"The year 1936 was a momentous one in the history of the world." "It was the year a king gave up his crown for the woman he loved." "It was the year Adolph Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles, and it was the same year that Benito Mussolini, encouraged by Hitler's daring, overran Ethiopia." "But none of these historic events was quite so important with our family as the struggle by one of us to attain an impossible dream." " Mr. Johnson?" " Hello, John." "I have an article here on the preparations for the Jefferson County Fair." "I won't be needing the story, John-Boy." "Mr. Johnson, I'd appreciate it if you'd at least read it." " I was up till about 4:00 in the morning..." " Really?" "Good, good." "You read this, will you?" "The lead story." " The editorial comment?" " That's it." "All right." ""With this issue, I take the opportunity to say farewell" ""to friends and subscribers to The Jefferson County Times."" "Go on." ""Nearly 15 years ago, I arrived here an outlander" ""and embarked upon an adventure which had been the dream of a lifetime," ""to publish a small country newspaper."" "I can't believe you were serious about that." "Well, I had an offer right after we talked the other day, John-Boy." "The place is sold." "I didn't think you'd ever go through with it." "I need a change in my life, John." "I've never been very successful with marriages." "My second wife, as you might know, has been gone from these parts over a year now." "I feel the need to get back to my own roots." "It's a little town in Florida." "Mr. Johnson, I'd appreciate it if you'd at least recommend to the new owner that he keep me on as a stringer." "Well, the new owner's in farm equipment." "He's renovating the whole place." "What about the newspaper?" "What's gonna happen to the paper?" "I'm gonna ship that ahead to Florida and set it up there." "All except..." "Come with me." "I'd like to show you something." "Here." "Here, John-Boy." "This is how I started." "This is my original press." "Of course, I had to expand, get better equipment, but I always held onto this press because I loved her." " What a beauty!" " Isn't she?" "She still run?" "All I have to do is oil her a little bit and she'll run like a dream." "What are you gonna do with her?" "Well, I have an advertisement running in a publisher's quarterly." "I wish that you were in the market." "Me?" "Mr. Johnson, we Baptists don't sell our souls too easy, but that press could tempt me." " How much?" " I'm asking $550." "Lot of money." "But I'm counting on that money to help cover the expenses when I make the move." "Oh, of course, sure." " When did you say you had to clear out?" " I have to be out in three weeks." "It's crazy." "Even if I had the press, I'd have to do all the work myself." "I'd have to rent space," "I'd have to set the type and run it off myself," "I'd have to write all the articles myself." "I'd even have to deliver and get the advertisements myself." "Yeah, but with my closing up, you know, that leaves the county without a paper." "There's a demand, you could fill it." " It's not a foolish thought." " You don't think so?" "You think maybe you could lower your price just a touch?" "Well, I..." "I might take a down payment and the rest in installments." "What kind of down payment?" "$50?" "And then $15 a month after that." "$50, huh?" " Too much?" " No, that's..." "That's fair." "That's really fair." "I..." "You got yourself a deal." "Good." "Good." "John-Boy, I know that everybody's having a hard time." "You got the $50?" " Have I got the $50?" " Yeah." "Of course not." "But I've got three weeks to get it in and I will." " I know you will." " I promise you, I will." "Listen, Mr. Johnson, I don't want you to show this to anybody, all right?" "I don't want anyone to know that this thing even exists." " You really mean what you're saying?" " I certainly do." " Then it is a deal." " It's a deal." "Hallelujah." "Hallelujah!" "Grandpa!" "Hey, that's a real pretty rocking chair you got there, isn't it?" "Thanks, John-Boy." "It is a copy of one my own granddaddy made." "Oh, that's really a beauty." "Where's Daddy?" " Right here, Son." " Hey, Daddy, come in here." "You get a grip on yourself." "I got something to tell you." "You too, Grandpa." "I bought myself a printing press." "That's nice, Son." " What are you planning to do with it?" " Well, start a newspaper, of course." "What did you use