Further Family Lessons: Still Another Book to Read To, or With, Your Kids and Grandkids

By Steven E. Propp

Its three years later, and the grandkids are growing but so are the life challenges they face! Some of them are dealing with the additional issues created by attending junior high and high school. Theyre playing football and basketball; participating in cheerleading competitions; building castles and dioramas for school projects; attending birthday parties and swim parties; making and revising their Christmas Lists; and generally keeping their parents and grandparents busy, with all of their activities and interests.

There are more and more things they need to learn how to do, such as multiplication and division; how to ride a skateboard, or a bike; how to bake cookies; how to swim without touching the bottom of the pool; how to play the guitar; how to compute the tip to leave at a restaurant; how to download games and apps to a new mobile device; and much more.

The questions they pose for Papa and Nana are getting more complex, too. Beginning with simpler questions like Do whales eat people?; Can vampires come in the house if theyre not invited?; and Is that a boy fish, or a girl fish? they progress to more complex inquiries, such as, Can animals talk?; Do other planets have days, like we do?; Do you believe in global warming?; Whats it like to be an adult?; What do you think about the Big Bang?; and Do you believe in God?

Whether theyre going to the Zoo; hosting a video game party; deciding which music video to watch first; visiting Papa at work; trying to cross a muddy path in the Nature Walk; reading a popular series of books; posting pictures on social media websites; dancing a Zumba workout; or making a Fathers Day card, the activities and mishaps recounted in this book may help you to better appreciate the joy, wonder, and beauty of young peopleand reinforce your belief in the ultimate and indispensable value of FAMILY.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491755402

Steven E. Propp

Steve Propp graduated from CSU Sacramento and is the author of Family Lessons (2006), More Family Lessons (2011), A Multicultural Christmas (2005), Tattered Pilgrims (2001), and Work, Death, and Taxes (2000). Now retired, he lives in Sacramento, California, with his wife, Nancy, where he is devoted to his family and writing.

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FURTHER FAMILY LESSONS

STILL ANOTHER BOOK TO READ TO, OR WITH, YOUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS

Copyright © 2014 Steven H. Propp.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse

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www.iuniverse.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5541-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5540-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014921637

iUniverse rev. date: 12/29/2014

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

A WORD OF EXPLANATION

PART ONE - THE FIRST YEAR

CHAPTER 1 - BASKETBALL AND OTHER GAMES

CHAPTER 2 - COOKIES AND KISSES

CHAPTER 3 - GUYS’ NIGHT OUT

CHAPTER 4 - SOMEONE ELSE’S DATE NIGHT

CHAPTER 5 - TIME TO PLAY

CHAPTER 6 - RHEA, AND RAINBOWS

CHAPTER 7 - BATHROOMS, BASKETBALL, AND MAGIC STONES

CHAPTER 8 - DINOSAURS, DIORAMAS, AND DIRTY SHOES

CHAPTER 9 - BROTHER AND SISTER; BEARS AND CARS

CHAPTER 10 - CASTLES AND TOY SHOPPING

CHAPTER 11 - DADDY’S DAY

CHAPTER 12 - SWIM PARTY

CHAPTER 13 - TEXTS, SHOES, AND THE SOUND OF SILENCE

CHAPTER 14 - GRANDKID WEEKEND

CHAPTER 15 - GAMES AND GUESTS

CHAPTER 16 - BUBBLES, BAKING COOKIES, AND FOOTBALL

CHAPTER 17 - DIFFERENT KINDS OF MEASURING

CHAPTER 18 - AN ANIMAL ENCOUNTER

CHAPTER 19 - IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A - LOT LIKE HALLOWEEN

CHAPTER 20 - BREAKFAST FOR DINNER, AND BREAKFAST FOR EVERYONE

CHAPTER 21 - I’M THANKFUL FOR…

PART TWO – THE SECOND YEAR

CHAPTER 22 - SUPER BOWL WEEKEND

CHAPTER 23 - VIDEO GAME PARTY, AND BIRTHDAY PARTIES

CHAPTER 24 - BEING AN ADULT

CHAPTER 25 - THINGS THAT ARE REAL

CHAPTER 26 - GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS… AND SOME GUYS

CHAPTER 27 - SOCIAL MEDIA, SORORITY SISTERS, AND EGOS

CHAPTER 28 - COLLEGE, LIFE, AND OTHER GAMES

CHAPTER 29 - MARS, CREAM PIES, AND NOSTALGIA

CHAPTER 30 - SOME SPECIAL GUESTS

CHAPTER 31 - STATE FAIR DAY

CHAPTER 32 - ALL BY MYSELF

CHAPTER 33 - IT’S THE HARD-KNOCK LIFE

CHAPTER 34 - MAKING MOVIES, AND REBUILDING PARKS

CHAPTER 35 - BIRTHDAY GIRLS

CHAPTER 36 - WORKPLACE INSPECTION

CHAPTER 37 - THE MEMORIAL

CHAPTER 38 - DRAMA QUEENS, SCOOTERS, AND SCHEDULES

CHAPTER 39 - ONLY A GAME

CHAPTER 40 - LOTS OF TEAMS

CHAPTER 41 - DONOVAN AND THE DOG

CHAPTER 42 - CHRISTMAS: BEFORE, AND AFTER

CHAPTER 43 - WHAT THE SIXTIES WERE LIKE

PART THREE – THE THIRD YEAR

CHAPTER 44 - THE NEW YEAR, GAMES, AND GUMBO

CHAPTER 45 - QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

CHAPTER 46 - PEACOCKS AND OTHER PROJECTS

CHAPTER 47 - MEASURING, SHARING, AND RAPPING

CHAPTER 48 - PLAYING GAMES, DIGGING HOLES, AND TALKING ABOUT STUFF

CHAPTER 49 - GUY TALK

CHAPTER 50 - GIRLS’ WEEKEND

CHAPTER 51 - BROTHER AND SISTER WEEKEND

CHAPTER 52 - SUNDAY DINNER AT NANA’S

CHAPTER 53 - FAMILY SLEEPOVER

CHAPTER 54 - I’VE GOT TIME

CHAPTER 55 - NEW VERSIONS OF OLD GAMES

CHAPTER 56 - A NICE, EASY DAY

CHAPTER 57 - GUITAR LESSONS, PARASOLS, AND ZUMBA

CHAPTER 58 - ME ‘N’ RHEE

EPILOGUE - FREE AT LAST

DEDICATION

To all our wonderful grandkids (some of whose artwork is included in this book!):

Devonte

Joseph

Dominic

Mariah

Kayla

Brea

To Joe, Keri, and Danielle: the incredibly hard-working parents who raise their children to be active, creative, intelligent, and responsible, as well as both loving, and loved.

