Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:15:01 EST
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 4, Chapters 31 - 32

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 4 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 31 -- Old Man Becker Had a Farm.

**Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read
this.

Friday afternoon, we loaded the van with the things we would need to take
with us, as we prepared to go out to the farm.  I had each boy take a
sleeping bag with them, as we knew the Beckers wouldn't have beds for all
of us.  The boys didn't mind the idea of camping out on the floor, since
they often slept on the floor in sleeping bags when we had sleepover
parties, but I do think some of the younger ones were excited by the idea
of doing this somewhere other than our home.

We had asked Mark to join us on this outing too, but he quickly informed me
he already had a date for this weekend.  I guess he had hooked up with one
of the female tellers at the bank where he was working with his mentor, and
they planned to go out to dinner and a movie.  He had asked me if he could
use the Grand Am while we were gone and I agreed.  He had been using it off
and on since he'd arrived and I wasn't worried about him doing so again,
but he was very considerate about this and always asked first.  Not only
that, but when he was done with it, he always filled the gas tank up before
he returned it, even if it had not been full when he borrowed it.

Although I wanted to spend more time with him while he was here and thought
this would be a good opportunity to do so, I was glad he had made a new
friend.  Anyway, he would be joining us when we went on a couple of our
weekend trips, which were planned primarily for his benefit.  These outings
were designed to allow him to see some of the great sights this part of the
country had to offer, since we weren't sure when he might come back this
way again.

As far as the rest of the boys were concerned, I was surprised at how
excited they all seemed to be about going out to the farm, since I didn't
think such an activity would be as alluring to those not raised on one.
Possibly, this was due to the fact that some of the boys had friends who'd
lived on farms and had heard stories about them, but then again their
enthusiasm may have been for reasons I was unfamiliar with.  Regardless, I
was glad they weren't balking at spending the weekend in the boondocks.

Once we'd started out, the boys thought we would get there in a matter of
minutes and were surprised by how long the drive was.  That may have been
partially due to the fact that much of the trip had to be made over narrow,
country roads where you had to drive much slower than on the highways.
Fortunately, the boys didn't make a big fuss about it and kept themselves
occupied by checking out the scenery and commenting about places and things
we passed along the way.

We arrived at the Beckers' homestead just before mid-afternoon and Little
Ricky came charging out to greet us.  Once he had welcomed each of us
individually and given us hugs, he offered to show the boys where to put
their things.  He also informed them that he planned to take them out to
the barn and show them around, just as soon as they were ready.  He wanted
them to see how he helped to milk their cows, something they did twice a
day by hand, and my sons seemed excited about witnessing it.

Enthusiastically, the boys followed him out to the barn, like a string of
ducklings waddling behind their mother.  After they got there and Little
Ricky demonstrated what he did, he then offered to let any of them brave
enough to try it for themselves.  When some of the boys volunteered to give
it a shot, Little Ricky carefully instructed them how to clean the udder
first, then grab a hold of the teat and gently pull and squeeze it at the
same time.  This action caused the milk to spurt out of the cow's udder and
into the bucket, until it had all been collected.

After everyone who wanted to try had a turn, Little Ricky explained that
some of the neighbors' farms used milking machines to do this job and
suggested he might be able to take them to one of those places tomorrow, so
they could see the difference.  The boys agreed it was a good idea and
encouraged him to see if he could set something up.

After they finished milking the cows, the boys brought the milk into the
house, where Mrs. Becker ran it through their small pasteurizing machine,
in order to kill the bacteria.  Since they only produced enough milk for
their own use, they didn't have to worry about strictly following FDA
regulations.  While that was going on, Little Ricky asked if he could take
the boys for a walk and show them around the farm and the Beckers and I
agreed it would be fine.  However, Mrs. Becker did remind them they only
had about two hours before dinner and informed them she didn't want them to
be late, if they expected to eat.  Remembering what a good cook she was,
they all agreed they'd be back on time, before they set off.

Little Ricky took them out through the fields, but not before telling them
they should watch where they stepped, as these were the pastures where the
cows grazed during the day.  The boys quickly understood what he meant by
this, after noticing and smelling some of the cow-patties that were
scattered about.  Carefully, they made their way across the pasture, while
trying to notice everything as they went and without stepping in any
fertilizer in the process.

