“Boy, I think we have enough okra now,” the grandfather said to his grandson, Andronicus, as the child dumped his pail full of okra into the hamper.
“Good,” returned Andronicus, “ I don’t much like to cut okra. It’s scratchy.”
“We must get to the farmer’s market before one o’clock to get a good price,” said Grandpa.
Andronicus was nine years old and had been living with his grandfather since he was three. The two lived on a vegetable truck farm in a southern state.
Grandpa and Andronicus reached the farmer’s market just in time to get the morning price for the okra.
Then the two farm workers went into the Pig Chef restaurant and ordered hotdogs and colas for lunch. Grandpa ate three hotdogs and the boy ate two.
“Let’s get a chocolate sundae,” suggested Andronicus.
“Not today,” said Grandpa, “But here is a nickel for a lollipop.”
“Oh, Ok,” returned the little farmer. “ You have to put money in the angel vase on the high shelf in the kitchen. Will we ever get enough money to put there?”
“Now, Andronicus, be patient,” said Grandpa. “We must have a place to live and I don’t want to lose this farm. The mortgage has to be paid every month. Every penny we save helps us to keep this farm where we live.”
Most months of the year Andronicus and his grandfather worked very hard in the vegetable gardens. In early spring they planted onions, lettuce, radishes and cucumbers. In late spring they planted okra, beans, peas, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and watermelons. In the fall Grandpa raised turnips, collards, rhutabagers, broccoli and mustard.
Andronicus sometimes had to do homework and didn’t always help Grandpa.
The old man hauled the fresh vegetables to town and sold them at the farmer’s market or to the local grocery stores.
In winter Grandpa and Andronicus gathered pecans from the three trees in the yard. Most of the time the boy and his grandfather picked up the nuts from the ground where they had fallen. Sometimes Grandpa had to tap the branches with a pole to make the nuts fall. The pecans are wrapped in husks on the trees but often fall out to the ground.
Andronicus liked to gather nuts, especially the paper shell pecans because they cracked easily. When his friend, Lily Beth, came to play, the two of them would crack the nuts and get the halves out to eat. Lily Beth was ten years of age. She lived around the bend in the road.
In winter Andronicus could see the roof of Lily Beth’s house but in the summer when leaves covered the trees, he could not see anyone’s house except the house that he and Grandpa lived in.
Sometimes when the work was done, Andronicus and his dog, Copper, would run over the field or run down the road where he could holler to Lily Beth.
The dog was called Copper because his silky looking fur was the color of a bright copper penny.
Andronicus and Grandpa sat on the porch in the twilight enjoying a cool breeze that had come about. The man was playing his harmonica and the boy was patting his feet on the floor.
Andronicus was thinking how nice it was living in the country and listening to the crickets and tree frogs.
A pick-up truck came into the driveway. Andronicus smiled. He knew that Lily Beth and her parents, Sarah and Clyde Jorkanay, had come for a visit.
Mrs. Sarah got out of the truck carrying a chocolate cream pie. Clyde followed Sarah and Lily Beth quickly joined Andronicus.
“Let’s catch fireflies,” said Lily Beth.
Andronicus ran into the kitchen and came out with a mason jar and lid on it. The little friends ran all over the yard and caught many of the lightning bugs.
“Let’s go on the porch and see who caught the most lightning bugs,” said Andronicus.
When on the porch Lily Beth said, “ It’s plain to see you got the most bugs.”
Then the two children sat down on the steps and listened to the grownups talk about farming and farm prices.
“Let’s go in and have a piece of chocolate pie,” said Mrs. Sarah.
“Wow!” exclaimed Andronicus. “I’ve been wanting chocolate all day.”
“And you shall have chocolate” said Mrs. Sarah.
Grandpa poured iced tea for everyone. They all ate pie and drank tea. The visit was nice for all.
“Why didn’t you bring the guitar?” asked Andronicus.
“It’s in the truck,” answered Mr. Clyde. “Lily Beth, run get the guitar, but do be careful not to drop it.”
Lily Beth and Andronicus ran to the truck. The boy climbed into the back of the truck and carefully handed the guitar to Lily Beth.
“Here you are, Daddy,” said Lily Beth.
