Original subtitles

At one time or another in the course of our lives...

many of us have experienced an event or occurrence...

which could not be explained...

and at the same time was shrugged off as a coincidence

or a trick of the mind.

I remember a series of such events,

and even today, many years later...

I still can't help wondering just how much of

it was coincidence.

It all started one afternoon in late fall.

-Hey, Mike. -Hmm.

Did your wife have the pleurisy last winter?

Yeah.

Come all this rain and mud, I believe I got a touch of it

myself and I can't hardly get my air.

Well, Horace, I can tell you what Mavis used.

What was that?

She larded herself down real good.

Some of them...mutton tallow poultices.

-You know? -Nope.

I believe I'll just keep the pleurisy.

That oldest boy of John Walton's has sure growed.

How many they got over there by now?

By the last count, I believe they're seven.

That one, he don't look like the rest of them.

No, he don't. But may be that he's not one of their clan.

Luke, let's see the puppies.

Hi, Mr. Roswell.

-John-Boy. -Howdy.

Roswell, Brimley.

How's everything over at your place, son?

Pretty fair. How about over by you?

-Can't complain. -Great.

That young fellow with Elizabeth,

he don't belong to y'all, does he?

That's Tom Enwright's boy.

We're just taking care of him till Tom finds a home.

Tough on Tom...

losing his wife and trying to raise that kid all by himself.

It's true. He hasn't worked in a long time, to boot.

I'm going to see if there's any mail. I'll see you later.

Ike.

-Iky? -What do you want, John-Boy?

-Is there a letter for Luke. -No, there's no mail today.

-Where are you? -Right here.

We're here, John-Boy.

We needed a flat surface

and an isolated place where we might concentrate.

What are you doing?

We're not playing pool, if that's what you suspect.

We're consulting the spirit board.

You ask it questions, and by means of this indicator,

it answers you.

Spirit boards are all the rage in New York City.

Papa forbade us ever to have one in the house.

So whenever we have a perplexing question, we come down here

and Mr. Godsey let's us use this one, don't you know?

I sure do.

Now, Mr. Godsey, don't break the concentration.

-I'm sorry. -What are you trying to find?

-What to do. -About what?

-Mason jars. -Mason jars?

A gentleman in Charlottesville has offered to supply us

-with Mason jars at the-- -Wholesale price.

So we're trying to decide whether to buy our jars from

Mr. Godsey at the retail price.

Ah your, helping with this decision, are you, Ike?

Just lending a hand.

Join us, John-boy, you'll help us, too.

-Is it alright? -Yes.

Good.

-What do I do? -Put your hand on this board.

Now, concentrate on the question.

Why don't you ask the question, Miss Emily?

It's not my turn. It's Mamie's.

No, dear, it's yours. You've forgotten?

Remember that dreadful day we both forgot one of

the chief ingredients of the Recipe.

The Recipe is written down

and in a safe-deposit box in the bank in Charlottesville.

But this day, the bank was closed,

so we consulted the spirit board.

And in the twinkling of an eye, it spelled out the answer.

-Fourteen level tablespoons-- -Sister!

I'm sorry.

Why don't you tell them what it said when

you asked about Ashley Longworth?

I don't believe I'm up to discussing

Ashley Longworth today, sister.

I'm feeling very sentimental, and...

-I'd rather not discuss him. -Well, that's up to you, dear.

What's up to me?

Whether you want to ask about Ashley Longworth.

No.

What you've got to decide is whether you're going

to order Mason jars today.

Oh, dear, Mr. Godsey, now you have broken the concentration.

I'm sure we can get it together again.

I think I've lost it.

Yeah. So have I.

I think it would be better if we pursued our quest tomorrow.

Well, ta-ta, Mr. Godsey.

(All) Ta-ta, ta-ta.

Sister, I think it might hurt Mr. Godsey if we get

our jars from Charlottesville.

We'll let the spirit board decide.

Then we can make it up to Mr. Godsey in other ways.

-Do something for me. -What?

I want you to take this home.

I don't have money to spend on that.

It won't cost you anything. It's free.

-Why? -You just heard the ladies.

