Father Knows Best (1954–1960): Season 1, Episode 26 - Close Decision - full transcript
Margaret is upset that Bud is not doing his chores lately. When he tries to keep raking the leaves in order to play in a baseball game, Margaret puts her foot down.
Robert Young...
and Jane Wyatt.
With Elinor Donahue,
Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin...
Jim!
Morning, Margaret.
Oh, what did you want, honey?
Jim, what about Bud?
I was just gonna ask you
the same thing. Is he sick?
Sick?
Yeah, he's reading a book
on inspirational poems.
Oh, that.
Don't tell me he's
actually working on it.
You should see him
completely absorbed.
But what's it all about?
It's that piece he's supposed
to recite at church tomorrow.
Oh, sure.
Well, he's really
taking hold of it.
Mmm. At the last moment, he is.
I've been trying to get
him to do it all week.
Well, he won't have it
memorized by tomorrow.
Sometimes, they fool you.
Not often enough.
Just look at this room.
I can't get him to
do a thing lately.
Study, do his chores...
I just don't know what's
gonna become of him.
Well, honey, boys go
through various phases.
Maybe you can do
something with him.
I'm sure we shouldn't
just ignore this.
It's too important a period
in his character development
or whatever you want to call it.
Yeah.
Oh, boy.
Where do you think you're going?
We got a game,
Mom. See you later.
Now, whoa. Just a minute.
Do you have the leaves raked up?
Well, I couldn't do it
'cause I had to work
on that poem for church.
Did you get it memorized?
Well, uh... I couldn't
concentrate on it,
'cause I felt I oughta be
out raking up the leaves.
Mm-hmm. Well, in that case,
maybe you better go out
and rake up the leaves first.
Gosh, Mom, this is a
regular league game.
Church league.
Don't you want me to do
something for the church?
I want you to
rake up the leaves.
Now you know the rules
about Saturday chores.
Gosh.
Dad, can I play baseball?
Sure. I don't know why not.
See there, Mom.
Unless your mother has
something she wants you to do.
That comes first, naturally.
It's not me,
it's just that Bud...
Well, look here.
You typed these rules yourself.
"Rule 3: No playing until
Saturday chores are completed."
He hasn't done a thing today.
Hasn't learned his poem.
Your mother's right, Bud.
You better put that
gear in your room
and leave it there till
your work's finished.
But, Dad, the fellas
are waiting for me.
Get your work done,
then you can go.
Gosh.
Fine bunch of parents I got.
I hate being the
villain all the time,
but we can't let him run wild.
No, you're right.
He's getting so
irresponsible, and...
And it worries me.
Well, sure.
Of course he looks at
things differently than we do.
To a boy, a baseball
game is pretty important.
Much more important
than it really is, of course.
Yes, but it's also important
that when he grows up
he has some character
and a few principles.
Oh, I'm not arguing that at all.
I'm with you the whole way.
It think it's the only
way to handle him.
I remember when I was a kid.
There were times I
thought my mother
was the most unjust
person in the world.
Now I realize of course that...
What's the matter? Look.
Well, I will say
one thing for him:
he doesn't give up.
Well, if I wasn't so
disgusted with him,
this would be funny.
And on top of
everything else now,
he's defying us.
Why, you'd think we
never taught him anything.
I think we're about to
witness an interesting scene.
The young man is about
to make an entrance,
and issue a loud and
obvious statement,
about going outside
to rake up leaves.
I think you better
have a talk with him.
Shh.
I'm going out and
rake up the leaves now.
Fine.
Hey, squeegee, come here.
What do you want?
Come here. I wanna talk to you.
I haven't seen you all morning.
You sure look pretty, Kathy.
Okay, what is it
you want me to do?
You wanna have
some fun? Play a game?
What kind of a game?
Well, Mom and Dad have
hidden some baseball junk.
They've got it hidden
in the den somewhere,
and you've got to
go in and get it out
without them knowing it.
What do I win?
Uh, 10 cents.
I played a game once
where I won 15 cents.
Okay, 15. Now hurry.
But I don't know all the rules.
I don't think Bud
knows them, either.
I'm going to explain
a few of them to him.
Here's your 15 cents,
Kathy. Now, run along.
Can't I watch, Daddy?
Watch what, Kitten?
Bud get the dickens.
Run along, Kathy.
Gee whiz. I'll
never have any fun.
Well, Bud, this is the tops.