for money to buy this printing press?" "Well, I haven't paid for it yet, but the deal's all set." "You see, Mr. Johnson, the editor, is folding down the Jefferson County Times." "And he's moving lock, stock, and barrel to Florida, the presses and everything, except for this one pretty little foot-operated printing press, and that's the one I bought it." " How much?" " Just $50 down and $15 a month." " Till you've paid off how much?" " $550." "Methuselah!" "I know that sounds like a lot of money, but don't worry, Grandpa." "It's really just the down payment that's hard to get, and I got a month to scrape that up." "I shouldn't have any trouble clearing the $15 a month profit on the newspaper." "How do you propose to get this down payment, Son?" "Well, I'll just have to get myself a full-time job." " Hold on, Son..." " No, now, now." "I know exactly what you're saying and no, I'm not planning to quit school." "Don't worry about that." "I can do both at the same time." "I might have to cut down on my schedule a little bit, but I'm sure I can manage it." "You're not gonna oppose me on this, are you?" "You know, we're not gonna be able to help you with the money." "I know you can't help me with the money." "I don't want you to help me with the money." "That's the point." "I wanna do it all myself." " Sure hope you know what you're doing." " Of course I know what I'm doing." "Excuse me." " I thought you'd be excited by it." " I am." "But have you given any thought as to how you plan to accomplish all this?" "Oh, I can work it out." "See, I've got it all figured out." "I just have to get myself a job and reschedule my time." "I just wanted to tell you first 'cause I knew you'd understand." "Can you imagine my own newspaper?" "Well, nothing's impossible, John." "If I said it was, you wouldn't believe me." " Probably not." " Well, then, it isn't." "But, John, have you given any thought to your workload?" "I mean, there are just so many hours in a day, you can't change that." "Oh, I know that." "I've given a lot of thought to it." "See, there's a lot of things I'm gonna have to cut down on." "Of course, like the stringer job at the Times." "That'll be out." "I'll just have to rearrange my study schedule and cut out a lot of wasted hours." "I'm sure I can find a lot of wasted hours in my life to cut out." " One thing still concerns me, John." " What's that?" "I love your enthusiasm for this project, but..." "Well, it takes me back to when I was about your age, and I had some pages I'd written about some people who pained and astonished me so, that I had to write a novel about them." " You, too?" " Oh, yes." "I still have those pages." "I take them out and I look at those stillborn pages and I wonder what happened to them." "I never finished that novel." "I went to work to support those people instead of loving and respecting and revering them." "I don't know what I might have become if I had continued writing." "Now, please, please, you put that in your mind and don't forget it." "I won't." "You know, I never really intended to give up writing the novel altogether." "John, it's a splendid thing to be young." "The young have a sense of wonder and awe and elation about things that..." "Well, that people who are older just lose." "Husband your energy and you give your talent to your novel, and don't dilute it by taking on too many responsibilities." "Well, now I don't think I could stop working on it even if I wanted to." "Good." " Good luck, John." " Thank you." "I knew you'd say that." " Bye." " Bye, John." " Mike!" "Are you joining the workforce?" " Surprised?" "Well, I never thought you had any money troubles." " I've got them now." " What happened?" "Well, the old man cut way down on the allowance." "I sent him a wire and instead of a check, I got a phone call and a 30-minute lecture on thrift, industry, and self-reliance." " Know where I can find a paying job?" " No, I sure don't." " I'm looking for one myself." " What for?" "'Cause I gotta make some real money real fast." "Full-time job." "Well, not gonna find one here." "No?" "All right." "Well, good luck to you." "Yeah." "Same to you." "I'll check back just in case something opens up." "Thank you." "I'll get your ham sandwich for you." "Excuse me, sir, I'd like to speak to you about your job sign out front." " You local?" " Yes, I go to Boatwright University." "I've been looking all over." "This is the first