Second Thoughts

Bernard Walton and Eugene Meltsner continue west through Iowa in Bernard’s pickup. Eugene’s computer has broken, and the miles of corn leave him desperate for intellectual stimulation. He reads every road sign aloud until the promise of a historical marker catches his attention. Bernard refuses to stop because San Diego is still seventeen hundred miles away. A deer suddenly crosses the road, however, and Bernard swerves to avoid it. The men escape injury, but the pickup smashes into the very marker Eugene wanted to read.

Kyle Barnett, a local farmer and mechanic, comes upon the wreck. The front end and radiator have been badly damaged, and obtaining parts from Des Moines will take several days. With the nearby hotel full for the weekend’s Donald Wood Memorial Fair, Kyle invites Bernard and Eugene to stay with his family while he repairs the truck. Bernard insists on paying or working in return.

Kyle’s thirteen-year-old son, Graham, is fascinated to meet visitors from a place ninety-seven times larger than his town. He eagerly asks Eugene about computer stores and city life while making mistakes with the tools his father requests. Over dinner, the family explains that Donald Wood invented graphite-handled pruning shears and became so important locally that the town and its fair now bear his name. Kyle proudly predicts that Graham will someday take over both the family farm and garage. Graham’s uncertain response goes unnoticed; when pressed, he jokes that perhaps a future younger brother can have them instead.

Eugene later finds Graham beside his prize pig, Woody. Graham describes the boredom of a town with one traffic light that hardly anyone obeys because there is rarely more than one car on the road. He resents spending his days feeding pigs and shucking corn and feels that nothing ever changes. Farm life interests Eugene as an unfamiliar field of study, but Graham longs for Odyssey’s parks, arcades, and computer stores.

Kyle expects Graham to prepare Woody for the fair with the same seriousness he showed as a boy. A winning animal can sell for thousands of dollars, but Kyle values the responsibility and discipline even more. When he discovers Graham using his computer instead of washing the pig, he orders him to set the machine aside. Graham mutters that he is sick of pigs and fairs and must escape.

Graham secretly asks Eugene to take him to San Diego. Eugene refuses to assume responsibility for a thirteen-year-old or help him disappear without his parents’ knowledge. Graham argues that he wants to see Disneyland and the beach and cannot stand his dull home. Eugene understands the wish to experience a wider world, but his answer remains no.

The next morning a police officer brings Graham home in the back seat of a patrol car. The officer has found him driving the family station wagon along Route 24 with Woody’s snout sticking out a rear window. Graham first claims he was merely taking the pig for a ride, then says he intended to surprise his father by selling it. Under further questioning, he admits that he hoped to use the money for a bus ticket to California. He declares that he hates farming and cars and will not spend his life running Kyle’s garage. Angry and frightened by his son’s dangerous actions, Kyle grounds him indefinitely.

Bernard agrees that Graham deserves consequences for stealing the car, but urges Kyle to look beneath the offense. Graham has risked his life to flee, yet Kyle assumes only that he has foolish dreams of becoming a movie star. Bernard points out that Graham has never mentioned movies; he has plainly said that he does not want to become a mechanic. Kyle reveals that the garage has belonged to his family for fifty years. Working on cars gave him a bond with his own father, and he has expected it to create the same connection with Graham. Bernard suggests that Kyle build a new bond by learning about what his son actually loves.

Eugene visits Graham, who complains that Kyle never listens and considers computers useless. Eugene quietly describes the realities of running away: Graham would have no friends or family in San Diego, would need to support himself, and might spend his days washing dishes rather than enjoying the beach. Graham remains convinced that computers would make him acceptable in California, while at home his father approves of him only when he works in the garage. His observation that Kyle might respect computers if they could help repair cars gives Eugene an idea.

With Eugene’s help, Graham develops a computer system for Kyle’s business. It uses a telephone connection to search multiple suppliers for needed auto parts, saving the time and money Kyle spends calling long distance. Graham brings the computer to the garage in a wheelbarrow and offers the program without asking for anything in return. Kyle resists at first, but Bernard recognizes that the gift is Graham’s attempt to repair their relationship. Kyle calls his son back - partly because he needs Graham to show him how to turn the machine on.

Bernard and Eugene remain long enough to attend the unusual fair, complete with giant pruning shears and souvenir necklaces. Kyle discovers that Graham likes baseball cards, a simple fact he has never known, and hurries after him to share the interest. Bernard encourages him to keep watching and listening, because there is much more to learn about his son. Eugene, who once found the countryside unstimulating, willingly joins Bernard to watch the pig judging. Both visitors have begun seeing more value in this small place than they noticed when they arrived.