03x10 - Steve Gets an A

[bunniefuu]

Two book reports for
English, seven pages of chemistry lab reports.

I've done everything but this darn term paper for history.

I can't get that done by Monday, Dad.

I just can't.

How long have you had the assignment, Rob?

Hmm, research book's two weeks overdue.

Let's say you just didn't get it yesterday.

But I don't see what the difficulty is.

You've got the whole weekend to do it.

Now you better get at it.

But Dad, wait.

You don't understand.

This girl, Janie Holmes, well,
for three months now, I've been trying to

get up enough nerve just to ask her to have a soda with me.

And now she's asked me to go with her and
her folks to Star Lake for this weekend.

I'm sorry, Rob, but I think the term paper
comes first, don't you?

Yeah.

Well, I'll see ya.

But Dad, Dad, how about me writing that paper at Star Lake?

With Janie Holmes as inspiration?

Who's kidding who?

Who?

Yes, whom's kidding whom?

Too bad, Rob, but if you feel you can't
finish the paper on time, maybe you'd

better call Janie and tell her you can't go.

She might ask you again sometime.

Good night, everybody.

Misery.

Nothing to look forward to but misery.

What's the subject of your term paper, Ralph?

Oh, my favorite period of American history.

Well, that's wide open.

History?

Hey, I know how you... No, no, no, that'd be no good.

Well, looks like you better call Janie and
cancel out after her.

Well...

Gee, Robbie, I'd do that old term paper
for you if I knew what a term paper was.

Down.

To some useless girl.

Useless?

Chip, at your age, that's true.

And at my age, it's true.

But for fellas in between, I'm afraid
you've sold some details short.

Hello, I'm Janie Holmes.

Holmes?

Is Robbie Holmes?

Sure, come on in.

Hello, Janie, I'm Robbie's grandfather.

How do you do?

Fine, thank you.

I'm Chip, I'm Robbie's brother.

Hi, Chip.

I'll call Robbie for you.

Thanks.

Hey, Rob.

Well, who is that?

Janie.

Hi.

Hi, Robbie.

I was just driving by.

Oh, I was just phoning you.

You were?

Yeah, I...

I heard.

You're coming with us this weekend.

You wouldn't believe Star Lake.

But then.

We'll pick you up at 7 tomorrow morning.

Rob?

Yeah?

Come with me.

Come on.

Now, look, Robbie.

I don't really approve of this.

And I'm not saying that you should do it.

But if you do do it, you've got to promise me you'll
write an extra history paper before the semester's up.

Now, is that a deal?

Well, what's the mystery bit if I do what?

There's a bunch of ancient stuff to hear
from Dad's school days.

His grandmother must have seen it.

I found it.

I remember.

Seeing a history one.

The Great Days of the Sutra.

But he got an A on it.

It's eight pages long.

Just long enough.

Mike, should I do it?

Well, that's up to you.

I wasn't even going to tell you about it, but...

Well, when I saw that girl and heard that canoe
and radio routine, I know what you're going through.

Sir, say, that was a kind of a... Cute
gal has stopped in to see you, huh?

Yeah.

Don't be afraid to say yes.

And don't spend the night down here on
that, but make it good, will you?

Yeah.

That's the boy.

Joe?

I don't know how you're doing math, Joe, but...

If you counted the words in those three
pages, and came up with 2,000,

you've got problems in that course, too.

Phyllis?

That's a big improvement.

You keep it up, and the next one will be an A.

Possible.

I was expecting an A.

And a letter for your father.

My father?

How come?

You really have to ask?

That's all right.

Hi, Rob.

Hey, you missed a good dinner tonight.

Dad, there's something I've got to tell you.

Go right ahead.

I hate to have to tell you this.

Tell me what?

Dad, would you please listen?

Oh, I'm sorry, Rob.

It's important.

Yeah.

I'm ready to take whatever's coming to me.

Oh?

The worst part of it is I've got no excuse.

I knew what I was doing and I knew it was
wrong, but I still went ahead and did it anyway.

What did you do, Rob?

It's worse when somebody has complete
confidence in you like I know you have in me.

I not only let myself down, but I let the
whole family down.

Robbie, what did you do?

Dear Mr. Douglas, at your earliest convenience, I
would like to talk with you regarding your son, Robbie.

What does Mr. Armstrong want to see me about?

Well, I found one of the themes that you
had written in school.

I copied it and I turned it in for mine.

Well, that's pretty serious, Rob.

Yes, sir.

Robbie wouldn't even have known about
that theme of yours if I hadn't shown it to him.

Oh, you showed it to him.

Well, then you're partly involved.

You know, Mike, there's a theory that the
older people, the younger members of this

family are supposed to set an example for the younger ones.

Yeah.

Well, I'm sorry, Dad.

No.

Dad, if Robbie faints from hunger, can
I revive him with a piece of chocolate?

I don't think that'll be necessary, Chip.

Can't I get... Now, go on upstairs.

It's time to go to bed.

Not even a glass?

Run along.

