're gonna lose a whole month's pay, all on account of me." " Oh, Erin." " It might not take that long." "You keep staring like that, your eyes are gonna pop out." "You had your tongue sticking out." "Get out, will you?" " Can't you write with your left hand?" " No, I can't." "Then how are you gonna do your schoolwork?" "I don't know." "Hey, short stuff, wait a minute." "You think if I dictated this to you, you could copy it down?" " Like a secretary?" " Sure." "Okay, just start here on the top line and write down what I tell you." "I'm ready." " Well, say something." " I'm thinking." " Well, you think, and I'll come back later." " No, here, here, write this down." ""In considering a characteristic composition of Franz Liszt," " "it is necessary to..."" " France who?" " Liszt." " Like a grocery list?" "Elizabeth, this is not working out." "You use such dumb words." "Why don't you get Erin to help you?" "She's just in the next room." "Erin!" "I'd hate to ask her." "She feels so bad already." "Well, she's the one who should be doing it." "After all, it's all on account of her that you can't write." "What do you want?" "Will you write for me?" "I have this paper, has to be in by tomorrow." "Sure." " What do you want to say?" " You'll find out." "France list!" "I forgot about your schoolwork." "How are you gonna write?" "That's what you're doing for me right now." "I mean at school." "Well, I guess all but the most important stuff will just have to wait until this heals up." " Well, go ahead." " All right." "In considering a characteristic composition of Franz Liszt..." "Oh, Jim-Bob." " Got a new key-making machine." " That's neat, Ike." "Come on over here and I'll show you how it works." "I know how it works." "You can't see it from there." "Come on over here, closer!" "John-Boy's book, did you read it?" "Yeah, I looked through it real fast." "And who's it about?" "Mostly about people that live around here." " I'm in it?" " No." " What do you mean I'm not in it?" " I couldn't find you." "Well..." "I'll be right with you, ma'am." "Oh, maybe he's using different name." "You know, writers do that." "What's the name of the man who runs the grocery store?" " Where?" " In the book." "I didn't see anything about a store." "Do you mean he wrote a whole book about Walton's Mountain and not once he mentioned either me or my store?" "Jim-Bob, that's impossible." "Don't blame me." "I didn't write it." "Here you go, honey." "Your mama fixed everything you like." "Thank you, Daddy." "Are you feverish or anything?" "You feeling all right?" "Now, Erin, I'm not very good at guessing about you." "Is it Jason?" "'Cause that's over and done with now." "Everything I try to do turns out wrong." "I couldn't marry Chad." "So now he's up on the mountain all alone, building his cabin." "I'm a failure at everything." "If it were one of your brothers, I'd know what to do about you." "I guess you just don't grab one of your daughters by the neck and yank her out of bed." "Honey, listen, there's nothing you can't say to me." "Nothing that you can think or hope or dream that I won't listen to." "You better not give in to it." "Feeling sorry for yourself, you'll get nowhere fast." "But I can't help it." "Well, maybe some tough things have happened to you, and you think you got cause." "Self-pity is just like quicksand." "It'll swallow you up quick." "Please go." "Okay." "I think maybe you better start thinking about somebody else besides yourself for a little while." "Hey!" "Hey, where's Ben taking Erin?" " Over to Miss Tatum's." " That was supposed to be my job." "Somebody got out of bed stirring around." "You know anything about that?" "Oh." "Well, we kind of had a little discussion." "I sort of told her she ought to start thinking about somebody else for a change." "I guess you have to be an older brother to get away with something like that, huh?" "Yeah, it's kind of like grabbing somebody by the back of the neck and yanking them out of bed." " Ben, stop the car." " What's the matter?" "Nothing, I just want to get out now, okay?" "You go on home and I'll go to Miss Fanny's by myself." "Now, you're not gonna try to get some fool job, are you?" " No, nothing like that." "Bye-bye." " Okay, bye-bye." "Hello?" "Yes, it is." "No, there's no one here at the moment." "May I take a message?" "All