1 00:00:02,413 --> 00:00:06,893 Every year when I was a kid, my parents threw a Christmas party. 2 00:00:08,453 --> 00:00:11,893 Everybody in the neighborhood came. 3 00:00:14,093 --> 00:00:16,893 Dad played the "big cheese"... 4 00:00:19,533 --> 00:00:22,453 Mom played "Donna Reed". 5 00:00:23,453 --> 00:00:27,013 And a really stupid time was had by all. 6 00:00:28,133 --> 00:00:31,453 It was a time when hopes were high. When the neighborhood was young. 7 00:00:33,573 --> 00:00:38,093 It was fun, before fun got so...complicated. 8 00:00:39,373 --> 00:00:41,333 Before life got so... 9 00:00:41,333 --> 00:00:44,093 Voila! 10 00:00:44,093 --> 00:00:45,213 Simple. 11 00:00:45,213 --> 00:00:50,973 - What's this? - Salisbury steak. See? 12 00:00:50,973 --> 00:00:52,493 Oh... 13 00:00:52,493 --> 00:00:59,013 By December of 1971. My family was afloat in the conveniences of modern life. 14 00:00:59,013 --> 00:01:00,373 Whether we liked it or not. 15 00:01:00,373 --> 00:01:06,893 Hey, Mom? What happened to, ya know, like...dinner? 16 00:01:06,893 --> 00:01:10,613 Oh, well, with classes today...I didn't get home in time to cook. 17 00:01:10,613 --> 00:01:14,293 So I stopped by the market to pick these up. 18 00:01:14,293 --> 00:01:18,253 Why? Is anything wrong? 19 00:01:18,253 --> 00:01:19,653 No. 20 00:01:19,653 --> 00:01:22,533 After all...Mom was goin' to college part-time, now. 21 00:01:22,533 --> 00:01:24,453 She deserved our support. 22 00:01:24,453 --> 00:01:25,573 As for Dad... 23 00:01:25,573 --> 00:01:27,813 So how was work today, honey? 24 00:01:27,813 --> 00:01:29,333 Lousy. 25 00:01:29,333 --> 00:01:31,693 Well, Dad was Dad. 26 00:01:31,693 --> 00:01:35,453 Jack - you think you could help me with the party invitations this weekend? 27 00:01:35,453 --> 00:01:36,253 Me? 28 00:01:36,253 --> 00:01:39,293 Yeah, I have a mid-term on Monday - I've gotta study. 29 00:01:39,293 --> 00:01:43,533 - Well...But, I gotta go to the off... - We gotta get that coffee urn out of the garage. 30 00:01:43,533 --> 00:01:47,173 And I'm not sure that it's still working... So maybe you could check it for rust? 31 00:01:47,173 --> 00:01:48,573 I'll take a look. 32 00:01:48,573 --> 00:01:51,253 Mom? Dad? 33 00:01:51,253 --> 00:01:54,493 You sure you want to have this...Christmas party this year? 34 00:01:54,493 --> 00:01:56,933 Course, I was just an ignorant teen-ager. 35 00:01:56,933 --> 00:02:00,893 But it seemed to me this was a bad time to be throwing a neighborhood bash. 36 00:02:00,893 --> 00:02:07,253 Don't be silly, honey! Of course were having the party! 37 00:02:07,253 --> 00:02:09,493 Why? 38 00:02:11,493 --> 00:02:15,813 Well...Because we always have a party. 39 00:02:15,813 --> 00:02:19,853 Isn't that right, Jack? 40 00:02:20,453 --> 00:02:25,293 And there ya had it. Come yuletide or high-water, or Salisbury steak... 41 00:02:25,293 --> 00:02:28,973 The annual Arnold Christmas shindig lived on. 44 00:02:34,293 --> 00:02:36,013 What I hated was... 45 00:02:36,013 --> 00:02:37,573 Watch it, Kevin! Hah? 46 00:02:37,573 --> 00:02:38,773 Helping out. 47 00:02:38,773 --> 00:02:40,653 Those bulbs cost me thirty-two cents apiece! 48 00:02:40,653 --> 00:02:42,133 Right, Dad. 49 00:02:42,133 --> 00:02:44,853 Every year, for two weeks before the big night... 50 00:02:44,853 --> 00:02:49,733 Dad roped us into something akin to indentured servitude. 