Willy's memory of the past

As Willy sits in the kitchen, he slips into a memory of a sunny day years ago when his sons were young. He sees Biff and Happy washing the car, and he praises them. Young Biff, wearing a sweater with a block 'S', shows off a football he borrowed from the locker room, and Willy laughs at the theft, encouraging his son's initiative. The memory is idyllic, full of promise and affection, with Willy promising that someday he will have his own business and never have to leave home. This scene establishes the golden past that Willy constantly romanticizes and contrasts sharply with the present.