opening that I've found." "I've had some of the boys from the college in here about the job already, only trouble is, they always say they'll stay on the job but the minute the semester's over, they quit and head back where they come from." "Well, that wouldn't be the case with me." "You see, I live around here." " Where you all live?" " Jefferson County." "Walton's Mountain." "Mostly poor folks out that way." "How'd you get in college in the first place?" "Scholarship." " You ever handled the public?" " No." "But I know I could." "I like people." "I get along with them very well." "Last fellow moved his family to Roanoke." "Not sure it's gonna work out for him down there." "No telling how long the job will last." "Well, sir, I'd appreciate being able to fill out an application at least." "I could give you references if you wanted to from some people like the pastor at the church or my dean at the university, Dean Beck." "I know Dean Beck." "If he recommends you, I might give you a try." "Well, I'll have him call you." "Meanwhile, fill out this application and get it back to me on the double." "Thank you very much." "I sure will." "Good morning, Tillie, who's minding the lunch counter?" "Nobody." "I'm late." " Good morning, Tillie." " Morning, Rudyard." "I'll have you some coffee in just a minute." "No hurry." "Hired me a new boy and I gotta keep an eye on him." "That's gonna be $1." "Thank you very much." " Where to, ma'am?" " I gotta get over to Ruckersville." " Round trip, one way?" " Well, it's hard to say." "I got my eldest daughter over there that's come down with some kind of skin condition." "Six children and her not able to turn a hand to work." "Her husband's over in Raleigh, North Carolina, looking for a job but would nothing do but she had to send for me." "Well, maybe what I ought to do here is sell you a one-way ticket and then you can come back whenever you want to, all right?" "Oh, well, it's hard to tell when that'll be." "They got her wrapped in bed sheets and putting salve all over her whole body." "Well, a round-trip ticket is good all year long, okay?" "I don't know." "See, Clyde might get back from Raleigh, North Carolina, in time to ride me home in his car." "Can you hurry it up?" "I'm going to miss my bus!" "Yes, certainly." "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, ma'am." "I'm going to sell you a one-way ticket and then I'm gonna let you worry about when you wanna come back, and you can decide that on your own, all right?" "That'll be 50 cents even." " There you go." " Thank you very much." "Thank you." " Where to?" " Roundtrip to Lynchburg, please." "How many hours a day at this bus station?" "Eight." "But I enjoy it, it's not really like work at all." "John, you have six hours of class every day." "The workload you carry requires three to four hours' study." "When are you getting your rest?" "I've been thinking about a way to fix that." "I'm gonna do something about it today, I promise." "Good." " I'm sorry, Professor." " It's all right." " Daddy!" " Son." "Hey." "Where you off to?" "Mama's running low on meat." "If I'm lucky we'll have venison for breakfast." "And where you gonna hunt?" "There's deer nearby, they'll be up along the ridge." "You're pretty sure about that, aren't you?" "They've been up in the high meadow grazing all morning." "About now they'll be moving down for water." "You're not interested in hunting, Son." "Well, to tell you the truth, something kind of serious I wanted to talk to you about." "Shoot." "Daddy, I like my job." "You know, I really do, it's a fine job." "It's an exciting place to be, especially for a writer." "You know, you meet so many different kinds of people and they're all traveling here and there and they got stories to tell and some of them are laughing and some of them are crying, and meeting each other." "Some of them will even tell you their whole life story if you got time to listen." " Oh, it's an exciting place." " I'm glad you're enjoying it, Son." "Only problem is, there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day for me to do everything I wanna do." "I don't want you killing yourself over work." "No use ruining your health." "It's not worth it." "So I've been thinking, sure would save a lot of wear and tear on my hide if I didn't have to come home every night." "Now, are you telling me that you wanna move away from home?" "Well, I've been thinking