Mr. Clyde began strumming the guitar. Then he played and sang a number of songs.
“ Play Froggie Went a Courtin’,” said Lily Beth.
Lily Beth and Andronicus sang with her father.
Mrs. Sarah and Grandpa just listened.
Copper was at the screen door and the boy let him in. The dog went over to Grandpa and lay down beside him. He was a friendly dog but was ready to rest after running much of the day.
The neighbors shared an enjoyable evening. Soon the children were yawning.
“It’s time to say goodnight,” said Mr. Clyde. “These youngsters are sleepy.” He took Lily Beth by the hand and led her out the door. His wife followed.
“That woman makes a good pie,” remarked Andronicus.
“You are so right,” agreed Grandpa. “Now wash your feet before you get in bed and don’t forget to say your prayers.”
Andronicus did what his grandfather told him to do. When he prayed he reminded God that they needed to make enough money to pay the mortgage at the end of the month.
The boy slept well that night and when he awoke Grandpa was frying eggs for the two of them.
“Andronicus,” said his grandfather. “ There is not enough okra to cut today, so plan to do something else.”
“Lily Beth wanted to go fishing with me today,” returned Andronicus. “I’ll dig for worms after breakfast.”
When he finished eating he dug out some earthworms from beneath the steps. Then he took the fishing pole from the back porch. With a can of worms in one hand and the fish pole in the other the boy headed for Lily Beth’s house around the bend in the road.
Andronicus found Lily Beth sitting in a lawn chair under the big Oak tree.
“Ready to go fishing?” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied. “Let me get my crust worms.” She went into the kitchen. Then she came out with a plastic baggie half full of dough worms.
“I never heard the like,” said Andronicus.
“When Mama made the pie yesterday she had some crust dough left over from the pie crust. She gave it to me and I rolled out these worms.”
“I bet the fish won’t like crust worms,” said the boy. “ Fish like good old wiggle worms.”
“We will see,” said Lily Beth as she grabbed her fishing pole that was leaning against the house.
The two children left Lily Beth’s house and went through the cornfield, then the peanut field. Finally, they reached the fence and climbed over to the other side. The going was a bit rough. There were so many weeds.
“Watch for snakes!” said Lily Beth. “Remember the rattlesnake we saw last summer.”
“Yep, that was the biggest snake I ever did see.”
Andronicus was getting ahead of Lily Beth. He was anxious to throw his fish line into the water.
“Ow! Wait!” Lily Beth called out.
“What’s the matter, girl?” asked the boy.
“Sandspurs!” she cried out. “Oh, oh, help me!”
“Oh Man!” exclaimed Andronicus. “What did you get in that mess for? I wish you were a boy.”
Lily Beth began to bawl.
“Hush up!” said the boy. He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket to use in getting the spurs off of his friend. The handkerchief did not help much but he got the spurs off of her, sticking himself in the process.
“Beans!” he said, “These sandspurs are like fish hooks. They hook right into you just like the fish get hooked.”
The youngsters soon found themselves at Crooked Creek and sat down on one of the curved banks to fish.
Now and then the sun peeped through the clouds but the sky was mostly overcast with clouds. A dragonfly skimmed the water. Black and yellow butterflies fluttered among the blue wild flowers growing on the creek bank.
“Where is Copper?” whispered Lily Beth, not wanting to scare the fish. “He usually runs ahead of us.”
“I don’t know,” returned Andronicus. “That dog is a rambling dog.”
Just about then Copper came through the bushes and stopped where the two children were.
“Look, Lily Beth,” said Andronicus, “You got a nibble on your line.”
“Oh boy!” exclaimed Lily Beth. “I hope he is a big one.” She was disappointed when she jerked the line out of the water.
“An old piece of inner tube,” said the boy. “Try again.”
Andronicus pulled in a fish. He baited the hook again and threw out the line. He caught another fish.
Lily Beth looked disappointed. Finally, the girl caught a small fish and was very pleased.
They caught no more that day. Lily Beth gave her little fish to Andronicus. No one would cook just one little fish.
“Ready to go?” said Lily Beth.
“Sure,” said the boy. “Grandpa will cook the fish and we will have hush puppies and onions and tomatoes. I can hardly wait to eat them.”