To all the family members—Uncle Michael and Auntie Phyllis in particular—and friends: whose help, encouragement, support, and love are so important to young people growing up in a sometimes difficult world.

To all of my friends and readers—including my former coworkers—everywhere.

To our parents Dorothy S. Propp, and Harry & Barbara Slaughter, whose example showed all of us the way, and whose inspirational memories are always close to our hearts.

But above all, to my beautiful, wonderful wife and soul mate Nancy—the light and love of my life; forever, and for always—the always-caring Nana, whose loving heart and gentle spirit keep all of us together; and with whom I will gratefully and lovingly now share our retirement years…

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A WORD OF EXPLANATION

My three Family Lessons books are not kids’ books; that is, they do not deliberately limit their vocabulary to only words used by young people at a certain age level. (They would hold no lasting value for adults, or for older kids, if they did.)

They are written to be read to, or with, young people; when you or they come across a word they are unfamiliar with, that’s an occasion to explain the word to them—which is a useful Family Lesson, after all!

As always, this book is about 85% real experiences with our own grandkids (although I decline to specify which parts are the 85%, and which parts are the 15%!). I do a substantial amount of re-arranging and combining different incidents into a single day’s narrative, however, to ensure a smoother reading experience.

The main characters are all given fictional names; businesses, etc., are also re-named. For persons who only appear once, or very rarely, I often retained their actual first names.

Nearly all the questions posed by the kids in this book were really asked of us by our grandkids (although I have taken the liberty of adding some follow-up questions in certain cases, to allow for a fuller answer to their question). And no, the answers I give in real life aren’t usually as thorough and detailed as they are in this book. (In real life, I usually have to field another question, when I’m only halfway through the second sentence of my response to the first question!) My answers in the book are what I would have said, given no interruptions, and an attentive audience.

We hope you enjoy spending some time with our family, and that it helps you to appreciate your family even more!

PART ONE -

THE FIRST YEAR

CHAPTER 1

BASKETBALL AND OTHER GAMES

(January, Saturday morning)

Nana and I arrived at the school, parked, and (with me carrying my portable video camera) we headed to the entrance to the gymnasium.

As we approached the entrance, we could already hear the squeak! of tennis shoes on the hardwood floor, as well as the enthusiastic sounds of the crowd.

The game had just started; we spotted Uncle Mitchell, and went to join him in the stands.

Did we miss anything? I asked him, as we shook hands.

Deion got one basket, and one rebound, he replied. He then greeted his father, who also arrived, and sat down next to him.

Deion was playing, so I began filming the game. Nana yelled and clapped enthusiastically as she watched the game: Come on, ref—that was traveling! or That’s the way! Good shot!

Donnelle arrived, followed by Deion’s female cousin Angie (who, at fourteen, was two years older than Deion).

After Angie had greeted everyone, she told me, Thanks again, Uncle Teague, for helping me with my math homework last night.

Any time; always glad to help with school work, I replied with a smile.

Then Karen, Josh, and their four kids arrived (Joshua, age nine; Donovan, age seven; and the twins Kaitlyn and Maria, age five). After we greeted everyone, the girls sat in-between Nana and I; it was now halftime, so the girls chatted enthusiastically with Nana.

Joshua came and sat down on my other side, and said with a grin, I think I know what games I want for my birthday.

I smiled, and said, That’s right; it’s getting to be that time, already. So what game’s at the top of your list this year?

Luigi’s Mansion, he replied.

I nodded, and said, Well, we’ve got another month or so before I need to get your ‘definitive’ Birthday List; but I need at least ten to fourteen days, for anything I need to order online.

Okay, he said. He went back up the risers, to sit by Josh.

The game was about to resume after halftime, so I moved to the other side of the gym, so that I could better film Deion playing offense.

As I filmed, I observed that Deion’s team was playing much better than they had earlier in the season. They were also functioning much better as a team—several players even passed up open shots in order to give the ball to a teammate who had a better shot—thus earning credit for an assist.

Finally, Deion’s team won the game (their first win of the season!). Deion himself had a fine game, scoring ten points, collecting six rebounds, and adding two blocked shots.

We all headed outside, so the coach could talk to the players (as the family members and friends listened). The coach thanked the players for their continued efforts, and concluded, And your hard work paid off with a win! which spurred his listeners to applaud and cheer.

After the coach’s speech was over, we all congratulated Deion on his game, and then we began to head to our own vehicles.

Donovan came up to me, and whispered breathlessly, Papa, can Joshua and I stay with you tonight?

It’s okay with me, I replied. Ask your Mom and Dad first, and then see if it’s okay with Nana.

Okay! he replied enthusiastically, racing over to his parents, who were talking with Nana.

I unlocked our car, and carefully put away my video camera.

Nana came up to me, and explained, Everyone’s going to come back to our place, now; they all want to see the movie you made of the kids’ school program last Wednesday.

Sounds good, I said, opening the car door for her.

As she got into the car, she added, Let’s hurry and stop at Tiny Nero’s on the way home, so we’ll have lunch for everyone. I nodded, and we drove off.

We arrived at Tiny Nero’s. We went inside, and Nana placed the order. (We had to wait for a few minutes, since we also wanted some pizza bread.)

When Nana handed the girl at the counter her credit card, the girl shook her head and said, Sorry; we don’t take credit cards.

What? Nana said, surprised.

I handed the girl some cash, and she quickly made change; then she handed us the pizzas.

As Nana and I walked out to the car, she asked, Why don’t they take credit cards?

I shrugged as I unlocked the car door for her, then said, Probably because credit card companies charge them a small fee—about 3%-4%, usually—on credit card purchases; whereas there’s no charge on ATM purchases. I added, That’s why some gas stations also charge you less, if you pay in cash.

