The Waltons (1971–1981): Season 5, Episode 20 - The Inferno - full transcript

Hey, wait a minute, I won!

You won? I won it! Listen!
Listen to this. Listen to this.

"You will make travel
plans so you can arrive

"on or before May 5th,
1937, at the Naval..."

Come on, come on!

"at the Naval Air Station
in Lakehurst, New Jersey,

"for the scheduled arrival of the
German airship the Hindenburg!"

Boy, you got to
see this to believe it.

In the spring of
1937, my family and I

were totally unaware that
a truly catastrophic event

was about to take place,



and that I would be
there to witness it.

Sounds like John-Boy's
putting another edition to sleep.

I think it's called
"putting it to bed," honey.

With all that noise, neither
one makes much sense.

It's kind of nice having
some time to ourselves.

Maybe this is what
it's gonna be like,

with Mary Ellen married,
John-Boy working on the newspaper,

Jason at the Dew Drop Inn.

Think you can stand it?

I'm sure gonna try.

Oh, damn it!

Mmm.

I hope you remember
where you left off.

I'll be back in a
little while, Mama.



Where you going?

Just over to visit
Mary Ellen and Curt.

There's nothing
to do around here.

I thought you were
working tomorrow.

That's tomorrow!

I'll be home early, I always
am. Don't worry about me.

I just got through
telling myself

how well this edition
was turning out.

The minute I start
thinking like that,

I know something's
gonna go wrong.

All it is is this pedal,
Son. Snapped right off.

Oh, that's great. I'll never
be able to replace that.

They haven't made
parts for this machine

since Mark Twain
was in the business.

Think I might
be able to weld it.

Well, if you could,
that'd sure save my life.

Your mama'll be
glad to hear that.

You figure it's worth a quarter-page
ad for Walton Lumber Company?

Well, make it a full
half-page, all right?

Good. Good.

I was gonna say a
quarter-page ad for six editions,

but a half-page ad for
six editions'll be just fine.

Yeah, be good.

Hey, now, what have we got here?

Oh, I just thought it would be nice to
have a little candlelight dinner for two.

That sounds great.

Maybe you could slip into
that fancy negligee I bought you.

Maybe, after I do the dishes.

Why don't you
leave 'em in the sink?

Oh, no. Not a patient.

I'll give 'em two aspirins and
tell 'em to call back in the morning.

Hi, Curt, how are you tonight?

Oh, all right, Erin, I guess.

That's good. I haven't
seen Mary Ellen all week.

Yeah, I know how you feel.

Don't look at the arc, Son.

No, I won't.

Daddy?

Is there any way that
you can get people to, uh,

pay up when they owe you money so
that you can take care of your own bills

before the sheriff
comes a-callin'?

Figure that out, you
could write a book.

Well, they didn't cover it in any
of the economics courses I took,

that's for sure.

I think the government
calls it "deficit spending."

Hey, did I tell you I got a
letter from Porter Sims?

I've been sending him The
Chronicle from time to time,

and he sent me this entry blank

for a competition the NPS is
sponsoring for small newspapers.

What's the NPS?

The National Press Service.

They send newspaper
stories and clippings

to papers all over the world.

And every year, they
sponsor this contest

for newspapers with a
limited circulation, like mine.

What can you win?

Oh, cash prizes for
different divisions.

And each winner gets to
cover a special news event,

and... and the story goes in with his
by-line, and all the expenses are paid.

Your name would be
on the story? If I won.

And they'd send it out to all
the papers that the NPS services.

Now, Porter Sims
thinks I ought to submit

those articles I
wrote on Mein Kampf.

Well, he's right. You sure gave
your readers something to think about.

Well, I was real
happy about 'em.

Submit 'em. No harm in trying.

That's true. I
probably won't win,

but if I don't,
who's gonna know?

Mary Ellen.

Hello, Elizabeth.

Shh. Don't disturb
Miss Margaret.

You still play with dolls?

Sure. Dolls are fun.

But I'd rather have a real baby.

Well, one day you will.

That must be a pretty
serious emergency, huh?

Don't bother her, she'll
be through in a minute.

Oh, no, I wouldn't wanna interrupt
anything as important as that

as to ask something
as inconsequential

as why our monthly
statements haven't been sent out.