On the way home Lily Beth stayed clear of the sandspurs. For that both children were glad. The two friends sang songs as they went through the peanut field and the cornfield. Copper ran ahead all the way. Soon Lily Beth’s house was in view and her mother was in the yard waiting for her.
“See you later,” said Andronicus and he walked around the bend in the road toward his house.
When he saw his house, he noticed a car parked in the driveway. The car belonged to Mr. Greediman, the man from the bank.
Andronicus slipped quietly in the back door and listened to what his Grandpa and the bank man had to say.
“Mr. Pocket, you did not make a full payment last month,” said the man from the bank. “Now you have to pay a five dollar penalty plus what you already owe. If you don’t pay the money in two weeks out you go.”
“Have a heart,” pleaded Grandpa. “The boy and I need a place to live.”
“If I don’t get the money, I’ll bring the sheriff to see that you leave,” said the man from the bank. “You two can live in your truck.”
Mr. Greediman put on his hat and left in a hurry.
“I heard the man say we have to leave,” said the boy.
“Don’t you worry,” returned Grandpa. “Something will happen to save our little farm. Say, did you catch fish?”
“Sure, we can eat them.”
“You bet,” joined Grandpa. Then he scaled the fish and fried them with corn bread balls and onions.
It was a yummy meal, so fresh and good.
“Fit for a king,” said Grandpa.
After the meal Andronicus and Grandpa lay down to rest in the heat of the day. They would work later. The boy read a comic book and his grandfather took a nap.
Late in the afternoon they hoed the garden, digging out the weeds.
Next morning they cut okra and picked green beans to take to the market in Maxville.
After Grandpa sold the vegetables, his grandson asked, “Did you get enough money to save our farm?”
“Not yet, my boy,” replied Grandpa. “I’ll keep trying. We must keep this farm.”
Mr. Pocket and his grandson worked hard all week. Sunday came and it was rest day for Grandpa. He did not work in the field but he put on his one and only good suit and tie. He went to “preachin”. It was the best day of the week. There in the churchyard he met his friends, other farmers, who were glad that it was Sunday.
Andronicus saw many of his classmates from school. It was good to be around boys his age. He noticed that Lily Beth was with her girl friends.
Soon everyone went inside the little white country church. The congregation loved to sing and that’s what they did most in the service.
It was a hot day. The windows were open. Someone opened the door. Fans blew the warm air about making it somewhat comfortable. Reverend Malt took off his tie and jacket. He gave a short talk. It was hardly a sermon.
The children laughed when Copper came walking up the church aisle.
“That’s all right,” said Reverend Malt. “God loves animals, too.”
Copper lay down at Andronicus’s feet. The boy was glad that the preacher did not get angry.
On the way out of church Andronicus and Grandpa shook hands with Reverend Malt.
The boy and his grandfather went home in the pick-up truck.
At home they ate ham sandwiches with tomatoes and lettuce. There was no cooking on Sunday.
The boy and his grandfather lay down to rest after lunch.
Andronicus went into Grandpa’s bedroom.
“Grandpa,” he said, “Will you get married again?”
“I really don’t know,” returned the man. “Why do you ask?”
“When Grandma was living we always had good cakes and pies to eat,” said the boy. “I thought if you would marry again maybe the woman would be a good cook, also, and we could have special foods.”
“My Nellie was some good cook, boy, but she was more than that. She was the only woman I ever gave a hoot about. Don’t know if I can find a good woman to marry. We will have to wait and see.”
“I hope it don’t take too long,” said the boy. “It would be nice having someone to bake cookies for me and patch my jeans when I get a rip in them.”
“Go back to your room,” said the grandfather. “I want to rest awhile longer.”
Andronicus heard a car stop in the road. It was his friend Martin who stepped from the automobile. The boy was glad to see another fellow his age. He needed more than Lily Beth’s company or that of the old man. Martin’s mother drove on, leaving her son to play with Andronicus.
“Hi there,” he shouted to Martin. “Want to play horseshoes?”
“Sure,” returned Martin.
The two boys went to the shady side of the house to play.
When each boy had won two games they played throwing sticks for Copper to fetch. Then they sat in the shade of a pecan tree and had a long talk about things.
