Freedom Because of Memorial Day

Trixie breathed a deep sigh as she watched the mailman fill her mailbox. As she heard him drive away, she looked down at her sleeping daughter and assured herself that Nellie Bean was fast asleep.

“At least if I have a letter from Danny, she won’t be awake to see me cry over his words.”

She went outside and down the short driveway to the mailbox.  When she opened the lid of the mailbox, she saw several envelopes.  She hoped at least one of them was from Daniel, but any of them might also be from her brother Brian or from her cousin Hallie.  

As she shuffled through the mail, she saw an envelope with her husband’s distinctive handwriting.  She puckered her face in curiosity because she saw many small doodles of stick figures decorating the envelope as if it were an interesting piece of stationary.  

Trixie opened the letter and saw that there were not many redaction cutouts in today’s letter; however, the stationary, like the envelope, was decorated with doodles of stick figures.  The letter was a simple missive.  It told her of his love for both his wife and child.  He thanked her for the most recent pictures, expressing regret that he was unable to see so many of the important milestones that had changed so much of Danielle’s life since he last saw her as a small baby, and he teased her for recently coming up with the nickname of Nellie Bean.  He asked after all the family, but especially Uncle Bill and Jedidiah Maypenny, with a special request that she look in on both men often.  Finally, he made mention of the many memories they had made as teenagers when solving the riddles of the mysteries that she seemed to attract so effortlessly.  However, he never made mention of the mysterious code the Bob-Whites  found while working on the antique show.  That wasn’t so unusual, since he wasn’t even in Sleepyside when they found the code.

 

But of course, later, all the Bob-Whites memorized the whole code just in case they ever needed to use it again.  And now he had decorated the envelope and paper with the code doodles.

As an FBI agent herself, she knew that due to security issues, there was much that Danny was not allowed to tell her.  But his doodles intrigued her.  She wanted to see if, by chance, he had written a message to her in the doodles decorating the page.  Even though she had memorized the code so many years ago, she decided to find her old copy of the code found in the St. Nicholas magazine at the time of the antique show to make sure she decoded any message correctly.

Before Trixie could start working on solving her new puzzle, she received a telephone call from her cousin Hallie.  Hallie was a military chaplain, assigned to Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.

“Trixie, can I lean on you and vent a minute?”

“Sure, Hallie.  What’s up?”

“I was out at a local store today, making arrangements for a food basket for a new widow.  I was standing behind two ladies who had full baskets of food, soda, and beer.  One of them turned to me and said, ‘The weather is looking really good.  Monday ought to be a spectacular Memorial Day.  I imagine the parks will be full to over-flowing with picnickers.  Looks like you are planning a celebration for a small platoon.  I hope you have a happy Memorial Day.'

“Trixie, I wanted so badly to tell that lady that Memorial Day isn’t a day of celebration!  It is a day of remembrance of all the men and women who have served this country, sometimes by paying with their very lives.  I probably would have  told her this, too, if I hadn’t been in uniform.”

Trixie broke in to stop her cousins rant. “Hallie, I understand your sentiment, but it is a day of celebration also.

“One of the most moving Memorial Day Presentations, was the one I attended with Dan shortly after he joined the service.  The service was held at 11.00 a.m.  During the presentation, the Base Commander explained that on the morning of Memorial Day, the United States flag is raised briskly to the top of the flag pole, and then solemnly lowered to half staff in memory of all the lives that have been lost.  It remains at half staff until noon, when it is raised to full staff to signify that those lost will always be remembered, but those who remain resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain.  We celebrate that we are able to continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.”

Hallie sighed.  “That sounds like a wonderful presentation.  However, after getting the basket of food, when I got back to my quarters, I had a message from the Sleepyside Cemetery Caretaker.   He said that he was having trouble getting permission from the mayor to have a Memorial Day service at the city cemetery.”

Trixie sputtered, “What?”

