The Big Cheese
By: Kay Olds
Cameron loved to hang out with his buddies, Dillon, William, Conner, Luke and Blade, but lately everything seemed to turn into a competition. If one boy said he was fast, the others were faster, if one was smart, the others were smarter, and so on.
One day at the playground, they wanted to climb on the rock wall. Dillon said, “I can climb fast.” William said, “Oh yeah! Well I can climb faster.”
“But I can climb faster and higher,” said Cameron. And that’s when the pushing and shoving began. They ended up pulling each other off the wall so that none of them could climb it.
“That’s okay,” said Luke, “I didn’t want to climb it anyway. I want to slide!”
They all took off running towards the big slide. But once again they started pulling each other and sticking out their elbows trying to stop each other from getting there first.
William was the first to reach the slide, but Dillon tripped him and Conner sat on him so he couldn’t be first. Blade laughed at them and said no matter who reached it first, he would be the quickest to climb it and the quickest to slide down. So as he climbed the ladder, William ran over and started to climb the slide so he block Blade’s path and he would not be able to slide down at all.
Their parents had to scold them about their awful behavior and said to straighten up or they would have to go home. The boys settled down for awhile and were playing in the sand box.
Blade mentioned that he could build a very high sand castle, but of course, Luke said that he could build one higher. William said that no one could build it higher than he could, and so on it went until as each boy would attempt to build one, the others would knock it down.
“Enough!” exclaimed their parents. They were taking them home.
The boys were kept apart for a week then another play date was scheduled. The mothers took them to the game room and they behaved so well the mothers were very proud of them. They parted with the promise of another play date next week.
This time the boys wanted to go to the bowling alley, so they met there and began to bowl.
Luke said he could bowl better than any of them. Dillon said he could throw the ball harder. William said he could throw it faster and knock down more pins. Cameron said, “Guys! We are not supposed to do this anymore. We are supposed to play together as friends. And as your friend, I have to tell you that I can throw the biggest ball faster and harder and I can knock down all of the pins. So just stop trying so hard.”
Conner got mad and said he wasn’t playing anymore, so once again a pushing and shoving match started and they argued so much they had to be separated.
That night Cameron’s dad was tucking him into bed, and he asked Cam why he and his friends can’t get along any more.
“They won’t believe me anymore, Dad.” Cameron said.
“What are they not believing?” asked his dad.
“That I am better and bigger and faster and stronger and smarter than all of those guys,” Cameron told his dad. “They all think they are, but they are not the best. I am the best.”
“I’m sure that if I asked each one of those guys they would tell me the same thing, Cam, that they are the best,” said Cam’s dad.
“But Dad! It’s me, just me. Cameron. And I am the best.”
“Good night, Son,” said dad.
“Good night, Dad,” said Cam.
Cameron’s dad had a thought. He would get the boys together tomorrow evening and let them compete against each other. Maybe if he let them race and toss an object fairly and if he let them climb and jump, they could settle it once and for all. He made a call to each of the other parents and they all thought in might be a good idea.
The next afternoon, the moms and dads set up a course for them at the park. They had to run a race and it would be timed. They had to climb the rock wall and they would be timed. They would have to lift a basket to their chests and each time they did it, a canned item would be added to the basket until one boy could lift the most. They would to toss a baseball to see who could throw the farthest. Other events were set up to test their skills.
The boys were all looking forward to showing everyone that each of them was the best.
Numbers were put into a hat and each boy was supposed to draw to see who would go first, but the boys started arguing about who should draw the first number. They pushed and shoved and elbowed and shouted until the parents had to put them in time out for awhile.
The boys were very angry by this time. Each one of them had their families there and everyone was looking at them. It seemed like they were ashamed of the way they had behaved.
Cameron got really mad and told the others that he was already the best, so why didn’t they just let him go first.
Dillon said, “ Yeah, you’re the best alright. The best L-O-S-E-R!”
William told them to just sit and be quiet because he was the best climber and he could go the highest so he was going to win.
Conner told them that he could throw the farthest and lift the heaviest load, so he was the best.
Cameron was going to say that he could eat the most macaroni and cheese so he should go first, but he got confused instead when he shouted it out and he yelled, “Oh YEAH!!! Well what do you think of THIS?! I AM THE BIGGEST CHEESE!”
No one said anything for several moments. Everyone stared at Cameron. He was trying to think of what he had just said.
Out of the crowd came Madison and she stood in front of Cameron with her hands on her hips and she cocked her head to the side and said, “Cam! Did you just say that you were the biggest cheese?”
Ahlanna stepped forward and said, “Cam! Why did you say that? ARE you the biggest cheese?!”
“No! No!” said Cam. “I meant to say that I can eat the most mac and cheese. I don’t know why I said that.” He made the funniest face.
All of a sudden everyone started laughing. They laughed so hard they were crying.
Each of the boys went over and patted Cameron on the back and hugged him and kept saying, “Good one, Cam.”
All of the parents told him what a great way to solve an on going feud……..to use humor to settle it.
His mom and dad hugged him and told him that they were very proud of him.
From that day forward, the boys not longer argued or competed to see who was best. They knew how silly it was. And if they even thought about arguing, they would simply think of Cameron and say he’s the biggest cheese and it would make them laugh. Cameron really was the best!!!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Mac, Jack and the Stop Sign (A Story for Liam)
Mac, Jack and the Stop Sign
By: Kay Olds
Oh Hey! How are ya? Glad you came back to see me. There’s something I want to tell you. Do you have a minute? (Ha! Like I, Mac McCloy, could ever say anything in just a minute!!)
Okay then. I am going to tell you about the day I found Jack. He is my very best friend in the whole world. I know he is a dog, but anyone who has ever had a dog, especially a puppy, will understand.
My Poppa was coming to pick me up early one morning and we were going to Intracoastal City to inspect a barge. He is a marine surveyor and owns his own company. Sometimes I go along with him.
I decided to ride my bike that morning before he came, and usually I ride all over our neighborhood, but on this particular day, I didn’t want to be late for Poppa so I rode to the stop sign and back again. On my third trip to the stop sign, I had to move over more to the side of the road because a big truck was going by. I stopped and waited until he had passed by, then I started to get back on my bike. That’s when I heard it!! “Hey kid!” There was no one there! I heard it again. “Hey kid!” I was looking right at the stop sign when it said, “Hey kid, do you want a puppy?”
I slowly turned and looked all around me but there was no one there. Only the stop sign.
Now as you can imagine, my blood felt like ice water and my legs felt like Jell-o. Somehow I mustered the courage and said “Are you talking to me? Did you just ask me if I wanted a puppy?”
“I did,” said the stop sign.
“Where in the world would a stop sign get a puppy? And how is it that a stop sign can talk?” asked Mac.
“That’s a long story, best saved for another day. For now, there is a lost puppy right over there in the tall grass and I think by now it must be very hungry. Why don’t you take it home with you?” said the stop sign.
“Good idea,” said Mac. He walked over to the tall grass and began to search for the puppy, and sure enough, there was the cutest little puppy he had ever seen. Before he could do anything about it, Poppa drove up. I was going to walk my bike home, so I put the puppy in my shirt pocket. I was about to tell Poppa about the puppy but he picked up my bike and put it in the back of the truck and told me to get in. He phoned my mom and told her that he had the bike and me and we were on our way.
Poppa asked me how I was doing and did I need anything. “Well Poppa,” I said, “Funny you should ask! I need to know how to feed and care for a puppy.” Very gently, I removed him from my shirt pocket and showed him to Poppa.
He was a bit surprised, but being the cool Poppa that he is, he smiled and said what a fine looking pup he is and asked if I had named him yet.
“Jack. He looks like a Jack.” At the time, I had never heard of a Jack Russell Terrier, but that is what he turned out to be, so seems like I chose the perfect name and it also rhymes with Mac.
My Poppa drove along until we saw a sign for a vet’s office and we stopped and took the pup in for a visit. They took us in right away because no one knew how old the pup was or how long he had been without food.
Dr. Daley, the vet, was so nice and gentle with Jack. She gave us a small bottle and some formula to give him with an instruction sheet to read. Poppa bought Jack a beautiful little carry case to travel with, and we set out on our way.
Once we were back on the road again, Poppa phoned my parents and told them all about Jack. I thought they might be a little upset about having a puppy, but they were both okay with it. In fact they could barely wait to see him.
We had fun on that trip, the first of many. Poppa stopped about every 20 minutes and we set Jack in the grass to let him relieve himself. One time Poppa said in a very puppy-like voice, “Come wipe me, Daddy!” and he threw back his head in laughter when I gave him a look that clearly said, “Are you crazy???” No way am I wiping a puppy’s butt!
Jack slept a lot that day, curled up in my arms. I could hardly take my eyes off of him. Every once in awhile Poppa would reach over and tousle my hair and pet the pup. “Yep!” said Poppa, “I think you have a new friend.”
By the way, no one knows how I actually found Jack, so I think I will just keep it between you and me. After all, who would believe in a talking stop sign!
By: Kay Olds
Oh Hey! How are ya? Glad you came back to see me. There’s something I want to tell you. Do you have a minute? (Ha! Like I, Mac McCloy, could ever say anything in just a minute!!)
Okay then. I am going to tell you about the day I found Jack. He is my very best friend in the whole world. I know he is a dog, but anyone who has ever had a dog, especially a puppy, will understand.
My Poppa was coming to pick me up early one morning and we were going to Intracoastal City to inspect a barge. He is a marine surveyor and owns his own company. Sometimes I go along with him.
I decided to ride my bike that morning before he came, and usually I ride all over our neighborhood, but on this particular day, I didn’t want to be late for Poppa so I rode to the stop sign and back again. On my third trip to the stop sign, I had to move over more to the side of the road because a big truck was going by. I stopped and waited until he had passed by, then I started to get back on my bike. That’s when I heard it!! “Hey kid!” There was no one there! I heard it again. “Hey kid!” I was looking right at the stop sign when it said, “Hey kid, do you want a puppy?”
I slowly turned and looked all around me but there was no one there. Only the stop sign.
Now as you can imagine, my blood felt like ice water and my legs felt like Jell-o. Somehow I mustered the courage and said “Are you talking to me? Did you just ask me if I wanted a puppy?”
“I did,” said the stop sign.
“Where in the world would a stop sign get a puppy? And how is it that a stop sign can talk?” asked Mac.
“That’s a long story, best saved for another day. For now, there is a lost puppy right over there in the tall grass and I think by now it must be very hungry. Why don’t you take it home with you?” said the stop sign.
“Good idea,” said Mac. He walked over to the tall grass and began to search for the puppy, and sure enough, there was the cutest little puppy he had ever seen. Before he could do anything about it, Poppa drove up. I was going to walk my bike home, so I put the puppy in my shirt pocket. I was about to tell Poppa about the puppy but he picked up my bike and put it in the back of the truck and told me to get in. He phoned my mom and told her that he had the bike and me and we were on our way.
Poppa asked me how I was doing and did I need anything. “Well Poppa,” I said, “Funny you should ask! I need to know how to feed and care for a puppy.” Very gently, I removed him from my shirt pocket and showed him to Poppa.
He was a bit surprised, but being the cool Poppa that he is, he smiled and said what a fine looking pup he is and asked if I had named him yet.
“Jack. He looks like a Jack.” At the time, I had never heard of a Jack Russell Terrier, but that is what he turned out to be, so seems like I chose the perfect name and it also rhymes with Mac.
My Poppa drove along until we saw a sign for a vet’s office and we stopped and took the pup in for a visit. They took us in right away because no one knew how old the pup was or how long he had been without food.
Dr. Daley, the vet, was so nice and gentle with Jack. She gave us a small bottle and some formula to give him with an instruction sheet to read. Poppa bought Jack a beautiful little carry case to travel with, and we set out on our way.
Once we were back on the road again, Poppa phoned my parents and told them all about Jack. I thought they might be a little upset about having a puppy, but they were both okay with it. In fact they could barely wait to see him.
We had fun on that trip, the first of many. Poppa stopped about every 20 minutes and we set Jack in the grass to let him relieve himself. One time Poppa said in a very puppy-like voice, “Come wipe me, Daddy!” and he threw back his head in laughter when I gave him a look that clearly said, “Are you crazy???” No way am I wiping a puppy’s butt!
Jack slept a lot that day, curled up in my arms. I could hardly take my eyes off of him. Every once in awhile Poppa would reach over and tousle my hair and pet the pup. “Yep!” said Poppa, “I think you have a new friend.”
By the way, no one knows how I actually found Jack, so I think I will just keep it between you and me. After all, who would believe in a talking stop sign!
A Day on A Barge (A Story for Liam)
A DAY ON A BARGE!!
On this particular day, all was right with the world. Poppa just called and asked if I wanted to go with him on a job, so Jack and I jumped in the truck when he got here and we were headed to Intracoastal City.
Jack and I love to go riding with Poppa. We always have so much fun. Poppa said this was a really big barge and it may take awhile, so Jack and I were free to roam around once we got there, as long as we didn’t go out of his sight.
We arrived at the yard where the barge was, and Poppa went to talk to the man in charge and he said we could tag along if we’d like to. Right away Jack took off to go smell the grasses and sniff his snout full of new and interesting scents. I called to Poppa that we would not go far.
Poppa and the man went down into the barge so Poppa could inspect it and see if there was any damage, and then he would have to write up a report all about it. I just followed Jack and laughed when he nuzzled a toad and made it hop away, and when he saw a small cottontail rabbit and chased it happily. He was wagging his tail and barking that all important bark, letting me know that he was thrilled to be there.
But then his bark changed. He stood at attention, one paw up in the air, and the ears straight up and the tail barely moving at all. I wasn’t sure whether to approach him or not. It could be a snake.
He began that really low, deep warning growl, but I noticed that he tilted his head and his tail began to wag at the tip. He looked so comical when he did that! I ran to see what was up with him. He ran at me and jumped on my leg, trying to let me know that it was something of importance that he found, so I stepped forward to have a better look.
There in the grass, covered partially by sandy dirt and rocks, was some kind of lid. It looked like iron and it had some numbers and letters on it, but they were probably the name of the company that made it. Jack gently put his nose to it and sniffed. He put his paw on and it and touched it and jumped back like he had been shocked. That was so funny! I love it when he does that!
Once I laughed, he seemed like it was okay to touch it again, so he did. There was a small hole in the lid, like a key hole, so I grabbed a stick and stuck it in the hole to see if I could lift the lid. At first it didn’t budge, but I kept working at it and it finally gave a small turn.
I stepped back and looked up for Poppa. I didn’t see him but I knew he wasn’t far away. I ran back to the truck and took a screwdriver from the tool kit and went back to the lid. Shoving the screwdriver into the hole did the trick. I turned it a bit and then was able to lift it right off.
Beneath the lid was a very dark hole in the ground. Jack wanted to go right in, but I didn’t know what was down there or how far down it was. I ran back to the truck and grabbed a flashlight.
I shined the light into the hole, and a few feet down I could see the top of a ladder, so what do you think I did? Of course! I climbed right down the ladder to find out where it would go. I told Jack to stay there and wait for Poppa.
I was about 10 feet or so down when I got to an L shape. I could go either right or left. Not sure of where I was going or what I would encounter along the way, I went back up and got Jack. He was so happy to get to tag along!
When we came to the L, I let him decide which way to go. He took the left side and seemed to be content to sniff every smell he could out of that tunnel.
We had gone about 20 feet when we came to a bigger tunnel. It seemed like we were in a big pipe from the sounds it made as we walked, and I could actually stand up in it to walk. It made a curve to the right and then to the left and straight again.
We could faintly hear people talking and some noises like banging and scraping. The noises sort of made Jack nervous but he kept on going.
There was light up ahead, so we figured we must be getting close to where some men were working.
To our surprise, we came up to a doorway that led to the inside of the barge that Poppa was inspecting. How cool was that?! It was so big and it smelled like oil or diesel. There were some men working on the walls of the barge and that is where the noise was coming from.
Jack was looking all over the place trying to find Poppa, but we didn’t see him anywhere. We did see a lot of people though, and it seemed that there were several levels to the barge, and men were coming and going on every one of them.
One man seemed to be in charge of everyone else and he was barking orders left and right, and everyone was doing whatever he said to do. They called him “Boss”.
I went over and introduced myself to him and he sort of freaked out when he saw a kid and a dog on his barge! He said, “Just where in tarnation did you come from boy?!” I told him how Jack and I had found the lid in the grass and how I removed it and then climbed down the ladder and followed the tunnels until I came to the door. He looked at me like I was from Mars, then he turned away and started telling at a man named Sam to “finish that chippin’ so’s we culd git som paint up on that thar wall!” He sure talked funny! I never even heard of Tar Nation, and I surely don’t know where it is!
Sam reached into a lunch kit nearby and took out a can of Spam, opened it, and asked if Jack and I would like to share a can of meat. I said “Sure!” and thanked him, and I shared it with Jack. Another man walked over and handed me a bottle of water and said, “Share this with the pooch. It’s hot down here.” So I took the water and poured some for Jack and he drank it all. I drank a little of it and then gave the rest to Jack.
The boss man walked back over to us and asked us how we got there and I said that I had just told him and he interrupted and said, “Nah, that ain’t wut ah’m axin’ boy! How did ya’ll git here at this yard?” I said, “Oh! We came here with my Poppa, Dan McCloy. He’s inspecting the barge here.”
His eyes got big and he looked at me like he had never seen a boy before. “Well, youngun! Why didn’ ya say so? McCloy’s boy is welcum here!”
With that he handed me a pair of goggles and a small tool that looked like a chisel, and said, “Ya might as well earn yur keep.” I took the chisel and put on the goggles and went to stand next to Sam and I started chipping paint off the wall along with the rest of them.
I worked for about an hour, then a horn sounded and the men all stopped what they were doing and went to sit and enjoy their lunch. I noticed that Sam wasn’t eating anything, but he did offer me an apple. I asked him where was his lunch, and he smiled sheepishly and said, “Why, heck, boy. I gave it ta you and the pooch.” I couldn’t believe he was so generous. Working as hard as he was working, he gave me and Jack his only food.
I had an idea, so I told him I would be right back. He pulled his hat down over his face and leaned back against the wall and took a nap. I ran off to find the boss man.
“Have you seen my Poppa?” I asked the boss.
“Nah, I ain’t seen him taday.”
I went off in search of my Poppa. I had to get Sam some food. So I climbed up the ladder to go to the second story level of the barge. I asked everyone I saw if they had seen my Poppa. No one had, so I went to the top level. There was Poppa, talking to the man in charge. They were shaking hands and Poppa was getting ready to leave the barge. His job was done.
I ran to Poppa as fast as I could and told him to wait for me. He stopped and looked so surprised to see me. I told him about Sam and that I wanted to get him some food. Poppa said, “Alright, Mac. I’ll see what we can do.”
We left the barge and the yard and started driving back towards the way we had come. If you’ve ever been to Intracoastal City, you know there wasn’t much there before the storm hit, and there is even less now. We drove to the first store we saw and stopped and asked what they had for lunch. They didn’t have much, but the lady told Poppa that there was a little church down the road aways and there was a crew of men cooking a jambalaya and she was sure that by now it would be ready and he could probably get a plate or two from them. He thanked her and bought us each a nice cold drink and got a bottle of cold water for Jack, and we took off for the church.
We drove up and there were four men standing around talking and we could smell the wonderful smell of that jambalaya in the air.
Poppa walked over and shook hands with the men and asked if the jambalaya was for sale. One of the men said, “Oh, it’s for sale, alright, but there ain’t no one around to buy it!” Poppa asked him what they were going to do with it. He told Poppa that they were trying to raise some money to try to rebuild their church, but no one was showing up to buy any.
“How much for the pot?” asked Poppa.
“Well, that pot ain’t for sale, sir, just the food in it.”
