In the spring of nineteen seventy-three, the Arnold family took to the skies.
Armed with four coach tickets and enough luggage to sink a battleship...
We were on our way to a weekend of high-adventure.
- Can I get some more peanuts, please? - Sure.
Thanks.
That year had seen a lot of change.
I was practically a senior - once I got through exams.
Mom had joined the ranks of working women - whether we liked it or not.
Dad's furniture business was thriving.
Although he wasn't at the moment.
Still all in all, things were pretty much...smooth sailing.
- Did ya feel that? - Yep.
Hope it wasn't the engine.
Ooooh...
Not that we ventured into the friendly skies without a reason. We were on our way home.
Well, Mom's home, anyway.
Look, Jack! Sylvia Miller's chairing the reunion committee.
I haven't seen her in twenty five years!
You got it - my mother's high school reunion.
Oh, look, honey - there's going to be a picnic on Saturday...
and a pie-eating contest!
Norma - please...
Hey...wasn't that the wing?
Yeah, it was gonna be...
Some fun...
It'll be fine.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Yeah...
After all, this was more than just a trip back in time.
We were headed home to family.
Are we there yet?
Mother!
Welcome home!
- Look at the two of you! - How's my little girl?
Look at those fine grandsons of mine!
I almost didn't recognize 'em!
Hi, Grandma...
Oh, Kevin, you've certainly grown...
Since I saw you the last time.
Well, you know it's been a long time, Grandma...
Homecoming at the grand-parents.
Hi!
How's everybody?
Maybe there was a reason.
Well, why don't we come on inside?
You must be exhausted from your trip.
Come on, come on...
Maybe it was Dad.
Well...
Better get that luggage inside, before some of the local kids make off with it.
Yeah.
Oh, just look at all this! It's exactly the same! The smell even.
Your mother's been cooking for days.
Nothing's too good for my little girl.
Oh, Mom...
You could say this for the oldsters...
They loved their only daughter.
If not their only son-in-law.
Here we are...
Well, how was the trip?
Uh, it was...
OK.
Except...
Dad got a little sick.
Well, uh...It's just that the flight was a little bumpy, Mom.
You're not going to get sick again, are you?
No, I don't think so.
Because Roger gave us this great antacid.
It's good for diarrhea, too.
No, really...
- I'm just... - Roger's a doctor, you know...
Mother... Roger's been a doctor for fifteen years, now.
And a darned good one.
He's just been named...
Chief-of-staff...at County General!
Isn't that impressive?
And, of course, it was very impressive.
Just one little question, here.
Who's Roger?
A long time ago...
Mother...
We don't have to get into this right now, do we?
I suppose not.
Besides, we should probably unpack before dinner.
Don't ya think, honey?
Yeah. Sure.
So, Jack, uh...
Been workin' on your gin game?
Yeah. Sure.
Good.
Cuz I thought after dinner, you and I might have a friendly little game...what do you say?
Fine, Karl...
Fine.
Yeah - ya had to hand it to Dad.
No matter how cold the shoulder... he hung in there.
Like a man at the gallows.
Where do I put these?
Why, in Norma's old room, of course.
Just wait till you see it!
Daddy and I haven't changed it one bit!
This was fun. Sorta like visiting a museum.
Look!
The Norma Gustafson memorial shrine.
Mother, I can't believe you kept these!
Oh, Jack, look!
My sixth-grade citizenship ribbon.
I was proud of my little girl...
Still am...
You should hear him brag to the boys in Kiwanis about...
That new job.
Always knew she'd end up...
Being something important.
No matter what got in her way.
All in all, kinda reminded you of the Walton's.
I hope you two are gonna be comfortable here.
We only have the one bed.
So, uh...where do we sleep, Grandma?
Down the hall in the guestroom. Just uh...
right down the hall and to the left.
Great.
After all, no sense hanging around all that hostility.
Oh, there she is. Boys... I'd like you to meet Princess.
She's a little shy around new folk.
Aren't ya, girl?
And so, here we were.
One big happy family.
Plus beast.
Eagerly catching up on one another's lives.
Furniture, huh?
What?
Oh, I was just telling Daddy how well your furniture business is doing, honey.
Uh...yeah, we've been pretty successful so far.
I don't hold much truck with this new stuff.
In my day...people knew how... to build furniture.
Take this table.
Solid. Made to last.
Had it since we were married. It'll be here for you boys when I'm gone.
Woops.
What was that again?
Daddy, don't talk like that.
Well, it's true...you boys'll be gettin' this place one day...
Really?
You mean...this house?
Yeah.
And everything in it. Hell, I gotta leave it to someone.