When they got to the other end of the huge expanse, they climbed through
the barbed- wire fence to get to the open area beyond.  They helped each
other by grasping the wire between the barbs and pulling it far enough
apart so everyone could get through and no one would get cut.  Once they
were safely on the other side, Little Ricky led them again and seemed to
have a particular destination in mind.  When they reached the crest of a
small hill, Little Ricky pointed out a cluster of trees and informed them
there was a small pond in the middle of that wooded area.  He told them he
happened to discover it one day while he was out exploring, before quickly
adding that he often went swimming there.  Excited by the prospect, they
surged forward, so they could check the area out.  My boys were quite
impressed with how clean and refreshing the water looked, but their
inspection was interrupted, when Little Ricky spoke to them.

"Would you guys like to go for a swim?" he asked, while looking hopeful.
My boys looked at each other, not knowing how Little Ricky might respond to
their casual way of dealing with their current predicament, until my Ricky
took matters into his own hands.

"We don't have our swimming trunks," he told his little friend, "so what
did you have in mind?"  A twinkle appeared in Little Ricky's eye.  He
figured they were going to ask him this, so he had his response prepared
for them.

"I usually just take all my clothes off and go in," he admitted,
nonchalantly.  "You guys can too, unless you're too chicken to do it."  My
boys just looked at each other and started laughing, which caused Little
Ricky to wonder what was so humorous.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, while suspecting they might be making fun
of him.

"We go skinny-dipping in our pool all the time," Sammy told him, "and we go
around the house naked a lot too.  We're not afraid to take our clothes off
in front of other people."

"Yeah," Ricky added, "we just weren't sure how you'd react to it, that's
all.  We didn't want you to be uncomfortable if we suggested it or be shy
about being naked in front of us."

"I don't mind.  I got used to it at the group home," he replied.  "We had
to go naked in the showers with each other all the time.  I don't care if
you see me without my clothes on.  We're all boys, aren't we?  We've all
got the same things, so it's no big deal."

"I don't know about that," Nicky added with a laugh, "since some of these
guys have pretty big deals."  After making his comment, he pointed toward
Dion and Danny, and all the other boys knew what he was referring to.  My
boys were nodding and chuckling about this, but Little Ricky looked very
puzzled.

Eventually Big Ricky explained, "You'll see what he means after we're all
undressed."

"I can't wait then," Little Ricky added, in between giggles.

The boys quickly stripped out of their clothes and then jumped into the
water, but not before Little Ricky had checked each of them out and got an
eyeful of what they had to offer.  Little Ricky pulled Big Ricky aside
after that, to ask him a question.

"Why do some of the boys' things look so funny?  I mean, I've seen other
boys who had peters that looked like that, but I never knew why.  I just
thought it was like they were born with a deformed arm or a club-foot or
something."  Ricky didn't immediately catch on to what his friend meant at
first, until Little Ricky pointed out the boys he was referring to.  At
that point, Big Ricky suddenly understood.

"It's just that they weren't circumcised like we were," he informed him,
"but that's what yours looked like when you were born.  Your parents had
the doctor cut the extra skin off when you were a baby, so it would look
like it does now."

"Ouch!  That must have hurt," Little Ricky shot back, while both of his
hands instinctively shot in front of his crotch, as if he was trying to
protect his genitals from harm.

"It probably did a little, but you wouldn't remember that now," Big Ricky
explained.

"I think it looks better with the extra skin cut off though," Little Ricky
told him.  "Don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I do, but they're really not that different," Big Ricky
continued.  "The boys who weren't cut can pull the skin back to expose the
head, and then their dicks look pretty much the same as ours."

"Really?  I want to see that," Little Ricky squealed, excited by the
prospect of witnessing it for himself.

Ricky thought for a minute and then called Graham to join them.  Slowly,
Graham walked over to where the other two stood and Ricky explained what he
wanted Graham to do.  "Graham, Little Ricky's never seen an uncut dick
before and he'd like to see how it looks when you pull the skin back.
Would you mind showing him?"  Graham shrugged, reached down and slid his
foreskin back, exposing his shiny glans.  Little Ricky's mouth dropped open
and he squealed again, but this time in surprise.

"That's neat," he gushed.  "Will you do it again?"  Graham smiled at him,
before sliding the skin back to its natural place and then withdrew it
again.  Little Ricky was enthralled by the change.  "It's almost like
magic, isn't it?" he shrieked.

"Not quite, but it does change how his dick looks," his idol told him.