Poppa laughed and said, “That’s what I meant! How much for the whole pot of food?”
“The WHOLE pot?! Well we figured we could feed about 400 people with what we cooked and we were going to sell the plates for $2.50 each. For that price, you would get potato salad, baked beans, green salad, bread and a drink.”
Poppa thought about it for a minute, and then said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you $600 for the whole pot of food and the extras. I want to take it down to the barge I just inspected and treat all those people to a nice lunch.”
They were thrilled with that, so they helped Poppa load it in the back of the truck and 2 of the men rode with us to go to the barge and help serve it.
We drove up and Poppa said, “Come on, Mac. Let’s go feed these guys!”
Jack and I went along with Poppa to find the man in charge, and when Poppa told him what he was doing, the man jumped up and down and shook Poppa’s hand and hugged him so hard! He sounded a horn that nearly blasted us away, and men started coming out of the barge like rats! They were everywhere!
The man in charge called them over and explained to them what was going on and they started jumping up and down and shouting. One by one they lined up for the food. Those were some very excited men!
We stayed until the last man was fed. Sam was nearly the last in line cause he had been sleeping. My Poppa took him aside and thanked him for sharing his food with Jack and me and told him that because of his generosity, he was rewarding him and everyone else with some delicious food. Sam hugged my Poppa so hard and thanked him about a million times! Poppa told the man to give Sam extras of everything, and then he and Jack and I each ate a plateful with them. That was one happy crew!
Poppa thanked the man in charge for letting us feed and eat with his crew, and we thanked the men who cooked the food and then we drove them back to the church and headed for home. We had a very good day!
For Liam:
With Love,
From Grammy
On this particular day, all was right with the world. Poppa just called and asked if I wanted to go with him on a job, so Jack and I jumped in the truck when he got here and we were headed to Intracoastal City.
Jack and I love to go riding with Poppa. We always have so much fun. Poppa said this was a really big barge and it may take awhile, so Jack and I were free to roam around once we got there, as long as we didn’t go out of his sight.
We arrived at the yard where the barge was, and Poppa went to talk to the man in charge and he said we could tag along if we’d like to. Right away Jack took off to go smell the grasses and sniff his snout full of new and interesting scents. I called to Poppa that we would not go far.
Poppa and the man went down into the barge so Poppa could inspect it and see if there was any damage, and then he would have to write up a report all about it. I just followed Jack and laughed when he nuzzled a toad and made it hop away, and when he saw a small cottontail rabbit and chased it happily. He was wagging his tail and barking that all important bark, letting me know that he was thrilled to be there.
But then his bark changed. He stood at attention, one paw up in the air, and the ears straight up and the tail barely moving at all. I wasn’t sure whether to approach him or not. It could be a snake.
He began that really low, deep warning growl, but I noticed that he tilted his head and his tail began to wag at the tip. He looked so comical when he did that! I ran to see what was up with him. He ran at me and jumped on my leg, trying to let me know that it was something of importance that he found, so I stepped forward to have a better look.
There in the grass, covered partially by sandy dirt and rocks, was some kind of lid. It looked like iron and it had some numbers and letters on it, but they were probably the name of the company that made it. Jack gently put his nose to it and sniffed. He put his paw on and it and touched it and jumped back like he had been shocked. That was so funny! I love it when he does that!
Once I laughed, he seemed like it was okay to touch it again, so he did. There was a small hole in the lid, like a key hole, so I grabbed a stick and stuck it in the hole to see if I could lift the lid. At first it didn’t budge, but I kept working at it and it finally gave a small turn.
I stepped back and looked up for Poppa. I didn’t see him but I knew he wasn’t far away. I ran back to the truck and took a screwdriver from the tool kit and went back to the lid. Shoving the screwdriver into the hole did the trick. I turned it a bit and then was able to lift it right off.
Beneath the lid was a very dark hole in the ground. Jack wanted to go right in, but I didn’t know what was down there or how far down it was. I ran back to the truck and grabbed a flashlight.
I shined the light into the hole, and a few feet down I could see the top of a ladder, so what do you think I did? Of course! I climbed right down the ladder to find out where it would go. I told Jack to stay there and wait for Poppa.
I was about 10 feet or so down when I got to an L shape. I could go either right or left. Not sure of where I was going or what I would encounter along the way, I went back up and got Jack. He was so happy to get to tag along!
When we came to the L, I let him decide which way to go. He took the left side and seemed to be content to sniff every smell he could out of that tunnel.
We had gone about 20 feet when we came to a bigger tunnel. It seemed like we were in a big pipe from the sounds it made as we walked, and I could actually stand up in it to walk. It made a curve to the right and then to the left and straight again.
We could faintly hear people talking and some noises like banging and scraping. The noises sort of made Jack nervous but he kept on going.
There was light up ahead, so we figured we must be getting close to where some men were working.
To our surprise, we came up to a doorway that led to the inside of the barge that Poppa was inspecting. How cool was that?! It was so big and it smelled like oil or diesel. There were some men working on the walls of the barge and that is where the noise was coming from.
Jack was looking all over the place trying to find Poppa, but we didn’t see him anywhere. We did see a lot of people though, and it seemed that there were several levels to the barge, and men were coming and going on every one of them.
One man seemed to be in charge of everyone else and he was barking orders left and right, and everyone was doing whatever he said to do. They called him “Boss”.
I went over and introduced myself to him and he sort of freaked out when he saw a kid and a dog on his barge! He said, “Just where in tarnation did you come from boy?!” I told him how Jack and I had found the lid in the grass and how I removed it and then climbed down the ladder and followed the tunnels until I came to the door. He looked at me like I was from Mars, then he turned away and started telling at a man named Sam to “finish that chippin’ so’s we culd git som paint up on that thar wall!” He sure talked funny! I never even heard of Tar Nation, and I surely don’t know where it is!
Sam reached into a lunch kit nearby and took out a can of Spam, opened it, and asked if Jack and I would like to share a can of meat. I said “Sure!” and thanked him, and I shared it with Jack. Another man walked over and handed me a bottle of water and said, “Share this with the pooch. It’s hot down here.” So I took the water and poured some for Jack and he drank it all. I drank a little of it and then gave the rest to Jack.
The boss man walked back over to us and asked us how we got there and I said that I had just told him and he interrupted and said, “Nah, that ain’t wut ah’m axin’ boy! How did ya’ll git here at this yard?” I said, “Oh! We came here with my Poppa, Dan McCloy. He’s inspecting the barge here.”
His eyes got big and he looked at me like he had never seen a boy before. “Well, youngun! Why didn’ ya say so? McCloy’s boy is welcum here!”
With that he handed me a pair of goggles and a small tool that looked like a chisel, and said, “Ya might as well earn yur keep.” I took the chisel and put on the goggles and went to stand next to Sam and I started chipping paint off the wall along with the rest of them.
I worked for about an hour, then a horn sounded and the men all stopped what they were doing and went to sit and enjoy their lunch. I noticed that Sam wasn’t eating anything, but he did offer me an apple. I asked him where was his lunch, and he smiled sheepishly and said, “Why, heck, boy. I gave it ta you and the pooch.” I couldn’t believe he was so generous. Working as hard as he was working, he gave me and Jack his only food.
I had an idea, so I told him I would be right back. He pulled his hat down over his face and leaned back against the wall and took a nap. I ran off to find the boss man.
“Have you seen my Poppa?” I asked the boss.
“Nah, I ain’t seen him taday.”
I went off in search of my Poppa. I had to get Sam some food. So I climbed up the ladder to go to the second story level of the barge. I asked everyone I saw if they had seen my Poppa. No one had, so I went to the top level. There was Poppa, talking to the man in charge. They were shaking hands and Poppa was getting ready to leave the barge. His job was done.
I ran to Poppa as fast as I could and told him to wait for me. He stopped and looked so surprised to see me. I told him about Sam and that I wanted to get him some food. Poppa said, “Alright, Mac. I’ll see what we can do.”
We left the barge and the yard and started driving back towards the way we had come. If you’ve ever been to Intracoastal City, you know there wasn’t much there before the storm hit, and there is even less now. We drove to the first store we saw and stopped and asked what they had for lunch. They didn’t have much, but the lady told Poppa that there was a little church down the road aways and there was a crew of men cooking a jambalaya and she was sure that by now it would be ready and he could probably get a plate or two from them. He thanked her and bought us each a nice cold drink and got a bottle of cold water for Jack, and we took off for the church.
We drove up and there were four men standing around talking and we could smell the wonderful smell of that jambalaya in the air.
Poppa walked over and shook hands with the men and asked if the jambalaya was for sale. One of the men said, “Oh, it’s for sale, alright, but there ain’t no one around to buy it!” Poppa asked him what they were going to do with it. He told Poppa that they were trying to raise some money to try to rebuild their church, but no one was showing up to buy any.
“How much for the pot?” asked Poppa.
“Well, that pot ain’t for sale, sir, just the food in it.”
Poppa laughed and said, “That’s what I meant! How much for the whole pot of food?”
“The WHOLE pot?! Well we figured we could feed about 400 people with what we cooked and we were going to sell the plates for $2.50 each. For that price, you would get potato salad, baked beans, green salad, bread and a drink.”
Poppa thought about it for a minute, and then said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you $600 for the whole pot of food and the extras. I want to take it down to the barge I just inspected and treat all those people to a nice lunch.”
They were thrilled with that, so they helped Poppa load it in the back of the truck and 2 of the men rode with us to go to the barge and help serve it.
We drove up and Poppa said, “Come on, Mac. Let’s go feed these guys!”
Jack and I went along with Poppa to find the man in charge, and when Poppa told him what he was doing, the man jumped up and down and shook Poppa’s hand and hugged him so hard! He sounded a horn that nearly blasted us away, and men started coming out of the barge like rats! They were everywhere!
The man in charge called them over and explained to them what was going on and they started jumping up and down and shouting. One by one they lined up for the food. Those were some very excited men!
We stayed until the last man was fed. Sam was nearly the last in line cause he had been sleeping. My Poppa took him aside and thanked him for sharing his food with Jack and me and told him that because of his generosity, he was rewarding him and everyone else with some delicious food. Sam hugged my Poppa so hard and thanked him about a million times! Poppa told the man to give Sam extras of everything, and then he and Jack and I each ate a plateful with them. That was one happy crew!
Poppa thanked the man in charge for letting us feed and eat with his crew, and we thanked the men who cooked the food and then we drove them back to the church and headed for home. We had a very good day!
For Liam:
With Love,
From Grammy
An Adventure With Poppa (A Story for Liam)
AN ADVENTURE WITH POPPA
By: Kay Olds
Oh Man! I ate too much! I know it’s not possible to actually explode from eating too much, but that’s the way my tummy feels right about now. Poppa cooked his very best ever round steak and gravy. I was only going to eat a small amount but it was really one of his best ones yet, so I had another helping. Well, three actually. It was THAT good!
I was just sitting on the swing on the back porch at the camp, looking at the bayou and the trees on the other side. It is so peaceful and beautiful out here it makes you feel like you could stay here forever. That’s when the phone rang; someone calling for Poppa to go on a job in Houma.
Poppa asked me if I would like to go along for the ride. I didn’t mean to, but I let out a groan. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because I was so full.
I grabbed my dog and my video game and was out the door with my Poppa, who is a marine surveyor. Two tug boats were coming around the bend in the river and one barge broke away and hit the other barge and knocked a big hole in it. When something like that happens my Poppa gets a call. My Dad is his partner, but he was at a meeting today. I knew I couldn’t be of any help to Poppa but the pooch and I could keep him company.
Poppa is great at telling jokes and stories of himself as a kid and of my Dad and my Parrain Shawn when they were kids. I was really looking forward to the hour or so drive so I could hear whatever he was going to talk about today.
The phone rang and it was another job for us to do. Poppa knew right where to go for that job so he didn’t have to write anything down, but he asked me to reach into the storage box and get a pad of paper out and write down the address, when Poppa suddenly swerved the truck and said, “Whoa! Did you see that?!”
I said I didn’t see anything and asked what it was. He said he wasn’t sure, but it may have been a bear and he almost hit it. I could tell that Poppa was quite shaken by this because as tanned as Poppa is, his face looked very pale.
He pulled over onto the shoulder of the road and said for me to stay in the truck. I looked over at Jack and he looked at me quizzically. We didn’t see anything. I rolled my window down and Poppa’s mouth fell open and his eyes were as wide open as I had ever seen them! It was obvious that something had scared him. I didn’t see anything, but maybe Jack did. He stood at attention, his eyes fixed on whatever was out there. His hair sort of stood on end and he uttered a very low, very intense growl. That sound and his stance told me danger was very near.
I’ve seen Jack like this before, and I’ve seen Poppa sad, like when someone died, and I’ve seen him worried, like when Mimi was so ill. I’ve seen him angry a few times, and I’ve seen him tired. But I have never seen him scared. It made chills run down my spine.
I was confused. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be afraid of because I didn’t see anything. And I didn’t know if Jack had seen something or if he just sensed Poppa’s fear. I leaned out of the window and very quietly asked Poppa if he was alright.
I suppose that in the stillness of that instant, the sound of my voice startled him. He snapped out of his trance and quickly looked around and then got back in the truck. He looked over at me and put his hand on Jack’s head and asked if we were alright. I said that we were fine. He looked like he had seen a ghost, but I don’t think he actually saw anything.
“Are you alright, Poppa?” I asked. He took a deep breath and said, “Yeah, Mac, I’m alright. I just nearly hit a bear. A BIG bear! And if I had hit it….” His voice trailed off. I put my hand on his arm and said, “You did a good job Poppa. Good driving on your part, cause you avoided hitting it.”
“Good job. JOB?!!! What time is it? OH MAN! We have to go!” And with that Poppa drove off like nothing had happened. He seemed to be okay, but I don’t think he wanted to talk about it so I didn’t.
We drove in silence for awhile then the phone rang. Mimi was calling to see if we were at the job site yet because he had another job to do. Poppa explained to her what had just taken place and they laughed about it. After that, Poppa seemed to be more like his old self again. He played the radio for a bit and all seemed fine with the world, but then the man on the radio interrupted with a breaking story.
Poppa turned up the volume as the man talked about a strange event that seemed to be happening right where we were headed.
I don’t know why, but I turned off my video game and listened to that news broadcast. The man was saying that reports were being called in by the dozens. At first they thought it was a joke but after the eighth call, they decided to send a news crew down to the area to see if there was anything newsworthy going on.
Some reports said that several deer just ran out in front of them as though they feared for their lives. Others said it was rabbits running like mad. One man said that so many birds flew in a frensy, he nearly wrecked his truck trying to avoid them.
What was going on??!!
I could see that Poppa was getting tense. His eyes seemed to be looking everywhere at once as though expecting something to run out in front of us from any direction.
“Poppa,” I asked quietly, “Which way did that bear come from?”
He said, “I don’t know Mac. All of a sudden there it was and I swerved to keep from hitting it.”
Poppa decided that we should take the old highway instead of staying on the interstate, so at the next exit, we veered off. The guy on the radio was trying to get a message our, but his voice kept breaking up. We heard, “whatever you do, DON’T…_get….on…._______Stay on the interstate!”
We thought Poppa made the right decision. We had driven about three miles when we learned the error of our ways. The man on the radio was instructing everyone to STAY on the interstate! If we had, we would have driven right over what we were driving right in to!
In the distance we could hear a very strange whirring sound. Trees were falling as though a giant were playing a game of pick-up sticks. Animals and birds were running and flying wildly with such panic in their eyes. It was awful!
Traffic was at a standstill now. Some people were standing beside their vehicles. Others dared not get out.
A man walked over to our truck and told Poppa that he had just gotten a call form his office in Houma and there were reports of something going crazy in the woods. Some fierce looking creature was on the loose, tearing up everything in its path. Animals and birds were terrified of whatever it was. I whispered to Jack that maybe it was a Tasmanian devil.
Poppa told the man that he had almost hit a bear, and the man said that a deer jumped out in front of him but he avoided it.
What in the world was going on?!
Poppa told me not to worry, but I was not only worried, I was scared to death! I was about to ask Poppa if we could just turn around and go back the way we came when the creature broke free of the woods and came out into the clearing.
It was a strange sight! Its body was very long and slender, and shiny, like a new nickel. It was sort of spinning above the ground at times, almost floating. It seemed to be very angry, because it was making an awful sound and it was tearing up everything in its path.
The radio report was saying that no one knew what it was or where it came from and most of all, didn’t know what it wanted.
As it got closer, I could see that it seemed to be sort of upside down. It had a strange looking green and yellow head, but that part didn’t seem to do anything. It was the bottom part of it that was so weird. It was sort of a silver/white disc-like opening on a long green and yellow neck. Its mouth, I suppose. A long skinny, clear looking tongue was spinning out of that mouth at an outrageous speed, and it must have been super sharp because it was knocking down trees like they were nothing. It was a sight to behold.
Some people ran screaming away from it. I saw it grab one man’s ankle and it flipped him up in the air, tearing into his ankle and leg. We heard the man scream as blood squirted from the deep cut.
A lady was running in high heeled shoes and one shoe fell off. The creature’s long tongue picked it up and tried to bite into it, but the leather just made the tongue slip off. That seemed to infuriate that creature because it threw the shoe as far away as it could.
There was talk that the creature was an alien. We had never seen anything like it alive on Earth before so it certainly was alien to us.
A group of people were running in the direction it had come from, going to see if there was a space ship!
Jack started barking his most ferocious bark and got between the creature and me, warning me to stay back. I heard Poppa yell, “Run Mack!” He scooped up Jack and we took off as fast as we could away from the creature.
That seemed to make the creature angrier than it was to begin with. We knew we couldn’t climb a tree because it would only cut it down, so we raced for the interstate ramp. Others began to follow, and pretty soon there were at least 50 people between us and it.
The creature turned towards us and seemed to scream in anger, making that awful whirring sound again, but so shrill this time that it made our ears hurt.
Up ahead, on top of the interstate was a tall sign with a light above it. Poppa yelled to the man who had stopped to talk to us and asked for his help. Poppa told the man to stand on his shoulders and he would pass me, and then Jack, up to him and I could hold Jack while I straddled that sign, hoping that the creature’s sharp tongue could not cut into the metal.
We also hoped that it wouldn’t be able to see us but that long silver, green and yellow creature let out the scream of all screams and raced towards us! The sound was deafening!
There was a small flat piece on the top of the light over the sign and I struggled to get Jack up there so he could sit there and be safe. Once my hands were free I could climb a little higher and throw my legs over the cross bars over the sign.
I had just gotten Jack up there when I felt something hot and sharp cut into my ankle! I heard Poppa and the man screaming “NO!” and they tried to grab the creature to pull it away from me. I tried to climb higher but the tongue wrapped white hot around the calf of my leg and the pain was making me sick to my stomach, and that sound was hurting my ears and made my head pound.
It was pulling so hard I was beginning to lose my grip! I yelled for Jack to sit still, hoping the creature could not see him. Somehow, I think Jack knew, because for a change, he didn’t make a sound!
Just then my knife flashed into my mind. I had a knife in my pocket! I brought it everywhere. So I reached into my pocket and took it out and took a swipe at the creature’s awful long tongue. A piece of it fell away and the creature let out such a loud howl! It squealed in such pain and anger! It tried to release more of its horrid tongue and it started spitting and sputtering. Maybe it was choking on a piece of its own tongue!
I reached out again and hacked off another piece of its tongue. This time the creature fell down as it squealed in pain. With an ear-splitting scream, it spat out an extra long piece of its tongue and grabbed my leg just above the knee. I was pulling as hard as I could to get my leg free.
Poppa was again letting the man stand on his shoulders and the man had a grip on the creature’s cold sleek body, and he was pulling with all his might.
There was such a tug of war going on between the man, the creature and me! Just as we thought the creature would win, something happened. The creature’s long tongue began to lose its grip on me. The horrible screaming sound seemed to be losing some of its shrillness.
