Carmelita Stories 40-52

Ashby, Gray and Quinn were coming to spend the night.  It was hard for Minnie, Mannie, and Moe to believe that they hadn’t had an overnight since New Year’s Eve.  Now almost two months had passed and the little threesome realized that they’d really missed seeing the three big kids.  One reason was that without Ashby, Gray and Quinn visiting, they never got to hear a bedtime story.  Every evening Grandma and Grandpa would sit quietly, Carly would get taken out for her nighttime walk, and then the lights would go out.   It was pretty dull.  But when the big kids spend the night, everyone gathers on the couch, looks up at Carmelita and Minnie, Mannie, and Moe and gets to listen to a story.

“You know,” said Minnie, “I’ll bet that Ashby, Gray and Quinn have never realized that when they get a Carmelita story we get to listen too.”

“You know what?” said Mannie. “I think that this time we ought to write a story about Quinn, Ashby and Gray and surprise them with it?  That way, when they gather on the couch expecting a story about us, they’ll hear a story about them.”

“I think that once a long time ago we heard a story about Quinn, Gray and Ashby.  It was about rescuing a pony on Assateague Island.  Do you remember that story?” said Minnie.

“A little,” replied Mannie.

“I don’t remember it at all,” said Moe.  “Tell it to me.”

“Not now,” responded Minnie. “Maybe later.  It’s in the notebook and we’d have to find it.  Besides, that wasn’t a story that we wrote.  Carmelita told us that story.  And Grandpa told it to her.  I don’t remember if Ashby, Gray and Quinn were even there when we heard it.”

“Well,” said Mannie. “I was thinking that instead of a story about the kids told by Carmelita or Grandpa, that we should write a Quinn, Gray and Ashby story ourselves.”

“What will it be about?” asked Moe. “It’s not like WE can tell THEM a story about them. We don’t get to go to their schools, or their games, or their family trips. They know what they’ve done so maybe we should ask them to tell us a Quinn, Gray and Ashby story.”

“That’s true,” replied Mannie. “But it’s not a problem.  We’ll make it up.”

“Really?” said Moe. “Can we do that?”

“Of course we can,” said Minnie.  “We can imagine a story about them; and tell it to them.  In our story we can make them detectives, or superheroes, or star baseball players or just themselves.  They’ll be amazed.”

“OK,” said Moe as he started to understand Mannie’s idea.  “How do we do it?”

“This is what we’ll do,” Mannie responded. “Moe, you will make up a beginning to the story.  Then Minnie will make up the middle part of the story.  And then I’ll finish the story.  That’ll make it easy for each of us.  Except, Moe, you’ll have to start right away so we can finish in time for their overnight.”

So Moe started to think about the beginning of a story.  He soon realized that Mannie had given him a difficult job.  All story tellers know that getting started is hard, often harder than finding a good ending.  Moe needed to come up with an idea.  He picked up a pencil and a piece of paper.  On it he drew a cabin and then he drew a tree.  Maybe his story would start with a cabin.  But what would it be about? Moe decided that he was hungry and decided that a snack would help him think.  Then he figured a show might give him an idea.  And then, maybe, a nap or a ride on his scooter would do the trick. 

“You’re stalling!” shouted Minnie.  “I can’t start my part until you finish yours.  So write ANYTHING or I’ll beat you up.”

That did it…  Moe looked at his drawings and started from there.  Here is his beginning…

One weekend, Rob and Molly took Ashby, Quinn, and Gray to a cabin at a camp.  Their friends, the Finkels, were in the cabin next door.  In the morning, Rob and Molly decided to go for an early walk.  Ashby, Quinn, and Gray were still in their jammies and not ready to go outside.  So each were given a bowl of cereal and told to stay in the cabin until Rob and Molly got back.  Quinn was put in charge; and she was told to go to the Finkel’s cabin if they needed anything.  After eating, Gray and Quinn got out their IPads and Ashby played with cars.  Soon Quinn was lost in a movie and Gray lost in Mine Craft.  Ashby opened the door for Hollywood to go out to pee; and then followed him out of the cabin and down the path into the woods.  Hollywood saw a bunny and chased after it.  Ashby followed him and soon lost sight of both Hollywood and the cabin.  There were squirrels in the woods gathering nuts and chattering in the tree branches.  Ashby watched them. And there were lots of birds singing.  Ashby listened to them.  A deer walked onto the path in front of Ashby, flicked its white tail, and ran ahead.  Ashby ran to catch the deer but it was too fast and disappeared.  Soon he came to a stream.

“OK,” said Moe, “That’s my beginning.  Now it’s your turn, Minnie.”

