Original subtitles

Is this the car, Andrew?

Yeah.

It looks so lonely.

Who does it belong to?

Wait. Here they come.

Benny, if you don't stop that, I'm going to throw those sticks out the window

and tell your brother to back over them.

Look.

Bill there.

I know it is, honey.

Maybe tomorrow.

Hmm.

That's them.

The Lewis family.

Well, then who does the car belong to?

The car belongs to Mr. Bill Harper.

He was the piano teacher in this town.

And the band leader and the choir director.

And he directed the 4th of July parade and the high school football rally.

He even taught a little boy to play the drums.

And every December, he directed the Christmas pageant for the community

But he doesn't anymore?

Gloria, do you see those train tracks?

All right, if you follow them.

That way, you end up in Albany.

And if you take the train that way, you end up in Manhattan.

Mr. Harper has been missing since he took the 615 train to New York City the

morning of September the 11th.

down the road heavy burden heavy

load I will ride and I

will walk with you I'll walk with you till the sun

don't even shine walk with you every time

I tell you I'll walk with you

Believe me, I'll walk with you Believe

me,

I'll walk with you

You're late. Too late at the afternoon.

Something has to be done, Victoria.

Doesn't anybody think of morning anymore?

Morning.

When are you going to see a doctor about that throat?

I will. I will.

I'm sorry. I don't know you.

Hello. My name is Monica.

I've rented the old copy store down in Main Street. We're opening a Christmas

shop. I hope you'll drop by.

Christmas house. Now, there's a sure bet. Carl.

Excuse him, Monica.

Christmas sales are down and Carl can't handle the pressure.

Pressure I can handle? It's the poverty that's got me worried.

It's the local merchants. They're not advertising as much as they did last

I'm the only store on the block that's even put up Christmas decorations. We're

still pretty numb from September.

I understand. So, anyway, Victoria, it occurred to some of us that a good old

-fashioned Christmas pageant at the community church, nothing fancy, just

basics, might be just a ticket to get people back in the spirit before all the

shopping days are over.

But I can't make the church put on a pageant. Why not? You're on the board.

Well, I know Bill Harper used to spend months getting it ready. You can't just

throw something together like that, especially now.

It would be an insult to his memory.

Besides, nobody really has the heart for it right now.

I noticed his car is still at the station.

Yes, it is.

What is the sheriff waiting for?

He's waiting for me.

Now, is there any other business?

Actually, yes, I was still thinking about the Christmas pageant. And perhaps

can't match the extravaganza of the past years, but wouldn't it be better to

give the community something simple to rejoice in instead of nothing at all?

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I volunteered to plan something for this weekend.

Well, I'll give it some thought, Monica. Great.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Bye -bye.

Hey, TV's are adverts. They're always going to be talking about an action. You

know, he ran happily, slowly, weirdly.

Dorkly? Did I just hear the word dorkly?

You're not going running, are you?

Yeah, I thought I would. Why not?

How's your throat?

It's not that bad.

What are you doing home, anyway?

Got laid off.

No one's going out to eat anymore.

Oh, that must be him. Who?

Hi. Hey, come on in.

Benny?

Benny, this is Andrew.

Benny?

Andrew's a drum teacher like Mr. Harper was. Just like Mr. Harper?

Remember I said I thought it would be a good idea for you to keep up your drum

lessons? You haven't had any since September.

Mr. Harper is my teacher.

Well, yes.

But you know, a musician can't afford to get rusty.

Because you never know when you're going to have to sit in on a session.

Nice set?

Yeah, well, okay.

But it's only temporary.

It's fine.

Come on.

My mom thinks maybe Mr. Hopper went to the World Trade Center.

Yeah, yeah, I heard that. But his answering machine still works. And he

had a big surprise for the Christmas pageant that he was working on.

I think it's just taking longer than he thought.

But gotta be ready, just in case he needs some drums.

Tell you what, what if I stop by here every afternoon for a little while?

Okay.

Cool.

You've got the keyboard in excellent condition.

And the pipe, as you can see.

Oh, Victoria.

Hello.

This is Tess.

She's volunteered to play the organ for our Christmas services.

Victoria is our mayor.

Very nice to meet you. I'm happy to meet you, too.

Reverend, I'm getting some pressure from the merchants. They want me to convince

you to put on a Christmas pageant.

Now?

Bill Harper always spent months planning for those things.

No, that's what I said.

Oh, but think of the tribute to him to carry on in the tradition, even in a

small way.

What do you think?

I feel it's too late.

And it's strange.

It also feels too soon.

Benny, my son, he's just not ready to do a Christmas pageant without Bill

Harper.

