I just have to know if you like me or not. And don't give any of that... "like me" like me stuff.
Well, that was it. A straightforward, face-to-face, yes-or-no question. And I was going to stand there until I got my answer.
WinnieI don't know.
"I don't know"?! What do you mean you don't know? [Frowns]
Winnie
I mean I don't know. I really don't know! I wish everyone would just leave me alone! I don't know what I'm doing.
This was something new. I mean, I always figured girls knew exactly what they wanted. They knew - they had a plan. Or maybe they didn't. Maybe they were just as confused as we were. Isn't that great? It - it's horrible. They don't know either. That means nobody knows. As I stood there that cold night, I realized for the first time in a long time that Winnie and I were feeling the same thing. We were both completely... miserable.
RARadio Announcer
With the heavily Negro population of the District of Columbia and the rocksteady Democrat stronghold of Massachusetts, Senator McGovern has an early start by carrying those states.
Maybe I was jaded to think Winnie was idealistic. That newscast spurred me on to go to party headquarters where I could see the thrill of victory.
[Kevin arrives at party headquarters to see a glum scene]
SScoreboard
McGov = 2 checks. Nixon = 49 checks.
Winnie
How could this be? How could this have happened?
MMike
Winnie, we have to face reality. McGovern never stood a chance. Now is the time to focus our efforts on the 1974 Congressional elections.
I guess many hearts were broken across America that night. But only one I really cared about. But somehow, it didn't seem important, anymore - who was right, who was wrong. All that really seemed to matter was... After all, maybe in his own way, Mike was right. In politics, you live to fight another day. Sure, the 'sixties were gone, but sooner or later...there'd be other battles to fight. The thing is, that election forever changed the way my generation looked at politics. We discovered, no matter how painfully, that we could be part of the process. That we could believe. And even now, twenty years later, despite all the evidence to the contrary... I can remember that night. And still believe.
By the way, congratulations on your SAT scores.
Winnie
Thanks.
I mean, no sense being pigheaded. The way I saw it - the world was big enough for all of us. And besides, so what if women could influence government, take over big business, alter domestic policy, dominate education, make the world a better place. In one important respect, we had still a lot to teach them. Yep, when it came to being jerks, they still had a lot to learn.
(Final lines)
Once upon a time, there was a girl I knew, who lived across the street. Brown hair, brown eyes. When she smiled, I smiled. When she cried, I cried. Every single thing that ever happened to me that mattered, in some way had to do with her. That day, Winnie and I promised each other that no matter what, that we'd always be together. It was a promise full of passion and truth and wisdom. It was the kind of promise that can only come from the hearts of the very young.
(Scene shifts to 4th of July parade, as Kevin and Winnie arrive)
The next day, Winnie and I came home, back to where we'd started. It was the 4th of July in that little suburban town. Somehow though, things were different. Our past was here, but our future was somewhere else. And we both knew, sooner or later, we had to go. It was the last July I ever spent in that town. The next year, after graduation, I was on my way.
(Kevin and Winnie walk over to Paul)
Winnie
Hi.
So was Paul. He went to Harvard, of course. Studied law. (Paul sneezes) He's still allergic to everything.
(buys a flag from a salesman) Thanks a lot.
Listen, I'll be right back. Hang on for one second. (walks over to Jack)
Norma! (Norma, Wayne and a pregnant Karen walk over to Jack and Kevin)
Hey, we were family. For better or worse.
One for all...and all for one.
(Touches Karen's stomach) Gosh.
WWayne
(points at Karen's stomach) Little Kevin.
Karen's son was born in that September. I gotta say, I think he looks like me. Poor kid. Mom, she did well: Business woman, board chairman, grandmother...cooker of mashed potatoes. Wayne stayed on in furniture. Wood seemed to suit him. In fact, he took over the factory two years later, when Dad passed away. Winnie left the next summer to study art history in Paris. Still, we never forgot our promise. We wrote to each other once a week for the next eight years. I was there to meet her, when she came home, with my wife and my first son, eight months old. Like I said, things never turn out exactly the way you planned.
(Scene shifts to Kevin and Jack sitting at the table, drinking)
It was good. It was a good Fourth.
Yeah. So you're gonna be a grandpa huh?
Grey hair and everything.
Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day, you're in diapers; next day, you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul.
(Scene shifts outside, to the street)
I remember a place...a town...a house...like a lot of other houses; a yard like a lot of other yards; on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is...after all these years, I still look back...with wonder.
(Fireworks in the background, fade to credits)
KSKevin's son
Hey Dad, wanna play catch?
The Wonder Years · 239 quotes