Next, Minnie wrote the middle of the story.  Here is what she wrote…

Hollywood came back to the cabin and scratched at the door to be let in.  Gray and Quinn each looked up from their IPads.  Both then realized that Ashby had wandered away without them noticing.  “Oh, oh.  We have to find Ashby,” they both thought -- but they had been told not to leave the cabin.  What should they do?  Quinn told Gray to go next door to tell the Finkels while she went down the path to find Ashby.  But Gray was out the door and down the path before Quinn finished talking; and Quinn decided that she’d better catch him.  It turns out that the path split just after it entered the woods.  Gray ran to the left.  Quinn came to the split.  “Ashby and Gray, where are you?” she called.  No one answered.  “Brothers,” she muttered to herself, “They’re going to be in trouble.”  And then she ran to the right.   Meanwhile, Ashby found some rocks to throw in the stream and some sticks to float in the current.  To get the rocks to make a big splash, he had to get close to the water’s edge where it was muddy.  To get the sticks into the middle of the stream he had to get to a flat rock just beyond the mud.  Gray soon got to the stream where he found Ashby trying to find a way to climb onto the flat rock.  His shoes were stuck in the mud.  Gray was really relieved and proud that he’d found his little brother.  Then, realizing that Ashby was safe, he decided to throw some rocks and sticks into the stream too – before they went back to the cabin.  With help from his older brother, Ashby was soon on the flat rock close to the fastest moving water.  Both were trying to get their sticks to float over a waterfall a little downstream. Quinn’s path didn’t lead to the stream.  It went up a hill and stopped at the edge of a cliff with the stream below.  Leaves in the trees blocked her view but she soon heard Gray shout “Ashby, look out!”

Minnie put down her pencil.  “That’s my part, Mannie.  You get to finish the story now.  I can’t wait to learn how it ends.”

And this is how Mannie finished the story…

Quinn waited a moment and then heard a loud splash. “Oh my god” she said to herself, “one of them has fallen in.”  So she plunged over the edge of the cliff and down toward the stream where she expected to find Ashby in the water carried by the current toward the waterfall.  She slid down the slope tearing her pajama bottoms on some rocks and scraping her knee.  But she hardly noticed the scrape.  When she got to the bottom of the cliff, she ran along the edge of the stream toward where she’d heard Gray shout.  She finally saw them ahead of her and rushed over to where they were.  She stopped suddenly.  There they were, together on the flat rock.  Right then Gray hoisted a big boulder up over his head in order to throw it into the stream.  “Look out again, Ashby” he said; and then, noticing his sister he added, “Quinn look at this.” The boulder fell into the water with a huge splash.  Both boys laughed.  “Find another one,” said Ashby as the two slid off the flat rock and scampered back to the edge of the stream to a pile of big rocks.  “C’mon Quinn, help us.  These rocks are huge and heavy.”  Quinn didn’t know whether to scold her brothers for leaving the cabin or join in the fun.  But there they were, so why not make a few big splashes before heading back.  So Quinn found the biggest rocks she could lift and challenged her brothers to a big-splash contest.

Soon they were all soaked and muddy.   They decided that they’d better get back to the cabin before Rob and Molly finished their walk.  So the three headed back along the trail that Ashby and Gray had taken to the stream.  “What are we going to tell Mom and Dad?” Quinn worried.  “We’ll tell them that we found a really neat stream that we threw boulders into it,” suggested Gray.  “Great,” said Quinn.  “How will we explain why we left the cabin in the first place?”   “We’ll tell them that Ashby ran off and that we went to find him, which is the truth” suggested Gray.  “And that we rescued him from a rock in the middle of the stream.”  “Which isn’t exactly the truth,” replied Quinn.  “Close enough,” said Gray.

When they got back to the cabin, only Hollywood was there – asleep on the bed.  Quinn, Ashby and Gray kicked off their muddy shoes and put on dry pajamas.  Then it occurred to them that maybe they wouldn’t have to tell their parents anything.  After all, here they were together in the cabin just like when Molly and Rob went out for their walk.  And there they were, huddled together around an IPad just as Rob and Molly came back in the door.  “Hi guys,” said Molly.  “Were you good while we were gone?  Did you get along?”  “Sure,” all three replied innocently without looking up from the computer screen.  “We had fun together.”

But by then, Molly and Rob had glanced around the room and spied the muddy shoes and wet jammies on the floor.  “I guess maybe you three did have some fun,” said Rob.  “Do you want to tell us about it?”

 The END.

“What do you mean the end, Mannie?” said Moe and Minnie.  “That can’t be the end.  What did Quinn, Gray and Ashby tell their parents?  Were Rob and Molly angry?  Did they get punished?”

“You can’t write a story without having a real ending” added Minnie.

“The end because I’m tired and It’s time for everyone to go to bed,” said Mannie.  “Besides, I really don’t know what the kids told Molly and Rob or whether they got in trouble.  We’ll have to ask them in the morning.”

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Moe awoke early in the morning.  It was the last day of March and there were lots of signs of Spring.  The daffodils were blooming all around the garden; and the grass was starting to turn a bright green.  Robins pecked at worms across the lawn.  And the two osprey that nest on the platform at the marina were back from their winter migration to South America.   As Moe looked out the living room window and enjoyed the morning light, he had a nagging sense that there was something that he needed to remember.  But he couldn’t quite think of what it was, so he turned to Mannie for help.

“Mannie,” he asked, “There’s something I need to remember today but I can’t think of it.  Do you know what it is?”

“How am I supposed to know what goes through your foolish mind?” responded Mannie.

“That’s it!” exclaimed Moe. “You just reminded me.  Thanks.”

“I did?” said Mannie. “I didn’t say anything to remind you of anything…except that you’re a fool.  You surely don’t need to be reminded of that.”

“There…you did it again.” Said Moe as a smile spread across his face. “Today is March 31st, the last day of March.  So tomorrow is…guess what?”

“April 1st.  Duh” replied Mannie.

