MODERN FABLES, Helpful, Ch. 9, Bearly Back

                                     CHAPTER 9: BEARLY BACK

"Dad, can we take the Ford to Bear Mountain?" Rick asked.

"Who is 'we'?"

"Joan and I." Joan Black was Rick's current girlfriend.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Picnic. It's a beautiful day for a picnic."

Mr. Williams gave it a minute's thought. Did he want his old car and his son twenty miles away, alone with a seventeen-year-old girl? What could happen on a picnic? Mr. W. had been seventeen once himself...he had an idea or two about that.

"You can go if Tess goes with you."

"Tess?"

"Yes, Tess...your sister."

"I'll ask her."

Tess liked the idea if Eddie Gomez could go with them. Eddie liked the idea. Joan liked the idea. Tim, however, did not want to go. Fortunately, he was not essential.

The picnic got organized, and Rick, Joan, Tess, and Eddie drove off to Bear Mountain—beautiful, remote Bear Mountain State Park.

Having arrived, they unpacked the car and marched off on one of the trails. Someone forgot to close the rear passenger door fully. The interior lights stayed on, but no one noticed them in the bright afternoon sun.

The foursome picnicked pleasantly, returning as it was getting dark. Almost all the cars that had been parked near them had gone.

Rick and his friends put their things back in the car, and Rick tried to start it. "Click, click, click...." That sound meant the battery was nearly dead.

"Now what?" Tess asked. She knew something was wrong.

Rick felt his stomach drop. His dad had trusted him with the car. "We could call a garage and have them send someone out here, but that'll take forever and cost money. Mom and Dad won't be happy. Let's see if someone here can help."

A woman and her two young children were in a nearby car, just starting to leave.

"Excuse me, but would you help us start our car?" Rick asked her.

"What do you want me to do?"

"We'd like to use our jumper cables and connect to your battery to jump-start our car."

"Will that hurt my car?"

"No. You'll keep it running, so we don't run down your battery."

"Well, okay, if it doesn't take long."

Rick and Eddie got the jumper cables from the trunk, but Rick wasn't exactly sure how to make the connections. They discussed this quietly.

"Eddie, do you know how to do this? I'm not sure."

"Yes. Put the black connectors on the negative terminals of her battery and yours. Put the red connector on her positive terminal, then the other red one on your positive terminal. Then start your car."

Rick and Eddie made the connections, and Rick tried to start the car. "Click, click, click" became "urrr, urr, urr," but the car still wouldn't start.

"Give it more gas!" Eddie told the woman, and her car's engine roared... and Rick's car started.

"Enough!" Eddie told the lady. "Keep it running, Rick."

The four of them thanked the woman profusely, and she drove off with a smile.

When the foursome got home, Mr. and Mrs. Williams asked if they'd had a good time and whether they'd had any trouble.

"Everything went just fine," Rick responded.

It's said that "bad times make good stories." The Bear Mountain picnic wasn't exactly a bad time, but Tess's diary turned it into a highly dramatic story. Eddie starred as the hero, and surely he deserved some credit. He would have liked to read it, but it was a secret diary. Tess ended her write-up with, "We barely made it back from Bear Mountain."

They weren't really in danger, but diaries aren't always accurate, especially when describing special friends.

 Moral: "Many hands make light work." Lend a hand, be helpful! 

MODERN FABLES, Loyal, Ch. 8, Becky and Tess

 CHAPTER 8: BECKY AND TESS

 

“How did the cheerleading try-outs go, Tess?” her mother asked.

 

“I think I did well…and I made a new friend.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“You know I have been trying to do a jump-split. I saw a girl doing it perfectly and asked her for help. She found the mistake I was making, and after that, they were easy.”

 

“That was especially generous since the two of you were both competing for places on the cheerleading team. Who is she?”

 

“Becky Cannon. She’s new in the school, very nice, tall, athletic, pretty, and Black.”

 

Both girls made the cheerleading team, although Becky’s parents later had her quit to spend more time on her studies. They emphasized education for all three of the Cannon children. They had even held Becky back a year before starting school, too, so she was older than average when she graduated, near the top of her class, as did Tess.

 

Becky’s parents stressed the importance of career planning. “Keep your eye on the ball,” her dad said, and he did not mean the basketball, football, or baseball used by the school teams the girls would be cheering for, but rather on the goals of education and the career opportunities a good education would open.

 

Becky’s talents and Tess’s were somewhat different, as were their interests, but they were to remain best friends throughout middle school and high school. They were different yet similar, and they went together so well. “Variety is the spice of life,” and the two spiced each other’s lives.