Here you go. Almost
as good as new.

She left her in the treehouse
and Rover attacked her.

The peacock?

Mmm-hmm. And Jim-Bob's mad. He
says, "Rover shouldn't be eating dolls!"

Well then, don't leave Miss
Margaret outside. Now, go on, scoot.

Mary Ellen, listen, no kidding,

I don't think that you should leave
the account books and those bills

out there for anyone to see.

Well, don't worry
about it, Curt.

I'd hear if anyone came
into the waiting room.

Hey, everybody.
Hot off the press.

Left a couple of copies out
there for your patients to read.

Hey, I didn't know Mrs.
Brimmer owed you for five visits.

Her feet still bothering her?

Oh, it's just Ben, Curt.
He won't tell anyone.

Hey, now, wait a minute.
What do you mean, "just Ben"?

Do you realize I'm the circulation
manager and the advertising director

of the largest-growing weekly
in the Blue Ridge Mountains?

Looks like John-Boy's printing
press is working all right.

Oh, yeah. We've gotten two
editions out since Daddy's fixed it.

John-Boy heard anything
about that contest?

No. He's just
about given up on it.

Hasn't heard anything.

Hey, how do you like this ad over
here for the Jarvis Used Car Lot?

New layout.

It's all right, if you like used
car ads. How's Darlene?

Oh, she's doing great. We're
thinking about going steady.

Why, Ben Walton!

I had no idea things had worked
out that well between you and Darlene.

Oh, yeah. We go out in the evening
for a walk, and then we park a little.

Whoa, Ben.

Now, this is a fascinating
conversation, which I don't seem to follow.

How do you park and
take a girl out for a walk?

Well, that's easy.

Darlene can get the keys to her
daddy's used cars on his car lot.

The big LaSalle's
the prettiest, though.

You should see the
beautiful blue... That did it.

That did it.

It's time to peddle
your papers, Ben.

Now, wait a second.
You getting rid of me?

No, no, I'm just gonna
show you the door.

And there it is.

And the outside is the
first door to the right.

Hey, I know when I'm not wanted.

Goodbye, Ben.

Ben was just trying
to be sociable.

And I'm just trying to run a
doctor's office, not a tea room.

Well, just don't go
picking on my family.

Well, they're my
family, too, aren't they?

They came in the same
package with you, the whole clan!

What's that supposed to mean?

Oh, Mary Ellen, just...

Stamp the envelopes!

Jim-Bob, I told you to go
get your daddy for supper.

Yes, Mama. No, wait a minute.
I was just gonna beat him!

Ben, you go get John-Boy.
He's up in his room.

Yes, ma'am. Miss Elizabeth,

I thought you were gonna
help Erin set the table?

Hey.

How's Grandma?

Great. Oh, she's fine.

She ordered us out of the
hospital, told us to come on home.

She gave me a list of things
as long as my arm to do.

Said I had to tie up
the red raspberries,

divide the yellow violets
and the perennials,

dust the bureaus.

She told me to remind you

it's time to turn
the mattresses.

She's feeling better.

Oh, yeah. Oh, she surely is.

We'd have been here before

except for a little surprise
down at Ike Godsey's.

A special delivery from the National
News Service, New York, New York.

For John Walton, Jr.

Hey, I'm comin', I'm comin'.

Mama, I got a big test tomorrow,
and I was wondering if you could...

Oh, Lord, that's it.

I don't think the Good Lord
is gonna tell you what's in it.

Open it up. I'm gonna open it!

Hey, aren't we eating a
little... What's going on?

Special delivery, Daddy. Just
came into Ike's on the last mail run.

Wait a minute. Hey,
wait a minute! I won!

You won? I won it! Listen!
Listen to this. Listen to this.

"Dear Mr. Walton, congratulations,
you have won your division. $25."

Congratulations!

Isn't there more to
it than cash, though?

Yeah, the assignment, of course.

Well, are you gonna go to
London for the coronation?

He can go to Spain
for the civil war!

No, listen, listen.

"Enclosed is a check to cover the travel
expense for your feature assignment,

"which will be to interview
arriving passengers

"who have just completed
a trans-Atlantic flight

"from Germany to
the United States.

"You will make travel
plans so you can arrive

"on or before May 5th,
1937, at the Naval..."