You're riding a little rough, aren't you, Steve?

Bub, Robbie brought home a note from one
of his teachers saying he wanted to see me.

Now, Robbie knows he's done wrong.

And a father has to take a stand someplace.

Why did you have to save those old papers anyway?

I didn't save them.

I just didn't throw them away.

Bub, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's dishonesty.

And what Robbie did was dishonest.

So it's not going to hurt him to sit up
there and think about it for a while.

Good night.

Good night.

Oh, Steve, you're right.

But you won't be any less right if I can
pick him up a little sandwich or something.

No.

Good afternoon.

Hello, Rob.

Mr. Armstrong, this is my father.

You say, now we met on parents' visiting day.

Yes, how are you, Mr. Armstrong?

Uh, Robbie, I think it's better if your
father and I talk alone about this.

You can wait out in the hall for me, hmm?

Okay, Dad.

Well, Mr. Armstrong, I guess I don't have to
tell you, this was pretty much of a shock to me.

As it was to me.

Robbie's no angel, but I... I've never
known him to do anything basically dishonest.

And let's face it, copying this theme is cheating.

I couldn't agree with you more.

I take it you've compared these two papers.

Yes, yes, I've compared them.

And this is the one you wrote a good many years ago.

Yeah, that's right.

To tell you the truth, it was so long ago,
I don't remember much about it.

I did get an A, didn't I?

I don't wonder.

The, um, ultimate disintegration of the
indigenous sub-original society of the.

Sioux Nation occurred with dramatic
suddenness, even though the evidences of

that disintegration were dispersed over
the greater part of the century.

Mr. Douglas, how old were you when you wrote this?

Oh, I must have been around 15, I guess.

That's rather mature historical writing, isn't it?

Yes, it is rather good, isn't it?

It was so good, in fact, that the,
uh, original was published.

Published?

Really?

Yes, in 1874.

In 18...

I thought it sounded familiar, so I checked back.

Uh, chapter seven of Nelson's The American
Indian and His Culture.

The ultimate disintegration of...

In your position, I wouldn't know what to say, either.

To be a father and have a teacher say the
things about his son, that he probably said about me.

What I mean is, if a guy has a lousy
father, then that's one thing,

but with a father like you and Robbie, will you pipe down?

Dad, I was just trying to explain how sorry I am.

What do you mean, should you tell him?

Well, if you don't, you get the hypocrite
of the year award.

I know that, but how?

How do I tell him?

How do you tell him?

Well, you walk right up to the kid and you say...

Yeah, how do you tell him?

I'll just have to think about it for a while, but...

Well, you better come up with something.

For Mr. Armstrong.

It's gonna be about honesty.

How it pays to do the right thing, because if
you don't, it always catches up with you in the end.

Yeah.

I'm just an accessory and I feel guilty.

It'll be published in magazines,
and people will stop dead on the street

and say, boy, that's a great son you've got there.

Dad'll be so proud, he'll forget his kid
acted like a, like a crook.

Maybe, uh, more like a cheat.

Yeah.

Yeah, maybe cheat is the word.

Come in.

I want to talk to you.

Dad, whatever punishment you think is fair is okay with me.

But if it affects my allowance, I do owe Mike four dollars.

That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about, Rob.

You think you let me down when you copied that paper.

I know I did, Dad, and I... I'm a
fine one to set standards for anyone.

And of course you are.

I know it's too much to expect that you'd forget, but...

Well, maybe you can forgive.

Forgive you for what?

And it's no defense to say I don't remember doing it.

What did you do, Dad?

When a father does that, that's something else again.

I don't wonder he don't know what to say.

It's me, Bob.

Come on up here, will you?

I was reading the icebox and looked up
there and saw the line on it.

I heard people moving around.

Is somebody sick?

No, no, nobody's sick.

Bob, did Robbie find this theme of mine in
that old trunk upstairs?

Yes, I think that's where he found it.

Come on with me.

It has to be in here someplace.

What are you looking for?

Right here.

I've got it, Bob.

Yeah.

Faculty.

Art department, biology department, case.

Home economics.

Yeah.

Bob, what does it say down in the corner
of that page there?

It says, uh, Miss Pastore.

Pastore, room 107.

Now, look at this, Bob.

Gertrude Pastore, head of the typing department.

But I still don't get it.

Don't you see, Bob?

That wasn't a theme.

That was a typing assignment.

I was supposed to copy it.

I didn't cheat after all.

Wow.

Bully for you.

What's that supposed to mean?

Well, that leaves us right where we were.

You're out in the clear, and Robbie's still in the...

He and I were closer tonight down in his room than...

And he was still on my side.

Oh, Steve, let's get to bed.

My feet of Clay are freezing.

Steve,

did you ever see Janie Holmes?

Oh, yes, I've seen her.

Well, just supposing it were 30 years ago and she
invited you to spend the weekend with her at Star Lake.

I'm glad I don't have to answer that question.

Stay tuned for another episode of My Three Sons as
this twice as nice morning continues here on TV Land.