The Homecoming: A Christmas Story Page #6

unto the Lord, all ye lambs."

Oh... what a pleasure

you must be

to your Sunday school teacher.

Got another one?

"What is man profited

if he shall gain the whole world

and lose his own soul?"

Too hard to remember.

"Jesus wept."

"Jesus wept."

Lord love you, child.

( rattling )

Got another one?

"Thy two breasts

are like two young roes

that are twins which feed

among the lilies."

Shh!

"Solomon's Song,"

chapter four,

verse five.

"Thy two breasts are like

two young roes that are twins

which feed among the lilies."

"Solomon's Song,"

chapter four,

verse five.

Thank you.

Now...

I have one for a little girl.

How about you, dear?

"Cast not your pearls

before swine."

"Cast not your pearls

before wine."

( laughs ):

Come on.

It's perfect for you.

It's perfect for you.

What's Daddy

going to say?

We won't tell him.

He'll find out!

Well, we'll just make

Elizabeth hide it.

What'd you get, honey?

I think it's a doll.

It's dead! Somebody killed it!

Oh, sweetie.

Shh...

It's okay.

Now, maybe we can fix it.

MARY ELLEN:

Not in a million years.

Want to go home?

Come on.

It's 10:
00,

and Daddy's still not home.

Mama's real worried,

and the rest of us are, too.

On top of everything else,

we went down to the store,

and a lady was giving away

presents.

Elizabeth got a broken doll,

and it scared her.

Nobody ever gave away anything

worth keeping,

I... I guess.

I been thinking about myself

and wondering

what's wrong with me.

I just can't seem

to stop growing.

Mama says it's natural,

but I'm scared

if I keep getting taller

I'll be a freak or something.

I wish I could see a doctor

about it.

RADIO ANNOUNCER:

...the city are deserted

at this hour

as Christians begin

the observance

of this holiest of holidays

in their churches and homes.

Church attendance

is lower in the valley

than had been expected.

I thought John-Boy

was in here.

He went upstairs.

The storm arrived...

Livia, I, uh, I think

he's keeping some kind

of secrets up there.

Lord knows,

he worries me to death.

Every time I want

to see him,

he's up there

with the door locked.

Hush a minute.

Stranded travelers

are being given food and lodging

by local churches

and the Red Cross.

One death has been reported from

the bus accident near Coseville.

The names of the injured

are being withheld

until next of kin are notified.

The Merchant's Christmas Parade

was interrupted briefly

due to a fire

at the Hamilton Cooke

Hardware Company.

The blaze was brought

under control quickly,

and the parade continued

to the corner of 2nd and Main.

There's not a thing we

can do but sit and wait.

Can't sit and wait

one more minute.

President Roosevelt

and his family have gathered

for the traditional

Christmas Eve dinner.

Later this evening

the president...

John-Boy?

John-Boy?

Mama?

( door rattling )

Just a second, Mama.

Unlock this door.

Are you smoking

cigarettes up here?

No, ma'am.

Then what are you doing?

Nothing, Mama.

Then what's the door

locked for?

Mama, well,

I just locked it

without thinking.

Are you hiding something

in that bed, John-Boy?

Yes, ma'am.

I'd like to know

what you're hiding.

A tablet.

Why in the world would

anybody want to hide a tablet?

Mama, you know,

I have a right

to some kind of privacy

in this house.

I just don't understand you,

John-Boy.

Hiding things

under a mattress?

Is it something

you're ashamed of?

Oh, no, ma'am.

Then why are you hiding it?

What's in that

tablet, Mama?

All my secret thoughts.

What I feel, and

what I think about.

What it's like

late at night

to hear a whippoorwill

calling and hear its

mate call back.

The rumbling of

the midnight train

crossing the trestle

at Rockfish,

or just watching the water

go by in the creek

and knowing someday

it'll reach the ocean.

Wondering if I'll

ever see an ocean

and what a wonder

that would be.

You know, Mama, sometimes I hike

on over to the highway

and I just sit and watch

the busses go by

and the people in them,

and I'm wondering

what they're like

and what they say

to each other,

and where

they're bound for.

Things stay in my mind, Mama.

I can't forget anything.

And it all gets bottled up

in here,

and sometimes I feel

like a crazy man.

I... I can't rest or sleep

or anything till I just rush off

up here and write it down

in that tablet.

Sometimes I think

I really am crazy.

I do vow.

If things had been different,

Mama...

I could have done something

with my life.

Oh...

Oh, you will, John-Boy.

You've got

a promising future.

Well...

What I would

have liked, Mama...

was to have tried

to be a writer.

Well...

if that's what you want,

c-couldn't you still try?

Oh, no, not in these times.

You know, it takes

a college education

to be a writer

and anyway, even if we

did have the money,

it wouldn't be right

to risk it all on me.

Anyway, I couldn't

disappoint my daddy.

You know he's got

his heart set on my

taking up a trade.

He just wants you to know

how to make a living.

Well, I could sure

never do that

scribbling things down

in a tablet.

We'll talk about this

some more, but...

Here.

Right now, we've got

something else to talk about.

There's not going to be

any more busses tonight.

Daddy won't get

home, will he?

Not unless somebody

goes after him.

Well, I can't get very far

on foot,

but I'll do the best I can.

You go see

if you can find Charlie Snead.

Okay.

Uh, maybe, maybe he's still down

at the store.

His car was down there

a while ago.

You ask Charlie to drive you

over to Charlottesville.

That old car of his can get

through where a bus never would.

Here's a dollar

to pay for the gas.

If you don't see anything

of your daddy along the way,

then you go

to the bus station.

If he's not there,

try the hospital.

Well, he wouldn't be

in any hospital.

Son, a bus went

off the road

earlier today.

There's one man dead,

and some others hurt.

I didn't want

to burden you with it,

but now I think

you've got to know.

I guess... I guess

I'd better get moving.

Here, you...

better unwrap this now.

It was going to be

under the tree

in the morning,

but I think

you need it now.

Much obliged to you, Mama.

I knitted a set

for each of you.

It's all the Santa

Claus there's going

to be this year.

Can't get over how

tall you're getting.

Me, either.

It's a man's job

I'm sending you on.

Don't let me down.

I won't, Mama.

Wrap up good, now.

Where are you going, son?

To find my daddy.

( bell rings )

Hi, Charlie.

Howdy, Ike.

Hey, John-Boy.

Hey, uh,

what happened, Charlie?

Did you ever see

such a messed-up

situation in your

whole life, son?

Well, what's he got you

handcuffed for?

Well, it's all a mistake.

I come by to have a...

a soda pop with Ike here,

the first thing I know,

the law comes stomping in

and slaps these cuffs on me

like I was Al Capone.

I tried to

get word to you,

he's been hanging

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes