"When
I was growing up back in those distant Depression years I always seemed to be a
year or two younger than I wanted to be, and a year or two older than my
parents thought I was. It tried my patience for a long time, until one day
something happened to my sister Mary Ellen that helped me understand those
feelings in myself".
Mary Ellen runs home for supper when she
collides with Jamie, a traveling minstrel writing down regional songs. John
brings into the kitchen two sacks of apples, announcing that he has contracted
with Old Man Pickett to pick his apple orchard. The family will receive a bonus
of ten cents for every bushel, but will have to return fifty cents for every
bushel left after three days. After supper Mary Ellen asks her father to go
with two classmates to Virginia Beach. John refuses, saying she is only
thirteen years old. When Mary Ellen tells her mother it will cost nine dollars,
Olivia says that the family can’t afford it. Mary Ellen sasses her father,
telling him that she wants to see new things. John warns her to think about
what she just said. As Mary Ellen walks to the porch, Jamie walks up to
John-Boy who is feeding Chance. He asks for hay for his burro, and says he can
sing for his supper.
On the porch, John, Olivia, and John-Boy talk
about the wanderlust inside Jamie. Mary Ellen walks out to apologize to her
father. She gives him a hug and a kiss goodnight. Mary Ellen says the light
from the stars take so long to reach them that the
stars are already gone. Mary Ellen says that she feels similar: before getting
a chance to see things, they will be gone. John-Boy suggested that she
take Jamie to Maude Gormley’s house tomorrow so he can write down her songs.
But John says they need everybody to pick apples. While Olivia convinces John
to let Mary Ellen go with Jamie, John-Boy writes in his journal about Mary Ellen and Maude Gormley: “We’re going to be
one short tomorrow at picking apples. Daddy is letting Mary Ellen show Jamie
the way over to Maude Gormleys. Wish I were going to hear Maude sing. She’d
sing all day if anyone would listen.”
The next day Jamie writes down lyrics to
Maude’s song while Mary Ellen listens to:
I was born in east Virginia,
North Carolina I did roam.
There I met a fair
and pretty madam,
Her name and age I do not know.
Her hair, it was a light sun color,
And her lips, a ruby red.
On her breast she wore white lilies,
There I long to lay my head.
Elizabeth, Jim Bob, and Grandpa box apples as
the others pick more apples. But John-Boy reaches too far from the ladder,
falls to the ground, and breaks his right wrist. Grandpa takes him to the
doctor as Mary Ellen listens to Jamie sing another song:
Johnson boys were raised in ashes.
Didn’t know how to court a maid.
Turned their backs and hid their faces.
Sight of a pretty girl makes them afraid.
Sight of a pretty girl makes them afraid.
Johnson boys eat peas and honey.
They have eaten them all their lives.
Makes the peas taste kind of funny.
But it keeps them on their knives.
But it keeps them on their knives.
Jamie decides to sketch Mary Ellen, telling
her that many people save for a rainy day, but forget about today’s sunshine.
He shows his drawing to Mary Ellen, who thinks she looks pretty. That night
Mary Ellen returns to tell her mother about her great day. Olivia says John-Boy
broke his wrist. Mary Ellen frets over not being there for the family, but
still feels that life is rushing past her. Olivia talks about her fulfilling
life, but Mary Ellen says she doesn’t want it. John comes out to say to Mary
Ellen that she shouldn’t be ashamed of her feelings, but suggests not rushing
things. Mary Ellen asks her mother if she has ever tasted the ocean. Olivia
nods “no”, and Mary Ellen wonders if “it tastes salt”.
The next morning while the family eats
breakfast Mary Ellen asks John-Boy (while he milks Chance) if he is happy here.
John-Boy says his parents took care of him when he was growing up, and he owes
them a loyalty. He assures Mary Ellen that they will not be here forever. Mary
Ellen wonders, “Is there something wrong with me?” John-Boy nods “no”. Picking
apples again, the family talks about what they will buy with their money as
Mary Ellen runs off. After discovering her missing, John, Olivia, and John-Boy
search for her. Without finding her they decide to quit early and return home.
Later, Jamie sings to Mary Ellen:
I want to see an ocean, know if it tastes of
salt.