“I think it’s losing its grip!” said the man. We were both pulling so hard, and it worked, because it let go of my leg and fell to the ground! The man jumped down from Poppa’s shoulders and he and Poppa carefully approached the creature. It did not budge!
Poppa walked over and looked at it and said “Okay, Mac. You and Jack can come down now.” At last the runaway weed eater had run out of gas!
I was scared to come down, but it seemed like all was okay. I was reaching for Jack when I heard Poppa’s voice from a long way off.
“Hey, Mac. Wake up. Wanna go on a job with me?”
I sat up and looked around and there I was, lying safely on the swing on the back porch of the camp! It was all a dream! Whew!!!!
By: Kay Olds
Oh Man! I ate too much! I know it’s not possible to actually explode from eating too much, but that’s the way my tummy feels right about now. Poppa cooked his very best ever round steak and gravy. I was only going to eat a small amount but it was really one of his best ones yet, so I had another helping. Well, three actually. It was THAT good!
I was just sitting on the swing on the back porch at the camp, looking at the bayou and the trees on the other side. It is so peaceful and beautiful out here it makes you feel like you could stay here forever. That’s when the phone rang; someone calling for Poppa to go on a job in Houma.
Poppa asked me if I would like to go along for the ride. I didn’t mean to, but I let out a groan. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because I was so full.
I grabbed my dog and my video game and was out the door with my Poppa, who is a marine surveyor. Two tug boats were coming around the bend in the river and one barge broke away and hit the other barge and knocked a big hole in it. When something like that happens my Poppa gets a call. My Dad is his partner, but he was at a meeting today. I knew I couldn’t be of any help to Poppa but the pooch and I could keep him company.
Poppa is great at telling jokes and stories of himself as a kid and of my Dad and my Parrain Shawn when they were kids. I was really looking forward to the hour or so drive so I could hear whatever he was going to talk about today.
The phone rang and it was another job for us to do. Poppa knew right where to go for that job so he didn’t have to write anything down, but he asked me to reach into the storage box and get a pad of paper out and write down the address, when Poppa suddenly swerved the truck and said, “Whoa! Did you see that?!”
I said I didn’t see anything and asked what it was. He said he wasn’t sure, but it may have been a bear and he almost hit it. I could tell that Poppa was quite shaken by this because as tanned as Poppa is, his face looked very pale.
He pulled over onto the shoulder of the road and said for me to stay in the truck. I looked over at Jack and he looked at me quizzically. We didn’t see anything. I rolled my window down and Poppa’s mouth fell open and his eyes were as wide open as I had ever seen them! It was obvious that something had scared him. I didn’t see anything, but maybe Jack did. He stood at attention, his eyes fixed on whatever was out there. His hair sort of stood on end and he uttered a very low, very intense growl. That sound and his stance told me danger was very near.
I’ve seen Jack like this before, and I’ve seen Poppa sad, like when someone died, and I’ve seen him worried, like when Mimi was so ill. I’ve seen him angry a few times, and I’ve seen him tired. But I have never seen him scared. It made chills run down my spine.
I was confused. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be afraid of because I didn’t see anything. And I didn’t know if Jack had seen something or if he just sensed Poppa’s fear. I leaned out of the window and very quietly asked Poppa if he was alright.
I suppose that in the stillness of that instant, the sound of my voice startled him. He snapped out of his trance and quickly looked around and then got back in the truck. He looked over at me and put his hand on Jack’s head and asked if we were alright. I said that we were fine. He looked like he had seen a ghost, but I don’t think he actually saw anything.
“Are you alright, Poppa?” I asked. He took a deep breath and said, “Yeah, Mac, I’m alright. I just nearly hit a bear. A BIG bear! And if I had hit it….” His voice trailed off. I put my hand on his arm and said, “You did a good job Poppa. Good driving on your part, cause you avoided hitting it.”
“Good job. JOB?!!! What time is it? OH MAN! We have to go!” And with that Poppa drove off like nothing had happened. He seemed to be okay, but I don’t think he wanted to talk about it so I didn’t.
We drove in silence for awhile then the phone rang. Mimi was calling to see if we were at the job site yet because he had another job to do. Poppa explained to her what had just taken place and they laughed about it. After that, Poppa seemed to be more like his old self again. He played the radio for a bit and all seemed fine with the world, but then the man on the radio interrupted with a breaking story.
Poppa turned up the volume as the man talked about a strange event that seemed to be happening right where we were headed.
I don’t know why, but I turned off my video game and listened to that news broadcast. The man was saying that reports were being called in by the dozens. At first they thought it was a joke but after the eighth call, they decided to send a news crew down to the area to see if there was anything newsworthy going on.
Some reports said that several deer just ran out in front of them as though they feared for their lives. Others said it was rabbits running like mad. One man said that so many birds flew in a frensy, he nearly wrecked his truck trying to avoid them.
What was going on??!!
I could see that Poppa was getting tense. His eyes seemed to be looking everywhere at once as though expecting something to run out in front of us from any direction.
“Poppa,” I asked quietly, “Which way did that bear come from?”
He said, “I don’t know Mac. All of a sudden there it was and I swerved to keep from hitting it.”
Poppa decided that we should take the old highway instead of staying on the interstate, so at the next exit, we veered off. The guy on the radio was trying to get a message our, but his voice kept breaking up. We heard, “whatever you do, DON’T…_get….on…._______Stay on the interstate!”
We thought Poppa made the right decision. We had driven about three miles when we learned the error of our ways. The man on the radio was instructing everyone to STAY on the interstate! If we had, we would have driven right over what we were driving right in to!
In the distance we could hear a very strange whirring sound. Trees were falling as though a giant were playing a game of pick-up sticks. Animals and birds were running and flying wildly with such panic in their eyes. It was awful!
Traffic was at a standstill now. Some people were standing beside their vehicles. Others dared not get out.
A man walked over to our truck and told Poppa that he had just gotten a call form his office in Houma and there were reports of something going crazy in the woods. Some fierce looking creature was on the loose, tearing up everything in its path. Animals and birds were terrified of whatever it was. I whispered to Jack that maybe it was a Tasmanian devil.
Poppa told the man that he had almost hit a bear, and the man said that a deer jumped out in front of him but he avoided it.
What in the world was going on?!
Poppa told me not to worry, but I was not only worried, I was scared to death! I was about to ask Poppa if we could just turn around and go back the way we came when the creature broke free of the woods and came out into the clearing.
It was a strange sight! Its body was very long and slender, and shiny, like a new nickel. It was sort of spinning above the ground at times, almost floating. It seemed to be very angry, because it was making an awful sound and it was tearing up everything in its path.
The radio report was saying that no one knew what it was or where it came from and most of all, didn’t know what it wanted.
As it got closer, I could see that it seemed to be sort of upside down. It had a strange looking green and yellow head, but that part didn’t seem to do anything. It was the bottom part of it that was so weird. It was sort of a silver/white disc-like opening on a long green and yellow neck. Its mouth, I suppose. A long skinny, clear looking tongue was spinning out of that mouth at an outrageous speed, and it must have been super sharp because it was knocking down trees like they were nothing. It was a sight to behold.
Some people ran screaming away from it. I saw it grab one man’s ankle and it flipped him up in the air, tearing into his ankle and leg. We heard the man scream as blood squirted from the deep cut.
A lady was running in high heeled shoes and one shoe fell off. The creature’s long tongue picked it up and tried to bite into it, but the leather just made the tongue slip off. That seemed to infuriate that creature because it threw the shoe as far away as it could.
There was talk that the creature was an alien. We had never seen anything like it alive on Earth before so it certainly was alien to us.
A group of people were running in the direction it had come from, going to see if there was a space ship!
Jack started barking his most ferocious bark and got between the creature and me, warning me to stay back. I heard Poppa yell, “Run Mack!” He scooped up Jack and we took off as fast as we could away from the creature.
That seemed to make the creature angrier than it was to begin with. We knew we couldn’t climb a tree because it would only cut it down, so we raced for the interstate ramp. Others began to follow, and pretty soon there were at least 50 people between us and it.
The creature turned towards us and seemed to scream in anger, making that awful whirring sound again, but so shrill this time that it made our ears hurt.
Up ahead, on top of the interstate was a tall sign with a light above it. Poppa yelled to the man who had stopped to talk to us and asked for his help. Poppa told the man to stand on his shoulders and he would pass me, and then Jack, up to him and I could hold Jack while I straddled that sign, hoping that the creature’s sharp tongue could not cut into the metal.
We also hoped that it wouldn’t be able to see us but that long silver, green and yellow creature let out the scream of all screams and raced towards us! The sound was deafening!
There was a small flat piece on the top of the light over the sign and I struggled to get Jack up there so he could sit there and be safe. Once my hands were free I could climb a little higher and throw my legs over the cross bars over the sign.
I had just gotten Jack up there when I felt something hot and sharp cut into my ankle! I heard Poppa and the man screaming “NO!” and they tried to grab the creature to pull it away from me. I tried to climb higher but the tongue wrapped white hot around the calf of my leg and the pain was making me sick to my stomach, and that sound was hurting my ears and made my head pound.
It was pulling so hard I was beginning to lose my grip! I yelled for Jack to sit still, hoping the creature could not see him. Somehow, I think Jack knew, because for a change, he didn’t make a sound!
Just then my knife flashed into my mind. I had a knife in my pocket! I brought it everywhere. So I reached into my pocket and took it out and took a swipe at the creature’s awful long tongue. A piece of it fell away and the creature let out such a loud howl! It squealed in such pain and anger! It tried to release more of its horrid tongue and it started spitting and sputtering. Maybe it was choking on a piece of its own tongue!
I reached out again and hacked off another piece of its tongue. This time the creature fell down as it squealed in pain. With an ear-splitting scream, it spat out an extra long piece of its tongue and grabbed my leg just above the knee. I was pulling as hard as I could to get my leg free.
Poppa was again letting the man stand on his shoulders and the man had a grip on the creature’s cold sleek body, and he was pulling with all his might.
There was such a tug of war going on between the man, the creature and me! Just as we thought the creature would win, something happened. The creature’s long tongue began to lose its grip on me. The horrible screaming sound seemed to be losing some of its shrillness.
“I think it’s losing its grip!” said the man. We were both pulling so hard, and it worked, because it let go of my leg and fell to the ground! The man jumped down from Poppa’s shoulders and he and Poppa carefully approached the creature. It did not budge!
Poppa walked over and looked at it and said “Okay, Mac. You and Jack can come down now.” At last the runaway weed eater had run out of gas!
I was scared to come down, but it seemed like all was okay. I was reaching for Jack when I heard Poppa’s voice from a long way off.
“Hey, Mac. Wake up. Wanna go on a job with me?”
I sat up and looked around and there I was, lying safely on the swing on the back porch of the camp! It was all a dream! Whew!!!!
My Sweet Ahlanna (A Story for Ahlanna)
MY SWEET AHLANNA
By: Kay Olds
Most of my life, I wanted more than anything to be a Mother. I wanted to have 6 children, but I wanted to have twin boys, twin girls and a twin boy and girl. Wouldn’t that be ideal? The Lord had a different idea for me, and He gave me two; one girl and one boy. I thought it was the happiest time of my life.
Then the world changed for me, the day I found out that I was going to be a Grandmother. Your own children are so wonderful and special and such a blessing, but to have Grandchildren is somehow magical. It is as though God Himself reaches down and hands you a little piece of Heaven!
We found out that we were expecting a girl, and I imagined that she would have beautiful thick black hair like her Mother, and beautiful dark blue eyes with gold flecks, like her Grandpa Henry. But no! She had very little hair, and it was light like her Dad’s and her eyes were beautiful hazel, like her Dad’s.
Ahlanna Lee Olds arrived on December 8, 1998, and she was the most beautiful and the sweetest baby in the whole world. I set up a nursery for her in her Dad’s former bedroom and I had it decorated so cute for her. For some reason, she didn’t like it in there. I had a beautiful white crib for her, but as soon as we laid her down, she would wake up and cry. A dear friend of mine had loaned me a beautiful antique little tiny crib, so we tried that. NOPE! She wanted no part of it! She would sometimes sleep in her beautiful bassinette, but not often. One day I was folding clothes and I looked down at the wicker basket and thought maybe she would like that, so I padded it with a pillow, draped it with an afghan, then put her favorite blanket over it and laid her down in it, and that precious baby went right off to sleep! And that is where she slept until she outgrew it.
Her next favorite place to sleep, if not in someone’s arms, was on my Mother’s bed. There is a big sliding glass door in that room and it opens onto the patio. The reflections from the sun on the pool water would seem to dance on the ceiling and she would watch it until she fell asleep.
I bought her a bouncy activity chair and she would jump and bounce in it for hours. I think she had some of the strongest legs any baby ever had.
It was fun watching her grow. She learned to do all the things babies do. She learned to roll over, to sit up, to crawl, and to walk. She loved to ride her tricycle and her Barbie car, and to swing, skate, and jump rope, but her favorite thing was to play in the dirt. She also loved helping me feed the ducks and the birds.
When she was indoors, she loved to play with her kitchen and to be a Mommy to her babies and she was a wonderful Mother. In the real kitchen she would help us to wash dishes, and we made eggs and pancakes for breakfast, and she would wear her little apron and get a small pad of paper and a pencil and she would take everyone’s order then bring them their food. Some days she would make food with her play dough and she would serve it to us from her tea tray. I think she may just own a restaurant when she grows up!
Her next favorite thing was being in the swimming pool. She was only 5 months old the first time I put her in it and with the help of the floaties and a swim suit with a life ring inside, she could swim the whole length of the pool and back several times. My Mom didn’t know how to swim and she was very afraid of the water, and she used to nearly panic when I would let her do that. I can swim though and I stayed right there with her. Now she knows how to swim very well and she dives in and reminds me of a beautiful mermaid when she swims.
One of the funniest things she did was to pick up the telephone and walk around with it to her ear, and she would chatter up a storm and then throw her head back and laugh. She could not talk in our language yet, only in own version, so it was very funny to us. My Mom noticed that she was imitating me. I was always talking to one of my best friends on the phone, and she made me laugh so much, so that is what Ahlanna would do.
During potty training time, she would sometimes sit for long periods of time, so I kept a clipboard with a crossword puzzle book in the bathroom, and I would sit with her and put on my little bifocal glasses and give her a book to look at or crayons and a coloring book, and I would do my puzzles. One day when I went in there, she was sitting with my clipboard and had my glasses on and she was busily circling the letters and words! I kept that crossword puzzle book! I’ll show it to her when she is older.
She was nine months old when her cousin Liam was born. Liam Daniel Joseph McCloy. She called him Lee Lee for a very long time. When she learned to say his whole name, he was Lium Danel Dosef DeBoy! She loved that baby with all her heart, and I will never forget the look of awe on her face when she saw him for the first time. It was though she was looking down at an angel. She really thought he was her baby. She wanted to hold him and change him and feed him and burp him. She was an excellent little Mother.
We went to lots of hockey games and we would bring both of them to the games and lots of people thought they were twins. They both were so well behaved no matter where we took them. And they sang and danced all the time. We took them to Disneyworld when Ahlanna was 2 years old, and everyday I would ask her what was her favorite thing about Disney and her eyes would light up and she’d say “fireworks!”
Ten months after Liam was born, Madison Ann Olds was born. Ahlanna was in heaven! Two babies to take care of. She loved Madison with a fierce protectiveness. She wanted to do everything for her. But Madi had a mind of her own and she thought she was as big as Ahlanna and Liam and she wanted to do it herself with no help from anyone!
Sometimes I would have Ahlanna on one knee and Liam on the other, with both of them holding Madison! Never before has any baby ever received so many hugs and kisses! She would help me push Madi in her stroller out on the driveway. Later when they grew up a little, Ahlanna would ride her tricycle and Liam and Madison would drive the cars, and Lanna would pretend to be a police officer and she would stop Madi and Liam and ask for their drivers’ licenses and proof of insurance, and she wrote lots of tickets and took them off to jail, where they would always escape and run from her so she would have to do it all over again.
The kids loved being in the pool, and they played several games while we were in the pool. One of Ahlanna’s favorites was to play like she was the evil queen and she would search for us and when she found us she would throw us in the dungeon. The big black birds that were always around our yard, were the King’s guards and if they saw us they would go to the queen and tell her where we were. Another game was that she was a mad mermaid and she would cast a spell on us and then take us to her secret cave and hold us as her prisoners. Madison would always be the good mermaid and she would sing and make the evil Ahlanna go to sleep so we could escape. Sometimes Ahlanna was a shark and she would chase us all around the pool.
On her first day of school, she was the happiest little girl I had ever seen! She was so excited she sang all the way to school. I usually brought her to school every day and picked her up when it was over. She would laugh and sing and dance all the way to her classroom and then all the way to the car. She loved school so very much and she made very good grades.
Lots of time has gone by since Ahlanna was born. She is now 8 years old, and has 2 more brothers and 2 more sisters. With her Daddy, Rory and her Mommy, Heather, she has her 2 ½ year old brother Cameron O’Neil Olds, and her baby sister Maren Elizabeth, who is now almost 6 months old. With her Mommy, Melissa, and her Daddy, Jason, she has her 3 year old sister, Amber, and her baby brother Jason, Jr. who is nearly 1 ½ years old. She loves all of them so very much and is a mother to all of them. She and Madison both teach them all so many things. I have kept the playrooms set up for them, and every time she comes here, she pretends she has a café and she takes our orders and brings us our food. She is still so adorable and precious to me and I can only imagine how she will be when she is grown. One of the proudest moments so far for me was the day her Daddy called and told me that she cut her hair to donate it to Locks of Love, so the children with cancer could have hair. How unselfish of her to give up her beautiful long curly hair for children she didn’t even know! She has truly made it a blessing to be her grandmother.
I love you, Ahlanna!!
With all my love, always, Grammy
By: Kay Olds
Most of my life, I wanted more than anything to be a Mother. I wanted to have 6 children, but I wanted to have twin boys, twin girls and a twin boy and girl. Wouldn’t that be ideal? The Lord had a different idea for me, and He gave me two; one girl and one boy. I thought it was the happiest time of my life.
Then the world changed for me, the day I found out that I was going to be a Grandmother. Your own children are so wonderful and special and such a blessing, but to have Grandchildren is somehow magical. It is as though God Himself reaches down and hands you a little piece of Heaven!
We found out that we were expecting a girl, and I imagined that she would have beautiful thick black hair like her Mother, and beautiful dark blue eyes with gold flecks, like her Grandpa Henry. But no! She had very little hair, and it was light like her Dad’s and her eyes were beautiful hazel, like her Dad’s.
Ahlanna Lee Olds arrived on December 8, 1998, and she was the most beautiful and the sweetest baby in the whole world. I set up a nursery for her in her Dad’s former bedroom and I had it decorated so cute for her. For some reason, she didn’t like it in there. I had a beautiful white crib for her, but as soon as we laid her down, she would wake up and cry. A dear friend of mine had loaned me a beautiful antique little tiny crib, so we tried that. NOPE! She wanted no part of it! She would sometimes sleep in her beautiful bassinette, but not often. One day I was folding clothes and I looked down at the wicker basket and thought maybe she would like that, so I padded it with a pillow, draped it with an afghan, then put her favorite blanket over it and laid her down in it, and that precious baby went right off to sleep! And that is where she slept until she outgrew it.
Her next favorite place to sleep, if not in someone’s arms, was on my Mother’s bed. There is a big sliding glass door in that room and it opens onto the patio. The reflections from the sun on the pool water would seem to dance on the ceiling and she would watch it until she fell asleep.
I bought her a bouncy activity chair and she would jump and bounce in it for hours. I think she had some of the strongest legs any baby ever had.
