This story has been writing itself over and over in my head ever since Memorial Day weekend. Ellis and I drove up north to attend a wedding reception. We arrived at the township hall. Ellis was going inside when I started walking to the pavilion where people were gathered. "That's not our party," Ellis protested. "They all look too old!"
But it was our friends and family and we were gathered to celebrate Sheldon and Ellen and their new marriage. Once, long ago, we all went to a little church in Graceton, MN.
Jenni, Ladina, Trenda, Leah, Dawn, Ellen and Sheldon
As sometimes happens at get-togethers like this, memories start to float around in the back of ones mind. After awhile they must spill out in some form or another.
Would this story work for a children’s meeting on a Sunday evening? Or sail away above their heads? I thought it was worth trying.
There I was with a bench full of squirming boys and girls in front of me. I asked them if they were having fun - singing songs and coming to children's meeting. It seemed they were enjoying themselves. I gave them a couple verses - "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." and "A happy heart makes the face cheerful."
Then I began.
"I don't know you very well and I've never played games with you... are you a good sport when you win? How about when you lose?
Do you play tricks on each other at your house? Hide your sister's book? Do you ever have water fights on hot summer days? What happens if someone dumps a bucket of water on your head?"
At this, Jasper, my grandson, launched into a long, long story. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I tried to look intelligent and make murmuring sounds in the right places.
When he stopped to catch his breath I began again.
I'm going to tell you a story about my dad. He was your great- grandpa, Jasper.
When my dad was about the same age as some of your dads - he had a friend named Merv. Merv and his wife, Barb, had two children, Sheldon and Jenni. Our families played games and had picnics and went to church together. Dad and Merv worked together. And sometimes they pulled pranks on each other.
One day my dad drove to town. He parked his car along the street and went inside the hardware store. After he bought the supplies he needed he walked outside and down the street toward his car. But -- the car was not there. He looked up the street this way and down the street that way. Where could that car be? It was nowhere in sight!
(About this time Jasper and Jackson started laughing. The disappearing car tickled them.)
Just when Dad was getting very worried he saw Merv sauntering up the street, whistling a happy tune. "What's the matter, Arnie? You look like you lost your best friend."
"No, I lost my car! I parked it right here and now it's gone!"
"Well, did you leave the keys in it?" Merv asked.
"Of course I left the keys in it," Dad sputtered. "This is Baudette, no one pulls the keys in this little town."
"Let's walk around the block and see if we can find it," Merv suggested. So the two friends walked around the corner, then around the next corner and there sat the car.
Maybe there was a mischievous look on Merv's face because Dad suddenly realized that Merv had played a trick on him. He had recognized Dad's car and drove it around the block to hide it.
Now my dad could have gotten mad, but instead both men had a good laugh over this prank.
That's what you can do when someone plays a trick on you.
We practiced our verse one more time and that was the end.
*End of children's meeting *
The next day Krysta told me she was laughing when Jasper was talking. She figured parents of Jasper were the only ones who could decipher what he was saying.
Krysta took the little ones to the library one summer day. When they came out to get in the car there was a bunch of teen agers splashing water around - a water fight was happening right before their eyes with ice cream buckets of water being dumped on heads. My words had triggered a memory for him.
Suddenly ...
I imagined Merv and Dad looking down from heaven at that little children's meeting and Merv saying to Dad, "Listen to your little grandson. He is quite the story teller - just like his Grandpa!"
Dad told the story about his missing car often enough that even my youngest sister, Maria, remembers it. She often says she has no memories of living at Graceton. Maybe there are more stories hiding around the next corner.
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