Every kid needs a place to go to be a kid.
For Paul and Winnie and me,that place was Harper's Woods.
It was ten minutes from home if you walked it.
But to us, it was a world all its own.
Did so, Winnie!
Did not...
We'd grown up there together.
Playing games, catching fireflies on long summer evenings.
Sure, they called it Harper's Woods, but we knew better.
Those woods...belonged to us.
Springtime, 1969.
The grass was growin'...
All around me buds were popping into bloom.
Yeah...The sap was definitely rising.
Hey! (Points.) Be careful, will ya?
I paid twelve bucks to have those blades sharpened!
Right, Dad!
The grass could wait. It was time to make my move.
Hi!
She smelled like mist.
You smell like grass.
Really?
It smells nice...(Nods.)
Well...(nods)...I guess I'm gettin' kinda sweaty.
You-you need some help with that?
No, I'm almost finished.
I don't mind.
Yep - it'd been a long winter for Winnie and me...but now things were goin' fine.
More than fine.
So, uh...you wanna take a walk?
That would be nice.
Yes!
Where do you want to walk to?
Phhh. Uh, I don't know...(shrugs)...anywhere, I guess.
Say, maybe...
Heh-heh.
Harper's Woods?
Alone at last, in Harper's Woods.
It was where Winnie and I had had our first and only kiss. Centuries ago.
Last September.
That memory had haunted me.
And now here we were...
Alone again.
Adam...
And Eve...
And Paul.
Paul!
Guys!
Great. Go for a little nuzzle in the woods, and what do ya get?
An allergic best-friend.
I've been looking all over for you guys!
Yeah, well...Ya found us...
Are you alright?
No - I'm trying to tell ya -
Wow - a triple!
We hadn't seen Paul this upset...
Since the day his goldfish disappeared.
There's men, and trucks...all over the place!
What...?
We haven't seen any trucks. (Frowns.)
Nope. No trucks.
Just lips.
Look, Paul! If this is some kind of -
Kevin?
Then suddenly...we'd been invaded.
Alright - let's move it!
It was amazing.
They'd just arrived, in our spot!
Like they owned the place!
Hey!
Oh, hey! (Points.) Start those stakes over there by that rock.
Like we weren't even there.
Hey, mister!
Hey, you kids are gonna have to get outta here...
Well, so much for introductions.
Hey, come on, guys! What - do I have to do it all myself?!
Come on, here!
I mean it. Beat it, huh?
Wait a minute - this hippopotamus was kicking us out of our own woods?
You can't do this!
Yeah! We have a right to be here, too.
Is that so?
OK, OK. You can stay.
But just until the dozers get here...
And then ya gotta go.
What?!
Did he say...
"Bulldozers"?
You kids are standing on a construction site.
Haven't you heard?
No...
Oh, amazing. (Gestures.) They don't even put up signs...
It was horrible.
You can say "goodbye" to your woods, kids.
They're comin' down. (Shrugs.)
There's gonna be a shopping center, right here...
Charlie? Give me a couple of marks on this tree...
This tree's comin' out.
Here ya go. There's more stakes in the truck.
We needed help - and we needed it fast.
Funny - it had taken us twenty minutes to stroll up to those woods...
We made it back in sixty-seven seconds flat.
Mom! Dad!
What is it, honey?
You OK?
They're tearing down Harper's Woods.
Well, they're gonna bring in bulldozers!
They're gonna turn it into a shopping center!
Gee - what was it gonna take, here?
Did I have to drop a bomb?
Well, we know that, honey? (Smiles.)
What?!
Thought they weren't starting till next week.
You know?!
Kevin? Will you wash your hands...
They're all...(gestures)...muddy or something. (Frowns.)
Mom!
Do as your mother says.
OK - maybe they hadn't heard me.
Maybe they though I said...some other woods.
You know you left the lawnmower out in the middle of the yard?
Dad! I'm talkin' about Harper's Woods! We gotta stop them! We gotta do something!
Kevin...you haven't played up there since you were children.
