EVERWOOD SEASON 1 FINALE:
I wasn't there the day Colin Hart's life changed forever.
But you could feel the earth shake a little from quite a ways off.
It was a Summer day. Bright and perfect. Glowing with the thrill of youth.
And a night lit with fireworks that cut with a deafening whir of sirens.
At the end of it, the young boy and all who loved him would never be the same.
In an opposite corner of the world
Another man's tragedy kept time with Colin Hart's.
Andy Brown did what any man would do who felt he had lost everything.
He disappeared. He fell apart. Lost his center. Lost his way.
To a brave girl, this broken man looked like a life raft.
And his son, a gentle current pulling him close.
The girl took a chance when she saw it.
She begged the doctor's son to help her in her cause.
And he did because he loved her and could refuse her nothing.
And so it came to pass, one man's tragedy and one boy's loss, met.
Like two rivers joined. And the boy was saved.
And the man was saved. At least for a time.
But the boy was not as he was before.
Although Colin had cheated death, a little death had crept inside.
He was not whole, he was not himself.
His now changed face frightened him.
He pushed those he cared for, far away.
The good doctor believed that this boy could still be saved and that
he was the one who could save him.
But the boy hadn't decided if life was worth dying for.
The choice was all his own.
This is the story of Colin Hart and Andy Brown.
It's the story of a town that lost its center and strove to regain it.
This is the story of Everwood.

"My Funny Valentine" - narrated by Treat Williams
(Beginning) Dear Valentine, come away with me. If I had a day with you and you only, I would enjoy the simple things. The things that, in the end, when time steals the rest away, are the only things we'll remember. I would paddle you across a still lake in a rowboat and read poetry to you until you fall asleep and I would never ever think about the hours. Dear Valentine, if I had one day with you and you only... ...I would admire every line of your face, every strand of your hair... ...Every graceful movement of your hands or your eyes or your body. If I had one perfect day... Don't you see? My heart beats only for you.
(End) Dear Valentine. These are the things I never told you. These are the things I need you to know. That I loved you always. And my love was so big, it lives still after you're gone. I'd like to tell you that I would do it differently. That if I had one more day I would do everything right. But I know that isn't true. I'd make all the same mistakes. That is except one. I wouldn't say goodbye.

(Beginning) Every storyteller knows that, at the heart of every great tale, is the hero who inspired it. Legends whose names are known, whose lives we remember, whose stories we pass on. Alexander the great. Ernest Hemmingway ...Marilyn Monroe. The older the tale, the more romantic embellishments we tale spinners add. It helps create the illusion of an individual who is larger than life. Dr. Brown was a legend in his own right by the time he came to Everwood. But he wasn't the only one.
(End) Evelyn Rowser had an expression for the few seconds before the curtain went up. She called it the holy time. But you don't have to be an actor to know how the holy time feels like. It's that breath you take just seconds before you become the person you were meant to become. For some people, it feels like forever. And for some, it's a moment over far too fast.

One of the hardest things about being a father is that you never know what's yours anymore. There's always someone out there trying to take what belongs to you. Or at least make you share. Your car, your home, food off your plate, even your own kids sometimes. It's a constant battle. Fought less with... ...violence than with love, fought with the best of intentions... ...and scented with cinnamon.

(Beginning) Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there lived a man who was hardly a man. He had forgotten the way voices sound so long had he been exiled. Exiled to a cold dark puddle at the center of the forest. It's been so many years now this legend is kept only by the faithful. As for this man... ...you could say he is still living. But you could also say that he's been erased from humankind. (End) Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom. There lived not one, but two kings. One, who knew not what he had. One, doomed to remember what he had lost. And there lived a fearless giantess and a wood sprite who loved to play in her shadows. Moon glow illuminating her eyes. There even was a wizard who knew how to tame wild things. And a handsome prince and a beautiful princess who could not know how their fates were destined to cross. And the lovable oaf and his glass spun flute. And there were others too, in this distant place. Not unlike the folks you knew as a child. Where tales were told and legends were written. It's possible the true name of this kingdom will never again be spoken and has nearly been forgotten by time and memory. For all the charmed creatures within its realm, have only ever called it, home.

Folks move to the country for lots of reasons. Clean air, better schools, stores where you don't have to fake a heart attack to get a salesperson's attention, and diners like this one.

(Beginning) The family doctor. An icon of the American experience. For generations, they've mended our wounds and warmed our hearts. In my life time, Andy Brown was just about the best example I ever knew of one. Doctor-wise, that is. As for the family half of the job title, he was a bit rough around the edges. (End) The first fall thaw that Andy Brown and his family ever knew passed through Everwood later that night. Taking with it, our last bit of warm autumn air. But not our warmth of spirit. That was in the people of Everwood. And in our hearts, some broken, some mending, and some, for the moment, complete.

