Erick's Dilemma

By Jack Cullpepper

Erick’s Dilemma is the story of Erick Jamison, who was born in Texas and lives on his parent’s ranch. He lives there with his father, Phillip, who serves in the military, and his mother, Maria, who is a school teacher, as well as a trauma nurse. He has two younger brothers and sisters, whom he sits with while his mother is working around the ranch or at the trauma center in the next town. Everyone loves Erick, as well as he loves all the people of the town, for he has given his life many times to save them while trying to keep it a secret from his mother. What will happen when he is faced with his greatest challenge, not the actual rescue, but to disobey his mother’s wishes and perform the most difficult rescue yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781648018428

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Erick's Dilemma

Jack Cullpepper

Copyright © 2020 Jack Cullpepper

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2020

ISBN 978-1-64801-841-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64801-842-8 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

To R. Agnew, B. Ashby, C. Baylor, V. G. Huquenard, V. Johnson, and C. Miller—Thank you all!

Erick is fourteen years old and lived on a ranch owned by his parents in Texas. A ranch his father’s family has owned and worked for over a hundred years. His father is Phillip Jamison, a Caucasian American who serves in the military and is often away on military tours of duty. He has been deployed since Erick was thirteen years of age. Erick and his father share a special bond as father and son, a bond that ties them to the ranch and the mountain that sits next to the ranch.

The day Erick was born, his grandfather turned over ownership of the ranch to Erick’s father as his father before did with him when Phillip was born. When Erick was seven years old, his father took him on his first adventure to climb the mountain, and they climbed to the first plateau. They have climb the mountain many times after that day, and Erick, learning from his father, was very good in that by the time he was ten, he was able to climb halfway up the mountain without tiring. But he was only allowed to climb to the first plateau when he climbed alone and then he must have someone around the base of the mountain just in case something goes wrong. Erick loved his father, and when he is home, he puts in as much time as he can with Erick. It made him feel very special.

His mother is named Maria, a Mexican American who was born here in the United States. Her parents immigrated to America from Mexico two months before she was born. She cherishes Erick and worries that he will get himself in trouble because wherever Erick goes, something always happens. And in many cases, it is Erick who ends up saving the day.

Erick also enjoyed climbing the mountain with his mother, who stopped climbing when she was pregnant with her second child and never climbed again. Because the father was in the military and deployed often, she was afraid something would happen to her climbing and leave him alone to take care of the kids or both of them leaving the kids alone.

Erick has two younger brothers and two younger sisters whom he would take care of while his mother is working around the house or doing work on the ranch. Even though they have the staff to care for them, he would take them out to play. When he did, he would teach them, help them with their schoolwork, and take them to visit their grandparents, who also lived in their own homes on the ranch. Erick’s father had built two homes after the ranch was handed down to him.

When Erick would take the kids out to play, his mother would always say to him, Never go up on the mountain. She was afraid the kids would follow Erick up on the mountain and accidentally fall.

Erick loved living on and working around the ranch, which he has done since he was five when he started feeding the chicken then the pigs and eventually the cows. He loved spending time with his grandparents, since both live on the ranch and were so close he would visit them each day. He would always tell his parents he loved living on the ranch because everyone he loved was right there.

As much as he loved living on and working around the ranch, Erick loved climbing the large mountain that sat next to the edge of the ranch although he was not allowed to climb now because his father was away. His longing to climb the mountain would take him to the fence at the edge of the ranch where he would stand, look up at the mountain, and long for the day when he would climb it again. Even though he would occupy his time working around the ranch, going to school each day, the activities after school, and caring for his brothers and sisters, the mountain held an attraction to him.

Erick was well-liked around the ranch and throughout town. Many came to know him well, and he had become an important part of the lives of the people of the town since he was thirteen years of age. It was at thirteen that he performed his first rescue.

One day while walking from school, he heard someone calling for help, so he ran around to the back of this house and saw a hole in the ground. He ran over to the hole and laid down on the ground, crawled to the opening of the hole, looked down inside where he saw a little girl had fallen into an abandoned well and was about to drown. He called out to her to say he was going to help her and not to be scared. He got up, ran, and knocked on some doors while calling out for help. As people started coming out of the houses and to the hole, Erick asked someone to call emergency services. Erick told everyone to stay back from the hole to keep it from falling in further. The parents came out of their house and, realizing what was going on, cried out, Please save our daughter!

Erick knew the emergency services would be a while getting there since the station sits at the edge of town because it services three towns, so he said, I have an idea of how to get the little girl out. He also said the hole was small and that he could go down to rescue Abby. Erick was looking around for something that would help to save the little girl. He saw two ladders; he picked up one, and said to the man, Bring the other one. He asked if anyone had some rope and a bike tire inner tube.

One of the men said, I have rope, my son, a bike tube, and went off to get them.

Erick took the small ladder, laid it over the hole, crawled on top, and called out to the little girl to tell her that her parents had come. He said, Just be calm, Abby, don’t worry, and we will get you out.

