by Jeff Moberg
54
Paying it Back—Paying it forward
The first thing Eugene did after winning the Super Mega Ultra Powerball, was to announce that he was retiring immediately and moving to Palm Springs. Then he gave the tree farm and the very nice blue and white, two-story farm house to Luke’s mom.
The first thing Luke’s mom did after getting the tree farm, was to make three people her new business partners. Bob and Bob Jr. would run the tree and landscaping business—not as laborers, but as part owners. And Luke’s mom and my mom would run the plant and flower business. Luke’s mom would take care of and sell of all the bushes and small plants--and my mom would take care of and deliver all the flowers.
Luke and his mom would move into and live in the very nice, blue and white, two-story farmhouse, and Mom and I would still live in our cozy house in Haywood and drive back and forth to the tree farm. And the final part of the plan was that the moms would take turns driving Luke and I to school. Wow, I thought, what a choice! We could either be dropped off at school in the Scrambler… or the beige minivan. Either way, we would be the coolest of the cool.
55
Moving On and Moving On Up
The rest of the school year flew by. Luke and I found an artist to create the statue for Kletch. Mr. Spinoza and Mr. Looney were blown away to find out that one of their own alumni had won the prestigious Medal of Honor. Kletch was honored on the last day of school with an unveiling ceremony. He was wearing his Marine uniform, and he had the Medal of Honor proudly around his neck.
I had gone to Super Dog the day before and told him he would need to wear the medal for pictures. Then I insisted that he keep it from now on. I told him that I was deeply honored to have had it for a couple of months, but that since I had only saved one person and he had saved sixteen, he should have it longer. That made sense to him. He said, “OK, Normy. I love you.”
I told him that I loved him too, and that he matched Luke and I because he was special also. That made him smile.
***
Janet J was home schooled for the rest of the year after her suspension, so we didn’t have any more conflicts or altercations. And according to the rumor mill, she was transferring to a new school next year. I wasn’t too sad about hearing that news.