 

Each was happy for the other's successes without jealousy. They did not expect, nor did they require, each other to be the same.  “Play the cards you are dealt,” Mr. Williams urged, “go with your strengths, strengthen your weaknesses.” Becky’s parents welcomed Tess and Tess’s parents welcomed Becky, valuing their friendship.

 

If the girls had been able to see into the future, they would have found that they were still friends fifty years after graduation. Becky attended a religious college in Georgia and later earned her Master’s Degree in Education from a college in Michigan. In contrast, Tess attended a local community college and later became a nurse, a profession she maintained until retirement. One became a mother; the other did not. Both women cared for their elderly mothers at home. They never lost touch with each other.

 

Becky’s generous help at the cheerleader try-outs that first day sparked a lifelong warm relationship.

“You get only one chance to make a good first impression,” her mother would say. This held true. For Becky and Tess, it was nearly love at first sight and stayed that way despite the ups and downs of their marriages and careers.

Moral: A friend is precious. Be one. 

MODERN FABLES, Loyal, Ch. 7, A Friend in Need

  

“Denise! You did what?” Tess couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

 

“Tore my ACL hopping off a pogo stick.”

 

“Your ACL?”

 

“A ligament in my knee. I’m in a cast for at least a month.”

 

“Will you be back in school?”

 

“No. We hope to have a tutor.”

 

“Oh, no! That sounds awful! What can I do to help?”

 

“That would be great. Could you pick up my assignments and bring them to school with you?”

 

“Sure. Your house is not that far out of my way. I’ll be happy to do that.  Can I do more?”

 

“Not that I can think of. Thank you so much, Tess.”

 

“Denise, I know you’d do the same for me. I’ve got to run. Call you later.”

 

Thus began a month in which Tess picked up Denise’s assignments at school and returned the finished work. She also called Denise daily and visited her at least once a week. The ACL took months to heal, and Denise endured painful physical therapy, but she made it through and returned to school.

 

When Denise got back, she and Tess talked some more about what Denise had gone through, which had been rough. Something other than the knee had been painful, though.

 

“Tess, you were the only friend who really helped out. Others offered to do things but failed to follow through. Some seemed to be avoiding calling me. It was disappointing.”

 

This failure surprised Tess, and she discussed it with her parents. Her dad said there is an expression that covers it, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

 

“What does it mean?” she asked.

 

“You can tell who your true friends are when you find yourself in need, in a situation in which you need help. In the Fire Department, we can rely on each other, partly out of obligation, partly out of friendship. In school, there is less of a sense of duty, but real friends help friends.”

 

Tess’s mom added, “When you need help, some people suddenly get too busy, pretend they don’t know about your problem. True friends show up and ask what you need. That’s how you can tell friends from mere acquaintances.”

 

Tess wondered, which of my “friends” would actually help me if I needed something? I think Denise would and May Lee would, but I am not so sure about some of the others.

 

Tess said, “I hope I am the kind of friend who can be relied on.”

 

Her mother responded, “You’ve already proven that, with Denise.” 

 

 Moral: "A friend in need is a friend indeed." When you need help, it is good to have a friend you can rely on, whose deeds will help indeed. 

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MODERN FABLES, Loyal, Ch. 6, Duke and Duchess

LOYAL

 

Loyal: "unswerving in allegiance."

Your family and friends, your community, and your country can all rely on your faithful support.

 

CHAPTER 6: DUKE AND DUCHESS

 

“Tess, isn’t that Eddie coming up the street?”

 

“Where?” Tess looked up from her notebook, where she had been doodling “Eduardo Gomez.”

 

“He’s walking that big German Shepherd by our house. Again. Tess, is this notebook yours or Eddie’s?”

 

“Mine, Mom.”

 

“But Eddie’s name is written across the front. Unless you’ve changed yours to Eduardo.”

 

“Oh, Mom. I just like the way his name looks.”

 

“And you like the way he looks, too.”

 

“Well...yes.”

 

“I’ve often seen him walking his German Shepherd past our house lately. I don’t remember his doing that a lot before.”

 

“He likes to take her to the park. In fact, I see him coming up the hill with Duchess right now.”

 

“’Duchess’?”

 

“That’s his dog’s name. It’s funny. Our German Shepherd was named ‘Duke.’ If he were still alive, they would be Duke and Duchess.”

 

“I miss Duke, dear.”

 

“So do I, Mom. Will we get another soon?”

