hour I fell asleep, but I woke up every hour or so, worrying that I had overslept and that they were leaving without me.
Just as I seemed to fall into a good deep sleep, I heard sounds coming from outside my bedroom window. At first, I thought it was raindrops, but soon realized that it was the sound of tiny rocks hitting my window from the alley below. This was always Johnny’s way of getting me up early without waking my parents. He would stand in the back alley and throw very small pebbles at my window, loud enough to wake me but not big enough to crack the window.
I looked at the wind up clock that was on the stand next to my bed and saw it was four o’clock. Johnny and I had been on many adventures but none of them had ever started this early.
“I’m up, you can stop throwing rocks,” I whispered loud enough that Johnny could hear.
“Well, hurry up we’re ready to leave,” he said in a voice loud enough that I worried it might wake my parents.
I jumped into the same clothes that I had worn the day before since there was no time to waste on deciding what to wear. I did not think it was a good idea to start opening my drawers and make any noise. There was no time for teeth brushing or face washing; this certainly wasn’t a day for cleanliness.
I was down in the alley in less than two minutes from the time I heard the first pebble of Johnny’s wake up call. Uncle Eddie and Johnny were all ready to go. I did not see any fishing equipment, but I did see a large basket.
“What’s in the basket?” I asked.
“Johnny’s mom made us up a great picnic lunch,” said Uncle Eddie. “She has sandwiches, fruit, and all kinds of snacks for us.”
“How ‘bout the fishing equipment?” I inquired.
“Once we get up near the lake there are places we can rent equipment and buy live bait,” Uncle Eddie answered. “With the food we have in the basket and what we can buy when we get there, we’ll have everything we need.”
I got in the car first and then Johnny jumped in, putting the picnic basket between his feet so as not to let it spill as we drove. Without saying another word, Uncle Eddie looked around the car to make sure everything was all right. He nodded once at me and once at Johnny, and we were off on our adventure.
Uncle Eddie’s car was a Packard Brunn Cape Victoria model. It was the most luxurious car I had ever seen. Packard’s company slogan was “Ask the man who owns one”. They were not only known for being reliable automobiles, but were powerful and elegant as well. In 1919, a Packard automobile had set the land speed record going 149 miles per hour in the sands of Daytona Beach. This had been quite an astonishing accomplishment and amplified the excellence of the Packard automobile.
The car had many features that other cars I had seen did not have. It had a heater, gas gauge, and automatic windshield wipers. The body design reminded me of some of the Amish buggies I had seen in photographs being pulled by horses. Just sitting in such a beautiful vehicle made me feel important. Even though the ride up to the lake was almost two hours long, I enjoyed just being in the Packard. I spent the time pretending that I was an important politician or some rich bootlegger who was being driven by his chauffeur to a very important meeting.
The ride gave me a genuine appreciation for how big the State of Pennsylvania was. After we got outside Philadelphia, all I could see were trees, mountains, and occasionally farms that seemed to stretch for miles. The sun did not rise until we nearly had arrived at our destination. I could tell by the way my ears had popped on the way that we were very high up in the mountains. On the last ten minutes of the ride, I saw signs by the roadside that pointed in the direction of one lake after another.
Finally, Uncle Eddie pulled the Packard off the main road at a sign that read Lake Harmony. We drove down a rocky dirt road that shook the Packard from side to side.
At the end of the dirt road was a small wooden building with a sign outside that read “Pocono General Store”. Uncle Eddie pulled the car right up to the front steps and turned the engine off. I looked around and saw that daylight was slowly breaking, and I prepared myself for what surely going to be a great day and an adventure of a lifetime.
12
Uncle Eddie exited the car first. Johnny and I jumped out of the passenger side. The general store was in an old wood building, with signs of rotted wood everywhere along the outside. Three narrow steps led up to the front door with a splintered handrail on each side of them. We walked up the steps, one person at a time, with Uncle Eddie leading the way. As I grabbed the handrail, I notice that it was very weak and if I leaned on it, it surely would give way and break. The steps were not much stronger, as each one seemed to buckle with my weight as I put my foot on them. I wondered how they supported Uncle Eddie’s large body.