“Exactly!” said Moe. “April 1st.  Also known as April Fools Day; which you have apparently forgotten.  So who’s the fool?  Me or YOU?”

“Right”, said Mannie. “I’m so glad I reminded you.  We have to think of some tricks and pick someone to play them on.”

“Minnie is the obvious one to trick,” replied Moe.

“Not so fast, you two genius tricksters,” said Minnie. “I’ve been right here listening to you two talk from the start.  Do you think I’m now going to carelessly forget about tomorrow?  Try to pull something off on me and you’ll be the April Fools.  Both of you.”

“Hmm,” whispered Moe to Mannie, “I guess we’ll have to think of someone else.  Who could it be?  Not Ashby, Gray and Quinn.  We don’t know if they’ll be here on to play a trick on.  Not Carmelita, she knows everything that we think and do.  Not Carly, she’s a dog and doesn’t know about March or April; let alone about playing tricks on people.  That really only leaves Grandpa and Grandma.”

“Why not them?” responded Mannie.  “They’re fun and would probably appreciate a good trick on April Fools Day.  We just have to think of how we can fool them; and make sure that we keep it a secret from Minnie so she won’t warn them and spoil the fun.  Now what can we do?”

“Great.  I agree,” said Moe.  “What shall we do?”

“Yes, what shall we do?  We’ll have to think about it.  But we haven’t much time.” Said Mannie. “Tomorrow is April 1st,” he added.

“I KNOW THAT,” replied Moe. “I TOLD you that in the first place.  Remember?  Think of a plan.”

Silence followed.

“Are you thinking?” said Moe, breaking the silence.

“Of course,” said Mannie. “I just haven’t thought of anything except that it’s really pretty outside.  We should go out and enjoy the sunshine.”

“Don’t think about the weather!” growled Moe.  “Think of a trick to play on Grandma and Grandpa.”

“OK, I’m working on it.” Said Mannie. “Are you thinking too?  I haven’t noticed you coming up with any ideas for a good trick yet.”

More silence followed.  Minnie, who was listening while pretending to read a book, rolled her eyes.  “Talk about April Fools,” she thought to herself, “how about these two.”

“What’s the weather supposed to be like tomorrow?” asked Mannie.

“The weather??” replied Moe.  “Why are you thinking about the weather again?”

“Well,” said Mannie. “I was thinking that maybe we should pretend to run away from home.  Except that we wouldn’t really run away from home.  We’d just pack up our stuff and pretend to run away…long enough for Grandpa and Grandma to be a little upset.  Then we’d come back and say April Fools!  So I was thinking it would be better to do that on a day when the weather was nice.”

“It’s supposed to be sunny and warm,” answered Moe.

“That’s it?  That’s all you have to say about my brilliant idea of a trick to play?” said Mannie.

“I’m thinking.” Said Moe.  “I’m thinking that that’s a pretty good idea.  We can pack our backpacks and say we’re going on a morning hike.  And that we’ll be back for lunch.  We can even ask Grandma for ham and cheese quesadillas for lunch so everything will seem really normal.  Then we won’t come back for lunch.  When our quesadillas are cold, Grandpa and Grandma will look for us and they’ll find a note that we leave for them saying we’ve run away.  Grandma and Grandpa will get worried: and then we’ll pop through the door and shout “April Fools.  What do you think of that?”

“I think it is brilliant,” said Mannie. “Especially since it’s my idea.”

“Stupid,” muttered Minnie to herself.  But then a smile quietly crept across Minnie’s face as she thought of a way to turn the trick on Mannie and Moe, making them the April fools.  Minnie’s plan, however, required help from Grandpa and Grandma; and even some cooperation from Carmelita.  Here is what Minnie planned.  Minnie decided that she’d let Grandma and Grandpa know that Mannie and Moe weren’t really running away; and that they planned to come back after lunch was ready.  Then she’d write a note for them to find when they came home.  The note would say: “Moe and Mannie, when we found your note, we decided to come with Carmelita to find you.  Carly ate your quesadillas.  That won’t matter if you’ve run away.  But if you’ve changed your minds and come home while we’re looking for you, and you’re hungry, Carly will share her dog food.”

The next morning (April 1st, April Fools Day) Mannie and Moe put their note near the kitchen stove, sneaked out of the house, and ran away to the playground at the beach where they planned to hide out until after lunch.  Once they were outside, Minnie wrote her note and put it on the shelf under 

Carmelita in the living room.  By the end of the morning, Moe and Mannie were starting to get hungry and thinking about coming home.  Minnie, meanwhile, put a frying pan on the stove and sprinkled some crumbs of tortilla around the edges, she put extra food in Carly’s bowl, and then climbed onto the piano to watch for Mannie and Moe coming around the corner.  As soon as she saw them she hurried Carmelita, Grandpa, Grandma and Carly all into the pantry and closed the door.

“April Fools!” shouted Mannie and Moe when they came through the door.  “We didn’t run away.  That was just pretend.”  But the house was silent.  They went into the kitchen.  No quesadillas were waiting to be eaten.  They went to the living room.  Minnie and Carmelita were gone.  But in their place was the note from Grandma and Grandpa that Minnie had written.  “Oh my gosh,” said Mannie as he read the note. “They believed us!”

“And I’m hungry,” said Moe.  “What are we going to do?”

“Share Carly’s dog food, I guess.” Said Mannie.  “But it doesn’t look very tasty.”