 

“I’m not quite ready, but I do want another dog, either a German Shepherd or a Golden Retriever.”

 

Mrs. Williams went back to doing some dusting, thinking about her little girl, who was not so little anymore, and who clearly had a crush on Eddie Gomez, who seemed like a good kid.

 

Outside, Tess yelled, “Hi, Eddie. What’s up?”

 

“Walking Duchess to the park. Want to come?”

 

“Yes, I do. I wish our Duke hadn’t died last year. Maybe the two dogs would have been friends.”

 

“Duke and Duchess.”

 

“Right.”

 

“I felt very safe with Duke around,” said Tess, “and so did the rest of the family. He never bit anybody, but he looked like he might if they gave us trouble.”

 

“Duchess hasn’t bitten any people, either, but she has beaten up a few other dogs. She wants to be the boss dog. Some guy let his Pit Bull Terrier loose, and it came after Duchess. They went for each other’s necks, and then Duchess had a better idea: she reached down and grabbed the other dog’s front leg in her mouth, picked it up, and she wouldn’t let go. The Pit Bull was stuck and couldn’t do anything to her.”

 

“What happened then?”

 

“The other owner came and very carefully got his dog back on the leash. I haven‘t seen them since.”

 

“Served them right,” Tess said.

 

As they walked, Eddie continued to praise his dog. “She’s smart, too. She sleeps in my room most nights, and last week I was just getting to sleep when she banged her water dish with her paw to tell me she wanted more water. I didn’t want to get up, so I just lay there. She  used her mouth to pick up her dish, and she placed it on my pillow, then licked it to show me it was empty.”

 

“Wow! That was smart. What did you do?”

 

“I got up and filled her dish with water. She had earned it.”

 

Not to be too outdone, Tess said, “Our Duke was smart, too. He would stand close to the front door and bark if he wanted to go on the porch. He would stand about a yard back from the front door and bark if he wanted to go for a walk. If you tried to put him on the porch when he wanted a walk, he wouldn’t go, knowing that once he was on the porch, we hardly heard him, so he couldn’t easily tell us he wanted a walk.”

 

“Smart dogs!” Eddie agreed. “Good protection, too. Nobody who comes to the door will get past Duchess if she doesn’t know them. Even though my dad’s a cop, my mother doesn’t want guns in the house when he’s not home, so a tough dog, a tough-looking dog anyway, is really good.”

 

“We feel safer with a dog, too, so we will get another. Duke was a sweetheart, and we miss him. We are almost ready to get a puppy.”

 

Three months later, the Williams family bought another German Shepherd, a puppy. They named him “King,” outranking a Duke or a Duchess. Eddie laughed when he heard the name applied to that small ball of fur, but he was careful not to laugh about it in front of Tess.

  

Moral: Life is a team sport. Where you can, support your team.

MODERN FABLES, CH. 5, Trustworthy, SOMETHING FISHY

  

“What are the fish doing down here?” I asked my nine-year-old brother, Tim. His fishbowl with two swimming goldfish sat nearby on the living room table.

 

“They’re watching television with me.”

 

Our dog, Duke, had died only a week before, and the fish were the only pets we had left. We were all a little lonely without Duke. Smart dog. Good dog. His death left a hole in our home.

 

“What are you watching, Tim?”

 

“Sponge Bob.”

 

“That’s about sea creatures. Do you think the fish like the program?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Be careful bringing them back upstairs to your room.”

 

“Yup.”

 

The next morning was a Saturday. I got up late. When Tim came to the breakfast table, he looked sad, almost crying.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

“One of my fish died.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Did you do anything different?”

 

“No.”

 

“Where is it now?”

 

“In a baggie.”

 

“Zipped closed, I hope.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Are you going to throw it away?”

 

“No. Bury it.”

 

“I’ll help you in a minute.”

 

I finished my coffee, grabbed a shovel from the shed, and went with Tim to a far corner of our back yard.

 

“Here, OK?”

 

“Yup.”

 

I dug down about a foot. Tim laid the bagged goldfish at the bottom of the pit, and we put the dirt back on top. Tim had a flat stone with the letter “F” written on it, and he placed it on top of the grave.

 

“Tim, what’s the ‘F’ for? Fish?”

 

“Fred.”

 

When Tess asked me what our little brother had been doing, I told her. She started to laugh at the burial and the stone. I warned her not to let Tim know she was not taking his loss seriously. To Tim, Fred had been very important.

Moral: Being trustworthy isn't just about telling the truth. Sometimes it means protecting someone's feelings when they've trusted you with them.