Seeing how intrigued Little Ricky was by this, Graham decided to do
something for him.  "You can try it with me too, if you want?" Graham
informed him.  "I don't mind."

"You mean you'd let me touch your peter?" Little Ricky asked, surprised
that Graham would make him such an offer.

"If you want, I don't care," Graham confirmed.  "Some of the other boys
have done the same thing at different times, to see how it works."

"Really?"  He looked over at Ricky as he said this.  "Have you ever done
that?"

"Yeah, I've played with Graham's dick before.  He really doesn't mind," Big
Ricky informed him.  "You can do it too, if you want.  I think the rest of
us have done it at least once with one of the uncut boys."

"If you're both sure it's okay," he told them, excited about the prospect,
yet scared about getting in trouble for doing it.  "Don't you think we
should go someplace where the other boys can't see what we're doing?"

"Nah, they won't care either," Ricky told him.  "We do a lot of things with
each other, as long as everyone doing it agrees it's okay."

"You mean like we did?" Little Ricky asked quickly, but then he began to
blush when he realized he had exposed their secret in front of someone
else.  Big Ricky looked at him in a reassuring manner and smiled.

"Yeah, like we did," he agreed.  "We all kind of help each other out like
that from time to time."

"When did you guys do something together?" Graham wanted to know, having
picked up on the slip-of-the-tongue.  Little Ricky blushed again, knowing
he had let the cat out of the bag, but after hearing what Ricky had said,
it didn't bother him as much as it would have before he learned what the
boys do together.

"When you had my birthday party at your house," he told Graham.  "We went
up to Ricky's bedroom for a while and did some things together."

"Well, you can play with mine too.  It's really okay," Graham told him
again, so Little Ricky reached out and starting drawing Graham's foreskin
back and forth, getting a thrill as he watched the bulbous head pop in and
out of sight. Unfortunately for him, this activity caused Graham to get
hard and made it difficult for him to keep sliding the foreskin back and
forth so easily, which made Little Ricky stop what he was doing.  When this
happened, Graham encouraged him to continue, since it felt so good.  "Don't
stop now," Graham urged him, "keep going until I shoot."

Little Ricky knew what this meant, as he remembered his encounter with Big
Ricky, so he moved off to the side and continued to pump on Graham's
erection.  Graham was breathing heavier now, enjoying the feel of Little
Ricky's tiny hand wrapped around his shaft, and slowly he felt his body
begin to tingle.  He started to thrust his hips to meet Little Ricky's hand
movements, and soon his penis erupted, spewing his thin strands of cum all
over the ground.  When this began to happen, the boys in the pond began to
applaud, which caused Little Ricky to become instantly embarrassed.

"They saw what we were doing," he told Ricky, like it was going to be a
problem.

"So, it's no big deal," Big Ricky assured him.

"But they'll tell Mom and Dad, and then I'll be in big trouble," he
announced.

"No, they won't," his idol told him.  "They were just teasing you by
clapping.  They really don't care.  We've all done things like that with
each other before."

"Really, and Uncle Pop doesn't mind?" Little Ricky asked, dumbfounded.

"Nah, not as long as both guys agree to it," he was told.  "He doesn't want
anyone forced into doing sex things, but he doesn't mind if they want to do
it."

"Well, Graham said I could do it," Little Ricky offered in his own defense.

"I know and no one will know about this except for those of us here," Big
Ricky confirmed.  "Don't worry about it.  Nothing will be said about it,
once we leave here."

This seemed to placate Little Ricky and soon the three of them joined the
others in the pond.  Dion quickly swam over to them and spoke to Little
Ricky.  "You know, you can do that for me too, if you want."

Little Ricky looked confused.  "Do what?" he asked him.

"What you did for Graham," Dion explained.  "You can play with mine too,
and you might have fun with it, seeing it's so much bigger."  Little Ricky
blushed, and then tried to look through the water to see Dion's monster
again.

"Well, I guess I could, if you wanted me to," he replied, shyly.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun," Dion responded, and the two boys swam over to
the far end of the pond and sprawled out along the edge of the bank.  With
a little encouragement from Dion, Little Ricky reached over and began to
fondle his cock.  He looked on in awe as it began to stir to life, having
never seen one that long before.

"Wow, it's huge," Little Ricky squealed, as Dion's penis began to stiffen
and expand to its full dimensions.  Dion just leaned back and grinned,
reveling in the small compliment.

