++++
He stood on his porch and watched two children walk hand in hand
along the sidewalk. One child, a sandy-headed boy, leaned in close to
whisper in the ear of the other child a beautiful, dark-haired girl.
From his perch on the step, he could see tears falling down the
little girl's cheeks. The boy stopped, looked around and spotted him.
A smile bloomed displaying both of the boy's dimples. He took off
running down the street, dragging the girl behind him.
"Barney! Barney!"
"Lee! What is it? What's the matter?" He met the kids on the
sidewalk, squatting down to be eye-level with the children.
Out of breath, Lee panted, "IT'S STUCK AND I CAN'T GET IT OUT. You
have to help us."
"Calm down, Lee, and tell me what's wrong."
The girl cried harder and Lee turned back to her. "It's okay, Linda.
Don't cry. Barney will know what to do."
Barney took the boy by both shoulders and turned him around. "Now,
Lee, I can't help until I know what the problem is. Tell me and we'll
see what I can do to help."
"Yes, sir." Lee swallowed and began his tale. "It was that awful
Bobby Mitchell. He thinks just because his father is the base
commander, he can do whatever he likes. I really aught to pop him one
right in the nose."
"There will be no popping anyone, young man. Understood!"
"Understood. But he really needs one."
"Never mind. Finish it."
"Well, after recess we all went back inside and sat down. Linda sits
in front of Bobby. Our teacher had to go home, so Miss Williams was
teaching the class. She doesn't allow anyone to eat in the classroom.
Bobby was chewing gum and when Miss Williams asked him to throw it
away. He said he wasn't chewing any. Miss Williams walked down the
row to see for herself, Bobby stuck his gum in Linda's hair. I tried
to get it out, but it's really stuck in there good.
Linda is afraid to tell her mother. She doesn't want her mom to tell
on Bobby. Linda's dad may get in trouble with the Commander. I told
her her dad would be okay, but she's still scared."
Barney pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and handed it to
Linda. "Come on, let's go inside and I'll see what I can do. Don't
worry Linda, everything will be all right."
He had no idea how he was going to help. If Lee had gum in his hair,
he'd just give him a crew cut. He certainly couldn't do that to
Linda. Maybe, he could try some WD-40.
END.
Author's note—to remove gum from hair, use either peanut butter or
olive oil. Both work really well.
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