a pirates field trip by ray rebmann (chrome ebook reader .txt) đ
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games. The three musketeers would surely be able to get over on the old
geezer.
There was another problem though. Hueyâs annoying little brother Jason, the best reader
in the book club, was also assigned to his group. The adults always made the same stupid
Field Trip Pirates --8
mistake of assuming that Huey would be only too happy to take his younger brother under wing
and make sure he had fun.
âMake sure he gets lost in traffic and has to spend the rest of his pukey life wandering the
streets of the city, cold and hungry and alone until he shrivels up and dies is what Iâd like to do.â
Huey sniggered to his buds.
âWhat is this field trip about anyway?â Huey asked
âPirate exhibition.â Louis answered
âYohoho and a bottle of rumâ Dewey added, showing off his entire knowledge of pirates.
The club had read Treasure Island and to reinforce the story, Ms. K, the club moderator,
had set up the trip to the grand opening of the touring pirate exhibit. Ms K was neat on field trips.
She let the kids do whatever they wanted and go wherever they wanted.
Huey and his buds figured on ditching the learning part of the trip. Instead theyâd go to
the gift shop and act pathetic so grown-ups would feel sorry for them and give them money to
buy stuff. Then theyâd try to clean out as much junk food as they could eat from the vending
machines. And theyâd finish the day hanging in the lobby gawking at all the strange-os passing
through who thought this museum stuff was cool.
âDâyou read the book.?â
âWhattya think?â
âMe neither.â
âHope thereâs no test.â
That was another problem. Mr J was so old and addled that he sometimes forgot he
wasnât a teacher anymore and on the bus ride heâd give some of his cute little pop quizzes.
Field Trip Pirates --9
Some of the kids, nerdy Jason for one, thought the quizzes were cool and always knew all the
answers. Huey and the musketeers would make sound effects like seeing who could belch
loudest as their way of letting Mr j know what they thought of his fun facts.
But they were all in his group this time which meant that heâd try bonding with
them. Bonding was adult for trying to get the kids to think he was cool and had a clue. All it
really meant was that the old fart would learn their names and call on them.
âWeâll ditch Mr j in the lobby and show up when its time to leave and act all scared
because brain dead Mr j lost us.â
âWeâll be sure to ditch my dorky brother Jason too. Him and the j deserve one another.â
âOne for all!â the musketeers shouted, âand all for one.â
And none of them had any idea what it meantâŠ
** ** **
Field Trip Pirates --10
Mr. J finally put down the book and shook his head laughing.
âRobert Louis Stevenson.â He whispered admiringly. That was all he needed to say,
having reached that stage of life when he could talk to himself with shortcuts and still convey the
complete meaning of whatever he was thinking.
Mr J was excited that the students at his old school were finally making the acquaintance
of young Jack Hawkins. And of course the unforgettable Long John. He hoped thatâs how the
kids thought of the rascally old pirate, âunforgettableâ. The way he had so many years beforeâŠ
As he put on his coat to walk the dog, he wondered just who or what the students at
_____ considered to be âunforgettableâ Being happily unenlightened in that department, he
shrugged and figured it was a television star or maybe a professional athlete.
âMaybe thereâs still room in their busy lives for the likes of Long John.â he thought as he
headed along the path through the woods.
He spent his days alone now, while his wife went off to work each morning. Just him and
Kelly, the black Lab, his faithful sidekick on so many expeditions into the woods and
wherever their path took them.
Until it was back to the house by four to prepare dinner and have the fire burning cozily
away in the living room fireplace for when the wife returned filled to near bursting with the
stories of her day.
Tomorrow would be different though. Tomorrow he was going with her. Back to the
school that had been his world for 37 years. He still felt like part of that world. He wanted to be
ready.
âTreasure islandâ. Long John Silver. Buried treasure. Sixteen men on a dead manâs
Field Trip Pirates --11
chest.â He repeated these phrases as he walked deeper into the woods, thinking about
the treasure, about Long john and the pirates. Seeing them clearer now. And he thought about
how he could help the kids see it all too.
He picked up the walking pace, his signal to Kelly that they would be going farther
than usual and he went deeper into the woods, where the ideas hid waiting for him to find them.