It was fun watching her grow. She learned to do all the things babies do. She learned to roll over, to sit up, to crawl, and to walk. She loved to ride her tricycle and her Barbie car, and to swing, skate, and jump rope, but her favorite thing was to play in the dirt. She also loved helping me feed the ducks and the birds.
When she was indoors, she loved to play with her kitchen and to be a Mommy to her babies and she was a wonderful Mother. In the real kitchen she would help us to wash dishes, and we made eggs and pancakes for breakfast, and she would wear her little apron and get a small pad of paper and a pencil and she would take everyone’s order then bring them their food. Some days she would make food with her play dough and she would serve it to us from her tea tray. I think she may just own a restaurant when she grows up!
Her next favorite thing was being in the swimming pool. She was only 5 months old the first time I put her in it and with the help of the floaties and a swim suit with a life ring inside, she could swim the whole length of the pool and back several times. My Mom didn’t know how to swim and she was very afraid of the water, and she used to nearly panic when I would let her do that. I can swim though and I stayed right there with her. Now she knows how to swim very well and she dives in and reminds me of a beautiful mermaid when she swims.
One of the funniest things she did was to pick up the telephone and walk around with it to her ear, and she would chatter up a storm and then throw her head back and laugh. She could not talk in our language yet, only in own version, so it was very funny to us. My Mom noticed that she was imitating me. I was always talking to one of my best friends on the phone, and she made me laugh so much, so that is what Ahlanna would do.
During potty training time, she would sometimes sit for long periods of time, so I kept a clipboard with a crossword puzzle book in the bathroom, and I would sit with her and put on my little bifocal glasses and give her a book to look at or crayons and a coloring book, and I would do my puzzles. One day when I went in there, she was sitting with my clipboard and had my glasses on and she was busily circling the letters and words! I kept that crossword puzzle book! I’ll show it to her when she is older.
She was nine months old when her cousin Liam was born. Liam Daniel Joseph McCloy. She called him Lee Lee for a very long time. When she learned to say his whole name, he was Lium Danel Dosef DeBoy! She loved that baby with all her heart, and I will never forget the look of awe on her face when she saw him for the first time. It was though she was looking down at an angel. She really thought he was her baby. She wanted to hold him and change him and feed him and burp him. She was an excellent little Mother.
We went to lots of hockey games and we would bring both of them to the games and lots of people thought they were twins. They both were so well behaved no matter where we took them. And they sang and danced all the time. We took them to Disneyworld when Ahlanna was 2 years old, and everyday I would ask her what was her favorite thing about Disney and her eyes would light up and she’d say “fireworks!”
Ten months after Liam was born, Madison Ann Olds was born. Ahlanna was in heaven! Two babies to take care of. She loved Madison with a fierce protectiveness. She wanted to do everything for her. But Madi had a mind of her own and she thought she was as big as Ahlanna and Liam and she wanted to do it herself with no help from anyone!
Sometimes I would have Ahlanna on one knee and Liam on the other, with both of them holding Madison! Never before has any baby ever received so many hugs and kisses! She would help me push Madi in her stroller out on the driveway. Later when they grew up a little, Ahlanna would ride her tricycle and Liam and Madison would drive the cars, and Lanna would pretend to be a police officer and she would stop Madi and Liam and ask for their drivers’ licenses and proof of insurance, and she wrote lots of tickets and took them off to jail, where they would always escape and run from her so she would have to do it all over again.
The kids loved being in the pool, and they played several games while we were in the pool. One of Ahlanna’s favorites was to play like she was the evil queen and she would search for us and when she found us she would throw us in the dungeon. The big black birds that were always around our yard, were the King’s guards and if they saw us they would go to the queen and tell her where we were. Another game was that she was a mad mermaid and she would cast a spell on us and then take us to her secret cave and hold us as her prisoners. Madison would always be the good mermaid and she would sing and make the evil Ahlanna go to sleep so we could escape. Sometimes Ahlanna was a shark and she would chase us all around the pool.
On her first day of school, she was the happiest little girl I had ever seen! She was so excited she sang all the way to school. I usually brought her to school every day and picked her up when it was over. She would laugh and sing and dance all the way to her classroom and then all the way to the car. She loved school so very much and she made very good grades.
Lots of time has gone by since Ahlanna was born. She is now 8 years old, and has 2 more brothers and 2 more sisters. With her Daddy, Rory and her Mommy, Heather, she has her 2 ½ year old brother Cameron O’Neil Olds, and her baby sister Maren Elizabeth, who is now almost 6 months old. With her Mommy, Melissa, and her Daddy, Jason, she has her 3 year old sister, Amber, and her baby brother Jason, Jr. who is nearly 1 ½ years old. She loves all of them so very much and is a mother to all of them. She and Madison both teach them all so many things. I have kept the playrooms set up for them, and every time she comes here, she pretends she has a café and she takes our orders and brings us our food. She is still so adorable and precious to me and I can only imagine how she will be when she is grown. One of the proudest moments so far for me was the day her Daddy called and told me that she cut her hair to donate it to Locks of Love, so the children with cancer could have hair. How unselfish of her to give up her beautiful long curly hair for children she didn’t even know! She has truly made it a blessing to be her grandmother.
I love you, Ahlanna!!
With all my love, always, Grammy
Cameron's Busy Day (A Story for Cameron)
CAMERON’S BUSY DAY
By: Kay Olds
Cameron woke up one cool sunny day.
All he could think of was going out to play.
He yawned really big and stretched in his bed,
And as he stood up, he slipped and bumped his head.
He got up slowly, cause he felt kind of dizzy,
And heard his Mom say, “Cam, are you busy?”
Quickly he ran over to see what he could do.
“What do you need, Mom? I will help you!”
“If you could get a diaper for Maren, that would be good,
Then get Ginger’s bowl and give her some food.”
He ate his breakfast and put on his pants and shirt.
He asked his mom if he could play in the dirt.
He was going to pet Rookie, his great big dog,
When Mr. Danny called, needing his help with a log.
Cam grabbed his truck with the crane,
And lifted that log and set it back on its frame.
Mr. Danny said “Thank you, with a smile and a wave.
“Thank you so much for the help you gave.”
“You are welcome, Mr. Danny. Aw shucks!
It’s so easy when you have these big trucks.”
He went back to play when he suddenly heard,
“Little man! Little man!
Please! I need some help. I dropped a can.”
It was Mrs. Haydel, who was standing there with her broom.
“I can’t reach it, Cam. I have run out of room.”
“I can do it,” said Cam with a smile.
He used her broom to reach it and it only took a short while.
“Many thanks,” she said, and handed him a cookie.
“Here is one for you, and another for Rookie.”
Just as he fed Rookie that delicious big cookie, he heard someone say,
“I need help! Can you come right away?”
It was Mrs.Rachel who really needed him.
She shut her car door and it snagged her dress hem.
“I have closed the door and dropped my keys.
I was wondering Cameron, if you could help me please.”
“I know I can do it.” Cameron said, “And I will be quick!”
The keys were near an ant hill, so he used a stick!
“Good going my friend!” said Mrs. Rae.
“You go on now and have a great day!”
Back once more to play in the dirt,
But someone was calling him. Someone was hurt!
He looked around to see who it could be.
It was a family of ducks, as frightened as could be.
“Oh please, dear boy, please bring your trucks.
Maybe you can help me reach my dear baby ducks.”
He ran home as fast as he could and grabbed some trucks.
He really wanted to help those poor baby ducks.
He ran to the mother and asked, “What can I do?”
“My baby ducklings fell in a hole.
I can’t tell if it’s one or if it’s two.”
Cameron found the right truck for the job.
He saw that it was only one, a duckling named Bob.
He got his ladder truck, the one with a big scoop.
“Thanks,” Mama Duck quacked, and grabbed Bob in a swoop!
“No problem!” said Cam, going back to the dirt,
“I’m just glad that no one was hurt.”
Once again he went back to play,
When all of a sudden he heard someone say,
“I could use your help, young lad.”
It was Mr. Pops!
He needed my help and he needed it bad!
“Cameron, look! I have dropped my pill!
I can’t reach it and neither can Mrs. Lil.”
“Don’t worry,” Cam said. “I can get it.”
But Cameron’s arm was too short.
He could not reach it.
He ran to his house and got his hockey stick
Because Mr. Pops needed his pill,
And he needed it quick!
Cameron reached as far as he could go
And that pill came right out, wouldn’t you know!
Mr. Pops thanked him with a kiss and a hug.
“You’re quite a young man, my dear Cam,
And you’re as cute as a bug!”
“Please let us know if ever you need us,” said Mrs. Lil.
“Thank you so much,” said Cameron, “ I certainly will!”
Cameron went back to play but his dad came home.
“Come on, Cameron! We don’t want to eat alone!”
Cameron came over to the table and he ate his baloney.
He also ate corn, green beans and macaroni.
His dad went back to work.
Cam said, “Later Mom. I’m going to play in the dirt!”
“No time, little man, it’s time for a nap.”
Cam was upset, but crawled into bed as quick as a snap.
“Mom! Mom! Guess what,” he said.
“I was so busy, I forgot all about my head!”
He hugged her and kissed her and said “Hey!
Thank you Mom, for a wonderful day!”
By: Kay Olds
Cameron woke up one cool sunny day.
All he could think of was going out to play.
He yawned really big and stretched in his bed,
And as he stood up, he slipped and bumped his head.
He got up slowly, cause he felt kind of dizzy,
And heard his Mom say, “Cam, are you busy?”
Quickly he ran over to see what he could do.
“What do you need, Mom? I will help you!”
“If you could get a diaper for Maren, that would be good,
Then get Ginger’s bowl and give her some food.”
He ate his breakfast and put on his pants and shirt.
He asked his mom if he could play in the dirt.
He was going to pet Rookie, his great big dog,
When Mr. Danny called, needing his help with a log.
Cam grabbed his truck with the crane,
And lifted that log and set it back on its frame.
Mr. Danny said “Thank you, with a smile and a wave.
“Thank you so much for the help you gave.”
“You are welcome, Mr. Danny. Aw shucks!
It’s so easy when you have these big trucks.”
He went back to play when he suddenly heard,
“Little man! Little man!
Please! I need some help. I dropped a can.”
It was Mrs. Haydel, who was standing there with her broom.
“I can’t reach it, Cam. I have run out of room.”
“I can do it,” said Cam with a smile.
He used her broom to reach it and it only took a short while.
“Many thanks,” she said, and handed him a cookie.
“Here is one for you, and another for Rookie.”
Just as he fed Rookie that delicious big cookie, he heard someone say,
“I need help! Can you come right away?”
It was Mrs.Rachel who really needed him.
She shut her car door and it snagged her dress hem.
“I have closed the door and dropped my keys.
I was wondering Cameron, if you could help me please.”
“I know I can do it.” Cameron said, “And I will be quick!”
The keys were near an ant hill, so he used a stick!
“Good going my friend!” said Mrs. Rae.
“You go on now and have a great day!”
Back once more to play in the dirt,
But someone was calling him. Someone was hurt!
He looked around to see who it could be.
It was a family of ducks, as frightened as could be.
“Oh please, dear boy, please bring your trucks.
Maybe you can help me reach my dear baby ducks.”
He ran home as fast as he could and grabbed some trucks.
He really wanted to help those poor baby ducks.
He ran to the mother and asked, “What can I do?”
“My baby ducklings fell in a hole.
I can’t tell if it’s one or if it’s two.”
Cameron found the right truck for the job.
He saw that it was only one, a duckling named Bob.
He got his ladder truck, the one with a big scoop.
“Thanks,” Mama Duck quacked, and grabbed Bob in a swoop!
“No problem!” said Cam, going back to the dirt,
“I’m just glad that no one was hurt.”
Once again he went back to play,
When all of a sudden he heard someone say,
“I could use your help, young lad.”
It was Mr. Pops!
He needed my help and he needed it bad!
“Cameron, look! I have dropped my pill!
I can’t reach it and neither can Mrs. Lil.”
“Don’t worry,” Cam said. “I can get it.”
But Cameron’s arm was too short.
He could not reach it.
He ran to his house and got his hockey stick
Because Mr. Pops needed his pill,
And he needed it quick!
Cameron reached as far as he could go
And that pill came right out, wouldn’t you know!
Mr. Pops thanked him with a kiss and a hug.
“You’re quite a young man, my dear Cam,
And you’re as cute as a bug!”
“Please let us know if ever you need us,” said Mrs. Lil.
“Thank you so much,” said Cameron, “ I certainly will!”
Cameron went back to play but his dad came home.
“Come on, Cameron! We don’t want to eat alone!”
Cameron came over to the table and he ate his baloney.
He also ate corn, green beans and macaroni.
His dad went back to work.
Cam said, “Later Mom. I’m going to play in the dirt!”
“No time, little man, it’s time for a nap.”
Cam was upset, but crawled into bed as quick as a snap.
“Mom! Mom! Guess what,” he said.
“I was so busy, I forgot all about my head!”
He hugged her and kissed her and said “Hey!
Thank you Mom, for a wonderful day!”
The Adventures of Mac and Jack (A Story for Liam)
The Adventures of Mac and Jack
By: Kay Olds
Hey! Can I tell you something? My name is Mac.
I am seven years old and I am in second grade.
I have a dog, a Jack Russell Terrier, named Jack.
He follows me everywhere and he is a very loyal friend. We play in my room, pretending that we are riding in space ships, sailing the high seas, or flying in jets. We do it all! And we are not afraid of anything when we are together. We are just so cool when we play, and he always seems to know what game I am playing and knows what it is he is supposed to do. Every kid needs a dog like him. I have this really cool bike, and I was riding it on our street one day. Jack is pretty cool about not running off, so I let him go with me. We always go the same route, down one block to the first stop sign, turn left onto the next block, left again at the next stop sign, another left, then another, and half a block down, and we’re back home again. No big deal. Jack knows the route well, sometimes going ahead of me to check things out. On this particular day, he and I left the house early, but instead of going the same way as usual we went to the left, to the short end of the street, having to turn right at the stop signs. Funny the things you notice when you go in the opposite direction.
I had never noticed the deep hole off in the tall grass on the other side of the road. Nor had I noticed the really strange looking mailbox at the house two doors down from our house. Instead of being on a post like all the others, this one was built solid from the ground up, sort of looking like a rectangle. I rode by it without a second glance, but for some reason, Jack stopped to check it out. I called to him to come to me, but he was really checking out that mailbox!
“P’sst!” Jack stopped sniffing and backed up, too surprised to even bark! Cold shivers went down my spine and Jack’s hair stood on end! Freaky!
“P’sst!” Louder this time! And I thought I saw the eyes move! Nah! Couldn’t be! “My mind is playing tricks on me,” I said to Jack. He responded with an all knowing “Woof!” letting me know that he understood completely what was happening.
My blood froze when it suddenly said, “Hey kid! Can I tell you something?” That’s what I always say! This had to be a joke right? I mean my Dad was always playing jokes on me; always trying to scare me. And he usually did a good job of it.
I wasn’t feeling too brave at that moment, but my feet wouldn’t move. My heart was pounding! I was thinking, “It’s only four steps to your bike!” but they wouldn’t budge. Jack found the nerve to go over to sniff the mailbox again and that’s when I just about jumped out of my own skin! Yes!!! The mailbox talked!!! It said, “Hey kid! Your dog is tickling my toes. Can you make it stop?” Whoa!
Somehow I found the courage to call Jack over and this time he listened. In fact, he got behind me, big brave dog that HE is! Oh yeah! Brave!!!
I asked the mailbox what it wanted from me and it said that it was not a mailbox, but in fact it was a new robot. It was the new special model R7342X, designed to play with children, and it was delivered to the wrong address. The man across the street wasn’t married and had no children, so he didn’t know what it was. He just thought it was the new mailbox he had ordered, so he opened it and thought it looked so cool that he decided to keep it and set it out by the curb in front of his house.
The robot was painted in a patriotic way; the head being white, the shirt and arms white with red stripes, and the legs blue with white stars. It really did look like a mailbox, sort of like the ones around towns and cities where people mail letters, only much cooler looking than that!
As Mac began to ride away on his bike, Jack gave the mailbox one last parting sniff, but to Jack’s surprise, it took a step towards them. Jack ran beside Mac’s bike, barking to tell him of this, and when Mac turned to see what Jack was barking at, of course there was nothing to see!
They began again, but it stepped towards them and Jack lost it again. Mac pedaled faster and Jack barked louder and the mailbox moved faster. Mac realized that the mailbox was now following them and he rode that bike as though his very life depended upon it, with Jack right behind him.
He looked back to see if the mailbox was getting too close, and he veered off the road and flipped off of his bike. Jack was right there to lick him from head to toe, (I know! Dog germs! Yuck!), and to assure him that he was there to protect him, come what may! He was trying to get up when the mailbox appeared and offered him its “hand”. As Mac took its hand, the mailbox pulled him into the hole and they went spiraling down with Jack fast behind them! They went past the roots of the grass, down past the earthworms and bugs. Just before they hit the bedrock layer, they stopped in Mole Town. This was a very dark town, as moles can’t see and don’t need light. Mac always had his flashlight handy, but when he hit that hole with his bike, the flashlight fell on the side of the road. So it was mailbox to the rescue. It had the perfect light and shined it all around so Mac and Jack could see their surroundings.
Moles were everywhere! All scurrying about, not seeming to know what they were doing or where they were going, but it seemed to be important to them. What a hustle and bustle of merry moles.
Once the moles discovered the intruders, the moles were not happy about it! How dare these creatures invade their town?!
Miles was the mayor of Mole Town and Max Mole ran quickly to inform him of the terrible intruders. Mayor Miles was not upset about it and wondered what was so terrible. “Do they eat dirt?” asked the mayor.
“Why, I’m not sure, your honor,” answered Max.
“Have they taken any dirt?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t believe they have, sir,” said Max.
The mayor thought about this for all of two seconds, then told Max that the visitors were welcome to stay, at least for awhile, anyway.
Max hurried away, eager to alert the other moles of the impending danger of unexpected guests. How could they allow intruders to stay? What would they eat? Where would they sleep? How would they work? Would they bring others? Oh, my, so many questions, and no one had any answers.
Millie Mole suggested they call a town meeting so Max ran back to inform the mayor, and at 6:00 P.M. sharp, all of the Mole Town clan arrived and
Mayor Miles called the meeting to order. He quickly explained that there were three visitors in Mole Town today, and he expected every mole to make them feel welcome.
Miss Marnie Mole said, “Well, I shall invite them to tea!”
“Yes! Yes!” said Miss Minnie Mole, “I shall bring over some of my delicious pies.”
“I will bring a batch of my fresh baked cookies,” quipped Millie Mole.
Mr. Manuel Mole added that he would make his famous Mole-wiches.
Maybe Mrs. Melba Mole could make her magnificent Melba’s Delight, a Mole Town favorite!
“Wonderful!” shouted Mayor Miles. “Thank you all for making our visitors feel so welcome here.” He felt a great sense of pride in his fellow Moles-men. But Max didn’t see it that way. He quickly tunneled down to Mitch Mole’s place. He told him and Matt Mole what he feared would happen to their town because these intruders dropped in on them. “Why, they’ll bring others with them,” he said, “and before you know it, Mole Town won’t be able to hold everyone!”
“Yeah,” said Mitch, “They’ll take all of our dirt! I’ve seen it happen all too often.”
Old man Murray Mole was propped in his chair, and he quietly said, “We have no choice. We have to get rid of them! They all agreed and without letting the mayor know about it, they called a meeting of their own.
So many moles showed up the ground began to bulge a bit. Old man Mutt Mole fell off of his little chair, creating a series of laughter and mumbling before everyone settled down and got serious.
A few of the moles didn’t see a problem with the intruders so they began the meeting by voting for them to stay. Some of the older moles, especially Major Martin, who was highly respected, said they were not certain why the intruders had come to Mole Town, so they also voted to let them stay, at least temporarily.