Once it was fully inflated, Little Ricky placed his small hand around
Dion's firm pole and began to stroke it up and down, so Dion leaned back
and closed his eyes, focusing on the pleasurable sensations he was
receiving from his little friend.  Little Ricky didn't realize he could do
this slowly and jerked on Dion's meat like a man on a mission.  His hasty
actions soon brought his well-endowed partner to the brink and it wasn't
very long before Dion began to moan and his body began to stiffen.  Little
Ricky felt the penis get even harder in his palm and then Dion arched his
back, groaned and ribbons of cum spewed from the tiny slit at the end.

The first stream shot to Dion's left shoulder and trailed back toward his
navel, and the second strand hit him mid-chest and tapered back to about
the same place as the first.  Then there were smaller spurts, which pooled
between his navel and his pubes, forming a small puddle of jizz there.
Little Ricky just kept on pumping, even after the last of the semen had
oozed from Dion's dick, so Dion was forced to reach out and stop his young
friend's efforts, before the skin on his penis became completely raw.
Little Ricky just smiled at him, as Dion grasped his wrist.

"That was fun.  I've never touched one that big before," he gushed.  "Did I
do okay?"

"You did great, and you can do it again, anytime you want," Dion agreed.

"Really, you'd let me do it to you again?" Little Ricky asked, not
believing his ears.

"Sure, you were great, and I think you could probably do it with any of my
brothers too," Dion informed him.  "We all like to get off, especially when
the person doing it is as good at it as you are."

Little Ricky just beamed, due to the compliment, but then suggested they
had better start back for dinner.  Dion said he wanted to clean off in the
pond first, so the two of them jumped in and swam back to where the others
were still horsing around.  After they informed the other boys about the
need to head back soon, everyone got out of the pond, grabbed their
clothing and went through the trees to the field beyond, where they could
lay in the sunshine and let the warm rays of the sun help dry them off.
When most of the water had either rolled off of their bodies or evaporated
from the heat, they dressed and headed back to the house.

They were a bit late when they got there, but no one was particularly
upset; so they quickly sat down to eat.  As the boys gobbled down the
delicious meal Mrs. Becker had prepared for them, the Beckers asked what
they thought of the farm so far.  The boys told them what a good time they
were having here and looked forward to what they'd be able to do tomorrow.
The Beckers seemed pleased by their response, so we continued eating.

The meal was fantastic!  Mrs. Becker had prepared a huge pot roast with
tons of potatoes and carrots, and we each had a small salad and some
homemade bread to go with it.  All the vegetables came from their garden
and Mrs. Becker had made the bread from scratch.  She was a truly
remarkable lady and a first-rate cook.

After dinner Little Ricky took the boys out to the barn, where they climbed
up into the loft and jumped into a loose pile of hay that Mr. Becker had
put there primarily for Little Ricky to use to amuse himself when he was
alone.  The Beckers were just getting ready to do their first cut of hay
for the summer, so there wasn't much in the mow besides the pile of loose
hay that had been left there intentionally.  Even the older boys were
getting a thrill diving into the prickly grasses, as it was almost the same
rush you get in a free fall or a bungee jump, just not as far.

The boys continued this and a few other activities until dark, and then
they came into the house where the adults were.  The Beckers didn't let
them stay there for very long, however, as they had other experiences in
store for them to try.  Mr. Becker asked the boys to join him outdoors,
which they did quite readily, and then he had them help stack wood for a
bonfire in the wide part of the driveway, where he usually turned the
tractors and other equipment around.  Once there was a sufficient quantity
of wood for a good blaze, Mr. Becker got the fire started.  Soon, there was
a decent size bonfire, which lit up the immediate area, and Mrs. Becker
came out of the house lugging a couple of bags full of supplies.

Over the next hour or so, we roasted marshmallows and made Smores, as
Mr. Becker told them what it was like to live on the farm.  As they
devoured their snacks, he explained that tomorrow they were going to get a
chance to experience more of the types of things Little Ricky did on the
farm, because he wanted them to get a good idea what it was like for them.
They boys seemed fairly excited about the prospect, although they also
understood it meant work, but they wanted to give it a try and see what a
farmer's life was really like.

We had a wonderful time that first day, but their biggest shock was yet to
come.  Brent asked what time they'd be getting up in the morning, and this
caused all the Beckers to stifle chuckles.  Eventually, Mrs. Becker then
informed him they'd all get up when the alarm clock went off, but the boys
didn't understand why they thought that was so funny, since most of us got
up with an alarm clock at home.  However, I guessed we'd all find out later
why they felt this idea was so humorous.