They come in and talk to this thing every day.

It's costing me business. They are here for hours and hours.

Ike, if they like it so much, I don't wanna take it from them.

-No, I just can't. -John-Boy, please?

-Will you take it for me? -Okay, I'll take it.

Don't tell them it's at my house.

If they want to play, we'll bring it back.

-Come on, Elizabeth. -Look how they've grown.

Watch out now. Charity might bite at you.

Charity won't bite me. She knows I like her puppies.

You want to hold one, Luke?

You'd think with the trouble Charity has put me through

sneaking in here, having her babies here on the premises...

you'd think at least have the courtesy to stop growling at me.

What are you gonna do with the puppies, Mr. Godsey?

They're all spoken for, except that one skinny one.

From the looks of it, I don't think anybody would want it.

Can I take him?

-You'll have to ask your daddy. -You think he will?

You better ask him.

Come on, we'd better go home now. Come on, Luke.

Let's go, Luke, come on. No pokes, she wants out.

Come on, little baby, you get back. You get back too.

Just be quiet and let me eat my cake, alright?

[indistinct chattering]

Could you imagine that?

The Baldwin sisters were sitting at this table

asking this board if they should buy their Mason jars

from Ike's or in Charlottesville.

I know he was trying to push it over to "yes."

It wouldn't move 'cause they had their hands on it.

She thinks you've a great future in music

and you two will tour the world.??

-Not with her, I'm not. -Can I have some milk?

-I suppose so. -I know Jason can. He's in love.

-Where did you hear that, Liv? -Becca Birdwell told me.

And she heard it from Rosa Paulett.

Big boy.

-I heard you two fought, Ben? -I did not.

-An old-fashioned Ouija board. -No, it's called a spirit board.

We used to have that. My own grandmother used to.

Really?

-I'd hate to tell him. -So would I.

They answer. Somebody ask a question.

That way you can tell the question, see?

-What's that? -It's a spirit board.

Ike gave it to me.

Here, listen.

"Transport yourself into the unknown.

"The origins of this board are as old and mysterious

" as the pyramids themselves.

"With its help, you will practice the ancient art...

"of mind reading and clairvoyance."

-Clair who? -Clairvoyance.

"Messages from the past, into the future will be yours.

"Do not store in a damp place."

It's very serious. It's very serious.

You speak to the spirit world and foretell the future.

What's the spirit world?

It's a place where ghosts and goblins live.

They walk around with no clothes on their bones.

-Eyes as dark as the moon. -Don't scare her.

You summon them up and they answer your questions.

That's all there is to it.

-Let see if it works. -Let's try it.

-Can we play with it, John-Boy? -That's what it's for.

I can't say I care much for that thing.

It's just a game, Liv.

Don't sound like a game to me.

Fooling the spirits, disturbing the dead.

I agree with grandma.

"And on her way she met Henny Penny.

'Where you going, Chicken Lickin'?' "asked Henny Penny.

"'The sky is falling. I'm gonna tell the king,

'said Chicken Lickin'."

-Come on, Spirit, answer! -Ben, don't talk to it that way.

-You'll hurt its feelings. -It's not workin--

Mary Ellen, ask again.

What is your name, Spirit?

-What's your name, Spirit? -You gotta concentrate.

-But it's not working. -You gotta be patient with it.

We've been patient.

-Come on, ask it again. -Spirit, what is your name?

Hey, it's moving!

-A. -Write it down, Erin.

See, it works if you ask it nicely.

-Write it down, Erin. A. -A.

-You're pushing it. -No, I'm not pushing it. R.

-T. -T.

-H. -H.

-A. -A.

-What is it? -Look.

Artha?

Artha! His name is Artha.

Wait a minute, it's not finished.

G.

C?

"And you come...." Here, listen.

"So Henny Penny and Chicken Lickin' hurried off together.

"Soon they met Cockey Lockey."

-P. -P.

-What is that, T? -No, it's a U.

-What does that spell? -Don't ask me.

-"Art...." No. -What is it?

"Artha...."

-What is it? -"Arthapuf"?

"Arthazapuf"?

"Arthahathipuf."

