" Hey, wait a minute, I won!" " You won?" "I won it!" "Listen!" "Listen to this." "Listen to this." ""You will make travel plans so you can arrive" ""on or before May 5th, 1937, at the Naval..."" "Come on, come on!" ""...at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey," ""for the scheduled arrival of the German airship, the Hindenburg!"" "Boy, you got to see this to believe it." "In the spring of 1937, my family and I were totally unaware that a truly catastrophic event was about to take place, and that I would be there to witness it." "Sounds like John-Boy's putting another edition to sleep." "I think it's called, "Putting it to bed," honey." "With all that noise, neither one makes much sense." "It's kind of nice having some time to ourselves." "Maybe this is what it's gonna be like, with Mary Ellen married, John-Boy working on the newspaper," "Jason at the Dew Drop Inn." "Think you can stand it?" "I'm sure gonna try." "Oh, damn it!" "I hope you remember where you left off." "I'll be back in a little while, Mama." "Where you going?" "Just over to visit Mary Ellen and Curt." "There's nothing to do around here." "I thought you were working tomorrow." "That's tomorrow!" "I'll be home early, I always am." "Don't worry about me." "I just got through telling myself how well this edition was turning out." "The minute I start thinking like that, I know something's gonna go wrong." "All it is is this pedal, Son." "Snapped right off." "Oh, that's great." "I'll never be able to replace that." "They haven't made parts for this machine since Mark Twain was in the business." "Think I might be able to weld it." "Well, if you could, that'd sure save my life." "Your mama'll be glad to hear that." "You figure it's worth a quarter-page ad for Walton Lumber Company?" "Well, make it a full half-page, all right?" " Good." " Good." "I was gonna say a quarter-page ad for six editions, but a half-page ad for six editions'll be just fine." "Yeah, be good." "Hey, now, what have we got here?" "Oh, I just thought it would be nice to have a little candlelight dinner for two." "That sounds great." "Maybe you could slip into that fancy negligee I bought you." "Maybe, after I do the dishes." "Why don't you leave them in the sink?" "Oh, no." "Not a patient." "I'll give them two aspirins and tell them to call back in the morning." "Hi, Curt, how are you tonight?" "Oh, all right, Erin, I guess." "That's good." "I haven't seen Mary Ellen all week." "Yeah, I know how you feel." "Don't look at the arc, Son." "No, I won't." "Daddy?" "Is there any way that you can get people to pay up when they owe you money so that you can take care of your own bills before the sheriff comes a-calling?" "Figure that out, you could write a book." "Well, they didn't cover it in any of the economics courses I took, that's for sure." "I think the government calls it "deficit spending"." "Hey, did I tell you I got a letter from Porter Sims?" "I've been sending him The Chronicle from time to time, and he sent me this entry blank for a competition the NPS is sponsoring for small newspapers." "What's the NPS?" "The National Press Service." "They send newspaper stories and clippings to papers all over the world." "And every year, they sponsor this contest for newspapers with a limited circulation, like mine." "What can you win?" "Oh, cash prizes for different divisions." "And each winner gets to cover a special news event, and the story goes in with his byline, and all the expenses are paid." " Your name would be on the story?" " If I won." "And they'd send it out to all the papers that the NPS services." "Now, Porter Sims thinks I ought to submit those articles I wrote on Mein Kampf." "Well, he's right." "You sure gave your readers something to think about." "Well, I was real happy about them." "Submit them." "No harm in trying." "That's true." "I probably won't win, but if I don't, who's gonna know?" "Mary Ellen." "Hello, Elizabeth." "Don't disturb Miss Margaret." "You still play with dolls?" "Sure." "Dolls are fun." "But I'd rather have a real baby." "Well, one day, you will." "That must be a pretty serious emergency, huh?" "Don't bother her, she'll be through in a minute." "Oh, no, I wouldn't wanna interrupt anything as important as that as to ask something as inconsequential as why our monthly statements haven't been sent out." "Here you go." "Almost as good as new." "She left her in the tree