The First Step

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] is dummy so tommy [Music] no hi dad i thought you said you wanted to sleep late this morning yes i wanted to but that singing woke me up i'm afraid we made a mistake tommy what mistake living so close to a church can't sleep on sunday mornings don't you like singing yes and no yes i like singing and no i don't like it on sunday mornings oh where you been i'm getting acquainted with the neighborhood so how about some breakfast i had mine already and i i cooked some oatmeal for you too of course i know that you know that i don't like oatmeal you should try to like it a little like i did spinning well maybe if i want to have muscles like superman i better huh come on you said it well so we got a lot of work to do so we might as well get started what do you say you bet but i wish mrs matthews was here to help us i thought we'd made up our mind we could get along without a housekeeper sure dad sure what's up boy now look you take your things put them where they belong now get the stuff out of the car okay yeah let me help you oh thank you you're quite low there i'll never learn not to take the lazy man's load i guess it's very nice of you oh not at all pleasure here i can take them now oh go ahead go ahead i'll bring these in well that's very nice thank you just throw them down there any old place by the way i'm your next-door neighbor norman bonfield's john halliday thanks for the helping hand not at all should we go get the rest oh no thanks i can manage that all right nonsense i need the exercise that's very nice of it you're a good neighbor to have mr bonfield glad to help and i can't that's my place over there and there's our church i'm a trustee oh and i teach a sunday school class well when you get settled i'd like to invite you to a sunday services it's very thoughtful of you but i'm afraid i'm not much for church oh you're not well i haven't really got time you see i lost my wife some years ago oh i'm sorry to hear that i had a housekeeper to look after the boy but we decided to try it on our own for a while so i was trying to take care of tommy and keep up with my jumps out the window gotta get him before he gets lost mr vanfird you've just met my son tommy brownie's his pet frog you should send him out to the track team as i was saying what was trying to make a home for the boy and keep up with my work there is much time left for anything else not even church well to be perfectly frank with you i'm not much of a church-goer you don't believe in it well isn't exactly that i guess i don't really know what i do believe well that's a pretty bad fix to be in well i don't know we get along all right i guess well i know a lot of people who feel the same way ah you have a lot of work ahead of you yes i certainly have you can say that again it's gonna take a week to get this place straightened out yeah it is i'll tell you what you do why don't you and your son come and have dinner with us you'll be doing me a favor you see we were expecting guests ms bonfield has already prepared a roast the guest called up and asked to be excused if you don't come i'll eat leftovers for the rest of the week that's very kind of i won't take no for an answer we'll be expecting you at six see you then ah mrs vanfield that's the best meal i've had in years this pie was sure super duper thank you it's a pleasure to bake a pie for someone who enjoys it as much as you do tommy i'll help you mrs bonfield i do it at home yes you better keep them out of your kitchen mrs bronfield or talk you out of another piece of pie oh i'll do better than that tommy do you like fudge oh boy do i remember the holiday i hope you're going to like our neighborhood i'm sure i will you teach at wilson high you said yes that's right chemistry chemistry hmm that's an interesting field yes it's an exact science which appeals to me and gives me a great deal of satisfaction watch sit down thank you know i'm glad you moved into our neighborhood and i hope before too long we can share our religious activities with you you may find in them another kind of satisfaction something you've never felt before perhaps you see to me church and religion are so abstract i'm not sure what to believe about them and until i am sure i'm not going to profess any belief i don't actually hold have you ever stopped to consider where that uncertainty may carry you or the effect that it's bound to have on your boy yes i've thought of that as far as religion is concerned i'm going to let tommy wait until he's old enough to make up his own mind well it's a very comfortable theory there's only one thing wrong with it it won't work why not because actually the boy is building beliefs or lack of beliefs right now now's the time of his life where he definitely needs guidance well i'm not letting tommy drift he's learning right from wrong but as far as his religious education is concerned i don't see how i can honestly advise him to accept something i can't accept myself hmm i see oh i didn't realize it was so late i've got to get that boy to bed you have to excuse me tommy tommy time to go sorry to rush off like this miss bonfield but he's got to get his beauty sleep well we understand you run along be sure to drop in tomorrow