04x15 - Junior Astronaut

[bunniefuu]

-Nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two,

one, zero, liftoff.

[launch sound]

Mission control to astronaut.

Mission control to astronaut.

You are go.

-Everything's A-OK, Mr. Wilson.

Cabin pressure .

Oxygen .

Temperature .

-Roger, Menace one.

Five seconds to engine cut off.

[thud]

-Capsule separated from booster.

A-OK, Mr. Wilson.

-Roger, Menace one.

Are you ready to perform your

first experiment in space?

-Affirmative.

Space helmet opened.

-Roger.

Take a deep breath and

start on the count of three.

One, two, three.

Did it work?

-Mmm mmm.

-Congratulations.

You have successfully completed

the first bubble gum blow up

in space.

-Astronaut to Wilson Control.

Astronaut to Wilson Control.

Completing first orbit.

Preparing to eat lunch.

-Roger, Menace One.

-Oh, boy, a hamburger.

Ah, gee.

Mom forgot to put ketchup on it.

-Don't go away, Menace One,

we'll take care of that.

[launch sound]

-Boy, thanks, Mr. Wilson.

-Roger, Menace One.

What is your position now?

-I'm approaching the

coast of California again.

-You'd better

prepare for reentry.

-Gee wiz, can't I go around

a couple of more times?

-No, no, it's my lunch time now.

Besides, your fuel

is running low.

Prepare to fire retro rockets.

-How do I do that?

-It's the third

button on the right.

[thud]

-Not that button, Dennis!

That's the jet roll button.

Dennis!

Dennis!

Dennis!

-Dennis.

Dennis.

Dennis, wake up, son.

Have you finished

your arithmetic?

-I pressed the wrong button.

-Button?

What button?

-I guess I was dreaming.

I was an astronaut,

and I was flying

around the Earth

in a space capsule.

-You better get out

of your space suit

and into your pajamas.

-Yes, ma'am.

Dad, when I grow up, do you

think I could be an astronaut?

-Well, you might

just as well be.

You're always in orbit anyway.

[theme music]

-Hugh Thompson heads up

the th, that's good.

And Pete Borington

will head up the nd.

What about the th?

John Wilson?

-Yes, sir.

-Sylvester, this junior

astronaut program

is too important to

entrust to just anyone

even at the local level.

Now what about

that Charles Brady

who headed up the savings

stamps campaign in that district

last year?

He did a magnificent job.

-Well, I contacted

him, just hasn't

got the time to be

chairman this year.

-Too bad.

John Wilson?

-Yes, he's a writer.

When I interviewed

him, he said he'd

done some work for the b*mb

division during the w*r.

-Oh, that John Wilson.

He's the one who came up with

that slogan, invest your cash

and settle der fuehrer's hash.

Sylvester, are you sure

you can't get Brady?

-No, sir.

-Well, I guess we'll

have to appoint Wilson.

-Jeepers.

-He looks like Soupy Sales

just threw a pie at him.

-He does not.

Mr. Wilson's my friend.

And he's gonna be a big man.

-Not as big as my dad.

My dad was chairman

last year, and he

helped sell more savings

stamps and bonds.

-Mr. Wilson will sell more.

-Ha, he'll never think up

clever ideas like my dad did.

-He will too.

Mr. Wilson's a writer,

and he's got great ideas.

-Like what?

-Well, I don't know.

But I betcha he's working

on a big one right now.

[typing]

-Eloise.

Eloise!

-Yes, dear?

-Ah, I think I've got it.

Listen to this.

It costs millions to

put a man in orbit,

so buy savings bonds and

stamps and help absorb it.

-It rhymes.

-If you were a school

girl, wouldn't this

give you tremendous impetus to

go out and buy saving stamps?

-Well, it rhymes.

-Oh, it does more than that.

It, it tells the whole story

of this year's school campaign

for savings stamps,

how important

it is to buy savings

bonds and stamps to help

finance our space effort.