Hallie continued.  “Don’t worry,  I have already fixed that glitch.  Thanks to all your mysteries when you were growing up, I have established contacts with Chief Molinson and Matt Wheeler.  I called both of them for help, and before I could finish unloading my car, the mayor was on the phone assuring me that, of course, Sleepyside will conduct a Memorial Day service.

“Trix, I do have a favor to ask, though.  Since Dan is so far away, it is unlikely that he will get leave to come home for the weekend.  I know you, and you are probably planning a very private weekend where  you and Nellie Bean will look at pictures and home movies of Dan, doing everything you can to make sure she will recognize him when he does come home.

“But, Trix, this new widow has no family anywhere nearby, and the funeral for her husband is scheduled at the National Cemetery in Albany.  I promised that I would be there with her and her children.  

“I was calling to ask you to represent me at the Sleepyside service.  Now, after hearing your explanation of that other Memorial Day service, I want you to be there more than ever, and incorporate the explanation of the flag ceremony.  Will you do this for me, please, Trixie?”

“Hallie, of course Danielle and I will be honored to represent both you and Dan at the services.  And I will do everything I can to make certain that the people of Sleepyside know what Memorial Day is supposed to mean.”

Later that evening, Trixie found her copy of the code and settled down to complete her transcription.  She was disappointed to discover that Dan had been sent on a temporary duty assignment.  He didn’t tell her where, of course, and she was proud that he had been selected, as it meant that his work would be beneficial to the troops, but she was frustrated that there was an element of risk, no matter how small.  

Then she remembered a poem by Kelly Strong that she had memorized years ago in school.

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze…

...I wondered just how many times

That TAPS had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend…

Trixie thought of that poem and realized that everyone has to do their part, not only to remember the fallen of the past, but to also remember the servicemen and women who still fight today.

Because, of course, freedom isn’t free.

Thank you to my editors, Vivian and K.  They tried to teach me, really they did. However, any errors are, and always will remain, my own.

Also, parts of the poem by Kelly Strong, were used without permission but with great respect. Please read the poem in its entirety. Freedom Isn't Free

06/09/2014 re-write to add information about Memorial Day service.

05/21/2014 Yorick

Prompt was a picture of a scull.

Alas Poor Yorick!

It was a warm May afternoon, and since Mother’s Day had come and gone, Mart was busy preparing the ground to plant his first garden at the house that he and Diana had recently bought.  Well, if the truth be known, the bank still owned most of it,  but it was a fairly safe bet that he truly owned the square of ground that he was now prepping as a garden.

The house was well built.  There would be no major energy problems for either heat or cold, and there were plenty of windows for cross ventilation, which would be very helpful in the summer when the heat would inevitably rise to the highest point of the two story house.

But the house was also old. The property boundary was even older because, according to the survey papers and the land history, after years and years of crop rotation, the land had been fallow pasture for many decades.  Mart hoped that with this history, he could produce a good garden.

Mart grabbed a shovel and stepped off the boundary of the garden.  He knew that he would have to borrow a small lawn tractor or a tiller, but he also figured that he could dig post holes at the four corners to be ready to build a fence.  He dug three holes, finding no obstructions. But on the fourth hole, after the first two loads of dirt were tossed over his shoulder, the shovel bit into an object with no give.  He knelt down and brushed dirt away to reveal a bit of bone.  He got a spade and, holding the bone carefully with one hand, dug around the object until it popped from its muddy hold.  When Mart looked at it, he dropped it in surprise, for it was obviously an elongated skull.

He couldn’t help letting a famous quote pass his lips.  

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio;

a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy;

he hath borne me on his back a thousand times;

and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is!”

Mart sighed and thought, “Well, it is obviously not my Yorick,  but it was someone’s family pet, sometime.  This fellow probably carried toddlers on his back or pulled a wagon full of laughing children.”  

Suddenly, Mart’s reverie  was interrupted by a flying bit of red fur followed by the squeals of his own young son.  He remembered that Diana and Joseph had gone to pick up their new puppy this afternoon.  He watched as the puppy chased its tail, and the young boy turned around in circles, imitating the dog’s actions.   