We got into the car, then began driving home.

Deion had a good game, Nana observed.

"He did; and the whole team did better, I agreed. Too bad the season’s almost over, now that they’re finally starting to get it together. With a smile, I added, Remember how Deion said at the beginning of the season that he was upset, because he had been assigned to play on the worst team in their league?"

We pulled up into the driveway; Karen and the family were already here, and had already let themselves into the house with their own key. We took the pizza inside.

Josh and Deion were sitting on the couch, watching the end of a football game. I quickly set up the girls’ small table and set up some TV trays, and Nana and Karen passed out the pizza and pizza bread to everyone.

As everyone was sitting around eating, and chatting, I began to film the activity with my video camera (since I also wanted to use up the last four minutes on the disc).

Nana waved her hand at me, and said with exasperation, "Why do you always take pictures when we’re eating?"

I stopped taping, and explained, "I don’t deliberately film people when they’re eating; it’s just that it’s about the only time when everyone is sitting down together, and can be filmed."

She shook her head, and said, Well, my hair is all tore up; so I don’t want to be filmed. I nodded, turned off my camera, and then went into the kitchen to finalize the disc, for playback.

When I returned to the living room, the football game on TV had just ended, so Nana asked me to put on the DVD of the kids’ school performance. I put the DVD in the player, and turned it on. As it began to play, I said, I like how they had the kids sing along with a soundtrack; it’s a lot better than just having the kids accompanied by a teacher banging away on an out-of-tune piano, like we had when I was a kid!

As the DVD played, the kids began singing and dancing along with it. Everyone laughed lightly as we watched.

Look at Kaitlyn; she can’t stop laughing, Nana observed.

Karen nodded, and said, But Maria looks so serious!

When the girls’ song was over, the children began filing off the stage—except for Maria, who didn’t notice the teacher frantically gesturing for her to come off the stage, so that Maria and all of the kids to her right remained standing on the stage… and were still there when the curtain closed right in front of them.

Karen laughed and asked her, Maria, why didn’t you go offstage when your teacher told you? Maria just smiled.

For the Grand Finale, all of the classes from all grades came back on stage—except that Kaitlyn missed her cue, so that she (and the kids following her) were late coming on stage, and then had to run to catch up with the other kids.

Nana said, I like the themes their songs have; they’re all about respect; keeping your promises; loving your parents; and being good.

I nodded, and added, And they all emphasize, ‘It starts with me!’

When the DVD was over, I removed it from the player.

Deion asked me if he could use Nana’s computer, so he could update his queue of rental video games on the Bustblocker account I had opened for him. I nodded, and put Nana’s computer on the kitchen table, then turned it on for him.

The girls wanted to play Paint on the old computer in the upstairs bedroom that Josh had given us, so I told them to follow me upstairs. I turned on the computer, and waited for it to warm up, while the girls amused themselves by jumping on the bed.

When the Paint program was up and running, I indicated that the girls should come and sit down in the chairs in front of the computer.

When they were seated, I said, "Now, remember: you need to take turns." I clicked on the icon that would let them place rectangles on the screen, and then showed them how they could fill in these rectangles with different colors, by clicking on a toolbar.

I want pink, Maria said, so I pointed to this color on the toolbar; she clicked it, and was delighted when she was able to color the various rectangles on the screen in pink.

Remember to take turns, I reminded them, as I saw Joshua motioning to me from the door; Donovan was standing behind him. The girls continued their computerized artwork, as I went over to Joshua.

Joshua asked, "Papa, can we play Sonic and Knuckles 3 on your computer?"

Sure, I replied. The guys followed me into the adjoining room, and I turned on my computer.

"Sonic and Knuckles 3, you said? I confirmed, and they nodded. Inserting this game disc into the computer, I double-clicked the corresponding icon on my computer’s desktop, and then got up from the chair, saying, Now, who wants to go first?"

I do! Joshua replied immediately.

I looked at Donovan questioningly, and he said agreeably, Joshua can go first.

Joshua eagerly took my seat; and, with Donovan seated next to him, he began to play the game. I watched them for a few minutes; since they seemed content, I went to check on the girls.

Their computer screen was completely filled with colored rectangles, so I showed them how to start again with a New screen; they happily again began the process of creating and coloring in rectangles. Then I walked downstairs.

I went into the kitchen and found Deion still using Nana’s computer, intently searching for games to rent. I stood behind him, and noted the games he was ordering.

All sports games, huh? I asked, and he nodded. Pointing to two of the games in his Queue, I said, Those two both say, ‘Very Long Wait,’ which means it may be weeks or even months before they’re available for rental. If you really want to play those games in the near future, you might have to ask for them for your birthday.

Yeah, he agreed.

Joshua came up to us (presumably meaning that he had given Donovan a turn on my computer), and asked, Deion, can I use that computer when you’re done?

Yeah; sure, cuz—I’m done, he replied, getting up from his chair, which Joshua then eagerly occupied. I returned to the living room, as Joshua began searching on the Internet.

Nana motioned for me, so I walked over to her. She asked me quietly, We’re going to have all three of the boys stay over tonight; is that okay?

I hesitated, then replied, Will they all be okay together? You know how they sometimes argue, when they’re all…

They’ll be fine, she assured me. They’re older now.

Karen and Josh had gathered up the girls’ coats and shoes, and Karen called for them to come down from upstairs. (After two repeated requests, they finally heard, then appeared at the top of the stairs.)

Not so fast; you’ll fall down and hurt yourself, Nana cautioned them, as they came bounding eagerly down the stairs. Karen and Josh helped the girls get dressed to go outside.

With hugs, handshakes, and kisses all around (and then me handing a bag of juices and snacks to Josh), the girls and their parents went out to their SUV, and drove off.

I closed the front door behind them, and then said to our three grandsons, Okay, so what do you guys want to do?

Play basketball! Deion and Joshua replied immediately.

That’s fine with me, I agreed, and then said, Go out in the garage and get the balls. The two of them raced off, as I headed upstairs to turn off both computers.

When I returned downstairs, I saw that the guys had already gone outside.

You should move the cars, to give them more room to play, Nana suggested, so I nodded, then took her set of keys. I moved both cars from the driveway and parked them on the street, and then walked back to the driveway.