house and Rover attacked her." "The peacock?" "And Jim-Bob's mad." "He says, "Rover shouldn't be eating dolls!"" "Well then, don't leave Miss Margaret outside." "Now, go on, scoot." "Mary Ellen, listen, no kidding," "I don't think that you should leave the account books and those bills out there for anyone to see." "Well, don't worry about it, Curt." "I'd hear if anyone came into the waiting room." "Hey, everybody." "Hot off the press." "Left a couple of copies out there for your patients to read." "Hey, I didn't know Mrs. Brimmer owed you for five visits." "Her feet still bothering her?" "Oh, it's just Ben, Curt." "He won't tell anyone." "Hey, now, wait a minute." "What do you mean, "Just Ben"?" "Do you realize I'm the circulation manager and the advertising director of the largest-growing weekly in the Blue Ridge Mountains?" "Looks like John-Boy's printing press is working all right." "Oh, yeah." "We've gotten two editions out since Daddy's fixed it." "John-Boy heard anything about that contest?" "No." "He's just about given up on it." "Hasn't heard anything." "Hey, how do you like this ad over here for the Jarvis Used Car Lot?" "New layout." "It's all right, if you like used car ads." "How's Darlene?" "Oh, she's doing great." "We're thinking about going steady." "Why, Ben Walton!" "I had no idea things had worked out that well between you and Darlene." "Oh, yeah." "We go out in the evening for a walk, and then we park a little." "Whoa, Ben." "Now, this is a fascinating conversation which I don't seem to follow." "How do you park and take a girl out for a walk?" "Well, that's easy." "Darlene can get the keys to her daddy's used cars on his car lot." "The big LaSalle's the prettiest, though." " You should see the beautiful blue..." " That did it." "That did it." "It's time to peddle your papers, Ben." "Now, wait a second." "You getting rid of me?" "No, no, I'm just gonna show you the door." "And there it is." "And the outside is the first door to the right." "Hey, I know when I'm not wanted." "Goodbye, Ben." "Ben was just trying to be sociable." "And I'm just trying to run a doctor's office, not a tea room." "Well, just don't go picking on my family." "Well, they're my family, too, aren't they?" "They came in the same package with you, the whole clan!" "What's that supposed to mean?" "Oh, Mary Ellen, just..." "Stamp the envelopes!" "Jim-Bob, I told you to go get your daddy for supper." "Yes, Mama." "No, wait a minute." "I was just gonna beat him!" "Ben, you go get John-Boy." "He's up in his room." " Yes, ma'am." " Miss Elizabeth," "I thought you were gonna help Erin set the table." " Hey." " How's Grandma?" " Great." " Oh, she's fine." "She ordered us out of the hospital, told us to come on home." "She gave me a list of things as long as my arm to do." "Said I had to tie up the red raspberries, divide the yellow violets and the perennials, dust the bureaus." "She told me to remind you it's time to turn the mattresses." "She's feeling better." " Oh, yeah." " Oh, she surely is." "We'd have been here before except for a little surprise down at Ike Godsey's." "A special delivery from the National News Service," "New York, New York." "For John Walton, Jr." "Hey, I'm coming, I'm coming." "Mama, I got a big test tomorrow, and I was wondering if you could..." "Oh, Lord, that's it." "I don't think the Good Lord is gonna tell you what's in it." " Open it up." " All right, all right, I'm gonna open it!" "Hey, aren't we eating a little..." "What's going on?" "Special delivery, Daddy." "Just came into Ike's on the last mail run." "Wait a minute." " Hey, wait a minute, I won!" " You won?" "I won it!" "Listen!" "Listen to this." "Listen to this." ""Dear Mr. Walton, congratulations, you have won your division. $25."" "Congratulations!" "Isn't there more to it than cash, though?" "Yeah, the assignment, of course." "Well, are you gonna go to London for the coronation?" "He can go to Spain for the civil war!" "No, listen, listen." ""Enclosed is a check to cover the travel expense for your feature assignment," ""which will be to interview arriving passengers" ""who have just completed a trans-Atlantic flight" ""from Germany to the United States." ""You will make travel plans so you can arrive" ""on or before May 5th, 1937, at the Naval..."" "Come on, come on!" ""...at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey," ""for the scheduled arrival of the German