"The Windfall" opens with the Evans family excited James found $27k from a grocery store robbery. Willona comes over to share in the excitement. James comes home as the news segment airs on TV. Florida looks as if she has seen a ghost. She doesn't understand how James could be on TV and be home at the same time. She acted as if her brain short-circuited. Florida was ready to faint and call James an evil spirit! Fortunately, James explained it was taped delayed. Michael revealed the night prior, Florida and James discussed keeping the money. Florida nagged, begged and threw some bible verses at James. James agreed to give the money back. After it was revealed on the newscast James gave the money back, the Evans family started to receive harassment from their neighbors. JJ was assaulted in the hallway over the money. Out of frustration, James revealed he did not give all the money back. Once again, Florida went to work on James to give ALL the money back. Sadly he did. That money could have helped the Evans family so much, college tuition, medical emergencies (which Florida had two), dental (Florida had no problem begging her rich cousin for money for JJ dental bill) or a phone bill (James spent all day trying raise money to get the telephone turned back on and only made $5). Florida was happy at the end to be happy and poor.
2 Reviews
Another highly regarded episode
kevinolzak3 January 2017
"The Windfall" opens with the Evans family excited about watching father James on television, the newspapers carrying the story of how he found and returned $27,000 from Borgen's grocery store holdup. JJ would have walked into the bank with a story of a late uncle who kicked the bucket! The 'portrait of an honest man' receives a plaque from Borgen's, along with a generous reward, $50 in free groceries! Obscene phone calls from people with an ax to grind make James so angry that he reveals that the actual total was $29,000, pocketing $2000 before returning the rest. Florida insists that what he did was a crime: "well now I just have to ask for a pardon!" Willona offers her support, not for stealing but for 'sticking it into the dudes that stuck it into James!' Reverend Gordon (Alvin Childress) drops by for 'his cut for the church,' making a typical assumption about the reward: "I see the Lord has been good to you" "yeah, he helped one who helped himself!" To this day audiences remain divided about what to do in the same situation, with television pioneer Alvin Childress remembered as cab driving Amos Jones on the 50s version of AMOS'n'ANDY.
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