Live Write the Journal

By Mary Cinealis Nohl

LIVE WRITE The Journal introduces a cast of interesting characters. Even though the story is fictional, the people will feel strangely familiar. Each face is charmingly illustrated. They all interact in a small-town neighborhood. Danny is living directly between Bobby his best friend and Rodney who is skilled in mischief. Keep your eye on Rodney, he will take your emotions in surprising directions. Together these three boys will encounter all sorts of life experiences, including the consequences for their choices. There will be many other characters that line their paths. The message is inspirational and wholesome, with many unforeseen twists and turns. Join the journey and see things from a fresh new vantage point. The book has something for everyone, enjoy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Cinealis Nohl
• Release date: Aug 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386201809

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

AFTER DARK

From the time we’re young children, friends are a big influence on us, and the choices we make when we’re young can have an impact on our future. My best friend, Bobby Goodman, certainly had an influence on me. I’m Danny Hart. When I was twelve years old, I lived in the quaint city of Lowell nestled in the Ozarks, with my mom and dad. My older sister Kimberly was away at college. Bobby lived just down the block, and we were inseparable.

Bobby was always coming up with great ideas. One day we connected old shoeboxes with duct tape to make a maze for Bobby's hamster, Huey. It kept us busy for several hours. We reminisced about the day we brought Huey home from the Pet store. It was epic, Huey did what hamsters typically do. He escaped from the box in the back seat of the car, and no one could find him for two days. Bobby’s dad finally opened the hood of the car and there sat Huey. Since then, we were careful to keep track of the little guy.

With the shoeboxes well-secured, we put food at the end of the maze and placed the hamster at the starting line. Huey was a well-fed, fluffy guy, so he just dillydallied through the maze. But he eventually made his way to the edible prize, as Bobby and I cheered.

There was another boy who lived on the opposite end of the block from Bobby. His name was Rodney Folly. One afternoon, Bobby and I were sitting on the edge of my driveway talking about plans for the weekend when Rodney came up behind us. When we saw Rodney, we told him about Huey and the shoebox maze. Rodney said that he had overheard us talking about our plan to sleep in a tent in my backyard this Friday night. Rodney was quick to invite himself to join us, even though we didn’t want him to come.

Most kids in our school were a little afraid of Rodney. He was bigger than all of the boys in our class. I think he repeated the same grade a couple of times. As Rodney walked away, Bobby and I lifted our eyebrows. We’d only agreed to let him join us because it was the polite thing to do.

On Friday, the weather was nearly perfect. Bobby and I got busy setting up the tent in the yard. We both had an idea of what we wanted to bring along for the night, but neither of our lists included Rodney. We sort of dreaded him coming.

After dinner, we went into the tent and laid out our sleeping bags. Rodney poked his head in and joined us. Rodney did not have a sleeping bag, so I guessed that he was just going to rough it for the night by sleeping on the tent floor and maybe using his duffle bag as a pillow.

After dark, we ate chocolate cookies. When our teeth were covered in chocolate crumbs, we put the flashlight under our chins and smiled to look creepy. We also told jokes. Guy jokes like My dad is such a good bowler that he once bowled a perfect game using a marble, and My dad is so strong that he made an onion cry. These were the same jokes we told every time, but somehow, we always found them funny.

It was getting late, but we weren’t tired. Rodney didn’t say much up until this point, but then he smiled and said, I have an idea. He reached into his duffle bag and brought out a can of red spray paint and started shaking it. I was afraid to hear the rest of his idea. Let’s go to the park and do some decorating. It’s so dark that no one will ever see us.

I could hear both Bobby and me swallow.

No! Bobby said firmly. That is not a good idea. If we did something like that, our parents would never trust us again.

Rodney looked at me. What about you?

Since Bobby had already said no, it made it a lot easier for me to say no, too. I said, Every Saturday morning my grandpa Hank walks across that park on his way to our house for coffee, and he always carries a bag and picks up litter. I love that park, and I don't want to see it ruined. That is a lousy idea, so we’re not going.

