WEBVTT 00:01.966 --> 00:02.499 [Music] 00:02.500 --> 00:07.733 [A Parthenon Picture] 00:10.366 --> 00:17.132 [Fair Chance] 00:17.133 --> 00:18.999 [Written and Produced by: Woodbury Conkling, Roger Clark; 00:19.000 --> 00:20.400 Executive Producer: Charles Palmer] 00:20.400 --> 00:22.200 c MCMLX, Parthenon Pictures] 00:23.266 --> 00:26.932 [Narrator:] This story begins in a hospital maternity wing, where 00:26.933 --> 00:30.766 the miracle of human birth is a daily commonplace, where 00:30.766 --> 00:35.732 sure, efficient, antiseptic routine rules all human life. 00:35.733 --> 00:39.433 All new and expecting mothers, all infants just arrived 00:39.433 --> 00:44.833 and soon to arrive, and all expectant fathers. 00:44.833 --> 00:47.499 For them, the maternity routine is quite simple. 00:47.500 --> 00:49.033 First, you wait. 00:49.033 --> 00:52.833 Second, wait patiently or look like it. 00:52.833 --> 00:56.199 And most important, keep from underfoot. 00:56.200 --> 00:58.600 The situation is funny, in a way, until you're 00:58.600 --> 01:00.200 the guy who's involved. 01:00.200 --> 01:02.300 But then when the important things are happening, 01:02.300 --> 01:04.300 even when it's your second or third time around, 01:04.300 --> 01:06.466 you find you're absolutely useless. 01:06.466 --> 01:08.732 You feel like the 10th man on a baseball team. 01:08.733 --> 01:11.066 Who needs you? 01:11.066 --> 01:13.632 Wait and wait. 01:13.633 --> 01:14.766 Of course, she's all right. 01:14.766 --> 01:16.766 Kids are born every day. 01:16.766 --> 01:17.999 Of course, she's all right. 01:18.000 --> 01:19.200 [Cigarette vending machine] 01:19.200 --> 01:20.900 Little things pop into your head, 01:20.900 --> 01:23.000 like the light in your first baby's eyes 01:23.000 --> 01:25.100 when she saw her first Christmas tree. 01:25.100 --> 01:26.500 And you wait. 01:26.500 --> 01:29.266 And you think of the other side of the coin, the side that 01:29.266 --> 01:32.799 reads bills to pay and responsibilities. 01:32.800 --> 01:34.866 And you go back to waiting all over again. 01:34.866 --> 01:36.732 And time passes very slowly. 01:36.733 --> 01:38.399 [Gentle music] 01:38.400 --> 01:41.066 But when the waiting is done, when the miracle has finally 01:41.066 --> 01:42.566 happened, everything changes. 01:42.566 --> 01:45.999 In one single moment, all the pieces fit into place. 01:46.000 --> 01:48.133 That 10th man on the team becomes the coach 01:48.133 --> 01:50.233 of the future all-time greats. 01:50.233 --> 01:52.033 You're needed. 01:52.033 --> 01:53.999 There's your whole future wrapped up 01:54.000 --> 01:55.766 in one tiny, eight-pound bundle. 01:55.766 --> 01:57.532 [Infant crying] 01:57.533 --> 01:59.899 This is what it's all about. 01:59.900 --> 02:02.766 This is how it was the night our Helen was born, 02:02.766 --> 02:04.332 the night I met Joe Walton. 02:06.900 --> 02:10.266 My immediate plans included a fast phone call to dad, another 02:10.266 --> 02:12.699 to Helen's folks in Chicago, and then 02:12.700 --> 02:16.066 a sleep that would make Rip Van Winkle look like an insomniac. 02:16.066 --> 02:20.299 No plans for strangers named Joe Walton. 02:20.300 --> 02:22.300 The kid was having it rough, really rough. 02:22.300 --> 02:23.333 I could tell. 02:23.333 --> 02:27.499 Trying to cover, of course, but without much success. 02:27.500 --> 02:29.100 Well, what do you do? 02:31.600 --> 02:33.566 The vital statistics were simple enough. 02:33.566 --> 02:37.499 Joe was 23 years old, presently unemployed, already 02:37.500 --> 02:40.200 the father of three. 02:40.200 --> 02:44.266 The real trouble lay in the room down the hall. 02:44.266 --> 02:46.866 His wife, Doris, had been in labor for 11 hours-- 02:46.866 --> 02:48.066 11 hours. 02:48.066 --> 02:49.499 [Dark music] 02:49.500 --> 02:52.966 But even I knew this didn't check out for the fourth child. 02:52.966 --> 02:54.166 Something was wrong. 