about a boarding house in Westham or something like that." " Wouldn't be forever, you know." " We all say that." "Once we make the break and get out on our own, get used to it, we stay out on our own." "Tell me something." "What do you think Mama's gonna say about that?" "She'll grieve some, worry a lot." "It's all part of raising a family." "She'll stand up to it." "I'll talk to her about it." "Strange." "I had all kinds of things saved up." "Things I wanted to say to you when this time came." "Now it's here and I can't think of any of them." "I wish you could." "Well, Son." "No one man can tell another man how to live." "In the long run, I guess, every man has to do what he has to do." "Some of us grow up, raise families, become woodchoppers, others go into politics, or get rich in the stock market." "In the end, though, we all grow old and die." "The important thing is to find someone you can love someone who can love you back, get work that can pay the bills." "Work that you can get some satisfaction from." "Well, I have that." "Always pay your debts, Son." "Don't take unfair advantage of any man, and don't let any man take unfair advantage of you." "Find yourself a good woman." "Remember, you're my son." "Yes, sir." "John!" "How did you make out with your job hunt?" "Not too bad." "I'm selling tickets down at the bus depot." "Wow." " And how about you?" " No." "No, nobody wants me." "Well, jobs are hard to find these days." " How's it pay?" " Not bad." "Not bad." "Good." "Might be hitting you for a loan soon." "What's the matter?" "Your daddy cut out your allowance?" "Cut it way down." "Think I might be standing in the bread lines any day now." "Might come out with you some night just to have one of your mother's good meals." "You'd be welcome, but I'm not gonna be going out there too much longer." "Just until I find a place in town." " Finally moving into the big, wicked city?" " I am." "Just as soon as I can find a place." "Well, shouldn't take too long." "Good luck." "Thank you very much." "Same to you with the job." "Thank you." " How's the burger?" " Wonderful." "Got a real special flavor to it." " My special ingredient." " What is it?" "Wine." "Red wine." "I put a jigger of wine for every pound of meat." "You put wine in the burgers?" "That's wonderful." " Where do you get the wine?" " My husband makes it." "Really?" "You sure your name is Shanks and not Baldwin?" "That's a little private joke." "Only Baldwins I know are two ladies from over your way." "They stop in for a burger every time they come to town." "You know Miss Mamie and Miss Emily Baldwin?" " Love them to death." " So do I." "Wouldn't you know they'd find your burger shop?" "John!" "John." "I found the solution to all of our problems." " You have?" " Yes." "I'd like you to meet Tillie here." "This is Mike Paxton and he's crazy." "You didn't have to tell me." "I spotted him." " What'll you have, Mike?" " How much is what he's having?" " 15 cents." " Can I get a small one for a nickel?" "No deal." "Here, you can have half of mine." "He's having a little financial difficulties right now." "Thanks." "Which I have found a way for us to deal with." "What do you mean "us"?" "It's your problem." "Not mine." "Will you listen to me?" "I'm strapped and you're trying to save." "Why don't we both do the sensible thing, find a place to share?" "We'll split the rent." "What do you think?" "Well, I'll roll it over in my mind." "Roll it over?" "I thought you country boys ruminated." "All right, I'll ruminate it." "While he's ruminating, I'll have one of these burgers." " Why, I thought you were broke." " Only temporarily." "You don't trust me?" "Well, I'll trust you, long as you're a friend of his." "One burger, Joe." " They're very unique." " Well, they are, aren't they?" "It's a special ingredient." "You're really serious about sharing a room?" "Yes, of course, I am." "I don't know, Mike." "See, I keep odd hours." " I'd be up half the night, writing and..." " Doesn't bother me." "I'm a heavy sleeper." " But I snore, see, so..." " So do I!" " I've always had my own room." " So have I!" " Well, I suppose we could give it a try." " Deal." "All right, it's a deal." "You got any ideas where you'd like to start looking for a place?" "No." "Do you?" "Of course not, I don't know any place around here." "Well, I do." "You two are babes in the woods." "Go to Mrs. Butterworth across the street." "That's