can sit up in his chair. pretend like you're reading a magazine, and mommy... - margaret i'm home. - now listen, i'm telling him. - what a creep. - hi honey. - oh hello dear. - anything new and startling around here? - oh no no nothing at all. -hi bud. - hi dad. - wait daddy, wouldn't you like to sit down in your chair and relax? - oh i'll take 'em, you just sit down. (laughter) - what've you got in this chair, thumbtacks, glue? - listen daddy, mr. james anderson, you are cordially invited to be the special guest of your daughter kathy at the pta meeting honoring our own father. - pta meeting what are you doing in a parent teacher affair? - i'm gonna read your biography. - my biography? - which i wrote. - it's a school assignment. - and brother wait 'til you read it. - and you'll be my guest sitting right up there on the stage. but this biography is this anything i want read in a room full of parents and teachers? - well you won't be alone, you'll have two fellow sufferers. there'll be two other fathers whose biographies are going to be read. - yeah. - well why am i one of them exactly what is this? - well it seems that -- kathy run out in the kitchen and turn down the chops will ya? - ok but don't say anything important while i'm gone. - we won't. kathy's teacher asked the children to write a biography evidently they turned out so funny she showed them to the other teachers. finally the pta president read them and she decided she might use them to drag a few of you reluctant fathers to a pta meeting. - or keep us away forever. - oh, it'll be a lot of fun. - i'm warning you dad, i don't think this is anything you'll want read in public. - oh yes he will and kathy'd never forgive you if you didn't go with her. - well i don't think i'm going to agree to this - ok where are we now? - he'll go, but first he wants to see the biography. - well if you insist, i had planned to surprise you with it. - that's what i was afraid of. - well here it is father, the unexpurgated story of your life. your biographer is asleep but i'm sure she won't mind if you read it. - i don't know if i wanna read this or not. - go on. - mr. anderson, his life and times. (whistles) pretty impressive title i'll say that. be good enough for you. - oh true true. (laughs) many years ago mr. anderson was born. well that's a good place to start. his grandmother claims he weight, weight, w-e-i-g-h-t, he weight only five pounds. although he outgrew this, he is still not what you call fat. (laughs) (laughs) - she means hearsay. - wait 'til you get to the part about saint peter. - saint peter in here too? - keep going, you'll come to it. - when we kids ask him to drive us some place in the car he says " what's the matter with you kids? " why when i was a boy i use to walk 10 miles to school " in six feet of snow barefoot" that is about all i know about his boyhood. (laughs) except he raised a albino gopher. i guess there wasn't much to do in those days. (laughs) - here you read it. (laughs) - college life, in college romance struck him down in the person of margaret merrick when saint peter inducts mr. anderson into the pearly gates... - inducts? what are they running up there now an induction center? - actually it's a pretty good word for what she has in mind. - come on betty. - when saint peter inducts mr. anderson into the pearly gate, he will not find senator or "governtnor", g-o-v-e-r-n-t-n-o-r, or "govertnor" wrote after his name but saint peter will say to himself "ah, this is a real square sided man". (laughs) - one, oh now here she lists your square sides. - good. - i think we're getting to you department mother. - one, religious, very, he goes to church every sunday and never misses like say to play golf, oh maybe sometimes, but he does not cheat or swear. - well that's something. (laughter) i will summit up by saying, when saint peter gets done with my father, he will lower his eyes on him and say "mr.anderson, you are ok, come on in", the end. (laughs) - oh that's wonderful. a little bit before she reads it that night. make it a little bit more complimentary. - no no. - oh dad, don't you wanna have a little better record to present when you get to the big induction center upstairs? - no, i wouldn't change one word of it. - hey, what's all the laughing about? you woke me up. oh did you read it? do you think they'll like it at the pta? attention: are you eligible for medicare? the medicare enrollment deadline is just a few weeks away. changes to medicare plans could impact your healthcare costs. are you getting all the benefits available to you? new plans are now available that could increase your benefits and lower how much you pay out of pocket. to update your coverage- or enroll for the first time -- call healthmarkets. we'll help you make sure you have the right medicare plan. hi, i'm doctor martin gizzi. it's a new medicare year. that means more changes... and more confusion. here's what i tell my patients... start by asking ... what kind of care is best for your current situation? have there been changes in your health or medications? the key question is: what can you do now, to ensure you get the care you need in the coming year? to find the coverage you need, offer better coverage and lower costs. healthmarkets has access to thousands of medicare options from leading insurance companies nationwide. plans that may... cost less... cover more ... with more choices... like dental and vision care. and the freedom to choose your own doctors. all at a price you can afford. we help find the right