Читать книгу Dangerous Hilarity: The Great Adventures of the Jackson Twins, Their Family and the Dogs in Their Lives, A Novel for Teens and Young Adults and All Those Who are Young at Heart - Sioux Dallas - Страница 13

Chapter Six

The eighteenth of June would be the eighteenth wedding anniversary of Herb and Irene. Relatives and friends wanted to give them a party, so, on June fifth there was a big celebration.

“We’ll sure miss the Jackson family. They’re wonderful neighbors,” Mrs. Goodson said to Herb’s brother, Henry.

“What will they do with the dog?” Mrs. Parsons asked as she watched Galena winding among the people, wagging her tail and loving everyone.

“Oh, I guess she’ll be put to sleep. She’s so old.” Uncle Henry’s wife, Aunt Minnie stated.

“Oh, no.” The twins spoke as one. Anna’s lips were tight as she rubbed Galena’s back. “If Galena doesn’t go, we don’t either,” she said.

“Besides,” Tom said through gritted teeth, “we’d stay here if they’d let us.”

“You really don’t want to go?” Uncle Henry was surprised. “But, why not? Most kids would be thrilled to get to travel and live adventures.”

Aunt Minnie spoke forcefully. “You should be thankful that you have parents who are giving you opportunities like this.”

“Who wants them?” Tom almost yelled. “Opportunities, I mean.”

Irene had joined them. “Stop that,” she ordered. “You children are being rude. I’m sorry,” she said to the small group that had gathered. “There have been a lot of conflicting emotions concerning the move. I was hoping my children had accepted it by now.” She looked so sad that Anna put an arm around her mother.

“I’m sure we’ll like it when we get there, Mom. It’ll take some getting used to, but we’ll be fine as long as we’re together as a family -- including Galena.” She turned to glare at her brothers.

“Yeah, I guess it’ll be okay,” Tim mumbled. “Excuse us.” He and Tom left to go into the house taking Galena with them.

Fortunately the conversation was just with the small groups and Herb and the remainder of the crowd were not aware of the conflicts. Everyone left saying what a great time they’d had and how much they would miss the Jackson family. The majority of them spoke of their envy of the move.

Herb left the next day to start his work in Alaska. The family would follow soon. When one of the twins would ask Galena, “Do you want to go for a really long ride in the car?” she would bark excitedly and run around trying to figure out where they were going and when.

Ten days later they received a letter from Herb. After dinner they sat around the dining room table while Irene read the letter to them. The children laughed hysterically until their sides ached when they heard about the honey bucket. It was so strange and funny.

Herb wrote, “It’s impossible to dig and lay pipes in the hard, frozen ground. Farther north indoor bathrooms are as scarce as hen’s teeth.”

“Hen’s don’t have teeth,” Tim shouted laughing.

“That’s what it means,” Anna said, “Now hush and let mom finish.”

Irene read on, “We could have a ten gallon bucket, called a honey bucket, to use as a commode.” The entire family was intrigued with this lifestyle.

“Yuck! I just thought of something,” Tim frowned and shuddered.

“What?” Tom asked.

“That ole honey bucket would have to be emptied and washed.”

“Ohhh. Would we have to do that?” Tom wrinkled his nose and waved his hand in front of his face as if to wave away an odor.

“We’ll all have chores to do just as we do here.” Irene said with a straight face. The twins howled and rolled from their chairs to the floor. Galena was concerned thinking something bad had happened to her boys. She growled and ran around barking looking for the trouble. She was ready to defend her family and make short work of any trouble.

“Get off the floor,” Irene ordered. “You’re disturbing Galena. She doesn’t understand what you’re doing. Now let me finish the letter. Daddy says there is a honey wagon which comes around to collect the dirty buckets and leave clean ones.” She had to stop again because the twins were making weird noises and exciting Galena. “Puh-leese, may I go on? Daddy says that since it’s warm enough now where we’ll be that he’ll be able to put in a bathroom for us.”

“Wahoo! No chance of yucky stuff then,” Tom yelled. He saw some pictures sticking half out of the envelope. “What are those pictures dad sent?” Irene looked at them and then read the back.

“This is one of the front of our house and these two are of our deep freeze.”

“Deep freeze? Curiouser and curiouser,” Tim grinned. “But this is a hole in the ground,” Irene read on. “Our deep freeze is an underground room about eight feet by eight feet and seven feet deep. A metal door opens at ground level and we climb down a ladder to get whatever we want from the freezer. It’s dug deep to keep food cold and the metal door keeps wild animals from getting our food.”

“There’s even shelves built in,” Anna observed. “Well, as my brothers would say, that’s neat and rico.”