Come on, come on!

"at the Naval Air Station
in Lakehurst, New Jersey,

"for the scheduled arrival of the
German airship the Hindenburg!"

Congratulations!

Hey, fellas, there's
an article in Collier's

by a man who rode
on the Hindenburg.

And I'm gonna
read it on the bus.

That's a good idea. Yeah.

Think you'll be able
to get there on time?

Oh, well, um, according to
the weather forecast, now,

there's a storm front coming
in from the Great Lakes,

so that could slow us
down a bit, of course.

Why don't we drive you?
Then we can all go together!

Oh, I wish you could. But you gotta
stay and take care of the press, you know.

Yeah, you've gotta
write such a good article,

we'll be able to see
it like we're there.

Well, I'm sure gonna
try, sure gonna try.

At least you'll be
starting out on time.

Yeah, I hope. I can't
find my ticket, though.

I don't know... I've got it.

Thank you. No.

You gotta order
that bold-face type.

Okay, Ben? I sure will.

And if there's any advertising,

you just go right ahead and
take care of it. Thank you.

We'll be thinking of you.
All right, I'll see you later.

John-Boy? What?

Your suitcase. Oh!

Nothing wrong with me, is there?

No. Okay.

Good luck. Have a good trip.

Thank you.

Bye. See you later!

He sure is some lucky guy.

It wasn't luck. He's
worked hard for this.

Yeah, but getting an
assignment like the Hindenburg.

I'd call that luck.

Come on, let's go.

Hold him still, Mary Ellen.

Ah! He bit me!

Grab him by the neck.

Not too tight, you
might hurt him.

Thanks a lot, Curt.

Oh, hi, Mrs. Brimmer.

Hi, Jim-Bob.

Rover had a splinter in his
foot, and Curt got it out for me.

It was the bird that
was screaming?

Rover's nice to look at,
but not much to listen to.

See you later, Mrs. Brimmer.

Bye, Jim-Bob.

I don't mind treating the
whole Walton family, Mary Ellen,

but I'll tell you, I gotta draw
the line at repairing dolls

and operating on
a stupid peacock.

Well, you knew I
had a big family.

Yep. But I didn't know that
they'd be here before, during,

and after office hours.

Well, what do you want me to do,

close the doors on them?

Anybody home?

Nobody but us
chickens, Mrs. Brimmer.

You got chickens in here, too?

It is my considered
opinion, Joe,

that the Nazis don't fill that
big old fat bag up with hydrogen.

They just park it near where
Herr Hitler's giving his speeches,

and all that hot air from Der
Fuhrer fills it up from stem to stern.

Well, that might be, Stu,

but it's good for business
here in Lakehurst.

Mr. Stuart Henry?

Yeah.

Oh, boy, am I glad you're here.

We had a storm on the way
in, and the bus broke down,

and I'm half a
day late. I'm sorry.

My name's John Walton, Jr.

Something told me
you just might be.

Oh, well, thank you very
much for waiting. I appreciate it.

Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't
exactly just wait for you, John,

but our leviathan of the skyways is
floating around somewhere up there,

waiting for the
weather to clear.

That's the same storm
front that hit the bus.

Hmm.

My motto? "Take the train."

Well, I'd reckon we ought to
be out on the landing field, huh?

Nah, nah, we got plenty of
time. Sit down, have a drink.

Hey, Joe, get this
boy a drink, will you?

No, thank you
very much. I'll wait.

Suit yourself.

What do you know about
the Hindenburg, John?

Well, just what I've been reading
in the magazines and such.

Well, don't you
believe half of it.

Hitler's using that
for propaganda,

just like he did the
Olympics a year ago.

Oh, I'm aware of that fact.

Listen, don't get me wrong, I don't
approve of anything that man does,

but this is gonna
make aviation history,

and as far as I'm concerned, that
makes it a very important event.

Well, maybe.

But nonetheless, it cost
'em a fortune to build,

it's costing 'em a
fortune to operate.

And they're so
scared of sabotage

that they got a whole troop
of secret service men aboard.

Come to think of it, it wouldn't
take much to blow it up,

with all that hydrogen
gas they carry onboard.

Stu, your buddy out at the Navy
base says to tell you it's time.

