On 15 Sep 2010 17:37:02 -0500, " +Grant. " <+Grant@grant.grant> wrote:
>
>
>The Adventures of Stevie #42
>
>These stories were told to me by friends and other people. Some of them
>are true. Some of them are only partly true. Some of them should have
>been true. LOL
>
>My first post about Stevie ("Call me Stephen!") was when he was 12 and
>in summer camp and was told by another camper. This was from a time
>before computers would fit on a desk and when people communicated with
>friends in other countries by actual letters sent through the postal
>service. When children did this those friends were called "penpals".
>Carlos is Stevie's penpal in Argentina and knows English. This is a
>fictional contrivance to enable Stevie to tell us his stories because
>he isn't here in person. I think.
>All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
>that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
>Stevie's school is for gifted children who don't fit in regular schools.
>The stories may not be posted in chronological order.
>Stevie is 12 in this story. It is Spring of year 2 of his special
>school.
>
>
>The Adventures of Stevie #42 "Gifts Beyond Measure, Part 2"
>
>
>Dear Carlos,
>
>
> After the Temple, we went shopping together. It was more like window
>shopping, but we weren't looking to buy any windows. We just looked
>into them. I felt better when we visited the sports store Mr. Johnson
>owns. The pictures were still on the wall. I looked younger in them
>than I remembered. He was happy to see me. I hugged him hello. I
>introduced my friends to him. I made Jeremy hug him. When it was over,
>Mr. Johnson looked like he had trouble waking up from a good dream. He
>said softly, "Wow." I absolutely positively love it when Jeremy does
>that to people. I love to bring love to people. I hugged pink-faced
>Jeremy's arm to me and whispered to Mr. Johnson, "Keep that gift memory
>in a special place, so you can bring it back whenever you need it, like
>I do." He said "I will. Thank you." The he went into his office and
>brought out a little girl to see us. She was very pretty, and about 5
>years old. "Meet my granddaughter, Margie." I got down on one knee and
>shook her hand, and said to her, "Hello Margie, I'm Stephen. I'm happy
>to know you. Can we hug?" She wrapped her arms around me, and said
>"Hello Stevie." I was thinking "Oh no, not that name again!" Then she
>whispered in my ear, "I like you." That made it alright. Jeremy is the
>best ever, but I'm not too bad at hugging, myself. I have a good
>teacher, and lots of practice.
>
> Margie dragged me back into the office to show me her dolls she had
>with her. To be honest, I was more interested in the big safe I saw,
>which wasn't there the last time I was in the office. It was about 4
>feet tall and on wheels. It had fancy old fashioned paint on it, and it
>was wide open. It had a dial combination lock, with a lever handle
>opener. I recognized the model. Mr. Johnson saw me looking at it and
>told me he just got it from an old jewelry store, and was going to have
>a locksmith look at it, because it was so old nobody knew the
>combination to open it if it closed. Margie was using it for a place to
>keep her dolls in.
>
> Mr. Johnson invited us, me, Jeremy, Zack, and Glena, to dinner with
>him at the Japanese restaurant next door. He asked his clerk to mind
>Margie for him. We went to eat. The girls wouldn't be home till much
>later, and might sleep over at their friends house, so it was okay. I
>like Japanese food very much. I wondered if they served live octopus. I
>would love to see Jeremy's reaction to that. It's just as well they
>didn't have it. You have to have an adult sized throat to eat them
>live, or you choke to death, so I couldn't have it anyway. I helped
>Jeremy learn to use chopsticks. We agreed for him it was a good way to
>go on a diet he didn't need, so he used a fork. That way his food went
>where it was supposed to.
>
> I think you might guess what happened next. I should have known the
>minute I went into the office to see her dolls. I'm supposed to be a
>genius. I was STUPID. REALLY stupid. It was just as much a surprise to
>me as it was to everybody else, when the clerk ran into the restaurant
>to tell us Margie had accidentally locked herself in the safe. We all
>rushed back to the store. The police came. They couldn't get a
>qualified locksmith to come in time to save her. If the lock on the
>safe was working, I could open it. I could get her out. I could save
>her life. They wouldn't let me.
