And he said, hey, how long have you had this?
It seems there was a spot there that he didn't like.
He decided to remove it, send it to the lab for a test.
And he said, listen, you'll have to wait for the results.
I heard results, I'll tell you the truth.
I got very nervous.
This could be anything.
What if I'm dying?
I could be dead in a week or two.
All of a sudden, I started to imagine myself
with my name in the obituary column.
Jackie Fisher, dead of the results.
What I said to myself, if this might be my last days on earth,
I better have a good time.
I better go quit my job, take my money out of the bank,
start enjoying myself, start helping other people,
let them enjoy themselves too.
And all of a sudden, this son of a gun, lousy rotten doctor
comes out and he tells me, Mr. Fisher,
the tests are all negative, you're as healthy as a horse,
you're going to live another 50 years.
I said, in that case, put the spot back.
Then I began to realize a very interesting thing.
That for some reason, I was going to have a better time
when I thought I was dying than when I thought
that I was going to live.
I said to myself, why do you have
to think you're dying in order to enjoy yourself?
Is it good only when you're passing away,
but it's not good when you've got something to live for?
Shouldn't I have a better time when
I think I'm going to live than when I think I'm going to die?
So the question is, should I stay in this job that
doesn't give me any great satisfaction at all,
or should I quit and do something that's really important?
This is the decision that I have to make up my mind about.
Well, I'll think it over.
Meanwhile, I'm going to go downstairs
and have a little breakfast.
Thank you.
They were the biggest men I'd ever seen.
They lifted my mama's couch like it was a toy.
I ran to my room, but it was gone.
But my mama was still there.
If you die, will they have to say goodbye to your house
as well?
Ask an Allstate agent about mortgage protection
and make your family a promise.
We'll help you keep.
As we drove away, I watched my house get smaller and smaller
until it wasn't there anymore.
Extra, extra, Kentucky Fried Chicken introduces
new Extra Tasty Crispy.
Millions cross the road to try it.
State lines, Duluth, Mandemower's 47 pieces asks for more.
Four.
Through and through flavor captivates the country.
Tastier, great chicken.
Extraordinary.
Only Kentucky Fried Chicken has it,
and the demand is astounding.
Extra, extra, new Extra Tasty Crispy.
It's a whole new reason to cross the road
to Kentucky Fried Chicken.
So you are going to quit that perfectly good job
that you have for 22 years.
Well, you're 52 years old.
You don't need a mother's opinion.
I think I just got it.
Good.
So, am I full?
You want breakfast?
That's not a new idea.
Tell me, Jackie, do you have another job to go to?
No, I don't, but I was just thinking that.
So what are you going to do when you quit?
Well, I was thinking that I would quit.
Well, I'm not pushing you.
I didn't say that you're pushing me.
I'm just trying to.
Well, naturally, you don't have to rush into anything.
I'm not rushing.
The only thing I'm trying to do right now is finish, I said.
Excuse me?
Listen, I've been on the same job for almost 25 years.
And I've been spending all my money, all my life,
all on myself.
I'm not married.
I don't have children.
I think it's about time I gave something back.
But please, Ma, don't worry about me.
You're right.
You're too old to worry about.
But in a couple of weeks, I'll find a new apartment.
And who is going to be around here to look after you?
Like feeding me, you mean?
No.
Jackie, you know I haven't mixed into your life
since you were 20.
But I've been staying with you here a couple of months now.
I don't see a girl around.
I don't see you putting cologne on for a date.
And I ask you this only because as a mother-mother,
I think we can talk openly.
Are you gay?
I'm not gay.
So what happened to all the girls you used to go with?
Wasn't there a Marilyn and a Sandy and the Beckerman twins?
Oh, the Beckerman twins.
Hello, man.
Of course, Mary.
Hello, Bea.
Hi, Jackie.
Oh, hello, neighbor.
How are you?
Do you want some coffee?
Oh, no, thank you, Bea.
I've got to get the kids off.
I just wondered if you could babysit tonight.
Patty has a date.
Gladly.
I have an audition this afternoon
for the young and the restless.
Obviously, I'm one of the restless.
You'd be too busy then.
Oh, no, no, no.