Just then, the man came with the ropes and the tube. He gave them to Erick; he started tying knots along one of the ropes and told the man to keep tying knots as he did along the rope. He took the other ladder, the longest one, laid it on its side, and leaned it behind two trees that were growing next to each other. Then he wrapped the other rope around the ladder and tied one end to the ladder. He took the bike tube, cut it, threaded the other end of the rope through it, tied a slipknot, and tossed the end in the well. He crawled back on to the ladder over the hole, saw that the rope end reached the water, and told the little girl he was coming down. He took the knotted rope, wrapped it around the ladder, tied the end off, took the other end, then wrapped it around himself at his waist, and tied a knot. As he moved the ladder, he told the men when he said so to pull the rope without knots and climb down into the well.

One of the neighbors returned to tell them the emergency service is on another run and will get there when they finished. Someone said, That’s okay, Erick is about to get her out now.

He reached the little girl, talked to her as he slipped the tube over her head to her waist and tightened it, then said to the men, Pull her up.

The men started pulling the little girl up, and Erick climbed up the knotted rope with her as they pulled her up and out of the well. As they were reaching the top of the well, they could hear the sound of the emergency services siren coming down the street.

When the fire and rescue chief came around the side of the house, he was told what had happened and how Erick, with a cool head, saved the little girl. He looked for Erick, and as he was saying, Good job, my boy, Erick started to run away in a hurry, crying out as he ran, Don’t tell my mother!

While running home, he was busy in his mind reliving the event and trying to come up with something to tell his mother. As he got closer to the place where he was to meet his grandfather, William Jamison, to get a ride to the ranch, he saw that the truck was no longer parked by the restaurant and said to himself, I’m in trouble now. He thought his grandfather had returned to the ranch and his mother would want to know why he missed the ride with him.

As Erick started walking home, he thought to himself, Three miles, I’ll have enough time to figure out what to tell Mom. But luck was in Erick’s favor. His grandfather had gone back toward the school to see what had happened to Erick and, in doing so, learned from the fire and rescue chief what had happened to Erick.

Erick had gone about a mile toward home when he heard a horn blowing. He looked back and saw his grandfather’s truck. When the truck stopped, Erick said, I’ll ride in the back.

His grandfather said, No, get up here, son. I want to talk.

When Erick got in the truck, there was complete silence, you could hear the motor of the truck so plainly, then Erick said, Grandpaw, I’m in so much trouble, and Mom is going to kill me. Just look at me, I’m all wet, I did something. She has told me never to do this again. Hesitantly, Erick said, I’m wet be—

His grandfather interrupted. I know, son. I know, and you did good, son. That little girl is doing fine, she is alive because of you. That is great, son, and you did that. Everyone is still talking about it, you are a hero, he said with a look of pride.

But, Grandpaw, Erick said, what about Mom? She—

His grandfather broke in and said, Got that all taken care of, son.

You what? Erick said with excitement.

Yes, his grandfather said. I called your grandparents, and they will do your chores and your grandma Doris will go over to your mom’s to answer the phone. We’ve got time. We will go get your clothes cleaned and dry, then go home. Your brothers and sisters will love the time with you. They just love you, just look in the back.

As he turned to look, they were looking through the glass, all eyes trained on him. But, Grandpaw, what about Mom?

Your grandparents have got it all taken care of.

He took Erick to his aunt Betty’s house, where she washed and dried his clothes. Betty had heard what had happened in town, was so overjoyed, she turned to her father and said, You know, we always thought Erick was an exceptional kid. Remember when he was ten, he came up with that formula for the animal’s feed. That started producing better meats in the cows, pigs, and the chickens. Oh, how his teachers say he tutors and teaches his classmates sometimes better than they do.

His grandfather said, We must never tell his mother, or she will never let him out of the house again.

Then Betty said, They’ve been so protective of Erick. I thought it was because he was their only child for so long, but it was what that doctor said at Erick’s birth that he might have problems. Erick has excelled, even while taking college credit courses and passed. What more does she need? She is a nurse, and she should know this.

I know, her father said. But most people can’t handle having a genius for a kid.

Then Betty said, She has never believed the last doctor they took Erick to, the neurologist who showed her the scan of his brain and told her the increased area and activity was not indicative of any of the types of autism but of increased capacity for learning as well as an increased ability to learn. She can’t get past what Dr. David said when he was born.

The kids all started running back into the house. She looked at Erick, grabbed him, hugged him, and he just fell into her arms. She said, I am so proud of you. You are so good with your brothers and sisters, you treat your cousins well and the things you do for everybody.

All the children came and hugged around Erick, saying, We love you, Erick. Erick started crying because things finally hit him of what he has done. His aunt took the other kids aside and said you can never tell Erick’s mother about this. They all said, We know. After a minute, his grandfather stood up, said, You’ve got to get your clothes on, and we need to go. So his