-It's Art Hatzipuf! -Of course, he's a friend.

Hellow, Art Hatzipuf!

"Soon they met Turkey Lurkey.

'Where are you going, Chicken Lickin'?'"

Come on.

It's you fault Ben.

With a name like Art Hatzipuf, what do you expect?

You did it, you idiot!

Stop, stop, stop.

-What's going on? -What makes it work, daddy?

-I reckon somebody's pushing it. -Nobody's pushing it.

It's supposed to work from the heat from your hands,

or body electricity or something.

Maybe.

But I bet you Ben's pushing it.

-Let's ask it something. -Like what?

-Like, will I marry a rich man. -I can tell you that.

O-L-D-M-A-I-D.

Old maid!

Why, you young dickens, you!

Alright, alright, that's it. Stop it! Stop it!

Put that thing away.

You've played with it enough for one night.

-Come on, Luke. -Good night.

-Good night, Mama. -Good night, Ben. Up you go.

-I'll be up in a while. -Good night, Mama.

Good night, sweetheart.

[indistinct chattering]

"Chicken Lickin', Henny Penny, Cockey Lockey, Drakey Lakey...

"Goosey Lucy."

Come on. Jason, hold the other end.

Oh, Yeah.

Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, what are you doing here.

-Good night, Elizabeth. -Good night.

Those poor animals.

You know, it is a funny thing...

...that that boy Luke and this spirit board

are here at the same time.

Well, why is that, Grandpa?

Something happened over at the Enwright house four, five

years back, just after his mother Alice had passed on.

I remember you coming home from there all upset, Liv.

What happened, Mama?

You remember what happened over there, Livie.

I don't believe the stories that went around, Grandpa.

Had something to do with Luke's birthday party

and something strange happening.

Something strange, alright but I just can't seem to

recollect the full particulars.

It was just a bunch of nonsense.

Daddy, Mommy,

Jim-Bob says there's a ghost up in the closet

with no clothes on his bones.

I better see what those children are up to. Come on.

I sure do wish I could recollect the full particulars.

Come on, old man, I think you've had enough hauntings for today.

You can't be too sure of that.

-Stop it! Come on. -Yes, ma'am.

-Good night. -Good night grandma, grandpa.

Spirit, are you there?

Spirit, are you there?

There it goes. It's moving!

What should I ask it now?

-Ask it its name. -No, everybody asks it its name.

Let me see. Let me see.

Spirit, will I ever write...

the great American novel?

"Farewell"?

It said farewell.

Well, It's a fraud!

Hey, it moved.

-No, you're just cold. -I felt it.

You're pushing it.

-I felt it move. -Put your hands on there, try.

Yeah!

Okay. You ask it something now.

It moved for you. So you ask.

Do you have a message for John-Boy?

"Never."

-Oh, boy. -Okay, ask it something else.

Do you have a message for me?

This is Jason.

It's not going anywhere.

I guess that's a no, huh?

Who do you have a message for?

What's that?

L.

-Sorry, Spirit. -Put your hands back on it.

-U. -U.

-K. -K.

-E.

LUKE.

-You have not. -Have, too.

When we took Mama and Daddy on their honeymoon

we went through Richmond.

Yeah, I forgot.

Daddy took us down Monument Ave.

Then we went to the Capitol to see the government.

Got out and walked around and everything.

I fed a squirrel.

Something funny about those city people, though.

They dress up like every day was Sunday and they walk real fast.

You'll have to dress up when you go to Richmond, too.

My daddy says we'll ride a streetcar.

I've seen one of those. They go about 6 million miles an hour.

Come on, Pa. It's getting late. You're malingering.

Just one more cup.

You're not gonna deny that to your old man, are you?

Nothing I can do till you get there. Guess I'll have one, too.

Jim-Bob, when are you gonna tell Luke all about Richmond?

-Why? -Well....

I wanna tell Daddy something, but I don't wanna miss anything.

-What are you gonna talk about? -You'll see. Come on, Luke.

We're gonna finish that order and get it over there by 11:00?

Sure.

-Daddy? -Yes, honey?

Do you know about Mr. Godsey's puppies?