Resorting to using
your little sister.
Putting her up to such tricks.
I'm ashamed of you.
Dad, I've just gotta
get to that game.
The fellas are waiting for me.
Why didn't you think of that
when you were wasting
the whole morning?
All you had to do
was rake some leaves.
You had plenty of time.
Well, I know, but...
Gee, this is a
regular league game.
We've got a good chance
to win the championship.
But we won't have
if we lose this one.
Oh?
So you can see
how important it is.
You wanna be the father of the
catcher of the champs, don't ya?
Look, all you have to
do is get your work done,
then you can go.
Here, I'll give you a hand.
Bud, if you spend one-fourth
of your time working,
that you do thinking up
excuses to get out of it,
you'd get all your work done.
There's nothing like a
little elbow grease to...
Elbow grease to, uh...
There, you see?
That's how you do it.
Get to work. Let's
have some speed.
I'd better get back to my work.
Gee, Mom, you don't
know what's at stake today.
Yes, I do.
Your future's at stake.
The molding of your character.
Now as your father says,
let's have some action.
Aw, goobers.
Mom, this hurts my back.
Well, maybe I can find something
less strenuous for you to do.
Huh? Come on.
Betty will help you.
Bud, at least try
to memorize this.
I don't like doing this
any more than you do,
but Mother said... Okay, okay.
When we go... No, no.
First you give the
title of the poem,
then you bow and then start.
"The Game of
Life," by William...
whatever his name is. Bow.
And two heads of lettuce.
Leave me alone, will ya?
And see if they have
some good sweet corn.
Go ahead and tell
her. I don't care.
Mother!
Oh, dear.
Maybe we oughta let
him go and play that game.
Mother!
We're not getting much
good out of him this way.
Well, it would certainly
be easy on me to let him.
I'm doubtless I'd be
more popular as a mother,
but what will it do to him?
And on top of all of that,
he'd lose respect for us
and then where will we be?
Mother!
Come and get this fiend!
Uh, when we both
went to battle...
Oh, Mother, I can't
get him to do a thing.
You'll have to get somebody
else to teach him this stuff.
I can't.
Now, Bud, what are
we going to do with you?
Mom, if you just
try and understand.
The fellas will think
I'm chicken and if that...
Come on, Bud, you're
holding up the game.
I know.
Mom?
Dad?
No.
I can't, Joe.
Uh, I'll get these
groceries right away.
Is that 1 pound of coffee?
Strike 2!
Well, hello there, Jim.
Oh, hello, Reverend Swain.
Quite a game we
have going on here.
Yes, I guess so.
Even though we are losing.
Where's that boy of yours?
We certainly need him.
From what I can gather,
he's the power in
our batting lineup.
Oh, he is?
He's not ill, I hope.
Oh, no, no. He had
some chores to do.
And his mother felt...
That is, we felt that,
well, work comes
before play, you know.
Oh, yes, and he's working on
that piece for church tomorrow.
He was dying to be
here, but his mother...
That is, we felt...
I understand.
Life is full of
difficult decisions.
Strike 3! You're out!
Joe, struck out.
What's the matter, Joe?
You're swinging late!
Yeah, if only that darn Bud
hadn't chickened out on us.
Reverend Swain,
when you've made one
of those difficult decisions,
how do you know
if it's right or not?
Well, it's not always easy, Jim.
One has to weigh
the relative merits
of the things involved.
Discipline and training are
important on the one hand...
A boy's relationship
with other boys,
that's pretty
important too, isn't it?
Yes, very.
Then, would you
say it was all right to...
A man has to decide
these things for himself, Jim.
Yeah.
But we sure could use
a couple of home runs right now.
I'll, um, see what I can do.
Hey. Where's your mother?
Well, she's upstairs.
Where's Bud?
Where would you
expect the little dummy
to be at a time like this?
Oh, no, he's not hiding
in the basement again.
Bud.
Where are you?
Listen... I can't
memorize that stuff.
I'm not asking you to.
Listen to me, son.
Your team is losing.
They are?
Look, I'm not sure
what I'm doing is right,
but I'll take the
full responsibility.
I don't want you to
let the guys down.
Well, it's not my fault.
Oh, yes, it is.
You let them down
when you didn't get
your work out of the way
in time for the game.
There's no excuse for that.
And you still have
that work to do.
But right now, your
team needs you,
so you better get down there.
What about Mom?
Uh, I'll take care
of that part of it.