51 00:02:49,733 --> 00:02:52,173 Kinda like...elves. 52 00:02:52,173 --> 00:02:54,933 Dad? Do I have to stand here? 53 00:02:54,933 --> 00:03:00,253 No! You can go sweep off the driveway... And hose out those ice-buckets for spiders. 54 00:03:00,253 --> 00:03:04,333 I don't want you guys to run out of ice Saturday night. Got that? 55 00:03:04,333 --> 00:03:05,653 It was humiliating. 56 00:03:05,653 --> 00:03:10,493 You know, uh, Dad...I've been thinking, you know, maybe I...wouldn't come to the party this year. 57 00:03:10,493 --> 00:03:12,853 Yeah, me too. 58 00:03:12,853 --> 00:03:14,933 What do you mean not come to the party? 59 00:03:14,933 --> 00:03:19,573 Well, I don't want to hang out with your friends. I've got my own life. 60 00:03:19,573 --> 00:03:20,773 Me, too! 61 00:03:20,773 --> 00:03:23,453 You know, I'm not a little kid anymore. 62 00:03:23,453 --> 00:03:25,213 I could be a father. 63 00:03:25,213 --> 00:03:28,533 Me, too! 64 00:03:29,693 --> 00:03:36,893 But even iron-clad logic couldn't alter one unescapable fact. 65 00:03:37,813 --> 00:03:38,693 The neighbors. 66 00:03:38,693 --> 00:03:41,613 Heh-heh. Hey, Jack! Gettin' ready for the big shindig? 67 00:03:41,613 --> 00:03:43,373 Sure am! 68 00:03:43,373 --> 00:03:48,373 That was Ed Ermin. King of lawn-care. Biggest wheel on the block. 69 00:03:48,373 --> 00:03:51,653 The whole damn neighborhood's lookin' forward to this party, you know! 70 00:03:51,653 --> 00:03:54,253 Wouldn't be the holidays without a night at the Arnold's! 71 00:03:54,253 --> 00:03:58,693 - You bet! - Ya-ha-ha. Seeya later, OK?! 72 00:04:02,053 --> 00:04:05,493 Yeah. You bet. 73 00:04:05,493 --> 00:04:06,973 So, Dad? 74 00:04:06,973 --> 00:04:08,173 What!? 75 00:04:08,173 --> 00:04:12,293 About the party? What do you say? 76 00:04:12,293 --> 00:04:14,773 Make sure there's ice. 77 00:04:16,773 --> 00:04:18,573 Well, think of it this way. 78 00:04:18,573 --> 00:04:25,213 At least I could take solice in the firm knowledge no one else I knew had any great plans for the holidays. 79 00:04:25,573 --> 00:04:28,453 Skiing! You're going skiing?! 80 00:04:28,453 --> 00:04:33,493 Yeah. My parents are takin' me. It's gonna be great! 81 00:04:33,493 --> 00:04:34,813 I don't believe this! 82 00:04:34,813 --> 00:04:37,453 What about you? You want to do somethin' over the holidays? 83 00:04:37,453 --> 00:04:42,293 Oh, I can't. Going to Montana. Getting my sister out of a commune! 84 00:04:42,293 --> 00:04:45,533 Made you wonder whatever happened to the days when all people did on Christmas... 85 00:04:45,533 --> 00:04:48,213 Was watch football and over-eat. 86 00:04:48,213 --> 00:04:52,973 - Well...Seeya on the slopes. - Yeah. 87 00:04:52,973 --> 00:04:54,813 My friends were deserting me. 88 00:04:54,813 --> 00:04:59,773 It was clear if I was gonna survive this vacation, I needed - 89 00:05:00,773 --> 00:05:03,373 - Winnie! - Kevin, hi! 90 00:05:03,373 --> 00:05:05,973 Will I see you at my parents' party Saturday night? 91 00:05:05,973 --> 00:05:08,133 Oh... 92 00:05:08,133 --> 00:05:11,133 Yeah. Good old Winnie. 93 00:05:11,133 --> 00:05:14,613 Gee, Kevin, I'm afraid my parents already made plans. 94 00:05:14,613 --> 00:05:16,293 They did? 95 00:05:16,293 --> 00:05:18,453 OK - a temporary set-back. 96 00:05:18,453 --> 00:05:20,253 Still, with the right sales-pitch... 