I should be through early now.
That's great.
Someone down at the settlement house
had two extra tickets for the Met.
I thought I'd go with my friend Doreen.
Oh, which opera?
Madame Butterfly.
Ooh, la balladine.
La, la, la.
Oh, I love Puccini.
I love all opera.
Too much yelling.
What time do you want, Bea?
7.
Be fine.
Well, thanks for tonight, Bea.
Oh, I got to go too.
I'll be late.
That Mary, such a lovely girl.
Now, if you were a gentile, I'd tell you to date her.
If I was a gentile, I wouldn't have to listen to you.
Listen, this is my last day on the job.
I got to get going.
I don't want to miss it.
Good luck at the audition.
Thank you.
And watch out for that casting couch.
Hi.
Come on in, Mr. Walker.
All right, Molly, you're going to wear this right.
No, I'm not.
I'm a buttoner coat.
What is it, a moral commitment?
She says it looks stupid.
Now stop it, Molly.
When you let go, I'm going on buttoning.
I have never spanked you, Molly.
I don't like it that way.
A lot of other mothers spank their children.
You won't spank me.
No, but I might bring you to one of those other mothers
to practice on.
Now go to school.
Goodbye.
Boy, you look funny.
No, I'm not.
Boy, you look funny.
What do you mean?
All your buttons are unbuttoned.
You know, there was a monkey in the circus
that ran around just like you,
with all his buttons unbuttoned.
You know what they called him?
What?
Stupid.
Mom, button me.
Come on, Molly, I'll button it.
We're late.
The sisters will kill us.
No, they won't.
They're afraid of me.
Oh, what a wonderful liar you are.
Well, thank you very much.
Bye, Mom.
I'll call you later.
Hey, kid, where do you think you're going?
Dennis' I told you I'm moving in with them.
Oh, yes.
I'm sorry, Patty, we've been through all this.
It's out of the question.
Well, it wasn't a question.
I've decided to do it.
Did it take you long to come to that decision?
We've been talking about it for three months.
Oh, look how lucky I am.
I came to my decision in only three seconds.
You're not moving in with Dennis.
I'm not going to the final.
I'd better get a cup of coffee.
I'm a grown woman.
I can sleep wherever I want.
Wait, wait, I'm not there yet.
You may be a woman to Jane Fonda, my dear,
but you are a girl to your mother.
And if you move in with Dennis, he will be a girl to his
because I'll go around there with a pair of scissors.
Well, it's time to go to work now.
Wait, you just stay here.
You might as well hear this first hand.
Sit down, please.
Why aren't you saying to me what every other mother
in the 20th century is saying to her daughter?
You're mature and I trust your judgment.
Go live with him.
Just be careful.
Why, Patty, why should I encourage you
to have premarital sex and live in sin with a man?
Maybe I should get a cookie.
Is it so hard to understand?
I do not want my beautiful daughter to waste
the most wonderful moments of her life on a relationship
which is probably only going to be temporary.
I guess we'll never agree on this.
Can we talk about it tonight?
I guess.
Go on, you'll be late for school.
I'll put this away.
Goodbye.
Bye.
It's not easy being a mother.
No, it's not.
That's why I never went into it.
Did you make a decision about your job?
Oh, yeah, when I left you last night, I went on the roof
and I said to myself, this is it.
I'm quitting my job today.
Do you have another job to go to?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm writing a book.
It's all about why my gentile girlfriend
asked me the same question as my Jewish mother.
Oh, so now I'm your girlfriend.
Well, I hope you don't mind that.
It's better than being the shiksa next door.
Well, I'm not the romantic type exactly.
You know, it's even hard for me to say the word girlfriend.
I know.
Oh, God, Jackie, I'm going to be late for work.
Listen, if you're quitting your job today,
you and I should go out tonight and celebrate.
Oh, but you're going with the ring.
No, she'll understand.
You and I'll use the tickets.
Call that celebrating?
I already saw Madame Butterfly.
You did not.
Well, I saw Cocoon, same thing.
Listen, I'll pick you up at 7th.
No, your mother will be here.
I'll meet you at the subway station.
The girl with the subway station?