[doorbell]

Oh, I hope that isn't Sylvester.

-The Treasury man?

Are you expecting him?

-Yes, he said he'd

stop by here before he

returned to Washington.

He wants to check my

ideas on the campaign.

-I'll let him in.

-Yeah.

Astronaut orbit,

orbit, rocket, rocket!

Rocket, rocket, rocket.

-Well, Dennis, he's very busy.

-I just wanted to

congratulate him.

-Oh, I don't think

he'd mind that.

Go on in.

-Thanks, Mrs. Wilson.

Hi, Mr. Wilson.

-Oh, hi, Dennis.

-I wanted to congratulate you.

-Well, thank you, Dennis.

-Johnny Brady said his father

set a record last year.

But I told him with your

ideas, you'd b*at it.

-Well, I'll certainly try.

-And if you need any

help, you can count on me.

-Thank you.

Thank you, Dennis.

-As a matter of

fact, you can help me

with the slogan I just created.

I'd like to get your opinion

on it as an average school boy.

-Blast off.

-Dig in your pocket

and send up a rocket.

What do you think of it?

-Well, it rhymes.

-It didn't do anything for you?

-Well, it's very good.

-Well, of course, there's

more to it than just slogan.

I plan to open the campaign with

a big parade down Main Street.

-That's a great

idea, Mr. Wilson.

-Ah, thank you.

-That's what Johnny Brady's

father did last year.

-Oh.

Well, I wasn't living

here last year.

-But you'll come up with a

great one, I know you will.

-Hmm, sure.

-Do you know what you

ought to do, Mr. Wilson?

You ought to have a contest.

-A contest?

-Yeah, for the kid that buys

the most savings stamps.

[doorbell]

And give them a prize.

Maybe you could get to

meet one of the astronauts.

-Oh, but he'd have to go

to Cape Canaveral for that.

And they're kind of

busy around there.

-Excuse me, dear.

Mr. Sylvester is here.

-Oh.

-Hello, Wilson.

-Mr. Sylvester.

-I'll just go make some coffee.

-Thank you, dear.

-Thank you.

-Oh I'd like you to

meet a neighbor of mine,

Dennis Mitchell.

Uh, Mr. Sylvester's with

the Treasury Department.

-I'm happy to meet you, sir.

-Dennis.

-Sit down, sir.

Sit down.

Sit down.

I was just going

over some of my ideas

on the campaign

with Dennis getting

the typical school

boy's reaction.

-Mr. Wilson's writing

some great slogans.

Read him that one

you read to me.

-Yeah, well, I don't think

it's quite ready yet.

I have others, of

course, nothing concrete,

just sort of going

around in my head.

-Wilson, we heard some of

your some of your slogans

during the w*r.

What we need here now

is some concrete action.

-Gee, I thought that one

idea of yours was great.

-What idea?

-The contest we

were talking about.

-The contest?

Oh, the contest.

-Well, that sounds interesting.

-It sure is.

What Mr. Wilson wants

is to have a contest

and give the boy or girl who

buys the most savings stamps

a prize, a trip to Cape

Canaveral to meet an astronaut.

-Dennis, I didn't.

-I think you've got

something there.

Wilson, that's a

tremendous idea.

-Oh, uh, thank you.

-Boy, I'll buy a zillion

stamps to win that trip.

-Well, there's only

one slight hitch.

Who's going to pay for it?

-The Treasury Department?

-We have no procreation

for anything like that.

So I guess I'll just

have to disapprove

of the entire project.

-Oh, no.

Mr. Wilson would pay for it.

Wouldn't you, Mr. Wilson?

-Oh, I, I, I guess so.

-Well, I can certainly

see that things here

are in very good hands.

I don't think you

need me any further.

And since I have a plane

to catch, I'll say goodbye.

-Uh, goodbye.

And when you buy a $ .

or $ . savings stamp,

you'll receive this certificate

signed by the seven Mercury

astronauts, which makes

you junior astronauts.