Your part is to get down
there and knock in a few runs.
But don't ever put
me in this spot again.
Dad, what about my equipment?
Oh, yeah.
Well, I think I know
the best way to get that.
Run.
I need my mitt, too.
Oh, yeah.
The fellas are pretty sore,
but if you run...
Oh, thanks.
I'm not agreeing,
I'm just giving up.
Oh, now wait, honey.
If you don't care what kind
of a person he turns out to be,
I certainly don't, either.
But I do care.
And I also care what the
other boys think of him.
I think that's all part of it.
Honey, I...
I know what I've done
is wrong, in a way.
In a way?
Yes, but remember this, now.
This doesn't change
anything at all.
He knows he still
has his work to do,
he's going to
memorize his piece...
When? Well...
He has to give it
tomorrow morning.
Well, he'll... he'll do it.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Daddy?
Daddy, do you still
wanna know where Bud is?
He just ran over...
No, Kitten, thanks.
And by the way,
where are my groceries?
Huh? Groc... Oh, yeah.
I'm going right away.
Is Mommy disgusted
to you too, Daddy?
Yes, Kitten.
I'm afraid Mommy's
disgusted to me too.
Dinner's almost ready, children.
You better hurry
up and get ready.
Bud! What have you been doing?
Well, you're a mess.
What happened?
Boy, what a shiner!
Oh! How'd you come
out? What was the final...
Bud?
Bud?
What happened? I don't know.
He's certainly
gonna look beautiful
standing up in front of
everyone at church tomorrow
with that black eye.
I don't think I'll go.
I have to go.
I bet Joanie Phillips
that my brother
would make more
mistakes than hers will.
You've got a cinch bet.
Did he eat anything?
Not a whole lot.
Well, did you find out anything?
Not a whole lot.
They lost the game.
That much I found out.
I can't understand
how they lost it, either.
They were doing
fine when I left.
Well, was he in a fight?
Oh, as near as I could find out,
there was some kind
of a general scuffle.
He's all right, though.
He's just got a little
bump on his face.
Well, I'll say one thing,
it's been quite a day.
He's working on
his piece, though.
He's got the book up there.
Mm-hmm.
I don't see Bud anywhere.
Shh.
In fact, I haven't been
able to find him, either.
He's probably on a
freight train to Texas.
Once each year,
we turn the morning service over
to our young
people's department.
This is always an especially
happy occasion for me.
Because I like to
see the young folk
take an active
part in our services
and demonstrate
the spiritual leadership
for which we have so great
a need in the world today.
I like it also
because it gives me a day off.
Our activities this morning
are to be guided
by a very pretty and
very able young lady,
Miss Virginia Harris.
This morning...
This morning we open our program
with a reading entitled
"The Game of Life"
by William Walter Tannen.
It will be given by a member
of the Boy's Advanced Class,
James Anderson Jr.
But he doesn't know it.
Will James Anderson
Jr. Please step forward?
But he started out for church.
Do you suppose that... Look.
"The Game of Life," by
William Walter Tannen.
When we go forth to battle
in the greatest game of all,
we need to go ac... accou...
accoutered well
or be victim of a fall.
Yes, the game of
life is full of strife,
and, um...
Yes, the game of
life is full of strife...
I guess I don't know it, sir.
I was out playing
baseball yesterday
when I should have
been learning it.
I'm sorry, sir.
Wait a minute, Bud.
I'd like to say a word
about that baseball
game, if I may.
I was there, and I saw it.
It was an exciting game.
And it looked as though
our boys, our church team,
was going to win
it, but we didn't.
And I guess you might
say that it was Bud's fault
that we didn't.
I can tell by the
look on your faces
that I had better
explain this more fully.
Well, in case you don't know,
Bud, here, is our catcher
and one of our star players.
But he missed the
first part of the game
because he had to work at home.
But when finally
he got to the game,
he gave our team a real lift.
As a matter of fact,
he batted in enough
runs to tie the score.
Then our opponents came to bat
in the last of the ninth inning.
They had two outs already,
but they also had the
winning run on third base,
ready to score at
the first opportunity.
And soon it came.
The batter hit a good bunt
down toward third base.
The boy on third raced for home,
as Joe Phillips
picked up the ball
and threw it to
Bud at home plate.
And as Bud attempted
to tag the runner,
the umpire declared him out.
And that's when
the trouble started.
