funding for this program [with captioning] was provided by: additional funding is provided by: and: narrator: each video episode has three parts. watch the program, read your book, discuss the program and... rebecca: ♪ that would be enough, enough for me ♪

♪ everybody needs a dream catcher ♪ ♪ catch me! ( vacuum cleaner humming ) ( shuts off vacuum ) vincent, where are you going? out. i'll be back soon, bye. ( turns on vacuum ) vincent: this is going to be an awesome new year! the best! how much does it cost? $5.50 to get in plus $3.00 to rent the skates.

you have some money? yeah, tons. and this is where we go. let's go! where did the money go? ( speaking mandarin ) ( sighing ) ( phone ringing ) hello? ah, hello, mei-lin. no, no, vincent's not here. perhaps he's with his cousins. he's not? his bank? it's empty? he took his money?

did you find him? no. where do you think he is? ( speaking mandarin ) but i know who he is with-- alex mendoza. well, then don't worry. they probably went to the library. on new year's eve? where else could they be? put those over there-- yeah, in the corner. ramón. hi, is this a bad time? rebecca, no, come in! this must be your brother, kevin. hi. kevin and i are sightseeing-- just checking out the city. this is a great time to be in san francisco.

new year's is one long party from morning till night. sounds like my kind of town. i hope you don't mind if kevin comes tonight. not at all. i'd be honored to have kevin here for our new year's party. put on your dancing shoes-- the band is very good. señor ramón, disculpe... no sé cómo cerrarle el gas a la estufa. i think we should go. he seems really busy now. i thought you wanted to play him your tape. ramón, you're busy. we'll see you tonight. forgive me, there is so much to do. oh, don't worry. we'll see you later. bye. mr. wang. this is my brother, kevin. this is the father of one of the boys i give guitar lessons to. nice to meet you. nice to meet you, too. have you seen vincent today? no. excuse me. should we go? wait, something's wrong. wang: ramón, have you seen vincent? no, vincent hasn't been here all day. we don't know where he is. he didn't come home for lunch and my wife is getting worried. somebody saw him with alex. that can't be, alex is home.

let's call him and see if he's heard from vincent. vincent's missing. i heard. is there anything i can do, mr. wang? i don't know but thank you for offering. it's ringing. ( phone ringing ) ( phone continues ringing ) ramón: no one's answering. i'm going to have to go to the house to see if anything's wrong. maybe your phone is out of order. no, the answering machine picked up. sooner or later, we'll get a call from one of them. my wife is at home in case vincent calls there. is there anyone that can stay at your house to answer the phone? kevin and i would be glad to answer the phone. i don't want to spoil your day. no, those two boys are very important to me. i insist. kevin and i will answer the phone at your house. i'm going out to drive around to see if i can find them. please call my wife as soon as you have any information.

i will. josé... kevin, i didn't think our new year's eve would turn out like this. well, things happen. i just can't imagine what those boys are doing right now. hey, it's new year's. they're probably out celebrating. they're only 10, they wouldn't do that. you'd be surprised what kids will do. do you remember when i ran away from home? i was only seven. right, you went down two blocks and then chickened out. that's right. kids'll do crazy things. hey, tomorrow this'll be funny. ramón: o.k., we can go now. ramón: alex? alex! alex? i don't think he's here. i'm going next door to check with mrs. lynch.

she keeps an eye on alex when my parents are out of town. make yourselves at home. are you all right? come on, alex. careful. i can't skate. wait till i get my hands on that kid. of all the days to pull a crazy stunt. mrs. lynch hasn't seen him since early this afternoon. hello, mrs. wang? alex and vincent are not here. they're not in the house.