MODERN FABLES, Ch. 4, TO SNITCH OR NOT?

  

“Dad, can we talk?”

 

“Sure, Rick. What’s up?”

 

“Something happened after football practice today. I don’t know how to handle it.”

 

“Tell me about it.”

 

“A bunch of us stopped at the convenience store by the school and bought some snacks. A couple of the guys hid part of what they took and didn’t pay for it.”

 

“Shoplifting.”

 

“Right. The guys didn’t take much, but they did steal. Do I need to report them to somebody?’

 

“What do you think?”

 

Rick hesitated. He’d been wrestling with that question all afternoon. “Well…what they did was wrong, but if I report them to the school or the coach or the store-owner, there is going to be a big deal over something that seems small.”

 

“The store-owner won’t think it is small, especially if it happens over and over again. The owner puts in a lot of work. He deserves to get paid for that.”

 

“But if I tell on them, they may get into big trouble. We are teammates, and they may never trust me. If I don’t tell, I am almost as bad as they are, going along with it.”

 

“What if you didn’t name the players, but gave the store-owner some money to cover what was taken?”

 

“I don’t think I should have to pay for what they did.”

 

“How about calling him anonymously?”

 

“He probably has caller ID. It seems a bit cowardly, too.”

 

“You’d like a way to help him prevent theft, without getting your friends in trouble, right?”

 

“Yes. I could talk to the owner and tell him what is happening, but refuse to name the thieves.”

 

“That would help. What do you think of the kids who do this?”

 

“I will trust them less in the future, myself.”

 

A few days later, I stopped by the store and spoke with the owner, apologizing for what had been done and alerting him to the problem. I said I did not want to identify the thieves, and he said he understood.

 

If their crime had been more serious, I think I would have named names. 

 

Though they remained my teammates, I felt a little less friendly toward them. I certainly would not want to leave my wallet where they could get at it unobserved.

 

 Moral: Honesty is the best policy.

MODERN FABLES, Ch. 3, "Loose Lips Sink Ships"

 "Rick, who are you taking to the Junior Prom?" Tess asked her older brother.

"Fran Donatelli. You've met her. We've gone to the movies a few times, and I like her a lot."

"Are you two serious about each other?"

"Not very…yet…but who knows what will happen in the future?"

Fran was Rick's classmate—smart, rather pretty, new to town, and still making friends. Her family had moved in earlier that year, and Rick liked her. She was good to talk with and appreciated his sense of humor. She seemed pleased to have been invited to the Prom by him. It didn't seem likely that someone else would be asking her.

Rick bought the prom tickets early, spending much of the money he'd earned from his part-time job. The tickets weren't cheap, and he'd be renting a tuxedo and buying Fran a corsage. He knew Fran would likely spend a lot on a fancy dress for the dance, although, being a doctor's daughter, it would probably be easier for her to come up with the money than for him.

A couple of weeks before the Prom, Rick learned that Fran had told a friend she would have preferred to go with another classmate—Brian Mullins, a particularly good-looking guy, a popular athlete, and a friend of Rick's. When Rick heard this, it hurt.

A day or two later, Rick called Fran and asked if she'd said what he'd heard, that she'd prefer to go to the Prom with Brian. She was honest and admitted she had said it.

Rick took a breath. "Well, I'm not taking you, so you're free to go with Brian, if he asks you."

It wasn't an easy decision. Rick didn't like letting anyone down, and he'd already spent money he'd worked hard to earn. But he didn't want to spend the evening with someone who'd rather be there with someone else. He still had those tickets, though.

He discussed it with Jeanne, the girlfriend of one of his buddies, Billy, a guy who was away in the Navy. Rick and Jeanne had always been good friends, but just friends. She wouldn't be going to the Prom because Billy was now overseas. They agreed to go together, which was fine with Billy. They had a great time.

Brian never did ask Fran to the Prom, preferring to go with another girl, so Fran stayed home that night.

Rick's parents were glad he hadn't let Fran treat him with open disrespect. She should not have accepted the date, or she should have kept quiet about wanting to go with another guy.

"Sometimes, 'silence is golden,'" Rick's mother commented.

Mr. Williams added, "You know, Rick, during World War II, there was an expression that was widely used: 'Loose lips sink ships.' It meant that information like the sailing dates and routes of troop ships and supply ships shouldn't be talked about, for fear that enemy agents would use the information to aid the Germans or the Japanese we were fighting against."

"Well, Dad," Rick said, "her loose lips sank Fran's Prom."

 Moral: Be careful what you say. Preserve privacy.