-There was a road that ran
near the edge of my town,
Out where the suburbs
were still farms.
I used to go there
nights, that autumn of 1972.
I was 16.
I had a girl. I had
a car. I had a job.
I was full of night and life.
I just wasn't ready to go home.
That year, I traveled streets
I'd never known before.
I pushed against the
limits of my suburban life.
I had no idea exactly
what lay ahead.
All I knew was... I was
running out of time.
And I was gonna bust if
something didn't happen... Soon.
-♪ Baby ♪
-♪ By with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ Said I'm gonna make
it with my friends ♪
-♪ Try with a little
help from my friends ♪
-♪ Oh, I'm gonna
keep on trying ♪
-♪ High with a little
help from my friends ♪
♪ I'm gonna keep on
trying now, baby ♪
-♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
-Peace with honor
and not surrender.
-Halt the bombing
And then terminate our
involvement in this tragic w*r.
-In 1972, the country was at w*r
With its armies...
With its ideals...
With itself.
The dreams of the '60s
were battling a new decade.
Things were
happening everywhere.
Almost everywhere.
-Open your books to
chapter 6, section 13.
"The rise of
post-agricultural europe."
-11Th grade.
The no-man's-land
of public education.
-Now... Who can tell me
another name for this era?
How about... The
industrial revolution?
-Oh! Oh!
The industrial revolution?
-Excellent.
-It was grim.
In the w*r between
the board of education
And the class of '74...
Things had pretty much
reached a standoff...
- Mr. Arnold!
- For most of us.
-How about you?
-Me?
-Not that I'd been
neglecting my studies.
I'd been studying a lot.
-Do you have anything
to contribute?
-Uh... Yeah.
-Sure. How much
did you have in mind?
-I'd been studying
to be a wise guy.
-I'll be expecting a 10-page
report from you on monday.
-Not very successfully.
-Right.
-Okay, so my act needed work.
Like most of my generation,
I was dealing with bigger
concepts than schoolwork,
Concepts like...
Interconference w*r.
-What's this about?
-Are you kidding?
It's the homecoming game
against the owls this weekend.
It's only the biggest
event of the whole year.
-Oh.
-Paul pfeiffer...
Class president, civic booster.
-Up a little bit on the left.
-Naturally, I was proud of him.
-Come on, paul. Loosen up.
I mean, it's just a game.
What's the big deal?
- "What's the big deal?"
I'll tell you what
the big deal is.
It's those stupid owls.
They stole our knight.
-Which was true.
It happened in broad daylight.
A daring 3:00 raid.
-Hey! Hey, let... Let go!
-It was the biggest
scandal to hit school
Since charlie
mandelseck got caught
Sniffing magic markers
in the art-supply closet.
-So, they stole
our knight. So what?
Can't we just get another one?
-Very funny.
-Hey, what's this all about?
- Homecoming game.
- Oh.
-I'm assuming you'll be there?
-I don't know. I might have to
spend the weekend with my dad.
- That was jeff billings,
new guy in school.
- Looks good.
-Believe it or not, he was
the first kid I ever knew
Whose parents were divorced.
-Maybe you could bring
your dad to the game.
-No, you know, then my mom
would get all upset and I'll have to
Spend the rest of the
week eating cold meat loaf.
-Well, that sounds pretty dumb.
-Oh, great, yeah. That's
easy for you to say.
I mean, your parents are
still having sex together.
-They are not!
-Yeah, you had to like this kid.
He was kind of
like me... A wise guy.
-Kevin!
-And then there was winnie.
-I missed you today.
I thought about
you in chemistry.
-Yeah, I thought
about you in biology.
-Winnie cooper...
The hair, the smile,
the whole ball of wax.
We did everything together.
-So, can I give you a lift?
-Well, almost everything.
-Oh.
-Yeah... About the car.
-Look, I told you. I
didn't have a choice.
Mr. Chong made me put it on
if I wanted the delivery job.
-Uh... Pick me up at the
side entrance, okay?
Thanks!
-It was my first taste
Of what they call the
working man's blues.
Not that I was complaining,
you understand.
-Hi, honey.
-I had my father to do that.
-How was work? Everything okay?
-Lousy.
-Well, that's nice.
-Hey, suckers!
- What's for dinner?
- Well...
-Never mind. I'll just
make something myself.
-My brother, wayne.
He'd gone to work in the mail
room at dad's company, norcom.
$89.50 a week, take-home.
-Don't forget to unwrap
that before you eat it.
Vanish, scrote.
-Not only that, he'd
moved into new digs
In the basement.
His own personal,
customized rat's nest.
He was happy as a clam in mud.
-Well, I guess it's
only three for dinner.
-No, actually, I got to go.
