Written and Directed By Christopher Del Gaudio
Original VTR Date: June 30, 2001

The bittersweet currents of change and progress breeze through the windows of one Charles Corbell, "patriarch" of the town of Maplebury and owner of Corbell's Hardware, the last remaining "mom and pop" store from the old days.

His granddaughter Jeannie is up from Georgia; and at the behest of his son, Paul, they have enlisted the help of an old neighborhood friend in approaching a subject that has long been anathema to him: retiring his business. Maureen Prescott, of Prescott Real Estate and Land Development, arrives and warmly reminisces with Charles. Gingerly, she touches on the increasing competition in the area and his dwindling sales, and Charles' attitude changes at once. Corbell's Hardware is hardly just a store. It is a landmark, a lifetime, and as vital as the air he breathes. He denies the fact that he is in the uncomfortable position of losing money just to keep the store afloat and rejects Maureen's urgency that he sell.

That night, alone in the store, Charles reflects to his deceased wife Lillian, perhaps, affronting the inevitable and the prospect of his own mortality. He contemplates his purpose in the world, and whether he gave forty-three years of his life for nothing more than having to give it back. The ghost of his dear neighbor, Winnie Ortmann, appears, holding a gift-wrapped package. A gift given to him for his 40th birthday party by all his cherished friends and neighbors. Respecting his wishes of "no presents," they each penned a one-page tribute to him and gift wrapped them in a box he had never opened. As he removes the lid, ghosts of other neighbors appear; and one by one, the tributes are verbalized. They remind Charles of the significant differences he made in their lives, and help him to view retirement not so much as a finality, but a rerouting; and he concedes to this new adventure in his life.

The next morning, Jeannie gets a call from her father. She tells him of the good news, chuckling at how "Grandpa suddenly believes in ghosts." Her father then informs her that Maureen Prescott had been fatally injured in a car accident on her way to see Charles the previous morning. Placing his hand on his granddaughter's shoulder, Charles validates: "Not ghosts, Jeannie. Angels…"

CAST
(in order of appearance)

Charles Corbell: BILL PIERCE
Jeannie Corbell: DIANA CALLEGARI
Maureen Prescott: HEIDE CHERUBINI
Winnie Ortmann: LINDA HANSON
Mrs. Queff: SUSAN WEBSTER
Eddie Vallorani: EDWARD McKEOWN
Larry Reid: JAMES DUGGAN

* HONORABLE MENTION - 2002 Hometown Video Festival, Houston, Texas.