97 00:05:20,253 --> 00:05:22,053 You can come by yourself! 98 00:05:22,053 --> 00:05:25,133 I mean, there's gonna be food, and...Twister... 99 00:05:25,133 --> 00:05:27,213 It-it's gonna be a blast! 100 00:05:27,213 --> 00:05:30,373 - I don't know... - Oh, Winnie...come on! 101 00:05:30,373 --> 00:05:33,893 What could possibly be more fun than that? 102 00:05:33,893 --> 00:05:38,133 We're marching in a vigil to end the war in Viet Nam. 103 00:05:40,613 --> 00:05:43,013 - Maybe after Christmas. - Right. 104 00:05:47,733 --> 00:05:51,653 As the party got nearer, two things became obvious. 105 00:05:51,653 --> 00:05:53,413 Shoulda kept the manual. 106 00:05:53,413 --> 00:05:56,733 One...the old coffee-maker wasn't working. 107 00:05:56,733 --> 00:06:00,413 And two...the elves were getting restless. 108 00:06:00,413 --> 00:06:03,653 - Hand me the manger, idiot! - No thanks. 109 00:06:03,653 --> 00:06:05,413 - Wayne? - I'm on a break. 110 00:06:05,413 --> 00:06:08,613 - Your brain's on break. - Shut up, Dork. 111 00:06:08,613 --> 00:06:13,653 Honey? I just spoke to Ida. The Pfeiffer's won't be able to make it. 112 00:06:13,653 --> 00:06:18,013 Alvin has to visit his mother in Florida. And I ran into Joyce Medrakis. 113 00:06:18,013 --> 00:06:21,973 They won't be able to make it, either. Jack... 114 00:06:21,973 --> 00:06:25,653 Maybe...having this party wasn't such a good idea after all. 115 00:06:25,653 --> 00:06:28,573 And then that's when the first faint glimmer of hope appeared. 116 00:06:28,573 --> 00:06:33,573 I mean we're so busy. Karen won't be able to make it, anyway. 117 00:06:33,573 --> 00:06:35,493 Maybe you're right. 118 00:06:35,493 --> 00:06:42,133 And just for a second...It seemed we might actually get out of this wing-ding. 119 00:06:42,133 --> 00:06:44,493 Remember when we first got this? 120 00:06:44,493 --> 00:06:48,173 With the green-stamps? 121 00:06:48,533 --> 00:06:50,413 Just for a second, though. 122 00:06:50,413 --> 00:06:51,933 Oh, no... 123 00:06:51,933 --> 00:06:53,533 You remember the kids in the kitchen... 124 00:06:53,533 --> 00:06:55,853 Pasting those things into the book... 125 00:06:55,853 --> 00:06:58,813 Wayne always got 'em stuck on his elbow. 126 00:06:58,813 --> 00:07:01,893 They were so cute... 127 00:07:01,893 --> 00:07:04,653 Seems like yesterday. 128 00:07:04,653 --> 00:07:06,493 "Seemed like yesterday". 129 00:07:06,493 --> 00:07:09,613 Those dreaded three words could only mean one thing. 130 00:07:09,613 --> 00:07:11,093 Norma? 131 00:07:11,093 --> 00:07:14,493 I think I can get this to work. 132 00:07:14,493 --> 00:07:17,413 Wayne and I... 133 00:07:17,413 --> 00:07:19,213 Were doomed. 134 00:07:26,653 --> 00:07:28,733 "White Christmas" 135 00:07:28,733 --> 00:07:35,333 Party night. And my parents, through some miracle of modern science, had managed to pull it off. 136 00:07:35,333 --> 00:07:38,773 - Jack? Hurry up! - Norma! Where's my shot-glass?! 137 00:07:38,773 --> 00:07:41,973 - Oh, it's in the hutch! - It's not in the hutch! 138 00:07:41,973 --> 00:07:43,693 Oh, there it is on the stove. 139 00:07:43,693 --> 00:07:47,293 Even if they did seem a little ragged around the edges. 140 00:07:47,293 --> 00:07:51,013 We, on the other hand, were just...happy to be there. 