Do I know about them?

That's all you talked about last night before you went to bed.

That Charity almost took my leg off when I went too

near Ike's pool table.

That's where you were when I thought you were delivering wood

I was picking up mash for the cow.

A likely story.

The puppies aren't mean like Charity. They'd never bite.

'Cause his eyes are barely open.

Wait till he gets some teeth. Then you'll see.

But all the puppies are spoken for, except for him.

-That's because he's a runt. -I thought a runt was a pig.

A runt can be anything, so long as it's smallest of the litter.

-Am I a runt? -No, honey.

You just haven't grown yet.

Would you like me to take the puppy home so you could see him?

No, thank you, Elizabeth.

We'll just go down and look at him. You wanna come, Luke?

Sure. Is that okay, Mrs. Walton?

-Of course. Go along. -Come on, Jim-Bob.

Don't get in Ike's way, now. Luke?

Go, Go on.

Sure am gonna miss Luke when we have to ship him to Richmond.

So is Elizabeth. She really likes that little boy.

-I call it puppy love. -Don't laugh.

Seems we had that, and look what happened.

Mama, when did Luke's mama die?

About five years ago, after the influenza epidemic.

I'm tending to forget what I used to remember.

I laid awake all last night trying to recollect what went

on at that birthday party, Livie.

-What did happen there, Liv? -Nothing.

Mama, do you realize that every time that story crops up

you do your darnedest not to talk about it?

It's 'cause there's nothing to talk about.

I can see nobody's gonna give me any peace until I do, so....

A year after Alice's death, Tom Enwright gave a

birthday party for Luke and I took Jim-Bob.

And?

All during the party, Tom seemed very uneasy.

Kept saying that he felt Alice's presence in the house.

Like she was in the room, wanting to be near Luke.

Is that all that happened?

No.

Several people at the party caught the smell of violets.

What's so strange about that?

Well, nothing.

Except that, ever since she was a girl, she loved violets.

They were her favorite flower.

The next day, Tom told me that when he was cleaning up

he saw something on the floor.

He bent to pick it up...

...and it was a single wild violet.

Couldn't have somebody have brought it in with him

and dropped it, or something?

-Yes. -No.

Now I remember.

It couldn't have been a wild violet. It was February.

And there was several feet of snow on the ground.

??He's probably mad at you.

-He is not. -Could you be quiet?

-What are you up to now? -John-Boy, it's doing it again.

-It's doing what again? -The board is spelling Luke.

-Really? -Yeah.

You talk to it now, John-Boy.

Has it said anything at all about Luke?

No, it just keeps spelling out his name.

Spirit, do you have a message for Luke?

"Perhaps."

Spirit, what is the message?

M.

U.

-S. -That's an S.

T. "Must"!

-Go on. -Wait a minute.

-N. -N.

-O. -O.

T.

-"Must not." -Must not what, Spirit?

What are you children doing?

The spirit board spelled out a message for Luke.

It said, "Luke must not."

Put that thing away and leave it here.

-Don't bring it in the house. -Come on, Ma'ma.

Do as I say!

Don't you mention this to Luke. He's young and it'll upset him.

-Come on. -I'll put it away. You go in.

Get going.

-Ma'ma, What's the matter? -Nothing.

Is it that story about Luke's mama

that's got you upset?

-I don't believe that story. -Then what is it?

It's that board.

You all sound like a bunch of heathens, asking it questions.

-You got a problem, Son? -Ah.

Mama's all upset about this board.

Is it forecasting the end of the world?

No, but it keeps spelling out Luke's name over and over.

Alice Enwright was your mama's best friend.

Probably doesn't like you playing that game

especially with Luke here.

I know it sounds crazy but...

...I'm not so sure it's just a game anymore.

That thing seems to be trying to give us a message about Luke.

Don't be foolish, Son.

You're making nothing with a piece of wood here.

There are a lot of people who take these things seriously.

I don't want you upsetting your mom anymore, John-Boy.

If it were up to me, I'd throw this thing out.

It gives me the spooks.

I don't wanna upset Mama...

...but I can't throw this out. I don't know what it is.

I gotta find out more about this.