“Not for me” replied Moe.  “Let’s find some goldfish.”  And he headed straight for the pantry with Mannie close behind.

“April Fools!” shouted Grandpa, Grandma, Minnie and Carmelita together as Moe and Mannie pushed open the door.  “Woof,” added Carly.  Mannie and Moe blushed with embarrassment.  “I guess the joke’s on us,” admitted Moe.

“Well, over and done,” said Grandma as she strode out of the pantry and into the kitchen. “If you must know, I’m not a big fan of April Fools Day.  I really don’t ever want to make someone else feel foolish. But just so you know, today Minnie warned us about the trick.  And now that we’re all done being foolish, who’s ready for lunch?  How about a ham and cheese quesadilla?  We’ll save the dog food for Carly.”

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According to the calendar summer had just started; but it had already been hot for a month.  Carmelita predicted that it would be a hot summer or, maybe, she had learned it from the weatherman on the TV news.  Either way, she wanted Minnie, Mannie, and Moe use the community pool more than they had last year -- both as a way to stay cool and a way to get more exercise.  Last year they had spent a lot of time just hanging around by the boat ramp, splashing in the river, and staying cool indoors with the air conditioning.  And what better way to guarantee that they’d get to the pool than signing them up for the swim team.  The pool’s team was named the Flippers.  They had a beginning racer program.  The kids in that program were called the Guppies.  Even though a lot of the older swimmers liked to gently tease the guppies, many of them had started out as guppies and could remember what it was like to stare down the length of the pool and wonder if they could make it to the far end without drowning.

Mannie was a pretty typical beginning guppy.  For Mannie, getting in the water meant getting wet; having to swim meant getting tired really fast; and having to race a length of the pool surely meant sinking to the bottom of the deep end; getting pulled out by a lifeguard; and having to have water squeezed out of his lungs.  He imagined some huge blubbery teenager sitting on his chest until water squirted out of his nose and ears.

Minnie and Moe had joined the Flippers late in the season last year while Mannie chose to wait.  “I’d rather just go to the beach and swing on the tire swing,” Mannie had said at the time.  As a result, Moe and Minnie had both advanced out of the Guppies and were now official members of the team.  That meant that they could swim the length of the pool pretty easily and they got to wear teeny-tiny skinny speedos for swim meets and wear swim caps with a gray whale’s flipper printed on them.

Being a guppy meant that Mannie had to go to practice and take a swim lesson every day.  The lessons continued until he could jump into the pool without anyone to catch him and swim a length using any stroke that moved him forward in the water.  On the first day, he packed his floaty into his swim bag along with his towel and goggles.  It was a little brown floaty with the head of a beaver positioned right across his chest.  One of the Flippers called him “Beave” because of the floaty.  Minnie socked him and that particular Flipper never teased Mannie again.  But the floaty also disappeared from Mannie’s swim bag and was never seen at another swim practice.

Slowly Mannie improved his swimming and his confidence.   He learned to swim with his head out of the water; and then with his face in the water.  He managed to jump into the deep end, go under, and come up -- holding his breath the whole time.  Then he learned to put his hands together over his head and dive into the water.  Well, maybe he just put his hands together and fell into the water – or did a belly flop.  He made it a third of the way down the pool before grabbing onto the lane rope, then half way down the pool, and finally all the way down the pool.  Meanwhile Moe and Minnie swam laps to get stronger and faster in the water.  Moe learned the breaststroke and the backstroke.  Minnie learned the butterfly and how to do a flip turn.

Carmelita came to every practice.  She mostly seemed to chat with the Moms of other Flippers.  But she kept a close eye on what Minnie and Moe were doing and the progress Mannie made in his lessons.  Somehow, other parents seemed to think nothing of the fact that Minnie, Moe, and Mannie could keep up with other swimmers who were much, much bigger.  In fact, Minnie and Moe would have to take 10 or 20 times as many strokes to keep up with swimmers like Lucy and Joey – but, magically, they managed to do it.  They, in fact, moved their arms and kicked their legs so fast that they made a little humming sound that could be heard over the splashing of the water – a sound that earned them the nickname of “the hummingbirds”.  And it was quite remarkable that no one seemed to make much of the fact that Minnie, Mannie and Moe came to the pool on the back of a two-humped camel.  Everyone found Carmelita to be friendly and interesting.  Privately, some parents said that accepting a camel at the pool was an indication how sophisticated and tolerant they all were; and that other pools probably wouldn’t have been as welcoming to an immigrant from Africa.  Those parents, of course, didn’t know that two humped camels come from Asia.  And Carmelita showed no interest in correcting them.  

Needless to say, with Carmelita’s attention, Mannie made great progress with his lessons and was, before too many weeks had passed, ready to move up from Guppies to Flippers.  That, of course, meant harder practices and longer swims.  And Mannie, being Mannie, wasn’t sure he wanted to make the move.  On the one hand, it was nice to be in lessons where his instructors worried about his learning to swim and not whether he could swim fast.  On the other hand, he liked the idea of becoming a Flipper and racing.  He felt ready to join the hummingbirds and test himself against other members of the team.