Ah, good. Oh, great, great.

Maybe I ought to get us a taxi.

Well, why don't we
just go in my car?

Oh, sure. Okay. I just wanna get
there and get the story, that's all.

Well, that makes two of us.

Joe,

keep my stool warm, I'll
be back in about an hour.

Hey, kid, relax, will you?

You're gonna get
there in plenty of time

to interview your passengers.

The customs men
have to go aboard

and check everybody out
anyway before they get off the ship.

Well, aren't we gonna get there in
time to watch it come in for the mooring?

The hard-news story's mine, kid.

Oh, I know that. I just wanna
see it come in, that's all.

I know.

Don't worry.

I know a thousand
shortcuts around this town.

And I just happen to know a gate
that'll get us right down to the field.

You know, you
gotta learn to relax,

enjoy yourself a little bit.

Good God!

Will you look at that?

I told you we'd be
here in plenty of time.

Oh, boy, you got to
see this to believe it.

I'm not sure I believe it yet.

Oh, no. Thank you
very much. Thank you.

Oh, my God.

Jason.

I'm glad you're here.

Me, too.

Let's go home, brother.

Yeah.

The Progress says
35 has perished.

No telling how many
are hurt or dying.

Worst tragedy in the
history of air travel.

It's a miracle anyone survived.

I shudder when I think of
John-Boy just being there.

Dangerous place
to be, all right.

I hear them. You think?

Oh, it is.

You all right?
Yeah, I'm all right.

I tried to get some
sleep on the bus,

but I swear it had
square wheels.

You shouldn't have
waited up for me, Grandpa.

Oh, your mother did her best to get
me to go to bed with the young 'uns,

but I wouldn't miss staying up
to see the reporter come home

with the story of the year.

People coming from all over
to ask if we heard from you.

Well, I'm sorry I didn't get
in touch with you sooner.

I fixed you a sandwich.

Have something to eat
and then we'll all get to bed.

All right.

Well, the bus was
right on time, anyway.

Well, I remember
the bus one time

when your grandma and I went to see
Bertha's wedding over in Hickory Creek,

and the bus was so long coming
that, by the time we got there,

Bertha was not only
married, but expecting.

Better not let Grandma
hear you tell that story.

Oh! I haven't had cocoa

since the night before my
high school debating finals.

It'll help you sleep
tonight, just like it did then.

Feel like I've been
gone 100 years.

Must have been awful.

Yeah, it was.

We heard all about it this
afternoon on the Blue Network.

They still haven't figured
out exactly what happened.

They say it's the end
of travel by dirigible.

I don't think anyone'll
wanna go on it.

I know Esther wouldn't.

When's your story
coming out, Son?

Next week, I guess.
The deadline is Tuesday.

Maybe you ought to
give yourself a few days

before you try to write
about an experience like that.

Hmm.

I'd like to.

If I was writing a
book, maybe I could,

but this is a piece
of journalism,

and it doesn't work that way,

I gotta get it out
while it's still news,

or else it's not worth anything.

I'll start on it
tomorrow, I guess.

No telling what surprises
tomorrow might bring.

I'd like to be surprised
with a good night's sleep.

John-Boy.

Thank you. Good night, Mama.

That goes for me, too.

Good night, everybody.

Good night. JOHN: Good night.

Good night, Daddy. See you
in the morning. Good night, Son.

"Shall I compare thee
to a summer's day?

"Thou art more
temperate and more fair."

Shakespeare? Yeah.

We're gonna lie under
a tree all afternoon,

and I'm gonna
read sonnets to you.

Mmm!

And don't forget, I like lots
of onions in my potato salad.

What's got you feeling so
romantic all of a sudden?

Well, it's spring, and you're
beautiful, and we're going on a picnic.

Last picnic we had,
you were with Miss Nora.

Yeah, and you were
with old what's-his-name.

Funny, I can't seem to remember.

It's nice the way
things worked out, huh?

Very nice.

I'll just put old Mr. Shakespeare in
here beside the tuna sandwiches.

Honey,

you've got more than a
dozen deviled eggs here.

Oh, I figured two apiece.

Well, I'm no
mathematical genius,

but by my count, two apiece
would come to four deviled eggs.