“Irene, how in the world are you going to adjust to such a dramatic change in your life?” Four of her friends were visiting to bring last minute gifts and to say goodbye.

“I’ll be happy wherever my husband and children are. I’ve always wanted to write books for children and now, maybe I’ll have time to write. Anna is an excellent artist, so, I’m hoping she’ll be willing to illustrate for me.” Irene’s face glowed with the idea of her dreams coming true.

“I didn’t know you were interested in writing,” Marion Parks exclaimed. “How wonderful. What type of writing have you done?”

“Just for children in church, a few newspaper columns and for my own interests. I’m trying to write a family history for the children. I’ve done a lot of research on all four sides of our family. Genealogy is an addiction.”

She laughed. “I’m sure there’ll be loads of material where we’ll be living, especially with the boys into enough to give me lots of inspiration. In fact, knowing them, I’ll probably have enough material for multi books.”

Finishing their tea and finger sandwiches, the ladies wished the family all the best, gave Irene hugs and tearfully left.

In their bedroom, the twins were still grumbling. “Why does everyone assume we’re going for sure?” Tom fumed.

“Because we are,” Tim said with a sigh. “Face it. Dad’s already in Alaska and has a house for us. Mom’s packed and all our records are ready. Might as well make the best of it. We’ll just feel worse if we dwell on it.”

“That’s easy to say. Make the best of it,” Tom sneered, falling on his bed. Tim was already on his bed. The twins lay on their backs looking at the ceiling. Suddenly Tom sat up. “Hey, I got it. We’ll be explorers. We can put our scout training to use and maybe even explore areas where no human has ever been.” His eyes twinkled as he gazed into space, seeing himself with nothing in sight but snow and ice.

“You sound like a television science show,” Tim laughed. Then he lay back down and continued to brood. “Yeah,” Tim spoke in awe of the thought. “I can see us catching the biggest whale or maybe the most ferocious bear. We both have a love of science. Maybe we’ll do something that’ll make us famous, something no one else has even thought of.”

“Such as?”

“Who knows. Maybe we’ll discover a chemical that can be used to clean the dirtiest, most dangerous waters. Lakes and rivers could be purified. Just think, we could clean up our environment and make it a safer, healthier place for everyone to live.”

They daydreamed, made plans and became excited thinking of how famous they could be, maybe even written up in history books. They might even be recognized by the President of the United States and given a big ticker-tape parade while crowds cheered.

Anna was in the kitchen helping her mother with dinner. “Mom, I’m sorry, but I still have mixed feelings about our move even though I don’t want to have them. I want us to be together as a family, but I hate to leave familiar places and friends. I’ll be a stranger in Alaska. All the kids there will have friends, know the teachers and ---”

Irene broke in. “You’ll love making new friends and seeing different parts of our country. Your friends here will be eager to hear from you and will envy your experiences. You’ve always been popular because you’re kind and thoughtful of others. You’ll do the same there --- just you wait and see.”

Irene hugged Anna while looking up at her beautiful daughter. She smiled at the beautiful heart-shaped face framed by dark blonde, curly hair. Her hazel-green eyes were serious and thoughtful. Anna stood five-eight, an inch taller than her mother.

Tom and Tim came clamping down the stairs, their feet hitting hard as they walked. “I’m starved. Isn’t dinner ready?” Tom whined.

“Patience, my poor famished son. We’ll eat in about five minutes. Have you both washed?” The twins vowed that they had washed, then sat at the table talking low to each other. “What’s wrong with me? One day I’m excited about leaving and then I want to hide and not go,” Tim confessed.

Tom nodded in agreement and shrugged his shoulders.

On June seventh, the last day of school was exciting and sad. Mrs. Berry smiled as she placed an arm around each twin. “Boys, I have a suggestion. You’ll be writing to friends here, but would you please write to me so that I can share with everyone in school? I would appreciate a picture now and then, also.”

“Sure. Works for me,” Tim stated with a grin and Tom nodded. “We’ll send you our address and phone number as soon as we can.”

Irene checked boxes again to ascertain that each box was labeled so she would know where to look for their things when they got to Alaska. All boxes were loaded on a big truck. The government was paying for shipping and traveling expenses because Herb was an employee. She watched the truck pull away and breathed a prayer for all of them. Oh, Herb, I hope I can do this without you. How I wish you were here to travel with us, but you need me to be a helpmate and get us to you safely. She felt she could count on the children now that they accepted they were moving, or so she thought.

The plan was to take three weeks zig-zagging across the United States.

They would visit historical places, explore and appreciate their own country.