One day, after practice, the coaches announced that there was a swim meet coming against another pool’s team so the next day they would hold time trials to see who would race in the swim meet.  Time trials.  Mannie’s heart raced at the thought.  Maybe swimming wasn’t such a good idea after all.  Maybe he should just play in the kiddie pool.  What if he couldn’t make it the length of the pool?  What if he drowned in all the splash made by the other swimmers? What if he dived into the water, disappeared, and the lifeguards couldn’t find him?  Maybe he should wear his floaty to keep himself safe.

“Right,” said Moe.  “If you don’t wear your floaty you’ll dive into the water and sink.  … Just kidding!”

“Right,” said Minnie. “And if you wear your floaty the alligator that lives in the deep end will think you’re a beaver and will eat you up.  It’ll ruin your time.  … Just kidding!”

“I think,” said Carmelita, “that you’re mostly worried that you’ll be slower than others and embarrassed.  But you’ll do your best, I’m sure.  And I’ll be there to watch and to cheer you on.”

That night, Mannie was excited and anxious about the time trials.  He couldn’t sleep.  So he climbed quietly out of the basket and wandered out onto the deck.  There, in the moonlight, he saw the swimmer perched on the deck’s rail.  As he walked toward her, the wind blew.  “How will I do it?” he asked the swimmer.  She said nothing, but swung toward him and moved her arms furiously in a circle.  First forward, freestyle.  Then backward, backstroke.  Wordlessly showing Mannie what he should do in the pool.  Mannie watched the swimmer’s wind driven strokes; and then went back into the house, and to sleep.

In the morning at the pool, Mannie felt lost in the crowds of swimmers at the starting end of the pool.  He looked for Minnie, Moe, and Carmelita but couldn’t find them.  Other kids lined up at the pools edge, crouched waiting for the starter’s horn, and plunged into the water with the sound of the horn.  Finally it was Mannie’s turn.  A coach led him to lane six.  “Remember, Mannie, keep your head down.  Kick hard.  And don’t stop until you touch the far wall.”  Mannie looked across the pool.  Still no Carmelita in sight.  “Take your mark,” said the starter.  (“Don’t sink!” shouted Moe from behind him.)  “Set, said the starter. (“Don’t let the alligator catch you!” shouted Minnie from the side.)  Honk…

Mannie was suddenly in the water, hearing nothing.  But then the swimmer magically appeared in front of him and wordlessly set the pace, moving her arms furiously just like she had in the wind on the deck the night before.  Mannie kept pace and before he even realized it he’d crossed the pool and touched the wall.  He looked up into Carmelita’s smiling face as she looked down with a timer’s watch clamped in her hoof.  “Personal best, just like I told you,” said Carmelita. “Way to go!”

In the end, Mannie wasn’t quite fast enough to get into the meet but he swam his best time yet.  Moe took third in the 25 yard backstroke.  Minnie took second in the 50 yard freestyle.  And Swimmer quietly returned to the deck looking very contented.  What the hummingbirds did in the trials surprised no one.  But what no one has ever been able to explain is how Carmelita managed to hold a timer’s watch with her hoof.  Magic, I guess.

.  

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One recent late summer afternoon, Minnie, Mannie and Moe were just hanging out in their basket where they spend most of their time.  Not much was happening.  In fact, nothing was happening so their minds drifted back over some of the stories that Grandpa had told about them.

“Remember the story about how we climbed into the osprey nest?, Mannie asked Moe.

“Yeah,” replied Moe. “You remember the story about how we tricked that lady into taking us sailing? Or the story about jumping off the pilings at the end of the dock?”

“You mean the bird poop story?” asked Mannie.

“Yeah,” replied Moe.

“How about the Halloween story at the pumpkin patch?” added Minnie.  “We should ask Grandpa to read us that one again.”

“I don’t know if I want to re-visit that story,” said Mannie.  “If I recall, it was spooky and we were pretty scared until we made it into the barn.”

“You know what I just remembered?” asked Moe.

“No, how could we?” replied Minnie and Mannie together.  “Give us a hint,” added Mannie.

“I remember that when Grandpa told us the story of how Carmelita’s Mommy came here from China; and how Carmelita was born at the circus; and how she escaped the mean ringmaster and got her magical powers; that Grandpa said he would one day tell us how Carmelita found US.  And how we all got to that gallery in Philadelphia where Grandma and Grandpa found us.”

“Maybe Carmelita didn’t find us, maybe we found her,” suggested Minnie.

“Doesn’t really matter who found whom,” said Mannie.  “We must’ve been pretty young since none of us remember.  I agree with Moe, it would be nice to hear about it.”

“Do you think Carmelita has told Grandpa?” asked Moe.

“Let’s ask Carmelita”, said Mannie who stomped his foot down on the bottom of the basket which sent a sharp pain into Carmelita’s hump.”

“Ouch!” 

“Oh, sorry Carmelita,” said Mannie guiltily.  “I was just trying to get your attention.”

“You can try calling my name,” replied Carmelita.

“Well, anyhow,” continued Mannie. “Did you ever tell Grandpa about how we got together?  I mean how we found you, or maybe, how you found us.  And how we got to Philadelphia.  ‘Cause, you know, we’d like Grandpa to tell us.  Or you could tell us.  But we know you don’t like to talk much about your past.  Which is why we thought we’d ask Grandpa.  I mean, if he knows about it…which he would if you told him.”

