Donny and Andy had a GREAT day planned! It was the first day of summer break! They were both up at dawn, met in their tree house, and each brought food for the day. No way were they going home ... there were adventures to be had this summer!
Bologna and crackers washed down with several swigs from a common Kool-Aid container was the best breakfast ever!
Two explosive "BURPS" sounded through the air!
Laughing loudly and rolling around play-fighting, Donny almost rolled out of the tree-house. Luckily they stopped just in time.
"Come on! Let's go down to the creek!"
"Race ya!"
"You're too slow! You run like a turtle!"
"Yeah....and you run like a girl!"
The two boys chased after each other, first one taking the lead, then the other.
Skidding around a curve in the path they almost ran over Old Man Tompkins, who was out taking a morning run.
"You two better be more careful! You almost ran me over!" he shouted at them.
"Sorry!" "Sorry!" the two called as they raced away.
"Little rowdies!" he growled. Grinning he added, "But, it is the first day of summer break. Bet those boys have all kinds of plans."
If he only knew...
The two boys waded in the creek, climbed at least a dozen trees, ate apples out of the Anderson's orchard (they didn't get caught), joined in a game of baseball with some other kids, Miss Baker fed them jelly sandwiches and more Kool-Aid for their lunch, went fishing, swung like Tarzan on some low hanging tree limbs, tagged up with Jimmy for a while and went bike riding (borrowing bikes from Jimmy's little brother and sister), and had one of the BEST first days of summer break in their lives!
"Donny! Look! It's getting real dark! I think we should head home."
"Nah! We got at least ten more minutes before it gets real dark. Besides, it's the first day of summer vacation."
"Yeah, and it'll be my last if my dad gets the switch after me. I'm heading for home."
"Oh, jeez, Andy, You're such a spoil sport!" Donny griped as he picked himself up off the ground and brushed the leaves and grass and some of the dirt off his clothes. "Okay. Let's go home," he whined, giving a big smile so Andy would know he wasn't really upset.
*****************Meanwhile, back at the Parker/Turner family residences*****************
"Jane, have they found Donny yet?" Aunt Sarah asked.
"No. Neither of those two boys have been seen in more than two hours. It's getting dark and they're supposed to be home. They're in sooooo much trouble."
"Where was the last place you know they were?"
"Miss Baker fed them some lunch. Then they took Kathy and Eddie's bikes, without permission I might add, and no one has seen them since they brought the bikes back. That's almost three hours ago."
"Jane, Caroline, we've come to help look for the boys. Do you have any idea where they are?"
"None," Jane said. Looking at her sister's face, Jane suddenly sat down, covered her face and began to sob. "I'm so scared. We've been looking for almost two hours and can't find either of them."
"They're ok. They're ok. You have to believe that. Maybe they're inside somewhere watching cartoons."
"No. They know they're not supposed to go in anyone's house if the parents aren't home."
Frank and Walter pulled up in front of the house, jumped out of the car, and ran up the porch steps.
"Jane," Frank said, simply holding his wife close, "I'm sure the boys are okay. They're both bright, smart young lads and they ... they... they might even be asleep somewhere after playing all day in the sun."
Walter had his arm around Caroline, who had her face buried in his shirt, sobbing.
Neighbors, aunts and uncles from two counties over, friends, and strangers had all joined in the hunt for the two boys. But now it was dark. The stars were shining brilliantly in the night sky. And the boys had not been found.
Frank and Walter took their wives into the house and poured them two strong cups of tea saying, "Drink this." The neighbors and relatives congregated on the front porch, talking in hushed, worried tones.
The sudden quietness from the front porch alerted Frank and Walter that something was happening. Striding toward the front door, Frank stopped in his tracks as his son opened the front door and called out, "Hi, Mom! I'm home. What's the big occasion? Why is everyone here?"
First, Relief. Second, Anger. Anger won.
Towering over his son, Frank had never looked so big in Donny's eyes. Leaning over, Frank grabbed the front of his son's shirt, lifted him off the floor, and straight-armed him up to the ceiling.
What happened next is debatable, but Donny swears to this day that his father "stuck" him to the ceiling and then proceeded to point his finger in his face and tell him in no uncertain terms that, "You had better NEVER pull such a dumb, foolish,thick-headed trick again. Going off all day and not checking back in, worrying your mother to tears, scaring the police, the neighbors, and just look, all your aunts and uncles are here to help us look for you because we were all worried to death about you and you....you....you are off playing some silly game or doing something asinine instead of taking care of your self and knowing that your mother and I would be worried sick about you and not know what might have happened to you."
and on and on and on
Donny did not come down from that ceiling until, finally, his father burst into tears, wrapped him in his arms and hugged him so hard he could barely breathe.
Every brother, sister, neighbor, cousin, friend, aunt, uncle and policeman that were there swear to this day that this is exactly what happened.
They wouldn't all be lying would they?
And Donny never pulled a silly trick like that again. Or, at least if he did, he got home before dark.
P.S. Donny swears he was stuck to the ceiling for at least an hour. His brother swears it was only 20 minutes. I don't know who's telling the truth.
copyright Gail Truax 2016