We sat around and talked about things for a while longer, and then the
Beckers advised us it was time to get some sleep.  They apologized for not
having the same accommodations for us that we had had for them, but no one
was fazed by this fact.  The boys told them they had brought their sleeping
bags and had planned to use them before they even got there, so it was no
big deal.  Eventually, it was decided they would spread them out in their
living room to sleep, including Little Ricky, and I was given the use of
Little Ricky's bed for the evening.  After we all said good night, we went
to our sleeping areas to turn in.  I knew the boys would probably talk for
a while, as this was very early for them, especially during the summer, but
I nodded off almost immediately.  I guess the fresh country air had that
kind of effect on me.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 4 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 32 -- Rock-O and Hard Work.

A little before six o'clock the next morning, we discovered what the
Beckers had found so funny when they told us we'd get up when the alarm
clock went off.  Rock-O, their rooster, started crowing as the sun began to
creep over the horizon and light up the countryside, and he continued for
about the next twenty or thirty minutes.  Most of the boys didn't want to
get up right away, but found it impossible to sleep through his energetic
sunrise serenade.

As they began moving about and getting dressed, Frankie made a comment that
"if that bird were his, it would have been an ingredient in a pot of
chicken fricassee by now."  The other boys chimed in their agreement,
before Little Ricky dragged them out the front door.

"Aren't we going to at least eat first?" Dustin inquired, as he became
aware of the emptiness in his belly.

"No, we do the chores first and then we come in to eat," Little Ricky
informed him.

The boys all groaned in response, but did as instructed and followed Little
Ricky outside.  He led them to the chicken coop first, where he directed
them over to a barrel and lifted the cover.  "We have to feed the chickens
first, to keep them busy so we can do the rest of our job here," he
announced.  "Everyone grab a handful of chicken feed and come outside with
me, and I'll show you what to do."

The boys did what he told them and followed him out to the penned in
portion of the chicken yard, which was in back of the chicken coop, where
he demonstrated what to do next.  "Toss their food around like this, so
it's spread out over the ground.  Don't drop it all in one spot, because
then not all of the chickens will be able to eat at the same time.
Besides, it's better if they have to look a round to find it, because it
gives us more time to do our next job."

Even though the boys didn't understand what he meant by that remark, they
watched as he scattered his handful of chicken feed about, to keep the
chickens busy.  Once they had each done the same, Little Ricky went back
into the coop, picked up a basket and showed the boys how to find the eggs.
Soon every boy was checking through the hay on the various ledges looking
for eggs and putting whatever they found in the basket Little Ricky was
holding.

"This is a funny looking egg," Andrew announced, while holding up a shiny
egg-shaped object.

"That's one of the ceramic eggs," Little Ricky told him.  "Dad keeps them
there so the chickens understand where they are supposed to lay their eggs.
Plus, they don't get as upset if they still see a couple of those laying
around after we collect the real ones."

The boys took Little Ricky's explanation at face value and then followed
him back to the house, where they presented the items to Mrs. Becker.  She
took the basket from her son, before handing him a bucket of scraps, which
had been collected after the previous day's meals.  Little Ricky took that
bucket and hurried back outside, telling my boys to follow him.  He led
them out to the pigpen, where he dumped the bucket of scraps into the troth
for the hogs.  He did add some regular hog food to it, plus some fruit and
vegetables that had started to go bad, since what Mrs. Becker gave them
wasn't enough to satisfy the number of animals they had to feed.

Once they finished that chore, they helped to bring the four cows in from
the pasture and milk them again, before turning them back out to graze
until later.  When they had finished that task, they brought the milk into
the house and were told to clean up before they took a seat at the table,
as breakfast was almost ready.  The boys were certainly happy to hear this
news, but didn't have enough energy left to race off and perform this
simple task, so it was quite a few minutes later before the last of them
returned to the dining area to eat.

We had another huge country breakfast prepared for us, which was meant to
sustain each of us through the hard work ahead.  Once everyone had finished
his meal, Little Ricky led the entire crew out to the barn, where he got
the boys started on the next set of chores.

First they had to clean out the stalls and other parts of the barn, which
meant they had to shovel out the manure, sweep off the cement floor, wipe
down the stanchions and clean out the storage areas.  When they finished
all of that, Little Ricky went out and brought in their horses, which they
would have to brush down and feed next.  When they were done with the
horses, they went to find Mr. Becker, who was just about ready to set off
to one of their fields, where he would mow the hay.