The younger moles, some of whom could be quite temperamental, opted to toss them out.
In the meantime, Mac and the mailbox were trying their best to find their way out of Mole Town. There wasn’t much air for them to breathe, and Jack was panting so much, he was using up more oxygen than they could spare. Mac sat beside his beloved pup and began to talk gently to reassure him that everything would be alright. Soon he calmed down and was breathing normally once again. He trusted his boy with his life.
It was obvious to the three of them that they could not leave by way of the mole tunnels, which were too small in every way, even for the beloved pup.
Jack tried to dig his way out, but he only made the problem worse. The deeper he dug, the narrower, the tunnels became.
For awhile, the mailbox did its best to dig new tunnels, but this only made the tunnels collapse on top of it. What in the world were they going to do?
Feeling frightened for the first time, Mac shook his head sadly and said, “We’re never getting out of here, are we?” He thought of his Mom and Dad and all of the people in his life he loved so much. He knew they would look for him and Jack, but they would never think to look in the ground! “Yes,” he thought sadly, “We are doomed. No one will ever find us here!”
The mailbox had an idea. If it could get all of the moles to come together, maybe they could help to dig them out. At the very least, maybe they could find a way to send some air down to Mac and Jack. Mailbox sounded an alarm, very shrill and very loud, and it made moles come rushing from every direction.
Pies fell to the floor! Cookies flew into the air and broke as they hit the floor. Mole-wiches were smashed in a mole stampede. And you don’t even want to know what happened to Mrs. Melba’s delight!
Mayor Miles was yelling for everyone to come to order at once, but no one was listening. All they could think about was to follow the alarm. It must be something very important.
As the moles rushed towards the alarm, the tunnels began to collapse and it pushed the dirt upwards. At first it seemed that Mac and the mailbox and Jack would all be buried alive. Mailbox used every tool on its body to try to save them, but the weight of the dirt was crushing its body and it could not move its arms. Surely this would be the end of all of them, and no one would ever find them or know what happened. How sad.
But then more moles showed up. Old man Murray, Max, Matt and Mitch ran through the last of the tunnels and were able to reach Mac, Mailbox and Jack seconds before it collapsed. They began to push so hard that they were shoving the intruders upwards and out of their town.
Mac was the first to reach the top and he reached in and pulled Jack to safety. With both of them gone, Mailbox had more room to move so it was able to turn itself towards the top and with the help of four strong moles, it was able to get to the edge of the hole. Mac and Jack gave it a hand, but you know what? Just as they were about to get mailbox out of the hole, the ground below them gave way and they were once again plunging into a dark bottomless pit! They couldn’t see a thing, but Mac thought he heard something. He screamed for the others to be quiet. From somewhere in the darkness he could hear a familiar voice. Soft and soothing and so familiar to him, he felt like help was near.
He listened as the voice gently urged him to get up.
“Mailbox? Is that you?” asked Mac.
His Mom laughed and said, “Liam! Who are you calling a mailbox?!” Mac looked around and saw the beautiful walls of his bedroom and his Mother was smiling down at him. His little dog, Molly, jumped up on the bed and began licking his face.
“What the….?!” Asked Liam, trying to figure out what had just happened. He looked up at Molly and asked “Where is mailbox?” But Molly just happily licked his face and had no clue what he was talking about. Slowly he sat up in bed and realized that He, Liam McCloy, was safe in his own bed. He had been dreaming. His trip to Mole Town was all a dream. He wasn’t Mac McCloy! There was no mailbox; no robot model R7342X. No hole on the side of the road. Only home and his regular neighborhood on his regular street, in his wonderful regular town!
He quickly got out of bed, got dressed for school, ate his breakfast, and brushed his teeth. He grabbed his school bag and headed out the door, giving Molly a great big loving hug. She gave him a great big slurp to the face!
As they were driving off, his Mom asked him if he had a good night’s sleep. He was about to answer, when they passed by the neighbor’s house, and there by the side of the road, stood a brand new mailbox. And it looked like the one in his dream. Weird! It couldn’t be! He looked again, and thought it looked exactly like the one in the dream. He looked at it again, and just as they turned onto the next road to the left, the mailbox turned its head slightly and he could have sworn he saw it wink at him! He took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly saying, “It’s only a dream. It’s only a dream!” As he opened his eyes and looked again, the side panel of the mailbox was blinking and began to flash, “R-7-3-4-2-X” and once again, the mailbox winked at him as the car went out of sight!
“Yeah! It was all a dream!” thought Liam.Oooorrrr WAS it????!!!!!
By: Kay Olds
Hey! Can I tell you something? My name is Mac.
I am seven years old and I am in second grade.
I have a dog, a Jack Russell Terrier, named Jack.
He follows me everywhere and he is a very loyal friend. We play in my room, pretending that we are riding in space ships, sailing the high seas, or flying in jets. We do it all! And we are not afraid of anything when we are together. We are just so cool when we play, and he always seems to know what game I am playing and knows what it is he is supposed to do. Every kid needs a dog like him. I have this really cool bike, and I was riding it on our street one day. Jack is pretty cool about not running off, so I let him go with me. We always go the same route, down one block to the first stop sign, turn left onto the next block, left again at the next stop sign, another left, then another, and half a block down, and we’re back home again. No big deal. Jack knows the route well, sometimes going ahead of me to check things out. On this particular day, he and I left the house early, but instead of going the same way as usual we went to the left, to the short end of the street, having to turn right at the stop signs. Funny the things you notice when you go in the opposite direction.
I had never noticed the deep hole off in the tall grass on the other side of the road. Nor had I noticed the really strange looking mailbox at the house two doors down from our house. Instead of being on a post like all the others, this one was built solid from the ground up, sort of looking like a rectangle. I rode by it without a second glance, but for some reason, Jack stopped to check it out. I called to him to come to me, but he was really checking out that mailbox!
“P’sst!” Jack stopped sniffing and backed up, too surprised to even bark! Cold shivers went down my spine and Jack’s hair stood on end! Freaky!
“P’sst!” Louder this time! And I thought I saw the eyes move! Nah! Couldn’t be! “My mind is playing tricks on me,” I said to Jack. He responded with an all knowing “Woof!” letting me know that he understood completely what was happening.
My blood froze when it suddenly said, “Hey kid! Can I tell you something?” That’s what I always say! This had to be a joke right? I mean my Dad was always playing jokes on me; always trying to scare me. And he usually did a good job of it.
I wasn’t feeling too brave at that moment, but my feet wouldn’t move. My heart was pounding! I was thinking, “It’s only four steps to your bike!” but they wouldn’t budge. Jack found the nerve to go over to sniff the mailbox again and that’s when I just about jumped out of my own skin! Yes!!! The mailbox talked!!! It said, “Hey kid! Your dog is tickling my toes. Can you make it stop?” Whoa!
Somehow I found the courage to call Jack over and this time he listened. In fact, he got behind me, big brave dog that HE is! Oh yeah! Brave!!!
I asked the mailbox what it wanted from me and it said that it was not a mailbox, but in fact it was a new robot. It was the new special model R7342X, designed to play with children, and it was delivered to the wrong address. The man across the street wasn’t married and had no children, so he didn’t know what it was. He just thought it was the new mailbox he had ordered, so he opened it and thought it looked so cool that he decided to keep it and set it out by the curb in front of his house.
The robot was painted in a patriotic way; the head being white, the shirt and arms white with red stripes, and the legs blue with white stars. It really did look like a mailbox, sort of like the ones around towns and cities where people mail letters, only much cooler looking than that!
As Mac began to ride away on his bike, Jack gave the mailbox one last parting sniff, but to Jack’s surprise, it took a step towards them. Jack ran beside Mac’s bike, barking to tell him of this, and when Mac turned to see what Jack was barking at, of course there was nothing to see!
They began again, but it stepped towards them and Jack lost it again. Mac pedaled faster and Jack barked louder and the mailbox moved faster. Mac realized that the mailbox was now following them and he rode that bike as though his very life depended upon it, with Jack right behind him.
He looked back to see if the mailbox was getting too close, and he veered off the road and flipped off of his bike. Jack was right there to lick him from head to toe, (I know! Dog germs! Yuck!), and to assure him that he was there to protect him, come what may! He was trying to get up when the mailbox appeared and offered him its “hand”. As Mac took its hand, the mailbox pulled him into the hole and they went spiraling down with Jack fast behind them! They went past the roots of the grass, down past the earthworms and bugs. Just before they hit the bedrock layer, they stopped in Mole Town. This was a very dark town, as moles can’t see and don’t need light. Mac always had his flashlight handy, but when he hit that hole with his bike, the flashlight fell on the side of the road. So it was mailbox to the rescue. It had the perfect light and shined it all around so Mac and Jack could see their surroundings.
Moles were everywhere! All scurrying about, not seeming to know what they were doing or where they were going, but it seemed to be important to them. What a hustle and bustle of merry moles.
Once the moles discovered the intruders, the moles were not happy about it! How dare these creatures invade their town?!
Miles was the mayor of Mole Town and Max Mole ran quickly to inform him of the terrible intruders. Mayor Miles was not upset about it and wondered what was so terrible. “Do they eat dirt?” asked the mayor.
“Why, I’m not sure, your honor,” answered Max.
“Have they taken any dirt?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t believe they have, sir,” said Max.
The mayor thought about this for all of two seconds, then told Max that the visitors were welcome to stay, at least for awhile, anyway.
Max hurried away, eager to alert the other moles of the impending danger of unexpected guests. How could they allow intruders to stay? What would they eat? Where would they sleep? How would they work? Would they bring others? Oh, my, so many questions, and no one had any answers.
Millie Mole suggested they call a town meeting so Max ran back to inform the mayor, and at 6:00 P.M. sharp, all of the Mole Town clan arrived and
Mayor Miles called the meeting to order. He quickly explained that there were three visitors in Mole Town today, and he expected every mole to make them feel welcome.
Miss Marnie Mole said, “Well, I shall invite them to tea!”
“Yes! Yes!” said Miss Minnie Mole, “I shall bring over some of my delicious pies.”
“I will bring a batch of my fresh baked cookies,” quipped Millie Mole.
Mr. Manuel Mole added that he would make his famous Mole-wiches.
Maybe Mrs. Melba Mole could make her magnificent Melba’s Delight, a Mole Town favorite!
“Wonderful!” shouted Mayor Miles. “Thank you all for making our visitors feel so welcome here.” He felt a great sense of pride in his fellow Moles-men. But Max didn’t see it that way. He quickly tunneled down to Mitch Mole’s place. He told him and Matt Mole what he feared would happen to their town because these intruders dropped in on them. “Why, they’ll bring others with them,” he said, “and before you know it, Mole Town won’t be able to hold everyone!”
“Yeah,” said Mitch, “They’ll take all of our dirt! I’ve seen it happen all too often.”
Old man Murray Mole was propped in his chair, and he quietly said, “We have no choice. We have to get rid of them! They all agreed and without letting the mayor know about it, they called a meeting of their own.
So many moles showed up the ground began to bulge a bit. Old man Mutt Mole fell off of his little chair, creating a series of laughter and mumbling before everyone settled down and got serious.
A few of the moles didn’t see a problem with the intruders so they began the meeting by voting for them to stay. Some of the older moles, especially Major Martin, who was highly respected, said they were not certain why the intruders had come to Mole Town, so they also voted to let them stay, at least temporarily.
The younger moles, some of whom could be quite temperamental, opted to toss them out.
In the meantime, Mac and the mailbox were trying their best to find their way out of Mole Town. There wasn’t much air for them to breathe, and Jack was panting so much, he was using up more oxygen than they could spare. Mac sat beside his beloved pup and began to talk gently to reassure him that everything would be alright. Soon he calmed down and was breathing normally once again. He trusted his boy with his life.
It was obvious to the three of them that they could not leave by way of the mole tunnels, which were too small in every way, even for the beloved pup.
Jack tried to dig his way out, but he only made the problem worse. The deeper he dug, the narrower, the tunnels became.
For awhile, the mailbox did its best to dig new tunnels, but this only made the tunnels collapse on top of it. What in the world were they going to do?
Feeling frightened for the first time, Mac shook his head sadly and said, “We’re never getting out of here, are we?” He thought of his Mom and Dad and all of the people in his life he loved so much. He knew they would look for him and Jack, but they would never think to look in the ground! “Yes,” he thought sadly, “We are doomed. No one will ever find us here!”
The mailbox had an idea. If it could get all of the moles to come together, maybe they could help to dig them out. At the very least, maybe they could find a way to send some air down to Mac and Jack. Mailbox sounded an alarm, very shrill and very loud, and it made moles come rushing from every direction.
Pies fell to the floor! Cookies flew into the air and broke as they hit the floor. Mole-wiches were smashed in a mole stampede. And you don’t even want to know what happened to Mrs. Melba’s delight!
Mayor Miles was yelling for everyone to come to order at once, but no one was listening. All they could think about was to follow the alarm. It must be something very important.
As the moles rushed towards the alarm, the tunnels began to collapse and it pushed the dirt upwards. At first it seemed that Mac and the mailbox and Jack would all be buried alive. Mailbox used every tool on its body to try to save them, but the weight of the dirt was crushing its body and it could not move its arms. Surely this would be the end of all of them, and no one would ever find them or know what happened. How sad.
But then more moles showed up. Old man Murray, Max, Matt and Mitch ran through the last of the tunnels and were able to reach Mac, Mailbox and Jack seconds before it collapsed. They began to push so hard that they were shoving the intruders upwards and out of their town.
Mac was the first to reach the top and he reached in and pulled Jack to safety. With both of them gone, Mailbox had more room to move so it was able to turn itself towards the top and with the help of four strong moles, it was able to get to the edge of the hole. Mac and Jack gave it a hand, but you know what? Just as they were about to get mailbox out of the hole, the ground below them gave way and they were once again plunging into a dark bottomless pit! They couldn’t see a thing, but Mac thought he heard something. He screamed for the others to be quiet. From somewhere in the darkness he could hear a familiar voice. Soft and soothing and so familiar to him, he felt like help was near.
He listened as the voice gently urged him to get up.
“Mailbox? Is that you?” asked Mac.
His Mom laughed and said, “Liam! Who are you calling a mailbox?!” Mac looked around and saw the beautiful walls of his bedroom and his Mother was smiling down at him. His little dog, Molly, jumped up on the bed and began licking his face.
“What the….?!” Asked Liam, trying to figure out what had just happened. He looked up at Molly and asked “Where is mailbox?” But Molly just happily licked his face and had no clue what he was talking about. Slowly he sat up in bed and realized that He, Liam McCloy, was safe in his own bed. He had been dreaming. His trip to Mole Town was all a dream. He wasn’t Mac McCloy! There was no mailbox; no robot model R7342X. No hole on the side of the road. Only home and his regular neighborhood on his regular street, in his wonderful regular town!
He quickly got out of bed, got dressed for school, ate his breakfast, and brushed his teeth. He grabbed his school bag and headed out the door, giving Molly a great big loving hug. She gave him a great big slurp to the face!
As they were driving off, his Mom asked him if he had a good night’s sleep. He was about to answer, when they passed by the neighbor’s house, and there by the side of the road, stood a brand new mailbox. And it looked like the one in his dream. Weird! It couldn’t be! He looked again, and thought it looked exactly like the one in the dream. He looked at it again, and just as they turned onto the next road to the left, the mailbox turned its head slightly and he could have sworn he saw it wink at him! He took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly saying, “It’s only a dream. It’s only a dream!” As he opened his eyes and looked again, the side panel of the mailbox was blinking and began to flash, “R-7-3-4-2-X” and once again, the mailbox winked at him as the car went out of sight!
“Yeah! It was all a dream!” thought Liam.Oooorrrr WAS it????!!!!!
The Secret (A Story for Liam)
The Secret
BY: KAY OLDS
Hey! Do you want me to tell you a secret? I don’t want anyone to know about this, but I can tell you. It is kind of far fetched, but it really happened.
We live in a pretty quiet neighborhood and not much ever happens out of the ordinary.
A new family moved in next door and they are very nice people. They are kind of old and they have 2 grandsons who are my age. I am 10 years old.
The first time I saw one of the boys I said, “Hey,” and he said, “Hey. My name is Brett. Do you wanna come over to play?” I said sure and ran home to let my Mom know where I would be. I went back over and knocked on the door and when he answered, I said, “Hey.” He looked at me in a sort of “duh” way and said, “Who are you and what do you want?”
I laughed and said, “ It’s me, Mac, from next door.” He said, “Oh. Good to meet you. Wanna stay and play? I’m Chett.” I looked at him kind of funny and said, “Sorry! I thought you said that your name is Brett.”
He said, “Ah! You met my brother. We’re identical twins.” I asked how I could tell them apart and at the exact same time they both said, “That’s for us to know and you to find out!”
“Cool! I can probably do that!” I could see then that these guys would be fun.
We helped their grandparents to unpack boxes for awhile then they told us to that we had worked so hard, we could go out and play.
We went over to my house and I introduced them to my Mom. She thought it was so neat that she couldn’t tell them apart. She invited them in and Jack took to them right away, and they loved him.
We played in my room for about an hour then my Mom said we were going to take lunch over to their grandparents. She had cooked a big pot of homemade vegetable beef soup and baked some homemade bread, and she made a very nice salad, and a pitcher of tea. We all helped her to take it over to them.
When the lady, Mrs. Graham, opened the door, the Grandpa, Mr. Graham, said, “Who’s there, Honey?”
I don’t know why, but I got the giggles!
Mrs. Graham invited us in and she was thrilled to see what we had brought over for them. She quickly went to the kitchen and set the table and asked us to sit and eat with them. She turned to the pantry and put a pack of crackers on the table on a pretty plate.
Mom tried to introduce me, but I couldn’t stop laughing! Brett and Chett laughed too, I guess, because I was laughing. My Mom said I was being rude, and I know that I was, but I just couldn’t help myself. It was too funny!
I made myself stop long enough to shake hands with Mr. Graham, and as I turned to shake hands with Mrs. Graham, he said, “Nice table, Honey.”
Again, I exploded with laughter. I fell to the floor on my knees, holding my sides and tears were falling onto the floor.
Mom was so upset with me, but I couldn’t stop.
Mrs. Graham gently asked, “Just what is it that has you laughing, my dear?”
I tried several times to tell them, then gasped, “Honey! He calls you Honey!” I burst into a fit again, and that’s when the boys caught on and we laughed for about ten minutes before we could control ourselves. When I said ‘Honey”, they got it. Honey Graham! All that was missing was crackers, and she reached for them and set them out on the table. It was hysterical to me!
We all had a good laugh about it. Thankfully, they weren’t offended.
Everyone enjoyed the wonderful meal Mom had prepared then it was time for the boys to go home. They said they would come back over in a few days. I was looking forward to it. We had really had a fun day.
Two days later they were back. Brett came over and asked if I wanted to go for a bike ride with them, so we all took off down the street. We stopped off at my friend’s house to see if Benny wanted to join us. He had a Beagle named Mel, and he went everywhere we went, and he and Jack were best buddies. They never ever fight or get cross with each other.
The dogs ran ahead of us into the wooded area at the end of our street. I loved it there because it was so cool and the trees were so big and tall. There were some really big strong vines hanging from the trees and we would always climb and swing on them. The twins had never done that so they had a blast. We played about two hours or so before we decided to go back home. We could hardly wait to go back again.
A week and a half went by before the boys came back. I asked Mom if they could sleep over so we set up a tent in our back yard and put our sleeping bags in so we could sleep out under the stars. Benny, Mel and Jack were right there with us.
My Dad built a fire for us and we cooked turtles and roasted wieners and toasted marshmallows, or as Chett said, “Smashmallers!”
We all had such a good time. Around midnight we were tired and sleepy so we settled down and soon went fast asleep.