02:54.166 --> 02:54.699 I knew it. 02:54.700 --> 02:57.800 [Fluttering music] 02:57.800 --> 02:58.666 [Dramatic musical sting] 02:58.666 --> 03:01.199 Well, at least, I was keeping his mind off things. 03:01.200 --> 03:05.133 And as time passed, I learned that things for Doris and Joe 03:05.133 --> 03:07.399 were pretty mixed up. 03:07.400 --> 03:09.533 Maybe the intern's visit was routine. 03:09.533 --> 03:11.199 Maybe it wasn't. 03:11.200 --> 03:12.866 Everything's going to be all right, Joe. 03:12.866 --> 03:14.766 You just hold on. 03:14.766 --> 03:17.866 How do you answer the panic in a man's eyes? 03:17.866 --> 03:20.366 There's nothing wrong, Joe, just a delay. 03:20.366 --> 03:22.199 It often takes longer than this. 03:22.200 --> 03:23.800 Why, my first one-- 03:23.800 --> 03:25.000 so you lie a little. 03:25.000 --> 03:28.166 Maybe it'll help. 03:28.166 --> 03:30.699 By now, Joe really needed someone to take over. 03:30.700 --> 03:34.000 And these four walls were doing neither of us any good. 03:34.000 --> 03:36.066 I knew an all-night eatery across the street 03:36.066 --> 03:38.366 where the hospital could reach him as quickly by phone 03:38.366 --> 03:41.266 as if he stayed here in this sweat box. 03:41.266 --> 03:42.866 A quick call at the reception desk, 03:42.866 --> 03:44.099 and we were across the street. 03:44.100 --> 03:46.533 [Café sign, fluorescent lighting] 03:46.533 --> 03:48.233 [Tense music] 03:48.233 --> 03:51.266 I've never been too strong in the big brother role, 03:51.266 --> 03:53.632 but tonight Joe Walton needed help. 03:53.633 --> 03:55.133 And maybe I was the guy to give it. 03:55.133 --> 03:58.333 Anyway, I was the only guy around. 03:58.333 --> 04:00.299 His story had a familiar ring-- 04:00.300 --> 04:03.733 early marriage and a quick succession of kids, one a year 04:03.733 --> 04:05.433 since he and Doris were married. 04:05.433 --> 04:07.233 The first was a big event. 04:07.233 --> 04:09.533 And their parents helped carry things. 04:09.533 --> 04:12.999 But with the second and the third, they were on their own. 04:13.000 --> 04:18.266 But he'd make out if only things went right this time. 04:18.266 --> 04:20.999 It was then he cut loose. 04:21.000 --> 04:24.100 What was really eating this guy was a paralyzing fear 04:24.100 --> 04:26.100 that Doris wouldn't pull through. 04:26.100 --> 04:27.766 She had developed a kidney condition, 04:27.766 --> 04:30.232 and this pregnancy was really dangerous. 04:30.233 --> 04:32.799 And they'd known the danger for a year. 04:32.800 --> 04:35.733 But what do you do, said Joe. 04:35.733 --> 04:39.166 The old story-- no one of their children had been planned. 04:39.166 --> 04:41.399 Child spacing, Joe didn't understand. 04:41.400 --> 04:42.500 But he should understand. 04:42.500 --> 04:45.066 And I took the plunge and started in, the easiest way 04:45.066 --> 04:46.966 I could, with my own story. 04:46.966 --> 04:48.866 [Dreamy musical orchestration] 04:48.866 --> 04:50.766 The story started 20 years ago. 04:50.766 --> 04:53.666 [Dreamy musical orchestration] 04:54.966 --> 04:57.132 I was one of a family of eight. 04:57.133 --> 05:00.499 There were more children, but only six of us grew up. 05:00.500 --> 05:03.033 When you rub elbows with half a dozen kids in your own home 05:03.033 --> 05:05.266 every day, there's not much chance that any one of you 05:05.266 --> 05:06.299 will be spoiled. 05:06.300 --> 05:07.900 And that's good. 05:07.900 --> 05:10.200 But sometimes, there's not much chance for-- 05:10.200 --> 05:12.100 well, for a lot of things that each one of you 05:12.100 --> 05:14.566 needs from your parents. 05:14.566 --> 05:17.299 Even today, my early childhood recollections of my parents 05:17.300 --> 05:19.033 are disturbing. 05:19.033 --> 05:20.666 I couldn't understand a lot of things 05:20.666 --> 05:21.999 that went on around the house-- 05:22.000 --> 05:25.133 angry words at night when I wasn't supposed to hear, 05:25.133 --> 05:28.799 insults that sounded real and cruel. 