[applause]

Now you'll also get this

very attractive album

in which to paste your stamps.

When you have filled

it, you can exchange it

for a United States

Savings Bond.

Every savings bond

you purchase is not

only an investment

in your future,

but in your country's future.

Now in this day and age, we--

-Psst, psst.

-Uh, Dennis, Mr.

Wilson is talking.

-I'm sorry, Miss Williams.

I just wanted to remind

him about the contest.

-Oh, oh, the contest.

Oh, yeah, the contest.

Well, it's very simple.

For the boy or girl who

purchases the most stamps

during the rest of the month,

I am donating a free trip

to Cape Canaveral, where

he or she will personally

meet one of the astronauts.

[applause]

-Children.

-Children!

Are there any questions?

Tommy.

-When can we start

buying our stamps

so we can get our junior

astronaut certificate?

-Well, right away, if it's

all right with Miss Williams.

-Certainly.

-Oh, good.

Then I declare

the school savings

bond drive officially open.

-Boy, this is great, signed by

the seven Mercury astronauts.

-I'm going to get a frame for

mine and hang it over my bed.

-I'm going to try to win

that trip to Cape Canaveral.

-Me too.

-You guys are just

wasting your time.

I'm going to win that

corny old contest.

-Oh yeah?

That's what you think.

-Ha, how many

stamps did you buy?

-$ . stamp.

-I bought $ . worth.

-$ . ?

-My whole allowance.

-That's not fair.

I don't get that much allowance.

-Me neither.

-That's your tough luck.

Take it up with your

friend, Mr. Wilson.

-Mr. Wilson?

-Oh, yes, Dennis.

-The kids with the

biggest allowances

are going to win the contest.

-No, that's not true.

I just had a call

from Mr. Sylvester,

and we've changed the rules.

He feels, and I agree with him,

that in a contest such as this,

each child must earn the

money to buy his stamps.

-That means that Johnny Brady's

money allowance won't count.

-That's right.

If each boy and girl

earns the money,

then it's fair to everyone.

-Where are we going

to find enough jobs?

-Oh, you'll will

find enough jobs

around your own neighborhood.

And working for the money

makes it even more worthwhile.

We must all made sacrifices.

-We'll sure try.

-Yes, sir.

-Hi, Mr. Wilson.

Do you have any jobs I can do?

-Jobs?

-Yes, sir.

I'm trying to earn money

around the neighborhood

to buy stamps like you said.

-Well, um, how much would

you charge to wash my car?

-A dollar.

And I'll do a real good job.

-Well, it's a good cause.

[doorbell]

-Mr. Wilson, can I mow

your lawn for a dollar?

-Mow my lawn?

-I want to earn some

money like you said.

Thanks a lot.

[doorbell]

-Oh, no, not another one.

-As another great

American once said,

it costs millions to

put a man in orbit.

So buy savings stamps and

bonds and help absorb it.

[DOORBELL

-Thank you, Tommy.

-You're welcome, Miss Williams.

-I want to thank

all you children.

I'm very proud of

the way you've been

buying your savings stamps.

-Miss Williams, who's

winning the contest?

-Well, at the end

of the second week,

the leaders are Dennis

Mitchell with $ .

and Johnny Brady with $ . .

[applause]

-I'll send you a postcard

from Cape Canaveral.

-We still got two

more weeks, Johnny.

And I've got a lot

of jobs lined up.

We'll see who's going

to send who a postcard.

-My goodness, Dennis,

you're here early.

-Yes, ma'am.

I got up at o'clock this

morning and collected bottles.

-Well, here you are

two $ . stamps.

-Thanks, Miss Williams.

-This puts you $ .

ahead of Johnny Brady.

-Morning, Miss Williams.

-Oh, good morning, Johnny.

-I made some collections on

my paper route this morning.

Can I have $ .

worth of stamps?