There appeared to be a
slight difference of opinion
as to whether Bud had actually
tagged the runner with the ball
or whether he had missed him.
Shall we say by now,
the debate had
become quite physical.
So I finally stepped in
and made a suggestion.
I suggested that
we leave it up to Bud
to tell us whether he
had tagged the boy or not.
If anybody would
know, Bud would.
That wasn't too popular a
suggestion with our opponents.
But they finally deferred
to the integrity of the clergy.
Well, this was a difficult
position to put a boy in.
And judging from
the look on Bud's face,
he felt the full weight of it.
As I watched
Bud's troubled face,
I regretted that I
had burdened him
with such a responsibility.
I could tell that the devil
was standing behind him
whispering to him,
fast and furiously.
But the devil never
had a chance.
Our Bud spoke up.
He said, "No, sir.
I didn't tag him.
That decision cost us the game,
and a very important game.
But we gained a
much greater victory.
There are no medals
for this kind of triumph.
Unless we consider this, um,
mouse as a sort
of a badge of honor.
But the real reward lies herein.
When this boy becomes a man,
he'll be a man on
who we can depend.
I'm proud of this boy.
And his parents whose
handiwork he represents,
can feel proud, too.
As the twig is bent,
so inclined is the tree.
And next time, you
better learn your piece.
Yes, sir.
Bud.
I guess I don't have to tell you
that your father and I were
very proud of you this morning.
I've been wanting to talk to you
about that all day, Mom.
I'm not really a hero.
No?
No, I'm not one at all.
Actually, when I said
I didn't tag that guy,
it was because I
was afraid, sort of.
Afraid? Of what?
I figured Reverend Swain
knew I didn't tag him.
Well, if I said
I did, if I lied,
I was afraid to tell you
and you wouldn't have
any respect for me.
Mom, I couldn't stand that.
I... I know I've been a
lot of trouble to you lately,
and I really made a
mess out of everything,
but... I'm gonna try
and do better, Mom.
Honest, I am. And, Mom...
You know this bow was made
out of genuine lemon wood?
Oh, Bud.
Are you peeking at Bud, Daddy?
Shh.
Daddy, is Bud really a hero?
Well, I don't think there
are really any heroes, Kitten.
There are only mothers
who make it worthwhile
to try to be one.
Closed-Captioned By J.R.
Media Services, Inc. Burbank, CA
and Jane Wyatt.
With Elinor Donahue,
Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin...
Jim!
Morning, Margaret.
Oh, what did you want, honey?
Jim, what about Bud?
I was just gonna ask you
the same thing. Is he sick?
Sick?
Yeah, he's reading a book
on inspirational poems.
Oh, that.
Don't tell me he's
actually working on it.
You should see him
completely absorbed.
But what's it all about?
It's that piece he's supposed
to recite at church tomorrow.
Oh, sure.
Well, he's really
taking hold of it.
Mmm. At the last moment, he is.
I've been trying to get
him to do it all week.
Well, he won't have it
memorized by tomorrow.
Sometimes, they fool you.
Not often enough.
Just look at this room.
I can't get him to
do a thing lately.
Study, do his chores...
I just don't know what's
gonna become of him.
Well, honey, boys go
through various phases.
Maybe you can do
something with him.
I'm sure we shouldn't
just ignore this.
It's too important a period
in his character development
or whatever you want to call it.
Yeah.
Oh, boy.
Where do you think you're going?
We got a game,
Mom. See you later.
Now, whoa. Just a minute.
Do you have the leaves raked up?
Well, I couldn't do it
'cause I had to work
on that poem for church.
Did you get it memorized?
Well, uh... I couldn't
concentrate on it,
'cause I felt I oughta be
out raking up the leaves.
Mm-hmm. Well, in that case,
maybe you better go out
and rake up the leaves first.
Gosh, Mom, this is a
regular league game.
Church league.
Don't you want me to do
something for the church?
I want you to
rake up the leaves.
Now you know the rules
about Saturday chores.
Gosh.
Dad, can I play baseball?
Sure. I don't know why not.
See there, Mom.
Unless your mother has
something she wants you to do.
That comes first, naturally.
It's not me,
it's just that Bud...
Well, look here.
You typed these rules yourself.
"Rule 3: No playing until
Saturday chores are completed."
He hasn't done a thing today.
Hasn't learned his poem.
Your mother's right, Bud.
You better put that
gear in your room
and leave it there till
your work's finished.