People go to church for a lot of different reasons. Some for community, some for appearances. While others, and it may be a very few, it's a matter of true faith. The simple fact is... life is hard for most people. By the end of a long week, the soul can be as devoid of spirit as Everwood's Taggard mine is empty of ore. Only, if you're lucky, when you come here you leave with something more than you came in with.

When you think about the rich bounty of flora and fauna that populate this once barren rock of ours, it's hard to believe it didn't have some guiding hand. Even setting aside all the creatures that crawl and swim and fly around us, one has to marvel at the sheer variety and utility of plants. They satisfy our hunger, provide us with shelter, and lift our spirits. It's hard to imagine life without God's most alluring foot soldiers. Luckily, Everwood never had to go without thanks to Irma's flower mart. Irma Fredonia opened it the week after they bombed Pearl Harbor. "The world needs more beauty now", she said. Nothing of importance ever happened around here without Irma's fragrant touch. Until now. Even at the worst of times, Irma's green thumb could lift people's spirits. Turns out, some spirits were lifted a little higher than others. (End) Even in small towns like ours, things change. And not always for the better. People die, people forget. Frivolous pursuits become cause for alarm. Fortunately, some things *do* stay the same. Like the scent of Jasmine that still lingers outside Irma's flower mart. Or the vermilion tones of the jewel orchids she once sold me. Or the thrill of beating the high score on an old pinball machine.

It's not just that snow makes everything pretty. Snow gives us all a second chance. Snow cleanses. Hiding the sins of all with no prejudices, favor or blame. Everything gets to be pure again. If only for a little while. Which might be all you need.

Every small town worth its salt has a place like this. A place where the landscape invites us to blend in for a while. Ours is called "Buck's Rock". It's been graced with its own heavenly light that, for most people, it eliminates any and all doubt of a higher power. The purpose for Buck's Rock is quite familiar. It's a place where the lazy days of childhood play themselves out. A place of free from the responsibilities of adult life. A place of innocence.

When things are working right in the universe, a loss of innocence is usually followed, in time, but an increase in humanity. Time is funny like that. For everything it robs us of, it grants us something. Sometimes it's a new friend, sometimes it's a better understanding of ourselves. Sometimes, it's just a perfect day.

(Beginning) Everyone has a touchstone. A last line of defense against the mayhem and sorrow of this world. For some people in Everwood, that person is Dr. Gretchen Trott. Of course, not all of Everwood is worshipped at the shrine of this particular recreational vehicle.
(End) The thing about your touchstone. You come to depend on it. No matter whether you set out to or not. But not even your own personal rock of Gibraltar is permanent. The rock has her own needs to think of. And just because you want someone to stick around, it doesn't mean she will. Dr. Brown knew something about that.

(Beginning) The Everwood Pinecone. It has been a daily press since May 21st, 1985. The day Mr. R. F. Davenport brought, what was even then, an antique printing press, hellbent on single-handedly spreading whatever small town news there was, each and every day. Everyone thought he was crazy but 5,999 issues later, he hasn't missed a single delivery. The Everwood Pinecone. Everwood's own bastion of journalistic integrity and chowder recipes.
(End) Like the man with the printing press said, at some point we all have something we just have to do. The gear spins. Sometimes the gear gets you what you want, sometimes it pushes it even further away. Either way, you have to respect the machine.

(Beginning) It may not seem so at first glance. But a lot changes in small towns. Take for instance Everwood's first local bank. It burned down in '66. And they never rebuilt it. Everwood's first gas station was Sinclair Pump and Engine. We have a Mobil now... and, you pump your own gas. And of course you all know what happened to the Train Depot. Which brings me to this bridge. Legend has it, the bridge was built by a young man and woman who lived on opposite sides of the river. The two fell in love and constructed the bridge so they could meet in the middle and share what would be their first kiss. From that day on it was known, appropriately enough as 'The Kissing Bridge'. Now if people had just stuck to kissing, Dr. Brown may have been able to avoid one heck of a crisis. But I-I'm getting ahead of myself. The point is, Everwood's gone through a whole lot of changes both inside and out. But the Kissing Bridge has stood the test of time. Evidence, I guess that, some things are built to last....and some things, aren't.
(End) That evening was the last time anyone saw the kissing bridge in its full glory. And even though Everwood's symbol of innocence is no longer with it, people still tell its story. To their children... ...and the grandchildren. Only now when they do, the ending is a lot more exciting.