And I'm not gonna be around forever, ya know.
Thanks, Gramps. You're the best.
Now, now, sweetheart.
You don't have to worry about Daddy. Not as long as he has Roger as a doctor.
He's quite a guy...
He certainly is.
And there it was.
Roger again.
Mother, we don't have to hear more about Roger. Do we?
Of course not, dear.
There he is now.
He can tell you himself.
Oh... Good...
That evening was like the tea party from hell.
Kevin...
Weren't they a striking couple?
Grandma played match-maker...
Roger played bigshot...
While my brother played...
That's a nice frame, Grandma.
What is that - pewter?
Gin! Aha!
Well, it looks like you're down another forty points, Jack.
As for Dad...
Honey, everybody's going to be so thrilled...
To see you two at the picnic tomorrow.
Jack and I wouldn't miss it for the world.
I meant you and Roger, dear.
You know, sometimes I wonder what might have happened if I hadn't gone away to medical school.
OK...
It was clear the big guy had had his fill of this malarkey.
I'm goin' to bed.
Night, honey. Get some rest.
Goodnight, Jack.
Yeah.
And there ya had it.
What had begun as a simple trip home ...was suddenly turning into...
Nightmare on Gustafson Street.
And the worst part was... I was the only one...
Who seemed to notice.
Uh, uh, butthead...
This place is a gold mine. Uh, you should see the stuff they got stashed in the attic. Genuine antiques.
We're gonna be rich!
Maybe so, maybe not.
You're very sweet, Roger.
Great.
All I knew was...standing there...
Watching Mom spoon with her high school sweetheart... hearing Dad snore in the next room...
Listening to Wayne count his tax-breaks...
Suddenly, one thing was clear.
I...
Was gonna sleep on the floor.
And let's give a special welcome to the Wildcat who travelled the greatest distance to be with us today
...from fifty-five hundred miles away ...Jill Pritchard!
The next day, amid pompoms and hairspray and old memories...
The class of forty-eight gathered.
Remember when we just sat there on that float, while the parade went by without us?
It was all pretty...festive.
Now, Norma, weren't you the one that convinced those policeman to tow us the rest of the way?
Yeah...I think I was.
While Mom was having the time of her teenage life...
The Arnold men were getting old - fast.
This is a lot of fun.
Can I borrow the car?
What? Why?
Well, I think I should spend more time with Grandpa -
he won't be around forever, ya know.
He said so himself.
What are you gonna do - count the silverware?
I'm on to the china.
I want ya back in two hours.
No problem. Yes!
Which pretty much narrowed it down to the two of us.
Hey, fellas...
Roger.
Hi.
Great turnout.
Yeah...
That contest should be starting soon. You game?
I think I'll pass.
Right. Can't say as I blame ya. If I didn't work out like a madman...
I wouldn't dare enter, myself.
No comment.
So, this, uh...
Furniture business of yours... I understand it's...
Handcrafted work.
Yeah...
We use, uh...hardwood frames... dowels in all the joints...
So, what'd you have to do for that - go to, um...furniture school?
Ah-ha-ha-ha...
I'm getting a beer...
Great. He gets a cold brew...I get to schmooze with Doctor Wonderful.
That is one exceptional lady, your mother.
You gotta wonder what might have been.
Who knows...
A few different turns in the road, and...
You might have been my son.
Kinda made you want to reconsider the whole science of genetics.
Ladies and gentlemen. Uh, please take you positions...
For the start of the sack race.
And speaking of potatoes...
Come on, Dad!
Go, Jack!
It seemed the old man...
Hadn't completely abandoned the field.
Need a bigger sack, there, Jack?
After all, when push came to shove...
This'll do fine.
Dad was never one to turn down a challenge.
No matter how stupid.
- Go, Jack! - Go, Dad!
And so began the great burlap grudge-match of nineteen-seventy-three.
Be careful, Jack!
It was a battle for honor, reputation, glory.
A fight to the finish.
It was the stuff of legends.
Go, Dad! Come on!
And in the end... it all hinged on one thing.
Oooh...
Ugh...
My father's bad back.
Does that hurt?
Ah!
Ohh!
Thought it might.
A little doctor humor...
Yeah, thanks.
Well, I'm afraid this means... no dancing tonight.
Oh...that's too bad.
Anyway, I'll call ya tomorrow...
See how he's feeling.
Thanks, Roger.
Sure.
And there ya had it.
An inglorious end to an even more inglorious weekend.
Bye!
Not that I was particularly sorry to see this whole charade over with.
Isn't this... always the way?
What do you mean, Mother?
You travel all the way out here. And just when the good times begin...
Somebody ruins it.
