Adventure 428: The Story of George, 5

January 24, 2018

I thought if I said, "In real time..." I should actually be in it, so here I am today. George was up, dressed, bright, shiny, and joking a little. His bed was made; pills were taken. He played dominoes last night, but the report is he's forgetting how to play. He napped in the afternoon yesterday, but his energy is increasing.

After George married Margaret, I saw Dad once a year in the summer. I'll have to ask my sister and brother what they remember about visitation, because I don't have any collective memories of us all being there. Regardless, that routine lasted throughout my entire life-a short visit once a year. But I digress. More about George. When they were kids, they ice skated on the irrigation ponds. Every local kid would come over, some adults, too, and they'd have a bonfire to keep warm. Well, with teenagers, it's always more fun at night, especially with boys and girls mixing as they do, and the adults didn't come at night. Needless to say, there were some "night moves" happening. There were also hijinks and quite a bit of hooting , hollering  and carrying on! One of the neighbors took a dislike to the commotion, so he let water out of the holding tank, which caused a dangerous gap between the ice and the water, which caused a fissure, which caused a failure. A loud "Crack!" A few screams. No one was hurt, but the father of three of the girls who were skating that night, a big guy named, Jess Chapin, went over to the "neighbor" who had drained the water. George said, "He lifted him up off the ground by his neck and said, "If you ever endanger these kids again, I'll kill ya." It left an impression on George, and I'm sure the neighbor, too.

 Vina, ruling the roost.