Joshua and Donovan were both trying to guard Deion, and steal the ball from him; but he (being older and more experienced) was clearly too good for them, so I suggested, Why don’t we play in teams? Deion and Joshua on one team, and Don and I on the other.

Deion looked puzzled, and said, But there’s no basket.

I looked around, then pointed to the mail slot on our garage door, and said, We’ll use that as a basket; if the ball hits that, you made the basket. They all agreed.

We played for about ten minutes (with Deion and Joshua easily beating Donovan and myself).

Nana opened the front door, and asked us with a frown, What’s all this banging I hear?

Sorry, I apologized. We’re playing basketball, and our ‘basket’ is on the garage door. She shook her head and said, "Remember that we’ve got neighbors!" and then returned inside.

Let’s try a different game, I suggested to the guys. How about we have an All-Star Dunk Competition?

Yeah! Deion said enthusiastically. He began bouncing his ball, as we all moved back to give him some room. He then picked up his ball, and ran in measured steps toward the basket, and then made a 360° turn—but unfortunately, he didn’t get turned around completely in time, and ended up just bumping loudly into the garage door, and dropping the ball. He grinned good-naturedly as he jogged over to retrieve the ball, then passed it to the next contestant.

Joshua approached the garage door with a look of fierce determination on his face; unfortunately, his hands weren’t large enough to really be able to control the ball with one hand, so his shot was well wide of the target.

Wait; let me try again, he insisted. So I retrieved the ball and bounced it back to him. With similar determination, he took another run at the mail slot… but with similar results.

Okay, Don; it’s your turn, I said to Donovan. But he was just dribbling with the other basketball, and didn’t seem interested in our dunk contest.

I looked at Deion, who had now taken his cell phone from his pocket, and his attention was completely focused on it.

I admitted, Okay, so that idea didn’t work out very well. How about we just do some passing back and forth? They all agreed.

I directed them to stand in a circle, and attempted to get them to pass the two balls to each other, in a clockwise motion. Joshua and Donovan did this pretty well, but Deion was too distracted (by looking at his cell phone whenever he didn’t have a ball), so he kept missing the next pass that was made to him, so I usually had to run to retrieve the ball, before it went out into the street.

Returning to the circle once again, I asked him with a smile, It’s not like you, to be more interested in something than playing basketball. What’s so important on your phone, that you’re paying so much attention to it?

He grinned, and said, "A friend of mine sent me a picture of this girl at school; she looks like a model!"

I smiled knowingly, then said to them, Well, it’s starting to get dark, anyway. We’d better go inside, now. We collected the two basketballs, and the guys went inside, while I moved the cars back into the driveway.

When I returned inside, I saw that Nana had made chicken and potatoes, so we all sat down and ate dinner. (I was interested to see that the guys were all laughing and talking happily with each other, with none of their formerly customary arguing.)

Once dinner was over, everyone went into the living room to watch TV; so I cleaned up the dishes, and filled the dishwasher.

When I was done, I went into the living room, and asked, Do you guys want to go rent a Homebox movie? Their three voices responded affirmatively, so we all put on our shoes and coats, piled into the car, and drove to the grocery store.

After I parked the car, we got out, and began walking to the store’s entrance. I told them that I also needed to get some eggs for breakfast tomorrow while we were here, so I led them in this direction. After I picked up a large carton of eggs, we began walking back toward the checkout area, and passed by the display of doughnuts; noticing their interest, I smiled and asked, Anyone want a doughnut? Deion and Donovan immediately replied Yes! with enthusiasm… while Joshua shook his head. Deion and Donovan picked out their doughnuts, while I selected two maple bars (one for Nana, and one just in case Joshua changed his mind).

I went through the Self-Checkout line to pay for our purchases, and then we went over to the Homebox kiosk to look at the available movies. I explained, You all get to choose a movie. Joshua selected Mars Needs Moms; Deion picked Scream 4, and Donovan chose a cartoon. After the machine dispensed the movies, I handed the guys each their choice, and we all walked back out to the car.

Once we arrived home, everyone (except Joshua) immediately wanted to eat their doughnuts. (Since he didn’t want it, I ate Joshua’s maple bar.) Then—surprisingly, to me—the guys all wanted to watch I Carly on television, rather than watch their Homebox movies. So we all sat down to watch that show.

After the show was over, I noticed that Donovan and Joshua were starting to yawn, so I made out the couch bed for them. Donovan and Joshua immediately lay down on it, while Deion relaxed and lay down on the other couch.

I went to the closet, and then passed out pillows and blankets. (Deion, as usual, immediately claimed the red pillow for himself.) Nana was leaning back in her recliner, and I sat down in the brown chair.

Then I put on Joshua’s movie; he and Donovan were soon engrossed in it, but Deion was quickly bored (by this kids’ movie).

Want to watch your movie on my portable DVD player? I asked him quietly.

Sure! he said eagerly. He followed me upstairs, as I went to retrieve it.

As I went over to my electronic keyboard, removed the headphones from it, and handed them to Deion, he said with satisfaction, "I am so glad that I got cousins I can just talk to!"

I smiled, and said, Remember a year or two ago? How you and Joshua were always getting into arguments?

He smiled sheepishly, then said, Yeah; I remember.

I patted him on the shoulder as I went to get my portable DVD player, then said, It’s easier for all you guys to get along, now that Joshua and Donovan are getting older.

Yeah, he said. "They’re not just kids anymore!"

I said as we headed to the stairs, Just wait until you’re 19; Joshua will be 16, and Donovan will be 14; I’ll bet the three of you will be the tightest of friends. I chuckled, and then added, "And you’ll all probably come over to our house hungry after playing basketball or some other sport… and you’ll eat Nana and I out of house and home!" and we both laughed.

When we arrived back in the living room, I plugged in my portable DVD player, and turned it on. Nana pointed to it, then and asked me, "Where did you get that?

I replied, This was my Christmas present to myself; I need it for research on the book on politics I’m writing this upcoming year.

A few minutes later, Deion was watching his scary movie on the portable DVD player, while Joshua and Donovan continued watching Joshua’s movie. I turned the lights down, and before long, everyone was asleep.

