Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 08:55:51 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: The Castaway Hotel - Book 4 chapter 15 Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality. Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over, **If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live, **Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex. The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against violators. I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this chapter. If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com. * * * * * * * * Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse. * * * * * * * * The Castaway Hotel -Book 4 - by BW (Young-Friends). Copyright 2000 by billwstories Chapter 15 - Old Mr. Becker had a farm. May 2001 Dion had his first actual date with his new girlfriend on Tuesday, with the two of them spending the afternoon wandering around the mall, before taking in a movie. I heard later that they did some kissing at the movie and that Dion seemed to have a good time, but it was just a fairly typical first date. The boys were keeping much of this information from Trey, not wanting him to get depressed from the news, but I knew it would be difficult to keep him from finding out things sooner or later. I also learned that Dion had made another date with this girl for next Monday and they were planning on doing about the same things. I hope that Trey is able to keep the same positive attitude about Dion's attempt to find himself as he displayed when we talked the other day, but I knew the longer this went on, the harder it would be for Trey to keep his emotions under control. I spent a good deal of my time that week with Frankie and Kevin, giving them extra driving lessons and trying to get them ready for their fall road test. Frankie was doing an excellent job behind the wheel, proving to be a very capable driver, and Kevin was also doing very well, but he was not as comfortable with this task as Frankie was. Both boys should have no trouble passing their test when they take it in September, thus giving me two more drivers to split the taxi duties. I did tell them that they could do most of the driving when we went places as a family, providing I was with them at the time, and this would give them plenty of practical experience before their test. They seemed pleased with that announcement and my other drivers understood why I was going to let the beginners have this time to drive instead of them, remembering how they wanted the extra experience before they took their road tests too. I also had to change the time that I was planning on going to the driving range with Jake, from Saturday morning to Thursday afternoon, after he got out of work. I had forgotten that this was the weekend we were scheduled to go visit the Beckers on the farm, and I didn't want to disappoint Little Ricky. He was very excited about our going there, and he had even called me Wednesday morning, to see what time we'd be arriving. At first I told him early Saturday morning, but he suggested we come Friday night instead, as he wanted the boys to be there so he could show the other boys more about the farm. I finally agreed, telling him we'd arrive on Friday and leave Sunday afternoon, and that seemed to satisfy him. I had originally planned to leave after church, but I figured I'd take everyone out to dinner first, to show them our appreciation for their hospitality, and Little Ricky was even happier to hear that we wouldn't be leaving until mid-afternoon. It was obvious that he had all kinds of plans for us. Thursday afternoon I met Jake at the driving range and we each hit a couple of buckets of balls. Jake gave me some pointers, to polish up my swing and get rid of the bad habits I had acquired after such a lengthy time away from the sport, and I got progressively better as I hit more and more balls. By the end of the session, I was hitting my drives straight, though not as long as I would have liked, and I was also doing fairly well with my irons. He complimented me several times on how quickly I was regaining my form, and then we decided to stop and have a couple of beers on the way home. Jake was easy to talk to and I enjoyed his company, and he even asked me if I'd like to fill out his foursome a week from Saturday. He told me that he and I would team up against two of his co-worker friends, as the fourth person who usually filled out the group had other plans that day. I told him I didn't know if I was quite ready for that, and he told me that next Wednesday we'd hit the putting green and Thursday we could hit a couple more buckets of balls, and then I'd be fine for Saturday morning. I told him that as long as he and his friends didn't mind my rustiness, I'd be happy to join them, so the outing was confirmed. The boys had dinner ready by the time I got home, and they peppered me continuously during the meal with questions about how I had done. For some strange reason they seemed pleased that Jake and I had stopped for a drink after we finished at the driving range, and they seemed even more thrilled to hear about our plans for the following week. At this point I still didn't know that some of them had suggested this to Jake, thinking that only Shannon had been involved trying to set this up for his dad and me. I also found out later that Jake had no idea that his son had made similar suggestions to me, but that's when we started to figure this whole little conspiracy out, but we'll get into that later. The boys even offered to clean and polish my clubs and polish my old golf shoes for me next Friday, so I'd at least look good when I went out to golf Saturday, even if I didn't play very well. I thanked them