“Daddy, what are we going to name the puppy?  You said you had already had one Reddy, and we need to name this one something different.”

“Well, Joseph, let me tell you.  There was a character in one of the plays by William Shakespeare named Yorick.  Now Yorick was a court jester.  That means his job was to entertain the king and make him laugh.  He was also sort of a playmate to the young Hamlet.  There is a painting of Hamlet as a child riding on Yoricks' back as if he is riding a horse.  

“Since this puppy will be your first playmate,  I think we should call him Yorick, because he is already your playmate and making you laugh.“

“Yorick.  Here, Yorick, chase me!”

Mart watched as boy and dog ran off to play.

Mart looked at the skull on the ground.  “I think I will try to find all the bones and re-bury them somewhere, maybe along the fence line.  

“The poor fellow can be king of the hill and rest in peace until other pets follow him across the rainbow bridge and come to keep him company for the rest of time.”

Thank you to my editors, Vivian and K.  They tried to teach me, really they did.

However, any errors are, and always will remain, my own.

05/10/2014 Prompt: In her defense, she hadn't expected the kick to work that well.

The combined girls and boys P.E. class were standing in groups around the gym, whispering behind their hands. 

Honey sat on the floor, huddled in a ball with her face buried in her knees in shame. Diana was sitting with her arms wrapped around Honey, attempting to reassure her that everything would be ok.

On the other side of the room was Matt Devlin. Matt was more of a young boy than a young man but he was about a foot taller than Honey, and outweighed her by at least thirty pounds. He too was huddled in a ball, with his hands covering his groin and tears flowing down his face. The school nurse was sitting with him offering him an ice-pack to staunch the pain.

Trixie was talking to both Coach Epperly and Principal Stratton, trying to defuse the situation.

“You know how protective Jim, Brian, Mart and Dan can be? 

Well after those sexual assaults that were in the news this winter, they rigged up this stuffed dummy similar to what was used in that old movie, “Three Ninja’s”. 

Honey, Di and I use it while we are learning some kicks to be able to protect ourselves from predators. Mart rigged up a buzzer and light system in the groin, that when the connection is broken, it makes a sound and lights up. But I think it was buried deep enough in the cotton batting, that we had to stand really close to the mannequin and kick really hard to make it work.

So today, when Matt started making smooching sounds and saying, 'Sweet Honey, I know I can make you feel like a woman...' she just reacted with her training. Honey wasn't even standing that close to him so in her defense, I don’t think she expected the kick to work that well.”

May 2, 2014 Prompt: You can observe a lot just by watching.

Trixie fidgeted in her seat thinking dire thoughts.  

‘Oh, it is a very nice seat, with nice poofy baby blue cushions on the chair seat and back.  And the chair back tilts just a smidgen, so I can  relax a bit instead of sitting straight up.  Of course, now that I think about it, I am probably supposed to sit straight up, ankles crossed to the side, instead of relaxing fairly comfortably.  After all, this is a fashion show.’

‘A fashion show!  How on earth did I ever get dragged to this.  I’m not even dating Jim anymore, and yet here I sit beside Maddy Wheeler watching a bunch of models who are parading around in everything from their underwear to evening wear.’

Maddy broke into Trixie's thoughts. “Trixie, I really appreciate you attending the show with me.  I wanted you to know that even though you and Jim are no longer a couple, you will always be a valued friend to all of us.  I even have to admit, that your break-up was much healthier for both of you than anyone could have expected.  But enough of that.

I am glad that when Honey had to cancel on me, that you were able to accept in her place. "  Maddy smilled, "Even if it was under duress.