Abraham?

Anson.

Anker?

Andy.

No.

Alfonse.

That's not even a name.

Yes, it is. He isn't yours, anyway, not yet.

Daddy will let me have him. I'm sure he will.

Even if he is scrawny and funny-looking.

I'd sure like to have that little runt.

What would you do with him in Richmond?

My daddy says if he found...

a place with a big backyard, I could have him.

Try the B's, Jim-Bob.

-Bozo? -No.

Bumper??

-Daddy? -What is it, honey?

You should have seen Beauregard today.

He looked so lonesome.

-Who's Beauregard? -Charity's youngest son.

That runt under Ike's table, you mean?

He needs a home so bad.

Go ahead to the table. Alright.

You kids are gonna have to start using more soap.

Elizabeth, you have talked about that puppy for days.

Why don't you run along...

and bring Beauregard, or whatever, home with you?

-Really, Grandpa? -Darn tootin'.

Jim-Bob, Luke, come on!

You children, come back here. Sit down and have your supper.

Grandma!

Don't you think John's the one who should decide...

whether the children should have another puppy or not?

The last time I had a dispute with Pa, I was seven years old.

He settled it with a peach tree switch.

You want to tangle with him, Ma, you go ahead.

Thank you, John.

Do you mind if the children have their supper first?

No, Ma.

But right after supper, you kids can go get that puppy.

-Thank you, Daddy. -What about me?

Thank you, Grandpa.

Thank you, young'uns.

Now, come on. Livie will be right down.

Grab hands, we'll have the blessing.

Sorry I'm late. A letter for you, Daddy.

Picked it up at Ike's when I went to get gas.

It's from Luke's daddy.

Come over here, son. You can listen to this.

"Dear John and Olivia.

"Here's Luke's railroad ticket to Richmond.

"Would you put him on evening train from Rockfish on Thursday"

-That's tomorrow. -It sure is.

"I'll meet him this end. I've also put in $1.

"Please give it to Luke so he'll have some money along the way."

-Here's $1 for you, son. -$1 for me?

That's for emergencies, not for frittering away.

"The job is working out just fine, praise be.

"Tell Luke I have found a place for us to live, a rooming house.

"The food is not bad, and there's a big back yard.

"John, I'm right grateful to you...."

The rest is just thanking us for looking after you, son.

I've sure had a time, Mr. Walton.

We've enjoyed having you. Give, I'll will pin it to your jacket.

Go on back there and sit up.

Ben, I think it's your turn to say grace.

-Are you sure it's my turn? -Yes.

Daddy, can we ask the spirit board...

if Beauregard's a good name for the new puppy?

What puppy?

You don't have to ask the spirit board.

If you don't like Beauregard...

name him, Reckless the second. I'll tell you in a minute, Liv.

Packing so early, Grandma?

You pack your suitcase today...

and you won't miss your train tomorrow, I always say.

It's not under there.

-You lost something, Luke? -A picture of my mother.

-It was right there on the desk. -I saw it just this morning.

-Can't find it anywhere now. -Can't have just disappeared.

Somebody must've put it someplace.

Why would anyone do that?

I asked the boys, and they said it was on the desk this morning.

-I saw it, too. -Don't worry. We'll find it.

Elizabeth, come here. Hold that.

You know we looked in the beds.

John-Boy, have you seen that photograph of Luke's mother?

No. I noticed it a couple of days ago.

It's simply vanished. We can't find it anywhere.

That's strange. Well, Grandma's probably packed it.

It's bound to be here somewhere. I'll just have to keep looking.

What are you reading now?

It's called Spiritualism and Science.

I got it at the library. I went into town.

I got all these at the library.

Do you know, at Duke University they're conducting experiments

on extrasensory perception? Scientific experiments.

They're not just playing around.

You know, Mama...

if there's something that I don't understand...

or something that I'm interested in...

I can't help it. I've gotta find out more about it.

John-Boy, I can't stop you reading and learning.

You know how I feel about superstitious stuff

especially now, while Luke....

Now, while what? While Luke's here?

That's got nothing to do with it.

-You sure? -I'm quite sure.