Well, Jim-Bob and Patsy and
Elizabeth and Aimee wanna come, too.

Well, I couldn't
very well say no.

Why not?

Because it would
have hurt their feelings.

And what about my feelings?

I didn't think you'd mind.

Honey, I married you, not
Jim-Bob and Erin and Ben.

Every time I turn around,

Grandpa's coming over here to
talk about the Spanish-American War,

or Jason wants to
play us his new song.

I can't stop being part of my
family just because we're married.

If you love me, you
better love them, too.

I do love them.

All I'm asking is a little time alone
with you. Today, like we planned.

Well, I can't very
well get out of it now.

Besides, Jim-Bob said Ben was
gonna see if Darlene could come, too.

I don't believe it!

This family is like an octopus.

Sometimes I feel like
I'm being swallowed alive.

Curt Willard, that is the ugliest
thing anybody ever said to me!

Mary Ellen, are we going
on that picnic together or not?

If you go without Elizabeth and
Jim-Bob, you can go without me.

You don't mind if I take my
share of the deviled eggs, do you?

I'll see you, Mary Ellen.

Yeah, come in.

Hello, Grandpa.

Missed you for supper.

Oh, that's all right, Mama
brought some stuff up. Come on in.

No, I can't. It's about that
surprise I told you about last night.

What surprise?

You come on down to the
parlor and you'll find out.

Grandpa, look, I'm sorry, I don't
have any time to go anywhere.

I've gotta work on this thing.

Oh, no, it won't
take just a minute.

Do you good to get
away from that story.

We'll be waiting for you.

Wait a minute. Who's "we"?

You got a party going on here?

Ike, you're the
chairman. You tell him.

Well, John-Boy, as you know,

Walton's Mountain is just
a wide spot in the road,

and... and unpaved, at that.

And it isn't very often
that one of our citizens

gets a chance to go out into
the world and be recognized.

Ashley Longworth
went out into the world.

Although he never came back.

I'm afraid he
doesn't count, dear.

A lot of your friends and neighbors
would like to be here tonight,

but, of course, it
wasn't practical,

and so, Mrs. Brimmer and the
Baldwin ladies and myself were chosen

to give you a little
token of our esteem.

Mrs. Brimmer?

John-Boy, I speak for
the entire community

when I tell you how
proud we all are of you.

The Hindenburg accident is probably
gonna be the biggest story of the year,

and when your byline,
"John Walton, Jr.,"

appears in newspapers
all across the country,

well, we here in
Walton's Mountain

are just gonna be
busting with pride!

Hear, hear!

And so,

"Whereas John Walton, Jr. has
brought honor to this community

"through his continued
journalistic achievements..."

This is written by Corabeth.

"we, the people in
Walton's Mountain,

"present him
with this certificate

"expressing our...

"Our deep appreciation."

Everybody, all your friends and
neighbors, signed it, John-Boy.

And Yancy Tucker's "X"
is right there at the bottom.

And Sister did the
lettering and the curlicues,

a skill she mastered at Miss
Theobald's Seminary for Young Ladies.

Miss Theobald never could
abide poor penmanship.

You don't have to say anything
if you don't want to, John-Boy.

Unless you wanna give us a
sneak preview of the big story.

Why don't you,
John-Boy? That'd be great!

He's been up in his
room working on it all day.

Was it gruesome? JOHN: Jim-Bob.

It sure sounded
gruesome on the radio.

The announcer was crying.

Why don't we wait until John-Boy
has a chance to write the story?

That's a real good idea. See, I
haven't anywhere near finished it yet.

Perhaps in your own words,
just the way you saw it?

Oh, please, John-Boy?
Oh, that's be great. Please?

We'd love to hear it. You
don't know how many people

call the telephone
office asking about it.

Yeah, come on, tell us
the story. Tell us the story.

All right, you want
me to tell you about it?

I'll tell you exactly
what happened.

I was standing out there
with hundreds of other people.

We were looking up at this thing

like it was some kind
of miracle from heaven.

And it blew up, and a
lot of people were killed!

Does that make any sense to you?

Is that what you wanted to hear?

I'm sorry.

Excuse me.

Mrs. Brimmer
brought over a cake.

She wanted you to have a piece.

Well, I appreciate it.

Remember you used to go over to
her house every day after school?

