[knock on door] come in. hey, harry. jonathan. no workout today? i guess not. matt was coming at 5:00, but he didn't. maybe he's got a longer training session. maybe. he'll call if he can't make it. i gave you a double portion. after yesterday, you need it. no, please. take it out. i'm not hungry. it's chicken with noodles. it's good. i'm not hungry. ok.

if you change your mind, holler. thank you. want me to leave you something to read? no, thanks. i'll leave these magazines in case. i'll see you later. later. you're really pushing it today. yeah. i guess i did. i was talking to your granddad. oh, yeah? mm-hmm. he was kind of expecting you.

yeah, well, i was going to, but my workout lasted longer than usual. maybe you ought to give him a call. yeah, i will. there's a pay phone. i got some change. i said i'd call, all right? i know how you feel. it's not easy calling a loved one when you know you'll lie. what are you talking about? i only offered you change for the phone. damn! i don't know what to do! i love my granddad.

it's all getting to be such a mess! why is that? because! i thought my granddad could come home. my mom doesn't want him home. my parents had a fight last night. i don't know what's happening. the whole family's coming apart. i feel like it's my fault. sit down and relax. come on. your family's not falling apart. all families have arguments. i know. she said she'd leave if he came back. she's never said that. people get angrier when they're feeling guilty.

your mom's feeling guilty because of your grandfather. your dad's feeling guilty for putting him in there. but who's right? that's something your folks have to work out. it has nothing to do with your relationship with your grandfather. you love him? sure. you'll help him? yeah, but-- no buts about it. you have to do what you think is right, regardless of your parents. nothing bad could come from helping. if you don't, there will be three of you feeling guilty. can i borrow that change? yeah. there you go.

[telephone rings] [ring] hello. oh, matt. oh, that's ok. sure. tomorrow? sure. i asked the doctor about doing some jogging. he said don't overdo, and it's ok. yeah, right. all right, see you tomorrow.

what do you think? it's up to you. sure would surprise your mom and dad if we won.

don't worry about winning. it's just fun to enter. oh, yeah, yeah. boy, that would be something if we won it. well, what do you say? i say let's do it! there you go. try these on. oh, jonathan, these are terrific. thank you so much. you couldn't run with those old shoes. i feel fast already. they're good ones. hi, dad. how you doing? fine. never better. can we come in? sure. see you later. no, don't go. this is my son jim, jonathan. how you doing? i know you don't want to see me, but matt told us about the race.

i'm real proud of you. i couldn't run it myself. probably not. how's it going here? they treating you good? sure. it's not like home, but sometimes strangers treat you better than family. we thought you needed the care. do i look like i need it now? no. i'll tell you what. i'll make you a bet. if we win tomorrow, i can come home. you said you put me here 'cause i needed care. if i win, that should show you i don't. come on. give me a chance. why do you think i've been doing this? to show you, that's why. what do you say?

is it a bet? yeah, dad. it's a bet. dad shouldn't have done that. what did your mom say? he didn't tell her. he said wait till tomorrow. no reason to say anything till we see what happens. if we win tomorrow, she'll leave. i know she will.

look, maybe you won't win. it's the combined time, you know. yeah, i know. that's what i've been sitting here thinking about. if i run my best race, we'll probably win. it's a pretty big "if" for you, isn't it? yeah. yeah, it is. i'm stuck right in the middle. if we lose, it'll break granddad's heart. if we win... what do i do? you do what you think is right. that's all any of us can do in this world.

it's not easy to do the right thing sometimes, is it? it sure isn't, my friend. it sure isn't. matt. good luck tomorrow. thanks.

soothes you to sleep with ingredients like melatonin. it's safe with no side effects, so you wake up... ready to go. [ male announcer ] unisom natural nights. you ready, partner? you bet. ann. good luck, dad. you mean that? of course i do. i hope you win. you sort of surprise me. i didn't know you wanted me back. all participants to the starting line. here we go. what was he talking about? coming home? what was he talking about?

going home.

hey, harry. jonathan. what did you think? it was great. matt sure set a pace. you didn't do bad yourself. no. no, i didn't. personal best by over a minute. did you see jim afterwards? nope. don't know where he went. i'll call soon. it'll be good to be back in my bed. ann didn't know about the bet. sure she did. she wished me luck today. no, she didn't. she told jim she'd leave if you came back. are you sure? matt told me. the boy knew? yeah, he knew.

that poor kid. poor kid. he ran his heart out. because he loves you, harry. yeah, he really does. poor kid. what a kid. jonathan. do me a favor and drive me to the house. dad.

where's ann? she's upstairs with matt. dad, i have something to tell you. i want to tell you and ann something. oh, ann. uh, matt. couldn't we all sit down? i just have to tell you something. come on. come on. just sit over there. now... you know i made a bet with my son. i won it, too. i had a little help. i ran a good race. and while i was running, i got to thinking. if i can do this, i can do other things. so, to make a short story long, i decided to start seeing the places i never got to see, beginning with hollywood.

i always promised your mother we'd go. so i'm going to go, that's all. and, well, that's it. i'll miss you, but i'll write. how long will you be gone? oh, i... well, uh... i'd say... i don't know. but when i return, i'll still want my own place near the park, so i can keep running. gets in your blood, you know. look at the time. jonathan is taking me to the airport. i'll get you a movie star's autograph.

believe it or not, down deep i understand. bye, son. it wouldn't hurt you to run yourself. i will. when you get back, we'll run together. i love you, granddad. i know. i know. let's go, jonathan.

captioning performed by the national captioning institute, inc. public performance of captions prohibited without permission of national captioning institute captions copyright 1985 michael landon productions, inc.

>> [indistinct chatter] >> right up in the stands. had a tight red dress on, big picture hat? anyway, every time i'd get an easy setup for a smash, i would look over at her. >> and she'd pop her bubblegum. >> or yawn. that's how come i was hitting so many of them over the fence. sir, i wonder. let me do that. you bring us up some cans of beer, will you? >> yes, sir. >> right. in case you were wondering, that's how come you broke my service twice. >> yeah, well, the same thing happened to me in basketball. there was this great-looking chick up in the stands, and every time i'd go up on a jump shot, she would pop her bubblegum. >> she popped her bubble, huh? >> yeah. up to that point, i was averaging about 20 points a game. our coach, mr. litwack, didn't care for it too much.