141 00:07:51,013 --> 00:07:52,813 So! Dad? 142 00:07:52,813 --> 00:07:56,733 How dry do you want your Martinis tonight, ah? 143 00:07:56,733 --> 00:07:58,613 Just crack the ice! 144 00:07:58,613 --> 00:08:00,733 Nice try! 145 00:08:00,733 --> 00:08:03,533 Still, for all their hard work and preparation... 146 00:08:03,533 --> 00:08:07,453 The host and hostess...Weren't exactly brimming with cheer. 147 00:08:07,453 --> 00:08:14,133 Oh, no...! This ambrosia's all runny... And there aren't any raisins in it. 148 00:08:14,133 --> 00:08:18,853 That's not how I woulda made it - I woulda made it with raisins in it. 149 00:08:18,853 --> 00:08:24,813 It was almost as if they had lost sight of why they were throwing this bash in the first place. 150 00:08:26,373 --> 00:08:30,853 Merry Christmas! 151 00:08:30,853 --> 00:08:36,373 Oh, Norma! The place looks lovely! 152 00:08:36,373 --> 00:08:42,053 Jack, you really knocked yourself out on those lights. 153 00:08:42,813 --> 00:08:46,133 And then, they remembered. 154 00:08:46,133 --> 00:08:48,333 Merry christmas! 155 00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:51,333 Merry Christmas! 156 00:08:51,333 --> 00:08:58,013 - The three Weisman's are here! - Happy holidays! 157 00:09:00,373 --> 00:09:03,413 Merry, merry! 158 00:09:10,093 --> 00:09:12,693 Make sure you hang that up, young man! 159 00:09:12,693 --> 00:09:15,253 And don't throw it on the bed with everything else! 160 00:09:15,253 --> 00:09:18,893 Yep - all the same old faces were here. 161 00:09:18,893 --> 00:09:21,533 - Eww! Not to mention the same old furs. 162 00:09:21,533 --> 00:09:28,373 - Bag! Still, you could feel the holiday spirit all through the house. 163 00:09:28,373 --> 00:09:31,453 It was positively infectious. 164 00:09:31,453 --> 00:09:34,093 Hey there, you little porcupine. 165 00:09:34,093 --> 00:09:35,813 Hi, Mr. Wannamaker. 166 00:09:35,813 --> 00:09:41,373 Al Wannamaker. The guy sold us our first set of used model trains in 1958. 167 00:09:41,373 --> 00:09:44,453 Remember when you used to do your Jimmy Cagney? Huh? Huh? 168 00:09:44,453 --> 00:09:48,173 Come on - come on! Do your little Jimmy Cagney! Come on - come on - come on! 169 00:09:48,173 --> 00:09:51,813 Aw, what the hey - for old times sake. 170 00:09:51,813 --> 00:09:55,893 "You dirty rat - you killed my brother!" 171 00:10:08,813 --> 00:10:10,413 Hello, you old duffer! 172 00:10:10,413 --> 00:10:13,493 And, for a while, anyway...Things went on like they always had. 173 00:10:13,493 --> 00:10:15,613 - Jack! - How's the short-game? 174 00:10:15,613 --> 00:10:20,253 Just great! I sank a putt last weekend...would have made you weep! 175 00:10:20,253 --> 00:10:21,333 Oh... 176 00:10:21,333 --> 00:10:24,573 Uh...ya need a drink to go with that? Lemme, lemme mix ya one. 177 00:10:24,573 --> 00:10:28,613 Well, actually, Jack, I don't drink anymore. 178 00:10:28,613 --> 00:10:31,373 Yeah, I've been dry for five months! 179 00:10:31,373 --> 00:10:34,293 - No kiddin'... - Nope - I feel like a million bucks. 180 00:10:34,293 --> 00:10:42,573 Look at this. I lost four inches. Say, uh...You got any carrot juice? 181 00:10:42,573 --> 00:10:45,253 I'll look. 182 00:10:46,973 --> 00:10:49,453 Hmmm. 183 00:10:49,453 --> 00:10:54,173 Ever since my youngest went off to high school... I just didn't know what to do with my time. 184 00:10:54,173 --> 00:10:56,493 I know what you mean. That's why I went back to coll - 185 00:10:56,493 --> 00:11:02,533 I can't tell you...How much therapy has changed my life! 186 00:11:02,533 --> 00:11:04,413 Mmmm... 187 00:11:04,413 --> 00:11:07,133 You had the feeling this party was losing steam. 