-$ . worth, why

that's wonderful.

I guess this puts you

in the lead again.

-Yes, ma'am.

-But, Dad.

-I'm sorry, son.

You've already washed my car

three times in the last two

weeks.

Why don't you ask Mr. Wilson?

-Well, I've washed

his car four times.

-I'm sorry, Dennis.

But Dad, there are

only a few days left.

Don't you want to see

me win the contest?

-Yes, dear, sure I can be ready.

This is quite a surprise.

All right, I'll see you there.

Bye.

-Hey, Mom.

-Dennis, I was going

to look for you.

Your father just called

and he's gotten tickets

to a show that's in town.

So he wants to take

me to dinner tonight.

-You can't go.

-Oh, why not?

-Well, you see,

Mrs. Wilson told me

Mrs. Forsythe

needed a babysitter.

So she called up.

But Mrs. Forsythe

said I was too young.

And then I got the idea that if

Mrs. Forsythe brought the baby

over here that you and Dad

could help me babysit with him.

And she said that would be OK.

-Oh, I see.

Couldn't you call Dad up?

-No, Dennis, I'm afraid not.

-Gee, I could just

find some adult.

But who?

-Henry?

Henry?

Anybody home?

[baby crying]

-Oh, be quiet.

Be quiet.

He bit me.

-He hasn't got any teeth.

You must of stuck yourself

on one of his pins.

-Dennis, turn on the TV set,

maybe there's a western on.

-He's too young to

watch television.

-Oh, well, I thought the

sound of the sh**ting

would drown out his crying.

-Why don't you

sing him a lullaby?

-Me?

-Sure.

--[singing] We are

poor and little

lambs who have lost our way.

Baa, baa, baa.

He'll never grow up

to be a Yale man.

Maybe he's hungry.

-Maybe he needs to--

-Let's see if he's hungry first.

And whatever success I've had

as chairman I owe to all of you

for the wonderful way you've

been buying the savings stamps.

And I know I can depend

on you junior astronauts

to keep on buying them even

after the contest is over.

But as you know

it ends tomorrow.

And Miss Williams tells me that

we have a tie in our contest.

So I imagine that

after school today,

there'll be two young men

scurrying around town busily

trying to get some last

minute money to win

the trip to Cape Canaveral.

And I wish both of

them the very best

of luck, Johnny Brady

and Dennis Mitchell.

Dennis?

-Uh, Dennis is

absent this morning.

-Oh, oh I hadn't noticed.

I wonder what's wrong?

-Well, it's just a mild

case of chickenpox.

-Boy, I've got to deliver

circulars for Mr. Ferguson

this afternoon.

-I'm afraid you

won't be delivering

any circulars, young man.

As a matter of

fact, you're staying

in bed for the next

couple of days.

Well, I'll look in

again this evening.

-Thank you, doctor.

-Ah, gee.

-That's a tough break, son.

-Mr. Ferguson was

going to pay me $ . .

Now Johnny Brady is

going to win the contest.

-I know how disappointed

you are, son,

but I want you to know

that your mother and I are

very proud of you.

Well, look at all the

stamps you've bought.

You have almost enough

here for a savings bond.

And the wonderful

thing is that you

earned all the money

for them yourself.

-Yeah, but I could have

won the contest too.

-Dennis, sometimes in losing

we win a great deal more than

we realize.

If it hadn't been

for you, Johnny Brady

wouldn't have worked as hard

as he did to buy his stamps.

Neither would the other kids.

So you see, you actually

had a great deal

to do with making the savings

stamp drive a big success.

The way I look at

it, that's a lot more

important than

winning the contest.

Do you understand?

-Yes, sir.

But--

-But what, son?

-I sure would have liked to

make that trip to Cape Canaveral

to meet one of the astronauts.

-You must be very proud of

He did a magnificent job for us.

-I am.

-Oh, I'm sorry to keep you

waiting, Mr. Sylvester.