This was incredible.
Didn't these people have souls?
They were talking about Harper's Woods like it was some kinda -
It's just a vacant lot, Kevin.
Wonder if there'll be a Lohman's...(Smiles.)
I can't believe it.
My mom's all excited because there's going to be a Yarn Barn.
Well we can't just give up. We have to think.
Winnie was right.
We had three keen seventh-grade minds.
We could lick this.
We'll make a list!
OK. Who's first?
I'll tell ya what to do.
Well, any port in a storm.
This is a democracy, isn't it? (Nods.)
Then exercise your rights!
Good.
Good advice.
But how do we do that?
Simple.
There's a planning board meeting every Sunday night, downtown.
Julie's father's a member.
You should go there and state your case!
You should demand...to be heard.
You should fight...for what's important! You have to take action!
Kevin - we are the people!
I think we should do it. (Nods.)
Yeah...
Great!
Let's go! (Smiles.)
Can you give us a ride?
Not me...
I got a date.
Regards to the agency's low-interest loan...of fifty-five thousand dollars...
May I help you? (Smiles.)
We want to make a statement. About Harper's Woods...
Oh...
I don't have that on my agenda...
But there'll be an open mike after the meeting.
And if I can call your attention...
To uh, page nine of the staff report...
It's right near the top of the page. Item number, uh, two...
Weren't we supposed to get a variance on that last one?
Yeah, I know. that one's gonna come up in a few minutes. I just want you to...
Alright - this was the ticket!
A place where things got done.
You can see the position of their property, uh, uh, in regard to this project.
Yep. You could almost hear the wheels of democracy turning.
It's seventy-five thousand dollars. It's just a typo.
Now, Charles. We got - I think everybody got this - We got, We got a letter from Mr. and Mrs. *Carol*
The energy report indicates that...this, the cart installation..doesn't necessarily, uh...
Of course, some wheels take longer than others.
Some other things we need to talk about.
Uh...Kevin Arnold?
Here...
I see that you would like to speak about...
Harper's Woods.
Well, the, uh, floor is yours.
Cool...
Your statement, Mr. Arnold?
I - I came here tonight...
Because...
I have something to say.
There's a little piece of land, not far from here. A place called Harper's Woods.
Ya might have passed it on your way here or there.
It's not much to look at.
A few acres of trees, some boulders...a couple squirrels and some birds.
But there's something you didn't see, I'll wager. Something you can't see.
Cuz there's something in those woods...that you can't see with your eye's
You have to look with your heart.
It's my childhood.
And his...(Points.)
And hers...
Ours is a world...too careless with its memories. Please, I beg of you...
Don't take our childhood.
Hey!
Kevin's right! What's wrong with us?!
Order. Order.
May we have order?
This is highly irregular!
I mean it now! Order!
Order!
Uh, everything's in order...
This meeting is adjourned.
What?! (Frowns.)
Wait, wait!
We have something to say!
Well, of course you do...
But, perhaps you'll come back next week.
Next week?!
Somehow, I didn't think we had that long.
Hey! You fell asleep first!
I didn't.
I think you did, Kevin.
Winnie - I did not fall asleep first!
Something was happening to us.
Did so...
Just when we needed each other the most...
Paul and Winnie and I were...falling apart.
We should pour sand down the gas-tanks...Of those bulldozers.
Winnie? Please...
Talk about stupid!
Don't call her stupid!
I can speak for myself, Kevin.
Yeah! (Frowns.)
Shut up, Paul.
You shut up!
I don't need this!
I don't either!
Great. All we wanted was for someone to listen.
Now we weren't even listening to each other.
It wasn't fair. Men with bulldozers...parents...planning commissions that meet at four A.M.
It made you wonder...were they in this together?
Yeah - that was it. Them against us.
Just one big heartless...
Assistant principal.
Whoa.
Halt.
Is that the way we turn blind corners in school corridors?
No, sir...
Well then, suppose you go back around the corner...and show me the proper way to do it.
