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00:00My Outro For My 21st Birthday
01:00As a family living on Walton's Mountain during the thirties, we were largely self-sufficient
01:19and had little dependence on cash money. Still, as I ventured out into the larger world, I
01:26realized that making ends meet was going to be a far greater problem than I had anticipated.
01:31I set about looking for a part-time job, one which would pay me an adequate wage and, at
01:37the same time, not interfere too much with my studies.
01:41And so Florence Nightingale found herself on board a troop ship bound for the Crimea.
01:46Although prepared for the hazards and perils which lay ahead, as she crossed the wintry
01:51seas, this frail woman could not possibly have known what great contributions she was
01:55destined to make to mankind and to medicine.
01:58That's right. Now bring the wrench.
02:00Wrench?
02:01Dedication to medicine must be the most rewarding life there is, don't you think?
02:05Mary Ellen, I think right now life would be much more rewarding if you'd just get out of my way and stop babbling.
02:10You just don't care about anything.
02:13Mary Ellen, would you bring my books, please?
02:16Here you go, Daddy.
02:17Watch this, son.
02:22What's this?
02:24What?
02:25Gen 2 woman requires person with literary background, two action inns a week for two hours. We'll pay.
02:30Don't you lose that. I need that address.
02:32Let's try her.
02:33Okay.
02:34But what's it for?
02:35You are the nosiest woman in the world. If you must know, it's for a part-time job.
02:39I got it off the bulletin board at college.
02:41Okay?
02:42Go ahead.
02:45Hold it. Hold it.
02:48Hold it. Hold it.
02:52All right.
02:59That saves me $2.50, which I don't have.
03:02How much does part-time job pay, son?
03:0550 cents an hour.
03:07Appointment's at 3.15 this afternoon.
03:09Forgot your sandwiches.
03:11Oh, thank you, Grandma.
03:13Don't put them there. You know what will happen?
03:15The engine heat will melt the cheese, and the bread will curl up like cardboard.
03:19I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Grandma.
03:21I hope you get the job, son.
03:23Thank you very much.
04:13Mmm.
04:36Couldn't you have waited a few minutes?
04:41Excuse me?
04:44I said, couldn't you have waited a few minutes?
04:48Well, there was no one at the other door.
04:50I went to answer, but you'd already gone.
04:54You're very impatient, aren't you?
04:57Well, actually, I wanted to see about the job before anybody else got here. That's why I'm early.
05:04My name is John Walton.
05:09Ruth Thomas.
05:11Pleased to meet you.
05:14May I come in?
05:19Could you tell me a little bit about this job?
05:21Mr. Walton.
05:23This job was arranged by my mother.
05:26It's entirely her idea, not mine.
05:29Oh, I see.
05:30Well, then I'll probably be speaking with her about it.
05:32Ruth?
05:33Ruth, I was in Colgan's. I found just the blouse that...
05:36Mother, this is John Walton.
05:39He's here to see about the job.
05:41Oh, yes, of course.
05:44Well, I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Walton. I'm Ruth Thomas.
05:47How do you do?
05:49You're here early.
05:50Well, as I said, I wanted to be the first one...
05:52Mr. Walton's very impatient.
05:57Why don't we go into the library?
06:00Mother, why all the secrecy?
06:02I think I should be allowed to hear what you and Mr. Walton have to say.
06:06Well, yes, of course. I certainly didn't mean to exclude you, Ruth.
06:12Please, won't you sit down?
06:17Well, the job is very simple.
06:19I would like you to come here two afternoons a week to read aloud to us.
06:27Anything you like.
06:29Anything that you might find interesting or stimulating.
06:33Books, magazines, newspapers...
06:35Mother, will you stop beating about the bush?
06:38You know I can't stand it when you start pretending.
06:42What my mother so tactfully is trying to tell you...
06:46is that you're to come here twice a week to read to me.
06:51As you can see, Mr. Walton, I'm blind.
06:56Now, whether you come or not is a matter of complete indifference to me.
07:01It's for you and my mother to decide.
07:04Now, if you'll excuse me.
07:15I think I'd better be going.
07:17Oh, just a minute, please. I apologize.
07:20Well, there's no need to apologize.
07:22I know it's not fair to ask you now, but please, I do wish you'd consider.
07:27I don't think it would do any good.
07:29But it might.