“Mannie,” replied Carmelita, “Grandpa knows the story as well as anyone.  But just like when he told you the story about Josephine and Abel, my mommy and daddy, Grandpa likes to use his imagination.  So you’ll just have to listen and decide what you want to believe.”

So Grandpa told Minnie, Mannie and Moe the story of how Carmelita and they met, made their way to Philadelphia, and landed on the shelf at the Snyderman’s gallery.  It’s a story about Carmelita finding Minnie, Mannie and Moe who had gotten lost; not a story about the threesome finding Carmelita.  Here is the story Grandpa told them.

The circus magician who helped Josephine, Carmelita’s mother, escape from the cruel ringmaster and return to Shanghai in China, had granted Josephine three wishes for Carmelita – that she would be sweet and gentle, that she would find a safe and happy home, and that she would have magical powers to help others.  With her mother suddenly gone, Carmelita was alone except for her friend the magician.  Both had to leave the circus right away so the ringmaster wouldn’t lock them up like he had Josephine.  So they grabbed the magician’s magic lamp and a change of undies and sneaked away as soon as it was night.  By the next morning they’d gone only a few miles but that was far enough to be well away from the sounds and lights of the circus.  They felt safe, and hungry; but had no money to buy food.

“Just rub the lamp and have it give us money,” Carmelita suggested to the magician.  

“That’s not within the powers of the lamp,” replied the magician.  “If it was, I’d have tons of money and wouldn’t ever have to perform magic in circuses or theaters.  For now, I’ll have to do magic shows on the street and accept whatever tips people will give me to have money for food and shelter.  With luck, we can save money for tickets on the train to the Philadelphia.  You can become my assistant; and I’ll gradually teach you my tricks.”

“Who’s Philadelphia?” asked Carmelita.  “And where is she?”

“Philadelphia is a big city, on the east coast.  It’s where our country was born.  And a city that can give birth to a country must be a special, magical place.  So that’s where we’re headed.” Replied the Magician.

And so the magician and Carmelita traveled eastward from one small town to another.  They put on magic shows on street corners; and in shopping malls; and, eventually, in small theaters where people bought tickets to see them.  Carmelita learned card tricks and how to make coins disappear.  She pulled long scarves from the magician’s ears and rabbits out of his hat.  She knew that the tricks the magician taught her were illusions, not real magic.

One day she asked the magician when he would teach her how to find and use real magical powers.  “I wish I knew how to teach that,” replied the magician.  “I wish I even had real magical powers.  But I don’t think I do.  I just know how to perform lots of tricks.  But I know that you have magical powers inside you that were put there by the lamp.  I just haven’t a clue how you’ll discover them and learn to put them to use.  But I’m sure you will.  In the meantime, I can show you how to make flowers disappear under a tablecloth.”

One day, as they traveled across Kansas (in the middle of the country), they came upon a balloon festival.  Carmelita was excited by all the huge colorful balloons lifting off from a large field.  There were so many she couldn’t count them all.  She especially liked a giant frog balloon, and a big cow balloon that drifted slowly over her head as if it was grazing on the crowd watching from below.  Hidden among all the huge balloons was a small balloon with colorful stripes.  It was carrying a small basket with three people wearing funny hats.  This small striped balloon was having trouble getting up into the sky where the bigger balloons floated.  As the little balloon and its three passengers separated from the others a wind started to blow it toward electrical lines and trees at the far end of the field.  The crowd watched with growing fear as the balloon got pushed toward the lines.  “It’s going to hit the power lines!” someone shouted.  “It’ll catch fire and crash.  Do something to save the passengers.”  But what could anyone do as they watched from the far side of the field?

Carmelita watched with everyone else as the little balloon hit the electric lines and a giant spark ignited a fire at the top of the balloon.  The shout “do something” echoed in her mind as she closed her eyes to avoid watching the balloon crash to the ground.  But then, suddenly…magically, she was far from the crowd and under the falling basket.  Then it landed, with a thunk, directly on her back between her humps where it got stuck.  The three passengers wearing funny metal hats first fell to the bottom of the basket and then slowly climbed up to look around.  “What happened?” asked one.  “Are we still alive?” asked another.  “Who caught us?” asked the third.  “How did I do that?” asked Carmelita to herself.  Then she realized that only real magical powers carried her under the basket in time to save its passengers.

“Are you all OK?” Carmelita asked her newly landed riders?  “We think so?” they replied.  “What happened to us?  We were floating up with the other balloons and then, suddenly, we saw fire above us.  And we dropped.  And now we’re here riding on a camel?  Are we still alive?”

“Fortunately you are alive, although I can’t exactly explain how I managed to catch you,” replied Carmelita.  “I’m Carmelita.  And I think I just discovered my magical powers.”

“Lucky for us!” the three said in unison.  “We’re Minnie, Mannie and Moe.  We’re adventurers although we’re a little tired of too much adventure at the moment.  Where are you from and where are you going Miss Carmelita?”

“Just Carmelita, not Miss Carmelita,” replied Carmelita.  “And I’m on my way to Philadelphia.”

“Philadelphia!” said Minnie, Mannie, and Moe – again speaking in one voice, and feeling safe and secure in their basket on Carmelita’s back. “We’ve never been to Philadelphia.  Can we come with you  if we’re not too heavy for you to carry?”