The trees began blowing in the late autumn wind. Leaves cascaded all around him. Heâd
always enjoyed the idea of falling leaves in Autumn as a prefect metaphor for time passing.
There I go again, he thought. âMetaphorâ Once a teacher, always a teacher.
Students, who can explain metaphor for the rest of us?
He fed the geese and ducks loitering about the pond where they waited each day for him
to come with goodies. Then he sat on the swing heâd put there so long ago and, well, he swung.
Then he shivered and huddled inside his coat collar.
He laughed as he counted all the old man things he had just done. He sat and waited for
the last glorious red leaf of the forestâs lone sugar maple tree to loosen and tumble to the ground
Mr. J loved the woods in Autumn but he couldnât take his mind off Treasure island and
the field trip.
He reached into the large pouch he always carried wherever he went. He rubbed
His fingers across something inside. He closed his eyes and was soon lost deep in thought, his
hand buried in the pouch. Several cards fell to the ground as he sifted through a thick pile. Then
he stared intently at one card, rubbing it slowly and mumbling to himself. The wind picked up as
he shoved the cards back inside the pouch.
That pouch had been the subject of kid legend for generations. Some kids thought he
Field Trip Pirates --12
carried raw meat that he fed to his maniac son. Others believed Mr. J carried around copies of
every test heâd ever tortured a student with in his career as a teacher.
The latest legend said that the J had a secret formula of eternal life that he kept with him
at all times and that was how heâd been able to stay alive for hundreds of years.
* * *
Field Trip Pirates --13
As he fumbled with the cards inside, Mr. J remembered how heâd first found the wallet.
He slowly swung as he recalled the fight with his father. One of many.
His father had been a stern disciplinarian. Even when J. was a young boy, his father
forced him to work to âearn his keepâ.
âForceâ was the perfect word. J wasnât exactly lazy but he was better at daydreaming
than doing chores and preferred holding a book in his hands than any of the tools his father had
tried teaching him how to use.
Their arguments had become contests of wills over the years. Father trying to make son
into a mirror of himself. Son struggling to make himself into something he wanted to be. J could
even remember the exact words they spoke.
âFather, I want to learn. Some day, Iâll go to college and become a teacher.â
âTeacher! Pah! Them that canât do, teach. School fills a foolâs head with grammar and
Latin, and all sorts of other nonsense thatâs dead or should be deadâŠLearn a trade, I say. Learn
how to use these.â
Then he held out his hands. It seemed almost like he was begging his son to give up his
crazy dreams. But J was stubborn. Maybe determined is a better word.
One day, his father tried showing him how to repair a broken motor. But the boy wasnât
interested and couldnât concentrate on the work.
His father went through the mechanical sequence several times before he lost patience.
He shoved the boy away, knocking him down. He was angry and ordered him out of the work
shop.
âYouâre no good. Youâll never be any good. A fool is what you are.â
Field Trip Pirates --14
When the boy didnât leave quickly enough to suit him, the man threw a wrench at him.
It grazed his shoulder but it was heavy and both the blow and the anger directing it hurt. The boy
cried.
âGo on to your mother. Maybe sheâll read you a bed time story and you can cry yourself
to sleep.â
Instead, he ran into the woods. Not caring where he was going, he just ran . He didnât
stop running until he was exhausted.
When he finally caught his second wind, he didnât know where he was. He was standing
beneath a huge chestnut tree. Its branches were thicker around and extended longer than the
largest trees heâd ever seen.
He saw something dangling from the lowest branch.
A leather pouch.
He pulled it down and reached inside.
Books.
He never wondered how they came to be in the pouch or how the pouch came to be on
the tree. He understood why they were there and that was enough. He would stay on the path he
had chosen and never be bullied by anyone.
From that day, the pouch became part of him. He kept it filled with proof of all heâd
learned as he journeyed through life teaching and always learning.
When he wrote his first book report, he copied it down on a card and put it in the pouch.
Thatâs how Mr. J started his collection of cards.
Years later, the collection was still growingâŠ
* * *
Field Trip Pirates --15
Mr J was lost in thought, lovingly thumbing through his pouch as bright gold and silvery
leaves, maple and hickory, cherry and walnut, rained down on him, nearly covering him where
he stood.