“I wonder why some kids have parents and others do not?” said Andronicus. “Both of my parents got killed in a car wreck.”
“But you got grandpa,” Martin tried to make his friend feel good. “I don’t have a papa or a grandpa, just women- my mom and Grandma.”
“Could be worse, I reckon,” said Andronicus. “We could not have anybody. Let’s go to the creek and look for frogs.”
“Good idea!”
Off they went to Crooked Creek by way of the clay dirt road. Andronicus wanted to stay away from sandspurs. When they got to the creek, they did not find any frogs. They did see tadpoles swimming about in water in the shadow of a log sticking out of the creek.
The boys sat on the creek bank and with sticks drew pictures in the sand. Martin drew a rocket flying upward. Andronicus drew a falling star.
“Did you ever see a falling star,” he asked his friend.
“No,” returned Martin. “But I saw a star shoot cross the sky one night. It was awesome.”
“Meteorites sometimes fall to earth and burn as they come down,” said Andronicus.
“How do you know that?” asked Martin.
“Read it in a book,” replied Andronicus.
“I hope I see one someday but I don’t want it falling on me or our house.”
The boys had fun all afternoon until Martin’s mother came for him at 5 o’clock. Grandpa fixed supper.
After supper he and his grandson put on meetin’ clothes and waited on the front porch for their neighbors that lived around the bend in the road.
Mr. Pocket always went with the neighbors to church at night. He didn’t like to drive at night.
In a little while Mr. Clyde drove up and Grandpa and the boy climbed into the back of the truck.
On the way home Mr. Clyde let Lily Beth ride in the back of the truck with Andronicus. He and Lily Beth held out their hands to feel the breeze blowing between their fingers. Soon all were home again.
Next day Mr. Greediman from the bank came again to warn Mr. Pocket that there was only a week until he would have them off of the property unless every cent that was due was paid on the mortgage.
Andronicus and his grandfather were working in the field. Mr. Greediman went through the corn patch, the long leaves hitting him in the face. A sweat was forming on his forehead. The words were already in his mind as what he would say to the grandfather.
“Mr. Pocket, you have seven days to come up with the mortgage payment,” he said sternly. “If you don’t have every cent that’s due, then this farm is mine, all mine. That’s all I’m going to say for now.”
“Good day, sir,” said Grandpa.
The boy did not know what the bank man said as he was not close enough to hear but he saw Mr. Greediman and knew that trouble was on the way.
“What are we going to do?” Andronicus asked the old man.
“We will do as we always do, just keep working, saving and praying. I think we need to do a lot of praying.”
“I remind God every night that we need to keep this house,” returned the boy.
Copper came to Andronicus and rubbed his nose against the boy’s chest, trying to make him feel better.
He petted the dog and gave him a big hug.
“Can I go to Lily Beth’s house?” asked Andronicus.
“Reckon you might as well,” said Mr. Pocket. “This sun is shining down fiercely. Wear your hat.”
Andronicus walked slowly to Lily Beth’s house. He hoped Mrs. Sarah had some goodies to eat. He was not disappointed. The woman had just taken a pan of cinnamon rolls out of the oven.
“Have a seat here on the porch,” she said to the boy. “Lily Beth will be out soon. She is washing her hair. While you are waiting for her, I’ll get you some iced tea and a cinnamon roll.”
“Goody!” exclaimed Andronicus. “Grandpa don’t cook sweet things. Sometimes he buys fig bars or ginger snaps.”
Mrs. Sarah brought the iced tea and cinnamon roll to the young lad. He accepted the refreshments with a smile. “Thank you,” he said.
“You are welcome,” returned the woman.
Lily Beth was taking her good old time washing her hair but Andronicus did not mind waiting. Mrs. Sarah was good company and he saw something that he was interested in. There was a big lizard by the steps. He watched the lizard run back and forth between the steps and a camelia bush.
“What a funny little fellow,” said the boy. “Watch him now, Mrs. Sarah. Look! He is doing push-ups.”
“He sure is,” returned the neighbor lady. “I had never noticed a lizard doing that. The little critters are amazing.”
The lizard crawled up to a limb on the camelia bush. He hung upside down and did not even fall.
“Lizards run so fast,” said the boy. “Look, now he is a green lizard.”