188 00:11:07,133 --> 00:11:08,773 What it needed was a lift. 189 00:11:08,773 --> 00:11:10,413 A shot in the arm. 190 00:11:10,413 --> 00:11:11,333 Something like... 191 00:11:11,333 --> 00:11:15,213 Look! The Foster's are here! 192 00:11:15,213 --> 00:11:17,093 Jack? Bill's here! 193 00:11:17,093 --> 00:11:19,773 Just what the doctor ordered. 194 00:11:19,773 --> 00:11:21,613 Hey, hey, hey! 195 00:11:21,613 --> 00:11:24,333 Dad's old war-buddy, Bill Foster.Bill, you old... 196 00:11:24,333 --> 00:11:28,773 No party was complete...Without Bill and Marsha. 197 00:11:28,773 --> 00:11:33,053 Or, in this case...Bill and a woman half his age. 198 00:11:33,053 --> 00:11:37,693 Oh, uh...Jack? Norma? This is Carol. 199 00:11:37,693 --> 00:11:40,293 Obviously, this was a ticklish situation. 200 00:11:40,293 --> 00:11:42,533 Where the hell is Marsha? 201 00:11:42,533 --> 00:11:47,293 Wh - has it been that long? Y-you know Marsha and I split. 202 00:11:47,293 --> 00:11:51,093 - In April. - Of course...! 203 00:11:51,093 --> 00:11:54,453 Here. This is for you. 204 00:11:54,453 --> 00:11:58,173 Uh-huh. And a partridge in a pear tree. 205 00:11:58,173 --> 00:12:00,573 "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - big band 206 00:12:00,573 --> 00:12:02,933 Hey! It's some party in there, huh? 207 00:12:02,933 --> 00:12:04,893 Can I get you anything, Mr. Ermin? 208 00:12:04,893 --> 00:12:07,973 Uh...no, no, no... 209 00:12:07,973 --> 00:12:13,173 Oh! Say! Has your father finished off that basement, yet? 210 00:12:13,173 --> 00:12:14,293 Huh? 211 00:12:14,293 --> 00:12:17,293 Uh, I'm gonna go take a look at this, 'kay? 212 00:12:17,293 --> 00:12:23,013 The strange thing was, Dad had finished off that basement fourteen years ago. 213 00:12:23,013 --> 00:12:24,213 We need more chips. 214 00:12:24,213 --> 00:12:26,133 Oh, in the cabinet, honey. 215 00:12:26,133 --> 00:12:30,693 But it seemed there was more going on here, than just chips and dip. 216 00:12:30,693 --> 00:12:35,173 Carol seems very, uh...nice. 217 00:12:35,173 --> 00:12:38,253 I don't want to talk about it! 218 00:12:38,253 --> 00:12:43,453 I mean, she's very, uh...Sophisticated! 219 00:12:43,453 --> 00:12:46,013 For her age. 220 00:12:46,013 --> 00:12:52,093 "For her age"?! "For her age"?! 221 00:12:52,093 --> 00:12:52,813 Uh-oh. 222 00:12:52,813 --> 00:12:54,293 Uh, Dad? 223 00:12:54,293 --> 00:12:58,413 Norma, for God's sake! The guy's old enough to be her father! 224 00:13:03,893 --> 00:13:10,053 I...I'm afraid something may be wrong with your urn. 225 00:13:10,053 --> 00:13:14,853 This coffee's a little chilly. 226 00:13:14,853 --> 00:13:19,693 And I suppose, there was really only one thing to say. 227 00:13:19,693 --> 00:13:24,693 I have an idea! Let's play Twister! 228 00:13:27,053 --> 00:13:32,253 OK, OK! Left hand...red! 229 00:13:32,253 --> 00:13:35,733 And so, like some kind of prehistoric beast... 230 00:13:35,733 --> 00:13:39,013 The party trudged on. 231 00:13:39,013 --> 00:13:42,133 The laughter flowed... The drinks were poured... 232 00:13:42,133 --> 00:13:46,613 But something was...different. 233 00:13:46,613 --> 00:13:48,973 The thing is, no one else seemed to notice. 