07:31Well, I won't pretend to you. There have been others.
07:35Two of them.
07:37Each time she drove them away.
07:40But recently she's just withdrawing, you know, more and more...
07:44into that shell of hers.
07:48I...
07:50I don't know what to do.
07:54You see, I thought this time...
07:56if it was somebody younger, you know, someone her own age and interests...
08:00I really don't know, ma'am.
08:02If it's a question of more money...
08:04No, it isn't.
08:05I'm sorry.
08:06I shouldn't have said that.
08:08I just have to think it over.
08:11I'll have to call you back tomorrow.
08:15Bye-bye.
08:16Bye-bye.
08:23Now, Reckless, if you run all over the place, you aren't going to get well.
08:26Come on.
08:28Come on, Reckless.
08:30Listen to the doctor. Come on.
08:32Nurse.
08:35What a reluctant patient.
08:38Okay, that finishes that one.
08:40Hey, wait a minute. Lie down. We're not finished with you yet.
08:43No, no, Jim Bob. We'll never get well if we get out of bed too soon.
08:51All right, what's next?
08:52Okay, you got to take another...
08:54This is his pulse, isn't it? Check his pulse.
08:56Jim Bob?
08:57We'll see.
09:00Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute. We're not done with him.
09:04That's got to go through there.
09:06What is it?
09:07It's Jim Bob.
09:08He's got a bullet wound in his right shoulder...
09:10multiple fractures in his head, left arm and leg.
09:12And he has a concussion too, doesn't he?
09:14And Reckless has a broken palm.
09:16Looks to me like his bandages are going to finish him off before his wounds.
09:20Mary Ellen, I think he's suffocating.
09:22No, he's not.
09:23Mary Ellen, I think the patient should be allowed to breathe a little bit.
09:28What's all this for, anyway?
09:29Junior first aid assistant. Mary Ellen has to take her test next week.
09:33And to get your badge, you have to show them that you can do all these things.
09:35All at once?
09:36Well, it started off with the bullet wound in the shoulder, and then we all got to choose an injury.
09:40You know what he looks like now?
09:42Like the guy in the horror movie Mama Wouldn't Let Us See.
09:48You better come in and wash up. Supper's almost ready.
09:51Come on.
09:52Come on in.
09:53Hey, wait a minute.
09:55Oh, it's okay to leave him there, Mary Ellen.
09:57The mad scientists will come and take him home any minute now.
10:02I'll give you a hand.
10:04I always knew they weren't serious about it.
10:10Oh, look at this.
10:14Hold your horses there, Esther.
10:16I like a little more of this piccoli relish of yours.
10:18You've had enough of that.
10:19You know how spicy things keep you awake half the night.
10:22I'm well aware of that fact, little girl.
10:24Spicy, huh?
10:25That's why I married you, you spicy thing, you.
10:30So what are you going to do, son? Take that job?
10:33I don't know. I need a little more time to think about it.
10:36But why? I mean, if someone's blind like her,
10:38I don't see what you have to think about before you make up your mind.
10:40It's not really as simple as that, Mary Ellen.
10:42She's very resentful and hostile towards everything.
10:44Maybe the idea of having a stranger around scares her.
10:47Maybe.
10:48She must need help.
10:50She's resentful and doesn't want John boy there.
10:52There's not much he can do about it.
10:53We need the other pie, Mary Ellen.
10:56Daddy, she did say she didn't care whether I came back or not.
10:59She didn't want me there in the first place.
11:01You sure she means it, son?
11:04Well, it is possible she doesn't know what she wants.
11:07In her situation, I could understand that.
11:10I sure do need the money.
11:14Mary Ellen, take that thing off.
11:16Good Lord.
11:24This is terrible. It must be terrible to be blind.
11:38Mary Ellen?
11:40Mary Ellen, what's the matter with you?
11:42I don't want to talk to you, John boy.
11:44Why not?
11:46Are you going to take that job?
11:52Why is that job so important to you?
11:56John boy, do you know what I do when I get very lonely and I don't feel like talking to anybody?
12:02No.
12:04Well, I read a book.
12:06And it's because of you.
12:08Because of the way you love them.
12:10And you taught us all that the world is in books.
12:13And that they make you less lonely.
12:16I think that Ruth must be the loneliest person in the world.
12:25Mary Ellen.