Andronicus had no more than said the lizard was green, the thing ran on the ground again and turned brown. Then the lizard blew up a red balloon under his chin.
“Wow! What did he do that for?” asked the boy.
“I think he is trying to attract a mate,” said Mrs. Sarah. “Yes, it works. See that other lizard by the fence.”
The screen door opened and out came Lily Beth, smelling clean and fresh.
The children watched the lizards for a few minutes.
“Let’s throw this ball over the house,” said Lily Beth. “I’ll throw from the front yard. You go in the back yard.”
The ball game took some effort. The ball did not always go over the house because the roof was high. Sometimes it just bounced back to the ground.
“I’m quittin’,” said Lily Beth. “I don’t want to get dirty and sweaty again.”
“I think I’ll go back home,” said Andronicus. “I’ll see what Grandpa is doing now.”
He found Grandpa resting on his bed when he arrived at the house. The old man was not taking a nap. He looked troubled and the boy knew why.
Days of the week passed. It was two days before Mr. Greediman would come and force them to leave the farm.
Grandpa and the boy packed their belongings in boxes. Mr. Clyde offered to store their furniture in his garage.
Andronicus was very sad. Why must he leave the house he loved?
That night when the lad prayed he asked God to do something and send them money so they could stay in the farmhouse.
“God, you have to help us,” he prayed. “Mr. Greediman is coming with the sheriff and we don’t know where we are going to live.”
He was crying when he crawled into bed. Tears wet his pillow as he cried until he fell asleep.
About five o’clock in the morning Copper began to howl, that is bark strangely. Andronicus looked out of the window and saw a bright flaming light coming toward the earth quickly. He was afraid as it came near. He saw that it was a ball of fire.
Suddenly a loud boom was heard. The noise shook the house and awakened Grandpa.
“Child, are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes, I think so,” Andronicus replied, shaking.
“I don’t know what is wrong,” said Grandpa.
“Grandpa, it was a ball of fire that came from the sky.”
“Really?” said Grandpa.
“It fell out in the field,” informed the boy.
“It smells like something is burning,” said the man. “When day break comes we will see what it is.”
“It was a big ball of fire,” repeated Andronicus. “I think a meteorite fell. We learned about meteorites in class the last week of school.”
At 5:30 A.M the neighbors came to learn what had happened. The loud boom shook their house, too. Lily Beth was only half-awake, leaning on her mother.
The boy saw a ball of fire fall from the sky,” said the grandfather.
“Then it must be a meteorite,” said Mr. Clyde.
Grandpa made coffee. He and the neighbors drank coffee and waited until they could see plainly what had fallen in the field. Then they went out and saw a big deep hole in the ground. There was a big strange looking stone in the hole. The stone was still hot and puffs of smoke came from it.
“Say, Mr. Pocket, you got something here,” said Mr. Clyde. “This thing will be worth lots of money to scientists or whomever is interested.”
“I need money by tomorrow,” said Grandpa.
“I’ll call Channel 5 and give them the news,” said Mrs. Sarah. “Someone is sure to come up with money today.”
Andronicus and his grandfather smiled. Perhaps they would get to keep the farm.
By noon the news had reached the national T.V. networks. In the afternoon the roadway was filled with people who came to see the meteorite. There were news reporters, curious people and those who wanted to buy the big stone. A man from N.A.S.A. came, a lady from an observatory and a number of scientists. It was an exciting day for Andronicus and Lily Beth.
Several people offered Grandpa money for the meteorite. Grandpa sold it to the man who came in a helicopter from Orlando, Florida who paid him 43,000 dollars.
“Here is your check, Mr. Pocket,” the man said and he was delighted to be the proud owner.
“Tomorrow afternoon a truck will haul it away.”
Grandpa thanked God and went straight to the bank and paid off the mortgage. No one could take away his farm now.
“Andronicus, how would you like to travel?” asked Grandpa.
“You mean a real vacation!” exclaimed the boy.
“Sure do,” said Grandpa. “We are taking a month off from our work. We are going north and east and west. We will see much of the good old U.S.A.”
“I can hardly wait to leave,” said Andronicus.
Questions or comments? Email the Author at mbell@cdp.com
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