for their generous offer and graciously accepted, thinking that their hearts were in the right place. Little did I know how instrumental they had been in getting all of this arranged in the first place. Friday afternoon we prepared to go to the farm, loading the car with the things we would need to take with us. I had each boy take a sleeping bag with them, as we knew they wouldn't have beds for all of us. The boys didn't mind this, however, as they often slept on the floor in sleeping bags when we had sleepover parties. We had asked Mark to join us too, but he told me that 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 had 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 used our vehicles before and I wasn't worried about him doing so, but he was very considerate about this, always asking first and always filling the gas tank up when he was done. Even though I wanted to spend more time with him, he would be joining us when we went on a couple of weekend trips, planned primarily on his behalf, to let him see some of the sights that this part of the country offered. As far as the rest of the boys were concerned, I was surprised at how excited they all seemed to be about all this, not remembering that a trip to a farm could be exciting for those not raised on one. I was somewhat surprised at how long the drive was, though, probably because most of it was made over narrow, country roads, but the boys didn't seem to mind the ride at all. We arrived at the Beckers just before mid-afternoon, and Little Ricky showed the boys where to put their things, before he led them down to the barn. He wanted to show them how he helped to milk their four cows, something they did twice a day, and the others seemed excited about witnessing this too. He even let the boys help him, showing them how to clean the udder first, then grab a hold of the teat, gently pull and squeeze it, causing the milk to shoot out in the bucket. He told them that some of the neighbors' farms used milking machines to do this job, and maybe he could take them to one of those farms tomorrow, to show them the difference, and the boys thought that was a good idea. After they finished milking the cows, they brought the milk to the house, where Mrs. Becker ran it through their small pasteurizing machine, to kill the bacteria. They only produced enough milk for their own use, so they didn't have to worry about FDA regulations. After that, Little Ricky asked if he could take the boys for a walk and show them around the farm. We all agreed that would be fine, although Mrs. Becker reminded them that they had only about two hours before dinner and she didn't want them to be late. They agreed they'd be back in time, and off they went. 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 days. The boys quickly understood what he meant by this, noticing and smelling some of the cow-patties that lay about. Carefully they made their way across the pasture, trying to see everything as they went, without stepping in any fertilizer in the process. When they got to the other end, they climbed through the barbed-wire fence, making sure to hold the strands apart for each other so no one got cut, then Little Ricky led them on, seeming 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 he informed them that there was a small pond in the middle of that wooded area. He told them that he happened to discover it one day, while he was out exploring, and he added that he often went swimming there. They went forward, to check it out, and the boys were impressed with how clean and refreshing it looked. "Would you guys like to go for a swim?" Little Ricky asked them. My boys looked at each other, not knowing how to respond, 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, knowing that they were going to tell him that, and he had his response all prepared for them. "I usually just take all my clothes off and go in. You guys can too, unless you're too embarrassed to do that." My boys just looked at each other and started laughing, but Little Ricky wasn't sure what was so humorous. "What's so funny?" he wanted to know. "We go skinny-dipping in our pool all the time," Sammy told him, "and we go around the house naked all the time too. We're not afraid to take our clothes off in front of other people." "No," Ricky added, "we just weren't sure how you'd react to that. We weren't sure how comfortable you'd be, being naked in front of us." "I don't mind. I got used to it at the group home. 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. "Some of them can be pretty big deals." After saying this, 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 the joke to him, and then he started to chuckle too. "I can't wait to see theirs then," he 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, getting 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' wieners look so funny? I mean, I've seen other boys who had wieners 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 wasn't sure what he meant at first, until Little Ricky pointed out the boys that 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 after you were born, so it would look like it does now." "Ouch! That must have hurt." "It probably did a little, but you wouldn't remember that now." "I think it looks better with the extra skin cut off," Little Ricky told him. "Don't you?" "Yeah, I guess I do, but they're really not that different. They can pull the skin back on the boys who weren't cut, and their dicks look pretty much the same as ours." "Really? I want to see that." Ricky thought for a minute and then he called Graham over to join them. Slowly Graham walked over to where the other two were, and then Ricky told Graham what he wanted. "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 in surprise. "That's neat. Will you do it again?" Graham smiled at him, slid the skin back to its natural place, and then he 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 it looks," his idol told him. Seeing how intrigued Little Ricky was by this, Graham decided to do something for him. "You can try it, if you want?" Graham informed him. "I don't mind." "You mean you'd let me touch your wiener?" Little Ricky asked, surprised that Graham would make him such an offer. "If you want, I don't mind. 