12:27What do you think she would like me to read to her?
12:33I think she'd like anything you choose.
12:36Thanks.
12:38Good night.
12:39Good night.
12:57He said to remind you when it's twelve o'clock.
13:00Yeah. The morning goes so fast.
13:03I like these days when you don't have morning classes.
13:06How come?
13:07Oh, I don't know.
13:09Studying up here makes the house seem different. Sort of calmer.
13:13That's nice.
13:15You better hurry. You're going to be late.
13:16I don't know exactly when I'll be back.
13:19Good luck with the job.
13:20Thank you. Bye bye.
13:26Good night.
13:48Ruth should be down in a few minutes, Mr. Walton. Please sit down.
13:52I can't tell you how relieved I was to get your phone call.
13:55I do hope you understand how much I appreciate this.
13:59Oh, there's no need.
14:01I brought a couple of books. I hope Ruth will enjoy them.
14:05I hope so too.
14:07It'd be wonderful if she'd take a little interest in something.
14:12She hardly leaves the house, except to go out in the garden.
14:18I wish you could have known her before.
14:20You mean she wasn't always blind?
14:21No.
14:22She was one of the most outgoing, energetic girls you ever saw.
14:25And bright, lively, inquiring minds.
14:28She was a freshman at Boatwright, you know.
14:31Well, when did this happen?
14:33Well, quite recently. Very suddenly.
14:36Four years ago, she had a severe case of scarlet fever.
14:40And when it was over, she was blind.
14:44That's awful.
14:46Well, of course, it was terrible for her.
14:48But when the shock of it wore off, she seemed to come to terms with it.
14:54She taught herself to do things and get around.
15:00I remember her saying, I'm going to think of this as a handicap, not a tragedy.
15:08She even discovered it in Richmond as an institute for the blind.
15:12In Richmond as an institute for the blind.
15:16They were going to train her and prepare her to go back to college.
15:22Ruth's father adored her.
15:25All her life, he encouraged her and helped her in everything she did.
15:31During those first days, at times when she was, doubted herself,
15:39he supported her and helped her up.
15:43And what happened?
15:45In the middle of all the new plans, he died very suddenly.
15:55Well, that was too much for Ruth.
15:58She couldn't cope. She just seemed to shrink away from everything.
16:04And withdraw more and more into herself.
16:07And there's absolutely no possibility that you'll ever see again?
16:11None.
16:14Ruth, I was... we were talking about...
16:17Me.
16:20Well, I really might have to go. I've got a lot of things to do.
16:24Oh, goodness, I didn't know how late it had gotten.
16:28Well, I'll leave you to your reading then.
16:38Oh, hello again.
16:41You're standing, aren't you?
16:43Yes.
16:45Well, I'd prefer it if you'd sit.
16:49I don't really know what you're interested in,
16:53so I just went to the library and I picked up a volume of poetry and a couple of novels.
16:59Apparently, my mother thinks you should know more about my life.
17:02I tend to disagree with her.
17:03But to answer your question more fully, the answer is no.
17:07I shall never be able to see again.
17:10Now, don't you think it's time you got on with your reading?
17:14Of course.
17:17Well, what sort of thing would you like to hear first?
17:22It doesn't matter.
17:24Poetry.
17:26Poetry? Good. I have a...
17:29I picked up a volume of poetry.
17:31I picked up a volume of Tennyson here.
17:36I like Tennyson myself.
17:38I have a couple of things that I chose.
17:42The Lady of Shalott is... You know?
17:48The Lady of Shalott.
17:49The Lady of Shalott.
17:53On either side the river lie long fields of barley and of rye
17:59that clothe the world and meet the sky.
18:06And through the field the road runs by to many towered Camelot
18:11and up and down...
18:15Jason, I saw you making ice cream.
18:18That's right.
18:22That's right.
18:24You're crazy.
18:29Elizabeth.
18:31Get down off of me. Give me your hand.
18:35Honey, you do that again and I'm going to spank your behind.
18:38But I haven't made it halfway across.
18:40I don't care how far you got.
18:42You know you're not supposed to do it unless Ben or Mary Ellen or me is holding onto your hand.
18:45What's so bad about it?
18:47There's about an 80 foot drop from the bridge to the water.
18:49That's what's so bad about it.
18:51Yeah, a tidal wave will come and wash you away and you'll get eaten by a gigantic whale.