05:28.800 --> 05:30.966 They were good, honest people, trying their best 05:30.966 --> 05:33.532 to provide a decent home for all of us. 05:33.533 --> 05:36.499 But at 10, you can't realize what it takes out 05:36.500 --> 05:39.566 of a man and woman trying to keep eight people together 05:39.566 --> 05:41.932 on a bus driver's salary. 05:41.933 --> 05:43.966 At 10, you can't begin to appreciate 05:43.966 --> 05:47.499 the endless drudgery, the fatigue, and the deadening 05:47.500 --> 05:50.466 frustration that come with too many children and too 05:50.466 --> 05:53.066 little money. 05:53.066 --> 05:56.799 Now, 20 years too late, I know why they quarreled. 05:56.800 --> 05:59.000 But then, it sounded as though the very people who 05:59.000 --> 06:01.566 were supposed to love me and brought me into the world 06:01.566 --> 06:04.532 often wished I'd never been born. 06:04.533 --> 06:06.933 I knew this wasn't fair to any one of us. 06:06.933 --> 06:09.566 I made up my mind that if I ever had a family of my own, 06:09.566 --> 06:11.232 it would be a very different one. 06:11.233 --> 06:15.999 [Music continues] 06:16.000 --> 06:17.900 When I was a kid, the word "delinquent" 06:17.900 --> 06:20.566 meant nothing more than delayed. 06:20.566 --> 06:22.699 Our neighborhood was crawling with good kids 06:22.700 --> 06:24.033 who had a lot of fun together. 06:24.033 --> 06:27.599 But usually, I sat out most of the excitement. 06:27.600 --> 06:30.200 Between babies, my mother had to work. 06:30.200 --> 06:31.800 And every one of us older kids had 06:31.800 --> 06:35.733 to pitch in on the household chores as soon as we were able. 06:35.733 --> 06:38.533 It's great to develop a sense of responsibility, I suppose. 06:38.533 --> 06:41.299 But when you have to take it on too young, 06:41.300 --> 06:45.466 you're liable to miss out on a lot of important living. 06:45.466 --> 06:48.299 One thing you learn early in a big family, 06:48.300 --> 06:50.666 don't ask for expensive toys or gifts. 06:50.666 --> 06:52.632 You're wasting your time. 06:52.633 --> 06:55.333 But, well, I can't remember a time 06:55.333 --> 06:57.766 when I wasn't interested in building or construction. 06:57.766 --> 06:59.666 And one day, I spotted a toy that 06:59.666 --> 07:02.532 would make me the master builder of all time. 07:02.533 --> 07:05.666 I never wanted anything so hard in all my life. 07:05.666 --> 07:09.932 And this visit to the toy store was very carefully staged. 07:09.933 --> 07:13.966 I was too young to realize how much her refusal cost her. 07:13.966 --> 07:16.299 Only later, I began to see how much she 07:16.300 --> 07:19.200 suffered when she had to turn down so important a request. 07:19.200 --> 07:25.366 [Music] 07:25.366 --> 07:26.832 Joe was listening hard. 07:26.833 --> 07:29.699 I knew bells were ringing all over the board for him. 07:29.700 --> 07:32.133 And he was trying to make the connection. 07:32.133 --> 07:35.466 But the eatery phone bell was still quiet. 07:35.466 --> 07:37.032 Still no word of Doris. 07:37.033 --> 07:38.399 So I went on. 07:38.400 --> 07:39.800 [Eerie music] 07:39.800 --> 07:42.200 Time had passed. 07:42.200 --> 07:44.066 The older I became, the more I was 07:44.066 --> 07:45.899 convinced that my future lay somewhere 07:45.900 --> 07:48.266 in the business of building. 07:48.266 --> 07:50.699 I read and studied everything I could lay my hands on. 07:50.700 --> 07:54.233 And finally, I decided I wanted to be an architect. 07:54.233 --> 07:56.066 I guess I was pretty good in school-- 07:56.066 --> 07:57.432 high school. 07:57.433 --> 07:59.266 Each new accomplishment convinced me 07:59.266 --> 08:01.132 that I was well on my way. 08:01.133 --> 08:03.299 I could see now they were proud of me 08:03.300 --> 08:05.866 and how pleased they were with my success. 08:05.866 --> 08:08.132 But if I'd only looked a little closer, 08:08.133 --> 08:10.599 I would have seen something else. 08:10.600 --> 08:12.400 How they were being torn apart with 08:12.400 --> 08:15.433 worry over my expensive dreams. 