Our poor little girl's gonna miss her big evening.
It's a shame, alright.
Jeez - talk about compassion.
Look... It's just a dance, right?
I mean, if he can't go, he can't go.
Norma, I think you should go.
Jack...
You can't even move.
Your mother's right. It's your big night.
We came all this way...
You shouldn't miss it because of me. You should go.
Absolutely not.
Maybe Roger could take you.
What?!
That's a good idea!
And with that, the wheels came off.
The date was made.
OK, there he is...
Well, I guess it's time for me to go.
That evening, while the rest of us stayed home...
Oh, honey, you're sure this is OK?
Absolutely.
Awright, then. Bye.
Don't be too late.
I watched my mother waltz out the door for the night of her life.
Gin!
And for all that, Dad's only response was...
Your deal or mine?
Face it - nothing made sense.
Suddenly everything seemed... up for grabs.
Hey, scrote? Is pewter worth anything?
I don't know. Hey, can you stop the inventory for a minute?
What's your problem?
But it wasn't gonna be easy to put into words.
You think Mom's happy she married Dad?
Yeah. Uh, of course.
Really?
Yeah.
Otherwise, she couldn't have had me.
Forget it.
Hey, do me a favor? See what's in the garage...
Yeah. I'll do that.
As luck would have it, it was a beautiful spring evening.
OK...This was the last straw.
You know, I've had just about enough of you.
I mean you're all bark and no bite. You're a fake.
You don't scare anyone. You know that?
That's better.
At least I had one victory on this lousy trip.
Whoa, girl.
Help!
Six picket fences, fourteen garbage cans, and thirty two backyards later...
It was official.
This trip was a bust.
Hey, butthead!
What happened to you?
The dog and I took a three-hour tour of the neighborhood.
Gin! That's three straight hands! Hah!
Yeah, ya got me again, Karl.
My mother was AWOL...my father had turned into a punching bag...
Well, I better turn in.
I haven't been feeling quite up to par, lately.
And my brother...
Gee, Gramps - I hope it's nothing serious.
Had become a ghoul.
Oh, I wouldn't worry, Wayne.
Us Gustafson's are made of strong stock.
Hadn't been a one of us didn't live to at least ninety-five.
What?
Yep. Might as well put that calculator away...
Night, all.
Ninety-five...Really?
So, how old are you now?
Perfect.
This is perfect.
What's wrong with you?
And that just about did it.
Me?
What's wrong with me?
It was time to tell 'em exactly how I felt. About him...about Mom...
About the stupid gin games, and the dumb boyfriends and the idiotic dog...
I hate this place!
Yeah. That was it - in a nutshell.
What's so funny?
You're starting to sound... just like your mother.
What?!
You heard me.
Yeah, but Mom loves this place.
Yeah, for a day or two, maybe.
Trust me. Twenty-one years ago, she couldn't wait to get out.
You're kidding...
Ah...
Your mother wanted more from life than what a small town like this had to offer.
So why didn't she tell Grandma and Grandpa about it?
She never says a word.
She used to.
They couldn't hear her. Parents are like that sometimes.
And I guess right about then...
A few things started to fall into place.
- Hi! - You're home early!
Yeah...
I know.
How was it?
It was...fine.
But when the time comes for my thirtieth reunion...
Yeah...
Let's tear it up.
How was Roger?
Roger... Roger's the same old jerk he always was.
Ow...
Oooh, honey, sorry!
So how was the dance?
Actually...it was a little boring.
But you had a good time?
Yeah. I did.
After all, maybe there are some things in life that just can't be changed.
A child's hopes. A parent's dreams.
Well, goodnight, everyone.
G'night.
So...did you let Dad beat you?
- Just enough to make him happy. - Thanks.
And maybe, when it comes to families...
That's all for the best.
Why don't we take a little walk?
Oh, oh, Jack - what about your back?
Well, I'm down - but I'm not out. Oh...
No. No, I'll bet you're not.
¢ÜIt's very clear¢Ü
Night, son.
¢ÜOur love is here to stay¢Ü
Like they say...growing up isn't easy.
¢ÜNot for a year¢Ü No matter how old you are.
It's all a matter of time, and luck. And if you're very lucky... ¢ÜBut ever and a day¢Ü
Maybe love.
¢ÜIn time¢Ü
¢ÜThe Rockies may crumble¢Ü All I knew was, that night...
In that old house... ¢ÜGibraltar may tumble away¢Ü
I felt part of something lasting.
Family. ¢ÜBut our love is here¢Ü
For better or worse.
¢ÜTo stay¢Ü Goodnight.
You're not going to snore, are you?
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