18:55And you'll be known to everyone as Elizabeth Turner Walt now.
18:59Get your books, honey.
19:01Jason, I think I'm going to stay here for a while.
19:04Are you okay?
19:05Sure.
19:07Boy, that was an easy test for me.
19:09All we were talking about is that thing.
19:11I knew you'd fail.
19:14He failed, but he didn't.
19:16Oh, good.
19:17He didn't.
19:18He didn't.
19:19He didn't.
19:20He didn't.
19:21He didn't.
19:22He didn't.
19:23He didn't.
19:24He didn't.
19:25He didn't.
19:26He didn't.
19:27He didn't.
19:30Hey, wait up, Jason, there, now.
19:58♪
20:03♪
20:08♪
20:13♪
20:18♪
20:23♪
20:28He clasps the crag with crooked hands.
20:32Close to the sun in lonely lands, ringed with the azure world he stands.
20:38The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls.
20:41He watches from his mountain walls, and like a thunderbolt he falls.
20:48Do you like Tennyson?
20:51Sometimes.
20:53Wrinkled sea is good, I think.
20:56Yes.
20:58But usually I find him too...
21:02sentimental.
21:07Would you like to go out into the garden for a little while?
21:10It's probably cool out there.
21:11No, I prefer it in here.
21:15Maybe some other time we could go out into the garden.
21:21No, maybe sometime, if you like, I could take you for a walk.
21:24We could go for a walk.
21:26Mr. Walton, I think I should explain something.
21:30I never go out of this house.
21:32You see, a long time ago, a doctor supplied me with a cane and some spectacles.
21:37All the trappings of a blind person.
21:41I prefer not calling attention to myself by tapping my way along the sidewalk.
21:46Of course not.
21:47But it wouldn't be that way with me.
21:49I think Friday is the next time you're supposed to be here.
21:52Yes.
21:54Well, I expect to see you then.
21:56See you later.
22:21She's out.
22:26By the way, Ruth, yes, John boy, I don't see that there's much you can do about it.
22:29I'm not trying to do anything.
22:31I just offered to take her for a walk. She turned everything around.
22:34Made it sound like I'd said something stupid or tactless.
22:37Sounds to me like she may be using that blindness of hers to blackmail people.
22:43Remember Martha Anderson, Liv?
22:45First cousin.
22:47Second, on Zeb's side.
22:49See if those potatoes are done.
22:50Did he give you a hand, Liv?
22:52Sit still.
22:53What about her?
22:55She had an accident. She was about 16.
22:58She was riding on the back of a hay wagon and something scared the team and they ran away.
23:04It was an awful accident.
23:07She'd come home from the hospital.
23:09She didn't even try to start a new life for herself.
23:12There's not much else she could do, is there, Daddy?
23:14Maybe nothing, but the point is she didn't even try.
23:17The family let her get away with it.
23:19Always fetching and carrying for her.
23:22Then on she used that injury to wangle anything she ever wanted out of everybody.
23:28What happened to her?
23:29Well, she just became a mean, bitter old woman.
23:32It's an awful thing to say, but I can't remember a single person that was sorry when she died.
23:40Supper's ready.
23:43Hey, come on, everybody.
23:45Wash up.
23:47You know, Daddy, I'd hate to see that happen to Ruth.
23:51I'd hate to see it happen, too.
23:53There's only so much anybody can do that it's up to the other person.
24:18John Boy!
24:20John Boy!
24:24I didn't know you were leaving so early.
24:26What's the matter?
24:27Well, would you do something for me?
24:29Uh, what?
24:31You promise you won't think it's stupid?
24:33Mary Ellen, what is it?
24:35Well, when you see Ruth this afternoon, would you give her this?
24:39I guess you could call it a token of friendship.
24:42I spent a long time down by the creek the other afternoon.
24:45I wanted to find just the right one.
24:47Oh, it's beautiful. It's real smooth.
24:49Close your eyes and feel it. Go on.
24:51You can pretend it's anything you want, a bird or a fish.
24:54Run your thumb along the groove in the side.
24:56It feels like the bowl of a teaspoon.
24:58You're right, it does.
25:00It's very nice.
25:02You don't think it's stupid, do you?
25:04No, I don't. I think it's wonderful, and I'm sure she'll appreciate it.
25:08See you later.
