Two Friends and a Truck

Eugene needs to borrow Bernard's beloved old pickup to move into his new house, and Bernard hands it over with a warning to be careful. But when the truck rolls into a tree and breaks a taillight - thanks to a faulty brake Bernard never mentioned - Bernard blows up at his friend before he can explain. Then Bernard crashes Eugene's car into a garbage can, and rather than face the kind of anger he just dished out, he sneaks the car to a repair shop in secret. When a fifteen-hundred-dollar bill turns up at Whit's End, Eugene pays it himself, convinced Bernard has been fixing up his car out of pure kindness. It takes Whit to untangle the mix-up: Bernard confesses, Eugene forgives, and both learn that a little mercy makes honesty a lot easier. Then the old truck rolls into a lamppost... and Bernard trades it in at last, handing Eugene the keys to his brand-new pickup.

Found on Eugene Returns! Album 44 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0561 Lost By a Nose Determined to expose her town's beauty-pageant obsession, a skeptical young journalist goes undercover as a contestant - and gets far more invested than she planned.

0562 The Last 'I Do' When a Roman emperor outlaws marriage to build a more loyal army, a defiant priest named Valentine risks everything to keep performing forbidden weddings.

0563 Tuesdays with Wooton A lonely boy's mailbox scheme unravels when the mailman he's been fooling decides friendship is worth more than an easy confession.

0564 A Most Intriguing Question A government agent's arrival, a secretive all-night invention, and a mysteriously running Imagination Station convince Whit's friends he's hiding something dangerous - and they're determined to find out what.

0565 A Most Surprising Answer When Eugene returns to Odyssey a stranger to his own past, his friends must find out whether love can reach memories that science locked away.

0566 A Most Extraordinary Conclusion With every experiment exhausted and his friends' borrowed memories failing to feel like his own, Eugene makes one last desperate attempt to reclaim the life he's forgotten.

0567 Two Friends and a Truck When Eugene borrows Bernard's beloved old pickup for his big move, a minor mishap sets off a chain of accidents, cover-ups, and comic misunderstandings that puts their friendship to the test.

0568 The Power of One A Kids' Radio broadcast reimagines the Bible's most famous underdogs - from a shepherd facing a giant to a secret-agent apostle - to discover where real strength comes from.

0569 The Invisible Dog When Lester introduces his friends to a dog only he can perceive, Trent sets out to disprove it with logic while Whit suspects the invisible companion is hiding something deeper.

1 of 2 0570 For Better or For Worse Eugene and Katrina's plan to renew their vows in front of friends spirals out of control as an overbearing mother, a competitive wedding planner, and Eugene's quest to be a romantic hero collide.

2 of 2 0571 For Better or For Worse Eugene's romantic rescue attempt strands him and Katrina on a mountain while fires, storms, and a runaway swan dismantle the elaborate wedding waiting for them back at the church.

0572 Odyssey Sings! When a cynical TV talent show comes to Odyssey hunting for stars and spectacle, Connie and Tamika learn that the judges' verdicts aren't the ones that matter.

0573 Back to Abnormal Returning to Odyssey after a long absence, Eugene discovers his old jobs and skills are no longer needed - while young Grady schemes against his mother's new work schedule - and both must learn what to do when life refuses to go back to the way it was.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Leon Wankel Bob Hoose

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Nathan Hoobler Writer · Director Allen Hurley Sound Designer · Producer Bob Hoose Producer Marshal Younger Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Eugene and Katrina purchase a house on Maple Street and prepare to leave their temporary cabin. Connie and Whit offer to help them move, while Eugene asks to borrow Bernard's aging pickup truck. Bernard is preparing to trade it in and reluctantly agrees only after warning Eugene to treat it with extreme care.

At the cabin, Eugene parks the truck on a hill and sets the emergency brake. The truck rolls backward into a tree, breaking a taillight. Bernard never told him that the brake does not work and that the truck must be left in gear, but Eugene assumes responsibility and dreads telling his friend.

Bernard reacts angrily before Eugene can fully explain. He scolds him for being careless and complains that the accident may reduce the truck's trade-in value. Eugene apologizes repeatedly and offers to pay for every repair, but Bernard leaves in Eugene's car without listening.

While angrily telephoning a buyer, Bernard drives Eugene's car over a curb and into a garbage can. The damage begins with a broken headlight and bad alignment, then grows to include a broken control arm, bent axle, and cracked oil pan. Ashamed after the harsh things he said to Eugene, Bernard takes the car to Leon Wankel's shop without telling its owner.

Whit points out that Eugene's accident resulted from the faulty parking brake, not reckless driving. Bernard feels even worse and decides to hide his own mistake by having the car repaired secretly. He also tells Eugene not to pay for the truck's broken taillight, which makes Eugene wonder why his formerly furious friend has suddenly become so generous.

When Leon calls Whit's End with a repair total of more than fifteen hundred dollars, Eugene mistakenly believes the bill belongs to Bernard's truck. After seeing the paperwork, he learns that the expensive repairs concern his own car. Since Bernard mentioned that the engine ran roughly and an interior light was broken, Eugene assumes Bernard generously repaired those old problems as a surprise.

Eugene pays Leon's bill before Bernard can do so and plans to thank Bernard with a gift for his truck. Then he drives the car and discovers that its engine still runs badly. Leon has repaired collision damage, not the old mechanical problems Eugene thinks Bernard chose to fix, and the misunderstanding finally begins to unravel.

At the repair shop, Bernard tries repeatedly to avoid an explanation. When Eugene praises his supposed kindness, Bernard can no longer maintain the secret and asks Whit to tell the truth. Whit explains that Bernard struck the garbage can and feared Eugene's anger after showing so little mercy over the truck.

Eugene is not angry. The collision was an accident, and Bernard took steps to correct it. Eugene only asks to be consulted before anyone repairs his property. Whit observes that the whole tangle grew from Bernard's unforgiving first response; a little mercy would have made honesty far easier for both friends. Bernard apologizes and promises to repay Eugene for the bill.

Before the matter can settle completely, Whit announces that Bernard's truck has rolled into a lamppost because its emergency brake still does not work. Bernard finally replaces it with the new pickup he has been saving for.

To Eugene's surprise, Bernard soon hands him the keys to the new truck and trusts him to finish moving his belongings. He teases Eugene about needing a note from his driving instructor, then admits he is joking and promises that his friend may borrow the truck whenever he likes.