The Life and Times of Little David Stone: Book Three - Fifth through Seventh Grades

By Dave Stone

Fifth grade is an exciting time in a kid's life, but sixth and seventh grades are even better. We'll share tales of firecrackers and cherry bombs, cemeteries and sleep-outs, Halloween and fistfights, and of course girls and the kinds of trouble that they bring with them. So come along and share the fun. Little David Stone is getting a little bit bigger, but his adventures are a little bigger too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dave Stone
• Release date: Mar 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301883578

Dave Stone

Dave Stone is Senior Pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, where he preaches Truth to more than 21,000 people each weekend. He and his wife, Beth, have three children: Savannah, Sadie, and Sam, and a son-in-law, Patrick. Dave believes the most practical way to spread the gospel is through moms and dads who model a genuine faith for their children.

Book preview

The Life & Times

of Little David Stone

Book Three

Fifth through Seventh Grades

By Dave Stone

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 – Dave Stone

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or in any means without the express written consent of the author.

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www.readadventurebooks.com

Illustrations by Edson Saenz

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Other Books by Dave Stone

Matthew

Dream Mine

Autumn Chill

Scout Camp

Bumps in the Night

Basketball Warriors

Carnival

Table of Contents

Prologue

The Bike

The Old Man and the Sea

The Test

Band

The Women in My Life – The Girls in Fifth Grade

A Summer’s Day

Pebbles

The Big Bang

Headstones

Fighting

Reversal

The Spider in the Night

The Dance

Riding the Waves

Mount Loafer

Water Fight

Braces

Halloween

Prickly Nuts

Crisis

The Mutt

Huts

Prologue

These little tales are simple little stories that somehow found their way into my life. A woman I worked with once said, Dave, you were sure a little bugger! But I really wasn’t, I was just a regular kid. My brother once said, I can’t remember anything about when I was a kid. I don’t know how you’re able to remember. But that’s not altogether true, either. I can only remember bits and pieces. It seems like in about the fifth grade things began to jell a bit, but before that things are pretty hazy.

Every life has stories, just like mine does. We wander through our lives, doing things that only we can do. We marvel at friends and grownups and pay little attention to the actions in our own lives.

I wrote this book at the request of my daughter. Your other books are too scary for my little kids, she said, but they love the little stories you tell them about your childhood. And so these are the stories I share, as well as I can remember them. I hope that you’ve enjoyed them as much as my own grandkids do, because that’s exactly what they’re good for, just a little bit of fun. And always remember, you will surely experience stories in your own lives. Maybe someday you will share them too.

The Bike

Summer finally came to an end and I was pretty bummed out. I didn’t really hate school; I just didn’t like it all that much either. Being trapped at my desk all day seemed like some kind of cruel and unusual punishment. I much preferred running the fields and playing with my friends all day long. Life was just such a fix. Where was my freedom? Wasn’t this America? Crud!

It wasn’t long before things got a little interesting, though. On the second day of school Benny Thorpe’s bike got stolen, and his mother offered a cash reward for anyone that could find it. The reward was announced early in the morning, right over the intercom. Now this wasn’t any ordinary bicycle, mind you. It was an extravagant bike from somewhere back East, and it was worth a lot of money. Lynn and I were psyched. The five dollar reward was more than we could ever hope for, even if we split it down the middle.

Lunch hour arrived but we didn’t head for the lunchroom—reward money was on our minds. But we weren’t the only ones. It seemed like half the student body had the same idea that we did. We watched them scatter as they took off in all directions, girls and boys alike. I looked at Lynn and he looked at me. Did we have a chance? There was only one way to find out. We flipped a coin and it directed us east, so we took off. We headed for the church and the city center. Our task seemed a little overwhelming when we got there, though. It looked like a giant Easter egg hunt was going on. Kids were flying around everywhere, searching behind bushes and trees, looking in doorways and probing through every nook and cranny they could think of. We stuck our hands in our pockets and walked slowly up the street.

Where to? I asked. Lynn shrugged. We kept walking until we were finally approaching the pond. I knew we had to hurry if we were going to make it back before the hour was gone, but Lynn seemed to be dragging his feet.

Wait a second, he said. He stopped and looked up at the sky.

We need to pray, he said softly. I nodded stupidly. This was probably a good idea but for some reason I resisted. Maybe my halo was a little crooked that day, or maybe I was just in a hurry, but for some reason I had little faith that a prayer would actually help us in our search.

Do you want to say it, or should I? Lynn asked. He looked me in the eye.

Go ahead, I whispered, and then I ducked my head.

Lynn said a little prayer and then we walked ahead. We came to the bridge and went across. We passed the park and rounded the corner back towards school. I was beginning to walk a little faster. The clock was ticking.

Wait, Lynn said. I think we need to look in those cattails.

Really? I muttered. I’ll bet it’s kind of mucky in there. And I knew that it was. I was wearing my new school shoes and I knew mom would tan my hide if I ruined them this early in the school year. I gazed at Lynn.

I have a feeling, he whispered.

And so will I if I ruin these shoes, I said, right across my butt. Lynn didn’t laugh. He didn’t even smile. He just ducked his head and continued walking.

By the time the bell had rung we had made it back to our seats. We learned that no one had found the bike yet, and that made me feel a little better.

I gazed at