Yeah, just about.

Pretended you wanted to
show her your arithmetic,

but really what you were
after was a piece of cake?

She saw right through me, huh?

They gone home?

Yep. Children are all in bed.

Well, Daddy, I know we
got real good neighbors.

And I'm sorry if
I let them down.

Their timing is
off, is all, Son.

Well, this was a big
opportunity for me.

I know that.

I look for material
all over the place.

And I write what I see,
and I write what I feel.

But what I saw and what
I felt, I cannot write about.

I've tried, and I can't
even start to write about it.

I don't know much
about writing, Son,

but I do know
about cutting wood.

And when the saw breaks down,

I just gotta close
down business.

If I can't fill an order,

I just gotta say to myself,
"I've done my best."

Well, thanks for the cake.

Night. Good night.

Ever wanna fall into bed
with all your clothes on?

And not wake up for a month?

It's been that kind of a day.

Jason says John-Boy's upset.

He doesn't like letting
people down, I guess.

Remember when all we worried about was
whether he was gonna get his second teeth?

Mmm-hmm.

That was important then.

And this is important now.

It's funny.

You never stop being a parent,

even when they
stop being children.

And the bigger they get,

the bigger the heartaches.

Mary Ellen's back.

I guess she and
Curt had a fight.

I think it was a bad one.

He left home, and
he hasn't been back.

Oh, Lord.

Poor Mary Ellen.

Poor John-Boy.

Poor John.

"Poor John" nothing!

Hey, Daddy?

Morning!

You heading up the mountain?

Thought I might. Everyone
else is going to church.

You mind if I come along?

Come on!

Thought I heard a
typewriter this morning.

Yeah.

I gotta send a letter to the NPS

explaining why they won't
be receiving my article.

I can't even seem to write that.

Morning, Mary Ellen.

Morning, Mama.

Thought I might as
well start breakfast.

Don't you think you ought to
be home fixing Curt's breakfast?

I don't even know
if Curt is home.

Well, if I were you,
I'd sure wanna find out.

You wanna tell me about it?

Well, if that's Curt, he's sure
got some explaining to do.

Olivia, is Mary Ellen
here? Mmm-hmm.

Can I come in? Mmm-hmm.

I figured I'd find you here.

I'm surprised you care.

Uh, if you, uh...

If you wanna know where
I've been since yesterday,

uh, my car broke
down up on the ridge,

where I went to
be alone by myself

because I couldn't
be alone with you,

and... Do you know
how far it is up there?

Well, anyway, I, uh...

I walked back,
tired, cold, hungry,

to find that my wife had gone
running back to her mama.

Am I supposed to
feel sorry for you?

If you two are gonna
continue your fight,

I'd appreciate it if you'd
do it someplace else.

No, Mama. I think you
ought to know what it is.

It's the family.

Curt's never had
a family before,

and he doesn't
know what it means.

Oh, yeah. I certainly do.

I do. It... It means Erin dropping
in whenever she has a mind to.

It means doctoring a peacock who
doesn't even have an appointment.

It means never being able
to count on being alone.

There are ways.

When John and I were newlyweds, we
were living with Grandma and Grandpa,

and it seemed like sometimes
they just went out of their way

to keep us from
being alone together.

We'd plan a trip to Rockfish,

and Grandma would suddenly
remember that she had to go to the dentist.

Or we'd go off into the
barn for a little private talk,

and Grandpa would come
in and get the milk pail.

They weren't doing it on purpose,
but it sure seemed that way.

I got so full of
spiteful feelings.

Sometimes the only
way I could get through

was to keep thinking about
that house in the mountain

that John was
gonna build for us.

He never did build
it, though, Mama.

Just had to get used
to having family around.

It was a whole lot easier once
your daddy fixed a way for us

to be alone together
at least part of the time.

Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd
let me know how he did that.

Grandma gave me a potted
geranium when I moved in here.

It was a spindly little thing.

And stubborn!

No matter what I did to that
plant, it just refused to bloom.

Anyway, when John put that
plant on the front porch railing,

it meant that nobody was
to look for us anywhere.

It worked?

It worked.

Maybe, uh, maybe we
should get a geranium.

I think I ought to warn you,

a couple of afternoons
on that front porch,

and that geranium started to
bloom, and kept right on blooming.