Rodney stood up and grabbed his duffle bag. See you around. You guys are really boring, he scoffed as he left.

Bobby and I looked at each other without comment, but we sighed in relief that he was gone.

Eventually we fell asleep. In the morning as we were walking down the driveway, we glanced down the street. Look! Bobby pointed. A police car is in front of Rodney’s house! You don’t suppose he went down to the park last night after all, do you?

We did not know for sure, but if we were to wager a guess, it would be that he did. We went into my kitchen, and Grandpa Hank was there. He was in the middle of telling my parents a story. You should have seen it. It was down the slide, the benches, tables. Everything imaginable was sprayed with red paint. But luckily a neighbor's dog barked so loudly that his owner came outside to see what was wrong. He recognized the kid who was running from the park with paint all over his clothes.

Bobby and I blinked and made that loud swallowing sound again as we heard about what Rodney had done.

We did not feel very hungry, so we sat on the front porch, looking down toward the police car parked in front of Rodney’s house. Grandpa came out on the porch, wedged between us, and put his arms around us. Boys, I'm proud of you for being good kids who stay out of trouble.

I was so happy that Bobby and I made the right decision and stayed in the tent instead of joining Rodney. I couldn't even imagine what it would have been like if the police car was in front of our house! I was thankful for a friend like Bobby who helped me stay strong when Rodney challenged me. Last night I was glad when Rodney left, but now I wished he would have stayed with us.

CHAPTER TWO

THE SPORTS-THEMED BIRTHDAY

Just days before my thirteenth birthday, my mom, Laura Hart, said, Dad has a couple of days off, and he plans to repaint your room. It’s long overdue. Think about what colors you’d like it to be.

On the way home from school, I mentioned this to Bobby. I said I had no idea what colors I wanted, but he, of course, had a great idea. He suggested painting the room in our school team’s sport colors which were red and white.

I thought that was brilliant! We decided to ask if my party could be sports-themed as well.

When we got home, I told my parents our ideas. The cake could look like a baseball, and we could serve hotdogs like at a stadium!

Mom looked at Dad, Steven, what do you think?

Well, he paused, pretending to think about it. Then he smiled, If that’s what Danny wants, then I suppose we could make it happen.

On Wednesday, my dad laid plastic down on the floor, and he opened the paint cans. My parents said that solid red walls would make my room look too dark, so instead, they measured and taped off a big stripe horizontally around the middle of the walls. The room would be painted white, but that stripe would be bright red.

On Saturday morning, Grandpa Hank was in his usual place at the kitchen table, drinking his coffee. He slid a small package across the table toward me.

Here, Danny. This is a birthday gift from Grandma Ginny and me.

Thank you, Grandpa. Should I open it now?

He nodded, and I pulled away the wrapping paper to find a book that had no title on it. When I opened it up, there were no pictures or words. It was completely blank!

Grandpa, what kind of book is this with nothing in it?

It’s like your life, he answered. You don’t have any idea what will unfold in the future. But you can write things down as they happen. In the end, you will have written your life story.

What a strange gift, I thought. But I agreed it might be fun to write stuff down from time to time, just so I could remember things that happened to me.

Later that afternoon, my friends arrived. Almost everyone we invited came. Many of them brought gifts like posters and sports paraphernalia that I could put in my new room. I knew Bobby had been working on a project for me all week, but he said I wouldn’t get my present until after the party.

Dad had laid out our yard to look like a baseball diamond, using slate from our garden for the bases. Mom used flour to mark the grass with the white lines to connect the bases. It was good that we had a big yard so all of us kids had plenty of room to play baseball.

Kimie had come home for the weekend for my party, and it was funny to see her outside holding a box filled with sodas and individual bags of popcorn acting like a hawker at a stadium. Dad grilled hotdogs while he announced our plays on the sidelines like a sportscaster. I thought this was the best party