A screech owl nearby woke the dogs and they started barking. Their barking woke us up, and scared three Armadillos that were in our neighbor’s yard, so they ran off and the dogs chased them into a ditch. They ran through the culvert and when they came out on the other end, there were two cats sitting there.
The Armadillos scared the cats, then the dogs began to chase the cats, and the Armadillos darted across the road. A car was driving by and he tried to dodge the Armadillos, and hit a metal trash can on the side of the road. The trash can went flying into the windshield on Mr. Parker’s brand new truck, sending glass flying everywhere and making such a loud racket. The car’s alarm system went off and soon the neighbors were coming out to see what was going on.
The man who hit the trash can tried to move his car so the police could get by, and he was so shook up, he hit the mailbox across the street. He went forward too fast and hit the flag pole in Mr. Mayfield’s yard, and it broke, falling right on the head of a statue of a pelican in his yard, sending the severed head right through old man Harrison’s picture window!
That mean old coot grabbed his gun and ran out yelling something about hooligans and burglars and he fired a shot or two into the air and shot the transformer on the utility pole, causing a black out in the whole neighborhood! The electric wire fell into the street and was dancing around and it looked like a mini fireworks display.
The police showed up, asking if everyone was alright and warning everyone to stay clear of the wire. He then began asking everyone what was going on.
Another squad car pulled up and asked if anyone had seen a horse. One of Mr. Moore’s horses had escaped from his pasture. No one had seen a horse, but they had all been asleep when all of this happened.
The three boys, my Dad, and I were still trying to get the dogs to come back to us, but they were still chasing the cats and barking like mad.
One of the policemen said that someone needed to stop those dogs from barking, but nearly every dog in the neighborhood was barking. My Dad told the policeman that he can’t sleep at night for the dogs barking all night long. We didn’t dare say that one of them was our dog!!
Someone called the power company about the outage and the trucks were arriving. A policeman was trying to direct the trucks but the people gathered around made it difficult to see.
The first truck stopped and the men got out and quickly put up a barricade to keep anyone from coming into contact with the live wire.
The second truck tried to stop, but his brakes went out and he ended up smashing Mrs. Smith’s car into the side of Mr. Parker’s new truck!
That’s when the runaway horse showed up! He was so frightened by all the commotion, he reared up and his front feet hit the hood of Mr. Parker’s truck, causing several deep dents in it, and then he tried to jump it! His front feet kicked dents into the top of the cab, while his back foot on the right side went through the windshield, and he launched himself up with the help of the steering wheel! It had a braided leather cover on it and the hoof put quite a tear in it.
As he landed in the bed of the truck, his back legs kicked out the back glass. Mr. Parker passed out cold at that point, just before the horse finished his last jump, so he missed seeing his custom made tailgate get kicked 3 times by the horse!
Tommy Gates, one of the older boys on our street, was able to grab the horse and was able to calm him down. The police called for Mr. Moore to come and get the horse, which he did very quickly.
The driver of the second truck was so upset by what he had caused to happen, he put the truck in reverse, trying to get a considerable distance from the wreckage and to clear the street, but he forgot about the brakes and in his haste, he backed up into Mrs. Chaney’s yard and couldn’t stop. He hit her beautiful very large fountain and broke it into 5 pieces! Oh! The damage to her beautiful well manicured plants and flowers! It was so very sad.
The man in charge yelled at him to just get out of the truck and stand there with his hands in his pockets until he told him to move. He was SO mad I thought his eyes would start bleeding!
Within an hour the transformer was replaced and the power was back on. No one went inside though, as they all wanted to see the outcome.
Benny had been standing in the back of Jake Bennet’s truck so he could be higher to try to see the dogs and he suddenly said, “Guys! I see the dogs!”
His words sort of snapped us back to why we came here in the first place. Our dogs had run away.
We were walking down the street towards the woods when we saw the police chief arrive in his car, so we went back to see what was going to happen next.
Chief got out of the car and asked the deputy what in the world was going on. “I don’t even know where to begin, Sir,” he said. The chief stood there taking in the scene and shaking his head, knowing that it would be a very long day!
We decided that our dogs were more important than listening to them, so we went to the woods. Dad stayed behind as a witness to the mayhem.
Brett and Benny looked in one part of the woods and Chett and I looked in another. After about 2 hours of searching and yelling for them, we gave up. We were hungry, thirsty and so tired it was unreal!
Daylight was just about to break when we got to our yard. There on the fence post was one of Miss Trixie’s stupid cats! It was the big gray one that started the dogs chasing it. I don’t know where the other cat went, and I don’t care.
We went to the tent to get a drink and some food, and there, curled up together on the sleeping bags, sound asleep, were Mel and Jack! They were exhausted and so dirty we just let them sleep.
We all took turns going in for a bathroom break and washed up a little, and then we laid next to the dogs and went fast asleep. We slept for 10 hours!!
Once awake again, we went to see the damage in the daylight. What a mess! My Dad took lots of pictures so we have the whole thing documented!
Oh yeah! Did I mention that the guy who was driving the second truck was STILL standing there with his hands in his pockets?! I guess his boss forgot about him!
We had such a great time that night. It’s cool having the twins around, and Benny, Mel and Jack and I can’t wait until our next adventure!
Oh yeah! Another thing! I forgot to tell you something. The secret! The cops never really figured out what, how or why things happened the way they did that night. Do you even remember how it all got started? If not, it’s for me to know and you to find out!
Till next time!!!!
Hey! Do you want me to tell you a secret? I don’t want anyone to know about this, but I can tell you. It is kind of far fetched, but it really happened.
We live in a pretty quiet neighborhood and not much ever happens out of the ordinary.
A new family moved in next door and they are very nice people. They are kind of old and they have 2 grandsons who are my age. I am 10 years old.
The first time I saw one of the boys I said, “Hey,” and he said, “Hey. My name is Brett. Do you wanna come over to play?” I said sure and ran home to let my Mom know where I would be. I went back over and knocked on the door and when he answered, I said, “Hey.” He looked at me in a sort of “duh” way and said, “Who are you and what do you want?”
I laughed and said, “ It’s me, Mac, from next door.” He said, “Oh. Good to meet you. Wanna stay and play? I’m Chett.” I looked at him kind of funny and said, “Sorry! I thought you said that your name is Brett.”
He said, “Ah! You met my brother. We’re identical twins.” I asked how I could tell them apart and at the exact same time they both said, “That’s for us to know and you to find out!”
“Cool! I can probably do that!” I could see then that these guys would be fun.
We helped their grandparents to unpack boxes for awhile then they told us to that we had worked so hard, we could go out and play.
We went over to my house and I introduced them to my Mom. She thought it was so neat that she couldn’t tell them apart. She invited them in and Jack took to them right away, and they loved him.
We played in my room for about an hour then my Mom said we were going to take lunch over to their grandparents. She had cooked a big pot of homemade vegetable beef soup and baked some homemade bread, and she made a very nice salad, and a pitcher of tea. We all helped her to take it over to them.
When the lady, Mrs. Graham, opened the door, the Grandpa, Mr. Graham, said, “Who’s there, Honey?”
I don’t know why, but I got the giggles!
Mrs. Graham invited us in and she was thrilled to see what we had brought over for them. She quickly went to the kitchen and set the table and asked us to sit and eat with them. She turned to the pantry and put a pack of crackers on the table on a pretty plate.
Mom tried to introduce me, but I couldn’t stop laughing! Brett and Chett laughed too, I guess, because I was laughing. My Mom said I was being rude, and I know that I was, but I just couldn’t help myself. It was too funny!
I made myself stop long enough to shake hands with Mr. Graham, and as I turned to shake hands with Mrs. Graham, he said, “Nice table, Honey.”
Again, I exploded with laughter. I fell to the floor on my knees, holding my sides and tears were falling onto the floor.
Mom was so upset with me, but I couldn’t stop.
Mrs. Graham gently asked, “Just what is it that has you laughing, my dear?”
I tried several times to tell them, then gasped, “Honey! He calls you Honey!” I burst into a fit again, and that’s when the boys caught on and we laughed for about ten minutes before we could control ourselves. When I said ‘Honey”, they got it. Honey Graham! All that was missing was crackers, and she reached for them and set them out on the table. It was hysterical to me!
We all had a good laugh about it. Thankfully, they weren’t offended.
Everyone enjoyed the wonderful meal Mom had prepared then it was time for the boys to go home. They said they would come back over in a few days. I was looking forward to it. We had really had a fun day.
Two days later they were back. Brett came over and asked if I wanted to go for a bike ride with them, so we all took off down the street. We stopped off at my friend’s house to see if Benny wanted to join us. He had a Beagle named Mel, and he went everywhere we went, and he and Jack were best buddies. They never ever fight or get cross with each other.
The dogs ran ahead of us into the wooded area at the end of our street. I loved it there because it was so cool and the trees were so big and tall. There were some really big strong vines hanging from the trees and we would always climb and swing on them. The twins had never done that so they had a blast. We played about two hours or so before we decided to go back home. We could hardly wait to go back again.
A week and a half went by before the boys came back. I asked Mom if they could sleep over so we set up a tent in our back yard and put our sleeping bags in so we could sleep out under the stars. Benny, Mel and Jack were right there with us.
My Dad built a fire for us and we cooked turtles and roasted wieners and toasted marshmallows, or as Chett said, “Smashmallers!”
We all had such a good time. Around midnight we were tired and sleepy so we settled down and soon went fast asleep.
A screech owl nearby woke the dogs and they started barking. Their barking woke us up, and scared three Armadillos that were in our neighbor’s yard, so they ran off and the dogs chased them into a ditch. They ran through the culvert and when they came out on the other end, there were two cats sitting there.
The Armadillos scared the cats, then the dogs began to chase the cats, and the Armadillos darted across the road. A car was driving by and he tried to dodge the Armadillos, and hit a metal trash can on the side of the road. The trash can went flying into the windshield on Mr. Parker’s brand new truck, sending glass flying everywhere and making such a loud racket. The car’s alarm system went off and soon the neighbors were coming out to see what was going on.
The man who hit the trash can tried to move his car so the police could get by, and he was so shook up, he hit the mailbox across the street. He went forward too fast and hit the flag pole in Mr. Mayfield’s yard, and it broke, falling right on the head of a statue of a pelican in his yard, sending the severed head right through old man Harrison’s picture window!
That mean old coot grabbed his gun and ran out yelling something about hooligans and burglars and he fired a shot or two into the air and shot the transformer on the utility pole, causing a black out in the whole neighborhood! The electric wire fell into the street and was dancing around and it looked like a mini fireworks display.
The police showed up, asking if everyone was alright and warning everyone to stay clear of the wire. He then began asking everyone what was going on.
Another squad car pulled up and asked if anyone had seen a horse. One of Mr. Moore’s horses had escaped from his pasture. No one had seen a horse, but they had all been asleep when all of this happened.
The three boys, my Dad, and I were still trying to get the dogs to come back to us, but they were still chasing the cats and barking like mad.
One of the policemen said that someone needed to stop those dogs from barking, but nearly every dog in the neighborhood was barking. My Dad told the policeman that he can’t sleep at night for the dogs barking all night long. We didn’t dare say that one of them was our dog!!
Someone called the power company about the outage and the trucks were arriving. A policeman was trying to direct the trucks but the people gathered around made it difficult to see.
The first truck stopped and the men got out and quickly put up a barricade to keep anyone from coming into contact with the live wire.
The second truck tried to stop, but his brakes went out and he ended up smashing Mrs. Smith’s car into the side of Mr. Parker’s new truck!
That’s when the runaway horse showed up! He was so frightened by all the commotion, he reared up and his front feet hit the hood of Mr. Parker’s truck, causing several deep dents in it, and then he tried to jump it! His front feet kicked dents into the top of the cab, while his back foot on the right side went through the windshield, and he launched himself up with the help of the steering wheel! It had a braided leather cover on it and the hoof put quite a tear in it.
As he landed in the bed of the truck, his back legs kicked out the back glass. Mr. Parker passed out cold at that point, just before the horse finished his last jump, so he missed seeing his custom made tailgate get kicked 3 times by the horse!
Tommy Gates, one of the older boys on our street, was able to grab the horse and was able to calm him down. The police called for Mr. Moore to come and get the horse, which he did very quickly.
The driver of the second truck was so upset by what he had caused to happen, he put the truck in reverse, trying to get a considerable distance from the wreckage and to clear the street, but he forgot about the brakes and in his haste, he backed up into Mrs. Chaney’s yard and couldn’t stop. He hit her beautiful very large fountain and broke it into 5 pieces! Oh! The damage to her beautiful well manicured plants and flowers! It was so very sad.
The man in charge yelled at him to just get out of the truck and stand there with his hands in his pockets until he told him to move. He was SO mad I thought his eyes would start bleeding!
Within an hour the transformer was replaced and the power was back on. No one went inside though, as they all wanted to see the outcome.
Benny had been standing in the back of Jake Bennet’s truck so he could be higher to try to see the dogs and he suddenly said, “Guys! I see the dogs!”
His words sort of snapped us back to why we came here in the first place. Our dogs had run away.
We were walking down the street towards the woods when we saw the police chief arrive in his car, so we went back to see what was going to happen next.
Chief got out of the car and asked the deputy what in the world was going on. “I don’t even know where to begin, Sir,” he said. The chief stood there taking in the scene and shaking his head, knowing that it would be a very long day!
We decided that our dogs were more important than listening to them, so we went to the woods. Dad stayed behind as a witness to the mayhem.
Brett and Benny looked in one part of the woods and Chett and I looked in another. After about 2 hours of searching and yelling for them, we gave up. We were hungry, thirsty and so tired it was unreal!
Daylight was just about to break when we got to our yard. There on the fence post was one of Miss Trixie’s stupid cats! It was the big gray one that started the dogs chasing it. I don’t know where the other cat went, and I don’t care.
We went to the tent to get a drink and some food, and there, curled up together on the sleeping bags, sound asleep, were Mel and Jack! They were exhausted and so dirty we just let them sleep.
We all took turns going in for a bathroom break and washed up a little, and then we laid next to the dogs and went fast asleep. We slept for 10 hours!!
Once awake again, we went to see the damage in the daylight. What a mess! My Dad took lots of pictures so we have the whole thing documented!
Oh yeah! Did I mention that the guy who was driving the second truck was STILL standing there with his hands in his pockets?! I guess his boss forgot about him!
We had such a great time that night. It’s cool having the twins around, and Benny, Mel and Jack and I can’t wait until our next adventure!
Oh yeah! Another thing! I forgot to tell you something. The secret! The cops never really figured out what, how or why things happened the way they did that night. Do you even remember how it all got started? If not, it’s for me to know and you to find out!
Till next time!!!!
The Girl and the Rain Cloud (A story for Madison)
The Girl and the Rain Cloud
By: Kay Olds
One bright sunny morning, a beautiful baby was born. She had light blond hair, big blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and a smile to knock your socks off! She was the buzz around the hospital. Everyone asking, “Have you seen the beautiful baby girl born today?”
Doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors all stopped by to get a look at her. And she smiled at each and every one of them, making each person feel so very special.
Mayor Burns heard about this baby and just had to see for herself, so off she went to the hospital. The mayor was so touched by the baby’s beauty and smile, that she declared the day of this baby’s birth to be a town holiday. The townspeople were overjoyed. After all, how many places declared a holiday just because a beautiful baby is born?
Two days after she was born, the doctor said her parents could take her home. So the proud Dad went to drive the car around to the front entrance. The nurses helped the Mother to bathe and dress the baby, and they packed up all of the gifts people had brought to her. All the while the baby smiled. What a lovely family, thought Nurse Jane. Such a happy baby is truly a rare gift.
The sun was beaming proudly as the baby came out with her parents. Little birds flew by and had a peek at the baby. A squirrel was digging in the dirt nearby and he ran over to see what the fuss was all about. He felt such a warm feeling inside when he saw her smile. He ran off chattering and cats and dogs heard about the baby so they came by to see her. Little bees buzzed by. Butterflies fluttered by. It was a magical scene. And the baby smiled brighter, feeling the whole world loved her.
All of this commotion caught the eye of a tiny little rain cloud that was sitting off to the East, so it decided to drift over to see what was at the center of all this attention. The cloud was amazed to see this beautiful baby with such a lovely smile. The cloud beamed with happiness.
As the proud parents and the baby drove off, the little cloud decided to follow them home to protect the baby from the sun. It hung low in the sky until the baby was safe inside. The parents and the baby had a very good night’s sleep.
Days and weeks and months and years went by. The baby grew and learned to crawl, to walk, to talk and the townspeople loved her and she loved them. But a strange thing was happening. Every time the baby left the house, the little cloud followed. At first, it was okay; just a little shade from the sun. But as the baby grew so did the cloud! And it began to rain! Not everywhere. Oh No! It rained only over the little girl!!!
It seemed kind of funny at first, and the little girl kept smiling at the cloud. The Mom wasn’t too happy about it because she had to always have rain gear ready. No rain fell on her Mom. No rain fell on her Dad. No rain fell on her kitten or on her puppy. Not even on her friends. Only on her!
For five years it rained on her every time she went out the door. She became upset and afraid, along with her parents and most of the townspeople. All anyone could talk about was why it always rained on this one beautiful little girl with the dazzling smile. No one knew. And her smile began to fade. She became so weary of being rained on every day of her life!
She walked along some days longing for the sun to come out and chase the cloud away. As she got older, she yelled at the cloud to go away. She threw rocks at the cloud to make it stop. She chanted “Rain, rain, go away…” NOTHING!!! It just kept raining! And the girl finally stopped smiling! She stopped being happy.
Slowly, the animals and the townspeople lost interest in the girl. Fewer people came to the celebration in the park each year. The holiday was no longer fun for anyone.
Two days before her birthday, the little girl sat in her room reading her favorite book and listening to the new Cheetah Girls 2 CD. Her mother brought in her new party dress and shoes. Her favorite color, purple. But she showed no interest in them at all. Why should she? She would only be wet with rain the moment she stepped out the door. No, she was not looking forward to another wet party dress and ruined shoes!
Mother asked what was wrong. Why did she no longer smile? Wasn’t she looking forward to her sixth birthday party day after tomorrow? The girl didn’t answer. She stayed awake nearly the whole night thinking about that cloud!
Early the next morning she slipped out to see the cloud. Gently, the rain began to fall, a light mist in the early morning hours. The girl looked up at the cloud and sadly shook her head. The rain cloud shrugged and rained harder. And the girl became angry. The cloud rained harder. The girl became angrier and the cloud rained even harder. The girl began jumping up and down, stamping her feet and shaking her fists at the cloud. And it poured on the girl. With all her might, the girl screamed at the cloud, “Why? Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do you keep raining only on me?” A loud clap of thunder boomed in the sky and the cloud let out the most rain ever. The girl was a soggy drenched mess! She dropped to her knees and began to cry. The more she cried, the more it rained. She thought surely she would be washed away.
All of a sudden the thunder was so loud it hurt her ears and the lightening flashed so brightly that it hurt her eyes! She began screaming at the cloud, “Stop! Why don’t you just stop raining on me?” The rain stopped! The cloud looked down at the girl, puzzled by her reaction. “What’s wrong?” asked the cloud. “Why don’t you smile anymore?”
“I have been rained on by you every day since the day I left the hospital! Every time I go outside, I’m wet! No one else, just me. Now I want to know why!”
“Well, it’s simple,” said the cloud. “On the day you were leaving the hospital, I heard someone ask what they were going to name you, and your Dad said loudly, ‘Rain. It’s going to be rain!’ So I rained on you. I thought it’s what he wanted me to do!”
“You silly little cloud! My name is Rayne. R-A-Y-N-E, not R-A-I-N. Will you please stop now?”
“Certainly”, said the cloud sheepishly. “I made a big mistake and I hope you will forgive me.”