Finally he opened his eyes and smiled. The dog ran around
geezer.
There was another problem though. Hueyâs annoying little brother Jason, the best reader
in the book club, was also assigned to his group. The adults always made the same stupid
Field Trip Pirates --8
mistake of assuming that Huey would be only too happy to take his younger brother under wing
and make sure he had fun.
âMake sure he gets lost in traffic and has to spend the rest of his pukey life wandering the
streets of the city, cold and hungry and alone until he shrivels up and dies is what Iâd like to do.â
Huey sniggered to his buds.
âWhat is this field trip about anyway?â Huey asked
âPirate exhibition.â Louis answered
âYohoho and a bottle of rumâ Dewey added, showing off his entire knowledge of pirates.
The club had read Treasure Island and to reinforce the story, Ms. K, the club moderator,
had set up the trip to the grand opening of the touring pirate exhibit. Ms K was neat on field trips.
She let the kids do whatever they wanted and go wherever they wanted.
Huey and his buds figured on ditching the learning part of the trip. Instead theyâd go to
the gift shop and act pathetic so grown-ups would feel sorry for them and give them money to
buy stuff. Then theyâd try to clean out as much junk food as they could eat from the vending
machines. And theyâd finish the day hanging in the lobby gawking at all the strange-os passing
through who thought this museum stuff was cool.
âDâyou read the book.?â
âWhattya think?â
âMe neither.â
âHope thereâs no test.â
That was another problem. Mr J was so old and addled that he sometimes forgot he
wasnât a teacher anymore and on the bus ride heâd give some of his cute little pop quizzes.
Field Trip Pirates --9
Some of the kids, nerdy Jason for one, thought the quizzes were cool and always knew all the
answers. Huey and the musketeers would make sound effects like seeing who could belch
loudest as their way of letting Mr j know what they thought of his fun facts.
But they were all in his group this time which meant that heâd try bonding with
them. Bonding was adult for trying to get the kids to think he was cool and had a clue. All it
really meant was that the old fart would learn their names and call on them.
âWeâll ditch Mr j in the lobby and show up when its time to leave and act all scared
because brain dead Mr j lost us.â
âWeâll be sure to ditch my dorky brother Jason too. Him and the j deserve one another.â
âOne for all!â the musketeers shouted, âand all for one.â
And none of them had any idea what it meantâŠ
** ** **
Field Trip Pirates --10
Mr. J finally put down the book and shook his head laughing.
âRobert Louis Stevenson.â He whispered admiringly. That was all he needed to say,
having reached that stage of life when he could talk to himself with shortcuts and still convey the
complete meaning of whatever he was thinking.
Mr J was excited that the students at his old school were finally making the acquaintance
of young Jack Hawkins. And of course the unforgettable Long John. He hoped thatâs how the
kids thought of the rascally old pirate, âunforgettableâ. The way he had so many years beforeâŠ
As he put on his coat to walk the dog, he wondered just who or what the students at
_____ considered to be âunforgettableâ Being happily unenlightened in that department, he
shrugged and figured it was a television star or maybe a professional athlete.
âMaybe thereâs still room in their busy lives for the likes of Long John.â he thought as he
headed along the path through the woods.
He spent his days alone now, while his wife went off to work each morning. Just him and
Kelly, the black Lab, his faithful sidekick on so many expeditions into the woods and
wherever their path took them.
Until it was back to the house by four to prepare dinner and have the fire burning cozily
away in the living room fireplace for when the wife returned filled to near bursting with the
stories of her day.
Tomorrow would be different though. Tomorrow he was going with her. Back to the
school that had been his world for 37 years. He still felt like part of that world. He wanted to be
ready.
âTreasure islandâ. Long John Silver. Buried treasure. Sixteen men on a dead manâs
Field Trip Pirates --11
chest.â He repeated these phrases as he walked deeper into the woods, thinking about
the treasure, about Long john and the pirates. Seeing them clearer now. And he thought about
how he could help the kids see it all too.
He picked up the walking pace, his signal to Kelly that they would be going farther
than usual and he went deeper into the woods, where the ideas hid waiting for him to find them.
