Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2022 06:56:42 -0500 From: Eric Murphey Subject: The Premontion Part 22 Gay adult youth I hope everyone is doing well. I know that 100 million of us Americans are under a winter weather advisory. Yesterday here it rained all day which is bad. Because it took away a lot of the snow we already had. I guess later thats a good thing to prevent flooding. They said we are getting 7-13 inches of new snow. I woke up this morning looked out and we have like 2 inches maybe. But its supposed to start back up soon. So my American friends. How much snow did you get. I had one reader tell me they got 15 inches. Exciting stuff.While you are snow bound you should make a DONATION to Nifty. Another reader told me they made a donation in my name. I just really get a kick out of that. Because I cant really afford to donate money. But I can donate time creating stories. Because it really is a nice sight to visit. Eric The Premonition Part 22 Written By Eric Murphey Edited By Zero Moss When I wake up, I am surprised that Jack isn't in bed with me. I get up and go pee. I walk out to the kitchen where I see Jim and Jack at the table eating some oatmeal. "We made some for you too, daddy," Jack says between bites. "Thanks, boys." I get some juice and some oatmeal. Jim gets up and makes me some toast. "So why are you boys up so early?" "Excited to start school," Jim replies, handing me the toast. "Thanks, buddy." "It's just Mrs Washington at her house." "Yeah, but she is like a real teacher, daddy," Jack points out. "I am aware of that," I say and start eating the oatmeal. It's tasty but a little thick for my liking. However, because the boys made it, it could be the worst oatmeal ever and I would still eat it. The boys get done and disappear as soon as they rinse out their bowls. I hear them in Jim and Eddie's room doing something. They come back a few minutes later, both carrying plastic grocery bags. "What's in the bags?" Jim looks at me like I'm the biggest idiot to walk the earth and answers, "School stuff." "Of course, what was I thinking? You boys do know you have an hour before we have to leave, right?" "It's okay; we just want to be ready," Jack replies. Jim goes into the pantry, comes back with two jars of applesauce, and hands one to Jack. They each put their jar into their bag. "What's with the applesauce?" "Daddy, we can't give her an apple, so we got her apple sauce." Jim looks at me again like I'm an idiot. I should stop asking questions. "That makes sense," I observe. I notice the boys have on their nicest slacks and button-up shirts. They look adorable. I go and get my camera. "Get over by the door, boys, I want to take a picture." They do as they are asked, but I hear, "Why, daddy?" from Jim. Ha! It's my turn to give him the you're-stupid look. "Well, first day of school, of course." That makes them both giggle, and at that precise moment I snap the picture. It is just perfect from what I see on the screen. "Let me get another of you two with your arms over each other's shoulder." They do and I do. "Can we leave now?" Jack asks me. "We have to wait to pickup Joseph, buddy. I told Earl we would be there around 8:45." "I bet he is ready. He is super excited since he hasn't ever been to school before," Jim tosses in. "Huh. I guess I never thought about that. Let me call Earl and see if he is ready." I grab the radio, key it and say, "Breaker 1 9! This here is the Rubber Ducky. Big Giant, you got your ears on?" A moment later I hear Earl laughing into the radio. "I guess since I'm 6 inches taller and weigh about a million pounds more than you, that you are referring to me." "You got that right pardna," I say in a twang. "What's up this morning?" "Well, my Little Ducks are excited about going to see the Marm and was wondering if Little Giant is ready yet," I intone with the same twang. "Oh, so I'm the Marm now, am I?" Sarah says, breaking in with a good laugh. "Yes ma'am. Is Mr Marm up and about?" I hear Earl laughing now as well as Sarah. "He is getting eggs for the Little Ducks and Little Giant to take home later." "Was my Wandering Duck good last night?" "What do you think?" she asks back. "I think there was a big fire at the school house." "Oh, you!" "As to your question if Little Giant is ready, he has been for three hours now." "Marm, is it okay to start school early?" "Sure, bring the boys down." "Woo hoo!!!!!" we all hear from Joseph. I can just see him dancing around their kitchen full of excitement. "Be there shortly. Rubber Ducky and Little Ducks out." The boys already have their shoes on before I put the radio down. "Come on daddy, get dressed. We got to go!" Jim says, pulling at my hand. I