I woke up about an hour later. I gently took the earphones off the sleeping Deion’s head, then made sure that the guys and Nana all had warm blankets over them; I turned the heater up a couple of degrees, and then went upstairs.

* * *

I was writing on my computer at 7:30 the next morning, when Donovan came into the room.

Hi, Papa, he said, taking a seat next to me. Can I play the Sonic game?

Sure, I said, saving and closing my document, then reaching for the CD-ROM of the Sonic game he wanted. After the game was loaded and ready to play, I got up from my seat, and said, I’ll go get breakfast started. He took the seat I had vacated, and began to play the game, as I headed to the stairs.

When I arrived downstairs, I observed that Nana, Deion, and Joshua were all still asleep. So I quietly went into the kitchen, and began to prepare some sausage, eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, and waffles.

When I was done, I went into the living room, to see how everyone was doing. Joshua was awake and watching cartoons on TV, but Deion was still trying (without much luck, thanks to the noise from the television) to sleep. Nana had gone upstairs (presumably to change clothes, or take a shower).

"Okay, gang; it’s time for some breakfast!" I announced, as I got out four TV trays. I looked over at Deion, and smiled as he sleepily turned over on his stomach and pulled the pillow over his head.

Looks like someone stayed up too late last night watching scary movies! I teased him. I chuckled, and added, "Just remember: ‘You can’t soar with the eagles in the morning, if you were up gobbling with the turkeys at night’!" He laughed at this, and (smelling the aroma of food) finally sat up. He helped me set up the TV trays.

Don! Nana! Breakfast is ready, I called up from the foot of the stairs. Don immediately came running down the stairs. I went into the kitchen, and began bringing in the four plates.

The guys were eating ravenously, when Nana came down the stairs.

Good morning, sweetheart, I said, giving her a kiss, and moving the TV tray aside to allow her to sit down in her chair.

Papa, can I have some more eggs? Donovan requested.

Sure, no problem, I said. Anyone else want anything more?

I want some more bacon, please, Joshua said.

Coming right up, I replied. Looking at Deion’s empty plate, I said to him, You look like you could use some more, too, and he nodded. I returned to the kitchen to bring back seconds.

While the guys were finishing their second course breakfast, I went to the store to get some more groceries. (I also picked up some more doughnuts.)

When I returned home and went inside the house, I saw that the guys had all put their shoes on.

Papa, can we play basketball at the park? Joshua asked eagerly.

That’s fine with me, I said.

Let’s go on the Nature Walk! Donovan suggested, enthusiastically.

I thought for a moment, and then replied, I don’t know about that; it’s been kind of rainy lately, so the path is probably pretty muddy, and I doubt that we’d be able to make it through. We’d better drive. The guys shrugged, and then nodded their agreement. Deion and Joshua went to the garage to get the two basketballs, while I got some Gatorade and snacks to take with us.

You all have to keep your coats on, Nana instructed sternly. They all dutifully put their coats on.

We said goodbye to Nana (who promised to join us later), and then stepped outside. I said, Let’s take the gray car, so that Nana can use the Saturn, if she needs to go anywhere.

Cool! Deion said. It’s got more room.

Yeah, Joshua agreed, as I unlocked the doors for them; Deion immediately claimed the front seat, leaving the two brothers to pile into the back seat. A puzzled look came over Joshua’s face, and he said, How come we never ride in the gray car any more, Papa?

"Because it’s an old car, I explained, as I got into the driver’s seat. We try to mostly drive the Saturn because it’s newer, and has a lot fewer miles on it; but by driving our older car less, it will last longer—which means that I don’t have to take on a car payment for a while longer."

As I backed out of the driveway, I smiled at Deion and said, "Someday pretty soon, you’ll get to worry about making car payments; but believe me: it’s something that you’ll want to put off for as long as you can."

We drove the short distance to the park. We had to park a short distance away, because there were a lot of other cars. They must be playing soccer, I suggested, as we got out of the car, and started walking toward the basketball court.

No one was using the court (although there were lots of people watching and playing in the three or four soccer games), so we had it all to ourselves. Deion immediately began taking shots… and missing them. Joshua also took a few shots, but it was clearly difficult for him to throw the basketball high enough to reach the basket.

Try standing closer to the basket, as if you were making a layup, I suggested. He did, and threw the ball up; this time, it hit the rim, then bounced away.

I asked him, Are the baskets at your school this high? He shook his head. Pointing to the basket, I added, This is regulation height; but elementary schools usually have lower baskets for the earlier grades.

Deion passed the ball to Donovan, and said, The baskets at my school were hecka short!

He then watched Joshua closely as he shot, and suggested, "Jump up as you shoot, Joshua; it’s easier. And aim for the backboard." Joshua tried this, and this time he almost made the basket.

I got the rebound, and was ready to pass it back to Joshua, but his hands were hanging down at his sides. Discouragement in his voice, he said glumly, I still missed.

I passed the ball back to him, and said encouragingly, "Remember last year? You couldn’t get the ball anywhere near the basket; but this year, you can hit the rim, most of the time. And if you were playing with a hoop that was appropriate for your height, you’d probably make the basket all the time! I grabbed the rebound from another of Deion’s misses, and then winked at him and said to Joshua, Look at Deion: he’s a lot taller than you, and he’s a very experienced basketball player—but I think he’s been about 0 for 13 so far this morning!" and we all laughed. I passed the ball to Joshua, and he put up another close shot.

Here comes Nana, Deion announced, as he saw Nana approaching the court.

As she arrived, Nana said to us all, I need to do my morning walk; who wants to walk with me? Donovan said that he did, so he and Nana began walking around the basketball court, as Deion and Joshua continued shooting baskets. When Nana and Donovan finished their walk, they headed to the playground area.

Deion was sweating from all his exertions, so he and Joshua took a break, sat down on the pavement, and opened their bottles of Gatorade.

Phew! I’m hot! Deion exclaimed. He wiped his forehead with his forearm. Looking at his now-wet forearm, he asked, Why do we sweat, anyway?

"Because the human body is self-regulating, in terms of its temperature, I replied. When your body sweats, it’s attempting to cool itself down, by providing moisture." (He didn’t reply, but appeared to be thinking about this response.)

