Back to the present fall day, bright and not too chilly; the German Shepherd in the backyard, loping along half interested to the bench; juttering rock band practice muffled from a shed the next backyard over.

Enters the park. Mothers and kids in the playground—a shot placing him in the background, riding slowly, following the sneakers and unzipped coats running, whirling, jumping. A shot under the pavilion, where the light is dim, the chimney, echoes by the bathrooms with washed glass. He comes around the other side, goes toward the tennis wall—Aaron, Billy, Gretchen Foster and Todd can be seen playing on the hill.

James glances over as he coasts by, off the sidewalk past the tennis courts and into the grass. They are rolling down the hill on skateboards and don’t really look up. He drops his bike, loosing the racquet, opening the backpack on the ground and taking a ball out. Begins to hit against the wall. --stirrings of woodwinds, strings ~Sigur Ros

With James occasionally in the frame, having watched him hit for a minute, we see the kids playing, more of how they run together up and down the slope, more or less cohering, as one and then the other rides the skateboard, on his belly, crouching standing up, tumbling, ragging and cheering. Aaron, the biggest, goes to the other part of the hill by the stairs where it is steepest and goes down faster than he expected. He has a small gut, bangs and tight jeans. Their mom comes over, she has been walking to the post office, and Gretchen (her step-daughter) goes with her a little apart, little Todd (their old neighbor) wandering happily between…

Over to James hitting, the tree up high with its leaves falling over the gang moving now into the tennis courts (with a sign above the gate saying no skateboarding). Mrs Jones is saying how they haven’t been to the park for a long time, years since the boys were little, and they only moved a few blocks, from the apartments into the house they have now. James’ routine: he hits across, then up the line, cross, then up the line, alternating strokes; comes in for volleys; hits a number of backhands in a row.