the only place in town that's right for you." "What makes you think that place is right for us?" "Well, it's a good place." "She'll treat you fair and she's a lady." "Might even teach you some manners." " Here's your burger." " Thank you." "You owe me 15 cents." "Just sign there." "Worth every penny." " This is such a beautiful house you have." " Thank you." " Are you Virginians?" " Well, he is, ma'am." "I'm from Philadelphia." "I've met a good many Northern people who were quite well-behaved." "I expect my guests to conduct themselves at all times as gentlemen." "Oh, of course, ma'am." " I really like the room." " Well, I like it too, very much." "I'm particularly fond of this part of it right here." "If I were to use this desk and you were to sleep over there, then if I stayed up all night writing, it probably wouldn't keep you awake." "Are you a writer, Mr. Walton?" "Yes, ma'am, and a student and I sell tickets down at the bus depot." "The rate is $3 per week per person." "That includes three meals per day and the use of the parlor." "And there is a coin-operated telephone in the downstairs office." "Well, Mike, what do you think?" "Well, I think we should take it." "That is, if we're acceptable to Mrs. Butterworth." "If you gentlemen would accompany me to the parlor, we will fill out the necessary papers." "Thank you." "I'm just about ready to go." "When your daddy went away I tried to pretend it wasn't happening." "And, well, when the pain settled in, it hurt bad." "I'm not pretending with you." "It hurts already." "I'm sorry, Grandma." "You know, I'm not gonna be very far away." "Now, you come home every chance you get, you hear?" "You know I will." "The people at the place where you're boarding," " they're Christians, aren't they?" " Good people." "That's for you." "Now, you read that every night, and you say your prayers, you resist temptation," "and you remember you're my grandson." "Everybody's waiting in the yard to see you off." "Not everybody yet." "I'll be out in a minute." "I know they'll feed you over there but I thought some of my fried chicken might remind you of home." "Thank you." "Oh, this is for you, too." "Thank you, Mama." " See that you use it." " Oh, I will." "I love you." "And that's all the speech I'm gonna make." "There you go." "Goodbye, Son." "Bye-bye." "How're you gonna get to school?" "I reckon I can get a ride with Elsie Warren." "She goes down there about every day." " All right, you come and visit me, all right?" " I will." "You betcha." "Yeah." " If you ever need a nurse..." " Yeah, I'll call on you." "What's the matter with you?" "That's for sissies." "Well, I'm a sissy." " I'll come and visit you." " Yeah, I'm gonna count on it, Ben." "Jim-Bob." " Be good." " Yeah." "Hey, there." " I'm being very brave, John-Boy." " Me, too." "Bye." " Drive carefully." " Yeah, I sure will." "You all wish me luck now." " Good luck." " Good luck." " I'll see you soon." " Yeah." "Thank you very much." " Surprise!" " Surprise!" "Miss Mamie and Miss Emily!" "How are you?" "Oh, just splendid, thank you, John-Boy." "I'll bet you weren't expecting to see us!" "I've never been so happy to see anyone in all my days." "Excuse me, could I buy a ticket before my bus leaves?" " Certainly." "Where to?" " One way." "Culpepper." "We have some distant relatives in Culpepper!" "They're in barrels." "What my sister means is that they're in the manufacture of barrels." "We haven't seen them for just ages." "We just don't visit back and forth the way we used to." "But if you run into them in Culpepper, do tell them that all is well in Jefferson County!" "So, anyway..." " One way, Richmond, please." " Yes, ma'am, that's $1 and five cents." "You must visit the Poe Shrine while in Richmond." "It's where Edgar Allan Poe lived as a youth, don't you know?" "He was adopted by some people named Allan, but I don't believe he took the family name." "Of course not, otherwise he would have been called Edgar Allan Poe Allan." "Precisely." "But it would have been a rather stately name, wouldn't it?" " There you are, ma'am." " Thank you." "Have a nice trip!" "I'll relieve you now, John, if you'd like to go to lunch." "Oh, I certainly would." "Thank you very much." "Oh, John-Boy, would you do us the honor of being our guest at lunch?" "Oh, that would be a great pleasure, ladies." "Thank you very much." "Good." "Good." "We always dine here when we come to Westham." "Mrs. Shanks