The next morning they were up early to leave. The house had been left in the hands of a real estate agent to rent and care for until their return. Dan Baxter’s mother, as the real estate agent, volunteered to strip the beds, wash linens they had used and place items in the linen closet. A cleaning crew would come in and clean everything, as well as wash windows, getting everything ready for renters.

The station wagon was loaded with clothing needed for the trip. Galena’s water dish, food dish, jugs of water and a sack of dog food were in the very back. A cooler filled with ice, soft drinks and sandwich meat was placed behind the rear seat. Fried chicken, a small baked ham, potato salad and deviled eggs were placed in the cooler with carrot sticks and tomatoes. Bread, peanut butter and various jellies and additional snacks were in a huge container beside the cooler.

“Anna, place this first aid kit where it can be reached quickly. I hope and pray we won’t have to use it,” Irene instructed.

“Mom, you’ve got enough here to feed a small army,” Tim laughed.

“It won’t last long. We’ll eat this before we have to start eating out. This will help a little and save time, too. Tim, please check and make sure there’s a sharp knife and enough tableware for all of us. Oh, get the napkins off the kitchen counter. Are the plastic plates and cups in there, and the jugs of water?”

“Check and check, Mom. Your order has been obeyed.” Tim saluted just as Tom tackled him from behind. They dropped to the grass to wrestle.

“Don’t get dirty before we start,” Irene ordered.

“I bet nobody else is up as early as this,” Tom observed as he stood up. “The sun isn’t even fully up yet.”

“Starting early will get us out of the heat for a while and give us time to stop for rests without losing time. Galena will need pit stops, too.” Irene explained.

They were surprised to see neighbors sleepily coming still in their night clothes, slippers and robes. The Jacksons were touched. After dozens of hugs and well wishes, the family tearfully, but bravely, waved and drove off.

Herb had toured most of Virginia with the children since they were young, so, Irene drove at an angle from northeast to southwest, Virginia without stopping to sightsee. It took six hours to make this part of the trip. She drove across the line into Kentucky before stopping for the night.

“We more than likely won’t cover this many miles in one day again. I’m not accustomed to driving a lot and I’m ready for a rest,” Irene sighed. “But there was no need to stop since we knew a lot about the part we covered.”

The next day they drove into St. Joseph, Missouri to one of the first Pony Express stations. It was thrilling to see the small room, artifacts, pictures and even a copy of the newspaper of that day.

Irene finally admitted that she was tired and developing sore muscles because she was unaccustomed to driving so much at once.

“Mom, please let me help you. I can drive as long as a licensed driver is with me. The boys will help me watch for signs and you can rest. You can’t go on this way.” Anna looked imploringly at Irene.

“I don’t know, honey. You’re still awfully young.”

“I’ve driven several times with dad and he thinks I’m a very good driver.”

“Well, as soon as I get out of city traffic, maybe you can take it on the open highway.” Anna drove well and Irene gave a sigh of relief for the help she now realized she could count on.

The next morning early, Anna started the drive before traffic picked up.

“Anna, we’ll angle south and go through Oklahoma.”

“Where you headed, Mom?” Tom asked through yawns.

“I thought you might like to go to Arizona and see the Grand Canyon.”

“All right!” Both boys were wide awake now.

Herb had gotten AAA tour books for all the states they would go through. They had enjoyed reading the information and checking what they would like to see. Tom picked up the tour book for Missouri. “Mom!” he yelled.

“There was so much good stuff to see in Missouri and didn’t stop for anything. President Harry Truman’s house is in Independence.”

“Sweetie, we can’t possibly stop at every place of interest or we’d never get to Alaska, at least not for about a year. You know dad is anxious for us to get with him and we’ve missed him.”

“Yeah, mush brain, we’d never get anywhere.” Tim punched Tom on the shoulder not saying he would have liked to stop at several places. The twins began to wrestle on the back seat which excited Galena to a barking fit. She climbed on them snapping at their arms.

“That’s enough,” Irene ordered firmly. “I know you’re tired and bored, but remember we’re driving up here and watching traffic. You’re getting on my nerves and upsetting Galena.” The twins would have stopped several times an hour. They thought the time was going too fast, but Irene felt the time was dragging.

“You keep forgetting, guys, dad’s waiting for us and he expects us to arrive on the day we agreed upon. Try to think of mom’s feeling and cooperate, please,” Anna reasoned.