“Why certainly,” said Carmelita who was feeling no weight on her back at all.  So off they went … and you know what happened after that.  As for the magician from the circus who was with Carmelita, content to see that she had discovered her real magical powers, he decided he liked Kansas.  He’s still there, doing magic shows and taking people on rides in a hot air balloon shaped like a rabbit under a hat.

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“Jealous! Flat out Jealous! That’s what I am,” thought Minnie to herself.  “Grandma and Grandpa organize a family trip to Hawaii at Thanksgiving.  They rent a big house by the seashore.  The house is next to a cove where sea turtles come to swim and feed in the morning.  And Gray, and Quinn, and Wesley, and Paige, and Maggie get to put on masks and snorkels and swim in the cove with the turtles while they’re eating.  Even Ashby gets to look down off the rocks and watch them.”

“It’s not fair! Not fair at all!” continued Minnie who now started to speak out loud.  

“What’s not fair?” asked Mannie who had, until then, been quietly working on a puzzle.

“It’s not fair that everyone got to go to Hawaii but us.  We got to stay home.  Imagine!  Just imagine. They could’ve tucked us into their suitcase and taken us along with them.  We’re small. And we don’t eat much.  It wouldn’t have been hard for them.” replied Minnie, her voice getting louder and louder.

“Imagine what?” asked Moe who had been looking through a toy catalog and thinking about what he could ask Santa to bring him for Christmas.

“Imagine Grandma and Grandpa hiding us in their luggage and sneaking us off to Hawaii to see all the rainbows, and the sunsets, and the waves…and us swimming with the sea turtles in the cove next to the big house.  Imagine that!” said Minnie.  “But I bet it never occurred to them to bring us,” she added.  Minnie let out a little sob of disappointment.

With that, Minnie became quiet.  She developed a far-off look on her face as she dreamed of her own Hawaiian vacation.  Mannie and Moe looked at each other, shrugged and were about to go back to their puzzle and toy catalog when Mannie had an idea about how to help Minnie overcome her jealousy.  

“You know,” said Mannie. “We don’t have to go to Hawaii to swim with turtles.  We can do it right here. There’s a giant tub upstairs which, when you think of it, is just about as big for us as that cove in Hawaii was for Gray and Quinn.  We can fill the tub with water, throw in a green wind-up turtle and swim around with it.  Better yet, maybe we can go outside and find a real turtle and invite it to swim with us.  That ought to cheer up Minnie.”

“Sure,” added Moe.  “And we can pretend that the fern on the edge of the tub is a palm tree.  And Ashby can help by splashing and making waves.  It’ll be just as good as a real Hawaiian vacation.”

“Somehow,” said Mannie, “we’ll have to make the bathroom look like a tropical island -- instead of a bathroom.  And the bathtub look like an ocean cove – instead of a tub.  And a floaty toy turtle like a real sea turtle.”  And with these thoughts, Mannie began to realize how hard it would be to turn Grandma’s bathroom into a convincing little Maui.

“Maybe Carmelita can help us,” said Moe who shared Mannie’s realization.  “Can’t hurt to ask her.  In fact, let’s suggest that Carmelita use her magic to transform the bathroom as a Christmas gift for Minnie.  I think Carmelita will love the idea.  It’s so much better than a Target gift card.  And Grandma might like the new bathroom decor as well.”

“Brilliant!” replied Mannie.  “Let’s ask.”

Carmelita was of course aware of Minnie’s envy and not sure that it wouldn’t be best to just let Minnie get over it.  After all, lots of people – Rob and Molly, for instance – wait years for their first trip to Hawaii and don’t get to swim with turtles until their grown-up, if ever.  Still, redecorating the bathroom wouldn’t be too difficult and even convincing a little Maryland terrapin to join in the swim was within her power.  And the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea.  Carmelita even thought that she could make the experience a Christmas gift for all three of them, not just for Minnie.

“Thanks for the suggestion,” she said to Mannie and Moe.  “I’ll think about it.  But, you know, I’ll have to let Grandma and Grandpa in on the planning since it might involve some big changes in the bathroom – like palm trees; or a waterfall; or a coral reef.”

“Let us add our ideas, too” said Moe.  “Like you could invite eels and sharks to swim in the tub along with a turtle…and also the little bright yellow fish that you find in aquariums at the pet store.”

“I’m not sure Grandma is going to be happy with eels and sharks in her tub,” responded Carmelita.  “But let’s agree that, if I do it, we have to make it a surprise for Minnie.  So we need to keep it secret.  No more talk about it now and I’ll give you both a signal just before we pull it off.

“What will be the signal?” asked Mannie.

“You’ll know.” replied Carmelita.

Later, Mannie saw Carmelita whispering with Grandma but nothing more was said to him or to Moe.  Days passed.  Minnie gradually started to think about other things, like approaching Christmas.  Moe went back to looking at toy catalogs.  And Mannie started to keep an eye out for the return of a Christmas elf.

Then, one night, Carmelita awoke Moe and Mannie from sleep and told them it was time to put on their bathing suits.  The signal!  What followed is a little hazy in their memories.  They fell back asleep.  There were some roaring noises, and their ears felt pressure-y.  And then they were bathed in warm moist air that smelled a little of salt and sea.  When all three awoke in the morning, they stood on the edge of a beautiful ocean cove.  The water was a deep clear blue color and waves crashed regularly over the rocks beneath their feet.  Two palm trees swayed in the wind just behind them.