25:15The fact is, Lady Bracknell,
25:17I said I had lost my parents.
25:19It would be nearer the truth to say
25:21that my parents seem to have lost me.
25:25I don't actually know who I am by birth.
25:28I was... well, I was found.
25:32Found?
25:34The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman
25:36of very charitable and kindly disposition,
25:38found me and gave me the name of Worthing
25:40because he happened to have a first-class ticket
25:43for Worthing in his pocket at the time.
25:45Worthing is a place in Sussex.
25:47It is a seaside resort.
25:49Where did the charitable gentleman
25:51who had a first-class ticket for this seaside resort find you?
25:56In a handbag.
25:59A handbag?
26:02I'd forgotten that play was so witty.
26:06It is.
26:08I suppose I should have told you
26:10that the importance of being earnest
26:12is really an assignment at college.
26:15Oh.
26:16Killing two birds with one stone.
26:19Doing your school assignment and reading to me.
26:22Do you mind?
26:25Why should I?
26:29There's something I forgot to tell you, too.
26:36You read very well.
26:39Well, thank you.
26:41I imagine I've had a lot of practice
26:43reading to my brothers and sisters while they were growing.
26:45From a large family.
26:47Oh, large.
26:49Well, there's three brothers and three sisters
26:52and Mom and Daddy, of course,
26:54and my Grandma and my Grandpa.
26:56We all sit down together at the table.
26:58There's a whole bunch of us, and it's very noisy, too.
27:01Where do you live?
27:03Waltons Mountain.
27:04It's a very small place, about 28 miles from here.
27:07Just a Baptist church, a Methodist church, and a store.
27:10Ike Godsey's.
27:11That's where we do our shopping and pick up our mail
27:14and use the telephone.
27:16I've never heard of it.
27:18I'm not surprised.
27:20It's a nice place, though.
27:21People who go there seem to like it.
27:23I remember a couple of years ago,
27:24there was about, oh, I don't know,
27:26a bunch of carnival people were stranded
27:28on their way to the Chicago World's Fair.
27:30They stayed there about two, three days.
27:34And even they said they hated to leave.
27:36It sounds very nice.
27:39It is.
27:42You know, Ruth, I remember what you said
27:45about not going out and all,
27:46but if you'd ever like to come to the mountain,
27:48I mean, maybe on a Saturday when I wasn't...
27:50I'm afraid that would be impossible.
27:56Well, there wouldn't be anybody but my family there.
28:00You mean because it's your family,
28:03they'd be polite and on their best behavior?
28:06No, that's not what I mean.
28:08I just told them about you.
28:09They'd like to meet you, that's all.
28:10Would they?
28:12Especially my sister, Mary Ellen.
28:16This reminds me, she wanted me to give you this.
28:18She said it was sort of a token of friendship.
28:22It's just a pebble, that's all.
28:25She found it in the creek by the house.
28:27She said she took a lot of time just to find the right one,
28:30the one she thought felt the most interesting.
28:34Perfect gift.
28:40How appropriate.
28:43What do you mean?
28:45The stone, for someone who's stone blind.
28:57Ruth,
28:59Ruth, I want to tell you one thing.
29:02My sister took a lot of care to find something for you
29:05that she thought would have a special meaning.
29:07A special meaning?
29:09You mean something to remind me that I'm blind?
29:11No, Ruth, no.
29:12You don't need anything to remind you.
29:13You remind yourself.
29:15Every day that you spend locked in here,
29:17away from the world, refusing to go out,
29:18you remind yourself that you're blind every day of your life.
29:21Oh, yes, I do.
29:22Oh, yes, you do.
29:23And every unkind, harsh word that you utter
29:25is just a plea for pity.
29:27I can't pity you.
29:29When I first took this job, I thought maybe I could help you.
29:32But I see I can't do that either.
29:34Oh, Ruth.
29:36If my sister's gift was tactless or wrong, I'm sorry.
29:39But I assure you it wasn't intended to be.
29:42John!
29:47John!
30:17John!
30:48Yes.
30:49Ruth, I'm home.
30:51Yes, that's right.
30:55Yes.
30:58Bye.
31:01Ruth, where's John Walton?
31:04He's already left.
31:07Mother?
31:10Oh, there are some things that I'd like to ask you.
31:15Of course, dear.
31:18Please, sit down.
