In a shameless act of self-promotion, I remind you of my latest book. They tell me it’s an anthology. Many contributed stories for this book, “Stories of Us.”
I like them all, but I do have a few favorites. The following story was written by Lee Kendall. Lee and Kim are brothers. Kim and I are classmates and close friends.
I titled this article “Yankee Wisdom” for a reason. How quick Kim was to come up with this plot is impressive. Thinking on the fly is what I call it. This took place at Kendall’s Barn.
You can get “Stories of Us” at Stone House Antiques Center, The Framery of Vermont, and Lisai’s in Bellows Falls. If you enjoy this story, you will enjoy others in the book.
Catch Me If You Can
Our parents bought the old farmhouse with all the attached barns and outbuildings just before I started my sophomore year at Chester High School. Time passed. The family dispersed and my brother Kim ended up living in the farmhouse. He and a cousin of ours ran an antiques and collectables business there. All the barns and outbuildings were filled with artifacts from the past, and all were for sale.
My wife and I, and our young daughter often visited my brother. My daughter loved to visit there. She liked her uncle and liked looking in all the barns full of history. Any kid would have liked it there. In addition to the buildings, there were a few chickens running loose and a pet potbellied pig. There was a swing set and lots of room to run and play.
One summer day we were visiting. We were all outside in the front yard when Kim’s phone rang and we learned our mother had been taken to Springfield Hospital. My wife and I thought we should go to the hospital but realized our daughter Jody, would probably be a problem. We talked to Kim about it and decided he would watch Jody. We wouldn’t be gone too long.
I should mention that Kim is a paraplegic due to a horrible accident just after he had graduated high school in 1969. I should also mention that Jody, though only four years old was a very verbal, curious, inventive, and strong willed child. Her grandmother, my mother, was very strict and thought Jody needed discipline and instruction. Her grandfather, my dad, thought she was a hoot and very entertaining. Of course my wife and I loved her even when she was being naughty.
We told Jody we had to go to the hospital and would not be gone long, and that Kim was going to watch her while we were gone. We explained to her that she should be good and do what he asked her to do.
Jody looked at Kim in his wheelchair and declared that he couldn’t even catch her. Of course we had misgivings and started to revise our plans.
Suddenly Kim made a snatch into the air over his head. He cupped his hands around something then brought them close to his face to peer between his fingers at what he might have caught. Jody came up close to her uncle and asked what he had.
“Here take a look,” he said. When she leaned close to see, he grabbed her by the arm.
“Let me go,” she hollered. Kim said, “I’ve got you and I can get you whenever I want to. If you promise you’ll be good when your mom and dad go to the hospital, I’ll let you go.”
I guess Jody realized she had been outsmarted when she asked again, what he had in his hands, and he showed he had nothing.
As we drove out of the driveway, I looked over my shoulder and Jody was chatting with Kim as he showed her some little thing that had caught her attention.
When we returned from the hospital a couple hours later, Jody was standing on a chair at the kitchen sink with a way too big apron on, doing Kim’s dishes, as she chatted happily away at him.
This week’s old saying: “Men bald in the front are thinkers. Men bald in the back are good lovers. Men bald all over think they are good lovers.”