In article <4e6496195v6afvfn5tp7h6rfqb7ch2ifqh@4ax.com>, HMS Victor
Victorian <victorvictorian@hushunomail.com> wrote:
> 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!
You're welcome.
Just don't call him Ishmael. LOL
I tried to make Stevie how I wanted him to be, but he can't escape the
responsibilities and consequences of that.
I wouldn't call it toil. It's more like satisfying an addiction. I like
reading my stories, so I have to write them. My only real problem is I
have so many ideas, I don't know if Stevie's adventures will ever end.
There is a kind of maybe ending, but how long it will take to get there
is anybody's guess.
--
Grant
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