31:45John Boy?
31:50You are not going to believe this,
31:52but I was just thinking to myself as I came out of Ike's,
31:55wouldn't it be nice if John Boy Walton drove by right now?
32:02And how was your day?
32:03Nothing to brag about.
32:05Does it have anything to do with this?
32:07What?
32:08The phone message that came in at Ike's.
32:11What does it say?
32:14It says, I'd like to come to Walton's Mountain tomorrow.
32:17I'll arrive by taxi and be there around noon.
32:19Ruth, from what you've told me about it, I don't understand.
32:25I think I do.
32:31Libby, do we have any of that celery salt left?
32:34It's in the cabinet behind you if there's any left.
32:36I only need a tablespoon just to finish up that coleslaw.
32:40Is it 12 yet?
32:4210 till.
32:43Is Ruth's mother coming with her?
32:45Well, I imagine so.
32:46This is her first time out.
32:47I don't think she'd go alone.
32:48Here it is.
32:49Justin, stop it.
32:51Just enough.
32:52Have this ready in a minute, Libby.
32:54Taxi's here.
32:55I'll get her.
33:03Ruth.
33:05Hello, John.
33:06Hello.
33:08Did you get my message all right?
33:09Yes, I did.
33:13Ruth, I'm very glad you came.
33:17I came because I wanted to apologize to you for what happened yesterday.
33:25And I wanted to thank your sister.
33:30And...
33:33What?
33:37Well, yesterday, after you left, I was alone for some time.
33:44And for the first time, I began to think about going out of the house.
33:51And I realized something.
33:54That maybe the world outside the house wasn't as frightening as I was making it out to be.
34:04And the only way that I'd find that out would be by going out into it.
34:10See, yours was the only invitation I had.
34:18I decided to try it because...
34:23I think I want my life back.
34:31And I'm trying it because...
34:34If I don't find out, I'll never know.
34:42The best way to start is by meeting my family.
34:44And there's a whole bunch of them to meet.
34:46Yes, I know.
34:47I remember you told me.
34:49This way.
34:50Jim Bob.
34:52Jim Bob, this is Ruth.
34:53Ruth, this is Jim Bob, my youngest brother.
34:55Hi.
34:56Hi.
34:57We're all ready to go.
34:58Daddy said to put these in the truck.
35:00Mama, Mama, this is Ruth.
35:02Ruth, this is my mother, Olivia Walton.
35:04Hello, Ruth.
35:05How do you do?
35:06Such a beautiful day.
35:07We thought we'd have a picnic lunch.
35:08Are you hungry?
35:10Yes, I am.
35:12This is my oldest daughter, Mary Ellen.
35:14Hi.
35:15Hello.
35:17I wanted to thank you for the gift.
35:20It was very thoughtful of you.
35:23Why'd you like it?
35:26I'm Elizabeth, the lowest one.
35:29Yes, I guess you are.
35:31And I guess I'm the largest.
35:33By far, and the oldest.
35:35I'm Esther Walton, John Boy's grandma.
35:37How do you do?
35:38And the old man's my husband.
35:40She's half my size and my age, but my favorite.
35:43Shall I escort you to the truck?
35:46We were just leaving for a picnic.
35:49Come on, everybody.
35:50Picnic.
35:51Here you go.
35:59Don't stab me with the fishing rod.
36:02Whoops.
36:09I heard sounds I've never heard before in my whole life.
36:14I used to lie awake at night in my room
36:18and listen to the sounds that the house made.
36:23First, I hated listening to them.
36:25I would put my hands over my ears.
36:30And then slowly, I began to count on them.
36:35Now, we had a mockingbird that used to live in a tree right under my window.
36:39He used to love to listen to them.
36:41I counted one morning.
36:42Twenty-seven separate calls.
36:44He just couldn't stop.
36:48How old do you marry, Ellen?
36:50Sixteen. Why?
36:53Have you ever thought of what you'd want to do when you finished school?
36:59I'm pretty sure.
37:00I want to be a nurse or a doctor,
37:04but that costs a lot of money and there don't seem to be too many women in that field.
37:09But something where, well...
37:13Something where you could help people in trouble.
37:17Yeah.
37:18Well, you'll be very good at it, whatever you choose.
37:22You've already made me feel a lot more comfortable and more at ease.
37:29What do you want to be?