-Go where?
-Out.
- Out?
- You know, out. I got things to do.
-What kind of things?
-Things, dad.
-Well, then... Drive carefully.
-Right, dad.
-Don't get into trouble.
-Right, dad.
And be home by 11:00.
-There it was.
The boundless trust
of parents who loved me.
-Thanks.
-It was touching. Really.
Mountain view drive.
Also known as "the point."
-Hey!
-The final b*ttlefield in
the w*r between the sexes.
Not that I had those
kind of problems.
I had winnie.
-Wait.
I love this song.
Wait. Can we roll down
the window a little?
Wait.
- "Wait." It was
kind of her motto.
-I have to get
something from my purse.
-You had to hand it to winnie.
When it came to safe sex,
she was ahead of her time.
She came armed with every
device known to modern woman,
Including...
-Gum?
-Of course, in retrospect, I
really admire her restraint.
In retrospect.
-Look, winnie, are we really
gonna keep doing this?
-Doing what?
-Well... You know...
Starting, stopping.
-Mostly stopping.
-Don't you think it's time
we went a little further?
-What exactly do
you mean... "Further"?
-Well, you know...
I... We...
-Kevin...
-And that was the great
thing about the girl.
-Did you know your car
smells like pork lo mein?
-Her sense of smell.
-Yeah. I knew that.
-And there you had it.
I was living in a world
where "go" meant "stop,"
Where "yes" meant "no,"
While out there,
in the real world...
Things were happening...
Things that mattered.
-Hey, wayne!
-Things that made
men out of boys.
What's up?
Hey, man!
How you doing?
-David... Look at you.
- Wart. Good to see you.
-Thanks. It's good to be back.
-Look at all those
medals. Were you wounded?
-Ah, it was nothing, really.
-Yeah, mom. He's fine.
-Yeah!
-It was awesome.
Wayne's pal, dave wirtschafter,
Had left for vietnam a goofy kid
And come home
from his tour a hero.
-So... Was it bad?
Well, you know...
Hey, man! You
haven't changed a bit!
-Yeah. Well, uh...
I got my driver's
license. On the first try.
-That's great!
-Yeah.
-Well, we're all very
proud of you, son.
Very proud.
-Yeah. And, hey, I got a
new room in the basement.
It's really cool.
You want to see it?
- Yeah, sure!
- All right!
-But this much was clear.
While the rest of us
Were playing with
tinkertoys and riding bikes,
This guy had been there,
earning his stripes...
Taking risks.
-That's pathetic. Look at that.
-What happened?
-They gave him back.
-Well, that's good, right?
- No. They kept his armor, man.
- Oh.
-Oh, fine. Be that way.
I'm just saying, someone
ought to do something about it.
-Yeah, you know,
I mean, he's right.
We could write a letter
or something like that.
- We should file a complaint.
- Yeah, knight-napping.
-Or we can steal their owl.
-Hmm.
-Ah, no. Forget it, man.
I mean, we don't even
know where they keep it.
-Hey, I know where they keep it.
I got a friend who
goes to central.
-Bingo.
And so, that night,
Thanks to fate and
ricky halsenbach...
-Guys? Is that you?
- I saw my chance to go to w*r.
-Put this in the back.
-Holy cow!
-Sure, maybe it was crazy.
-Forget it. I'll do it myself.
-But in some way, it was
absolutely necessary.
What's going on out there?
What's going on out
there?! Put that cage down!
Let's get out of here, man!
-You hear me?!
-Come on! Let's go!
Kev! Let's get out of here!
- Put that cage down!
-It was heady. It was wild.
It was...
- Stop!
Stop!
-It was... A total fiasco.
Al, more fries!
-The next day,
While the rest of the world
was chowing down on french fries,
I was eating crow.
-I don't believe it. How
could I blow it like that?
I mean, we were there.
We had it. And then...
I mean, I blew it. Right?
-Fact... The great owl
heist had been a bust.
-Hey, aren't you
gonna say anything?
-You got some
ketchup on your shirt.
-Hey!
Hear you blew it last
night, huh, big guy?
- Uh-oh.
- What?
-Oh, it's all over town.
Some bozos tried
to raid central high.
-What makes you think it was me?
-Oh... Intuition.
Plus the guard said he saw a car
With some stupid dragon
painted on the side.
Nice going, 007. Thanks.
-Perfect.
-I was on my way to becoming
the town laughingstock...
As opposed to,
say, the local hero.
-So, what was it
like? Was it scary?
-Well, you know, it
wasn't really much.
-Are you kidding?! This
guy was everywhere!
Tell 'em, wart.
-Well, I spent a little
time in pleiku and quang tri
And down in the delta.