“Of course I forgive you!” said the girl. “After all, you have stayed beside me, well, above me, for almost 6 years! We are friends forever.”
And with that the beautiful smile came back to the girl’s face. This time it was even bigger and brighter than ever. It lit up the sky and a huge rainbow loomed over the town. The colors were so brilliant all the townspeople came out to see what was happening. Some of them ran off to each end of the rainbow, hoping to find a pot of gold! Everyone else gathered at the town square to sing Happy Birthday to Rayne. They showered her with gifts and laughed and sang and danced until the wee hours of the night. Rayne had the best party she ever had. Most definitely, the driest!!! And the cloud beamed up above her.
The next morning, Rayne jumped out of bed, eager to see if the cloud was still there. It was. Quite happy to see her cloud, she ran out and said, “Good morning, Cloud!” The cloud opened its eyes and smiled. “Good morning, friend.” And guess what! NO RAIN!! Rayne was thrilled. She twirled around laughing and looked up lovingly at her cloud. She asked, “Are you going to stop raining on me now?” The cloud smiled and said, “I will.” With that Rayne went back into the house. She didn’t even notice that as the cloud drifted gently away, it turned and rolled it’s eyes towards the house, smiled slyly and said….”Oooorrrrr WILL I…????”
By: Kay Olds
One bright sunny morning, a beautiful baby was born. She had light blond hair, big blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and a smile to knock your socks off! She was the buzz around the hospital. Everyone asking, “Have you seen the beautiful baby girl born today?”
Doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors all stopped by to get a look at her. And she smiled at each and every one of them, making each person feel so very special.
Mayor Burns heard about this baby and just had to see for herself, so off she went to the hospital. The mayor was so touched by the baby’s beauty and smile, that she declared the day of this baby’s birth to be a town holiday. The townspeople were overjoyed. After all, how many places declared a holiday just because a beautiful baby is born?
Two days after she was born, the doctor said her parents could take her home. So the proud Dad went to drive the car around to the front entrance. The nurses helped the Mother to bathe and dress the baby, and they packed up all of the gifts people had brought to her. All the while the baby smiled. What a lovely family, thought Nurse Jane. Such a happy baby is truly a rare gift.
The sun was beaming proudly as the baby came out with her parents. Little birds flew by and had a peek at the baby. A squirrel was digging in the dirt nearby and he ran over to see what the fuss was all about. He felt such a warm feeling inside when he saw her smile. He ran off chattering and cats and dogs heard about the baby so they came by to see her. Little bees buzzed by. Butterflies fluttered by. It was a magical scene. And the baby smiled brighter, feeling the whole world loved her.
All of this commotion caught the eye of a tiny little rain cloud that was sitting off to the East, so it decided to drift over to see what was at the center of all this attention. The cloud was amazed to see this beautiful baby with such a lovely smile. The cloud beamed with happiness.
As the proud parents and the baby drove off, the little cloud decided to follow them home to protect the baby from the sun. It hung low in the sky until the baby was safe inside. The parents and the baby had a very good night’s sleep.
Days and weeks and months and years went by. The baby grew and learned to crawl, to walk, to talk and the townspeople loved her and she loved them. But a strange thing was happening. Every time the baby left the house, the little cloud followed. At first, it was okay; just a little shade from the sun. But as the baby grew so did the cloud! And it began to rain! Not everywhere. Oh No! It rained only over the little girl!!!
It seemed kind of funny at first, and the little girl kept smiling at the cloud. The Mom wasn’t too happy about it because she had to always have rain gear ready. No rain fell on her Mom. No rain fell on her Dad. No rain fell on her kitten or on her puppy. Not even on her friends. Only on her!
For five years it rained on her every time she went out the door. She became upset and afraid, along with her parents and most of the townspeople. All anyone could talk about was why it always rained on this one beautiful little girl with the dazzling smile. No one knew. And her smile began to fade. She became so weary of being rained on every day of her life!
She walked along some days longing for the sun to come out and chase the cloud away. As she got older, she yelled at the cloud to go away. She threw rocks at the cloud to make it stop. She chanted “Rain, rain, go away…” NOTHING!!! It just kept raining! And the girl finally stopped smiling! She stopped being happy.
Slowly, the animals and the townspeople lost interest in the girl. Fewer people came to the celebration in the park each year. The holiday was no longer fun for anyone.
Two days before her birthday, the little girl sat in her room reading her favorite book and listening to the new Cheetah Girls 2 CD. Her mother brought in her new party dress and shoes. Her favorite color, purple. But she showed no interest in them at all. Why should she? She would only be wet with rain the moment she stepped out the door. No, she was not looking forward to another wet party dress and ruined shoes!
Mother asked what was wrong. Why did she no longer smile? Wasn’t she looking forward to her sixth birthday party day after tomorrow? The girl didn’t answer. She stayed awake nearly the whole night thinking about that cloud!
Early the next morning she slipped out to see the cloud. Gently, the rain began to fall, a light mist in the early morning hours. The girl looked up at the cloud and sadly shook her head. The rain cloud shrugged and rained harder. And the girl became angry. The cloud rained harder. The girl became angrier and the cloud rained even harder. The girl began jumping up and down, stamping her feet and shaking her fists at the cloud. And it poured on the girl. With all her might, the girl screamed at the cloud, “Why? Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do you keep raining only on me?” A loud clap of thunder boomed in the sky and the cloud let out the most rain ever. The girl was a soggy drenched mess! She dropped to her knees and began to cry. The more she cried, the more it rained. She thought surely she would be washed away.
All of a sudden the thunder was so loud it hurt her ears and the lightening flashed so brightly that it hurt her eyes! She began screaming at the cloud, “Stop! Why don’t you just stop raining on me?” The rain stopped! The cloud looked down at the girl, puzzled by her reaction. “What’s wrong?” asked the cloud. “Why don’t you smile anymore?”
“I have been rained on by you every day since the day I left the hospital! Every time I go outside, I’m wet! No one else, just me. Now I want to know why!”
“Well, it’s simple,” said the cloud. “On the day you were leaving the hospital, I heard someone ask what they were going to name you, and your Dad said loudly, ‘Rain. It’s going to be rain!’ So I rained on you. I thought it’s what he wanted me to do!”
“You silly little cloud! My name is Rayne. R-A-Y-N-E, not R-A-I-N. Will you please stop now?”
“Certainly”, said the cloud sheepishly. “I made a big mistake and I hope you will forgive me.”
“Of course I forgive you!” said the girl. “After all, you have stayed beside me, well, above me, for almost 6 years! We are friends forever.”
And with that the beautiful smile came back to the girl’s face. This time it was even bigger and brighter than ever. It lit up the sky and a huge rainbow loomed over the town. The colors were so brilliant all the townspeople came out to see what was happening. Some of them ran off to each end of the rainbow, hoping to find a pot of gold! Everyone else gathered at the town square to sing Happy Birthday to Rayne. They showered her with gifts and laughed and sang and danced until the wee hours of the night. Rayne had the best party she ever had. Most definitely, the driest!!! And the cloud beamed up above her.
The next morning, Rayne jumped out of bed, eager to see if the cloud was still there. It was. Quite happy to see her cloud, she ran out and said, “Good morning, Cloud!” The cloud opened its eyes and smiled. “Good morning, friend.” And guess what! NO RAIN!! Rayne was thrilled. She twirled around laughing and looked up lovingly at her cloud. She asked, “Are you going to stop raining on me now?” The cloud smiled and said, “I will.” With that Rayne went back into the house. She didn’t even notice that as the cloud drifted gently away, it turned and rolled it’s eyes towards the house, smiled slyly and said….”Oooorrrrr WILL I…????”
Saturday, April 4, 2009
The Best Summer Yet (A story for Liam)
THE BEST SUMMER YET
BY: KAY OLDS
CHAPTER ONE
People say time flies when you’re having fun. I never really understood that until this summer. Looking back on it, I was torn between wishing it would never end and wanting it to rush by to find out what would happen next.
The last two weeks of school went by so quickly I barely realized that another school year would be ending for me and I would be a fifth grader. Would I miss school? Oh yeah! I love school. I would miss some of my school friends a lot because I would not see them at all during the summer. I felt like I wasn’t ready for it to be over. Boy! Was I ever wrong about that!
I was busy with studying for my final tests of my fourth grade year so I hardly went outdoors at all. Two things were taking place and I didn’t know about either of them. Since I didn’t know they were taking place and I didn’t know a thing about either one of them, I don’t know which one took place first. You may be tempted to ask me which one was the best and I would honestly have to say, one could not have been the same without the other.
While I was away at school, my Dad, my Poppa and my Paw Paw got together and built a fort for me in the back yard. It was the best fort any kid could ever have. I know what you’re thinking, but you are way wrong! It was not just a regular old fort. NO. They were thinking ahead. I have to thank my Paw Paw for that.
My Dad needed to borrow a tool from Paw Paw and he told him about the surprise fort they were going to build for me. He laughed and said, “Well, I hope you’re going to build it big enough for you and him!” It didn’t sink in at the time, but when Dad was on his way home he thought more and more about what he had said and it made sense. Usually a kid’s fort or tree house is kind of small and they outgrow it before they are teenagers. Paw Paw realized that I am already as big as most teenagers and he knew that I would not be able to fit in a regular old fort for very long.
What started out to be just a fort became an actual two story apartment of sorts. It was so cool!
To begin with, they were only going to dig holes for the posts and cement them in for strength.
They were going to build a platform on each end with a walkway between the two, and they figured on it taking up about 8 feet altogether, but when Dad told Poppa what Paw Paw had said, things changed.
Poppa had a friend who owed him a few favors so he called him and said he needed some dirt and some cement. It was delivered the next day.
A foundation was poured and they began building what turned out to be a 24 ft. by 30 ft. fort. Incredible! Instead of it being a fort to play in, it became a very nice apartment for me for when I was older.
They framed the windows so that I could lift them up for a breeze for keep them closed when it was too hot or too cold. The ceilings were 10 ft. high and they put in 2 ceiling fans. There was a bathroom with a shower stall. I didn’t know it at the time but the kitchen was all wired up to be a real kitchen later on.
There were 4 built-in bunk beds in one corner of the room in an L shape and my Mom and Grammy and MeMe made some cushions to go on the bottom ones so that we could also use them as sofas.
Paw Paw designed the stairs for me. They were built in 2 levels with a little deck in the center. He wanted me to have a flag pole so he and Poppa came up with the idea of having a fireman’s pole for us to slide down from the fort to the ground and on top of that pole, they erected a flag pole.
He also made a slide for us on one end of it. Jack used it to run up and down instead of using the stairs.
The entire slab underneath was very useful to all of us. A car or truck could be parked there. The riding lawn mower was parked under there and we stowed our bikes there. Later Dad closed that part in so we could have a shed to lock them up in.
We also had the barbecue pit and a place for cooking seafood there and they built 2 very nice picnic tables and benches for us. They installed 2 ceiling fans to help cool it, but the neatest thing of all was that they made some screens that could be rolled up or down by the touch of a button and it could become a screened in patio! There were lights out there but Mom and Dad hung some beautiful lanterns out there and it always looked so festive. It was all finished and ready for me two days before school ended but I didn’t even know it. Every day after school, my Mom took me somewhere so I wouldn’t know what was going on. I never suspected a thing!
On the day before school ended Mom told me that I could invite some kids over for a party at our house. I invited 8 boys. Two of them of course, were the twins, and Benny, from down the street.
The last day of school I said my goodbyes and my “see ya next year” to my buddies and I couldn’t wait to get home and have the party. It was set for 2:00 that afternoon.
Mom took me out to eat and then we had to go shopping! Shopping! On my first day of freedom! The woman! What was she thinking! Torture for me!
Around 1:30 I reminded her that we were supposed to be having a party at 2:00 and she looked at me like I had just landed here from another planet!
“Party? What party?!” she said, and claimed that she didn’t recall saying that I could have a party. She almost convinced me of that until we got home. She asked me to go let Jack out the back door and there was my whole class and most of their families and brothers and sisters, both sets of my grandparents, the Grahams from next door, the twins and their parents and Benny and his parents. Everyone yelled, “Surprise, Mac!”
Time seemed to freeze me to the spot! I was in shock seeing all of those people and it took a few minutes before I looked up and saw the fort!
Hanging from the edge of the roof was a big banner with the words “MAC’S FORT”. I was stunned! A sea of faces came at me and I could hear words being said but my brain turned it all to mush and I heard it like I was under water! I recognized no one and every one!
The crowd parted and there were Paw Paw, Poppa and my Dad, grinning from ear to ear! I looked at them and said, “What the….?”
Dad said, “It’s for you Mac. This is your fort!”
My life seemed to flash before me and I said. “My fort? This is my fort. “THIS IS MY FORT???” Then I started running to the stairs and yelling “COME ON!” Jack and I ran up first then all of the kids followed. There was my parrain waiting on me, and he started snapping pictures.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The bunk beds were awesome! There was a hammock on the opposite wall. A very nice table and 4 chairs in the kitchen area and there were shelves and drawers with games, cards, camping equipment, books and puzzles. I opened a door and there was a bathroom. I said “Excuse me please.” I shut the door and “christened” the bathroom. I flushed then washed my hands and I could hear a roar of laughter.
There was an air conditioner and a heater, a TV. and game systems, a stereo, and a vcr/dvd player. There was a small fridge with some cold drinks in it and a few snacks, and a pantry with some food and drinks.
I walked to the stairs, saw the pole and immediately slid down. All the kids followed me. We ran and played for hours.
My Dad and grandpas were grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. There was a huge cake decorated with a fort. Cute. Cup cakes, Chips and dips, cookies, ice cream, and all sorts of drinks were available for anyone who wanted it.
Some of the people brought gifts for the new fort. My Grammy brought materials for me to design my own flag to hang under the American flag that she and Paw Paw gave me. She also made a new pillow for Jack with his name on it.
My MeMe made matching afghans for Jack and me. Nanny Kristin gave me a beautiful photo album and some picture frames for the pictures taken on that day. My Aunt Jan and Uncle Chris gave me a new sleeping bag with my name on it and one made especially for Jack with his name on it, and two really cool lanterns.
Mrs. Graham made the twins and me laugh when she presented me with a cookie jar shaped like a bear and the bear was holding a pot of honey! Inside was filled with honey graham crackers. She got a huge hug for that. My Mom then explained to everyone why that was so funny. The twins and their Mom and Dad gave me a very nice ice chest with a chair on each side and we put that out on the porch.
My parrain and Electa gave me a really cool swing and they installed it on my porch. It swiveled, so I could face any direction.
I received quite a few other useful things. Benny gave me a sign to hang saying Fort Sweet Fort. I got a nice collection of flashlights and batteries and a canteen with a set of dishes and flatware, and some blankets and a nice quilt which we hung on the wall.
It was done in shades of reds, white and blues, and the design of it was log cabin, whatever that is. I loved it because it brightened up the room.
A neon sign saying “MAC and JACK” which hung on the wall in the kitchen area above the microwave, was given to me by my cousins, Christopher and Chase. I loved it.
My teacher gave me a stainless steel whistle on a sturdy chain. Some of my classmates had the same idea and gave me cases of microwave popcorn!!
The party lasted until about 9:30 that night. Everyone had so much fun no one really wanted to leave. It was truly a special day and I know I will never forget it.
Too excited to sleep, my Mom and Dad and I decided we would spend the night in the fort. We stayed up most of the night but when sleep came, they grabbed a bunk and I slept in my hammock while Jack snoozed on his new pillow. Life was good!
BY: KAY OLDS
CHAPTER ONE
People say time flies when you’re having fun. I never really understood that until this summer. Looking back on it, I was torn between wishing it would never end and wanting it to rush by to find out what would happen next.
The last two weeks of school went by so quickly I barely realized that another school year would be ending for me and I would be a fifth grader. Would I miss school? Oh yeah! I love school. I would miss some of my school friends a lot because I would not see them at all during the summer. I felt like I wasn’t ready for it to be over. Boy! Was I ever wrong about that!
I was busy with studying for my final tests of my fourth grade year so I hardly went outdoors at all. Two things were taking place and I didn’t know about either of them. Since I didn’t know they were taking place and I didn’t know a thing about either one of them, I don’t know which one took place first. You may be tempted to ask me which one was the best and I would honestly have to say, one could not have been the same without the other.
While I was away at school, my Dad, my Poppa and my Paw Paw got together and built a fort for me in the back yard. It was the best fort any kid could ever have. I know what you’re thinking, but you are way wrong! It was not just a regular old fort. NO. They were thinking ahead. I have to thank my Paw Paw for that.
My Dad needed to borrow a tool from Paw Paw and he told him about the surprise fort they were going to build for me. He laughed and said, “Well, I hope you’re going to build it big enough for you and him!” It didn’t sink in at the time, but when Dad was on his way home he thought more and more about what he had said and it made sense. Usually a kid’s fort or tree house is kind of small and they outgrow it before they are teenagers. Paw Paw realized that I am already as big as most teenagers and he knew that I would not be able to fit in a regular old fort for very long.
What started out to be just a fort became an actual two story apartment of sorts. It was so cool!
To begin with, they were only going to dig holes for the posts and cement them in for strength.
They were going to build a platform on each end with a walkway between the two, and they figured on it taking up about 8 feet altogether, but when Dad told Poppa what Paw Paw had said, things changed.
Poppa had a friend who owed him a few favors so he called him and said he needed some dirt and some cement. It was delivered the next day.
A foundation was poured and they began building what turned out to be a 24 ft. by 30 ft. fort. Incredible! Instead of it being a fort to play in, it became a very nice apartment for me for when I was older.
They framed the windows so that I could lift them up for a breeze for keep them closed when it was too hot or too cold. The ceilings were 10 ft. high and they put in 2 ceiling fans. There was a bathroom with a shower stall. I didn’t know it at the time but the kitchen was all wired up to be a real kitchen later on.
There were 4 built-in bunk beds in one corner of the room in an L shape and my Mom and Grammy and MeMe made some cushions to go on the bottom ones so that we could also use them as sofas.
Paw Paw designed the stairs for me. They were built in 2 levels with a little deck in the center. He wanted me to have a flag pole so he and Poppa came up with the idea of having a fireman’s pole for us to slide down from the fort to the ground and on top of that pole, they erected a flag pole.
He also made a slide for us on one end of it. Jack used it to run up and down instead of using the stairs.
The entire slab underneath was very useful to all of us. A car or truck could be parked there. The riding lawn mower was parked under there and we stowed our bikes there. Later Dad closed that part in so we could have a shed to lock them up in.
We also had the barbecue pit and a place for cooking seafood there and they built 2 very nice picnic tables and benches for us. They installed 2 ceiling fans to help cool it, but the neatest thing of all was that they made some screens that could be rolled up or down by the touch of a button and it could become a screened in patio! There were lights out there but Mom and Dad hung some beautiful lanterns out there and it always looked so festive. It was all finished and ready for me two days before school ended but I didn’t even know it. Every day after school, my Mom took me somewhere so I wouldn’t know what was going on. I never suspected a thing!
On the day before school ended Mom told me that I could invite some kids over for a party at our house. I invited 8 boys. Two of them of course, were the twins, and Benny, from down the street.
The last day of school I said my goodbyes and my “see ya next year” to my buddies and I couldn’t wait to get home and have the party. It was set for 2:00 that afternoon.
Mom took me out to eat and then we had to go shopping! Shopping! On my first day of freedom! The woman! What was she thinking! Torture for me!
Around 1:30 I reminded her that we were supposed to be having a party at 2:00 and she looked at me like I had just landed here from another planet!
“Party? What party?!” she said, and claimed that she didn’t recall saying that I could have a party. She almost convinced me of that until we got home. She asked me to go let Jack out the back door and there was my whole class and most of their families and brothers and sisters, both sets of my grandparents, the Grahams from next door, the twins and their parents and Benny and his parents. Everyone yelled, “Surprise, Mac!”