37:31I wanted to be a teacher.
37:34I love the idea of teaching children.
37:38I wanted to be the first one to introduce them to books.
37:44Ruth, do you know who Helen Keller is?
37:46Yes.
37:47Well, you could be like her.
37:49I mean, she had a lot more to get past than you do.
37:51And there's special schools for people who are blind.
37:53And there's those dogs that are trained.
37:55Well, so what if you can't see?
37:56I mean, you can talk and you can love things.
37:58And that's really all a teacher has to do anyway, right?
38:01Yes.
38:06Thank you, Mary Ellen, for your energy and your care.
38:13Hey, come on!
38:15Helen's got lunch ready, and she says if you don't get there fast, she won't be responsible for saving you anything.
38:21After lunch, we could go to the swimming hole.
38:24Isn't it a little chilly to be thinking about swimming?
38:27Well, it'll be summer again, and then we could go swimming.
38:31That's right, Elizabeth.
38:33It will be summer again.
38:38He wasn't very old when he said, I think I could turn and live with animals.
38:44He's killing.
38:46Walt, Walt Whitman.
38:49I never read too much Whitman.
38:51Here, I'll race you to the bridge.
38:53Okay.
38:54Me too.
38:55Sit down and let your food digest, please.
38:57Come on, Mama, there's nothing to do.
38:59Yes, there is, Elizabeth.
39:01You could tell me where we are.
39:03Oh, well, the mountain's behind us, and what are some trees?
39:08What kind of trees?
39:10All kinds.
39:13Yeah, I come here to write quite often.
39:17A writer needs a special place to sit and think in peace and quiet.
39:21Give me, kind heaven, a private station, a mind serene, a contemplation.
39:29That's real nice, Pa.
39:31Oh, it's just a little piece of earth I picked up from somewhere.
39:36With this food, this sun, we don't go pretty soon.
39:40I'm going to fall asleep.
39:41Won't be any more work today.
39:43I know exactly how you feel.
39:45So, we better pack up, everyone.
39:48Come on.
39:49Jim Bob.
39:50Get a move on.
39:51All right, Jumbo, put wine on your watermelon.
39:56What was that again, Grandpa?
39:58A mind serene for contemplation.
40:02Where is that from?
40:03Do you know that, Ruth?
40:05No.
40:06Palgrove, Golden Treasury.
40:08It's nice.
40:10It's funny, though.
40:11In a way, it kind of describes how this place feels to me.
40:16So private and serene.
40:19You know, we three have a lot in common.
40:23Poets under the skin.
40:25It's the way I have always felt about this place.
40:29I get it from my father.
40:32Well, he always loved poetry.
40:36Your hand.
40:39It's like two different hands.
40:42And the side is so smooth.
40:46And the palm, it's as tough as leather.
40:49It comes from over 50 years of hard work, yes.
40:53It also comes from a lifetime of being both gentle and strong.
40:57Oh, Ruthie.
40:59Be a girl after my own heart.
41:03You all coming?
41:05Yeah.
41:07Oh, Ruth, would you like to walk on back to the house?
41:09We can take the path by the stream.
41:12Sounds nice.
41:13Can I come?
41:15Sure.
41:16Maddy.
41:18We're going to walk on back to the house, okay?
41:22Here, Grandpa.
41:24Will you take that for me?
41:25Sure.
41:26Come along, Elizabeth.
41:27We'll see you back at the house.
41:30Aaron.
41:44I love that.
41:46The sound of the stream.
41:48Mm-hmm.
41:50The smell of it, too.
41:52The smell?
41:53Yes.
41:54An extra that comes with being blind.
42:04Are you cold?
42:06A little.
42:08I guess I left my sweater and purse back there at the picnic place.
42:12Oh, uh...
42:14Elizabeth?
42:15Ellie?
42:19Will you stay here with Ruth for a minute?
42:20I'm going to go back and fetch your sweater.
42:21I'll be right back.
42:23Here's the railing of the bridge right here.
42:25There, okay?
42:26I'll be right back.
42:32Well...
42:35It must be awfully nice living here.
42:38It's so peaceful and quiet.
42:42It might be peaceful out here, but it sure is back at the house.
42:46I suppose so.
42:48With all those brothers and sisters, there must be something always going on.
42:55Now, when I was your age...
42:58I always wanted a brother.
