"I felt that Brian brings his past scars to his present day, and a lot of the differences we had where I didn't see what he saw," Marcutelli said. "And he felt I didn't see what was there. And, of course, I felt he saw what wasn't there. So, you know, who's right? Who's not? How much is what we see dependent on what we want to see or expect to see?"

"Let me just clear up one portion, just to make a clear understanding," Brian Sparks said. "It's not past scars. Racism is still prevalent today. I am discriminated against often."

The families couldn't even agree on how they had parted.

"There's no animosity," Brian Sparks said. "It was big differences on the show, but there's no animosity between the families."

"Well, I mean, there's definitely tension sometimes, and I wouldn't say that we were best of friends," Rose Wurgel said. "I know that it's a little bit interesting seeing everybody today because we haven't kept in contact."

"It was like at the end of the school year," Marcutelli said, "and you write in each other's book and you say, 'We're going to be the best of friends forever' and never talk to each other again."

So much for understanding.

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com