He told the boys we would all go out together and then showed me how to
operate one of his tractors, so I could follow him out to where we'd be
working next.  I felt a bit out of place behind the wheel of this large
hunk of machinery, but followed behind Mr. Becker as he drove another
tractor, with which he pulled a rather large wagon, where the boys rode.
He prepared it for them by putting some loose hay on it first, to make it
more comfortable and let the boys get a feel for what a hayride might be
like.  They seemed intrigued by this simple pleasure and seemed to enjoy
it.

After we finally reached the field we'd be working in, Mr. Becker took over
the tractor I was driving, as it had the mower attachment hooked to it.
After explaining what he was going to do and demonstrating how it should be
done, he let each of the boys drive that tractor and cut some of the hay.
He let my drivers do it with him standing beside them, on the side opposite
the mower, while he had the little ones seated on his lap, when it was
their turn to try.  The boys all thought driving the tractor was pretty
neat, especially the younger boys, who hadn't driven anything before.

Once we finished mowing the field, we drove back to the barn and Mr. Becker
announced to the boys they could do whatever they wanted for the rest of
the afternoon, while he and I ran in to the feed store to pick up a few
items.  The boys looked excited when he told them this and I found out
later why.  They had decided to go back out to the pond again, so they
could go skinny-dipping once more.

This time, however, no sexual activity took place while they were out
there, but the boys did play a little grab-ass in the pond, took the
opportunity to dunk or submarine each other from below, which was sort of
like getting pulled under during a shark attack.  They had between three
and four hours to do this today, so they eagerly raised hell for most of
that time and really enjoyed the freedom of swimming nude in a secluded,
cool pond.

As it neared time to head back in again, they got out of the water, went
out to the field and lounged around, drying in the sun.  When most of the
water had disappeared from their bodies, they put their clothes on and
walked back to the house, so they could do the remaining chores before
dinner.  When they came back into the house, Mr. Becker told them he had a
surprise for them and then I had them all load into the van.  He gave me
directions to get to another farm and there the boys got to see about sixty
cows being milked with milking machines.  They were even shown how to use
the equipment and allowed to hook one of the cows up to this mechanical
device, before they were given a brief tour of this considerably larger
facility.  They were really impressed by the differences, and how much more
there was to do there, but they were happy to head back to the Beckers'
place before long.

When we got back, they helped Ricky milk his cows for the final time that
day, and then they went into the house to clean up for dinner.  I had
already spent much of the day trying to convince Mrs. Becker to let me take
everyone out to dinner tonight, but she wouldn't hear of it.  She did allow
me to give her a hand in the kitchen though, and I helped her prepare the
fried chicken, homemade biscuits, oven fried potatoes and fresh peas we
were going to have later.  I helped her do nearly everything, including
shelling the peas before she steamed them, but I did save a few to show the
boys when they came back in, so they'd know what I'd had to do.

I was surprised to learn that not all of my boys realized peas had to be
removed from pods before they were eaten, at least for most people, and
they just thought they came that way in cans or in the bags from the frozen
section of the grocery store.  Therefore, this was an educational
experience as well.

With our dinner, we all drank glasses of fresh, cold milk, from last
night's and this morning's milking, and the boys discovered this was quite
different tasting from the skim milk we were all used to drinking.  Of
course the food was fantastic as well, and there was plenty of it, and when
everything else had been devoured, Mrs. Becker brought out homemade apple
and cherry pies for dessert.  We were all stuffed when we walked away from
the table, each guessing we'd probably gained 30 to 40 pounds in the
process.  If we lived here, as Ricky did, we'd probably all be fat slobs in
no time, except I'm certain we'd also work some of those calories off
during the course of the day.  One thing we all agreed on was that
Mrs. Becker was one fantastic cook.

After we sat around for a while, to give our food a chance to digest,
Mr. Becker announced he had something else planned for us to do.  Wondering
what it might be, we watched intently as he went out back and then carried
in a tall wooden cylinder, with a metal container inside of it.  It was an
old hand-cranked ice cream maker, not one of the newer versions with an
electric motor, but the older variety -- where you supplied the power.  It
was almost identical to the one I had used when staying with my
grandparents when I was a boy.  After Mr. Becker explained to us how it had
been passed down through three generations of Beckers, he instructed the
boys as to how it worked and explained they would have to do the cranking,
if they wanted to share the treat that came from it.