I heard of people cheating on their wives.
Why am I the only person in the world
that's cheating on his mother?
Listen, after you've quit,
why don't you come downtown to the settlement house
and we'll have lunch together?
But I'll be out of a job. Who knows if I can afford it?
I invited you.
Oh, thank you.
We'll split it.
Better or not.
I like you very much.
Why not? I'm a wonderful person.
Good.
Hello.
Hello, Mr. Fisher.
What's the matter, sweetheart?
It's my car. It broke down again.
I can't afford to keep fixing it.
You know anything about motors?
Where did you ever see a Jew who knew anything about motors?
You know what happened when the Jews left Egypt?
600,000 Jews, all on foot.
And when they reached the Red Sea,
you know why Moses had to plow the waters?
Because they couldn't find one Jew who knew how to start a boat.
Here, sweetheart.
Let me help you out.
Why are you giving me this money?
Because you need it, and it's for the car,
and I like it.
Besides, this is the new me.
And the new me wants the old Jew to have the money
that the old me had left over in his bucket.
You know, I feel like Scrooge at the end of that story
that they play every year on Hanukkah.
I accept it. Thank you.
God bless you, sweetheart.
Listen, is he busy?
No, but he doesn't seem to be in a good mood either.
Well, things are going to get worse
when he finds out that I'm quitting.
Jackie.
Mr. Crane, I got something important to tell you.
And I got something to tell you.
You're fired.
Now, what did you want to say?
It's not important.
I don't understand this.
Why would you fire me?
I'm the best salesman you got.
Look, you're doing fine in your division,
but the overall outlook of this company is very bleak.
That's why I'm starting all over with a handful of young salesmen
working solely on commission.
Young? Young! That's the key word.
Well, you're 52 years old.
I'd rather bring my young people along.
So I'll take some short-term losses,
but over the long haul, I'll turn them into big money makers.
Listen, don't take this personally, but you're an idiot.
You have one division doing remarkably well
and another one doing badly.
What you should do is take the man from the better division,
put him in charge of the other division too,
or eliminate the other division.
You should build on your strength, not on your weaknesses,
and stop firing your best people.
You got that?
Mr. Ed!
Go on.
What you should do is not fire me.
You should put me in charge of a training program
so that I could break in all these young people.
You know, what you say makes a lot of sense.
That's why I said it.
So you'll stay on and train these kids?
For how much?
What are you talking about?
Your usual salary.
A usual salary?
That's what I got before you fired me.
If you want to rehire me now, I got to get at least $50 a week more.
You're talking now about a big job.
With big responsibilities.
That's what you're talking about.
All right, all right.
$50 a week more, you're hired.
Uh-huh. Thanks a lot.
Now, could I talk to you for a minute?
What is it?
I quit.
What is it?
I quit.
LAUGHTER
MUSIC
Let's do the heartbeat
The heartbeat of America
For today's work, today's world, Chevrolet will introduce more new fans in 1990 than anyone else anywhere.
Nobody's winning like the heartbeat of America.
Today's truck is Chevrolet.
The heartbeat of America
Today's truck is Chevrolet
So I'm running late.
I had to call Phoenix, so I'm using this other long-distance company.
I dialed the wrong number.
I got this guy on the sheet.
What? Is this Phoenix?
No, you reached Fiji.
I dial again.
Fiji again.
What are you kidding?
So I call the operator for credit.
She said I'd have to talk to customer billing.
I said AT&T operators gave me instant credit.
She said you are not dealing with AT&T.
Well, I am now.
People who thought they could do better than AT&T are coming back for the real value.
Aren't you glad you never left?
The Do Not Disturb Vacation
The Do All The Things You've Never Done Before Vacation
The Let's Go Out To Dinner Every Night Vacation
The Getting To Know The Locals Vacation
The Old I'll Find Something To Do Vacation
The Best Vacations Are This Vacation
The Royal Caribbean Vacation
It's All Here
Saturday, the season's open.
Okay, troops, let's hit it.
As the Belvedere crew takes the field with a team of the greatest baseball legends.
Then, he gave up a big bucks career to teach fourth grade.
All I want is a little respect.