You guys had enough basketball for a while? I asked, and they nodded their heads. Let’s go to the playground area, then. They got up, and we walked over to join Nana and Donovan. Joshua ran ahead to join his brother on the slides, while Deion sat down on the bench next to Nana, and drank his Gatorade.

Nana handed me a small toy basketball, and said, I brought this along.

Thanks, I said, taking it over to the slides where Donovan and Joshua were playing. In the corner of my eye, I saw Deion (now rested) heading back to the basketball court.

Donovan was at the bottom of a slide, so I placed the toy ball at the top of this slide, and rolled it down to him; he caught it. He tried to roll it back up the slide, but it didn’t go far, and he caught it as it came back down the slide.

Joshua came over and sat down at the top of this slide. I took the toy ball, and went to the top of the slide, where Joshua was sitting.

Beep, beep! I said to him, holding the ball behind him. He grinned and said, Go ahead! as he lifted himself up, creating space for the ball to roll underneath him. I let the ball go, and it started to roll down the slide, until Donovan caught it.

After playing for a while longer, the guys (including Deion) were ready and eager for some snacks. We all sat with Nana on the bench.

I want to go for a longer walk, Nana announced, as the guys finished eating. She said, Let’s walk on that cement path, out toward the street. We all got up, threw away our trash, and began walking along the path; there were soccer games going on, on each side of the path.

Joshua looked puzzled, and asked me, "Papa, how come some people call soccer ‘football’? It’s not football!"

I smiled, and replied, "Actually, I believe that soccer was called ‘football’ a long time before our version of ‘football’ was ever given that name. So we’re the ones who are the ‘latecomers’ to that word!"

That’s weird, he observed.

I continued, "But if you think about it, since American football players really doesn’t use their feet very much in connection with the ball—except for kickoffs, punts, and extra points after the touchdown—whereas soccer doesn’t even let players (except for the goalie) touch the ball with anything except their feet, or occasionally their heads, the name ‘football’ is probably much more appropriate to soccer, than to American football."

Huh, he replied, seeming to think about it.

We walked around the area behind the baseball diamond, and then onto the diamond itself. We tossed around the toy basketball a few times, and then the guys decided they wanted to have some races. (Nana continued walking on the grass.)

I told the guys to line up, as I walked about thirty yards away, and then called back, Okay: I’ll say, ‘Ready, Set, Go!’, and the winner is the first one that slaps my palm; understand? They all nodded.

I held up my hand like it was a starting flag, and then announced, Okay, here we go: Ready, Set… but before I said ‘Go!’ and dropped my hand, Joshua (and then Deion, and Donovan) took off running.

No, no; go back and do it again, I said, shaking my head, and waving them back. You guys jumped the gun. Reluctantly, they went back and lined up… but all three of them kept trying to edge forward, to gain a slight advantage over the others.

I quickly said, Ready, Set, Go! but by the time the words were out of my mouth, they were already off and running. I played the part of an announcer, calling out, And Joshua takes the early lead, with Donovan and Deion in close pursuit. But wait: Deion is starting to catch up; but now it’s Joshua, now it’s Deion, now it’s Joshua… and I waved my hand like a finish flag as they ran past me.

Who won? Joshua asked, breathing hard.

It was a tie between you and Deion, I replied. With Donovan a close second.

I’m ready to go; I’m tired, Nana announced, as she rejoined us.

I said to the guys, Okay, troops; time to head home. We began walking back along the cement path, past the soccer games.

When we arrived at the cars, Donovan wanted to ride home with Nana; so Deion and Joshua and I rode in the gray car.

When we got home, I started to gather up the Homebox movies, but Donovan protested, But I didn’t get to watch the last part of my movie; I fell asleep!

Well, we don’t have time to watch it now, Nana pointed out. I promised your Mom that we’d get you two home by 11:00; you boys are going to a birthday party—and I’m going out to lunch with a friend.

He can use my portable DVD player, and watch it in the car with headphones, I suggested. Its battery should be charged by now. Then I can take the movies back after you return from dropping the guys off.

That’s a good idea, Nana complimented. We gathered up all the guys’ stuff, and loaded it into the car. I put Donovan’s DVD into my portable player, plugged in the headphones, and he and I located the last scene he remembered watching.

Here you go, I said, handing the player to him.

Thanks, Papa, he said, giving me a hug.

We all went out to the car. Deion sat in the front, and the two brothers sat in the back seat. After Nana started up the car, Joshua complained that he couldn’t see or hear the DVD that Donovan was watching, so I unplugged the earphones, and told Donovan to hold the player in the middle of the back seat, so that both of them could watch it.

I kissed Nana, waved goodbye to the guys, and watched them drive off.

(Then went back inside to start to clean up, thinking to myself, Man: just wait ‘til they’re all in high school and college…!

CHAPTER 2

COOKIES AND KISSES

(January, Sunday evening)

The doorbell rang, so I opened the door: It was Josh and the girls. (I saw that Karen and the guys were still in the car.)

Hi, Papa! Maria said happily, giving me a hug as she came in the house.

Hi, sweetheart, I said, also giving Kaitlyn a hug as she entered.

How are you doing, Papa Teague? Josh said, shaking my hand as he came inside. He went over to the couch, picked up the TV remote control, and turned on a football game.

I trust you saw that the 49ers won their first playoff game? I said, teasing him.

Who cares? he said, pretending disinterest.

The Lions lost their Wild Card game, so they’re out of the playoffs, I said, still kidding him. So maybe it’s time you switched teams—for the playoff season, at least.

No way, he replied firmly.

Turning serious, I said, Nana made chicken and potatoes; want me to get you a plate? And a soda, Gatorade, or water?

No, thanks, he replied. We stopped and had pizza on the way over. Then the door opened, and Karen and the guys came inside. Karen greeted me, then headed to the kitchen to find her mother.

Hi, Papa, Joshua said.

Hey, partner, I replied, giving him a hug.

Hi, Papa, Donovan said, and we embraced.

Hey, Don, I replied.

Donovan then looked at me with a very serious expression, and said quietly, "Papa, I have a question about N – O – S – F – E – R – A – T – U." (He spelled the last word out very carefully.)

Okay, I said agreeably. What’s the question? Joshua was also listening with interest.

Donovan asked gravely, Can vampires come in the house if they’re not invited?