you haven't heard? yes, i'll call you as soon as i hear something. now what do i do? call the police? no, please. they're not in trouble. they're probably fooling around or something. kevin, tell ramón your idea. well, uh... maybe they went somewhere to celebrate new year's-- you know, wherever kids go in this town. alex left his bag in the hall. he usually puts it away. he ripped an ad out of the paper. what? ramón: it's an ad for the embarcadero. thanks for volunteering to answer the phone, kevin. we'll check in every half hour or so to find out

if you've heard anything. here's my work number just in case. hey, good luck. i hope you find them. thanks, kev for being such a good sport. i owe you one. get going, so we can find them before midnight. then we party. i almost forgot-- the baby-sitter. she's coming at 7:00. there's an envelope on the counter. please give it to her and apologize for me. no problem. thanks. they would have rented skates. yeah, i think they were here earlier. this one was limping around. he was hurt? i asked him if he wanted to see our first-aid person but he and his friend just left. how long ago? maybe an hour. thanks.

this is ridiculous driving around on new year's eve! wait till i get my hands on that kid... ( siren beeping ) he's been through a lot-- the trip to los angeles being away from you at christmas. maybe this is his way of reacting to what he's been going through. it's this custody thing. if only i... i guess he's more upset than i realized but still, that's no reason to scare us to death. ( phone ringing ) hello, mendoza residence. oh, hi. no, i haven't heard anything. mr. wang went down to the police station

and filed a missing person's report. ( doorbell rings ) there's someone at the door. okay, hang on, i'll be right back. hi, i'm the baby-sitter. oh... who are you? just a minute. mr. mendoza's on the phone. there's an emergency. no, it was the baby-sitter. okay. all right, i'll call mrs. wang and let her know. thanks. oh. you must be the baby-sitter. you were going to baby-sit alex and his friend. yeah. well, they seem to be missing. missing? yeah, mr. mendoza wanted me to give you this money

and to apologize for him. he's out looking for them now. who are you, anyway? my name's kevin. i'm a friend of the family's. just helping out. i'm monica. i usually baby-sit for alex. i live across the street. kids do crazy things. yeah. i have to call mrs. wang-- she's the mother of the other kid. i have to give her a message. do you mind if i stick around a bit and see if they turn up? no, that'd be fine. some crazy new year's-- missing kids, police, you name it. it's scary what's going on today. hello? mrs. wang? you heard from them? they were what? o.k.

o.k. i'll tell mr. mendoza when i see him. thank you. they found them? are they all right? they're at the hospital. oh, my god. two boys are off on... on an adventure. vincent: this is going to be an awesome new year! vincent doesn't return. his mother is worried. speaker: she calls her husband to report that vincent has disappeared. hello? ah, hello, mei-lin. no, no, vincent's not here. vincent's mother looks for her son in chinatown. but she can't find him. when ramón wenhome to look for alex he couldn't find alex but he saw on the table a newspaper with the ads of the skating rink. what? ramón: it's an ad for the embarcadero.

the two boys go ice skating. alex slips on the ice and hurts his leg. vincent helps him. are you all right? come on, alex. speaker: i think at this moment alex is terribly scared. first of all, he is scared of what happened to him-- he has pains-- while on the other hand, he's scared of his father. if the rules are spelled out very clearly the children are expected to observe them and if they break the rules they have to expect some kind of a punishment. i hope alex is safe. i'm sure he's fine. maybe he got involved in... i don't know, lost track of time, or something.

this isn't how i had planned this new year's eve. i'm sure we'll find him. ramón: maybe he took a shortcut through the park. let's check it out. rebecca: yeah. alex! vincent! vincent! alex! i don't think they're here. no... should we go back? yeah... ( sighing ) and i should call in. maybe someone's heard from the kids. this is my worst nightmare. not knowing where your child is... it's just... are you all right? what's your dad going to do? he'll probably have a fit. mr. wang: well... what do the two of you have to say for yourselves? sorry. i'm sorry, dad. later, we will talk.

no... i want to know what's going on. alex, i'm sorry about your ankle, but tonight has been very, very disturbing. i even went to the police, and now the hospital. i don't think i can trust you two ever again. not right now. ( speaking mandarin ) no... i want to get to the bottom of this. why did you two run away? vincent? well... what did you say? alex is my best friend, and we just wanted to do something special before i have to go to taiwan. vincent, how did you know about taiwan? i heard you and mom talking the other day, in your bedroom. i will tell him. vincent... your father and i have talked, and we think to stay in san francisco is best for you.

