Shenanigans at Sugar Creek

me tumbling out his back door, his short legs carrying him fast out to the road. He got in and I was certainly tickled to see him. Mom and Pop

reakfast to her in bed," which is what my pop does to my mom when she doesn't feel well. In fact, sometimes when Pop gets up extra early before Mom does, he sneaks out into our ki

ar Creek bridge, and went on. While we were on the bridge, Little Jim said to me, "Look,

ulled up at the side of the road in front of their mail box which said

he would come crunch, crunch, crunch through the snow path to where we were. Tom didn't come right away, though. Pop honked again, so Tom would be sure to hear, then when he still didn't come, and when there wasn't any curta

m nor his pop were there to tell him not to, both of us went squishing up the snow path toward their side door. There had been a little wind during th

all I could hear was somebody moving around inside like whoever it was was in a hurry-like maybe there had been some

etween their living-room and kitchen, then I heard footsteps coming toward our do

ed up, and his old clothes on, and his eyes were kinda reddish, and it looked like he had been crying. "I'm so

his throat and said, "Daddy's not home again. He-he's-not home," Tom finished, and I knew what he meant, but he was ashamed

e in the half-open kitchen door and said, "He got up early a

d the Sugar Creek Gang would go to their different barns and shut all the doors and windows quick and hel

chool with us when we stopped at their house after awhile to get his mother to take her to church with us. It also

ell her I studied my Sunday School lesson, and-wait a minute!" Tom turned and, leaving the door open, hurried back inside the house, opened the door to their living-room an

that Tom's mother was in it, all covered up, and that there was a small table beside her bed with a glass half full

d and saying, "Here-here's my offering." He handed me a small offering envelope like the ones we used in our church, and without trying

aybe she was a lot sicker than she ought to be, and I knew that if my mom was as sick as th

ope, we can't-Nope, I guess Mom

There didn't seem to be anything we could do, but I knew somebody ought to do something for Tom's mom, 'c

I was excitedly telling them, I noticed that the muscles in Pop's jaws were working and I knew he was thinkin

"Theodore, you take the boys on to Sunday School. Be sure to stop for Mrs. Long. Here, Bill

in time for church,-no, wait a minute. I want Tom to go to Sunday School too-I'll send him right out." Mom was out of the car and going up the snow path toward the oldish hous

d, "But I can. If Tom's mother needs a doctor, she's going to have one," and with that Pop shoved open the car door at his left side, saying, "You boys wait here a minute. I'll be right back." He slammed the door and circled the car and went swishing wit

ttle Jim, "I hope Shorty Long and Bob don't stop at our barn, 'cause we don't have too many pigeons. And besides, there's a nest up

Tom with him, and all of us except Mom drove on t

cross from a two-room brick schoolhouse where the Sugar Creek Literary Society met once a month on Wednesday nights. All of us except

house," Pop said to Tom, "and I'm taking a radio to your moth

ng it was on account of his pop; but Tom was looking in another direction, and was swallowing hard like he had taken too big a bite of something and hadn't chewed it l

stions they wanted explained, or also for any extra offering people wanted the minister to have.... Right that second I saw Little Jim pull one of his small ha

rised to see him come to church, but I knew our minister would preach a good sermon like he a