plan for you. and we do it at no cost. there were so many benefits i wasn't taking advantage of. healthmarkets can find me the right plan. and their service doesn't cost a cent. when i try shopping on my own, i get nowhere fast. healthmarkets takes away the confusion. too often i see my patients paying more than they need to because they don't know what they're entitled to. make sure you have what you need to get the care that's right for you. you have only a few weeks left. if you miss the deadline, you may have to wait another year before enrolling. call a licensed healthmarkets' agent now. call now. call this number by the deadline... plan for you - without cost or obligation. call now. - hello margaret, i can't stay but a moment. i just came to enlist your help in a deep plot against your husband. - against? - well not really, for. i was just up to his office to invite him to our next chamber of commerce meeting, i've tried this before but something always prevents him from coming. t you mean, come on in and sit down. - no no really, i can't, frankly margaret this is more than just trying to get him to become a member. some us have our eye on him for the next president of the chamber. - oh really? well how did he react to that? - oh i haven't told him that part yet. i didn't wanna scare him off. you know how jim is, he never pushes himself. - oh you're so right. - he could be a very important man in this town. - make sure he comes to that meeting. and i'll do the rest, get him acquainted, get him on a committee, and then in the next three months he'll stand a good chance to step in as president. but the first things to do is get him to that meeting. - well don't worry, he'll be there. - good. - i'm with you john. - we'll put him where he belongs in spite of himself. thanks margaret. - goodbye john. - oh boy president, i'm gonna put this in the biography. - oh no now wait, he's not president yet. i better start spading as soon as he gets home. (laughter) oh how'd things go at the office today? - oh about the same as always. oh i told ms. thomas about the biography kathy wrote... - anything unusual happen at the office? - no, and she got quite a kick out of it. - have any interesting visitors today? - no the usual run of people. - what did he want? - what did who want? interesting visitor today. (laughter) - i did?! - well you mentioned something about it. - no i didn't say anything. oh i'll tell you someone who did drop in today, john rosser. - john rosser, well for heaven's sake, well you're going aren't you? - going where? - oh well how should i know? i wasn't there. - alright come on, let's have it. - about what? - come on tell me. - oh alright, i'll tell you. the reason you invited john the chamber of commerce is they want you for their president. - what?! - you see that, you're backing away already. that's why i wasn't gonna tell you yet, and that's why john didn't tell you. - wait a minute, how do you know all this? - john was here today, he came to ask me to urge you to go to the meeting. of yours. he thinks a great deal of you, in fact, a lot of men do. and they could do you a lot of good if you just let them. this would be quite an honor. - oh i know that, but i'm hardly chamber president material. - how do you know if you don't try? now jim, i'm not a pushing, ambitious type wife, but i do think it is high time you started thinking a little bit about yourself instead of always - oh i - yes you do! you find time to knock yourself out for the children, for frank the gardener, for, well for everyone. and what do you do for yourself? nothing! - well actually... - jim you deserve a little something for yourself now. well john said you could be a very important man in springfield. and i think you owe it to yourself to be one, i really do. and we'd be awfully proud of you too. - well i think... i think you're right. - what? - oh i've been thinking about this sort of thing lately and i feel too that i should sort of move up a notch or two. - yes you really should. - now that i think about it, i like john's idea. you know that's a good place to start, as president. (laughs) - now can i write it in the biography? - oh you knew about this too, ha? the chamber of commerce meeting will be james b. anderson. - oh yeah i'm hooked. - how does it feel to be a big shot, pres? - well i'm not pres yet. - you will be. - i'm not even a member yet. - well don't let a little thing like that stop ya. - those guys got me in office already. - hey, this can't be, it says the chamber of commerce meeting is tomorrow night. that's the same night as the pta meeting. daddy's suppose to go with me. - oh my, heavens i didn't realize, this chamber of commerce deal is very very important to your father. a lot depends on it, you wouldn't wanna hurt his chances would you? - well no of course not but... - look i... - we all feel very badly about this, especially your father. - it's alright, i understand. - of course you do angel. now you run upstairs and wash your face and you won't be late for school then. we'll talk some more about this later on. - it's ok. - i know exactly how you feel, i feel badly too. but this meeting is important to you, and what's important to you is important to all of us. i think kathy understands that. - why does everything have to come at the same time? i've gotta go in and have a talk with kathy. - no you go to work, and stop worrying. and if you even mention skipping that meeting i'll, well hit you on top of your head with your banjo. ad your bulletin and i