Wellness...short
stories of yesterday
1. The criminals...
The early morning frost was still on the ground when we decided to retreat to our hidden fort. Our outpost was strategically located in the center of an orange grove. In hindsight and knowing what I now know about orchards, the owner had to know about it, and in fact, work around the three foot deep, six foot wide hole in the ground. If the cardboard roof didn't give it away, the fact that two unthinking, and totally irresponsible ten year old kids had carved their initials into his prize tree with their pocket knife should have! The stage being set, it's what happened next that made this day extra special. There we were, hidden from view and peering out the lifted cardboard roof, when all of a sudden screeching tires, gunshots, and wailing sirens broke the serenity of our orange scented domain! We scrambled to our feet as we watched a 1952, two tone, green Chevy sedan slide around the corner! Our mouths hung open as the tee shirt clad driver controlled the speeding demon with one hand and threw a package out the passenger window with the other! Sirens and more screeching tires as the shiny black and white police car gave chase! We couldn't believe our eyes! Being criminal too, the both of us crouched down, deep into our hole as that rocket Chevy and the wailing police car screamed down the street and vanished from sight! After catching our breath, Mike and I ran over to the waiting package, and being extra careful not to be seen, we found it hidden between a cinder block wall and some bushes. To us, it looked like a bag with a dead cat in it. We took turns kicking it to make sure the cat was dead before we hauled the rare find back to our fort. We must have sat in that hole for twenty minutes daring each other to untie the cotton strings and open the bag, until I finally gave in. After pulling at the canvas mouth of the bag and peering inside, we both stopped breathing! Inside that bag was bunches of money! More money than in the movies! Wonderful bundles of green paper and Disney Land was in that bag. That bag was full of 'big hunks' and 'pink coconut balls' and a new house for our mothers! We spent another hour carefully taking the money out of the bag and counting it the best we could. There was nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety seven dollars and forty seven cents in that bag! Remember, gas was fifteen to seventeen cents a gallon! We had visions of burying it in the hole and coming back for it when we could spend it. Lucky we didn't, they paved over the orange grove and our fort that summer. Instead, and feeling proud, we both walked the bag over to the other corner of the grove, where firemen were washing one of the trucks. We were beaming as we approached the men. When the firemen turned and saw us walking towards them, they ran over to us and circled us as they called out "what's wrong boys?" and "is anybody hurt?" and "are you all right?" and the last one was a killer..."hey, aren't you two suppose to be in school?". Man...we felt like running. Ditching was a bad deal back then...some said 'Prison time'. Half crying, Mike started babbling, so I took the lead and told them what had happened. Hey, what were they going to do? We could outrun every one of them! Nobody could catch us in those groves! Anyway, after they heard the story, they started laughing until I held up the bag. It had big lettering on two sides that read "Bank of America". Then they really shut up when they opened it! It was like they turned to salt! Not one said a word as they walked us over to the side of the fire truck. They made us put our hands on the side of the fender and keep them there as one of them ran into the fire house and called the cops! We were big time criminals! We were just a little bit taller than the tire! Anyway, the police finally came and took us to the station. We told our stories and they finally let us go. We took our time going home, because if we told our mother what had happened, we would have to admit we ditched! So we made a pact...not to say a word or one of us would have to hunt the other one down, and 'get im!'
About three weeks went by, when they called an 'assembly' at the school. Assemblies were great because they got you out of class! Everyone loved them. There we were, all a million of us, in the auditorium, when I would have sworn I heard my name called. I shut up just long enough to see some police on stage and they had Mike!!!! I was thinking about running, but as I turned and looked to the end of my row, the vice principle was standing there, motioning with his finger for me to come! "Mr. Carmody, come with me!" he said as he reached out to take my hand. In thinking back, I suppose I could have broken his grip and ran to Mexico, but I'm glad I didn't. I followed as we walked to the steps on the side of the stage. I looked out over the crowd and all the kids were just shaking their heads back and forth. Mike and I were doomed! They found out we were 'ditchers!' Sheepishly I followed the V.P. up those stairs to the gallows and towards the waiting policemen. I thought I saw 'the cuffs'. They positioned Mike and I between two ten foot tall police men with guns! I remember looking up just in time to see the 'big one' looking in my direction! Just then, the guy in the silver suit stepped up to the microphone and with a great smile said he was from the Bank of America, and as he looked our way said, "I'm here to present these two outstanding individuals, each, a check for twenty five dollars for being honest and returning the money from the bank robbery!" The whole auditorium broke out in a frenzy! Whistling, clapping, and cheering for Mike and I!!!!! The police men bent down and shook our hands!!!!! The bank president did too! As Mike and I stared at the pieces of paper, (having never seen a 'check'), the bank president came over, and to the delight of all present said "let me cash them for you" and he took the pieces of paper and handed each one of us twenty five dollars cash! We were rich! To make a long story short, school let out after the assembly, we went to the store and bought armloads of stuff! Everyone in the store congratulated us and smiled as us as we left the store with pockets full of money, Big Hunks, and big, green, Bubble Ups! Mike and I parted as 'heros' that day.