Now, I know you don’t like fashion and shopping and all of that,  so I think I have had an idea that will help you have a little bit of fun today.  I imagine that as part of your criminal justice training, you can identify most of the various modes of transportation on the roads. So consider this as another facet of your training. Don’t think of these as fashions.  Think of them as a wide variety of clothes that your suspects might wear at any time.  Take notes of the complete description of the models height, weight, coloring and identifying marks as well as the clothing as if you were filling out a police report and you need to get everything just right, so it will help make your case in court.”

“After all,  you can observe a lot just by watching.”

Apr 29, 2014: Prompt: Point-of-View (POV) - Write from the point-of-view of an animal,

“We’re here! We’re here! There’s Mr. Delanoy, and Star! Star is with him.”

Mr. Delanoy gave Reddy a good scratch behind the head and said, “You’re moving a little slow there Reddy. Everything ok?

“Yeah, I’m good. Mart took me to the vet last week and had me fixed. I still don’t know what that means, and it doesn’t hurt as much now as it did at first, but moving slow is better safe than sorry, right?”

Reddy greeted Star as all dogs do. “Hey Star. You’re looking good. Are your humans still feeding you that new food?”

“I’m doing fine, Reddy. Come with me. I have something to show you.”

Star led Reddy to the back porch and over to a wire enclosed pen.

“Hey! You got squirrels! Why do you have squirrels in the pen? Lets get them out and play chase. They are funny looking though. Their tails are short and not bushy at all.”

“Reddy!”

Uh oh. I must have done something pretty bad because Star barked my name just like Moms does when I get in trouble.

“Reddy, those aren’t squirrels. Those are puppies. They are babies.”

“Babies? I haven’t seen any baby since Dodgy was left in my dog house. I remember I had to sleep outside, until I howled enough for the humans to investigate. I’m not sure I like babies.”

Star grabbed a puppy by the scruff of the neck, and went and put it on the grass.

“That’s a baby huh? Sure doesn’t look anything like Dodgy.”

“Oh Reddy! They aren’t human babies. They are dog babies, puppies.”

“Oh. Well where did they come from?”

“Remember when we were rough-housing a few months ago? We made them. You and me. They were born a couple of weeks ago. See this one? I think she looks just like you, Daddy.”

“Daddy?!”

“You play dead right here, and I will go get the other puppies and bring them to you so they can sniff you and crawl on you and get to know their Daddy.”

“Well they smell like you Star, so I guess that is ok. Hey watch it pup, that tickles.

They are awfully wiggly and yippy.”

“Yes they are, and when they get a little bit bigger, they will want to run and play chase, and fetch, and catch.

"Puppies huh? I guess they are better than squirrels, but really, did I do thaaaat?"

04/14/2014 Prompt: Campfire(s) or camping.

“Moms!  Are you really going to do this?  You’re going to let Mart and Dan take Bobby camping?”

“Trixxxie! Be quiet!" hissed Bobby.

"Moms, you already promised.  Don’t listen to Trixie.  Mart and Dan will take good  care of me.”  Bobby turned to Mart,  “you will,  won’t you?  ...and we will have lots of fun, right?”

“Bobby, don’t worry.  Yes, Dan and I will take good care of you.”  

Mart winked at Dan,

“And we will have lots of fun.  We will hike in to the preserve.  We are going to camp outside by the old school house.  That way,  if we need to,  we can move inside.“

Dan handed a basket of food to Bobby.  “Look here, We are going to take a chicken and cook it on a spit over a fire.  We will have roasted corn on the cob,  and for dessert, we will have s’mores with roasted marshmallows, chocolate pieces and graham crackers.”

Trixie looked over the assembled camping gear.  “Bobby,  you want to take your stuffed panda with you?” she asked.

“No, I’m a big boy.  I don’t need a sleep buddy.”

“You sure?  It gets awfully dark out in the preserve.” urged Trixie.

Bobby hesitated just a bit.  “No,  Reddy will be with us.  He can be my sleep buddy.  Hey Mart.  What is that old potato sack for?  Are we going to bake potatoes in the fire too?”

Mart held up a burlap bag.  “This?  No this is for after supper when we go hunting!”