How's Benny doing?

Well, he's fine. My pizza's fine.

Nice to meet you, Tess. And you, too.

Thank you, Reverend.

Do you have any idea why Bill Harper went to New York that day?

No.

Not a clue.

Hey, I was wondering about the... You're hired.

And if you can find either one of the N's, we'll give you a raise.

I think you've got two separate strands of lights here.

Oh, that's good.

I'm Monica. This is Gloria.

It's my first Christmas.

We open tomorrow.

But nobody around here seems to be very much in the Christmas spirit.

Yeah, I know.

And I'm getting tired of it. So let's get to work.

Good, but keep the feet with your left.

Boom.

Great work. Good work.

I think I'm getting into the groove.

Oh, yeah.

Hello. Hey. Hey, Andrew.

Well, guess what?

I got a job at the new Christmas store, and my boss says she knows you.

Monica, welcome.

Hello.

I gave your card to a woman this morning. She said she wanted to help out

that project that we discussed.

The pageant. Great.

Are you sure you're really interested?

I... Can you just give me a moment, Monica?

Please, sit.

Annie.

How would you feel if we did the Christmas pageant this year without Mr.

No, he's the only one who knows how to do it. No, honey.

He'll be back in time.

He'd never miss Christmas.

I'll get it.

Charlie?

I just got a call from NYPD.

They found a wallet at Ground Zero.

Whose wallet?

Hey, buddy.

Why don't you come with me? I'll do some homework.

Was it Mr.

Harper's wallet?

Yes, Benny.

So, it's official.

Want to talk about this?

All right.

If you want to talk tomorrow, whenever, you just let me know, all right?

All right.

Night, buddy.

Love you.

You're a good brother, Patrick.

Hey, Scott.

Monica, how are you? Good.

Yeah, Scott, why don't you... Hey,

come in.

I keep coming back here like a

criminal returning to the scene of the crime.

You haven't done anything wrong.

Well, no, I haven't done anything. That's the problem.

I just feel sort of numb, can't focus.

Mr. Harper must have been a really good friend.

No, you know what?

I didn't really know him all that well.

Nobody did.

I don't know where he grew up, if he had any family.

I don't know why he bought that ticket to New York City, why he was there the

day the towers went down.

He used to come to our house every Thursday to give Benny a lesson.

He drank tea with milk.

Hand him a check once a month. We'd chat for about five minutes, but I didn't

really know him.

He was a neighbor. He lived right down the street, and I didn't know him.

But he certainly worked miracles with Benny.

Miracles?

Hmm.

After the boy's father left, Benny sort of shut down. He didn't talk to anybody.

He wouldn't play with anybody.

Bill Harper had an idea.

He got Benny to take out his anger on the drum.

And after a while, his anger turned into music.

I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't come along when he did.

Mr. Harper helped Benny get over his last heartbreak.

But who's going to help him get over Mr. Harper?

So how's your shop? I've been meaning to come in.

I haven't been feeling very ho -ho -ho these days.

I couldn't be less ready for Christmas.

That's when you need it.

Are you really going to do this Christmas, Beth?

Yeah. But if I don't get my posters up, no one will know about it. But I'll see

you.

Hey.

Hey.

How you doing?

I'm fine.

So what's up?

I just can't help thinking the last time someone drove that car.

It was just another normal day.

But, Crystal, there'll never be another normal day.

No.

When are you going to finally start getting mad about all this?

Why not?

Because I have responsibilities.

Victoria, we all have responsibilities.

It doesn't mean we're not allowed to be human.

I mean, I haven't seen you cry once in three months.

You just do your job, Charlie, and let me do mine.

What are you doing? Hey, what? Leave me alone!

Benny? Go away.

What happened to your drums?

I killed them.

Guess because you're pretty angry, huh?

It hurts to miss somebody Makes you want to cry I can't I gotta be

strong with my mom All you have to do is be busy

Monica says she's going to give me a part in the Christmas pageant.

I wanted to be an angel, but it was already taken.

Wow!

What an amazing use of convection air current.

I can't believe you've never seen one of these things before.

They've been around forever.

Well, I haven't.

These things are tradition.

I used to have them all over my house at Christmas.

We even had a little village like that one.

With this little toy train that would... Well, that's a pretty one.

I feel like smashing it against the wall.

Why?

Peace on Earth.

Goodwill towards men.

Those words will never mean the same thing to me again.

I'm sorry.

There's nothing you can do about it.

Maybe there's something I can... Do you mind if I leave a little early tonight?

Sure. Okay.

Thanks.