time and we'll finish the fudge oh thanks mrs vonfield good night boy thanks for the swell dinner it's been a delightful evening pleasure's all ours be sure and come again we will you can come on then good night mr bumpfield hi you're new around here huh yeah did you ever play basketball sure a lot say you want to come and play with us you bet come on hey dad hey what's all the excitement i've been playing basketball with some fellas and dad they asked me to join john join what the monarchs it's a club they played basketball softball and everything mr bonfield next door he's kind of like a coach but i need gym shoes can i dad yeah sure sure and i can join the club why not lee oh boy hey fellas my dad said i can join hello there oh good afternoon how are you fine well see you're doing a little gardening well i got the inside straightened out so i don't neglect the outside it's looking pretty good yeah it's coming along i always like to hear youngsters having a good time yeah tommy's taken to those monarchs like a duck to water yeah he seems to enjoy himself tremendously would you like to come in for a cup of coffee then i did fine quite a nice collection of interesting books you have here including the bible that an old family relic i keep it for sentimental reasons you ever eat it yes of course as far as i'm concerned those are a lot of things that simply don't add up and these formulas do add up naturally being a chemist you know john there isn't a great deal of difference in our thinking you believe that certain formulas produce definite results and you believe that religion plus certain actions result in nothing but happiness and contentment oh no i didn't say that i will say it helps a lot to face the serious problems of everyday living well maybe something i'd like to say but it's also vague norman how do you know there is a god how do you know there isn't oh i don't incidentally i don't tell tommy there isn't well john don't you see that's exactly what you are doing what do you mean well well the youngster there's there's no in between either thing is black or it's white either there is a god or there isn't go on so when you avoid religion what you're actually doing is pushing tommy over to the there is no god side what else can i do in all honesty i'm a chemist i measure things classify them weigh them those are facts that i believe in can you show me god in any such terms john some of the most important things in life can't be classified or measured or weighed for instance you love tommy very much don't you naturally can you weigh that love can you measure that affection of course not how do you know you love him can you prove it scientifically well i all i'm trying to say john is that there's more to life than the cold material things that can be measured and weighed there's love there's goodness there's god those are things that we accept on faith for what they are yes but when when i think of my love for tommy i i feel something here when i think of god i don't feel anything at all but how do i get that feeling first you have to want it that's the first step how do i know where this first step will take me you don't know until you're willing to put your trust in god you won't know well maybe you're right maybe i'm just plain stubborn but it sounds to me like flying in a fog without instruments come on have another cup of coffee no no no thanks john no i better run along let you get back to the garden all right salon fellas nice hi dad hello mr bonfire hello tommy how's the boy have a good game did we our team won 20 to 12. well say dad could i join sunny school this coming sunday sunday school huh george and all the other fellows go can i i suppose love you want to oh swell bye mr bonfield all right tommy well don thanks for the coffee welcome [Music] foreign [Music] would you say something i said musami's full teacher asked me to join a church isn't that swell well um i don't know about that tommy i've been going to sunday school a long time now and all the other boys belong to the church i know that but well i guess we better do some talking tommy now look tommy i let you join the monarchs and i'll let you go to sunday school but joining the church why can't i dad well there are many reasons you see life itself is a growing process developing yourself learning things and then acting the way you believe so when you're very young you can't make up your mind about some of the more important things like politics and religion you gotta wait until you order before you can decide things like that how old do you have to be it's hard to say but i can tell you this there's some things that i have made up my mind about yet but dad i'd like to join the church [Music] i'm sorry son i can't let you yeah go on a change of clothes [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] okay [Music] hi tommy where you been i i've been busy you got time to play now got some homework to do oh hi tommy how's the boy i'm okay hey i haven't been seeing you around the playground i think the monarchs sure could use you on third base i i had to help my dad with the garden oh i see that it counts for you missing sunday school too yeah i guess so [Music] listen what's troubling you nothing what are you moping around the house for