right." "Thank you." "Business School." "No, I'm just helping out." "If you'll give me your name, I'll have someone call you." "Thank you." "Oh, it just kept buzzing." " Well, who on earth are you?" " Oh, my name is Erin Walton." "I work part-time for Miss Tatum." "Well, this one's a lot simpler." "Well, let's talk about you." "How much time could you give me?" "Beg your pardon?" "Well, there's the switchboard and just a few clerical duties and..." "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners?" "I'm Miss Jane Stevens." "And this is my business school." " Hello." " Hi." "What I really came about was this typewriter over here." "I hoped you wanted a job." "My brother really needs a typewriter." " Would you like to try it?" " Sure." "Thank you." "Thanks for the ride." " Hi, John-Boy." " Hi." "You know, I stopped by the telephone office, but you weren't there." "Well, I'm sorry I missed you." " Hey, Erin, how you feeling?" " Just wonderful, Ben." " Ben, what..." "What..." " Didn't she just this morning..." "I know, but I don't understand." "Hey, Ike." "Got any mail for us?" "Yeah, well, okay." "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow." "Nothing for us, huh?" " I got something for you, John Walton, Jr." " What?" "Well, you're a newspaper man." "I got some news for you." "Oh, really?" "I wouldn't be in your book if you paid me!" "Now, Fern, don't you think I have every right to feel the way I do?" "After all I've taught her, everything I've done for her." "It's not my way to criticize, but it's just that she's spending much more time there than she is here, and I simply feel that this is where she ought to be." "Miss Fanny?" "I'm looking for Erin." "Do you know where she is?" "Now, John-Boy, you know how fond I am of her." "Do you know where she is?" " She's at the business school." " The business school?" "If you've been standing there listening, you should know that!" "Great." "Thank you very much." "Now, Fern, where was I?" "Erin." "What are you doing here?" "John-Boy, you're not supposed to know about this." "You're holding down two jobs now?" "Ben'll come and pick me up." "So you can leave now." "Erin, would you file these for me, please?" "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you." " May we help you with something?" " I don't know." " No, we can't." " Erin!" " My name's John Walton, Jr., ma'am." " Oh, Miss Jane Stevens." " How do you do?" " Hi." "John-Boy, I have a ride home." " Oh, you must be the brother." "The writer?" " I am." "Erin, how come you don't go to school here?" " Because I'm too busy working here." " I'll bet you like it, don't you?" " What difference does it make?" " A lot." " I'll bet she's good at this kind of work." " Well, she's perfectly fine." "She'd probably be better at it if she learned shorthand and typing though." "Well, yes." "Ma'am, I run a newspaper." "Now, it's not a big newspaper, it's a small country newspaper." "But I'd be willing to give you anything you wanted in the way of advertising for your school in exchange for her tuition." "What kind of a family are you?" "I wish you hadn't come." "Erin, you don't see the answer to your problem when it's staring you right in the face, do you?" "This is too heavy for me." "Oh." "Where would you like me to take it?" "Where would you like to take it, Mr. Walton?" "Erin's been working here to buy that for you." "Well, don't drop it, John-Boy." "No, no." "I won't, no." "Are you always this thoughtful of each other?" "No." "I mean, sometimes he's just awful." "Yeah, it's true." "Excuse me." " Thank you, Erin." " You're welcome." "The family was grateful and pleased that Erin found a role for herself in life." "She did go to business school, enjoyed it and excelled in her work." "Later she married and mothered a family of her own." "The typewriter?" "Well, it typed my first novel and interrupted the quiet nights on Walton's Mountain for years to come." "Hey, John-Boy, I can't sleep when that typewriter's going!" "No one can." "I mean it, Son, stop the typing!" "John-Boy's not home yet." "I'm working on something." "Elizabeth?" "I want to get an early start on my career, Mama." "After all, I graduate from high school in about eight years!" "Good night, Elizabeth." "Good night, Mama." "Good night, Daddy." "Good night, everybody!" "English"