Tess and I found most of the costumes in the church basement and some scripts

from past years, and I put posters up all over town. Oh, that sounds

Where on earth have you been?

Took the train to Manhattan.

What?

I'm 18.

I can go into the city when I want.

Look, I'm sorry. It's just there was something I had to do.

And I knew if I talked to you first, you'd talk me out of it.

Oh, no. What did you buy?

I didn't buy anything.

I enlisted.

I don't understand. Enlisted in what?

I enlisted in the army.

I leave the day after Christmas.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

But you can't enlist. You're going to college next fall.

How can you just turn around and pull a stunt like this? Mom, I've thought about

this a lot.

All right, ever since September 11th, I knew I had to do something. No, what you

have to do is what we all have to do. We have to carry on with the lives we were

living before. How can you tell me to do that when you can't? I have done

nothing but carry on for this family and for this town. You've had a doctor's

appointment for three months in New York about your sore throat, and you won't

go. No, I am not afraid to go into New York City, and I am not going to let you

turn this into a conversation about me.

You always taught us to do the right thing. What, you think that sneaking

my back, abandoning your brother at a time like this is the right thing? I'm

just saying... No, then he lost his father, then his favorite teacher, now

losing his brother. He's not going to lose me.

All right? Neither are you.

You don't know that.

Maybe not.

But I do know that my little brother's heart is broken.

That my mom hasn't laughed in three months.

And that I can't walk into a Christmas store and hang holly and tinsel and talk

about peace on earth when I know there isn't any.

I gotta do this.

I'm sorry. I love you.

But I gotta do it.

Otherwise I'll never be able to live with myself.

In the heart of the darkest winter Cries a

voice to the listening ear Though your back

and your arms are weary Be a

good cheer When the sky is all rain

and thunder

And your mind is a maze of fear.

Let your heart hear these words of comfort.

Be of good cheer.

Though the story is ages old,

still the story is told.

A child is born in the dead of night.

Born of love, born of light.

May the miracle of the baby

see you strong through the come.

Has no greater power.

I've got to run out for a second. There's some kind of fight at Louis

It's probably enough. I'll be right back. No, Charlie, wait!

Look for a relative's address or something.

For Benny.

Christmas pageant.

Oh.

Oh.

Hi.

If you're trying to reach Bill Harper, you've got the right place but the wrong

time. So leave a message and I'll get back to you.

Mr. Harper, it's Benny.

Um, I'm not going to call anymore.

I know what happened now, and I'm really sorry.

I bet you were really scared.

I'm going to miss you, Mr. Harper.

They're going to do the Christmas pageant without you now.

That's not fair, because I really wanted to play the drums for you.

Well, you probably won't even get this, but I just wanted to say goodbye, so

bye. Oh, honey, I'm so sorry.

coming back.

My mom wants me to get another drum teacher, but I think we ought to wait

you get back. What do you think?

Call me, okay? Bye.

This is Miss Claypool at Dryden Security Bank.

We're sorry that we missed... Tuesday, September

11th, 5 .17 p .m.

Hi, it's Benny.

Something terrible happened today down in New York.

I just wanted to make sure you're okay.

I'll see you tomorrow at four.

That's all.

See ya.

Victoria?

What are you doing here?

I came to help.

Oh, um... I was just gonna look around for some tea. I've got a bit of a sore

throat. I know why it hurts.

It's the lump in your throat that has been there since September 11th.

It's your body trying to tell you that it wants to cry, but you won't let it.

Well, I don't think we know each other well enough to have this conversation.

Who knows you, then?

Have you cried with your friends, with your neighbours, with your sons?

There is someone here now, Victoria, who knows that your heart is broken.

It is God.

And he sent me to tell you that he loves you very much.

I am an angel.

Don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid?

Fear not. I bring you tidings of great joy.

Yes.

God loves you so much and he wants to take away your fear.

Will you tell him that I'm not afraid to go to New York because of what could

happen to me?

I am afraid, afraid of what you might feel.

He knows.

You have to get the pain out, all of it, if you're going to heal.

What do I have to heal from?

There are thousands of people in this country who have suffered real loss.

I'm another sad, confused American just trying to carry on.

You have been wounded, too, whether you admit it or not, and you need to heal.

Well, I'm not so sure I want to.

And that is how you feel about the world now?

Hmm.

When I was a kid, 1962,

I remember hearing bells crawling under desks for duck and cover and wondering,

is this it? Is this the end of the world?

And when that crisis was over, we had to find some way to go on.

We had to find some way to forget that there was always a bomb somewhere in the

world pointed at us.

We taught ourselves how to forget that.