“Hunting?  I get to go hunting?”  Bobby jumped up and down in excitement.

“Hunting!  What do you mean hunting?  He is only 8 years old.  I didn’t even get to go hunting until I was a Bob-White.” Trixie huffed.

“Trixie!  Be quiet." Bobby shouted.

I get to go hunting!  How are we going to use the bag for hunting Mart?  I thought you went hunting with a gun.”

“No Bobby,  this is a very special kind of hunting.  See,  you and I and Dan each go into the preserve.  You’ll go one way,  and Dan and I will be off on either side of you with flashlights to help flush the game.  Then you make this special bird call.”  

Mart pursed his lips and mimicked a smooching noise.

Bobby shuddered,  “That sounds like you want me to make kissyface sounds.”

“I know,  but that is the call of the bird.  See they will flush and fly up from their roosts straight up into the bag.”

Trixie’s eyes twinkled.  “Wow Bobby,  I didn’t realize just how special tonight is. I know you will have lots of fun.  You’re going on your first Snipe hunt!”

04/12/2014 Prompt: A New Kid In Town.

Diana dropped the pillows to the classroom floor.

“Mart, when the time comes,  it will just be us, right?  Other than medical staff,  we aren’t going to have anyone there who wasn’t at the conception, right?”

“My darling Diana,  this is your call.  If you don’t want anyone else there, then that is what you shall have.  Although, I am not sure how we are going to accomplish that.  It is the first grandchild on either side.”

“We just won’t tell them.  And as the date gets closer and closer, we will make good use of caller id, and not answer every call.  Promise me Mart!  We. Won’t. Answer. Every. Call.”

“Ok, Diana, I promise you.  We will not answer every call, and we will not have everybody in the waiting room.  We will call after the baby has arrived. Now sit down on this pillow and lean back into me.  Lets get comfortable for the class.”

“Class, I am the instructor for the April Lamaze Class.  First, I would like to invite all of you to participate in the class roster by exchanging your names and phone numbers.  As long as you remain in Sleepyside, you are all going to have children that will likely be in the class together in school.  You might as well get to know each other now, because you will be great resources to each other for things like clothes exchanges, babysitters, and playgroups.  

Second, I would like to discuss birth plans.  Everyone has different expectations of their perfect birth model.  You may want all your family waiting for the big announcement, or you may want to wait until after the birth and a chance to rest, before you call everyone.  Please know that the hospital will do everything in our power to make your experience what you want it to be.”

***

“Trixie!”

“What Brian?”

“You and Honey and everyone need to back off.  Here you are planning a phone tree to call everyone else just as soon as you know that Diana is in labor.  Mart told me that they don’t  want everyone camping out at the hospital while she is in labor.  And consider it from the hospital’s point of view.  There may be several other women in labor at the same time.  If everyone from every family shows up, just where do you expect to have everyone sit?  Just family and friends for Diana will add up to about fifteen people.”

“But we are her best friends! And Mart is my almost twin, and this baby is being born between mine and Marts’ birthdays, so the baby will be our triplet.”

“No.  When Diana is in labor, Mart and her medical team are her best friends.  Everyone else needs to butt out until we are called.

Both you and Honey need to think about this,  be-cause when either of you are going through the stress of labor,  you might not want anyone else around either.  Let Diana lay the boundary here, and you won’t have to when it is your turn.”

***

“Whoever you are, its the middle of the night, so this better be good!”

“Happy Birthday Trixie. It’s Mart. I just wanted to let you know that now you have a real birthday twin because there is a new kid in town!”

03/28/2014 Prompt: Alien encounters and UFO sightings / Believers vs. Nonbelievers

Bobby, Larry and Terry ran up the wooden steps of the country store.  They opened the old screen door and let it slam behind them with a bang.  The boys went to the soda cooler and pulled three bottles of pop out of the ice.  After opening the bottles with churchkey attached to the cooler on a chain, they went to the counter to pay for their treats.