hope you do read them, that we are honoring fathers tonight. now if you fathers think we did this just to lure you to a pta meeting, you're absolutely right. (laughter) but we hope you fathers will enjoy yourselves so much that you'll come back again. we need you... - i wish kathy would smile a little. - oh i knew she'd miss him but i hoped not this much. - well maybe she'll brighten up when she starts to read she's quite a (hanem) you know. ave a wonderful treat. the children in ms. servie's class wrote biographies of their fathers and they were so interesting that we picked the three best to be read tonight. our first young biographer is sheila groves. alright shiela. introduce my father to you, daddy come up on the stage. (applause) this is he, him, my daddy. (applause) my father, he was born on a farm and it had two cows, and "numerabable" chickens. in boyhood he fell off a hay rack once - oh jim. johnny i think you know jim anderson here, don't you? - oh sure, sure, met somewhere. - i think jim is going to join us. you know, as a matter of fact we may get him to fill that vacancy on the finance committee. - finance? well i don't know, everybody getting fingerprinted first. (laughs) - our second youthful biographer is master neil coy, neil. - come on up pop. ok pop sit over there. (laughter) my father's life, my father's name is mr. coy. up to when i was about three years old i don't remember too much about him. (laughter) - i tell ya it's a wonderful place to fish it's just off the highway, but nobody seems to know it's there. - sure. - well you turn off there... - excuse me jim. i think we better go on in. - oh alright, excuse me. - oh by the way, if either of you seen frank coy this evening? - i haven't seen him. - oh i know, he went to some kind of a pta meeting. - pta meeting? - yes his boy wrote a biography about him and the kid's gonna read it tonight. and you know frank, he wouldn't miss anything connected to his kids for a million bucks. - well this is an important meeting, aren't you coming in? - oh yes sure john. - there are different kinds of fathers, some are important and some aren't so much. some are so important they can't just drop everything and go every place. now my father he's... on hurry! (applause) this is my father. (applause) aren't you important any more? (laughter) boy i'm glad you're here. sit over there. his grandmother claims he weighed only five pounds. although he outgrew this, he's still not what you call fat. - (thinking) what good does it do to talk to you? you throw all your chances away. fine showing you're going to make at saint peter's induction center. - (thinking) don't look at me that way honey. don't be mad, i know you think i'm a failure, just seems like there are certain things a fellow feels he must, no, i can't explain it. - about his boyhood, except he raised an albino gopher. when saint peter inducts mr. anderson into the pearly gate, he will not find... - i have that to worry about too. if i can't explain it to you margaret born weight only five pounds, still not fat. walked in snow barefoot, raised albino gopher. never missed church for golf except sometimes. paid bills, you know mr. anderson that is not a very impressive record. - no sir, but well, that's it sir. - where did you ever find an albino gopher? (clears throat) - never mind, doesn't matter. that is here in your record. we chart the cost of you fellows through life and i noticed an odd pattern in yours. every time you were headed for something important you took a detour, for example, here you were headed for the presidency of some chamber of commerce and instead you went to some kind of a pta fun affair. - oh yes i remember that well sir, that was a difficult choice. - naturally it was difficult, it's part of our master plan difficult choices in your path to test you, and it's the decisions you make that shape you into what you are. now tell me, why did you throw away the presidency of the chamber of commerce for one single pta meeting? - well you see... - you can look down there yourself and see what a crying need there is for good leaders. - oh i'm well aware of that sir, but maybe i was never meant for that. you see that evening i suddenly felt very lonely. a man could be great and lonely, or he could be ordinary and have the warmth of companionship. margaret, that's my wife, she thought i made the wrong choice. - now that it's all over, did you get anything that one evening that compensates you for all your throw away? - oh yes sir, something i've carried with me - the look on kathy's face when she saw me coming down the aisle. oh you should've seen it sir. - do you mean to say that one look in a little girl's face made throwing away your chances worthwhile? - yes sir. - mr. anderson, you are ok. come on in. - mr. anderson, you are ok, come on in, the end. (applause) - (women in dress) thank you kathy. (applause) - well we lost our chamber president but kathy sure got what she wants. - i've got what i want too, just as he is. every wonderful square side of him. (applause) (closing music) - [voiceover] robert young and jane wyatt (kids laughing) with elinor donahue, billy gray and lauren chapin - now working a fly rod, it's all wrist action. - like a whip? - that's right. the tip of the rod does all the work. here i'll show you. now we'll just imagine there's a big pool over there in the corner of the room with a great big old speckled trout. (audience laughing) now we stand back and without

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