>
> I told the police chief when he came, I could crack the safe. He
>didn't believe me, and yelled at me to get out of his way. He wasn't
>doing anything but walking back and forth, but it looked like that was
>more important to him than saving a little girl. I told Mr. Johnson. He
>was so upset and confused he didn't know what to think. Zack and Glena
>didn't believe I could, either. Only Jeremy believed me. That's what
>love is. Jeremy tried to make the police chief believe me, and tried to
>give him a special card I kept in my wallet which had a phone number he
>should call so he could know the truth about me, and he HIT Jeremy
>across the mouth with the back of his hand and knocked him down! I went
>icy cold and stiff. I pointed at Zack and Glena, and then at Jeremy on
>the floor, to tell them to help him. They did.
>
> I noticed a police who officer didn't like what the chief did. He had
>very big callused knuckles on his hands, which told me he was an expert
>in some fighting art, and he moved his body like a black belt holder
>would. His nameplate on his shirt said "Chang." I was going to use him.
>I didn't really know what I was doing. I was in what fighting experts
>call no-mind. I was reacting from training and something else which was
>deep inside me which knew what I could do, and should do. I made my
>voice extra powerful and sharp and said to him, "Officer Chang! What is
>your first name!" He answered "David," like he couldn't help himself. I
>grabbed his vision with my hand and pointed it at the calendar on the
>door across the room, and said in the same kind of voice I used before,
>"Pick a date!" He said "13th." Everybody was looking at us now. I said
>like an order to David, "Observe and report!" I still had the
>chopsticks in my hands. I put one of them in my right hand, and spun
>around two times, and used my arm like a whip, with some ki to help
>make the chopstick fly away from my hand so fast and hard, it went
>across the room and into the calendar on the not so lucky date he
>announced, and halfway into the wooden door behind it. David's eyes
>almost popped out of his head. He should work on his control.
>
> David went to the police chief and said "Sir, you know what I can do.
>He is better. I vouch for him. I believe he can do what he says. You
>should listen to him. If you get in his way, he can kill you before you
>can blink, and he might just do that anyway, for what you did to his
>friend." While the Chief was getting ready to do something really mean,
>David bent down and picked up my card. He looked it, and his eyes went
>even bigger." He told the Chief, "You REALLY should look at this card,
>or you won't have a job tomorrow." The Chief looked very angry, but
>looked at the card. Then he want all white, and looked at me like I had
>just grown tentacles and lobster claws, and ran to the phone and dialed
>the number on it. I yelled to his back, "Tell whoever answers, 'Code
>2', and explain the situation, and do what they tell you to do." He
>did. Then he took Mr. Johnson aside and told him privately, "His father
>can open the safe. He can't get here in time. His best student can do
>it. Him." Then he pointed at me like I disgusted him. "We need to do
>exactly as he says, to save your granddaughter. Do you understand?" Mr
>Johnson was confused, but he nodded.
>
> I took command. I went to David and told him, "What I might have to
>do might stress my body beyond what it can normally do. I might need
>more energy fast, or I could die when I'm finished. I need to have some
>sugar ready. Send somebody to bring back for me some soft candy bars
>and some orange juice, in case my blood sugar drops too low. Bring that
>to me in the office, after I give you the rest of my instructions. I
>need absolute quiet to hear the lock mechanism. If that quiet is
>disturbed, I will have to start all over. That will take time we don't
>need to waste. There will be nobody in the office with me but Jeremy,
>and you when you return. Everybody else will move as far away from the
>office door as possible, or go outside the store. Tell somebody you
>trust, to control that situation. Anybody who won't follow your orders
>about this, isn't worth the life of this child. One more thing. Nobody
>is to know anything about my involvement, or there will be SERIOUS
>trouble. Got it?" He said "Yes sir!"
>
> I took Jeremy inside the office with me, and closed the door. I told
>him, "I want you to guard the door. Do not let anybody inside except
>David in a few minutes. Then tell him quietly he will guard the door on
>the inside. Then you will be next to me, so I can be calm and do this.