airship, the Hindenburg!"" "Congratulations!" "Hey, fellas, there's an article in Collier's by a man who rode on the Hindenburg." "And I'm gonna read it on the bus." " That's a good idea." " Yeah." "Think you'll be able to get there on time?" "Oh, well, according to the weather forecast, now, there's a storm front coming in from the Great Lakes, so that could slow us down a bit, of course." "Why don't we drive you?" "Then we can all go together!" "Oh, I wish you could." "But you gotta stay and take care of the press, you know." " Yeah." " You've gotta write such a good article, we'll be able to see it like we're there." "Well, I'm sure gonna try, sure gonna try." "At least you'll be starting out on time." "Yeah, I hope." "I can't find my ticket, though." " I don't know where it is." "I..." " I've got it." "Oh!" "Thank you very much." "Couldn't have gotten anywhere without the ticket," " could I?" " No." "Listen, you gotta order that bold-face type." " Okay, Ben?" " I sure will." "And if there's any advertising, you just go right ahead and take care of it, okay?" "Thank you very much." " We'll be thinking of you." " All right, I'll see you later." " John-Boy?" " What?" " Your suitcase." " Oh!" "Nothing wrong with me, is there?" " No." " Okay." " Good luck." " Have a good trip." "Thank you." " Bye." " See you later!" "He sure is some lucky guy." "It wasn't luck." "He's worked hard for this." "Yeah, but getting an assignment like the Hindenburg." "I'd call that luck." "Come on, let's go." "Hold him still, Mary Ellen." "He bit me!" "Grab him by the neck." "Not too tight, you might hurt him." "Thanks a lot, Curt." "Oh, hi, Mrs. Brimmer." "Hi, Jim-Bob." "Rover had a splinter in his foot, and Curt got it out for me." "It was the bird that was screaming?" "Rover's nice to look at, but not much to listen to." "See you later, Mrs. Brimmer." "Bye, Jim-Bob." "I don't mind treating the whole Walton family, Mary Ellen, but I'll tell you, I gotta draw the line at repairing dolls and operating on a stupid peacock." "Well, you knew I had a big family." "Yep." "But I didn't know that they'd be here before, during, and after office hours." "Well, what do you want me to do, close the doors on them?" "Anybody home?" "Nobody but us chickens, Mrs. Brimmer." "You got chickens in here, too?" "It is my considered opinion, Joe, that the Nazis don't fill that big old fat bag up with hydrogen." "They just park it near where Herr Hitler's giving his speeches, and all that hot air from Der Fuhrer fills it up from stem to stern." "Well, that might be, Stu, but it's good for business here in Lakehurst." "Mr. Stuart Henry?" "Yeah." "Oh, boy, am I glad you're here." "We had a storm on the way in, and the bus broke down, and I'm half a day late." "I'm sorry." "My name's John Walton, Jr." "Something told me you just might be." "Oh, well, thank you very much for waiting." "I appreciate it." "Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't exactly just wait for you, John, but our leviathan of the skyways is floating around somewhere up there, waiting for the weather to clear." "That's the same storm front that hit the bus." "My motto? "Take the train."" "Well, I'd reckon we ought to be out on the landing field, huh?" "Nah, nah, we got plenty of time." "Sit down, have a drink." "Hey, Joe, get this boy a drink, will you?" "No, thank you very much." "I'll wait." "Suit yourself." "What do you know about the Hindenburg, John?" "Well, just what I've been reading in the magazines and such." "Well, don't you believe half of it." "Hitler's using that for propaganda, just like he did the Olympics a year ago." "Oh, I'm aware of that fact." "Listen, don't get me wrong, I don't approve of anything that man does, but this is gonna make aviation history, and as far as I'm concerned, that makes it a very important event." "Well, maybe." "But nonetheless, it cost them a fortune to build, it's costing them a fortune to operate." "And they're so scared of sabotage that they got a whole troop of secret service men aboard." "Come to think of it, it wouldn't take much to blow it up, with all that hydrogen gas they carry onboard." "Stu, your buddy out at the Navy base says to tell you it's time." " Ah, good." " Oh, great, great." "Maybe I ought to get us a taxi." "Well, why don't we just go in my car?" "Oh, sure." "Okay." "I just wanna get there and get the story, that's all." "Well, that makes two