Time seemed to freeze me to the spot! I was in shock seeing all of those people and it took a few minutes before I looked up and saw the fort!
Hanging from the edge of the roof was a big banner with the words “MAC’S FORT”. I was stunned! A sea of faces came at me and I could hear words being said but my brain turned it all to mush and I heard it like I was under water! I recognized no one and every one!
The crowd parted and there were Paw Paw, Poppa and my Dad, grinning from ear to ear! I looked at them and said, “What the….?”
Dad said, “It’s for you Mac. This is your fort!”
My life seemed to flash before me and I said. “My fort? This is my fort. “THIS IS MY FORT???” Then I started running to the stairs and yelling “COME ON!” Jack and I ran up first then all of the kids followed. There was my parrain waiting on me, and he started snapping pictures.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The bunk beds were awesome! There was a hammock on the opposite wall. A very nice table and 4 chairs in the kitchen area and there were shelves and drawers with games, cards, camping equipment, books and puzzles. I opened a door and there was a bathroom. I said “Excuse me please.” I shut the door and “christened” the bathroom. I flushed then washed my hands and I could hear a roar of laughter.
There was an air conditioner and a heater, a TV. and game systems, a stereo, and a vcr/dvd player. There was a small fridge with some cold drinks in it and a few snacks, and a pantry with some food and drinks.
I walked to the stairs, saw the pole and immediately slid down. All the kids followed me. We ran and played for hours.
My Dad and grandpas were grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. There was a huge cake decorated with a fort. Cute. Cup cakes, Chips and dips, cookies, ice cream, and all sorts of drinks were available for anyone who wanted it.
Some of the people brought gifts for the new fort. My Grammy brought materials for me to design my own flag to hang under the American flag that she and Paw Paw gave me. She also made a new pillow for Jack with his name on it.
My MeMe made matching afghans for Jack and me. Nanny Kristin gave me a beautiful photo album and some picture frames for the pictures taken on that day. My Aunt Jan and Uncle Chris gave me a new sleeping bag with my name on it and one made especially for Jack with his name on it, and two really cool lanterns.
Mrs. Graham made the twins and me laugh when she presented me with a cookie jar shaped like a bear and the bear was holding a pot of honey! Inside was filled with honey graham crackers. She got a huge hug for that. My Mom then explained to everyone why that was so funny. The twins and their Mom and Dad gave me a very nice ice chest with a chair on each side and we put that out on the porch.
My parrain and Electa gave me a really cool swing and they installed it on my porch. It swiveled, so I could face any direction.
I received quite a few other useful things. Benny gave me a sign to hang saying Fort Sweet Fort. I got a nice collection of flashlights and batteries and a canteen with a set of dishes and flatware, and some blankets and a nice quilt which we hung on the wall.
It was done in shades of reds, white and blues, and the design of it was log cabin, whatever that is. I loved it because it brightened up the room.
A neon sign saying “MAC and JACK” which hung on the wall in the kitchen area above the microwave, was given to me by my cousins, Christopher and Chase. I loved it.
My teacher gave me a stainless steel whistle on a sturdy chain. Some of my classmates had the same idea and gave me cases of microwave popcorn!!
The party lasted until about 9:30 that night. Everyone had so much fun no one really wanted to leave. It was truly a special day and I know I will never forget it.
Too excited to sleep, my Mom and Dad and I decided we would spend the night in the fort. We stayed up most of the night but when sleep came, they grabbed a bunk and I slept in my hammock while Jack snoozed on his new pillow. Life was good!
The Best Summer Yet - Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Yeah, life was good, but that was before the new neighbor moved in on the street behind us!
The house behind ours was across the street facing our property. It was a very nice house with a well-manicured lawn. Mr. and Mrs. Gentry worked in their yard nearly every day. I doubt that one blade of grass ever dared to grow taller than another. I can’t ever recall seeing a weed growing in their beautiful flower beds.
At least twice a year Mr. Gentry washed the house down from one end to the other. Whenever they saw me out and about they always invited me over. Mrs. Gentry made the best lemon bars I have ever eaten and Jack and I were always invited in to share some of those or one of her other delicious treats.
The inside of the house was beautiful and as neat as and even cleaner than the outside.
I really liked them both so it was upsetting when they told us that they were moving away. Their son had been transferred to Texas so they decided to move too so they could be close to him and his family. We were really going to miss them.
Mrs. Gentry told us that an older gentleman was going to buy the house and she was certain we would get along just fine.
Sometimes during the last two weeks of school, Mr. C. M. Cummings moved into that beautiful home. No one seemed to remember him moving in. He just seemed to be there one day.
There was an old truck parked under the carport. It was from the 1950’s but I don’t know for sure what it was because he had different parts of several manufacturers thrown together to make one truck. The truck was so dirty and rusty we couldn’t even figure out what color it was. I don’t really know why he had it cause he never drove it, at least not that we ever saw.
The first weekend after school was out I asked Mom if the twins and Benny could come over and stay in the fort and of course she said yes. We had to have some rules, and one had to be to keep the noise down to a minimum after 9:00 p.m. so we obeyed the best we could.
Saturday morning I woke up to my alarm…. Jack!....licking my face. I got up and let him out and I went to the fridge for a glass of orange juice and I went out and sat in my swing and watched Jack smelling and checking out things all over the yard.
A delivery truck pulled up at the house across the street. He went to the door carrying a package and his clipboard and knocked at the door. The old man answered after the fourth knock and spat at the man’s feet and yelled “Whadayawant?!”
The delivery man smiled and said, “I have a package for a Mr. C. M. Cummings. I’ll just need a signature if that’s you.”
As Mr. Cummings snatched the clipboard out of his hands, the delivery man asked, “What does the C and M stand for?”
Letting out a scream that sounded like a cat caught in a trap, the old man screeched, “YA SEE ME COMING, YOU GO THE OTHER WAY, you lame brained idiot!” He pulled the package away from the delivery man and then threw his clipboard as far as he could towards the street. It landed with a thud, shattering the computerized glass screen.
Running as fast as he could to his truck, he stopped only long enough to pick up his clipboard. He took off down the street, headed to the police station.
I sat there for a few minutes taking it all in and when the old man slammed the door shut, I ran inside laughing so hard I woke up the other guys. After telling them what happened I ran to tell Mom and Dad and they came back with me to await the arrival of the police!
The boys told us that Mr. Cummings came out of the door again, got down on his hands and knees at the end of the carport and started rubbing the floor with a rag.
“Something must have spilled,” said Mom.
We watched as he did this all the way back to his door. Clad in the dirtiest undershirt and baggy Khaki pants I have ever seen, he looked completely insane. His eyes bulged out of his head like a squashed Chihuahua. His fat cheeks looked too big to belong to any part of his body and were so red you would think that someone painted them on. His nose was so thin it was hard to imagine that any air was getting through those nostrils. The end of his nose however was this huge misshapen bulbous thing that looked like a clown’s nose. Lips as thin as paper broke into a sneer, showed all of his dried up gums and one semi-rotten tooth in the bottom of his mouth.
Tufts of gray hair stuck out of his ears, matching what served as eyebrows over those washed out gray eyes of his. He had so few strands of hair scattered on his head, I don’t know why he didn’t just shave it off. He was so thin I doubt if he even weighed 90 lbs. I suppose poor nutrition made his bones weak because he was so bent and shriveled. His legs bowed out at the knee and his spine and shoulders were so bent he nearly looked down at his feet.
Just before the police and the delivery man arrived we saw him go out with a spray bottle and he went to the end of the carport and bent down and sprayed something all over the cement all the way back to his door.
By this time we were all out on the porch to see and to be able to hear what was going to take place.
Two police units drove up and the delivery man parked his van across the street and waited. The two officers went to the front door and rang the bell. No one answered. One stayed near the front door and the other started towards the carport door. BIG mistake!
As soon as he hit the spot where Mr. Cummings sprayed, he began to flail around like someone on ice skates for the first time in their life. Once he stepped on it he couldn’t stop slipping and sliding.
His partner heard his cries of surprise and thinking that he was in trouble, he made the mistake of running to his aid. He slid halfway to the back door before he could reach out to the wall to steady himself. His partner reached his hand out and the other man took it and off they went again in some strange looking dance. Somehow they managed to stay on their feet.
Reaching the back door at last, one officer banged on the door, calling out to Mr. Cummings.
He answered the door with a scowl on his sour face and said, “WHAT?”
The officer asked him his name and he snapped, “Who wants ta know?”
“My name is Officer Moore, Sir. I’m here to respond to a complaint by the delivery man, who claims that you threw his clipboard on the cement and broke it.”
“State your name, Sir,” said Officer Browning.
“STATE: LOUISIANA! NAME: NONE AH YUR BEESWAX! Now git offa my propity!” yelled Mr. Cummings.
That remark made us howl with laughter! Who talks to a police officer that way?!
“Sir, You need to tell us your name,” said Officer Moore.
“Uh, what did you say your name was young man?” asked Mr. C.
“Sir, my name is Officer Moore. Now you know my name, please tell me yours.”
“Well Officer Moore, if you don’t want your name to be LESS, you and your pal here better git offa my propity!”
Officer Browning tried a new approach.
“Are you Mr. C. M. Cummings, sir?” he asked.
“Could be,” said the old man haughtily.
“Does the C and the M stand for any particular names?”
“Could be,” he said.
“Would you please tell us what the C and the M stand for?” asked Officer Browning.
“Well it could stand for chocolate milk now couldn’t it sonny?” snapped the old man.
Not quite as patient as Officer Browning, his partner said he had heard enough. He radioed to the station that they were dealing with a very uncooperative person and to send the captain over to help them. He then motioned the delivery man over, warning him not to come all the way up the driveway.
Officer Moore asked the delivery man to repeat what had taken place, so he did. Mr. Cummings glared at him the whole time. When he finished his statement, the officer asked him to sign it and he did. He then handed a copy to Mr. Cummings and asked him to read it.
Without taking it, Mr. Cummings said no.
The captain and another deputy arrived and Officer Moore warned them about the slippery cement, so they stayed back.
“What seems to be the problem here sir?” the captain asked Mr. Cummings.
Mr. Cummings smiled sweetly , as sweetly as that old sourpuss could smile, and said, “Problem is, your officers won’t git offa my propity and I’ve told ‘em twice.”
The captain asked, “Sir, what does the C stand for?” No answer!
With one more try, the captain asked the old man to tell him his name.
“C. M. Cummings.”
Knowing what was coming but daring to ask anyway, the captain once again asked what the C and the M stood for.
He spat right on the captain’s shoes and said, “YA SEE ME COMIN’, YOU BETTER GO THE OTHER WAY!”
That did it. Officer Moore took a step towards the doormat and stood on it while handcuffing Mr. Cummings. He walked him carefully to the other side of the truck where there was nothing slippery on the cement floor. Officer Browning followed suit and they put him in the squad car and took him off to jail.
I am not allowed to repeat the stream of obscenities that came out of that old man’s mouth!
After everyone left, my Dad went over to see if he could figure out what he put on the carport floor.
He looked and sniffed and gently touched it and figured out that it must be some kind of wax or polish and a fine mist of oil.
When he came back and told us what he thought it was, we were crying we laughed so hard. I knew we were gonna have one fun summer.
The twins and Benny wanted to move into the fort and spend the whole summer just watching that old man. He spent 3 days in jail then came home.
Things were quiet and I must say, not much fun with Mr. C gone those 3 days. Chett and Brett had to go home on Sunday afternoon, so Benny and I just kind of hung out in the fort. Mom and Dad took us to see a movie that night, then out for pizza. I spent the night at his house that night and we told his family about Mr. Cummings. His mom cautioned us about the old man being unstable and unpredictable.
Yeah, life was good, but that was before the new neighbor moved in on the street behind us!
The house behind ours was across the street facing our property. It was a very nice house with a well-manicured lawn. Mr. and Mrs. Gentry worked in their yard nearly every day. I doubt that one blade of grass ever dared to grow taller than another. I can’t ever recall seeing a weed growing in their beautiful flower beds.
At least twice a year Mr. Gentry washed the house down from one end to the other. Whenever they saw me out and about they always invited me over. Mrs. Gentry made the best lemon bars I have ever eaten and Jack and I were always invited in to share some of those or one of her other delicious treats.
The inside of the house was beautiful and as neat as and even cleaner than the outside.
I really liked them both so it was upsetting when they told us that they were moving away. Their son had been transferred to Texas so they decided to move too so they could be close to him and his family. We were really going to miss them.
Mrs. Gentry told us that an older gentleman was going to buy the house and she was certain we would get along just fine.
Sometimes during the last two weeks of school, Mr. C. M. Cummings moved into that beautiful home. No one seemed to remember him moving in. He just seemed to be there one day.
There was an old truck parked under the carport. It was from the 1950’s but I don’t know for sure what it was because he had different parts of several manufacturers thrown together to make one truck. The truck was so dirty and rusty we couldn’t even figure out what color it was. I don’t really know why he had it cause he never drove it, at least not that we ever saw.
The first weekend after school was out I asked Mom if the twins and Benny could come over and stay in the fort and of course she said yes. We had to have some rules, and one had to be to keep the noise down to a minimum after 9:00 p.m. so we obeyed the best we could.
Saturday morning I woke up to my alarm…. Jack!....licking my face. I got up and let him out and I went to the fridge for a glass of orange juice and I went out and sat in my swing and watched Jack smelling and checking out things all over the yard.
A delivery truck pulled up at the house across the street. He went to the door carrying a package and his clipboard and knocked at the door. The old man answered after the fourth knock and spat at the man’s feet and yelled “Whadayawant?!”
The delivery man smiled and said, “I have a package for a Mr. C. M. Cummings. I’ll just need a signature if that’s you.”
As Mr. Cummings snatched the clipboard out of his hands, the delivery man asked, “What does the C and M stand for?”
Letting out a scream that sounded like a cat caught in a trap, the old man screeched, “YA SEE ME COMING, YOU GO THE OTHER WAY, you lame brained idiot!” He pulled the package away from the delivery man and then threw his clipboard as far as he could towards the street. It landed with a thud, shattering the computerized glass screen.
Running as fast as he could to his truck, he stopped only long enough to pick up his clipboard. He took off down the street, headed to the police station.
I sat there for a few minutes taking it all in and when the old man slammed the door shut, I ran inside laughing so hard I woke up the other guys. After telling them what happened I ran to tell Mom and Dad and they came back with me to await the arrival of the police!
The boys told us that Mr. Cummings came out of the door again, got down on his hands and knees at the end of the carport and started rubbing the floor with a rag.
“Something must have spilled,” said Mom.
We watched as he did this all the way back to his door. Clad in the dirtiest undershirt and baggy Khaki pants I have ever seen, he looked completely insane. His eyes bulged out of his head like a squashed Chihuahua. His fat cheeks looked too big to belong to any part of his body and were so red you would think that someone painted them on. His nose was so thin it was hard to imagine that any air was getting through those nostrils. The end of his nose however was this huge misshapen bulbous thing that looked like a clown’s nose. Lips as thin as paper broke into a sneer, showed all of his dried up gums and one semi-rotten tooth in the bottom of his mouth.
Tufts of gray hair stuck out of his ears, matching what served as eyebrows over those washed out gray eyes of his. He had so few strands of hair scattered on his head, I don’t know why he didn’t just shave it off. He was so thin I doubt if he even weighed 90 lbs. I suppose poor nutrition made his bones weak because he was so bent and shriveled. His legs bowed out at the knee and his spine and shoulders were so bent he nearly looked down at his feet.
Just before the police and the delivery man arrived we saw him go out with a spray bottle and he went to the end of the carport and bent down and sprayed something all over the cement all the way back to his door.
By this time we were all out on the porch to see and to be able to hear what was going to take place.
Two police units drove up and the delivery man parked his van across the street and waited. The two officers went to the front door and rang the bell. No one answered. One stayed near the front door and the other started towards the carport door. BIG mistake!
As soon as he hit the spot where Mr. Cummings sprayed, he began to flail around like someone on ice skates for the first time in their life. Once he stepped on it he couldn’t stop slipping and sliding.
His partner heard his cries of surprise and thinking that he was in trouble, he made the mistake of running to his aid. He slid halfway to the back door before he could reach out to the wall to steady himself. His partner reached his hand out and the other man took it and off they went again in some strange looking dance. Somehow they managed to stay on their feet.
Reaching the back door at last, one officer banged on the door, calling out to Mr. Cummings.
He answered the door with a scowl on his sour face and said, “WHAT?”
The officer asked him his name and he snapped, “Who wants ta know?”
“My name is Officer Moore, Sir. I’m here to respond to a complaint by the delivery man, who claims that you threw his clipboard on the cement and broke it.”
“State your name, Sir,” said Officer Browning.
“STATE: LOUISIANA! NAME: NONE AH YUR BEESWAX! Now git offa my propity!” yelled Mr. Cummings.
That remark made us howl with laughter! Who talks to a police officer that way?!
“Sir, You need to tell us your name,” said Officer Moore.
“Uh, what did you say your name was young man?” asked Mr. C.
“Sir, my name is Officer Moore. Now you know my name, please tell me yours.”
“Well Officer Moore, if you don’t want your name to be LESS, you and your pal here better git offa my propity!”
Officer Browning tried a new approach.
“Are you Mr. C. M. Cummings, sir?” he asked.
“Could be,” said the old man haughtily.
“Does the C and the M stand for any particular names?”
“Could be,” he said.
“Would you please tell us what the C and the M stand for?” asked Officer Browning.
“Well it could stand for chocolate milk now couldn’t it sonny?” snapped the old man.
Not quite as patient as Officer Browning, his partner said he had heard enough. He radioed to the station that they were dealing with a very uncooperative person and to send the captain over to help them. He then motioned the delivery man over, warning him not to come all the way up the driveway.
Officer Moore asked the delivery man to repeat what had taken place, so he did. Mr. Cummings glared at him the whole time. When he finished his statement, the officer asked him to sign it and he did. He then handed a copy to Mr. Cummings and asked him to read it.
Without taking it, Mr. Cummings said no.
The captain and another deputy arrived and Officer Moore warned them about the slippery cement, so they stayed back.
“What seems to be the problem here sir?” the captain asked Mr. Cummings.
Mr. Cummings smiled sweetly , as sweetly as that old sourpuss could smile, and said, “Problem is, your officers won’t git offa my propity and I’ve told ‘em twice.”
The captain asked, “Sir, what does the C stand for?” No answer!
With one more try, the captain asked the old man to tell him his name.
“C. M. Cummings.”
Knowing what was coming but daring to ask anyway, the captain once again asked what the C and the M stood for.
He spat right on the captain’s shoes and said, “YA SEE ME COMIN’, YOU BETTER GO THE OTHER WAY!”
That did it. Officer Moore took a step towards the doormat and stood on it while handcuffing Mr. Cummings. He walked him carefully to the other side of the truck where there was nothing slippery on the cement floor. Officer Browning followed suit and they put him in the squad car and took him off to jail.
I am not allowed to repeat the stream of obscenities that came out of that old man’s mouth!
After everyone left, my Dad went over to see if he could figure out what he put on the carport floor.
He looked and sniffed and gently touched it and figured out that it must be some kind of wax or polish and a fine mist of oil.
When he came back and told us what he thought it was, we were crying we laughed so hard. I knew we were gonna have one fun summer.
The twins and Benny wanted to move into the fort and spend the whole summer just watching that old man. He spent 3 days in jail then came home.
Things were quiet and I must say, not much fun with Mr. C gone those 3 days. Chett and Brett had to go home on Sunday afternoon, so Benny and I just kind of hung out in the fort. Mom and Dad took us to see a movie that night, then out for pizza. I spent the night at his house that night and we told his family about Mr. Cummings. His mom cautioned us about the old man being unstable and unpredictable.
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