[ALVIN]
This is it, Tom
This is it!

[THOMAS]
The morning before the big trip...

[ALVIN]
Twenty-four hours and I will be there!

[THOMAS]
All I could think was, ...Boy, this day came fast...

[ALVIN]
To ruffle your feathers and get in your hair!

[THOMAS]
All I could think was, I have things to take care of...

[ALVIN]
The whole town could perish
I don't even care!

[THOMAS]
But all I could say was...
...see you tomorrow!

[ALVIN]
This is it, Tom
This is it!

I never thought this day would actually come!

This morning, I finally believed it
I woke up and felt it begin
"I'm shaking the dust of this crummy old town off my feet"

Take that, George Bailey!

I'll make up a sign for the bookstore
And hang it where peoplе come in
Saying, "Closing for Christmas
The owner is hitting thе street!"

Look
I'll never be a world traveler
I just wasn't built that way
Still, this could be
My independence day!

[THOMAS]
Aren't you blowing this a little out of proportion?
(ALVIN straightens up the table and shelves, preparing to close down the bookstore. THOMAS observes him from the present.)

[ALVIN]
I think of the times throughout history
A day unremarkably dawned
Then one man was seized by the restless desire
To explore!

He looked up, and scanned the horizon
And wondered what might lie beyond
Then hoisted his anchor
And sailed for some uncharted shore!

Well
Now my destiny's calling
And I can hear it say
This could be my independence day!

[THOMAS]
It's just a trip to the city, Al!

[ALVIN]
Oh, of course you wouldn't understand!

This is a feeling you must feel every day!
As publishing's latest Man of the Hour!
Four bestsellers and counting, Tom!

I really can't compete with your resume

But something deep is stirring and shifting inside
The boundaries are blurring, and opening wide
It's suddenly occuring
That finally I
Deserve to stray
And reach!
And yearn
And dare to say
It might just be my turn!

(ALVIN is surprised by the sound of his own voice. He can't believe such a bold statement has emerged from him.)

It's rare that you notice a moment
The moment it's hurrying by
And instantly frame it and say
That's when everything changed

But now there's a moment approaching
I'm staring it straight in the eye
Prepared for a future of moments that aren't prearranged

Old George Bailey was cheated
He never left his town
Beaten down and defeated
He even tried to drown
But look at me!
I've been treated
To life turned upside-down
Welcome to my independence
Day!

This is it, Tom
This is it!

[THOMAS]
All I could think was, I never told Ann he was coming

[ALVIN]
Christmas, the two of us
Just like before!

[THOMAS]
All I could think was, I never told Alvin I'm engaged!

[ALVIN]
Like back in my living room
Over the store

[THOMAS]
All I could think was, Things here have gotten complicated!!

[ALVIN]
Who says the holidays have to be more?

[THOMAS]
But all I could say was:

[ALVIN]
This is it, Tom
This is-

[THOMAS]
Al! Don't come!

(This stops ALVIN dead in his tracks.)

[ALVIN]
...why not?

[THOMAS]
...it's not a good time

(pause)

Al?

What do you think, Al?

[ALVIN]
This is it, Tom
Me and you...

[THOMAS]
The next time that we said goobye...

[ALVIN]
If you commit, Tom
You see it through...

[THOMAS]
Why is it always goodbye?

Goodbye, Al

[ALVIN]
Goodbye, Tom

[THOMAS]
Relationships thrive or dissolve without our knowing why
And somehow, goodbye became easy...

Wait! Let me explain! It really wasn't a good time! I...