of us." "Joe, keep my stool warm, I'll be back in about an hour." "Hey, kid, relax, will you?" "You're gonna get there in plenty of time to interview your passengers." "The customs men have to go aboard and check everybody out anyway before they get off the ship." "Well, aren't we gonna get there in time to watch it come in for the mooring?" "The hard-news story's mine, kid." "Oh, I know that." "I just wanna see it come in, that's all." "I know." "Don't worry." "I know 1,000 shortcuts around this town." "And I just happen to know a gate that'll get us right down to the field." "You know, you gotta learn to relax, enjoy yourself a little bit." "Good God!" "Will you look at that?" "I told you we'd be here in plenty of time." "Boy, you got to see this to believe it." "I'm not sure I believe it yet." "Oh, no." "Thank you very much." "Thank you." "Oh, my God." "Jason." "I'm glad you're here." "Me, too." "Let's go home, brother." "Yeah." "The Progress says 35 has perished." "No telling how many are hurt or dying." "Worst tragedy in the history of air travel." "It's a miracle anyone survived." "I shudder when I think of John-Boy just being there." "Dangerous place to be, all right." " I hear them." " You think?" "Oh, it is." " You all right?" " Yeah, I'm all right." "I tried to get some sleep on the bus, but I swear it had square wheels." "You shouldn't have waited up for me, Grandpa." "Oh, your mother did her best to get me to go to bed with the young 'uns, but I wouldn't miss staying up to see the reporter come home with the story of the year." "People coming from all over to ask if we heard from you." "Well, I'm sorry I didn't get in touch with you sooner." "I fixed you a sandwich." "Have something to eat and then we'll all get to bed." "All right." "Well, the bus was right on time, anyway." "Well, I remember the bus, one time, when your grandma and I went to see Bertha's wedding over in Hickory Creek, and the bus was so long coming that, by the time we got there," "Bertha was not only married, but expecting." "Better not let Grandma hear you tell that story." "Oh!" "I haven't had cocoa since the night before my high school debating finals." "It'll help you sleep tonight, just like it did then." "Feel like I've been gone 100 years." "Must have been awful." "Yeah, it was." "We heard all about it this afternoon on the Blue Network." "They still haven't figured out exactly what happened." "They say it's the end of travel by dirigible." "I don't think anyone'll wanna go on it." "I know Esther wouldn't." "When's your story coming out, Son?" "Next week, I guess." "The deadline is Tuesday." "Maybe you ought to give yourself a few days before you try to write about an experience like that." "I'd like to." "If I was writing a book, maybe I could, but this is a piece of journalism, and it doesn't work that way," "I gotta get it out while it's still news, or else it's not worth anything." "I'll start on it tomorrow, I guess." "No telling what surprises tomorrow might bring." "I'd like to be surprised with a good night's sleep." "John-Boy." "Thank you." "Good night, Mama." "That goes for me, too." "Good night, everybody." " Good night." " Good night." " Good night, Daddy." " Good night, Son." "See you in the morning." ""Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" ""Thou art more temperate and more fair."" " Shakespeare?" " Yeah." "We're gonna lie under a tree all afternoon, and I'm gonna read sonnets to you." "And don't forget, I like lots of onions in my potato salad." "What's got you feeling so romantic all of a sudden?" "Well, it's spring, and you're beautiful, and we're going on a picnic." "Last picnic we had, you were with Miss Nora." "Yeah, and you were with old what's-his-name." "Funny, I can't seem to remember." "It's nice the way, things worked out, huh?" "Very nice." "I'll just put old Mr. Shakespeare in here beside the tuna sandwiches." "Honey, you've got more than a dozen deviled eggs here." "Oh, I figured two apiece." "Well, I'm no mathematical genius, but by my count, two apiece would come to four deviled eggs." "Well, Jim-Bob and Patsy and Elizabeth and Aimee wanna come, too." " Well, I couldn't very well say no." " Why not?" "Because it would have hurt their feelings." "And what about my feelings?" "I didn't think you'd mind." "Honey, I married you, not Jim-Bob and Erin and Ben." "Every time I turn around," "Grandpa's coming over here