get up, dress quickly, and slip on my boots. On the way out we all put on our coats and then go to the truck. We hop in and I head to Earl's house to pick up Little Giant. When I pull up, the door flies open and Joseph races to the truck with a grin on his face and a lunch-pail box in hand. He even has a backpack on. His jacket is unzipped and flapping in the breeze. Jim is by the door and opens it so Joseph can jump in. I am laughing at the boys at this point. It's really good that they are this excited about learning, but their extreme eagerness is amusing as all get out. Earl and Tina walk to the door and wave. I wave back and head to the Washingtons'. The truck is no sooner stopped than the boys pile out. I get out and am slower to get to the door, so much so that Sarah is already letting them in before I'm halfway up the walk. When I get inside the door, Mike is standing there smiling. "Got some eager students, I see." "Yes, I sure do," I reply with a smile. "Nothing like the teacher. She had me moving stuff last night until midnight." "What were you moving?" "Tables and everything else she could think of. She had me set up a classroom." "What? I figured she would just teach them at the kitchen table." "Good heavens, no. She said a proper education needs a proper environment." I just roll my eyes and he laughs at me, "You have to see it." I follow Mike to the bedroom that's downstairs and we walk in. She has had him set up two long folding tables. In front of them is a desk. There is a white board and on each side is a flag, one US flag and one state flag. On the tables are name cards, with Jerry's and Eddie's on one table, and Joseph's, Jack's, and Jim's on the other. "Why are they separated like that?" "She said that Eddie and Jerry are ahead of the other boys, so sometimes they will be studying what she taught them, while she will be teaching something else to Joseph, Jack, and Jim." "I guess that makes sense. Because while the younger boys are still working on addition and subtraction, the older ones are in something more advanced." "Exactly. She thinks she can get them on equal levels in a few months. She knows the boys are smart, but Joseph in particular has a lot to learn." "He is only 7 and has never been to school before," I point out, sticking up for him. "Calm down; I know this. But Tina and Sarah have talked and Tina has been teaching him things. So he knows some things; we just don't know how much yet." "I'm sure she will have a pretty good idea by the end of the day." "I've no doubt of that." We walk out to the kitchen and see that all the boys are at the table eating a muffin. "Hi, dad," Eddie says while crumbs fly from his mouth. "Good morning. Did you have fun?" Both he and Jerry grin at me. "I will take that as a yes." They nod and eat another bite. "I better get back to the house then. You seem like you got everything under control." As Mike walks me to the door, I suddenly remember something. "I forgot Earl was supposed to help today." "Nah, we talked and I don't really need him for another month or so. But if you want, we can take the animals down to him since we already built their accommodations." "I got nothing else to do." So we load up the animals in the horse trailer and head to Earl's. When we get there, Earl walks out to greet us. We all unload the animals and get them into their new home. Mike brought some feed for the chickens and after he spread it for them, we went inside to visit for a while. When we walked in, Tina made us all some coffee. "Thank you," Mike and I both tell her. I start out, "So, I been thinking about that car that Jerry brought. I know Earl's car is broken. We ought to go and get that car for them." "You know, I was thinking along those lines too," Mike adds. "I don't know, guys; it seems dangerous. We don't know who is out there," Tina adds in a worried tone. "Well, I think with the three of us and some firepower, we will be alright," Mike assures her. "I figure we grab some fuel and go get her today. I'm worried she will be gone if we don't," I put in. "Who would take it? From what Jerry said, no one is out there," Mike replies. "Well, I don't know. But I think we should get it now versus later." "Guys, I don't really need a car. It's not worth the risk," Earl cautions. "You will need something to get to Mike's on the weekends. I guess I could give you a ride down, but I just think this seems like a better plan. Besides, we could use a car; they are better on gas than Mike's and my truck." "You got a point there," Earl says, contemplating it. "We may all need it before this situations's all over with," Mike puts in. "So it's decided. Let's get the show on the road then," I prompt