A special preview of Home Room after the Belvedere season opener, Saturday.
So, you ready for lunch?
Oh, I'm sorry, Jackie. I'm going to have to teach this class today.
The instructor's sick.
Job placement class? Maybe I should take a class like that.
How'd he go with Crane?
It's unbelievable. First he fired me, then he hired me.
Can I quit?
Carefully.
Hello, Mr. Pereda.
How did the interview go this morning?
I didn't get the job.
Why not?
I have no idea.
Wait a second. You went to an interview with clothes like this?
What's wrong with my clothes?
It's all right. If you're the boss, you already got the job. But for you...
See? This is how you dress if you want to impress a boss.
Take a look. Every move. Perfect.
Where do you work?
Right now, I'm not working.
I just quit my job this morning.
Yeah? What'd you do?
I sold pajamas.
Anybody take the job yet?
I don't think so.
All right. Call them up. I'll take it.
Take it? Why, are you a good salesman?
Yeah, I'm good enough to sell pajamas.
What do you got to know about pajamas?
This here's the top, this here's the bottom. Put them on and go to sleep.
Even I couldn't resist a sales pitch like that.
So how are you going to convince Mr. Crane that you deserve the job?
That's his name, Mr. Crane.
Yeah, well, suppose I walk in there and I say,
how do you do, Crane? Don't drain your brain. I'm here.
First of all, if you called Mr. Crane Crane,
he would throw you out before you had a chance at the job.
Number two, if you walked into his office like this...
or even like this...
instead of like this, you'll wind up walking out like this.
Okay, now, let's try it again.
How do you do, Mr. Crane? I'm John Banks,
and I'm here for the position of director of sales, Eastern Division.
That's right, that's right. Give him a hand. This was perfect.
Now, here's a couple of dollars. Do me a favor.
Get yourself a haircut. Try to look like a normal person.
I'm sorry I'm late. I didn't even go home.
It's only five after seven.
Oh, you look so beautiful.
Thank you. Are you hungry?
I'll just make some tea. Where is Doreen?
Doreen? Your friend.
Oh, I'm meeting her at the subway. I'll get my coat.
And I'll put up some water.
Oh, hello, hello.
Jackie, your mother's here. Good.
Jackie.
I made up my mind I'm going to tell the truth.
You know, I was standing there at the subway station waiting for you,
and I was saying to myself, number one,
I'm not going to lie to my mother anymore.
And number two, I don't want you to have to lie to her either.
And number three, I'm standing here all alone on the subway station.
I could get mugged any minute.
Do you really want to do this, Jackie?
Positively.
Jackie, oh, I'm glad you found me.
Oh.
Do you want to tell me about today? You quit?
I quit. Oh, did you get the part?
Of course. Somebody in the family has to work.
Are you staying home tonight?
Oh, not tonight.
Going out with the boys again?
No, no. It's a girl.
Good, a girl.
You met somebody at unemployment.
No, no.
Me and Maddie were...
We were going to the opera.
What happened to her friend?
I'm the friend.
You're the read?
She, uh...
Me and Maddie...
We're going to be a couple.
Why couldn't you be gay like everyone else?
Mama, you're a modern woman. I don't understand you.
You're not even that religious.
You're an actress. You take modern dance.
Why should this whole thing bother you?
Look, I love you both,
but there is something inside me
that was passed down 5,000 years ago.
And I thought I gave it to you.
But who knows these days
with the DNA and the RNA
and the genes and the clones,
sometimes it's hard to know what's happening.
Listen, B, I honestly understand how you feel.
I am very much like you.
I believe in tradition, too.
I never thought I could get involved
with a man who wasn't Catholic.
But since I've met this crazy son of yours,
I've come to believe that the feelings that I have for him
may be more important to me than anything else.
I can't help it, Maddie.
I am what I am, and you know how I feel.
I guess we'll never agree on this.
Uh-huh.
The kids are hard to talk to, aren't they?
Don't you have a date?
I'll be home by midnight.
So will I. We have some talking to do.
I know. Good night.
I'll get my coat.
Wait a second, Mama. You said you would sit.
So she could go out with her friend, not with my son.
Listen, why don't you call up Doreen?