234 00:13:48,973 --> 00:13:56,173 They just went, on doing what they always had, because...they always had. 235 00:13:56,173 --> 00:14:00,053 Holy cow...I gotta get out of here. 236 00:14:04,933 --> 00:14:06,813 It had all gotten too weird. 237 00:14:06,813 --> 00:14:09,773 The only escape was...underground. 238 00:14:09,773 --> 00:14:12,493 What's that smell? 239 00:14:12,493 --> 00:14:14,253 Ooh...! 240 00:14:14,253 --> 00:14:17,293 And right about then...is when it happened. 241 00:14:17,293 --> 00:14:21,053 Hhh-h-hh - hi there, boys! 242 00:14:21,053 --> 00:14:22,693 Hi, Mr. Ermin. 243 00:14:22,693 --> 00:14:25,253 Now, there was there something wrong about this scene... 244 00:14:25,253 --> 00:14:26,573 Maybe it was - 245 00:14:26,573 --> 00:14:32,373 Wayne? Kevin? What the hell's goin' on down here?Smells like a mattress is burnin'. 246 00:14:32,373 --> 00:14:37,453 Jah-ah-ah-ah, I - I...Hey, hey, Jack...! 247 00:14:37,453 --> 00:14:41,413 The boys and I were, were...we were just chatting about, uh... 248 00:14:41,413 --> 00:14:44,093 About, uh...uh... 249 00:14:44,093 --> 00:14:47,133 Ouch! Ouch! Mmmm! 250 00:14:47,133 --> 00:14:54,253 Jack? What's that - 251 00:14:54,253 --> 00:14:55,693 And then came the dawn. 252 00:14:55,693 --> 00:14:58,653 After years of sowing it, growing it, and mowing it... 253 00:14:58,653 --> 00:15:03,533 Mr. Ermin, king of lawn-care...had decided to smoke it. 254 00:15:03,533 --> 00:15:05,293 In our basement. 255 00:15:05,293 --> 00:15:06,413 Oh...! 256 00:15:06,413 --> 00:15:09,933 Wayne. Kevin. Go to the garage and get some sodas. 257 00:15:09,933 --> 00:15:11,973 - Why? - Because I said so. 258 00:15:11,973 --> 00:15:13,973 Oooh... 259 00:15:13,973 --> 00:15:17,893 And the rest...is history. 260 00:15:17,893 --> 00:15:21,693 Think Mr. Ermin...buys it, or does he grow it himself? 261 00:15:21,693 --> 00:15:23,533 Ah, shut up! 262 00:15:23,533 --> 00:15:25,093 S'matter with you? 263 00:15:25,093 --> 00:15:27,093 Nothing, OK? 264 00:15:27,093 --> 00:15:32,813 But there was something wrong. I knew it, Wayne knew it... 265 00:15:32,813 --> 00:15:35,213 I'm just saying, you could have handled it a little better. 266 00:15:35,213 --> 00:15:35,973 Better? 267 00:15:35,973 --> 00:15:37,813 How was I supposed to handle it better?! Tell me. 268 00:15:37,813 --> 00:15:38,573 You simply could have asked him to leave. 269 00:15:38,573 --> 00:15:40,253 Maybe Mom and Dad knew it, too. 270 00:15:40,253 --> 00:15:42,773 You've known him for twenty years, Jack. Then he shouldn't have done somethin' so stupid! 271 00:15:42,773 --> 00:15:46,253 No - you should not have pushed him all the way up the stairs - he could have gotten hurt! 272 00:15:46,253 --> 00:15:47,213 The guy's a jerk! 273 00:15:47,213 --> 00:15:48,693 No - the man is a friend! 274 00:15:48,693 --> 00:15:53,933 Look, Norma! It was not my idea... To have this damn party in the first place! 275 00:15:53,933 --> 00:15:55,293 Now it's my fault?! 276 00:15:55,293 --> 00:15:57,653 No, it - 277 00:16:00,373 --> 00:16:02,893 - Hi, Dad! - Hi, Mom! 278 00:16:07,453 --> 00:16:09,733 Get outta here. 279 00:16:09,733 --> 00:16:10,853 What? 280 00:16:10,853 --> 00:16:12,693 Go to the store and get some soda. 281 00:16:12,693 --> 00:16:14,853 We got sodas in the garage! 