By the time I arrived home, mom had dinner started. I walked into the kitchen, just beaming! She turned from the stove and with a look I had never seen before said "where did you get all that candy?" She ran over and took it out of my hands and set it all on the table. Then again (as she held both my arms "you heard me, where did you get that candy?" Before answering I reached into my pocket and pulled out the wad of money. She saw the money and almost cried. "Oh my god, where did you get this!" Her grip was starting to hurt a little as I tried to explain. I couldn't tell her we ditched! So I worked around that part and started with 'Mike and I found this money and returned it, and they gave both of us twenty five dollars reward'. I could tell by the way she looked at me she was so disappointed in her son. She didn't believe it for a second, and thought I had stole it. She was almost in tears as she said, " go to your room and wait for your father to come home!" I could hear her crying as I sat on my bed down the hall from the kitchen. I was so confused and saddened for making her cry. Even then I remember she didn't have much to smile about.
My brother and sister finally came home, and I could hear my mother talking loud to them. Then it was silence. Finally Dad came home and again I could hear her talking, almost hysterically. My heart was racing, as a few moments later, my Dad came down the hall and into my room. He sat on the bed next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. I couldn't look at him. Then he said, "do you want to tell me what happened?" "Your mother is very disappointed in you and she is hurt. We thought we raised you better than this". "We thought we had taught you not to lie or steal". Then he was silent. Between the tears I told him the man had given us the money. He listened, and without saying a word, he left the room. I remember watching him leave...and how sad he looked. Like many families, we were not doing so well, and he took all the work he could get. He looked so tired as he left the room. I remember how quite the house was. I could hear whispering, but nothing normal. We always laughed, but not that night.
After what seemed like eternity, my Dad came down the hall and said, "come on out here, you've got to eat something". I sheepishly followed him down the dark hall and into the kitchen where my brother and sisters were sitting at the table and eating dinner. They didn't look at me. Mom wasn't there, and after leading me into the room my Dad went into the living room. Mom wasn't in there either. As I ate, I could hear her crying in the bedroom. Just then, I heard my Dad call out "hey, Jeannette, come out here for a minute...I can't believe my eyes.....come on out here honey...hurry!" My Mom slowly came out of the bedroom, wiping her eyes " what is it Jack?" Dad smiled as he stood and handed her 'the paper'. "Look Jeannette, we have a hero in the family". There, in the middle of the front page was a tiny article about two local boys who each received twenty five dollar rewards for returning bank robber money to Bank of America! They had our names at the bottom of the article! By now, my brother was patting me on the back, and my two sisters ran around the table and each hugged and kissed their brother over and over again. Dad looked across the room and was beaming as he said "jeeze kid, we have a celebrity in our family now!" He almost cried as he followed Mom into the bedroom. We could hear the two of them talking as we ate. Mom was saying "I feel so ashamed I didn't believe him, what am I going to do, he's my son?" Then my Dad mumbled something and there was silence. I left the table and went down the hall to their bedroom door. It was half ajar when I knocked. "Yes" my father said as I entered the room. The two of them were sitting on the bed, next to each other. Dad had his arm around Mom's shoulders as I walked up and said "don't cry Mom, I still love you!" And with that, all hell broke loose. She grabbed me and squeezed me while babbling like Moms do. That was one of my best days!
To add
icing on the cake, not one person mentioned 'ditching'! All the best,
RJ
to be continued..RJ