to talk about the Spanish-American War, or Jason wants to play us his new song." "I can't stop being part of my family just because we're married." "If you love me, you better love them, too." "I do love them." "All I'm asking is a little time alone with you." "Today, like we planned." "Well, I can't very well get out of it now." "Besides, Jim-Bob said Ben was gonna see if Darlene could come, too." "I don't believe it!" "This family is like an octopus." "Sometimes I feel like I'm being swallowed alive." "Curt Willard, that is the ugliest thing anybody ever said to me!" "Mary Ellen, are we going on that picnic together or not?" "If you go without Elizabeth and Jim-Bob, you can go without me." "You don't mind if I take my share of the deviled eggs, do you?" "I'll see you, Mary Ellen." "Yeah, come in." "Hello, Grandpa." "Missed you for supper." "Oh, that's all right, Mama brought some stuff up." "Come on in." "No, I can't." "It's about that surprise I told you about last night." "What surprise?" "You come on down to the parlor and you'll find out." "Grandpa, look, I'm sorry, I don't have any time to go anywhere." "I've gotta work on this thing." "Oh, no, it won't take just a minute." "Do you good to get away from that story." "We'll be waiting for you." "Wait a minute." "Who's "we"?" "You got a party going on here?" "Ike, you're the chairman." "You tell him." "Well, John-Boy, as you know," "Walton's Mountain is just a wide spot in the road, and unpaved, at that." "And it isn't very often that one of our citizens gets a chance to go out into the world and be recognized." "Ashley Longworth went out into the world." "Although he never came back." "I'm afraid he doesn't count, dear." "A lot of your friends and neighbors would like to be here tonight, but, of course, it wasn't practical, and so, Mrs. Brimmer and the Baldwin ladies and myself were chosen to give you a little token of our esteem." "Mrs. Brimmer?" "John-Boy, I speak for the entire community when I tell you how proud we all are of you." "The Hindenburg accident is probably gonna be the biggest story of the year, and when your byline, "John Walton, Jr.,"" "appears in newspapers all across the country, well, we here in Walton's Mountain are just gonna be busting with pride!" "Hear, hear!" "And so," ""Whereas John Walton, Jr." "has brought honor to this community" ""through his continued journalistic achievements..."" "This is written by Corabeth." ""...we, the people in Walton's Mountain," ""present him with this certificate, expressing our..." ""Our deep appreciation."" "Everybody, all your friends and neighbors, signed it, John-Boy." "And Yancy Tucker's "X" is right there at the bottom." "And Sister did the lettering and the curlicues, a skill she mastered at Miss Theobald's Seminary for Young Ladies." "Miss Theobald never could abide poor penmanship." "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, John-Boy." "Unless you wanna give us a sneak preview of the big story." "Why don't you, John-Boy?" "That'd be great!" "He's been up in his room working on it all day." " Was it gruesome?" " Jim-Bob." "It sure sounded gruesome on the radio." "The announcer was crying." "Why don't we wait until John-Boy has a chance to write the story?" "That's a real good idea." "See, I haven't anywhere near finished it yet." "Well, perhaps in your own words, just the way you saw it?" " Oh, that's be great." "Please?" " Oh, please, John-Boy?" " We'd love to hear it." " You don't know how many people call the telephone office asking about it." "Yeah, come on, tell us the story." "Tell us the story." "All right, you want me to tell you about it?" "I'll tell you exactly what happened." "I was standing out there with hundreds of other people." "We were looking up at this thing, like, it was some kind of miracle from heaven." "And it blew up, and a lot of people were killed!" "Does that make any sense to you?" "Is that what you wanted to hear?" "I'm sorry." "Excuse me." "Mrs. Brimmer brought over a cake." "She wanted you to have a piece." "Well, I appreciate it." "Remember you used to go over to her house every day after school?" "Yeah, just about." "Pretended you wanted to show her your arithmetic, but really what you were after was a piece of cake?" "She saw right through me, huh?" "They gone home?" "Yep." "Children are all in bed." "Well, Daddy, I know we got real good neighbors." "And I'm sorry if I let