Sixteen- year-old Petie is home from military school and visiting the Stone family. Petie and Mary have been friends for years, but seeing how beautiful Mary has become, he would now like to be more than just friends. As Alex puts it, "springtime has come to Petie!" How can Petie catch Mary's eye?

Mary comes home from a date in tears. Donna And Alex tell 2 different stories on how they met each other on their first date.

Dilemma in the Stone household: How to discipline the children without having Donna look like a villian by meting out the punishments, or having Donna look like a squealer when Alex does.

Lately all Donna has been hearing is how wonderful Alex is, and how lucky she is to be his wife. After a while this gets Donna to wondering if what people really mean is that Alex got the short end of the stick by marrying Donna.

Alex has a new patient whose grandfather plans on paying the medical bill with money won from betting on the horses.

Jeff just can't seem to do anything right --- The family needs to build up his spirits, so when he does mediocre imitations of movie stars like James Cagney, Peter Lorre, and Edward G. Robinson, he gets all the family's praise and decides to participate in the upcoming school talent show!

When Donna's letter-to-the-editor about parents needing to make sure that their children follow through by finishing what they start gets published, it prompts Donna to follow through herself.

Donna makes Jeff take trumpet lessons when she discovers he has perfect pitch. Jeff would rather be on the track team.

Pitcher Don Drysdale appears in this episode along with his real-life wife and daughter. On a trip to Chicago, Jeff is excited about seeing his pal, Don Drysdale, again. He is supposed to get an interview with Don for the school paper. Jeff's excitement turns to disappointment when it appears that Don Drysdale can't deliver the interview.

Nick the Greek is the handyman at the Stone's house. He's still learning how to write English, so he asks Jeff for help in writing a love letter to his girlfriend. Later, Mary finds this love letter in Jeff's handwriting and wonders if Jeff is involved in a new romance.