you and i will stay here, and your father will go and work in taiwan. really? your father will go for one year, and that is a very long time. i... i will need your help to... ( speaking mandarin ) manage. manage the store. i'll help. i promise. we expect you to keep up your grades, and to be an obedient son to your mother. i will. after tonight, i'm not so sure. vincent: honest, dad, we just thought this would be our last new year's together. you see? you will have another. vincent: no... it's still the last time. alex has to move to los angeles to live with his mom. mr. wang: is that right, alex? kevin disappeared once when he was a little kid. i thought i was going to die,

till i found him. he had decided to go visit our father at the fire station. when i found him, he was crying... and lost, totally lost... just a couple of blocks from our apartment. maybe this whole episode is to remind me to pay attention to what's important. enough of this "poor ramón." i've got to do what's right for alex. you are doing what's right... no, i've put him in a terrible situation. i'm asking him to choose between his mother and me. i'm ashamed to admit it. ramón, you love your son... it's obvious! but i've made him feel like a piece of baggage, being shipped back and forth between his mother and me. who knows? i was probably trying to get back at my ex-wife. oh, come on. how about that for being a total jerk? come on, you wouldn't do that. no, no, no, i'm serious. enough is enough. everybody says

that a child should be with his mother. everybody-- the courts, the newspapers, everybody! anyway, i... i cause him nothing but heartache. stop this right now. no, no, no... it's the truth. i can't do it-- manage a restaurant, alex, a personal life... i can't believe that i'm hearing this nonsense. it's true! no, it isn't. come on, ramón. i've seen you with your son. you are a caring and giving father, who wants what's best for his son. i've seen the sacrifices you make for alex, and for your work. look, i don't know what your ex-wife is like, but i can't imagine that anyone could love him as much as you do. i don't know if i can do it anymore, rebecca. sometimes i get so tired. when i was a little kid,

my dad gave me something that always worked. ( sniffling ) i'm sorry. i must sound like a big crybaby. no... you sound like a man who's suffering because his son is missing. ramón, you are such a good man, capable of great love. why don't we go back and make a phone call... see if anyone's heard from them. o.k.? they what? the hospital? kevin, is he all right? where are they? vincent's dad is bringing him to the house. o.k. we'll be right there.

are they here? no, not yet. is it alex? this is my sister, rebecca. this is monica, the baby-sitter. hi. she's waiting around to see if the kids are o.k. oh! ( car approaches, stops ) are you all right? let me see your ankle. ow! well, you won't be playing much baseball for a while. i'm sorry, dad. ( sighs with relief ) thanks. thanks to both of you. you're welcome. you know you're grounded, right? grounded for a very, very long time.

come on... can you walk? yeah. all right. hi, alex. happy new year! here you go. at least you're home now. what do you think my dad's going to do? i'm not sure. maybe he'll just forget about all this. i doubt it. mr. and mrs. wang have told me why you boys did what you did. i can understand your feelings, but you must promise never to do a foolish thing like this again. o.k.? yes. it's time to go, vincent. see you. yeah. well... i guess i should go home. good night.

it was nice meeting you. i'll walk you home. that's not necessary. i live right across the street. no, i insist. really. nice meeting you, monica. oh... have a happy new year. you too. i'll be right back. mm-hmm. how's your ankle? it's better, i think. ( groans ) be careful. ramón: i don't think you should try to walk on that foot. listen carefully to what i'm going to say. you don't have to worry about who you're going to live with. i promise you, mother and i are going to work things out somehow. and i promise that your happiness will be our first priority. understood? listen... i want us to spend new year's eve together. you can come with us to the restaurant and celebrate.

but don't get me wrong. you're still grounded... starting tomorrow. ( guitarist finishes song ) ( applause ) crowd: ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one! happy new year! ( cheering, noisemakers blaring ) well... happy new year. happy new year. you know, i think this is going to be a very good year. i think so, too. happy new year.

the caption center wgbh educational foundation] [captioned by y ;onal foundation] ;onal foundation]

funding for this program [with captioning] was provided by: additional funding is provided by: and: