Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:22:46 -0600
From: Pete McDonald <bajabudfan@hotmail.com>
Subject: TIME-TO-SEE-68-

TIME-TO-SEE-68

Jerome entered the boys' bed chamber, and seeing everyone gathered there,
he asked, "Will we be making our trip to Dromoland today?  I see that
something of the greatest import has developed.  Should I put the cars
away?"

Murph and Jilder, never to be daunted, answered: "Well, not as far as we're
concerned... How about you Nicky? And Sean, do you still feel like going to
see the Castle Dromoland today?"


The boys were like so many cats, each exhibiting Nine Lives (or at least
Nine Bursts of Energy beyond their Elders)-- and even Sean had begun to
cheer up as the morning passed, and he received so much admiration and
support from Murph and the other boys, and all of the dads-- all four of
them.

"I be ready to go if Max and Brandy are," Sean volunteered.

"Hurray! Hurray!" the other boys cheered.  We can go then... Let's go!"

*****

Before everyone climbed into the town car, Brandy asked Jerome, "Say,
Jerome, would you mind clicking a few photos of us using my cell phone
camera?"

"Not at all, Sir.  I'd be delighted..."

All of the bags were safely stowed in the sedan, with the exception of the
puppy bed, bottles, and extra rags.  The puppy bed was right between Sean
and Murph in the seat just behind Jerome.  Nicky got the shotgun seat.
Jilder shared the side of the seat with Sean, and both pairs of dads sat
comfortably in the rear and second-to-rear seats.  It was a full house, to
be sure, but everyone was happy and ready for the trip.

*****

Driving across the southern part of the Emerald Isle in the summer entailed
exploration of some of the loveliest scenery one can imagine.  And green is
no trite advertising slogan.  Green meadows, quaint stone walls, and
charming houses seemed to line the entire route Jerome drove from Dublin to
Galway!

White sheep grazed on a rolling plane of green grass; yet another fence
appeared made of piled stones, and a lovely blue sky stretched before them,
where white clouds languished across the horizon.

"This island is gorgeous.  And it's real!" Kevin remarked.

Max laughed at Kevin's remark, "Yes, indeed... it is real, Kevin..."

Jerome drove on steadily past yet other lovely clouds: these being pink and
floating above gentle, green carpeted hills dancing with irregular profiles
and sloping down to grassland meadows that cradled little ponds of clear,
bright water.  Low bushes and tall grasses ventured right into the waters
of the ponds.

"Dad," Sean called.  "I think I need to make some more formula for the
puppy.  He finished the last bottle almost completely.  The next time he's
hungry, I know I'll need more formula."

"Well, son, you have everything you need to mix it, don't you?" Brandy
said.

"Yes, Sir.  But I'm afraid I'll spill something on the car seats if we hit
a bump or somethin..." Sean answered.

"Well, let's see.  Perhaps it is time for us to consider stopping with our
picnic basket," and Max turned to inquire with Hugo and Kevin.

"Oh, sure! Fine.  I'm ready for some lunch." Hugo said

"Me too," Kevin concurred. "It was really nice of Matilda to prepare a
picnic lunch for all of us."

"Matilda has a good heart, and she's just about the best cook ever, even if
she does find it's a bit difficult to hear these days," Brandy commented.

"Fine. Then we're all agreed: we'll stop for some lunch and to let Sean mix
more formula for his new puppy..."

"By the way, Sean. Don't you think that you should be considering names for
the puppy? Everybody needs a name, even puppies," Max said.

"Yes. Sir.  I been thinking about that, and I decided just last night that
the puppy's name is Spirit, 'cause he's the spirit of love," Sean replied.

"My what a fine name you found,' Brandy said.  "And how may I ask did you
find that name?"

"Well, I been thinking about it for a few days, and then last night I spoke
to papa, and he agreed that Spirit would be a good name too."

"Papa? I'm afraid I don't recall who that would be..." Max said.

"Uh.  I didn't know him either until last night. He's Kevin's grandpa.  He
came to visit me with me mum and dad, and we talked and I decided that I
wanted you and Brandy to be my new dads-- forever-- and I decided the
puppy's name is Spirit..."

Max looked at Brandy, and Brandy looked back at Max, and they both sat not
knowing quite how to respond to what Sean had just said.

Then, although stunned by Sean's candidness, Max said, "Well, Sean, I'm so
very happy that you want Brandy and me for your dads; because we both
certainly do want you to be our son-- forever," and he leaned forward in
the car and gave Sean a kiss on the head.

Brandy reached up and squeezed Sean's shoulder and said, "I am really happy
that you want us for your dads too, Sean. We'll try to be the best dads a
guy could have..."

"Oh, you are! Brandy.  You and Max are super! I'm always happy when I'm
with you, and I know you won't hurt me..." Sean said.

"Oh, goodness, Sean," Brandy said, "We would never, never do that... And
now we have TWO wonderful sons... Murph and Sean! We are two very lucky
guys, aren't we, Max?"

Max smiled at Brandy and leaned over to plant a kiss on his mouth... "This
has been our best summer yet."

Murph turned back toward Max and Brandy and said, "And don't forget me,
Dad; I'm your son too..."

"Oh, my, Murph," Brandy responded, "How could we ever forget you... YOU
have helped put our family together properly, ever since you came to visit
this year... I don't know what we're going to do when you have to go back
to America..."

"Humm?" Murph thought for a moment, his eyes turned up, then he said:
"Maybe I won't go back to American. I don't want to leave my big brother."
And he looked at Sean and smiled.  Sean smiled back in appreciation...

"Well, we've got a lot of time before we have to deal with that," Max said.
"Let's enjoy the summer, and then think about what we'll do after that..."

*****

On the most beautiful of summer days, there can be a dark thunder cloud
that wafts across the sky and tells us life must move on, inevitably. Life
is new at every instant, however... Enjoy every moment, for the game
changes, often when one is least expecting it.

Jerome announced, "Alright, gentlemen.  I believe I've found a turn-off to
that little lake over on the left, the one with a grove of trees on one
side."

"That looks marvelous, Jerome," Max said.  "Alright, boys, get your things
together. We'll all be helping to set up the picnic lunch."

And the town car bounced comfortably over the ruts of a dirt lane that led
from the main road to the lake.  In moments the boys were jumping out of
the car like popcorn out of a kettle.

*****

"I need some warm milk to mix the formula," Sean said.

"Yeah.  I sure hope Matilda and Jerome packed some..." Murph added.

And walking over to Jerome, Sean asked: "Jerome! Do you have any warm milk
that I can use to make puppy formula?"

"Why yes, Master Sean, I thought about that before we left home.  I brought
4 gallons of fresh milk, and some of it is warm.  Go to the back of the
towncar, open the lid-- it's unlocked--and sort through the containers;
they're labeled."

"Oh, thank you, Jerome.  You are a prize," Sean said, at which point he
turned and hurried back over to the car.  Just as he opened the lid and
reached for the milk, the sedan rolled up behind him.  The other driver,
Jimmy, parked and let himself out to join everyone for lunch.

"Hi, Jimmy.  You hungry?" Sean asked.

"Oh, I am a wee bit in need of food, yes, yes indeed" Jimmy replied.

"Good.  We'll all have the picnic together. Before we start eating though,
I'm going to mix some puppy formula," Sean said.

Then Jimmy commented, "My, but caring for that puppy is a major job for
you."

"Yes, Sir.  He eats all the time, when he's not sleeping.  And that means
he needs a lot of food." Sean answered.

"I'm sure you're right," Jimmy said, and then he walked over to where
Jerome was spreading out the blankets and laying out the food.  "Matilda
fixed a LOT of food! Do you need any help?"

"Just put these cups and napkins around, and I think we can all sit down,"
Jerome said.

Meanwhile, the boys were focused on opening the tin of prepared puppy
formula in powdered form and measuring the proper amount of milk into each
bottle.  Then Jilder spooned just the prescribed amount of powder into the
bottles, Sean added the milk, and Murph screwed on the nipples and caps and
shook each bottle.  And Nicky began searching for an empty box to hold all
the mixed bottles.

Sean then went back to the town car and picked up the puppy who was
beginning to squirm and squeak, the signal that he was ready for lunch too.

Everyone settled onto the three blankets that Jerome had prepared, and
Brandy began passing the food around, seeing that everyone had a chance to
sample each of the dishes Matilda had prepared."

Nicky said, "How are you going to eat, Sean? It takes two hands to feed the
puppy."

"Yeah.... Hum???" and Sean thought.  "After you finish eating, would you
mind feeding Spirit? Then I can eat too," he asked.

"We're callin him by his name now?" Nicky commented... "Sure.  I like to
feed him... Looooook at him, he sucking so hard.  He must really be
hungry,"

"Yes. Spirit seems really hungry all the time.  And can you tell he's
gotten a little bigger than he was in the pet store?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, but it takes a long time for a puppy to grow up," Nicky replied.

"Well, I'm hoping he'll grow up enough that he can start eating food out of
a bowl, and I won't have to give him a bottle.  This bottle feeding will be
okay for a while, but all I do is feed Spirit!" Sean said...

"Yeah. Well, when he's a big dog, you don't have to do much.  We just put
food in our dogs' dishes and water in their water bowls, and they run in
and eat it all up in no time... It's amazing how fast they eat... And our
dogs will try to steal each other's food if we aren't careful.  How big
will Spirit get?" Nicky asked.

"Well, an Alaskan Malamute is a stocky dog with lots of muscles.  He can
pull sleds in the snow, and he loves to play out when it's cold.  See how
thick his coat is? When he's big it'll be really thick and warm..."

"And the pet store owner said he'll be really friendly and like to wrestle
with me.... You notice that Spirit is almost entirely white.  He has that
little bit of dark fur on top of his head, between his little triangle
shaped ears... Some Malamutes are almost all black but with a little
white." Sean explained...

"How did you get to know so much about Alaskan Malamutes?" Nicky asked.

"I just listened to the pet shopkeeper.  He knew a lot of stuff about
Spirit, and he said I could bring him back when he was bigger, and he'd
help me get Spirit his shots and de-wormed and stuff..." Sean said.

"How can he have worms?" Nicky asked?  "All he eats is milk?"

"I don't know? But the pet shopkeeper said he had to be dewormed?  I'll ask
him," Sean said.

"We could go on the internet and ask Google," Nicky replied.

"We can?"

"Sure!  I'll show you how" Nicky said.

"Oh, would you?  That would be super.  I could read a lot about Malamutes I
bet." Sean speculated.

"Yeah! You might find a lot of interesting stuff you like, and probably
pictures too...," Nicky reassured Sean.

"Boys! Nicky, Sean... you should be serving your plates... we won't be able
to stay here forever... You need to eat." Max called over to them.

"Yes, Sir!" Sean answered. "Be right there."  And then he turned to Nicky,
"Would you fix me a plate along with yours, and then we can switch jobs
eating and feeding Spirit... If you don't mind.."

"No. That'll work.  Come on..." Nicky replied.

And the two boys went over to the blankets where the picnic was spread out.

"Jilder, will you pass me the bread," Kevin asked.

*****

When lunch was finished, the boys were ready to play.  Murph and Jilder ran
down to the pond and began tossing stones to skip across the top of the
water.

"Dad?" Sean looked at Max.  "Would you finish feeding Spirit; so I can go
down to the water with everybody?"

Max looked a little stiff, but there was no way he was going to turn Sean
down.  "Uh? Of course, son.  Just show me how it's done.  I don't want to
hurt Spirit."

Sean said, "Here.  Just hold the bottle like this; so that the milk is
always in the nipple.  And don't let him get any air!  That will give him a
stomach ache the pet shop owner said." And Sean passed Spirit to his dad
and in a flash ran down to the pond with the other boys.

Jilder and Murph were in a contest to see who could toss their stones the
farthest.

Nicky arrived and tried his hand, but his first toss fell far short of
Jilder's last try.  The smaller Murph was a close second to Jilder.  When
Sean arrived he very carefully selected a stone from the edge of the
pond. He made sure it was flat, rather disc shaped, and he wound up his arm
and let the stone sail out across the water easily besting Jilder's
efforts.

Murph and Nicky cheered.  "Wow! You're good!" Murph said.  "How did you
learn to do that?"

Sean didn't say a word but wound up and allowed a second disc shaped stone
to sail out over the water, even exceeding his first shot.  When the stone
came close to the water's surface, it skipped and skittered across the
surface finally sinking, and it was very nearly at the other side of the
pond!  That got everyone's attention.

Jilder said, "I don't know how you do that, Sean.  How do you make the
rocks sail so far?"

Sean remained silent and focused on his tasks of selecting smooth and disc
shaped missiles and then positioning them just so in his right hand; then
he'd wind up like a baseball pitcher and launch the stone.

"That is pretty astonishing, Sean" Max called down from the blankets where
the adults sat.  "Are you planning to play American baseball? With an arm
like that, you could be quite successful, I'd say."

"No, Sir," Sean yelled back to his dad.  "I used to toss stones in a lake
near my house, and I was the best tosser in my school."

"Well, you certainly have one powerful right arm... Humm?  Perhaps we
should set you up with some tennis lessons when we get to Castle Dromoland.
They have all sorts of entertainments for young people, and I'm sure they
have sports pros to help out too."

"Tennis?" Sean yelled back..."I've never played that before.  Don't we need
a racket?"

Max replied from the distance, "Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty of
equipment for us to use. Just save that arm.  I think you'll be quite good
at tennis."

Turning to Hugo and Kevin, "Have your boys ever played tennis?"

Kevin spoke up first, "Well, the short answer is no.  But the longer one is
that we have systematically tried to moderate their physical exertion
because of the steel bars in the boys' chests.  I know it sounds like a
'cop out', but really it isn't.  The boys are doing remarkably well with
the retainer bars in their chests, but there are limitations.  And a few
quiet months now will mean many active and robust times in the future.  We
just have to help the boys to be patient," Kevin said.

"Oh, my goodness, I forgot! Forgive me." Max said.  "I didn't mean to
aggitate them, but rather only to entice them with sport that I'm sure boys
their ages would adore."

"Well, you're absolutely right, but I'm sure there will be some less
strenuous activities that Nicky and Jilder can pursue, and leave the tennis
and such to Murph and Sean.  I certainly agree: Sean has an astonishing
ability and strength in that right arm.  I look forward to seeing him try
tennis himself... Maybe I'll even play a set or two with him," Kevin said.

"Sir, I believe we ought to pack the car again and be on our way," Jerome
said.  "We want to arrive at Dromoland before dark, and although it isn't
that far, we need plenty of time if the trip is to be leisurely."

"I haven't been paying attention to the time, Jerome.  Of course, you're
right.  I'll walk down to the water and tell the boys we have to be on our
way..."

And in no time at all the boys had finished their frolicking at the water
and run back up to reclaim their seats in the town car. Sean went to
retrieve the puppy from Max, and he found that Spirit was sound asleep (yet
once again) having finished his nursing with his Max...

It was a refreshing break and would allow the youngsters to finish the trip
without suffering.

In no time at all, both cars were packed and back on the road to Galway.

Next stop Castle Dromoland...

*****