Come on in.

Close the door.

Those books tell you anything?

Pretty technical stuff, but I'm learning some strange things.

Did you know that photograph of Luke's mama is missing?

It was there on the dresser when I woke up this morning.

Listen to this. Come here.

Just listen to this.

Right here.

"Many cases have occurred and been verified...

"where messages have been received...

"and when heeded by the receiver...

"some catastrophe or danger has been avoided."

Think someone's trying to send us a message about Luke?

Maybe I'm crazy...

but I wanna try that board again.

Spirit, are you there?

Are you there, spirit?

-"Perhaps." -Perhaps.

Spirit.

Spirit, who is your message for?

L.

U.

K.

E.

Luke.

Spirit.

Spirit, what do you have to tell Luke?

What do you have to tell Luke, spirit?

T.

R.

A.

I.

N.

-"Train." -Train.

-We know he's going on a train. -Put your hands back on it!

Spirit, are you still there, spirit?

Spirit, what about the train?

What about the train?

Will you kids please hurry up? We're almost home.

Come on, Fibber.

I thought his name was Beauregard.

He looks more like a Fibber.

Whatever his name is, please pick him up...

-or Luke's gonna miss his train. -I'll carry him.

-Can I carry him? -Okay.

Hello, Fibber.

Come on, Luke.

Come on, hurry up.

-Mom's been waiting for you. -What have you got there?

-Isn't he nice? -He's dandy.

Get inside. Mama's been looking for you. The train's gonna go.

His name's Fibber, and he's an Alaskan hound dog.

-What kind of dog is that? -I don't know.

He's a shakin' dog.

As much as I love all of you, I think

Alice Enwright loved Luke even more.

She was about the most devoted mother you could imagine.

-I remember-- -We're here.

Well, and not a moment too soon. It's getting late.

-Luke, you gotta get changed. - Okay, come on, son.

There was a hole in this. I darned it for you.

Thank you, ma'am.

There we go.

Your daddy's gonna be real glad to see you.

Me, too.

-You polished my shoes, too. -John-Boy did it.

-Thank you, John-Boy. -You're welcome.

Okay, Lizzie. Wait, don't pull him off the bed.

Take it easy, you two.

Come on. Let's go see if Fibber is ready to go.

-Go. -We could brush him.

We'll see you in a minute in the truck.

-They sure are lucky. -Who's that, Luke?

Your boys and girls.

I knew your mother. Did you know that?

Yes, ma'am.

We were friends when we were your age.

We got into all kinds of mischief.

I can't believe we were that wicked.

You and my mama?

We used to climb trees, play hooky...

go to the swimming hole when we weren't supposed to...

and gathering violets. Those were her favorite flower.

She was the best friend I ever had.

She was the best and the kindest person I ever knew.

And she loved you very, very much.

My goodness, it's getting late.

Here, you finish that up, and I'll get your....

Did you take the ticket off here?

No, ma'am, I didn't touch it.

I was sure I pinned it here this morning.

-Are you sure? -Yes, ma'am.

Maybe Grandma packed it.

It's not in here. John! Grandma!

Come and help me find Luke's ticket.

Luke, are you sure you haven't seen your ticket anywhere?

Yes, ma'am. I'm sure.

So what do we do now?

We'll have to get him another one at the train station.

But the point is that the ticket is gone.

Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Let's think back to the beginning.

-How did the ticket get lost? -I don't know.

The spirit board said, "Luke must not" and "Train"...

-and now this with the ticket. -I don't know, Jason.

Half of me says that something very strange is going on here.

The other half of me, which is sensible, is saying it's us.

How do you mean, "us"?

In these books I've been reading...

they say that a lot of what appears to be supernatural...

really isn't supernatural at all.

It's just people making things happen unconsciously.

I don't understand.

Look, none of us really wants Luke to go.

While he's been here, we've been very fond of him.

Part of him might not wanna go, either.

After all, he grew up on Walton's Mountain.

He's spent his whole life here.

So maybe, without knowing it...

what we're doing is putting stumbling blocks in his path.

Things like losing pictures and tickets and pretending...

we're receiving mysterious messages on the spirit board.