“Hey, Mr. Lytell.  Why don’t you think that bright light in the sky last night was an alien space-ship?  

Larry, Terry and I were sitting out on the roof watch-ing it when Mart got home from his date with Di.  He didn’t get home until two thirty and he missed curfew, but he told Dad that he was standing on Glen Road with a bunch of other people watching the colored lights hovering over the Preserve.  He said that it looked like a giant revolving green strawberry and that he stayed until you came out of the Preserve and told everybody that they should go home because there wasn’t any space ship.”

“Pshaw Bobby!  I don’t know why everyone was getting upset over nothing more than some colored fog.  I imagine the fog was getting a reflection from that Auroa Borealis light stuff from the North Pole. 

The three of you have been watching those space alien movies again and letting your imaginations run away with you.  You three get along home and find something constructive to do to stay out of trouble.

Oh, and tell that harum scarum sister of yours, that I just got three more cases of that awful Strawberry Pop stuff that she likes so much.  She needs to get down here and take it off my hands.  Now go on, get along with you.”

He watched the boys run out of the store, and then he closed the door and turned the Open sign to Closed. He returned to the counter and pressed two unmarked keys on the old hand crank cash register.  A shim-mering portal opened and he was able to see three strange beings in the wavy image.

“Oh Great Pubah, with all due respect, you need to realize that these people aren’t all that stupid, and their progeny such as the youngest Belden that was just here, are particularly able to put two and two together and get all the facts right more often than not.  We need to be much more careful in making the transfer of the Strawberry Pop.  I really wish you would tell me why it is so important to get the stuff to that girl.  Maybe then I could help figure out better ways for the transfer.  

Anyway,  it is high noon now, and I doubt that anyone will see your lights with the sun shining so bright, so now is as good a time for your interspace transfer as we are likely to get.  Until next time, Long Live Pubahtosis!”

Elsewhere, Bobby finished his soda and started tossing the bottle from hand to hand.  

“Hey guys, we know a lot of old people.  There is Old Brom, and Mrs. Vanderpoel, and Mr. Maypenny.  I have never heard any of them talk quite like Mr. Lytell does.  He talks funny but you can tell he is super smart, and I have never seen him eat meat, not even at the Thanksgiving Open House.  

And now he is trying to convince everyone that those lights last night were nothing.

I tell you guys,  Mr. Lytell just has to be an alien!”

03/27/2014 Prompt: A blank sheet of paper

The counselor handed him a piece of paper.

“What is this?”

“What does it look like?”

“It is just a piece of paper.”

“Oh, Jim.  You should have learned by now.  It is more than a piece of paper.  Describe it for me.”

“Well, it is a piece of paper.  It looks to be 11 by 8 ½ inches.”  Jim fluttered the paper in his hands. “It seems to be  regular weight paper, not bond.  There isn’t any watermark and there are no other marks on it, so I don’t think it has ever been used.”

“Is that it?  Hmmm. Lets try something different.  Describe yourself.”

Jim shot the counselor a surprised look. “Describe myself?  Isn’t that what I have been doing during all my visits with you? I have told you about my parents and their deaths, about my mom’s marriage to my step-father and about the abuse I suffered as a kid.  I have talked about the abuse I put Tri..my ex girlfriend through.  I have talked about my school and I have talked and talked about how I want to have a family some day...a wife and kids.  I have talked about how I am trying to learn not to be abusive and controlling and how I have tried to work on the exercises you have given me.  I am not sure what more you want.”

“Ok.  Lets look at this a different way.”  The counselor placed a marble in Jim’s other hand.  “The object that I just gave to you could be called a marble, a sphere, a Cats-eye, or a stone.  Just like that object in your hands, you can be described by many different labels.  I want you to give me as many labels as you can but none of them can be derogatory, so although you have tried in the past to say that you are abusive, stupid, controlling and any of a number of other derogatory names, you can’t use any of those labels.  Oh yes, you also need to list the descriptive labels by order of importance.”