But, Dad, the fellas
are waiting for me.
Get your work done,
then you can go.
Gosh.
Fine bunch of parents I got.
I hate being the
villain all the time,
but we can't let him run wild.
No, you're right.
He's getting so
irresponsible, and...
And it worries me.
Well, sure.
Of course he looks at
things differently than we do.
To a boy, a baseball
game is pretty important.
Much more important
than it really is, of course.
Yes, but it's also important
that when he grows up
he has some character
and a few principles.
Oh, I'm not arguing that at all.
I'm with you the whole way.
It think it's the only
way to handle him.
I remember when I was a kid.
There were times I
thought my mother
was the most unjust
person in the world.
Now I realize of course that...
What's the matter? Look.
Well, I will say
one thing for him:
he doesn't give up.
Well, if I wasn't so
disgusted with him,
this would be funny.
And on top of
everything else now,
he's defying us.
Why, you'd think we
never taught him anything.
I think we're about to
witness an interesting scene.
The young man is about
to make an entrance,
and issue a loud and
obvious statement,
about going outside
to rake up leaves.
I think you better
have a talk with him.
Shh.
I'm going out and
rake up the leaves now.
Fine.
Hey, squeegee, come here.
What do you want?
Come here. I wanna talk to you.
I haven't seen you all morning.
You sure look pretty, Kathy.
Okay, what is it
you want me to do?
You wanna have
some fun? Play a game?
What kind of a game?
Well, Mom and Dad have
hidden some baseball junk.
They've got it hidden
in the den somewhere,
and you've got to
go in and get it out
without them knowing it.
What do I win?
Uh, 10 cents.
I played a game once
where I won 15 cents.
Okay, 15. Now hurry.
But I don't know all the rules.
I don't think Bud
knows them, either.
I'm going to explain
a few of them to him.
Here's your 15 cents,
Kathy. Now, run along.
Can't I watch, Daddy?
Watch what, Kitten?
Bud get the dickens.
Run along, Kathy.
Gee whiz. I'll
never have any fun.
Well, Bud, this is the tops.
Resorting to using
your little sister.
Putting her up to such tricks.
I'm ashamed of you.
Dad, I've just gotta
get to that game.
The fellas are waiting for me.
Why didn't you think of that
when you were wasting
the whole morning?
All you had to do
was rake some leaves.
You had plenty of time.
Well, I know, but...
Gee, this is a
regular league game.
We've got a good chance
to win the championship.
But we won't have
if we lose this one.
Oh?
So you can see
how important it is.
You wanna be the father of the
catcher of the champs, don't ya?
Look, all you have to
do is get your work done,
then you can go.
Here, I'll give you a hand.
Bud, if you spend one-fourth
of your time working,
that you do thinking up
excuses to get out of it,
you'd get all your work done.
There's nothing like a
little elbow grease to...
Elbow grease to, uh...
There, you see?
That's how you do it.
Get to work. Let's
have some speed.
I'd better get back to my work.
Gee, Mom, you don't
know what's at stake today.
Yes, I do.
Your future's at stake.
The molding of your character.
Now as your father says,
let's have some action.
Aw, goobers.
Mom, this hurts my back.
Well, maybe I can find something
less strenuous for you to do.
Huh? Come on.
Betty will help you.
Bud, at least try
to memorize this.
I don't like doing this
any more than you do,
but Mother said... Okay, okay.
When we go... No, no.
First you give the
title of the poem,
then you bow and then start.
"The Game of
Life," by William...
whatever his name is. Bow.
And two heads of lettuce.
Leave me alone, will ya?
And see if they have
some good sweet corn.
Go ahead and tell
her. I don't care.
Mother!
Oh, dear.
Maybe we oughta let
him go and play that game.
Mother!
We're not getting much
good out of him this way.
Well, it would certainly
be easy on me to let him.
I'm doubtless I'd be
more popular as a mother,
but what will it do to him?
And on top of all of that,
he'd lose respect for us
and then where will we be?
Mother!
Come and get this fiend!
Uh, when we both
went to battle...
Oh, Mother, I can't
get him to do a thing.
You'll have to get somebody
else to teach him this stuff.
I can't.
Now, Bud, what are
we going to do with you?
Mom, if you just
try and understand.
The fellas will think
I'm chicken and if that...
Come on, Bud, you're
holding up the game.
I know.
Mom?
Dad?
No.
I can't, Joe.