them down." "Their timing is off, is all, Son." "Well, this was a big opportunity for me." "I know that." "I look for material all over the place." "And I write what I see, and I write what I feel." "But what I saw and what I felt, I cannot write about." "I've tried, and I can't even start to write about it." "I don't know much about writing, Son, but I do know about cutting wood." "And when the saw breaks down, I just gotta close down business." "If I can't fill an order," "I just gotta say to myself, "I've done my best."" "Well, thanks for the cake." " Night." " Good night." "Ever wanna fall into bed with all your clothes on?" "And not wake up for a month?" "It's been that kind of a day." "Jason says John-Boy's upset." "He doesn't like letting people down, I guess." "Remember when all we worried about was whether he was gonna get his second teeth?" "That was important then." "And this is important now." "It's funny." "You never stop being a parent, even when they stop being children." "And the bigger they get, the bigger the heartaches." "Mary Ellen's back." "I guess she and Curt had a fight." "I think it was a bad one." "He left home, and he hasn't been back." "Oh, Lord." "Poor Mary Ellen." "Poor John-Boy." "Poor John." ""Poor John" nothing!" " Hey, Daddy?" " Morning!" "You heading up the mountain?" "Thought I might." "Everyone else is going to church." "You mind if I come along?" "Come on!" "Thought I heard a typewriter this morning." "Yeah." "I gotta send a letter to the NPS explaining why they won't be receiving my article." "I can't even seem to write that." "Morning, Mary Ellen." "Morning, Mama." "Thought I might as well start breakfast." "Don't you think you ought to be home fixing Curt's breakfast?" "I don't even know if Curt is home." "Well, if I were you, I'd sure wanna find out." "You wanna tell me about it?" "Well, if that's Curt, he's sure got some explaining to do." "Olivia, is Mary Ellen here?" "Can I come in?" "I figured I'd find you here." "I'm surprised you care." "Uh, if you..." "If you wanna know where I've been since yesterday, my car broke down up on the ridge, where I went to be alone by myself because I couldn't be alone with you, and..." "Do you know how far it is up there?" "Well, anyway, I..." "I walked back, tired, cold, hungry, to find that my wife had gone running back to her mama." "Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?" "If you two are gonna continue your fight," "I'd appreciate it if you'd do it someplace else." "No, Mama." "I think you ought to know what it is." "It's the family." "Curt's never had a family before, and he doesn't know what it means." "Oh, yeah." "I certainly do." "I do." "It means Erin dropping in whenever she has a mind to." "It means doctoring a peacock who doesn't even have an appointment." "It means never being able to count on being alone." "There are ways." "When John and I were newlyweds, we were living with Grandma and Grandpa, and it seemed like sometimes they just went out of their way to keep us from being alone together." "We'd plan a trip to Rockfish, and Grandma would suddenly remember that she had to go to the dentist." "Or we'd go off into the barn for a little private talk, and Grandpa would come in and get the milk pail." "They weren't doing it on purpose, but it sure seemed that way." "I got so full of spiteful feelings." "Sometimes the only way I could get through was to keep thinking about that house in the mountain that John was gonna build for us." "He never did build it, though, Mama." "Just had to get used to having family around." "It was a whole lot easier once your daddy fixed a way for us to be alone together at least part of the time." "Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know how he did that." "Grandma gave me a potted geranium when I moved in here." "It was a spindly little thing." "And stubborn!" "No matter what I did to that plant, it just refused to bloom." "Anyway, when John put that plant on the front porch railing, it meant that nobody was to look for us anywhere." "It worked?" "It worked." "Maybe..." "Maybe we should get a geranium." "I think I ought to warn you, a couple of afternoons on that front porch, and that geranium started to bloom, and kept right on blooming." "There's nothing wrong with that, either." "Mary Ellen, are you about ready to come home with me?" "This tree was struck by lightning, same as me." "Difference