I was next door visiting Dennis.

-Yes, Mrs. Wilson told me.

How is he?

-Not so good.

He's taking it very hard.

He had his heart set on

going to Cape Canaveral

to meet one of the astronauts.

-I'm sorry he didn't win.

Oh, I was in Washington

last week, Wilson.

Your contest has made

a big impression.

-Oh well, that's

very nice of you.

But I must tell you Mr.

Sylvester, it wasn't my idea.

Actually I got it from Dennis.

-Yes, I figured that.

-Oh, you did.

You did?

-Well, I'll have

to be on my way.

If there's anything

that we can do for you.

-Oh, no, you've done

more than enough already.

There's nothing you can do.

Yes, there is.

I just had an idea if you

will cooperate with me on it.

-Why, of course.

-Well now, I thought that

if you as a representative

of the Treasury Department--

-Dennis, you'll never get

better if you don't eat.

-Who cares.

The contest is over

and I didn't win it.

[knock]

-Hi, Dennis.

How do you feel today?

-Oh, he won't eat anything.

-Three days of

lying in this bed,

I don't feel like

doing anything.

-Oh, that's too bad.

Then I'll tell Mr. Sylvester

that you don't want to see him.

-The treasury man?

-Yes, yes.

He had something

important that he

wanted to talk to

you about but--

-That's OK, I'll see him.

-Oh, good, good.

Uh, Mr. Sylvester.

-Hi, Dennis.

How do you feel?

-Well, I'd feel a lot better

if I had won that contest.

-I arranged something that may

make you feel a lot better.

In just about one

minute, Dennis,

you're going to get

a visit from someone

who's going to make you

forget all about chicken pox.

-I didn't hear anybody drive up.

-Of course not.

He's going to visit

you on television.

Right about now, I think.

-Hi there, Dennis.

I'm Colonel Shorty Powers,

the voice of Mercury Control.

-Colonel Shorty Powers, wow.

-Mr. Sylvester tells me that

you have the chicken pox.

He also tells me that that's why

you didn't win the big savings

stamp contest at your school.

We're pretty busy down here at

the Space Center in Houston,

but I wanted to take

a minute to tell you

that we think that what

you've done is important.

We think that how hard

you've worked to buy savings

stamps is very important,

not only to the space program

but to the whole country

and to our position

with the world of nations.

And because you've

worked so hard,

we want to make you a

full fledged astronaut.

Did you give Dennis

the pin, Mr. Sylvester?

-Oh boy, a real astronaut pin.

-And Dennis that

pin is a replica

of the Greek symbol for Mercury.

And the astronauts,

the original seven,

all wear one just like

it with a little number

seven superimposed on it.

So keep up the good work,

astronaut Dennis Mitchell.

And don't worry about

the chicken pox,

it'll be gone

before you know it.

Bye.

-Well, Dennis,

were you surprised?

-Boy, I'll say, a

real astronaut pin.

-That's right and

it's all yours.

-Oh, boy, Mr. Sylvester,

when I get better

I'm going to keep on

buying saving stamps.

And I know all the other

boys and girls in the country

are going to do the same thing.

-That's the way I like to

hear an astronaut talk.

-Thanks, Mr. Sylvester.

Boy, this is better than

winning any old contest.

I know you're pretty

busy, Mr. Sylvester,

so if you've got to blast

of now, it's A-OK with me.

-Well, thank you, Dennis.

Excuse me folks, I've

got to blast off now.

-I'll see you out.

-Thank you.

-That was certainly

nice of Mr. Sylvester

to arrange all of this.

-Boy, what a day this has been.

Look at it, Dad.

-I just hope he doesn't

get Dennis's chicken pox.

-Don't you worry,

Henry, Mr. Sylvester

has three children of his own.

I'm sure he's had

the chicken pox.

-What's the matter, Mr. Wilson?

-I haven't.

-Oh no, oh no.

[theme music]