Swimming in a Maine river, running wild.
Living in a city of strangers, where
neighbors don’t know my name.
Where I am “me”, and not my parent’s child.
Some need roots to grow on, but I’m a blossom
man.
Never saw a firefly caught that smiled.
Rainbows die at sunset and laughter has no
sea.
My name is “Now", won’t be tomorrow’s
child.
Mary Ellen wants to see the ocean, and Jamie
agrees to take her. He says other girls asked before her, but never stayed.
Mary Ellen says, “Not me!” At home, Grandma says Mary Ellen did not return,
thinking she is with Jamie who has moved on. John-Boy writes in his journal
about Mary Ellen and Jamie: “Daddy went to notify the
sheriff and he is not back yet. I guess he is checking the bus station and such
places. If anybody is to blame for all of this, I think it is Jamie. Leading
his kind of life I guess you don’t think too much about the consequences of
what you do.”
John-Boy looks through his window at the
stars, and decides to search for his sister. At the camp, Jamie sings and,
afterwards, Mary Ellen kisses him, saying he will now be her family. Jamie
states that he doesn’t want or need a family. Mary Ellen becomes upset,
prompting Jamie to call her “just a kid”. She runs off crying.
John returns from searching unsuccessfully
for his daughter. Olivia waits for him, saying he needs some rest. They walk
upstairs to wait for dawn in an hour. John-Boy finds Mary Ellen where she
admits making a fool of herself. John-Boy says that “whatever I do, or you do,
you can always go home”. At five-thirty John walks downstairs to find John-Boy
and Mary Ellen drinking coffee. Mary Ellen runs to her father and hugs him,
saying she doesn’t know what came over her. John thanks his son for bringing
her home, telling them that he is “real happy” with his children.
On the last day of picking apples the truck
is loaded and the trees nearly empty. Old Man Pickett is surprised to find all
the apples picked. That night, while Mary Ellen thinks on her bed, the family
divides the bonus with the household money set aside. Grandpa states that the
family’s hard working character is inherited like “red hair, freckles, and big
blue eyes”. Jason announces that the thirty-one dollars, ninety cents is
equally divided into two dollars, ninety cents each. But John says that everybody
didn’t worked equally, but we all did our best, except for Mary Ellen. John
thinks there is a lesson to be learned, “If we do our share, we are honored in
the effort. But if we don’t, then we don’t deserve to share in what the rest
earned.” John-Boy disagrees with his opinion, saying the family shares more
than just money. Later, Jim Bob tells Mary Ellen to come downstairs. She
apologizes for the hurt she caused, saying she loves them all. John announces
that the family has agreed to send her to Washington, D.C. to visit Aunt Jesse.
Elizabeth says she still has seventy cents left over for gumdrops.
"My
sister Mary Ellen went to Washington DC and she saw enough new things to
satisfy her craving for adventure for a long time. I looked at her with new
eyes after that night because I realized she was no longer a child. I grew up
too of course and left Waltons Mountain, but the love and warmth I knew in that
special family was like a pebble dropped in water that ripples through my life
to this day".
Jim
Bob: Mama?
Olivia:
Yes, Jim Bob?
Jim
Bob: Where d'you reckon Mary Ellen is right this minute?
Olivia:
Where do think she is?
Jim
Bob: At the White House.
Erin:
Having tea with Mrs Roosevelt.
Jason:
I bet she's having tea with Mr Roosevelt.
John-Boy:
Probably telling him how to run things!
John:
In that case the country's in good hands! 'Night everybody.
Everyone:
'Night Daddy.
Notes:
It is the autumn of the year (because the Waltons are picking apples).
Maude Gormley makes her first
appearance.
Olivia’s Aunt Jesse lives in Washington, D.C.
Old Man Pickett’s apple orchard is located near Earlyville in Cumberland County. (In reality, Cumberland County is southeast of Buckingham County, which is southeast of Nelson County.)
Also appearing:
Ike Godsey (Joe Conley), Sheriff Ep Bridges (John Crawford), Maude Gormley (Merle Earle), Old Man Pickett (Regis J. Cordic), Jamie (Peter Hooten).
(synopsis written by William Atkins and edited by Arthur Dungate)