makes the most heavenly hamburgers." "Yes, she does, doesn't she?" "Tillie, look who we got here." "Oh, I'm happy to see you." "Three hamburgers coming up!" "Three burgers, Joe." "Dear Mrs. Shanks." "She always knows exactly what we want even before we tell her!" "Hello." "Hi, John-Boy." "I was just wondering about you." "Sorry, I haven't had a chance to come by, but I've been so busy with work and school and everything." "It's okay." " You haven't sold my press, have you?" " No, she's right back there." " How's the job going?" " Oh, it's fine, it's wonderful." "You know, I got just about half the down payment socked away already." "Good, good, good." " Do you mind if I take a look at it?" " No, go right ahead." "Thank you." "Treat her gently when you take her, John-Boy." "This press was almost a part of me." "You know, I love this old girl." "I may sleep next to it." "Where are you gonna keep her?" "I don't know." "I figure I'll keep it in the barn till I find out what I'm gonna do." "You know, I got to thinking, this case of type won't be much use to me." "Really goes with the press." "And this table and stone for setting the type." " I don't know, it goes together." " Well, Mr. Johnson, you know," "I'm gonna have a hard enough time as it is scraping up the down payment on the press." "Wait a minute, I'm not trying to sell it to you." "It goes with the press." "You mean you're throwing it in?" "Well, you don't throw type and you don't throw a stone, John-Boy." "Let's just say that I'm including it." " Oh, my Lord." " You know the press is no good without it." "Mr. Johnson, you have been such a good friend to me." "I hope someday I can repay this." "You just be here a week from Friday and pick up these things, and I will be off to Florida." "I will be here a week from Friday just as soon I get paid." " Any sign of your daddy, Elizabeth?" " No, and I'm getting hungry." "Well, dinner's ready." "We'll eat in a few minutes." "Mama, can I have a dry old biscuit or something to keep me going?" "No, Ben." "You wait like everybody else." "If I don't eat soon, I'm gonna get rickets." "I'll wake up with yellow skin and my eyeballs hanging out of my head like tennis balls." "Jim-Bob, that is not the symptom of rickets." "What do you know about rickets anyway, Jim-Bob?" "That's what Mary Ellen says I'll get if I don't eat right." "Nobody's coming down with anything like that around here." "I feed you children good food." " Yeah, but when?" " Just a few more minutes." "Mama, I moved my stuff out of John-Boy's room so he'll feel at home." "You didn't have to do that, Jason, but that was nice of you." " Can I play?" " Next hand." "Mama, are we gonna have to wait till John-Boy gets home to eat?" "No, he has to work awhile." "He won't be here till about midnight." "You can all see him first thing in the morning." "I wonder if he'll look any different." " People don't change that much in a week." " Oh, you did." "You grew about six inches and your voice changed overnight." "That's just because I'm unusual." " Hey, I see someone." " That must be your daddy." "Girls, help Grandma get supper on the table." "I will." " Jason, you wanna..." " Sure." " Did you have a good day?" " Not bad." "I foreclosed a couple of mortgages, raised the interest on all my loans, fired a couple of vice presidents for putting their hands in the till." " How was yours?" " Terrible." "Three of the servants quit, I played just terribly at my bridge club, and they don't have room for us on that Caribbean cruise we've been planning." "Oh, no." "Isn't there any good news?" "Well, dinner's on the table, and John-Boy's coming home for the weekend." "I'll settle for that." "Thank you very much." " Boy, am I glad to see you." " You may not be when I've had my say." "How would you like to work this weekend?" "This weekend?" "I was gonna go home and visit my family this weekend." "I promised my wife I'd take her over to see her folks over in Shenandoah Valley." "Her mother's real bad and there's no knowing whether she'll pull through." "Oh, well, in that case, of course, I'll stay." "Anyway, I can use the extra money." "Would you mind if I made a phone call for just a second there and let my folks know I'm not coming home?" " Go ahead." " Thank you very much." "Yes, operator, I'd like to call Walton's Mountain, Virginia." "Godsey's store." "It's three shorts and a long." " It's Ike." "Come on