Mrs. Becker had whipped up the ice cream mix earlier in the day and kept it
in the refrigerator, so now she poured some of it into the metal container
to start the first batch.  Once it was in the tube, Mr. Becker sealed the
container up, packed the area around it with ice, and then sprinkled the
ice with salt, to help make it colder.  After he got the cranking started,
he gave each boy an opportunity to turn the handle for a while, in order to
mix the contents and transform it into the final product we would consume.

The boys were amazed at how hard it was to crank that contraption and how
their arm muscles burned after just a couple of minutes or less of work.
However, no one was willing to give up until his turn was completed,
because none of them wanted anyone making fun of them for not having been
able to do as much as their brothers.  The smaller boys were only required
do it for about two-thirds of the time the other boys did, but that was
more than enough to satisfy their curiosity.

After we finished this endeavor, the boys all agreed it was well worth the
effort, once they got to sample what they had helped to produce.  The ice
cream they now ate was unlike any other ice cream they had ever eaten.  It
had a vanilla flavor, but somehow it was sweeter and had a slightly
different texture than they were accustomed to.  It was a marvelous and
unique experience for all of them and they were glad to pack away as much
of it as they were allowed.  We ended up making several batches, to make
certain everyone had enough to satisfy themselves, but we only got a small
portion each time, so no one would be left out during any of the batches.
Finally, everyone agreed they'd had enough, both in ice cream and cranking
the ice cream maker, so we helped clean everything up and put it away.

Once we'd finished that activity, we sat and watched television with the
Beckers for a short time and enjoyed a movie.  The Beckers had a satellite
dish they used to get programs they wouldn't otherwise be able to see, and
had selected this particular movie for us from one of their premium
channels.  When the feature ended, Mr. Becker suggested it was time for us
all to get some sleep, since we had another full day ahead of us tomorrow.
We didn't have to force anyone to go to bed tonight, because they were all
pretty tired from the day's activities.

Before we went to bed, however, we discussed how we were going to all get
ready to attend church with the Beckers, once we finished the morning
chores.  We certainly didn't want anyone smelling like they just came from
the barn as we sat in the service, but because the Beckers had a limited
hot water supply; we each would have only a few minutes to clean up.  I
urged the boys to double up and take fairly quick showers, to conserve hot
water as much as possible, but Little Ricky came up with a much better
alternative plan.  He suggested he and the boys could go out to the pond
and clean up, as all they would need were a couple of bars of ivory soap
(because it floats) and towels to dry off and wrap around themselves when
they came back in.  We thought that was an excellent idea and told them
that would work fine, but the boys also decided to take a couple of plastic
garbage bags with them, so they could toss their clothes into them after
they'd undressed.

I was a little surprised the Beckers were so agreeable to their son's
suggestion, as they understood the boys would all be naked and bathing
together in the pond.  However, after thinking about it and realizing
things like this must have also occurred in their past on various farms,
they figured they were all boys and possessed the same type of equipment,
so there would be no harm in such an innocent activity.

Once the boys went to bed, the house quickly quieted down.  I checked in on
them later, when I got up to use the toilet, and discovered they were all
sound asleep.  I did notice Little Ricky was cuddled up between Graham and
Andrew, which surprised me; since I thought he'd have been hunkered down
next to his idol and namesake.  My guess was he had come to enjoy the
company of boys closer to his own age and chose to pursue that over his
hero worship.

Rock-O began his acknowledgment of dawn just before six again and carried
on for a good twenty minutes before he stopped.  The boys were less
derogatory about his effort this morning, and even commented it wasn't a
bad way to get awakened.  Now that they were up, I sent them out to help
with the chores, so they followed Little Ricky outside and assisted him
feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, slopping the hogs and milking
the cows.  After that, they quickly cleaned out the barn and then happily
raced off toward the pond, to take a morning dip and clean up.

After throwing their smelly clothes into the trash bags, until they could
be taken out and washed at home, the boys made their way to the pond's
edge.  Even though the water was still a little cooler than they'd have
normally liked, they washed up and enjoyed a brief swim in the process.
After they finished, they dried off and put their footwear back on, before
walking toward the farmhouse with the towels draped over their shoulders.
Each of them walked naked most of the way back and only wrapped the towels
around their waists once they were in sight of the farmhouse.

