(also known as WALK, A WALK IN THE PARK, THE TREE OF LIFE)

Logline: 

When a minister has visions of his deceased son and mother, coupled with showing the early signs of dementia, his fears overwhelm him and threaten the outcome of what could be his final sermon at a concert in a park where, years earlier, his life was transformed.

Synopsis

Thomas Warner is unsettled.  He is jogging through a forest following his deceased 13- year-old son, Charlie.  Charlie is riding a bike and leads Thomas into a clearing.  They come upon a pristine lake and, in the distance, a gigantic bur oak tree.  Thomas knows this field.  He breathes hard as he tries to keep up with Charlie who eagerly rides toward the tree.  Exhausted, Thomas trips and is knocked out cold.

Thomas is brought back 25 years to a pee-wee league championship baseball game.  Charlie is up at bat.  The game is on the line.  Strike 1…  Strike 2…  Suddenly, Thomas awakens and finds himself sitting at the base of the bur oak tree.  He anxiously looks around.  Charlie is gone.   A cry for help cuts through his confusion.  An 11 year-old boy is drowning in the nearby lake.  Thomas leaps to action and dives into the water.

And so begins a bewildering journey for Thomas Warner whose roots were planted in this field – a place calledRegentPark.  Decades earlier, Thomas and his mother Virginia were a lost pair who took a leap of faith.  They had an encounter at Regent Park that profoundly changed their lives.

Now, years later, Thomas, a minister, has been asked to speak at this same park for a big event.  Sadly, it could be his last speaking engagement.  He has begun to show signs of dementia which may be causing him to have visions of not only his deceased son, but also his departed mother.  These spirits, along with his long-suffering wife Hannah, try to guide Thomas back toRegentParkto speak.

As Thomas’s doubts haunt him and he prepares for his sermon, the Warners become increasingly involved with Joey Conway – the boy Thomas saved from drowning – and his alcoholic mother, Alice.  The Conways are poor, lonely and in desperate need of help. Alice is an erratic, emotionally fragile woman who keeps Joey close to her side.  She is paranoid he will be taken away from her and trusts no one.  When Joey goes missing while in Thomas’s care, Alice snaps and wants nothing more to do with the Warners.

On the day of the event, the tension is palpable.  Preparing to speak, Thomas goes blank in front of the gathered crowd at Regent Park.  Will his doubts get the best of him?  Or will he grasp onto an unexpected miracle – a reminder to him that in life, like in baseball, you must keep your eye on the ball and never fear what comes your way.