is, it was fatal for the tree." "I been meaning to get it down for two years." "Let's go to work." ""..." "Lakehurst, New Jersey," ""for the scheduled arrival of the German airship the Hindenburg!"" "Watch it, Son!" "Here she comes!" "Well," "I was beginning to think the only things my hands were good for was setting type." "It's good to do this kind of work every now and then." "Something wrong with your arm?" "Oh." "Yeah, I got a burn." "I forgot about that." "You know, Son, I was at Verdun." "There was a million men killed there." "One of them was my best friend." "It's a lot of suffering, no matter how you look at it." "I remember thinking the other night at Lakehurst how I was lucky to be alive," "how I was lucky to be witnessing a historic moment like that." "I was saying to myself, "If men can truly tame the skies in this way," ""it's a wonderful thing."" "If you wanna know the truth, when I saw the first flash, I thought it was fireworks." "I mean, I thought they were sending up fireworks, it was some kind of a celebration." "But, then, the whole thing went up." "Daddy, I mean, it blew up." "It was like the biggest bomb you ever saw in your life." "It lit up the whole sky." "And the tail end of it started to melt into the ground, and the front end of it come up in the air like that, it was like a big whale coming up out of the water." "And then people started jumping out of it, and then everybody started screaming." "The people in the air, falling through the air, were screaming, and people on the ground waiting for them were screaming." "And it kept twisting around." "It was like..." "It just kept twisting, and nobody knew where it was gonna come down." "So everybody started running away from it." "And pieces of it were flying through the air, and underneath it you could see where the steel was getting white from the heat." "It was just white-hot." "And I said to myself, "They're all gonna die in there!" ""Nobody's gonna live through this!"" "But then people started coming out of it." "I mean, they started running out through the flames, and through the girders, and their hair was on fire, and their clothes were on fire." "And that's when everybody started to run towards it, you know, the sailors, and the ground crew, and I did myself." "We all went up there and tried to pull people away from it." "And there was a woman." "And this woman had fallen into the sand." "And the sand was so hot, you couldn't even put your feet on it, hardly, to walk there." "And this sailor and I picked this woman up." "And when we picked her up, we saw that she was burned." "I mean, she was really burned bad." "And she was talking to us in German." "She was trying to say something to us in German." "And I couldn't understand what she was saying to me." "And I told her." "I said, "I don't understand you."" "And then I kept saying it over and over to myself." ""I don't understand it." "I think you can write your story now." "Finished your story?" "Yeah, I did." "I figure if I mail it airmail special delivery from Charlottesville, it might get there in time." "It'd sure make me proud to see your name under that headline." "Mama says come go to town with me." "Oh, no." "No, that darn goat's knocked down the garden fence." "She can't possibly know all the work I've got to do." "Go ahead, Pa." "Do you good." "No, I couldn't possibly quit work today." "Oh, on the other hand, 'tis a handsome spring day." "A body ought to be able to quit whatever they're doing, and drop work at a minute's notice." " We'll surprise Grandma." " All right." "Where'd you get the geranium?" "A present from Curt." "Looks to me like we're alone." "The children are in school, John-Boy and Grandpa are gone." "I guess we are." "Know what I think I'll do?" "Think I'll take the rest of the morning off." "Pretty!" "Forty years have passed, but that house still stands, and the solace and comfort and love we knew there as children continue to sustain us to this day." "Erin, are Curt and Mary Ellen ever gonna have a baby?" "Well, I think that's their business, Elizabeth." "I hope she has a little girl, so I can be Aunt Elizabeth." "If it's a boy, are you gonna be Uncle Elizabeth?" " No, silly, you will!" " I'll be Uncle Elizabeth?" " No, you'll be Aunt Jim-Bob." " And you'll be Aunty Ben!" " Good night, Uncle Erin." " Good night, Aunt Jason." " Good night, Uncle!" " I'm sorry I asked!" "English"