Much to the twins’ delight, Irene did agree to stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There were many historical places to see; one being the home of Will Rogers just on the outskirts of Tulsa. Tim read aloud from the AAA tour book. “This is the last home for several Indian tribes, those that came from the east as well as those that lived in the area. Oklahoma got its name from the Choctaw Indians word meaning ’red people’. The nickname Sooner State came from people who illegally tried to make land claims in designated areas sooner than the people who obeyed the government date of April 22, 1889.”

“Well, it was illegal, but you can’t blame them for wanting land and homes for their families,” Tom stated. “I wonder how the Indians felt. After all this was the land they had lived on for hundreds of years.”

“The Indians were betrayed by people they trusted,” Irene explained. “They were hurt, confused, bitter and despondent. Some were old and tired and didn’t want any more trouble, so they gave in.”

Tim nodded, looking sad, but continued to read. “Sequoyah, the Cherokee who wrote the first written alphabet for his people, came to Oklahoma in 1828 to live. He taught his people to read and write their language. Oklahoma was admitted as the 46^th state in 1907. Since then Indians have been elected to both the state and national legislatures.” the twins settled down to read the remainder of the information silently.

“Can we go to Oklahoma City? We’d like to go through the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center,” Tom said.

“Yeah, and while we’re there, we can go through the National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum, but I don’t want to go by the building that crazy man bombed. I’d cry even it was a long time ago. That was back in 1995, but the fact that so many innocent people died, including babies, makes me sad,” Tim finished.

“I know what you mean, “Anna answered him, “but we won’t have time to spend in so many places in each state. We’re going to have to sit down with the tour books and decide what we, as a family, truly want to see.”

“Makes sense to me,” Irene said. “When we stop tonight, we’ll all go through the books together and decide what we can do.”

Driving as much as they could, and not wanting to waste time, they pulled into Oklahoma City around eight that night. The twins took Galena for a quick walk and then returned to their motel room to feed her and leave her a fresh bowl of water. The family went across the street to a restaurant and were back in their room by nine thirty. They spread the AAA books out on one of the beds, with a map of the U.S., and read through the ones for Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.

As usual they had a room with two double beds. The twins slept in one bed and Irene and Anna slept in the other. Galena slept on the floor between the beds. The next morning they were eager for sightseeing. Galen was taken for a walk and fed. They went across for breakfast and took a tour bus to see the city.

A little after one that afternoon, they were tired and ready to rest, but very happy that they had seen all they did. Galena was taken for another walk and the family went across the street for lunch. They came back to the motel and settled for a short rest.

The twins did agree to go to the City National Memorial on Fifth and Harvey. It was built in memory of the victims of the 1995 bombing. They were impressed that there was a stone chair for each of the 168 people killed.

“I wonder how Timothy McVeigh felt when he bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building and discovered he’d killed so many babies?” Tom mused.

“People like McVeigh have no integrity or remorse and he probably didn’t feel guilty at all,” Tim answered.

Their next stop was the Red Earth Indian Center. After all the walking they were ready to go back for dinner and to an early bed. The next morning they were eager to continue. Galena had been a good traveler. She had cooperated with every mile and every stop, but she was getting tired of being cooped up in the car and in motel rooms. It disturbed her that the twins were reading the books and ignoring her. With no warning, she jumped from the back of the wagon to the back seat and tore the tour books from their hands to shake and tear them. The twins yelled so loudly trying to get the book from her that Anna pulled over and stopped. Irene ordered everyone out of the car. “Take Galena for a walk, but stay right on this side of the highway where I can see you.

The twins walked Galena and then ran back to the car. When they returned, Irene and Anna had made sandwiches. There were also fruit, chips and soft drinks. Galena was given fresh water and let lie in the shade of the car. They were afraid to go far off the road for fear of snakes.

Back in the car Anna continued the drive into Texas. Their stop for the night was between Dallas and Fort Worth. The twins were thrilled to be in Texas because of the movies they’d seen and the books they’d read. They expected to see cowboys, cattle and gunfights just as they’d seen in movies. They were disappointed that the cities were as modern as they had in Virginia.

The next morning they were up early and eager to sightsee. The first stop was the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial to remember the assassination of the president in Dallas in 1963. They then went on to Fort Worth to the Stockyard Museum. They rushed through the Stockyards Station Historical Walking Tour.

“Oh, Mom, let’s go to San Antonio and see the Alamo,” Tom begged.

“Please,” Tim whined. “We want to see it for ourselves. You don’t know when we’ll ever get this opportunity again and we are so close.”

“Oh, yeah?” Anna stated. “You’re not the ones driving. Mom, shall we?”

Irene thought for a few moments and finally agreed. The twins cheered so loudly that Galena began to jump from one seat to another barking. Irene and Anna both spoke loudly at once ordering them to be quiet and get Galena settled.