Uh, I'll get these
groceries right away.
Is that 1 pound of coffee?
Strike 2!
Well, hello there, Jim.
Oh, hello, Reverend Swain.
Quite a game we
have going on here.
Yes, I guess so.
Even though we are losing.
Where's that boy of yours?
We certainly need him.
From what I can gather,
he's the power in
our batting lineup.
Oh, he is?
He's not ill, I hope.
Oh, no, no. He had
some chores to do.
And his mother felt...
That is, we felt that,
well, work comes
before play, you know.
Oh, yes, and he's working on
that piece for church tomorrow.
He was dying to be
here, but his mother...
That is, we felt...
I understand.
Life is full of
difficult decisions.
Strike 3! You're out!
Joe, struck out.
What's the matter, Joe?
You're swinging late!
Yeah, if only that darn Bud
hadn't chickened out on us.
Reverend Swain,
when you've made one
of those difficult decisions,
how do you know
if it's right or not?
Well, it's not always easy, Jim.
One has to weigh
the relative merits
of the things involved.
Discipline and training are
important on the one hand...
A boy's relationship
with other boys,
that's pretty
important too, isn't it?
Yes, very.
Then, would you
say it was all right to...
A man has to decide
these things for himself, Jim.
Yeah.
But we sure could use
a couple of home runs right now.
I'll, um, see what I can do.
Hey. Where's your mother?
Well, she's upstairs.
Where's Bud?
Where would you
expect the little dummy
to be at a time like this?
Oh, no, he's not hiding
in the basement again.
Bud.
Where are you?
Listen... I can't
memorize that stuff.
I'm not asking you to.
Listen to me, son.
Your team is losing.
They are?
Look, I'm not sure
what I'm doing is right,
but I'll take the
full responsibility.
I don't want you to
let the guys down.
Well, it's not my fault.
Oh, yes, it is.
You let them down
when you didn't get
your work out of the way
in time for the game.
There's no excuse for that.
And you still have
that work to do.
But right now, your
team needs you,
so you better get down there.
What about Mom?
Uh, I'll take care
of that part of it.
Your part is to get down
there and knock in a few runs.
But don't ever put
me in this spot again.
Dad, what about my equipment?
Oh, yeah.
Well, I think I know
the best way to get that.
Run.
I need my mitt, too.
Oh, yeah.
The fellas are pretty sore,
but if you run...
Oh, thanks.
I'm not agreeing,
I'm just giving up.
Oh, now wait, honey.
If you don't care what kind
of a person he turns out to be,
I certainly don't, either.
But I do care.
And I also care what the
other boys think of him.
I think that's all part of it.
Honey, I...
I know what I've done
is wrong, in a way.
In a way?
Yes, but remember this, now.
This doesn't change
anything at all.
He knows he still
has his work to do,
he's going to
memorize his piece...
When? Well...
He has to give it
tomorrow morning.
Well, he'll... he'll do it.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Daddy?
Daddy, do you still
wanna know where Bud is?
He just ran over...
No, Kitten, thanks.
And by the way,
where are my groceries?
Huh? Groc... Oh, yeah.
I'm going right away.
Is Mommy disgusted
to you too, Daddy?
Yes, Kitten.
I'm afraid Mommy's
disgusted to me too.
Dinner's almost ready, children.
You better hurry
up and get ready.
Bud! What have you been doing?
Well, you're a mess.
What happened?
Boy, what a shiner!
Oh! How'd you come
out? What was the final...
Bud?
Bud?
What happened? I don't know.
He's certainly
gonna look beautiful
standing up in front of
everyone at church tomorrow
with that black eye.
I don't think I'll go.
I have to go.
I bet Joanie Phillips
that my brother
would make more
mistakes than hers will.
You've got a cinch bet.
Did he eat anything?
Not a whole lot.
Well, did you find out anything?
Not a whole lot.
They lost the game.
That much I found out.
I can't understand
how they lost it, either.
They were doing
fine when I left.
Well, was he in a fight?
Oh, as near as I could find out,
there was some kind
of a general scuffle.
He's all right, though.
He's just got a little
bump on his face.
Well, I'll say one thing,
it's been quite a day.
He's working on
his piece, though.
He's got the book up there.
Mm-hmm.
I don't see Bud anywhere.
Shh.
In fact, I haven't been
able to find him, either.
He's probably on a
freight train to Texas.