What?!
Now.
Like I said - them...against us.
Hey, bud - get off my back!
Rule number one of junior high school. For every action...
There's a reaction.
We seem to have a problem here, Kevin.
You agree?
Um...
Rule number two. Avoid trick questions.
I'm not sure sure, sir. (Frowns.)
Well..
We do.
I've been watching you, Kevin.
I see things...I hear...
And, in this case...I think I know what the problem is.
Sure...uh-huh.
I think I know what's bothering you.
You do?
And just for a second...
I almost liked the guy.
You think you're special.
Just for a second, though.
I've been assistant principal of this school for over twenty years.
And in that time...
I've seen people like you...
Come and go...every single year.
Hundreds of 'em.
Maybe thousands.
You walk the halls...you go to class...
And then you're gone...
Just like that!
Gone with the wind.
I'm gonna leave you...To think about what I've said.
And when you think you understand...
You can go. I'll be outside...
Amazing. Was this guy joking?
"Gone with the wind". That's a movie, right?
Sure, I'd think about it - for about one nanosecond.
And then a funny thing happened.
I started to think about it.
Who were all those people?
Did anyone know - did anyone remember?
It was weird. Sitting there in the middle of a crowded school...
I suddenly felt...completely alone.
I-I...didn't do that. Did I?
Rule number three.
Never write something...You can't erase.
You're grounded, buster!
You hear me? No parties...
No friends!
You're grounded! (Frowns.)
Nice goin', dorkface!
It was a real dumb stunt. (Smiles.)
Wayne!
Wayne was right. The fact was, I wasn't sure myself why I'd done it.
Except that nothing seemed...permanent, anymore.
Harper's Woods...Paul and Winnie...our friendship. What'd it all mean?
Grow up, butthead.
Well, there ya had it - in a nutshell. The plain, unvarnished truth.
It was time for me to stop acting like a child. It was time to face facts.
It was time... To take a walk.
That night, I went to say goodbye to Harper's Woods.
Remember when we carved those?
Yeah. Third grade.
I thought it was second grade.
No, it was fourth grade - I remember it distinctly.
Well, one of those grades.
We heard about what you did in Diperna's office.
Pretty stupid.
Really stupid. (Nods.)
OK, I'm stupid - can you just forget about it?! (Gestures.)
Kev?
We have a plan.
Huh?
It just might work.
Really? (Smiles.)
See, first...
We chain Winnie to the bulldozer. (Smiles.)
What?!
Well, ya see, it works better if it's a girl.
Are you crazy?!
And then tomorrow, when they try to start it up -
Paul!
We...
Will you stop it?
Well, what? (Shrugs.)
Well, I mean...In the first place, it's not gonna work!
And...They're just gonna cut that thing with bolt-cutters, then you'll be out two-fifty for a new lock.
And in the second place...Winnie's gonna get in trouble.
If she doesn't freeze to death, first!
And in the third place...!
It doesn't matter.
Huh?
Well look around!
It's just a vacant lot. In a couple of years, we won't even remember!
I guess I wanted Paul and Winnie to face the facts, too.
Wasn't gonna be easy.
Maybe growing up never is.
One...Two...
Three...Four...
Five...Six...
What is she doing?
Seven...
You better get going!
Forget it!
Come on!
I'm not gonna do this.
I'm only gonna count to twenty. Eight...
Let's go, come on!
Maybe every human soul deals with loss and grief in its own way.
Let's go!
Some curse the darkness...
Kevin!
Twelve...
Thirteen...
Yes!
Some play hide-and-seek.
Sixteen...
That night, Paul and Winnie and I Found something we'd almost lost.
"There are places I'll remember all my life" We found our spirit. The spirit of children.
"Though some have changed"
The bond of memory. "Some forever"
"Not for better"
"Some are gone"
And the next day... "And some remain"
They tore down Harper's Woods. "All these places had their meanings"
"With lovers and friends"
"I still can recall"
"And some are living"
"In my life, I've loved them all"