Johnny’S Holiday Adventures

By Derrick Wells

My hope is that this book will bring excitement to the lives of all who read and hear it and that it will encourage children to get outside, play, and have as much fun as I did in my childhood years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524538514

Derrick Wells

I was born in a small bustling town in the town of Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in 1953, where life was very active for most people. As children, we had plenty of time to have fun, and we enjoyed nearly every minute of it. Even though we had a lot of freedom, there were chores and there was school, where I didn’t do so well due to being disliked by my teachers and punished often, which is what they did back then. I quit school at age fifteen in seventh grade and did odd jobs until age seventeen when I began a full-time job on a local dairy and chicken farm. After a couple of years, I left and headed for the city in another province and got into construction, which I continued to do for most of my life. Then, in 1997, while living in Eastern Ontario, I decided to go back to school to upgrade to a grade twelve equivalent and managed to do it in three months. That is when I got inspired to write this little story and have kept it tucked away until a few weeks ago when I decided to pull it out and found it interesting and maybe worth publishing so that others may enjoy reading it too.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Derrick Wells. 747272

ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-5245-3852-1

             EBook       978-1-5245-3851-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 09/07/2016

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Johnny’s

Holiday

Adventures

Derrick Wells

Contents

Chapter 1

Johnny Visits Jake

Chapter 2

Johnny’s Second Visit

Chapter 3

Christmas Day Excitement

Chapter 4

Snowmobile Excitement

Chapter 5

Johnny’s Holiday Accident

Chapter 6

Christmas with the Grandparents

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Chapter 1

Johnny Visits Jake

J ohnny was a boy from a farm who was about ten years old. The land was flat as far as the eye could see, except for the trees planted around the house and the sheds for windbreaks. The only water around was pumped from drilled wells, except for a few small creeks here and there.

One Christmas, Johnny was invited to his uncle’s to spend the holiday with his family. Unlike where he came from, the terrain here was rough and rugged, with lots of hills and trees. Life here was so much more different than what he was used to back home. His cousin, who was about the same age as he was, seemed to have nothing to do but to play and have fun, unlike him.

Back home on the farm, there were so many chores to do there was hardly time for any fun things. This is just what I need, thought Johnny. A good, long break from the farm. That night, just before bedtime, Johnny and his cousin Jake were hanging out in Jake’s room. Just then, Uncle Tom, Jake’s dad, dropped by to see how they were doing and to tuck them in. Johnny, he asked, how would you like to go ice fishing with Jake and me tomorrow?

I don’t think so, Johnny said, not really knowing what was asked of him.

Why not? Johnny questioned Jake excitedly, his feet nearly coming off the floor with enthusiasm.

Boy, these guys are weird, Johnny thought. Who would want to fish for ice?

Oh, come on, Johnny, Tom insisted. You’ll have a lot of fun, and we can have fish for dinner tomorrow.

Curiously, Johnny asked, What are ice fish anyway, and how do you catch them?

Tom just could not refrain from laughing at this remark, and Jake was just cracking up over there on the floor beside his bed.

Finally composing himself, Tom said, Ice fishing is not a kind of fish, son, it’s a way of catching fish through the ice. As Uncle Tom explained to Johnny what ice fishing was all about, Johnny and Jake both became wide-eyed with excitement and wonder. Tom, treating Johnny as if he were his own son, gave both of them a big bear hug and tucked them into bed. Teasingly, he said to them, Have a good night’s sleep, as he turned off the light and went back downstairs to spend some with his wife. She was a real beauty, just like Johnny’s mom. Not only her looks but her personality was something really special. Just like her husband, Jenny loved children and treated them all as if they were her very own.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, the boys were up and ready to go, even though they didn’t get much sleep last night. Tom, being an early riser, was already up by 5:00 a.m. and had breakfast ready. Good morning, boys, said Tom. Ready for a good hike? Quiet now, he suggested. "We don’t want to wake Jenny. She has a big day ahead