Jim stared at the counselor for a few moments, and then haltingly started to speak.

“I am Jim Frayne.  I am the biological son of Win and Katje Frayne. I am the adopted son of Matthew and Madelyne Wheeler and the brother of Honey Wheeler Belden.  I am a college graduate with Bachelor degrees in Sociology and Psychology. I am working on my Masters in Education."

Jim’s voice trailed off and he looked at the marble and the piece of paper in each of  his hands.  

He felt the roundness of the marble, and knew that the shape would never change, as neither would its appearance.  He knew that the marble would be the same tomorrow as it was today.

Then he looked at the piece of paper and knew it would change when something was written on it, or when the paper was folded or torn.   

Jim took a deep breath and continued.  “I am a man with a strength of character.  I can change when needed to make myself better.  I can BE better to make those around me happy, and safe from me and my my actions, even if I can’t guarantee their safety from other forces in their environment or from illness.  I can’t keep from facing loss in my life, but I can change how I deal with that loss.

I am Jim Frayne, and on this sheet of paper, I can begin writing the plan of the rest of my life.”

03/25/2014 Prompt: Scents, fragrance, smells, odors

Helen turned to Peter as he and Andrew entered the kitchen.  “Peter, have either of you seen Bobby?”

“No, not since the Bride & Groom made their get-a-way.”  Peter laughed. “Mart was so sure that he had the perfect hiding place to stash the car so it wouldn’t be all decorated with shaving cream, streamers and old shoes.  When Andy and I dropped them off at the old schoolhouse, Mart was so aggravated, he couldn’t even use his $1000.00 words once he saw  his precious car.”

“Well, Bobby’s up to something.  Day before yesterday he asked me to get several boxes of frozen shrimp.”

“But Helen, he is allergic to shrimp. That was a heck of a scare after that last time he ate them and then he couldn't breathe. I wouldn’t have thought he would ever go near them again.”

“Yes, I know.   No,  he swore that it is for a science project. He promised me he  would wear gloves, and that he wouldn’t eat it.  I got the boxes, but I barely had room for them in the freezer,  because of all the food for the rehearsal dinner."

Helen muttered to herself, "I don’t know why I didn’t question him having a science project in the middle of summer."

She continued her recital to Peter, "The boxes were still there yesterday, when I was taking out the food to set up for the rehearsal dinner last night.   But just now, I went to put the top tier of Mart and Diana’s wedding cake in the freezer until they get back from their honeymoon and the boxes of shrimp are gone.  So they disappeared sometime in the last twenty-four hours.”

“Hmm, you know?  There was a clear bag of trash at the school house and it had empty shrimp boxes in it.  I thought maybe someone had bought the shrimp as bait to go fishing.”  

Helen turned to Andrew, “Andy,... Andy!  Whats the matter?  Peter call 911, it looks like Andrew is having a heart attack!”

Andrew waved Helen away.  “No Helen, if I die, it won’t be from a heart attack, it will be from laughter.”  

Andy chortled. “That young scamp must have been hiding in the bushes the other night when Matt was telling me about a fraternity prank he was part of years ago.  

It seems, that some fraternity brothers put frozen shrimp behind the hubcaps in the wheel wells of the tires of a newly married fraternity brothers car.  The bride and groom started smelling unpleasant odors a couple of hours into their wedding trip, and couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from.  They tried everything they could think of to get rid of the smell...even had the car detailed.  But no-one thought to check the tires, until one morning they awoke to find the car surrounded by cats huddling at each tire.  They finally took off the hubcaps and found the rotting shrimp.”

Tears were pouring down Andy’s face, and Peter and Helen couldn’t help joining in the laughter.

Their hilarity was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.  When Helen answered, she heard Mart saying, “Moms, tell Dad this is an emergency!  Something is wrong with the car.  It smells like a fish trawler and we can’t figure out why. Please!  Someone bring us another car and take this one to the shop.  We can’t start our honeymoon smelling like fish everywhere we go!”