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. 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, "but don't you think that we should go where the other boys won't see what we're doing?" "Nah, they won't care either," Ricky told him. "We do a lot of things with each other." "You mean like we did?" Little Ricky asked quickly, but then he began to blush when 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. We all kind of help each other out like that." "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 all that much. "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, I really don't mind," Graham told him again, and 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. Little Ricky went to stop, but Graham urged him to continue. "Don't stop now," he urged him, "keep going until I shoot." Little Ricky knew what this meant, remembering his encounter with 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 that 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 was erupting, spewing his thin strands of cum all over the ground. When this began to happen, the boys in the pond began to applaud, causing Little Ricky to become instantly embarrassed. "They saw what we were doing," he told Ricky, like it was a major problem. "So, it's no big deal." "But they'll tell Mom and Dad, and then I'll be in big trouble." "No, they won't. 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?" "Nah, not as long as both guys agree to it. He doesn't want anyone forced into doing sex things." "Well, Graham said I could do it." "I know and no one will know about this except for those of us here. Don't worry about it. Nothing will be said." 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. You can play with mine too, and you might have fun with it being 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." "Yeah, that 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, that's huge." Dion just leaned back and grinned, reveling in that small compliment. Little Ricky placed his small hand around Dion's firm pole and began to stroke him up and down, and Dion just leaned back and closed his eyes, focusing on the pleasurable sensations he was receiving from his little friend. Little Ricky didn't realize you could go slow doing this, so he jerked on Dion's meat like a man on a mission, and these hasty actions would soon elicit an orgasm from his well-endowed partner. 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, and Dion had 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. Did I do okay?" "You did great, and you can do it again, anytime you want." "Really, you'd let me do it to you again?" "Sure, you were great, and I think you could probably do it with any of my brothers too. We all like to get off, especially when the person doing it is as good at it as you are." Little Ricky just beamed, because of that compliment, and then he suggested that they better get back for dinner. Dion said he wanted to clean off in the pond first, so the two of them jumped back in and swam back to where the others were still horsing around. They informed the other boys that they should be heading back soon, so everyone got out of the pond and went through the trees and to the field beyond, and they laid there in the sunshine, letting the warm rays help to dry them off. When most of the water had either rolled off 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 really upset, and they all sat down to eat. As the boys gobbled down the delicious meal Mrs. Becker had prepared for them, the Beckers asked them what they thought of the farm so far. The boys told them what a good time they were having out here, and that they looked forward to what they'd be able to do tomorrow. The Beckers seemed pleased by their response and we all continued eating. 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 long. The boys continued that 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 plans for them. Mr. Becker took the boys outdoors, and he had them help him build a bonfire in the wide part of the driveway, where he usually turned the tractors and other equipment around. After the fire got going, we roasted marshmallows and made smores, and Mr. Becker told them what it was like to live on the farm as they ate their snacks. He told them they'd get a chance to experience more of those types of things tomorrow, and he wanted them to get a good idea what it was like to live there. We really had a good time that first day and I think the boys were shocked at how much 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. They asked what time they'd be getting up in the morning, and all the Beckers just laughed, saying they'd get up when the alarm clock went off. The boys didn't know why that was so funny to the others, but I guessed they'd find out later. We sat around and talked about things for quite a while longer, and then the Beckers told us it was time to get to bed. They apologized that they didn't have the same accommodations for us that we had had for them, but no one was fazed by that fact. The boys told them they had brought their sleeping bags and were ready to put them anywhere for the night. It was decided that they would all spread 