I guessed that it was about six thirty in the morning and thought to myself that no storeowner in their right mind would be open yet. What was Uncle Eddie thinking trying to go to a store this early? As he reached for the front door, I was surprised to see him push the door open and stroll right inside. Johnny turned around and looked at me, he shrugged his shoulders and we all walked in.
Behind the counter was an old man, probably somewhere in his late sixties. His face wrinkled and shriveled looking much like an old prune. There was no hint of a smile as Uncle Eddie approached him.
“We would like to get some fishing supplies,” Uncle Eddie spoke out.
“What do you need?” the old man replied.
“I think we need pretty much everything,” Uncle Eddie responded.
“You fellas know anything about fishing?” the old man asked.
“You bet we do, these boys are two of the most experienced fishermen I ever met,” Uncle Eddie said with a smile. “And they’re gonna teach me how to do it.”
With that, the old man moved out from behind the counter and began walking around the store. He grabbed three wooden fishing rods, a small hand net, and a big black metal case. Kneeling down to grab a small box that was on the floor, he laid the box on top of the counter and pushed it towards Uncle Eddie.
The box had five pencil holes poked in it and when the man lifted the cover, I could see that it was full of worms feverously squirming. There was with a lot of dirt in the bottom of the box and the worms appeared to completely agitated. The man showed the worms to Uncle Eddie and closed the box back up quickly to keep them from escaping.
The old man went through all the things in the black box with Uncle Eddie explaining what each item was.
“Here you have the hooks, fishing line, and all the hand tools you’ll need,” the old man said. “Do you want me to show you what everything is for?”
“That isn’t necessary,” Uncle Eddie said. “These boys have plenty of fishing experience. They’ll teach me what I need to know and we’ll figure out the rest.”
“Well, good luck to you then,” said the old man. “Just make sure you have all the stuff back by closing time which is three in the afternoon.”
Uncle Eddie took two silver dollars out of his pocket and placed them on the counter. The old man took them and handed Uncle Eddie a few coins back in change.
“Let’s go boys,” Uncle Eddie said.
He grabbed the fishing rods and handed the black box to Johnny. He reached back to the counter and picked up the worm box, turning to me saying, “You would probably like to hold this, wouldn’t you?” With a half laugh, he turned back and handed me the box full of worms and dirt. As he handed me the box I could immediately feel the worms moving. I could not quite decide whether it was disgusting or not.
We got back in the Packard and drove off looking for the lake. The old man had told Uncle Eddie that the lake was a five-minute drive from the store, and gave him the exact directions. I sat with the worm box on my lap the whole time, praying the worms would not push the top of the box off and start squirming out. I held the lid down as tight as I could, keeping both hands on the bottom of the box, while squeezing my thumbs down on the top. I was squeezing so hard my thumbs were turning bright red.
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br /> The ride to the lake took less than five minutes. I could see the lake in the distance out of the side window. As we drove up, I saw how beautiful it was. The sun was now sitting low in the sky and reflected off the lake. Uncle Eddie pulled the car up along the side of a red painted picnic table. He parked the car and shut down the engine. He got out, extended his arms up towards the heavens, and let out a loud stretching sound. It caught me off guard as it broke the peaceful silence. There were no people, no autos, and no noise of any kind. There were birds flying over the lake, but even they seemed to be in harmony with the serenity of the scene.
Johnny got out of the auto before I did. As soon as he did, he reached back and held his hand out.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Here, give me the worms, I’ll hold ‘em,” he said.
Even though I was not really enjoying the job of carrying the worms, why should Johnny get to hold them?
“I’m OK, I can hold them,” I said.
“No give ‘em to me,” Johnny demanded.
“I’m fine with them, really!” I answered.
As Johnny reached for the box, I could feel my thumbs tightening down on the lid. Johnny grabbed the other side of the box and pulled it towards him. I held tight and did not let go.
“You better let go!” Johnny said sternly.
Johnny pulled a second and then a third time. With the third pull, I could feel
Me, Johnny, and The Babe Page 11