>I need you. Do you understand? Will you do this?" He looked at me with
>all his love, and said "Yes." I cleared the area around the safe, and
>studied it. I spun the dial. It moved freely. Good. I put my ear next
>to it, and moved the dial again. I could hear what I needed to hear. I
>heard David come in, and Jeremy tell him what I said. Then Jeremy came
>to my side. I could feel his love, and it calmed me. I knew what to do,
>and turned the dial this way and that, listening to it, and learned the
>correct combination. I opened the safe.
>
> Jeremy lifted Margie out and placed her on the floor. She wasn't
>breathing. I breathed into her mouth and nose. I pushed on her chest.
>She still didn't breathe on her own. I listened to hear heart. Nothing.
>I told Jeremy and David "I'm going to do something I never did before,
>or she will die. It might kill me, but not doing it and knowing I
>could, would kill me for sure. Be ready to feed me the sweets if I need
>it. I might be too tired to do it myself. If it works, Jeremy take her
>out her out first, then help me." I didn't look, but I knew Jeremy was
>dripping tears, and David was tense and ready. I put my right hand on
>her forehead, and my left hand on her chest over her heart. I opened my
>third eye real wide, and saw her aura was about to go dark. I took a
>deep breath and reached inside me and took all my energy and pushed it
>into her. I could feel the focus stone helping me.
>
> Margie breathed and woke up. She said "Hi, Stevie." Everything went
>black.
>
> I woke up when David tried to get me to drink the orange juice. It
>went all over my shirt. I wanted to laugh at that, but couldn't make a
>sound. I was so tired. All I wanted to do was sleep, but knew if I did,
>I would die. I drank. I started to feel better. Jeremy came back from
>the door he was guarding after he took Margie out, and switched places
>with David. I couldn't lift my hands to eat the candy bars, so Jeremy
>fed me little pieces at a time, still dripping tears. It was hard to
>chew, but I was getting stronger. Soon I could hold the candy myself. I
>could hear some people wanting to come in the office, but David
>wouldn't let them. I knew I could trust him.
>
> I hugged Jeremy real close, when I was strong enough to. Then I asked
>him to bring David to me, and guard the door. He did. I told David to
>bring in the Chief and Mr. Johnson, and my foster parents, Zack and
>Glena. He did. I told them all, while I was still on the floor resting.
>"What I did here has to be a secret. Even me being here when this
>happened, needs to be a secret. If it isn't, some very bad things will
>happen to good people. David, you might guess why. Chief, you should
>know why now. Mr. Johnson, you can thank me best by keeping me out of
>this. NO publicity. I don't need it or want it, and it would hurt me
>and my family if it happened. Okay? Right now, I'm feeling really
>tired. I need some rest now. Mr. Johnson, you should be with Margie."
>He left to go to her.
>
> I said "Chief, there is something you need to do," and I looked from
>him to Jeremy. The Chief of Police looked like he didn't want to do it
>in front of the other people. I nodded to make him. He shook Jeremy's
>hand, and apologized for doubting him and hitting him. That wasn't
>enough. I said to Jeremy, "Jeremy?" He knew what to do. He hugged the
>Chief. The Chief opened up his eyes real wide, and said "Oh my God! I
>didn't know. I'm terribly sorry! I should be shot!" I said "Not really.
>Anyway, I don't like loud noises." By then I was already standing. I
>smiled at them, and Jeremy smiled too. It was over, and we were not
>enemies.
>
> Before we all left the store, I asked David if he knew Sensei Ninja
>and Tommy. He was surprised, and said he did. I said I would tell them
>how good he was in helping save Margie. I'm glad David is a new friend.
>I think he might like it a little, too, after Jeremy hugged him. Then I
>announced loudly, holding up the single chopstick I had left, "I'm
>hungry! We didn't finish supper. Anybody have another chopstick? I
>think I ruined the other one." We all laughed.
>
>
>Your friend,
>
>Stephen
Dear Grant
Thank you for this latest installment of "Call Me Stephen." I
appreciate the amount of toil that goes into such a project. Stephen
(if I may call him that) is indeed a very brave young man.
Sincerely Yours,
Victor
God Save the Queen.
God Bless the Prince of Wales.
God Preserve the Windsors.
Rule Britannia!
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