them. Earl gets his pistol, and then we head to my house so I can grab mine and a couple of clips. After all, it's better to have and not need than to need and not have. We drive down to Mike's, get his truck, and put the car hauler on it. We load a five gallon can full of fuel and head to where Jerry left the car. We find it with little difficulty. On the way, we all notice how really eerie it is driving with no one on the road. It's also weird that the grass is starting to overtake the sides of the road. When we arrive at the car, Mike pours the fuel we brought into the tank. The car is an older Pontiac and we aren't really sure what to expect; that's why we brought the hauler in case it wouldn't start. We try starting it and she turns right over with just a little bit of cranking. "She sounds pretty good," Mike observes. "Alright, let me get turned around here and I will follow you back," Mike tells Earl. The entire trip takes us about an hour. We go straight to Earl's house and find Tina outside in her coat, pacing. When we pull in she has a huge grin on her face, and when Earl gets out she hugs him tight. "I was so worried, baby." "We were fine. Didn't see another person the entire time. It was weird." "No cows out, either. It was indeed an odd trip," Mike puts in. "Yeah, that too." I say. "Sarah called and said she wants to keep the boys until 2." "Fine with me; they need to learn. This can't last forever and I want them to be ahead of or at least at the level they should be if all this shit didn't happen." "Yeah, I been trying to teach Joseph. He is smart, but I didn't really know what to teach him. I mean he knows his numbers and letters. He can read some, do some math, and write some. I just worry he is too far behind the other boys." "Well, if he is, I got no doubt my wife will get him up to snuff," Mike says with confidence. "I'm sure she will," Earl agrees. "Let's get in guys, it's cold out here." "I made some fresh coffee for when you got back," Tina offers. We all head in and talk about plans for the spring and what all we want to accomplish. I told Earl I got loads of seeds from last year's crop to share. Mike is happy because he hasn't had a fresh tomato in ages and is ready for a bushel of them. Just sitting around talking passes the time pretty quickly, and before we know it we need to go get the boys. Mike drives me down to my house. I grab my truck and Earl rides with me to head to the farm. We get there right at 2. We all walk in and see the boys sitting on the couch eating cookies. Joseph jumps up and races to his dad. "Daddy, we had so much fun. We learned a lot today and we got to color, too," he says with so much excitement that he is bouncing up and down. "That's great. Buddy," Earl responds as he rubs Joseph's head. I'm pleased to see this because it seems like Earl and Joseph are starting to get a closer relationship. "You guys ready to go home?" "Yeah, we got homework to get done tonight." "On the first day of school? What a mean teacher," I joke. "Nuh uh, we got the best teacher ever," Joseph corrects me, not seeing my smile. "He was joking, buddy." "Oh, sorry." We talk to Sarah for a little while about where the boys are academically and what we need to do to get them to where would have been if school hadn't been missed. I guess that Tina and I didn't do too badly teaching our boys from what she said. My boys need to work on math skills a little more, but other than that, not too bad. We drop Earl and Joseph off at their place and then get back home. All the boys get out their homework and start working on it at the kitchen table. I hear Jim ask Eddie how to do something, and note that Eddie helps him until he understands it. I was pretty proud of both of them. Actually I'm proud of all three since they are doing their homework without any prompting from me. I'm thinking that it's a lasagna night for sure; they deserve a nice treat. I preheat the oven while they are doing their homework because a frozen lasagna takes 90 minutes to cook. Once the oven beeps to let me know it's ready, I put the lasagna in on a cookie sheet. When Jack sees it, he is all smiles and giggles. I can't help it; I like it when he is giggly. When they finish their homework, they all go get undressed and come out naked. They quickly decide to build more onto the Lego city. I sit and read and listen to their conversations about school. It seems they are all having great fun learning. It pleases me no end to hear this. We have supper when the lasagna is finally done, and afterward we watch a movie. Then it's off to bed so my boys can be rested to go to school again tomorrow. Since this is actually readable thanks Zero. ericmurphey1971@gmail.com