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 to go to bed, especially during the summer, but I fell asleep almost immediately. About six o'clock the next morning, we found out what they had meant when they said we'd get up when the alarm clock went off. Rock-O, their rooster, started crowing about that time and he continued for about the next twenty minutes. Most of the boys didn't want to get up, but they couldn't sleep through his energetic sunrise serenade. As they were moving around 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. "No, we do the chores first and then we come in and eat." The boys all groaned, but they did as they were told, following Ricky out to the chicken coop first. He took and threw some chicken feed out on the ground, keeping the chickens busy, then he took a basket into the coop and showed the boys how to find the eggs. Soon every egg they collected was in that basket and they took them back to the house to present them to Mrs. Becker. She took the eggs from them, and then gave them a bucket of scraps from yesterday's meals, and they took that bucket out to give to the hogs. After that, they helped to bring the four cows in from the pasture and milk them again, before they turned 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. They ate a huge country breakfast, to sustain them through the hard work ahead, and then Ricky led them out to the barn to get 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 had finished all of that, Little Ricky went out and brought in the horse, which they would have to brush down and feed next. When they were done with the horse, they went to find Mr. Becker and he was just about ready to go out to one of their fields to mow the hay. He told the boys we would all go out together, and then he showed me how to operate one of the tractors, so I could drive it out to where we'd be working. I drove that one, following Mr. Becker as he drove the other tractor, pulling the wagon with the boys in it. He put some loose hay in the wagon, to make it more comfortable and let the boys get a feel for what a hayride might be like, and they seemed to enjoy this simple pleasure. After we got out to the field, Mr. Becker took over the tractor I was driving, as it had the mower attachment hooked to it, and then he showed the boys how it was done. After he gave them this instruction, he let each of the boys drive that tractor and cut some of the hay, with him seated or standing beside them while they did so. The boys all thought driving the tractor was pretty neat, especially the younger boys, who hadn't driven anything like this before. Once we finished mowing that field, we drove back in, and Mr. Becker told the boys they could do whatever they wanted for the rest of the afternoon, while he and I ran into 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 each other, and they submarined each other from below, like a shark attack. They had between three and four hours to do this today, and they raised hell for most of that time, really enjoying the freedom of swimming nude in a secluded, cool pond. As it neared the time to head back again, they got out of the water, went out to the field, and lay around to dry in the sun. When most of the water had disappeared, they put their clothes back on and walked back to the house to do the chores before dinner. When they came back in, Mr. Becker told them he had a surprise for them and told them to all load into the Suburban. He gave me directions to get to another farm and there the boys got to see about thirty cows being milked with milking machines. They were even shown how to do it, allowed to hook up one of the cows to the mechanical device, and were given a tour of a 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 to prepare the fried chicken, homemade biscuits, oven fried potatoes, and fresh peas we were going to have tonight. I helped her do everything, including shell the peas before she prepared them, but I did save a few to show the boys when they came back. Many of the boys didn't realize that the peas had to be removed from pods before they were eaten, at least for many people, and they just thought they came that way in cans or in the bags from the frozen section of the grocery store. This was also an educational experience too. With our dinner, we all drank glasses of fresh, cold milk, from last night's and this morning's milking, and the boys discovered that this was quite different from the skim milk we were all used to drinking. Of course the food was fantastic, 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 realizing that we'd gain 30 to 40 pounds each, if we lived there like Ricky did. Mrs. Becker was one fantastic cook. After we sat around for a while, Mr. Becker announced that he had something else planned for us to do now, and he went out back and carried in a tall wooden cylinder, with a metal container inside. It was an old hand-cranked ice cream maker, not one with an electric motor, but the old hand-cranked type, like the one I had last helped my grandfather use when I was a boy. After he explained how it had been passed down through three generations of Beckers, he taught the boys how to use it. Mrs. Becker had whipped up the ice cream mix earlier in the day and kept it in the refrigerator, and now she poured some of it into the metal container. Mr. Becker sealed the container up, packed the area around it with ice, and then he sprinkled the ice with salt, to make it colder. After he got the cranking started, he let each boy have a opportunity to turn the handle for a while, mixing the contents and transforming it into the final product that we would eat. The boys were amazed at how hard it was to crank that contraption and how their muscles burned in their arms after just a couple of minutes or less, but no one would give up until their turn was completed. After we finished this endeavor, the boys all agreed that it was well worth the effort. 