in." " Howdy, Zeb." "Hi, folks!" "Well, Ike." "John-Boy just called." "He has to work this weekend and he wanted me to let you know that he can't come home." "Wanna catch a picture show?" "There's a great one playing down at the Colonial." "One Hundred Men and a Girl." " Deanna Durbin's in it." " Oh, she's good." "Leopold Stokowski." "Huge symphony orchestra." "You like symphonic music?" "Yes, I do, but I got too much work to do right now." "Oh, you should relax." "Really, mate, I don't know if you've noticed it but you've been tensed and short-tempered and on edge all the time." " I've been working hard, Mike." " Then slow down." "Really, you could crack up if you keep going at this pace." "Well, I'll be getting some rest this weekend." "I'll be going home for the first time since I moved out." "Okay, keep your nose to the grindstone." "I'm gonna catch a show." "All right." " You have a good time." " Thank you." "After Thanksgiving, the winter turned severe." "Snow fell all through Christmas and New Year, blotting out the horizon." "Inside the house, the family felt isolated, as if on a small, snug island of warmth and light." "The younger children grew restless and could not wait for the storm to end, for they knew..." "Come in." "Mr. Walton, you have guests." "I told them you'd receive them in the parlor, but they said they were old friends and you might receive them here." " Who is it?" " Mr. and Mrs. Godsey." "Oh, yes, I'd like to see them." "Thank you very much." " Corabeth!" "Corabeth!" "How do you do?" " Be careful, the baby!" "Oh, well." "Ike!" "How are you?" "Good to see you." "Have a seat." " Make yourselves at home." " No, we haven't time." " That's a nice one, isn't it?" " That is nice." " How's everyone at home?" " Pining for you is how they are." "Just heartsick and lonesome for their first-born child." "John-Boy, you haven't said a proper greeting to our little stranger." "Who is this anyway?" "Well, Mr. Godsey said that he would like to hear the pitter patter of little feet around the house, so I went to the animal shelter and found this adorable little stranger." " Her name is Clementine." " Clementine!" "Clementine." "She is a sweetheart, isn't she?" "I wish you could convince Mr. Godsey of that." "Well, all she does is make mischief on the rug." "Mr. Godsey, if you would put down the newspaper as I requested you to do." "I tried the newspaper, but she's scared of it." "Mr. Godsey, she's only eight weeks old." "One can hardly expect courageous behavior from anything that's only eight weeks old." " But I really think..." " Really." "You know, John-Boy, what a lovely home you have selected to live in." "All these fine old things remind me of Doe Hill." "Mama had fine old things like this." "Mr. Godsey, if we linger here in conversation, we will be late for the movie picture show." "Oh, that's right." "We're going to the movies." "It's with Mr. Leopold Stokowski, the well-known classical conductor and his symphony orchestra." "One Hundred Men and a Girl?" "I know." "My roommate went to see it." " Mr. Godsey, give John-Boy the note." " Oh, that's right." "Elizabeth wrote you a letter." "She brought it over to the store to mail it, but I thought seeing as how we were coming in," "I'd deliver it personally." "I am the postman." "Thank you very much." "I appreciate it, Ike." "Mr. Leopold Stokowski is waiting." " Nice of you to come by." " Okay, John-Boy." "I'll be seeing you." " That's from your mama." " Thank you, Corabeth." " You have a good time." " Okay." "Bye, John-Boy." "Bye-bye." "Don't you make any mischief in the movie house, Clementine!" ""Dear John-Boy, we miss you so much." ""Mama cried after you left." "I cried, too." ""It is lonesome to look at your place at the table." ""Reckless stepped on some broken glass and cut her foot." ""Mary Ellen and Jason are fighting over your room." ""It bled a little, but Grandma wrapped it up." ""Love, your sister, Elizabeth Tyler Walton."" ""Dear Elizabeth Tyler Walton." ""This is not a Valentine." ""This is not an essay on what I did during my summer vacation." ""This is not a notice asking you to pay your electric light bill." ""This is a letter." ""This letter is not from President Roosevelt." ""This letter is not from Greta Garbo and it is not from Little Orphan Annie." ""It is from me, your brother, John-Boy."" "Thank you very much." " Morning." " Mr. Davis, morning." " Quiet night?" " Nothing