The trees began blowing in the late autumn wind. Leaves cascaded all around him. Heâd
always enjoyed the idea of falling leaves in Autumn as a prefect metaphor for time passing.
There I go again, he thought. âMetaphorâ Once a teacher, always a teacher.
Students, who can explain metaphor for the rest of us?
He fed the geese and ducks loitering about the pond where they waited each day for him
to come with goodies. Then he sat on the swing heâd put there so long ago and, well, he swung.
Then he shivered and huddled inside his coat collar.
He laughed as he counted all the old man things he had just done. He sat and waited for
the last glorious red leaf of the forestâs lone sugar maple tree to loosen and tumble to the ground
Mr. J loved the woods in Autumn but he couldnât take his mind off Treasure island and
the field trip.
He reached into the large pouch he always carried wherever he went. He rubbed
His fingers across something inside. He closed his eyes and was soon lost deep in thought, his
hand buried in the pouch. Several cards fell to the ground as he sifted through a thick pile. Then
he stared intently at one card, rubbing it slowly and mumbling to himself. The wind picked up as
he shoved the cards back inside the pouch.
That pouch had been the subject of kid legend for generations. Some kids thought he
Field Trip Pirates --12
carried raw meat that he fed to his maniac son. Others believed Mr. J carried around copies of
every test heâd ever tortured a student with in his career as a teacher.
The latest legend said that the J had a secret formula of eternal life that he kept with him
at all times and that was how heâd been able to stay alive for hundreds of years.
* * *
Field Trip Pirates --13
As he fumbled with the cards inside, Mr. J remembered how heâd first found the wallet.
He slowly swung as he recalled the fight with his father. One of many.
His father had been a stern disciplinarian. Even when J. was a young boy, his father
forced him to work to âearn his keepâ.
âForceâ was the perfect word. J wasnât exactly lazy but he was better at daydreaming
than doing chores and preferred holding a book in his hands than any of the tools his father had
tried teaching him how to use.
Their arguments had become contests of wills over the years. Father trying to make son
into a mirror of himself. Son struggling to make himself into something he wanted to be. J could
even remember the exact words they spoke.
âFather, I want to learn. Some day, Iâll go to college and become a teacher.â
âTeacher! Pah! Them that canât do, teach. School fills a foolâs head with grammar and
Latin, and all sorts of other nonsense thatâs dead or should be deadâŠLearn a trade, I say. Learn
how to use these.â
Then he held out his hands. It seemed almost like he was begging his son to give up his
crazy dreams. But J was stubborn. Maybe determined is a better word.
One day, his father tried showing him how to repair a broken motor. But the boy wasnât
interested and couldnât concentrate on the work.
His father went through the mechanical sequence several times before he lost patience.
He shoved the boy away, knocking him down. He was angry and ordered him out of the work
shop.
âYouâre no good. Youâll never be any good. A fool is what you are.â
Field Trip Pirates --14
When the boy didnât leave quickly enough to suit him, the man threw a wrench at him.
It grazed his shoulder but it was heavy and both the blow and the anger directing it hurt. The boy
cried.
âGo on to your mother. Maybe sheâll read you a bed time story and you can cry yourself
to sleep.â
Instead, he ran into the woods. Not caring where he was going, he just ran . He didnât
stop running until he was exhausted.
When he finally caught his second wind, he didnât know where he was. He was standing
beneath a huge chestnut tree. Its branches were thicker around and extended longer than the
largest trees heâd ever seen.
He saw something dangling from the lowest branch.
A leather pouch.
He pulled it down and reached inside.
Books.
He never wondered how they came to be in the pouch or how the pouch came to be on
the tree. He understood why they were there and that was enough. He would stay on the path he
had chosen and never be bullied by anyone.
From that day, the pouch became part of him. He kept it filled with proof of all heâd
learned as he journeyed through life teaching and always learning.
When he wrote his first book report, he copied it down on a card and put it in the pouch.
Thatâs how Mr. J started his collection of cards.
Years later, the collection was still growingâŠ
* * *
Field Trip Pirates --15
Mr J was lost in thought, lovingly thumbing through his pouch as bright gold and silvery
leaves, maple and hickory, cherry and walnut, rained down on him, nearly covering him where
he stood.
Finally he opened his eyes and smiled. The dog ran around
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