"Well; that’s a question I wasn’t expecting, I said. I thought for a moment, and then said, First of all, you remember that vampires don’t really exist, right? They both nodded (but with how much conviction, I couldn’t tell). I continued, Now, in movies such as Dracula, I think that vampires will sometimes sneak into someone’s house without being invited—or else, they might turn into a bat, and fly into someone’s upstairs window, without being invited. So I guess the answer to your question is, ‘Yes, they can come into someone’s house without being invited.’ But looking them both in the eyes, I added soberly, But since vampires aren’t real, there’s nothing for anyone to worry about. A vampire like Nosferatu can’t come into your house, any more than an imaginary creature like a unicorn or a centaur can." They nodded again (but still didn’t look entirely convinced).

Karen came back into the living room carrying a bag filled with snacks and juices, and announced, Okay, boys; time to say goodbye. We all hugged and said our farewells, and Karen, Josh, and the guys departed. Nana sat down in her chair, and changed channels on the TV.

The girls went into the kitchen, so I followed them. Both Kaitlyn and Maria were pointing to the Mouse Trap game that was on the kids’ bookshelf, so I took the game down, and placed it on the kitchen table.

The girls both wanted to have the yellow mouse as their token; so I hid it, and another token in my hands, and had them each pick a hand. Maria chose the hand with the yellow mouse, and she shrieked with delight (which caused Kaitlyn to pout).

It was immediately apparent that they didn’t really want to play the game; that is: roll the dice, and gradually build up the Mouse Trap as they moved around the board. So I just assembled the Mouse Trap, as they handed me the parts. Sometimes I would shake my head as they handed me a particular part, and I explained, "We can’t put that part on, yet; you have to put the base down, first. The base is what supports all of the other parts."

Maria wanted to hold the two steel balls in her hand. I told her, Be very careful with those steel balls; if you lose even one of them, the Mouse Trap won’t work.

We then placed our mouse tokens in the loop underneath the cage that ultimately traps a mouse, and I explained how the game was supposed to work. "When your mouse is on the cheese underneath the trap, you’ll get caught in the trap if someone else lands on the ‘Turn Crank’ space." We then began to roll the die, and move our tokens around the loop.

I would advise them (in a deliberately suspenseful voice) before they rolled the die, "Now if Kaitlyn rolls a 3, she’ll be on the cheese, and in danger of being ‘trapped’! or If Maria gets a 5, she’ll get to turn the crank, and I’ll be caught in the Mouse Trap!"

I was the first one to be trapped. Maria giggled as she turned the crank to set off the trap, and both girls chortled with glee when the cage fell and trapped my mouse. That’s it; I’m out of the game, I announced, removing my mouse from the game board.

Maria was the next one to be trapped. Kaitlyn got to turn the crank, and when the cage fell on Maria’s mouse, she started to cry.

I lose, she wailed.

No, you didn’t, I reassured her, moving her mouse token off the cheese, and over to the Safe space. I said, That was just Round One; you can still play the game. So she stopped crying, smiled, and we continued to play the game.

The crank on the first part of the trap kept falling off, however, so the girls started just directly pushing over the bucket containing the steel ball that rolled down the stairway.

When they would try to again roll the ball down the stairway immediately after setting off the Mouse Trap, I told them, You have to wait until I reset the trap; I have to set it up again, each time you operate it.

They became tired of this game, and decided they wanted to play Operation.

We have to put away this game first, before we get out another game, I said, quickly disassembling the Mouse Trap, and putting all the pieces back into the box. Then I got the Operation game down from the shelf, and replaced Mouse Trap on the shelf.

We took the Operation game out of its box, and the girls immediately began using the metal tweezers to remove the small plastic objects from the body of the patient. They made no attempt to avoid touching the metal sides with the tweezers, however, so there was a constant (and annoying) buzzing as they tried to remove objects with the tweezers. (Finally, I just removed the game’s batteries, to stop this buzzing.)

Kaitlyn proudly held up the Butterflies in the Stomach piece, and said, I did it!

You sure did, I agreed. I gave her a few pieces of the play money from the game box, as her reward.

The girls soon realized that it was more fun just giving themselves play money, than actually playing the game. They took their handfuls of money, and went running into the next room to show Nana.

When they came back into the kitchen, they decided that they now wanted to play the motorized golf game; so I put the Operation game back up on the shelf, and took down the golf game, and placed it on the kitchen table. I inserted the golfers into the game surface, then turned on the game’s motor, which caused the holes in the middle to start turning around. The girls eagerly began hitting the golf balls with their golfer, although they often hit the balls too hard, so that they flew off the course entirely, and fell to the kitchen table. I kept replacing the tiny plastic golf balls as they hit them, so they could keep playing continually.

Nana then came into the kitchen, and asked the girls with enthusiasm, "Who wants to bake some cookies with me?" The girls shrieked their enthusiastic reply. So I turned on the oven to let it begin warming up, and then put the golf game back on the shelf.

Nana asked me to take some cookie sheets down from the cupboard. Then she took out two packages of cookie mix—chocolate chip, and sugar cookies—from the refrigerator. She showed the girls how to arrange the cookies on the cookie sheet—keeping them far enough apart so that the baked cookies wouldn’t run into each other. Then Nana put the cookie sheets into the oven, and had me set the timer.

Let’s go watch TV while the cookies bake, Nana said to the girls, leading them into the living room; I followed after them.

Nana asked me, Can you put on that movie about Martin Luther King? I nodded, and then went to get the DVD, Our Friend Martin.

Tell the girls about Martin Luther King, she suggested to me, as the movie began loading. She asked the girls, You’ve heard about Martin Luther King, haven’t you? and they nodded enthusiastically. She added, And did you know that tomorrow is his birthday? That’s why you get the day off from school. They nodded again. (She then indicated that I should begin my explanation.)