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 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 as they could. We ending up making several batches, each of us getting a small portion each time, but finally we decided we had all had enough. After that we sat and watched their television for a short time, enjoying a movie that happened to be on. The Beckers had a satellite dish that they used to get programs they wouldn't otherwise be able to see, and we watched the movie on one of the pay-type channels. When the movie ended, we suggested that it was time for us all go to bed. We didn't have to force anyone tonight, because they were all pretty tired from the day's activities, but half of the boys decided to shower tonight and the other half in the morning. We would attend church with the Beckers before we left and we didn't want them smelling like they just came from the barn. The boys were urged to double up and take fairly quick showers, to conserve hot water as much as possible, and then we let them keep the television on until they fell asleep. I checked in on them later, when I got up to go to the toilet, and I turned the television off, as they were all sound asleep. I did notice that Little Ricky was cuddled up between Graham and Andrew, and I was kind of surprised that he wasn't with my Ricky. Must be he had enjoyed the company of boys closer to his own age. Rock-O began his acknowledgment of dawn just before six again, and he carried on for a good twenty minutes before he stopped. The boys were less derogatory about his effort this morning, and they even commented that it wasn't a bad way to get awakened. Seeing I didn't want the boys who had already taken their showers to do the barn chores, I sent the ones who hadn't showered to help Ricky milk the cows, feed the chickens, collect the eggs, and slop the hogs, while the other boys were asked to help out inside. They set the table, swept the floors, dusted, and loaded our things in the Suburban while the others were busy in the barn. When the outdoor crew was done, they hit the showers, changed into their church clothes, and then joined us for breakfast, another big country meal. After we finished eating, those of us who hadn't yet changed for church did so, and then we followed the Beckers to their church, as they drove their car ahead of us. The church was a very small country church and we increased their attendance by about twenty percent when my family entered and sat down. It was a very basic church, 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, but it was very quaint. We sat through an enjoyable service, and the minister acknowledged our presence in the congregation, and we all felt very comfortable there. I made sure to put in a very generous contribution in the offering, probably doubling their normal take. After church the Beckers introduced us to many of the others, beginning with the pastor and then on to their 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, 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 our Suburban and they gave us a guided tour of the area, pointing out various farms and then trying to explain to which of the people we had just met that they belonged. After that, they took us to a fairly large park, with hiking trails and a small lake, and we spent the next couple of hours just wandering around there, enjoying the lovely day and all that nature had to offer. When we got back to the Suburban, I asked them to direct me to a good restaurant close by, which they did, but only after some discussion. It wasn't a very large establishment, but it did serve very good meals, and we all ate and had an enjoyable time together. After the meal was over, we drove the Beckers back to the church to pick up their car, then we said farewell to them, and got ready to head back to our home. We did invite them to our Fourth of July cookout, which was the Tuesday before they were planning to leave for Disney World, and they told us they'd love to join us but they wouldn't have anyone to cover the chores. I suggested that they leave after the morning chores were finished, spend the day with us, and then leave in time to get back for the evening milking. After considering this and talking it over with each other, they finally agreed to the plan. That would leave them a few hours to spend with us, to 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. After I dropped them off at the airport, I was going to take my family, including Mark, for a weekend tour of historical Philly. The drive back went fairly quickly and the boys were glad to be back home, though they did admit that they had enjoyed their weekend visit to the farm For some of them, this was their first experience with country life, as they had grown up in a city or a populated suburban area, and it had been an eye-opener to a whole new way of life, especially about the amount of work that had to be done constantly. I think the boys were thankful that they didn't live on a farm, as the types of work they'd be required to do 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, and it was nice to learn how Little Ricky would be spending the next few years of his life. Believe it or not, he seemed very suited to that type of life and he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely while we were there, and I'm sure that some of his current happiness stemmed from the fact that he was the center of attention in that household and very much loved. * * * * * * * * If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.