08:15.433 --> 08:17.766 Where would the college money come from? 08:17.766 --> 08:20.232 Would it hurt me too much when I came face 08:20.233 --> 08:22.566 on to the hard facts of life? 08:22.566 --> 08:24.599 [Mother shakes her head] 08:25.666 --> 08:32.966 [Fade to future, family gathered in living room] 08:32.966 --> 08:37.232 The hard facts caught up with all of us all of a sudden. 08:37.233 --> 08:41.266 My mother died-- too young. 08:41.266 --> 08:44.866 I always felt she was worn out from too many children, too 08:44.866 --> 08:48.232 much responsibility, and too much work. 08:48.233 --> 08:51.233 It didn't seem fair that a woman who gave so much of herself 08:51.233 --> 08:54.333 couldn't have had a few more years, maybe even 08:54.333 --> 08:57.399 a chance for a little plain enjoyment. 08:57.400 --> 08:59.166 But there it was. 08:59.166 --> 09:03.666 And added to it was another personal blow to me. 09:03.666 --> 09:05.832 To this day, I don't think any one of the family 09:05.833 --> 09:08.699 knows I was offered a full scholarship in the fine arts 09:08.700 --> 09:11.000 department at Herndon University. 09:11.000 --> 09:14.200 It was my big chance to take a crack at those skyscrapers I 09:14.200 --> 09:15.833 wanted to build. 09:15.833 --> 09:17.633 But I couldn't see myself at Herndon 09:17.633 --> 09:20.766 with dad trying to raise the family alone. 09:20.766 --> 09:23.666 I don't mind admitting that decision hurt. 09:23.666 --> 09:27.599 I was even a little sore about the whole deal for a while. 09:27.600 --> 09:30.833 But it wasn't anybody's fault. Mother 09:30.833 --> 09:33.833 and dad had just let nature take its course. 09:33.833 --> 09:37.466 There were too many of us, and we all took it on the chin. 09:37.466 --> 09:40.232 [Dreamy musical orchestration] 09:40.233 --> 09:43.099 And by now, Joe could see himself and Doris sailing head 09:43.100 --> 09:45.200 on into the very same problem. 09:45.200 --> 09:46.966 But what could he do about it? 09:46.966 --> 09:48.666 Well, all right, plenty. 09:48.666 --> 09:51.532 For one thing, I told them about the Planned Parenthood center 09:51.533 --> 09:53.899 downtown, where he could get all the help he 09:53.900 --> 09:55.400 needed from experts. 09:55.400 --> 09:58.766 And it would cost him only what he could afford to pay. 09:58.766 --> 10:00.566 Planned Parenthood had made it possible 10:00.566 --> 10:04.266 for us to have young Mike when we were ready for him. 10:04.266 --> 10:05.999 And the new little lady across the street 10:06.000 --> 10:09.666 had arrived on our schedule, thanks to Planned Parenthood. 10:09.666 --> 10:14.766 [Music] 10:14.766 --> 10:17.399 Thanks to the architect I was doing drafting for back then, 10:17.400 --> 10:21.033 I'd been there with Helen soon after we were married. 10:21.033 --> 10:23.099 I went with her the first time on the excuse 10:23.100 --> 10:24.800 that she might be nervous. 10:24.800 --> 10:28.600 But I was really curious to find out more about this group. 10:28.600 --> 10:31.433 In about 30 seconds, we both discovered one thing. 10:31.433 --> 10:34.099 This was a very pleasant place indeed. 10:34.100 --> 10:38.900 Everyone on the staff took time out to be friendly. 10:38.900 --> 10:42.733 Helen was a little nervous, but she began to relax immediately. 10:42.733 --> 10:44.566 And when she went off to find the nurse, 10:44.566 --> 10:47.066 I went out to look for a seat in the waiting room. 10:47.066 --> 10:49.499 Well there, too, the atmosphere was easygoing. 10:49.500 --> 10:51.866 Everyone had an intimate reason for being there. 10:51.866 --> 10:54.432 But instead of being awkward or embarrassed about it, 10:54.433 --> 10:57.466 they were taking it as one of those things. 