43:02Once, I even pretended I had one.
43:06Harold, I used to call him.
43:08I read it in a book and...
43:11it sounded like a good, solid name for a brother of mine to have.
43:16Did you ever do that?
43:19Make up imaginary friends?
43:25Elizabeth, where are you?
43:27Why don't you do my dare act?
43:30Dare?
43:31Yeah, get on the bridge railing.
43:33Jason doesn't want me to do it because I think I'll fall.
43:36Elizabeth!
43:37Get down from there.
43:39It's easy. I do it all the time.
43:41Elizabeth, please get down.
43:44Elizabeth!
43:46Give me your hand!
43:52Elizabeth!
43:54Please!
43:58John!
44:00John!
44:02The kid's right here.
44:04Elizabeth!
44:20Elizabeth!
44:23Oh!
44:26Elizabeth!
44:31Elizabeth!
44:39Elizabeth!
44:46I got her! I got her!
44:49Harold! Harold!
44:52Ruth, it's John. I got you. I got you.
44:54I got you. I got you. I got you. It's all right. It's all right.
44:57Hold on to me. Just hold on to me. It's okay.
45:01Easy.
45:03Are you all right, honey?
45:05Ruth, my hand hurts, but I'm okay.
45:08I'll help you out.
45:10Go ahead. Go on. Go on. It's all right.
45:16It's okay. It's okay.
45:17Stand up. Easy, honey. Easy.
45:21Just wait. Just wait right here.
45:23Here's a tree. I'll be right back. I'll be right back.
45:28She's all right, son.
45:30She's all right? Yeah.
45:31Let's go, Ruth.
45:34Ruth!
45:50Ruth!
45:52Ruth! Stop!
45:54Get away! Get away!
45:57Ruth, Elizabeth's all right. It's all right. Elizabeth is all right.
46:00Get away! Ruth!
46:02I know exactly how you feel. You feel like...
46:04No, you don't! Yes, I do!
46:05You feel like you shouldn't have come here in the first place.
46:07You feel like it was all your fault.
46:08Like it was stupid for you to come out here in the first place.
46:10You're not blind! Of course I'm not blind!
46:12But I don't have to be blind to know that you have no business
46:14throwing your life away like that!
46:16It's cowardly to go back to the kind of life that you had before
46:18in that house!
46:20Ruth.
46:23Please, just listen to me.
46:25Ruth, you told me this morning that you wanted your life back.
46:27Well, you've got it back.
46:29You've had it back all day long.
46:31Please, just don't let it slip away again.
46:33Please, just hold on to it.
46:35Please, just don't run away.
46:37John. Yes, I'm right here.
46:39Help me.
46:41All right. Of course I'll help you.
46:44You're all right.
46:46Just hold on.
46:48Just don't let go.
46:50I'm right here. Don't let go.
46:52Just hold on.
46:55Just don't let go.
47:02The doctor said Elizabeth had nothing more serious
47:04than a bump on the head and a bruised knee.
47:07Ruth returned to West Ham,
47:09but she didn't remain hidden the way she had before.
47:12Bye, Ruth. Bye-bye.
47:14After training at an institute for the blind,
47:16she returned to Fulbright University,
47:18was graduated,
47:20and eventually became a social welfare worker
47:22for the state of Virginia.
47:26Mama? Yes, Jim Bob?
47:28Ben's slurring, and he's keeping me awake.
47:30Maybe he'll stop if you turn him over on his side.
47:32Okay.
47:34Jim Bob, what do you think you're doing?
47:36You gone crazy or something?
47:38You two pipe down, keeping everybody awake.
47:40Ben, you better stop hitting me.
47:42Well, you started it. What's going on over there?
47:44There's a fight in the boys' room. Oh, no.
47:46You children behave yourselves before you wake your father.
47:48You're gonna get it, Jim Bob. Leave me alone, Ben.
47:50Ben? Jim Bob, go back to bed.
47:52Who's winning, James? Am I gonna have to come over there?
47:54Ben's winning, Elizabeth.
47:56It's a disgrace how no one gets to sleep around here.
47:58You children want a spanking? Cut the fighting, Jim Bob.
48:00Daddy!
48:02You think I'd better go over there, Liz?
48:04Somebody better do something.
48:06I'm gonna kill you.
48:12I'm gonna kill you.
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