We convinced each other to believe in the future, to look forward to growing

having dreams, goals.

You can ask any kid who lived through that. They'll understand what I mean.

And how did we finally go back to sleep at night? I'll tell you how.

We told ourselves that it just couldn't happen.

We read Anne Frank, convinced each other that deep down inside people were

really good and that nobody would ever really want to hurt us.

And it worked, Monica.

It worked.

For 39 years it worked.

Then three months ago, 19 men got on four airplanes.

And that line was stripped away from me.

And all I want to do now, all I want to do, oh, God, oh, God.

Oh, my God.

What did they do to us?

Our country, our country.

I don't even know what to start crying for.

Think about those people.

Those poor people.

The planes and the towers.

The firemen.

Children whose mothers' fathers never came back home. I just... I just can't

process it all.

Everything has changed. Nothing is the same anymore. Nothing.

I can't even look at a Christmas card in the mail without being afraid.

And you know what scares me the most, Monica? What frightens me to the deepest

part of my soul is that I don't think we were ever really sleeping.

Now that dream is gone forever.

For the rest of my life, I'll wake up every morning and have no idea what

happen.

You never knew that before either, Victoria.

Now you just know that you don't know what can happen.

But now, when you wake up, you might just start your day by turning it over

God. Because no matter what happens to you, God will never leave you to face it

alone.

And even if you try to put Christmas out of your mind, God won't let you.

Because that's what Christmas is.

Emmanuel.

God with us.

And I know that it won't be easy.

But you have to sit down with your children. They need you so much now.

And talk to them and listen to them and hold them close.

Or if you have to...

Whatever he decides, entrust his life to God.

Live in faith.

God cannot work in your life if you've given it over to fear.

And Victoria, there's something that God needs you to do.

What?

Something for Patrick, for Benny, for your community.

But you have to go back to before September 11th to accomplish it.

Well, no, I don't understand.

Listen.

Monday, September 10th, 8 .43 p .m.

Hey, Bill, it's Jim.

I've got good news on your idea for your Christmas pageant. I spoke to my buddy,

John Kleitzman, up at Rockefeller Center, and he thinks he can help you

this happen.

So come on down to the World Trade Center tomorrow morning, and we can grab

coffee, and I'll see you at my new office.

Then we can take the subway up to Rockefeller Center and meet John.

He's expecting us for lunch.

He'll be waiting for us. See you tomorrow.

John Kleidsman is still waiting for them.

Mr. Harper and Jim didn't make it to the meeting.

They never left Jim's office in the North Tower.

John Kleidsman knows why Mr. Harper was in New York that day.

on your idea for your Christmas pageant. I spoke to my buddy, John Kleidsman, up

at Rockefeller Center, and he thinks he can help you make... Hudson Express,

Penn Station will be departing in 30 minutes.

Hudson Express, Penn Station will be departing... One for Penn Station,

I don't know, buddy. You did some pretty serious damage here.

You could fix it like you fixed my PlayStation. I'm good, but not that

Maybe Mom could fix it.

Doubtful.

Hello?

Where were you?

I was starting to get worried.

Hi. I went to New York, believe it or not.

You finally went to the doctor?

No, it wasn't the doctor that I needed.

Do you remember Mr.

Harper said he had a big surprise planned for the Christmas pageant this

I found out what it was. I went to New York to finish what he started.

He had something special in mind for you, too.

Come on, look.

Wow!

You wanted to play for him, right?

You sure you're okay?

Oh, better than I've ever been.

What a beautiful ending to our pageant.

Mr. Harper would have been so proud.

And I'm told we have more surprises in store.

Mayor Lewis.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Merry Christmas.

Ah, this is harder than I expected.

My son, my wonderful son, Patrick, is heading off

for the army the day after Christmas.

I couldn't be more proud of him.

He reminded me that we each have to take responsibility for making the world a

better place, and I support his decision.

I can't say that I'm happy to see him go, but... I know that he won't be

Um... There's a tradition... I'm

sorry, um... Monica.

I understand that there's a tradition in this town that when a young man or

woman enters military service, they are given the opportunity to choose the hymn

that will be sung in their honor the last Sunday before they leave.

Patrick Lewis has chosen his song.

It is not the traditional Christmas carol that Mr. Harper planned for his

special guest to perform today.

But it is perhaps the song that we especially need to hear.

We've all heard it before.

But today, let us listen with hearts that seek peace, not by our own

might, but by trusting every battle, every struggle, every fear to almighty

God who conquered evil with love Christmas Day 2 ,000 years ago.

and who have done it every day since.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr.

Harper's gift to you.

Please welcome the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Thank you.

Thank you.