-Things to stop him from going. -Exactly right.

-You really believe that? -What am I gonna do?

We found it! We found the ticket!

There goes one of our stumbling blocks.

John found it. It fell down behind the dresser.

We better hurry or he'll miss that train.

-You wanna come? Get in. -Me, too.

-Careful! -Easy there.

You hold onto that. Keep warm.

John, hurry!

Luke, do you wanna take him with you?

You mean keep him?

Yes. He'd be good company for you.

If he ever has babies, I'll send some to you.

I'll take some, too.

Okay, here we go. Everybody, step back.

-All right there, folks. -That's it, we're late!

Be careful, honey.

Bye bye!

He likes riding in the truck.

-Sure does. -Just like Reckless.

About 10 minutes till the train gets in.

Be there in five.

Watch it!

-You all right? -I think so.

-Is anybody hurt? -I'm scared.

-It's all right. -What happened, Daddy?

I don't know. I thought I saw something in the road.

Must have been a deer or something.

-Come on, let's get out of here. -Okay.

Come on, kid, you can help out.

Come on, up front. Yeah, go.

Come on, Luke. You can help push.

Get in the front and push when I say push.

Push as hard as you can, now. Here we go. You ready?

Push! Push!

Push!

Come on, everybody, push!

Push! Push!

-Daddy? -Push!

That's the train coming into Rockfish, sounds like.

We can still make it. Come on, everybody, let's go. Push!

Push! Push!

Push! Push!

Push! Push!

Push! Push! Push!

We're gonna miss that train!

It's like we were supposed to miss it.

I'll tell you, Mama, something's back of all this.

John-Boy, you know I don't believe in that nonsense.

Have it your way.

Push! Push! Push!

That's doing it, here we go, push.

Push!

Come one now, come one everybody. Hard, ready?

Push! Push!

Push! Come on!

Come on!

Push! Push!

We were worried. What happened?

-We had an accident. -Accident?

-No one was hurt. -We missed the train, though.

I better get out over to Ike's.

Call Tom. Tell him Luke missed the train.

-I spoke to Tom. -Get him on the phone?

Yeah, I got him. He was just leaving for the train station.

I told him what happened, that we'd have

Luke on the train in the morning.

He'd have been worried if Luke hadn't been on that train.

He most surely would.

We've already eaten, but I'll fix you something.

-Thanks, Livie. How's Luke? -He's right as rain.

He's in bed and the puppy's right along up there with him.

We interrupt this broadcast for an important announcement.

The 6:30 train from Rockfish was derailed this evening...

and the exact cause of the accident is still unclear.

All that we know at the moment is that the train...

which was traveling at about 60 miles an hour, left the track...

-toppled out and hit... -Turn it off.

Rescuers report that more than 25....

That was the train you were supposed to put Luke on.

I know.

-Those poor people. -Thank God we missed it.

Mom?

You found it.

It's Luke's picture.

How did it get there?

It was never up there before.

Maybe one of the children found it and put it there.

-Okay, Luke. -Easy now.

-Bye, Luke. -Have fun.

You keep that puppy nice and warm, Luke.

There are forces in our lives...

that we can understand and explain.

There are others that mystify and confuse us.

But who is there to say that the strong bond of love...

that existed between a mother and her child...

had to be severed by death?

For love is a force that lives without beginning, without end.

It is an energy that brings sustenance...

and nourishment to the human spirit.

Of all our endowments...

the ability to love is the most ennobling...

and such is its mystery...

that the power of love can be felt beyond death.

Beyond time.

Elizabeth, Mrs. Hawkins has some puppies she wants to give away.

I don't want any of them.

Thought you wanted another dog.

I wanted a runt dog, and she doesn't have one.

Runt only means the dog is the smallest one in the litter.

I know, but no one ever wants those.

I think I'll wait for Charity. She makes good runts.

You're a runt, Elizabeth.

Am I, Daddy?

In this family, you're the girl runt.

And Jim-Bob's the boy runt.

-I am not. -You are, too.

Lord, now they'll never get to sleep.

-I am not. -You are too, Jim-Bob.

I am not.