Once each year,
we turn the morning service over
to our young
people's department.
This is always an especially
happy occasion for me.
Because I like to
see the young folk
take an active
part in our services
and demonstrate
the spiritual leadership
for which we have so great
a need in the world today.
I like it also
because it gives me a day off.
Our activities this morning
are to be guided
by a very pretty and
very able young lady,
Miss Virginia Harris.
This morning...
This morning we open our program
with a reading entitled
"The Game of Life"
by William Walter Tannen.
It will be given by a member
of the Boy's Advanced Class,
James Anderson Jr.
But he doesn't know it.
Will James Anderson
Jr. Please step forward?
But he started out for church.
Do you suppose that... Look.
"The Game of Life," by
William Walter Tannen.
When we go forth to battle
in the greatest game of all,
we need to go ac... accou...
accoutered well
or be victim of a fall.
Yes, the game of
life is full of strife,
and, um...
Yes, the game of
life is full of strife...
I guess I don't know it, sir.
I was out playing
baseball yesterday
when I should have
been learning it.
I'm sorry, sir.
Wait a minute, Bud.
I'd like to say a word
about that baseball
game, if I may.
I was there, and I saw it.
It was an exciting game.
And it looked as though
our boys, our church team,
was going to win
it, but we didn't.
And I guess you might
say that it was Bud's fault
that we didn't.
I can tell by the
look on your faces
that I had better
explain this more fully.
Well, in case you don't know,
Bud, here, is our catcher
and one of our star players.
But he missed the
first part of the game
because he had to work at home.
But when finally
he got to the game,
he gave our team a real lift.
As a matter of fact,
he batted in enough
runs to tie the score.
Then our opponents came to bat
in the last of the ninth inning.
They had two outs already,
but they also had the
winning run on third base,
ready to score at
the first opportunity.
And soon it came.
The batter hit a good bunt
down toward third base.
The boy on third raced for home,
as Joe Phillips
picked up the ball
and threw it to
Bud at home plate.
And as Bud attempted
to tag the runner,
the umpire declared him out.
And that's when
the trouble started.
There appeared to be a
slight difference of opinion
as to whether Bud had actually
tagged the runner with the ball
or whether he had missed him.
Shall we say by now,
the debate had
become quite physical.
So I finally stepped in
and made a suggestion.
I suggested that
we leave it up to Bud
to tell us whether he
had tagged the boy or not.
If anybody would
know, Bud would.
That wasn't too popular a
suggestion with our opponents.
But they finally deferred
to the integrity of the clergy.
Well, this was a difficult
position to put a boy in.
And judging from
the look on Bud's face,
he felt the full weight of it.
As I watched
Bud's troubled face,
I regretted that I
had burdened him
with such a responsibility.
I could tell that the devil
was standing behind him
whispering to him,
fast and furiously.
But the devil never
had a chance.
Our Bud spoke up.
He said, "No, sir.
I didn't tag him.
That decision cost us the game,
and a very important game.
But we gained a
much greater victory.
There are no medals
for this kind of triumph.
Unless we consider this, um,
mouse as a sort
of a badge of honor.
But the real reward lies herein.
When this boy becomes a man,
he'll be a man on
who we can depend.
I'm proud of this boy.
And his parents whose
handiwork he represents,
can feel proud, too.
As the twig is bent,
so inclined is the tree.
And next time, you
better learn your piece.
Yes, sir.
Bud.
I guess I don't have to tell you
that your father and I were
very proud of you this morning.
I've been wanting to talk to you
about that all day, Mom.
I'm not really a hero.
No?
No, I'm not one at all.
Actually, when I said
I didn't tag that guy,
it was because I
was afraid, sort of.
Afraid? Of what?
I figured Reverend Swain
knew I didn't tag him.
Well, if I said
I did, if I lied,
I was afraid to tell you
and you wouldn't have
any respect for me.
Mom, I couldn't stand that.
I... I know I've been a
lot of trouble to you lately,
and I really made a
mess out of everything,
but... I'm gonna try
and do better, Mom.
Honest, I am. And, Mom...
You know this bow was made
out of genuine lemon wood?
Oh, Bud.
Are you peeking at Bud, Daddy?
Shh.
Daddy, is Bud really a hero?
Well, I don't think there
are really any heroes, Kitten.
There are only mothers
who make it worthwhile
to try to be one.
Closed-Captioned By J.R.
Media Services, Inc. Burbank, CA