out of the way." "Son, I don't know how to put this, but I've got some bad news for you." "What's that?" "I'm sorry to do this, you've dealt fairly with me and you've done a good job, but the fellow who had the job before you has come back." "Came in today with his family and he's dead broke." "Asked for his job." " Got to give it to him, John." " You can't do that." "You know what this job means to me." "You know I've staked all my plans on this job." "And I feel terrible about it." "Oh, please, you can't do this." "I've worked hard for you!" " I've given it everything I've got." " John, it's not because I want to." "You're young." "It's just yourself." "But this man has a family, a wife and kids to feed." " You can understand that." " Yeah." "Yeah, I can understand it fine." "I understand just fine." " Here's your pay." " Yeah." "Thank you." "I hope you find something else." " Mike." " Yeah?" "What?" "I'm sorry to wake you up." "I want you to do me a favor." "I'm not going to be in school today, so I'd like you to go by Professor Parks' office and tell him that I'm out looking for a job, otherwise I'm gonna lose that press." "John, you hunted for work all weekend." "What's gonna make today any different?" "Today's Monday." "There'll be more people open for business." "Anyway, he'll understand." "I just want him to know I'm not gonna be there." " I'll tell him." "Good luck." " Thank you." "You get back to sleep." "Hello?" "Yes." "I'm enquiring about the job ad you've got in the paper this morning." "You wouldn't have any other openings, would you, of any kind?" "Listen, I really could use a job, you know." "If there's any odd jobs or..." "Okay." "Yeah." "Thank you." " Any messages for me?" " Not that I know of." "You'd think there'd be something." "I've been leaving applications all over town." " Sorry." " Yeah." "I saw Parks again today." "He wants you to drop by and see him." "Oh, of course he does, of course he does." "I can't go." "He's just gonna talk to me about my novel." "And he's right." "It's been three days, I haven't written a word." " He'll just give me a lecture." " What are you gonna do?" "I'll just do the only thing I can do." "Go to Mr. Johnson and throw myself at his mercy." "See if he'll take what I got so far and let me pay off the rest." "Mate, you look really knocked out." "I think you should rest for a while." "I can catch a movie if you wanna take a nap." "I'd better go and do this now." "John." "If I had the money, I'd give it to you." "I know you would." "Excuse me." "Sir?" " Yeah." " Where's Mr. Johnson?" "Johnson?" "I don't know any Mr. Johnson." "I work for the Greensboro Farm Machinery Company." "Well..." "It's all over." "All my plans are in the dirt." "See, I lost my job." "So I couldn't afford to pay Mr. Johnson." "So he just shut down and took off." "The press." "Everything." "It's gone." "I feel like such a fool." "The whole family will be real glad to see you back, Son." "I don't wanna see the family." "Get your stuff." "Got to sleep in the shed." "Jason's got your room, didn't know you'd be home." "Yeah, I guess the shed is as good a place as any right now." "What's this?" "Fella came by with a truck loaded with newspaper stuff." "Just unloaded it." "Left a letter for you over there." ""Dear John," ""sorry I didn't get to see you before I left, but goodbyes are hard to say." ""Thought you'd want these things at home." ""Professor Parks made your down payment, you can settle up with him." ""I wish you great success with the Blue Ridge Chronicle." ""You have earned it." "Sincerely, Clarence Johnson."" "Welcome home, Son." "I can't believe it." "Do you want to see this thing work?" "I had made a brief journey into the world, had known loneliness, desperation, and friendship, and it stretched the horizons of my experience and of my life." "Like the best of journeys, it led to home again, and the whole adventure of my life was turning now in a new direction, for I was soon to become the publisher, editor, writer, and printer" "of a small country newspaper." " John-Boy?" " Yes, Elizabeth?" " Did you know that Corabeth has a puppy?" " I know." "She calls it Clementine." " That's not what Ike calls it." " What does Ike call it?" " I can't say." " Why not?" "Mama won't let me say words like that." " I'm glad you're home, John-Boy." " So am I." "Good night, everybody." " Good night, John-Boy." " Good night, John-Boy." "English"