10:57.466 --> 10:59.066 Even the kids had a good time. 10:59.066 --> 11:02.299 [Waiting room information] 11:02.300 --> 11:04.833 I learned a lot in a very short time. 11:04.833 --> 11:07.699 And what it comes down to, Planned Parenthood 11:07.700 --> 11:10.433 believes that children who are wanted and planned for 11:10.433 --> 11:12.866 are going to have a fairer chance in life than the kids 11:12.866 --> 11:15.632 who just appear on the scene. 11:15.633 --> 11:18.399 They were talking my language. 11:18.400 --> 11:20.266 Helen told me later that people came there 11:20.266 --> 11:21.599 for a variety of reasons-- 11:21.600 --> 11:25.100 to unlearn the back-fence gossip and find the medical facts 11:25.100 --> 11:27.700 about safe, reliable child spacing 11:27.700 --> 11:30.833 methods, for advice and counsel on all kinds 11:30.833 --> 11:32.666 of marriage problems. 11:32.666 --> 11:35.366 And another interesting part of the work that goes on here-- 11:35.366 --> 11:38.432 Planned Parenthood centers help scores of childless couples 11:38.433 --> 11:40.366 have babies of their own. 11:40.366 --> 11:42.699 And Helen said, on an average, one out of three 11:42.700 --> 11:45.833 of these couples succeeds. 11:45.833 --> 11:48.533 Helen and the nurse hit it off right away. 11:48.533 --> 11:51.699 It would be hard not to get along with Miss Fitzgerald. 11:51.700 --> 11:54.000 She began talking babies, and it wasn't long 11:54.000 --> 11:55.833 before Helen realized she was sitting 11:55.833 --> 11:58.799 with a truly intelligent and dedicated member of the nursing 11:58.800 --> 11:59.533 profession. 12:02.733 --> 12:05.566 Her immediate job was to take Helen's medical history. 12:05.566 --> 12:08.799 And it was thorough and complete to the last detail. 12:08.800 --> 12:11.266 But there wasn't any prying into our affairs, 12:11.266 --> 12:13.199 just the medical facts they needed 12:13.200 --> 12:16.733 to give us the help we wanted. 12:16.733 --> 12:20.533 Next, she met with Dr. Wilson, who discussed child spacing 12:20.533 --> 12:21.733 methods. 12:21.733 --> 12:24.099 Helen learned that the one she was most interested in 12:24.100 --> 12:27.566 was safe, reliable, painless, and harmless, 12:27.566 --> 12:30.966 and in no way affected her ability to have children. 12:30.966 --> 12:33.732 It's amazing how many women go through life ignorant 12:33.733 --> 12:36.699 of standard medical facts. 12:36.700 --> 12:39.633 But Dr. Wilson saw to it that, by the end of Helen's visit, 12:39.633 --> 12:41.166 she was not one of them. 12:44.533 --> 12:46.599 When our visit to the center was over, 12:46.600 --> 12:48.700 we didn't need to say thanks. 12:48.700 --> 12:51.966 Thanks we're written all over Helen's face and mine. 12:51.966 --> 12:55.432 At last we knew we could have the family we both wanted, 12:55.433 --> 12:59.599 when we were ready physically, emotionally, and financially, 12:59.600 --> 13:00.466 ready. 13:00.466 --> 13:05.699 [Light rousing music] 13:05.700 --> 13:09.733 It was early morning when I finished up on Joe. 13:09.733 --> 13:11.799 Maybe I was doing the boy some good. 13:11.800 --> 13:13.000 Maybe. 13:13.000 --> 13:16.600 [Payphone ringing] 13:16.600 --> 13:18.033 This was it. 13:18.033 --> 13:20.833 The next few moments could make or break this boy. 13:20.833 --> 13:23.866 [Payphone ringing] 13:23.866 --> 13:27.632 [Music] 13:27.633 --> 13:30.766 I hadn't prayed so hard since young Mike. 13:30.766 --> 13:37.299 [Dark music] 13:37.300 --> 13:38.266 [Dramatic musical sting] 13:38.266 --> 13:42.532 [Dark music] 13:42.533 --> 13:44.399 [Transition to uplifting music] 13:44.400 --> 13:47.600 [Joe smiles] [Mouths] "It's ok." 13:47.600 --> 13:52.666 [Uplifting music] 13:52.666 --> 13:55.132 The miracle had happened once again. 13:55.133 --> 13:57.099 A new day had begun. 13:57.100 --> 14:00.800 And with it, for Joe Walton and Doris, a new chance. 14:03.866 --> 14:09.099 And for their children, a new kind of chance, a fair chance. 14:09.100 --> 14:11.433 [Fair Chance] 14:11.433 --> 14:13.666 [Through Planned Parenthood] 14:13.666 --> 14:17.499 [Music] 14:17.500 --> 14:24.966 [Parthenon Pictures c1960] 14:24.966 --> 14:25.866 [Music fades out]