Hey, but I did my
r&r in hong kong.
Man, that was something!
- Yeah, that was something!
Listen to this, guys.
There was this place...
- Look at that.
The way my brother
was grandstanding,
You'd think he'd
been driving a t*nk
Instead of pushing a mail cart.
-So, did you k*ll anybody?
-What?
Uh, no. No, nothing like that.
-Yeah? What are
you talking about?
Nothing like that.
Okay, everybody. Show's over.
Bye-bye now. Have fun.
Don't forget your homework.
Don't stay up too late.
Tell your sister I say hi.
-Hey, you know, I was thinking,
Maybe I ought to
change out of my clothes.
Get into my civvies, right?
-Yeah, all right.
And I'll pick you up tonight.
We'll go to the game.
-There's a game?
-Yeah, it'll be fun.
We'll goof on it.
- All right, sure.
- Let me try this on.
-And of course it was only fair.
After all, in life, some
guys get the glory...
-Hey, kev. Heard you guys
blew it big-time last night.
- While some guys
end up with nothing
But a kick in the pants.
Homecoming night. The big game.
Everyone who was
anyone was there.
-Hey, guys! You're late!
-Yeah, well, we had to
park kind of far away.
-Where?
-The baseball field.
-Well, at least you're here.
And it's gonna be a great game.
Except for halftime,
When they fly that stupid
owl around the stadium.
-Paul.
-Oh. Right. Sorry.
-Yeah, this was some
fun. Boola boola.
-Kevin, aren't you gonna sit?
-Uh... No, thanks. I'm
gonna get us some sodas.
-Figured I had all night
to be laughed out of town.
Might as well fortify
myself with a cold one.
-Wart!
-Hey. How you doing?
-Good. Good.
-Boy, sure is crowded, isn't it?
-Yeah.
-Lot of people.
- Hey, wart.
- Hey.
-The funny thing
is, out of uniform,
He looked like...
The old goofy wart.
- Gangway, scrote!
- Watch it, butthead!
-Hey. Hey, that's "mr.
Butthead" to you, okay?
-m*rder*r!
-What was that?
-Uh... Nothing.
Hey, forget it. It didn't
mean anything, okay?
- Yeah. They probably just...
- Yeah, sure.
Hey, listen. I'm gonna
take a walk, okay?
- Okay, well, I'll go with you.
- Nah, that's okay.
Um, I'm gonna check
out the old school.
I'll be back. Really.
Save my seat.
-Yeah, okay, well,
I'll see you there.
-What the heck.
You had to figure
Where he'd been, the guy
could take care of himself.
Besides, no sense letting
a few rotten apples
Spoil the whole night.
-Hey, arnold, catch
any owls lately?
-Two colas and
hold the wisecracks.
-Of course, looking
back, I was being childish,
Thin-skinned,
oversensitive... 16.
-Oh! Excuse me!
-All I knew was, I was fed up...
With football,
with stupid mascots.
And that's when I heard it.
It was almost too
good to be true,
As if I'd planned it...
Even though I hadn't.
We stood there... Eye to
eye. It was like he knew me.
-Here, boy. You're
coming with me.
-I had only one thought.
I wasn't gonna
blow it this time.
-Yes, yes, yes!
I made it out to
the baseball field
In about two minutes flat.
-I did it.
-The thing is, I had no plan,
no idea of what to do next.
It didn't matter.
All I knew was...
- I did it.
-I'd seen my chance.
I'd taken the risk.
I'd earned my stripes.
-Wart?
Wart, is that you?
Wart!
Hey.
This is perfect!
I got it.
I got their mascot.
I got the owl.
-And I guess that's
when I saw it clearly.
He was sitting on that bench...
On the third-base line...
And his clothes were in a
little pile on the ground.
-Oh, god.
-Wart?
Wart?
Wart, what you doing, man?
-Nothing.
-Hey, man. Looks like
you lost your clothes.
-I know.
Nothing seems to fit anymore.
-Here you go.
Wear mine.
-It's okay. It's okay.
-They say men are children.
But sometimes...
Children are men.
Maybe that's where
the confusion lies.
All I knew was,
That night, the world
seemed suddenly very big...
And I felt very small.
So I did what I could.
- We want!
- We want!
- We want a touchdown!
- We want a touchdown!
- We want, we want!
- We want, we want!
- We want a touchdown!
- We want a touchdown!
- We want, we want!
- We want, we want!
- We want a touchdown!
- We want a touchdown!
-1972 Was a crazy time.
-Three!
-Kids played football,
drove cars, went to school,
Celebrated life...
- While soldiers...
Heroes, their brothers...
Struggled to find
their way home from w*r.
And young boys watched...
And grew wiser...
In their dreams.