Toys and Boys
When William and Dalton were just little things we moved into the only house that Uncle Byron and I ever bought and owned. We had just gotten back to Brazil after our first furlough. William was 5 years old and Dalton was 3. We had a hard time finding a good house. We knew where we wanted to live in a certain neighborhood close to the congregation we were helping. To find houses to buy we would drive in increasingly bigger circles from the property for the new church. One day we were only about three city blocks from the property when Uncle Byron drove down a dead end street of cute houses. The street was one block long and the house on the dead end looked like it has the biggest yard. I lamented the fact that it had no For Sale sign and said that we should just tell the person we liked their house and ask to buy it. Well, Uncle Byron did! And the lady that answered the door said, OK! She had put the house up for sale earlier that year and had recently taken the sign down!
It was a great house with very little traffic on the little street and good neighbors. The boys had a nice yard to play in and could play in front of the house wall on the sidewalk and in the street. Sometimes I would open the gate and they would come and go with toys and bikes and what not. I would frequently remind them to not leave toys out on the sidewalk as someone might take them.
Now, if William and Dalton were little and we had just gotten back from our first furlough, and it was sometime in late 1999 - who wasn't born yet? You guessed it! Greyson! I was about 7 months pregnant with Greyson, very heavy and could not walk or run very fast. Dalton and Greyson "sat" on one of the nerves of one my hips when I was pregnant with each one causing me lots of pain and difficulty walking.
I know you've almost guessed the rest of this story. One day William and Dalton came in the house asking for water and permission to watch television. I passed out water and got set to turn on the t.v. when I saw the gate open and asked if they had left toys out on the sidewalk. William said, Yes, Mama. And I said, Well, come on. Let's go get them. When we got out to the sidewalk all the toys were gone! At the very end of the street - the open end of our dead end block - we could see a couple of boys with a junk cart turning the corner. No one else was on the street. I recalled seeing the boys earlier clapping at gates and asking if people had any junk to give them. They would resell it to a recycling person for a little cash. Hmmm! I did some fast thinking. Hollered for William to tell the girl from church who was helping in the house that day that I would be right back and I took off for the corner as fast as I could go.
When I turned the corner I saw a neighbor and asked if they'd seen the boys and the cart. I quickly explained why and they pointed in the direction they had seen them go. "You'll never catch them!" they cried after me.
I took off as fast as my pregnant legs would go. I turned the next street's corner and saw the boys and the cart about a block away. I started hollering, "Hey, hey! Stop! Come back." And kept "running." They acted like they didn't hear me and kept on pushing their cart but couldn't really go too fast as it was a rickety cart with bad wheels. I finally caught up to them huffing and puffing and in pain. I said, "Did you get some toys off my sidewalk just now!" They both just stared at me. There were two of them. I could see one of the little Winnie the Pooh figures in one of the guys' hands. I said, "That's one of them! Where are the rest!!! You know that wasn't junk left out for you and you saw my boys playing. Give me back their toys." They reached down in the cart and pulled out a few. I said, "I want them all!" I had a dress on that day with a big skirt. I picked up the ends and said, "Put them right here." I waited until they slowly got out each and every one. Then I thanked them and turned to go home.
When I got back to the corner of our street the same neighbor was standing there. He saw the toys and laughed and laughed. He couldn't believe that I had gotten them all back. When I got home, I showed the boys and then - I put them all away in my closet. I kept them there for a long time before I gave them back. Today that same Winnie the Pooh and his friends are favorites of the boys and girls of our church nursery here in Bahia.
It was a great house with very little traffic on the little street and good neighbors. The boys had a nice yard to play in and could play in front of the house wall on the sidewalk and in the street. Sometimes I would open the gate and they would come and go with toys and bikes and what not. I would frequently remind them to not leave toys out on the sidewalk as someone might take them.
Now, if William and Dalton were little and we had just gotten back from our first furlough, and it was sometime in late 1999 - who wasn't born yet? You guessed it! Greyson! I was about 7 months pregnant with Greyson, very heavy and could not walk or run very fast. Dalton and Greyson "sat" on one of the nerves of one my hips when I was pregnant with each one causing me lots of pain and difficulty walking.
I know you've almost guessed the rest of this story. One day William and Dalton came in the house asking for water and permission to watch television. I passed out water and got set to turn on the t.v. when I saw the gate open and asked if they had left toys out on the sidewalk. William said, Yes, Mama. And I said, Well, come on. Let's go get them. When we got out to the sidewalk all the toys were gone! At the very end of the street - the open end of our dead end block - we could see a couple of boys with a junk cart turning the corner. No one else was on the street. I recalled seeing the boys earlier clapping at gates and asking if people had any junk to give them. They would resell it to a recycling person for a little cash. Hmmm! I did some fast thinking. Hollered for William to tell the girl from church who was helping in the house that day that I would be right back and I took off for the corner as fast as I could go.
When I turned the corner I saw a neighbor and asked if they'd seen the boys and the cart. I quickly explained why and they pointed in the direction they had seen them go. "You'll never catch them!" they cried after me.
I took off as fast as my pregnant legs would go. I turned the next street's corner and saw the boys and the cart about a block away. I started hollering, "Hey, hey! Stop! Come back." And kept "running." They acted like they didn't hear me and kept on pushing their cart but couldn't really go too fast as it was a rickety cart with bad wheels. I finally caught up to them huffing and puffing and in pain. I said, "Did you get some toys off my sidewalk just now!" They both just stared at me. There were two of them. I could see one of the little Winnie the Pooh figures in one of the guys' hands. I said, "That's one of them! Where are the rest!!! You know that wasn't junk left out for you and you saw my boys playing. Give me back their toys." They reached down in the cart and pulled out a few. I said, "I want them all!" I had a dress on that day with a big skirt. I picked up the ends and said, "Put them right here." I waited until they slowly got out each and every one. Then I thanked them and turned to go home.
When I got back to the corner of our street the same neighbor was standing there. He saw the toys and laughed and laughed. He couldn't believe that I had gotten them all back. When I got home, I showed the boys and then - I put them all away in my closet. I kept them there for a long time before I gave them back. Today that same Winnie the Pooh and his friends are favorites of the boys and girls of our church nursery here in Bahia.
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| The Gate The moral of this story is - Don't leave your toys out on the sidewalk unless you have a fast Mama. |
Happy to see this story.Daddy and I remembering the house on the dead end street.I was thinking about all the times we visited there and remembering the pizza house and the small store on the corner.Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great house!
ReplyDelete