why aren't you outside playing with the monarchs because i don't feel like it why not oh i don't know [Music] look uh tommy if you tell me what's troubling you maybe we could uh figure this thing out huh would you would you let me join the church tommy i've tried to explain to you it's an important step to take it might affect your entire life [Music] have you been told that you couldn't play with the monarchs just because no no one said anything but all the other kids belong and i don't want to be the only one who doesn't it makes me feel funny so that's it look tommy if all the boys at the monarchs suddenly decided to leap out of a 10-story building would you leave two no i guess not yeah i guess not but the same thing i'll stop your moping and go outside and play one [Music] hey tommy what are you doing home from school charlie the teacher sent me home she sent you home what for because i got kind of sick wait a minute we got to do something about this no i'm all right now you sure you got to accept pains anyway no i'm okay well you better take it easy for a while you're here yeah hiya kid oh pete is this where you live yeah pretty nice place well see you tomorrow kid yeah i'll see you tomorrow who's pete he's in my gym class in school isn't he a bit a bit too old for you he's all right [Music] foreign [Music] hi enjoy it yeah sure well then it's time you and i had a serious talk in the first place you know i don't like you running the streets after dark i didn't notice how late it was well from now on you'll be on time when you're late i worry about you you don't have to worry about me you're not yourself literally son what's troubling nothing's troubling me i saw your teacher today she tells me you're not progressing in school as you should she said you could do much better if you wanted to i've been trying why did you play hooky today yesterday where'd you go nowhere except down by the freight yards and other places alone not some other kids was um this boy pete was he with you oh all right we'll forget about it tommy it's bad enough to play hooky but to lie to me about it that's worse you've never done that before makes me feel as if we're letting each other down we don't want to do that do we all right we won't talk about it anymore come on remember son i want to be proud of you and i want to help you any way i can right now dad yes son dad what do you what do you mean about about letting each other down well there are certain things that we have a right to expect from each other tommy like what well like guidance from me and obedience from you mutual respect for each other willingness from you encouragement for me all sorts of things if if i ask for something and i don't get an encouragement from you is that letting me down well depends tummy if if what you ask for is sensible yes but if it isn't if it's for your own good then you don't think joining the church is sensible huh do you dad tony it's getting late and we'll talk about that in the morning right now [Music] but have you ever stopped to consider where this uncertainty will carry you the effect it may have on your boy dad dad what what did you mean about about letting each other down uh well hello john hello norman hi i hope you don't mind i saw you last night oh come in miss mountain sit down nom and i i wonder if you could spare me a minute or two i i'd like to talk to you well of course um mother why don't you go make us some tea huh of course how thoughtless of me john you're upset about something aren't you it's about tommy i'm worried about him it's the way he's been acting lately like a days ago moody indifferent the boys all mixed up about something and i can't seem to straighten them out i see may i speak freely please do well it seems to me that tommy and his dad are a little mixed up there's nothing that you couldn't straighten out if you wanted to you think i've let the boy down really because i hold on why don't you go the whole way with the boy take that first step put your trust in god he'll help you [Music] you know i have let the kid down the least i could have done was to be broad-minded enough to respect his personal feelings no i'm not i've been thinking an awful lot about what you've been telling me and i want to take that first step do you want to go to church with me next sunday i guess so that's fine come on sit down i'll have some tea i could use a cup you know norman i want to thank you for helping me to take that first step i'm glad it went i'm glad to dad it wasn't bad was it no not at all you know i enjoyed your lesson to the boys and the pastor's sermon was not only convincing but moved me deeply at last i'm beginning to get an inkling of what you meant by taking that first step that's fine john well tommy the monarch sure needs you on third base you think you could help them out you bet i'll be there mr bonfield thank you you know john someday you're going to get that feeling within you norman i believe i have it now have you really john i'm glad remember you have to live it christian faith is something you have to share or it loses its power thank you for sharing yours with me dolan [Music] i guess it's just as you read in class today when jesus said we do uh not knowing the scriptures or the power of god [Music] you