282 00:16:14,853 --> 00:16:19,653 Then go get more. 283 00:16:26,773 --> 00:16:29,973 We took our time. 284 00:16:29,973 --> 00:16:34,373 Didn't seem there was that much to go back to. 285 00:16:36,293 --> 00:16:41,453 Still, that night - driving home through the neighborhood I grew up in... 286 00:16:41,453 --> 00:16:46,853 I realized something. There was a time I knew every family on the block. 287 00:16:46,853 --> 00:16:50,053 Their kids...names of their dogs... 288 00:16:50,053 --> 00:16:54,613 But most of those families were gone now - scattered. 289 00:16:54,613 --> 00:16:57,133 The ones who stayed were not the same. 290 00:16:57,133 --> 00:17:03,733 The world had moved on. My world...their world. 291 00:17:03,733 --> 00:17:08,933 And only the lights remained the same. 292 00:17:09,413 --> 00:17:11,453 Where'd everyone go? 293 00:17:11,453 --> 00:17:14,213 Man, what a bust. 294 00:17:14,213 --> 00:17:16,053 It's pretty quiet in there. 295 00:17:16,053 --> 00:17:21,533 Yeah. Come on. 296 00:17:28,973 --> 00:17:34,933 I wasn't sure what to expect - chaos...mayhem... "A Christmas Song" - Mel Torme 297 00:17:34,933 --> 00:17:37,333 Or, maybe, two love-birds on a couch. 298 00:17:37,333 --> 00:17:39,493 Ahem! 299 00:17:41,373 --> 00:17:47,333 - We got some soda. - Thanks, honey. 300 00:17:47,333 --> 00:17:50,573 Well, I'll just...put 'em in the 'fridge. 301 00:17:50,573 --> 00:17:52,853 In a way, it was crazy. 302 00:17:52,853 --> 00:17:56,613 There they sat - amidst the wreckage of a party gone wrong... 303 00:17:56,613 --> 00:17:58,093 And they didn't seem to care. 304 00:17:58,093 --> 00:18:02,573 Mom? Dad? 305 00:18:02,573 --> 00:18:05,173 Sorry about what happened. 306 00:18:05,173 --> 00:18:07,533 Oh, it's OK, honey. 307 00:18:07,533 --> 00:18:10,173 Maybe it'll be better next year. 308 00:18:10,173 --> 00:18:15,133 Maybe... 309 00:18:15,133 --> 00:18:18,333 Uh...I guess I better clean up. 310 00:18:18,333 --> 00:18:22,773 Oh...let it wait till tomorrow. 311 00:18:23,493 --> 00:18:26,013 And I guess that's when I understood. 312 00:18:26,013 --> 00:18:30,453 For Mom and Dad, the party hadn't been a disaster. 313 00:18:30,453 --> 00:18:33,573 For as much as things were changing all around them... 314 00:18:33,573 --> 00:18:40,053 What Jack and Norma had - what drew people to their house every Christmas for sixteen years... 315 00:18:40,053 --> 00:18:42,093 Was still the same. 316 00:18:42,093 --> 00:18:46,893 The thing they started out with. 317 00:18:46,893 --> 00:18:51,813 The one they'd never lose. 318 00:18:55,173 --> 00:18:59,013 My parents never did throw another Christmas bash. 319 00:18:59,013 --> 00:19:01,453 And that was OK - I guess. 320 00:19:01,453 --> 00:19:04,333 But I still think about those parties. 321 00:19:04,333 --> 00:19:06,813 What they stood for. 322 00:19:06,813 --> 00:19:11,253 The time before TV dinners and two-car families. 323 00:19:11,253 --> 00:19:16,973 And grass was green and we were young... 324 00:19:18,133 --> 00:19:21,413 And those nights when I'd lie awake in my bed... 325 00:19:21,413 --> 00:19:25,013 Watching the light dance under my door. 326 00:19:25,013 --> 00:19:33,693 And listening...for my father's laugh. 327 00:19:34,213 --> 00:19:38,093 Bill! Marsha! 328 00:19:41,773 --> 00:19:45,693 Son of a gun... 329 00:19:55,213 --> 00:19:59,373 ÇϺñ ÀÚ¸· µ¿È£È¸(http://havy.co.kr) °¨»çÇÕ´Ï´Ù. Á¦ÀÛ : iamy1004 (iamy1004@hanmail.net) 330 00:20:04,373 --> 00:20:09,373 SubtitleSync (http://www.subtitlesync.com.ar)