Tell her you'll meet her there.
I'll stay here with the kids.
Doreen went to dinner with her boyfriend.
Why don't you go along?
Don't worry about me.
Listen, I'll feel terrible if you don't go.
I'll be here when you come back.
Well, all right. I'll get my coat.
Hey, Johnny, Molly.
Just a second.
Yes?
As long as you have an extra ticket.
Well, all right, then.
What, Mom?
I'm going to the opera with Bea, and Jackie's going to sit with you.
Okay. I like when Jackie sits with us.
Good. Why?
Because he lets us do what we want.
Oh, really?
They're such nice kids.
My friends never saw a monkey named Stupid.
Well, maybe they don't get out much.
Come, sweetheart. I'll put you to bed.
Okay.
That was some beautiful speech you gave to my mother.
Thanks.
Did you mean it when you said that your feelings for me are more important to you
than anything else in the world?
No.
You're very cute for a basketball player.
Chicken soup. We'll be right back.
There is a point at which all things must evolve.
For small cars, that point is here.
Introducing the Mazda Protégé, a small car that's expansive in role, powerful,
and born of con-say engineering so the way it feels will change the way you feel about small cars.
The new Protégé from Mazda.
It just feels right.
It's fall, but it's hard to tell in Hollywood.
Every day is Halloween.
It still stays light at night.
But you know it's fall in Hollywood when the stars from last season go back to work.
In this week's issue of TV Guide, you can read about what to expect from your favorite shows.
Shows like Roseanne, Designing Women, L.A. Law.
So pick up the new issue of TV Guide.
You won't believe what's going to happen behind these doors this fall.
It's being called the best new series anybody will put on this fall.
A show touching on brilliance, Grade A+.
A special preview of Life Goes On, next.
Wednesday at 8, 7 Central. It's a special one-hour growing pain.
Followed by an all-new Just the Ten of Us.
The Seaver. And the Lubbocks.
Back to back. Back to back fun tomorrow.
I'll tell you an important difference between me and a pigeon.
If a pigeon falls off the roof, he could do something about it.
You know, I stand here on this roof and I wonder, how did I ever get so lucky?
I have a relationship with a tall, beautiful woman who, fortunately, is so tall
that she can't see what I look like from up there.
You know, I always wonder, why would a fantastic person like that really want me so much?
But thank goodness she does.
It's amazing how you can go through a whole life thinking that there's enough light in the room.
And all of a sudden somebody walks in and throws a switch.
And all of a sudden you see corners and furniture and pictures that you never knew was there.
That's what happened to me.
The switch got thrown.
And all of a sudden I have a whole new life.
I know I'm a lucky person that this happened.
Let's hope nobody turns the lights off.
At least not until I get downstairs I can break my neck over there.
This is Peter Jennings in Washington.
Coming up on Capitol to Capitol, members of the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Soviet
debate the state of the world in which we live.
See Kathleen Turner and Jack Nicholson starve and Pritzzee's honor.
Parental discretion is advised.
Then go behind the scenes on the sets of Life Goes On and the Young Riders.
Now, stay tuned for a special preview of Life Goes On.
Dropouts, pregnancy, drugs, our kids are in trouble.
Barbara Walters with real solutions that could help save a generation.
Survival stories Thursday.
And ABC News 3, now from Washington, Tim O'Brien.
Good evening.
President Bush took his drug crusade to 70 million students today in a live televised speech.
Mr. Bush insisted saying no to drugs won't make you a nerd or a loser.
In Chicago, an American Airlines jet carrying 115 people skidded more than 6,000 feet when its nose wheel collapsed.
No one seriously hurt.
Tonight, Peter Jennings anchors another ABC News, Capitol to Capitol, the top of the global environmental crisis.
Adults who refuse to grow up, a 25-year-old who still asks mom for money, and a 30-year-old whose mom just yet got rid of him.
Are these people living a fantasy life or are they merely copping out?
Avoiding responsibility? Adult adolescents. Next, Donnie.
Interesting, intriguing, fascinating. Donahue, one word says it all.
Tomorrow at 9 on channels 35 and 42.
You're watching Cap 35 Yakima.