I said, "Martin Luther King was a very wonderful man; he was a minister who had a church down in the Southern part of our country, and he and his friends—like Rosa Parks, and Ralph Abernathy—helped lots and lots of people all over the country to get the rights they were entitled to. He was strongly opposed to the use of violence, and he insisted that all of the protest marches his supporters engaged in be completely peaceful. He was even put in jail several times, even though was only trying to help people to get their lawful and constitutional civil rights! He showed everyone that you could protest the way some things were, without hurting anybody to do it. He led a famous March on Washington in 1963, to convince the President and lawmakers in Washington to get rid of some unjust laws, and at this March he gave a very famous speech called, ‘I Have a Dream.’ And he was so successful in his efforts, that he was given the Nobel Peace Prize, which is only given to people who are the very best in the entire world at making our world a better place!" The girls seemed interested in what I had said, and they began watching the DVD with close attention; I returned to the kitchen to clean up, and monitor the progress of the cookies.

About ten minutes later, the timer went off, so I removed the sheets of cookies from the oven. As the smell of cookies began to spread into the living room, both Nana and the girls came into the kitchen.

The girls looked at the hot cookies on the cookie sheets with interest, but Nana advised them, We have to let them cool for a few minutes, before we take them off the sheet. Let’s make some more cookies in the meantime. They began arranging more pieces of cookie dough on another cookie sheet.

After we put the new batch of cookies in the oven, I used a spatula to remove the first batch of baked cookies from the cookie sheet, and placed them on a plate.

Try them, Nana said, handing one to each of the girls. Cookies taste best when they’re warm and fresh from the oven.

"Mmmmmmm!" the girls said, as they ate their cookies.

"Aren’t those good? And you two baked them!" Nana praised.

Nana, can we have ice cream? Kaitlyn asked.

"Ice cream? You want ice cream and cookies?" Nana said, pretending to be dismayed.

Cookie dough! Maria said enthusiastically, and Kaitlyn also nodded. I looked at Nana with an inquiring expression on my face.

Go ahead, Nana said to me with a sigh, adding, Now they’ll never get to sleep tonight. I went to the freezer, and took out a carton of ice cream, while Nana returned to the living room.

As I was scooping out the ice cream, Kaitlyn opened the refrigerator, and took out a bottle of chocolate syrup, which she brought to me.

"You want chocolate syrup on top of chocolate cookie dough ice cream?" I said with a slight smile, and she nodded vigorously. So I poured some syrup on top of her ice cream.

You want some, too? I asked Maria, and she grinned and said Yes! So I poured some on her ice cream, as well.

They wanted to carry their bowls into the living room by themselves, so I cautioned, Be very careful; don’t spill them. They slowly went into the living room, as I began to put away the ice cream and syrup, and clean up from the cookie-making process.

When I finished, I returned to the living room, where I saw Nana and the girls watching television, rather than the DVD.

The Martin Luther King movie was a little too ‘advanced’ for them, Nana explained. The girls ate their ice cream avidly, as they watched the television program.

When they finished, I collected their bowls, and Nana said, Okay, girls: now you need to change into your pajamas.

Pajamas? I said. Isn’t it too early for that?

Nana shook her head, and told me, They go to bed by 8:00 or 8:30 on school nights; so they shouldn’t change their schedule when they come to our house. She thought for a moment, and then added, I just hope they can go to sleep, after all that ice cream and chocolate you gave them.

"Or after all those cookies you gave them, I teased, as I retrieved the girls’ suitcases. I asked, Now, who gets which suitcase?"

They’ve got their names on them, Nana pointed out.

Aha! You’re right, I said, handing the correct suitcase to each girl. As they put on their pajamas, I began to pull out the couch bed.

After I finished setting up the couch bed, Nana suggested, Let them pick out an Olsen Twins movie. So I went over to the bookshelf, and brought back our stack of Olsen Twins DVDs (which the girls—being twins themselves—could relate to), and placed them in front of the girls, who immediately spread them all out over the couch bed, looking closely at the DVD covers. Finally, they settled on Our Lips are Sealed, so I put this DVD into the player.

As the movie began, I sat down on the couch. The girls immediately jumped up from the couch bed, and came to sit on either side of me; and in that way, we all began to watch the movie.

After the movie was about half over, the girls began getting restless.

Nana, can we have popcorn? Kaitlyn asked.

"After all the cookies and ice cream you had, you want popcorn, too? Nana asked, in near-incredulity. Looking at me, she instructed, Just get them each a little bowl; use those colored plastic bowls." I nodded, and then went into the kitchen.

I returned a few minutes later with three small bowls of popcorn, which I handed out, along with paper towels. The girls ate their popcorn happily, as they continued to watch the movie.

"You girls are making a mess!" Nana scolded. You’re spilling popcorn everywhere.

I’ll vacuum it up in the morning, I offered. When the movie was over and everyone had finished eating, I collected the empty bowls from the girls, who were beginning to yawn, and they climbed sleepily back onto the couch bed. By 8:15, they were sound asleep.

"I guess, in this case, a late-night snack helped them to get to sleep," I observed with a smile.

You can go upstairs and play your piano and read, now, Nana said, placing the TV remote controls on the table next to her chair. I’ll stay down here with them.

I nodded, then placed a blanket over her legs, kissed her and the girls good night, and went upstairs.

* * *

At 7:15 the next morning, I heard sounds from downstairs, indicating that the girls were awake. I turned off my computer, and looked down on them from the upstairs railing; the girls were rolling around playfully on the couch bed, and wrapping themselves in pillows and blankets. "Who wants some breakfast?" I called down to them, and they loudly gave their affirmative response.

After I came downstairs and kissed Nana good morning, she asked, Can you put a movie on for them?

Sure, I replied, taking a DVD from the top of a stack I had set out in preparation the previous day, and putting it in the player. I explained to the girls, "This movie is called The Little Rascals; Nana and I used to watch them on TV, when we were your age."

Nana said skeptically, The kids don’t like those old black-and-white shows…

This is a ‘new’ movie; a modern remake, I explained, as I put the movie on. With a smile, I added, "It always amuses me to see how many supposedly ‘new’ movies are based on the stuff that we used to watch when we were kids; it either shows that Hollywood is running low on creativity… or else that the current crop of movie executives are about our age, and feeling nostalgic." The movie began, so I went into the kitchen to start breakfast.

I began to fix our usual big breakfast. But after about fifteen minutes, the raised and upset voices of the girls from the living room brought me hurrying to see what the matter was.

Ewww!! the girls squealed, pointing at the TV screen. "They were kissing!"

I smiled, and said, "Ahh; I get it. Kissing on TV used to gross me out when I was your