After coming inside, they dressed and then joined the Beckers and I for
another big country breakfast.  After we finished eating, we quickly
cleaned up the kitchen and then followed the Beckers to their church, as
they rode in their truck and led the way.  The church was a very small
country church and we increased their attendance by about twenty percent or
more once my family entered and was seated.  It was a very basic church
building, with maybe ten wooden pews on each side of the aisle, a small
altar area with a pulpit, and three stained windows on each side.  It was
very quaint, but served its purpose.

We sat through a fairly enjoyable service and the minister acknowledged our
presence to the congregation, which made us feel very comfortable there.  I
made sure to put in a very generous contribution in the offering, which
probably doubled their normal take, so I figured we'd be welcomed there
again, whenever we came out to visit the Beckers.

After the service, the Beckers introduced us to much of the congregation,
beginning with the pastor and then their friends and neighbors, some of
whom I had spoken to on the phone.  We were primarily known as the family
that helped the Beckers adopt Little Ricky, but we didn't mind playing that
role.  These were very honest and hard-working folks, friendly and very
direct, and we got along very well with them, while making some new friends
along the way.  Who knows, we might have just encouraged another couple to
adopt some other poor unfortunate child, which would provide Little Ricky a
playmate nearby.

After making our way around the crowd, if you could call it that, the
Beckers joined us in the van, so they could give us a guided tour of the
area.  They pointed out various farms and explained which of the people we
had just met belonged to which homestead.  After that, they directed me to
a fairly large park, which contained hiking trails and a small lake.  We
spent the next couple of hours just wandering around the park, enjoying the
lovely day and all that nature had to offer.  When we got back to the van,
I asked them to direct me to a good restaurant close by, which they did,
but only after some intense discussion.  They didn't really want me to pay
for this, but finally gave in to my friendly persuasion.

It wasn't a very large establishment and far from the route we would use to
drive home, but it did serve very good meals and we all enjoyed our time
together.  Once the meal was over, we took the Beckers back to their
church, so they could pick up their truck.  That is why they drove that far
on their own, in order to save us from having to drive back to their farm
before heading home.  It just so happened the church was part way between
their farm and the road leading back to our place, so it worked out well.

After saying farewell to each of them and thanking them for the valuable
experience, the boys and I made sure to let them know they were invited to
our Fourth of July cookout.  This year it fell on a Wednesday and was a few
days before they were scheduled to leave for Disney World.  After
confirming that they would love to join us, they explained they sadly had
to refuse.  They wouldn't have anyone to cover the chores and certain
things needed to get done, even on weekends and holidays.

I suggested they could leave after the morning chores were finished and I'd
be happy to pay a hired man to do the rest for them.  That way, they could
spend the day with us, and then still be able to return in time to do the
evening milking, so the hired man wouldn't have to do it all.  After
considering my offer and talking it over privately with each other, they
finally agreed to my plan.  That would leave them a few hours to spend with
us, eat and participate in what other activities we might decide to do.  In
addition to the Fourth, we were also going to see them the following
Friday, when we picked them up to take them to Philadelphia to catch their
plane to Orlando.

The drive back went fairly quickly and the boys were glad to be back home.
Although they did admit they had enjoyed their weekend visit to the farm,
they also confessed how shocked they were by the amount of work a farmer
has to do, going almost nonstop from dawn until dusk.  Now, they understood
why Mr. Becker was so hesitant about leaving his farm for very long,
because the work would pile up very quickly and cows don't do well if
they're not milked regularly.

For some of the boys, this was their first experience with country life, as
they had grown up in a city or smaller community setting, be it a village
or town center, so it had been an eye-opener to a whole new way of life.
This also made them appreciate what their ancestors would have had to go
through, although it would have been much harder for them, since nearly
everything would have had to been done by hand.  I think the boys were
thankful they didn't live on a farm and weren't required those jobs every
day, because they thought it would become old really fast, but it wasn't
bad for a short period of time.

All in all, it was worth the drive and the effort, but it was also nice to
see how Little Ricky was doing and that he seemed to really like that sort
of life.  I would never have guessed he would have been so suited to living
on a farm and eager for its rigors, but he seemed to be enjoying himself
immensely while we were there.  I'm sure some of his current happiness and
contentment stemmed from the fact he was the center of attention in that
household and deeply loved, and I was fairly certain that wouldn't change
in the future, even if the Beckers did decide to adopt another child.


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