chunk: In 1981, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) sits at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. As a feather floats down toward him, he picks it up and recalls his childhood in Greenbow, Alabama during the 1950s, being raised by a single mother (Sally Field), and having to wear leg braces. Despite being intellectually challenged, Forrest is admitted to public school. On his first day of school, Forrest meets Jenny Curran, who becomes his best friend and is also a victim of child molestation. With Jenny's encouragement, Forrest runs away from a group of bullies, struggling until his leg braces break off and he is able to run very fast. Years later, while fleeing the same group of bullies, he runs onto a football field during a practice observed by legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, which gets him into the University of Alabama on a football scholarship and eventually meets President John F Kennedy as a member of the NCAA "All-American" team.