There's nothing
wrong with that, either.

Mary Ellen, are you about
ready to come home with me?

This tree was struck by
lightning, same as me.

Difference is, it
was fatal for the tree.

I been meaning to get
it down for two years.

Let's go to work.

"Lakehurst, New Jersey,

"for the scheduled arrival of the
German airship the Hindenburg!"

Watch it, Son! Here she comes!

Well, I was beginning
to think the only things

my hands were good
for was setting type.

It's good to do this kind of
work every now and then.

Something wrong with your arm?

Oh.

Yeah, I, uh, I got a burn.

I forgot about that.

You know, Son, I was at Verdun.

There was a million
men killed there.

One of them was my best friend.

It's a lot of suffering, no
matter how you look at it.

I remember thinking the
other night at Lakehurst

how I was lucky to be alive,

how I was lucky to be witnessing

a historic moment like that.

I was saying to myself, "If men
can truly tame the skies in this way,

"it's a wonderful thing."

If you wanna know the truth,

when I saw the first flash,
I thought it was fireworks.

I mean, I thought
they were sending up

fireworks, it was some
kind of a celebration.

But then the whole
thing went up.

Daddy, I mean, it blew up.

It was like the biggest bomb
you ever saw in your life.

It lit up the whole sky.

And the tail end of it

started to melt into the ground,

and the front end of it
come up in the air like that,

it was like a big whale
coming up out of the water.

And then people
started jumping out of it,

and then everybody
started screaming.

The people in the air, falling
through the air, were screaming,

and people on the ground
waiting for them were screaming.

And it kept twisting
around. It was like...

It just kept twisting, and nobody
knew where it was gonna come down.

So everybody started
running away from it.

And pieces of it were
flying through the air,

and underneath it you could see where
the steel was getting white from the heat.

It was just white-hot.

And I said to myself,
"They're all gonna die in there!

"Nobody's gonna
live through this!"

But then people
started coming out of it.

I mean, they started running
out through the flames,

and through the...
Through the girders,

and... and their
hair was on fire,

and their clothes were on fire.

And that's when everybody
started to run towards it,

you know, the sailors,
and the ground crew,

and I did myself. We all went up there
and tried to pull people away from it.

And there was a woman.

And this woman had fallen into
the sand. And the sand was so hot

you couldn't even put your
feet on it, hardly, to walk there.

And this sailor and I
picked this woman up.

And when we picked her up,
we saw that she was burned.

I mean, she was
really burned bad.

And she was talking
to us in German.

She was trying to say
something to us in German.

And I couldn't understand
what she was saying to me.

And I told her. I said, "I
don't understand you."

And then I kept saying it
over and over to myself.

"I don't understand it.

"I don't understand it."

I think you can
write your story now.

Finished your story?

Yeah, I did.

I figure if I mail it airmail special
delivery from Charlottesville,

it might get there in time.

It'd sure make me proud to see
your name under that headline.

Mama says come
go to town with me.

Oh, no, No, that darn goat's
knocked down the garden fence.

She can't possibly know
all the work I've got to do.

Go ahead, Pa. Do you good.

No, I couldn't possibly
quit work today.

Oh, on the other hand,
'tis a handsome spring day.

A body ought to be able to
quit whatever they're doing

and drop work at
a minute's notice.

We'll surprise
Grandma. All right.

Where'd you get the geranium?

A present from Curt.

Looks to me like we're alone.

The children are in school,

John-Boy and Grandpa are gone.

I guess we are.

Know what I think I'll do?

Think I'll take the
rest of the morning off.

Pretty!

Forty years have passed,

but that house still stands,

and the solace and comfort and
love we knew there as children

continue to sustain
us to this day.

Erin, are Curt and Mary
Ellen ever gonna have a baby?

Well, I think that's their
business, Elizabeth.

I hope she has a little girl,

so I can be Aunt Elizabeth.

If it's a boy, are you
gonna be Uncle Elizabeth?

No, silly, you will!

I'll be Uncle Elizabeth?

No, you'll be Aunt Jim-Bob.

And you'll be Aunty Ben!

Good night, Uncle Erin.

Good night, Aunt Jason.

Good night, Uncle!

I'm sorry I asked!