“Well Done, Carmelita!” thought Mannie who strained to find any signs of the bathroom sinks or the fern in the pot on the edge of the tub.  Carmelita had done an amazing job of hiding everything so it really looked like Hawaii.  And at their feet were wrapped gift boxes that held tiny masks, snorkels and swim fins for each of them.  Minnie was first to put them on and dive into the water.  Mannie and Moe followed.  The water was cold.  And salty.  “Whoa,” thought Mannie, who preferred warm bathwater with some soap bubbles, “Maybe Carmelita has gone a little too far with the details.”

Mannie then looked into the water only to see Minnie gesturing and pointing at a huge round rock just below her.  As he looked, the rock floated up toward the surface and then down again.  Then he noticed its four flippers, hooded eyes, and a head with powerful jaws.  It swam directly toward him.  He choked back his fear that he might consider Mannie to be his next meal as the giant turtle swam past with Minnie so close that she seemed to be grabbing its tail.  Behind this turtle was another, even larger.  And beneath that a smaller baby turtle, still bigger than Carmelita herself.  Moe was nearby, absorbed in watching bunches of brightly colored fish – yellow, orange, blue and green…even a clownfish.  “Hello Nemo,” Moe called out through his snorkel.

After a time, the coolness of the water and the action of the waves made all three tired and they climbed out onto the rocks to dry in the sun.  Moe expected Grandma to show up at that moment with one of the red bath towels she used after giving Ashby a tub bath.  But no Grandma and no red towels were to be seen.  Gradually clouds moved overhead and it started to rain.  The rain lasted for only about 5 minutes.  It was followed by the most amazing rainbow that arched from the water’s surface on their right, over the palm trees, and down again to the water to their left.  

“So this is Hawaii,” muttered Minnie who was very clearly in a trance.  “And I’ve swum with turtles,” she added dreamily.

“This is way too realistic,” thought Mannie.  “There’s no way Grandma was going to let Carmelita create a rain shower in the bathroom.  He looked again for signs of the bathroom like the windows over the tub or the flowery chandelier hanging from the ceiling.  But all he could see were the clouds, the palm trees, and the rainbow.

And then there were the roaring sounds that they’d heard earlier; and the pressure-y feeling in their ears.  And they awoke in the living room in their basket on Carmelita’s back.  Strangely, they were all wearing slightly damp bathing suits…not their usual pajamas.  Moe heard the clank of the shower door upstairs as Grandpa stepped out after his usual morning shower.  It was totally normal.  No sound of waves.  No waterfall.

Carmelita seemed to have a particularly bright smile on her face; the kind of smile one gets after giving a gift that is truly wanted and especially wonderful.

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“Today is the first day of 2017” said Grandma to Grandpa. “Have you thought about making New Year’s Resolutions?”  It was morning and they were sitting in the living room so it was easy for Minnie, Mannie, and Moe to listen to what they said.

“No,” responded Grandpa. “I don’t like to make resolutions.  People who make them never keep them for more than a month.  Then they go back to doing whatever they always have done.  I’d rather think about New Year’s wishes.  You can hope for something; but hoping doesn’t make you have to do anything.”

“You’re just being lazy,” responded Grandma.

“How’s that lazy?” said Grandpa. “It’s realistic.  Every year, like everybody, I think I’ll go the gym more, I’ll stop eating too many nuts, and I’ll lose weight.  And every year I find that I don’t have enough time to go to the gym more.  And when I go to the store, there are the fancy mixed nuts in the big economy jar.  And the dial on the bathroom scale doesn’t move to the left.  It must be broken.  If I RESOLVE to do these things, then I’ll disappoint myself.  But if I just hope for them… well, that’s different.”

“Why don’t you ask Santa for better fitness and a skinny body?” asked Grandma.

“Too late for that,” replied Grandpa. “Christmas is over.  And don’t suggest I ask the Easter Bunny.  It specializes in chocolates!”

“As I said,” responded Grandma, “You’re just being lazy.  Anyhow, New Year’s Resolutions don’t have to be only about diet and exercise.  Although there’s nothing wrong with those.  Resolutions can also be about other important goals for the year and how you’ll make them happen…like fixing the crack in the bathroom wall…”

Minnie, Mannie, and Moe listened to the conversation quietly as children sometimes do when they hear grown-ups talking about grown-up things.  “Maybe we shouldn’t be listening,” Moe whispered to Mannie.  “Shh,” Mannie whispered back. “I think they’re going to have a fight and I want to hear who wins.”  

“…or cleaning out the bedroom closets,…or just being happier or more generous,” Grandma continued.

 “Having someone else clean out the closets or do the house repairs seems like a wonderful thing to wish for,” replied Grandpa, “but wishing to be more generous doesn’t make a lot of sense.  You have to do that for yourself.  And if happiness comes from being generous, I guess you have to make yourself do that to.”

 “But, having someone else clean out the closets would make me happy.  Is that on your list of New Year’s resolutions, Grandma?” he continued with a twinkle in his voice.

“No fight,” thought Mannie when he heard the playfulness in Grandpa’s voice.

Grandma got up and left the living room.  After a minute she was back with a pencil and a yellow pad that she handed to Grandpa.  “Here, Mr. Writer,” she said.  “Write down your list.  We’ll compare it to mine later.”

Grandpa took the yellow pad and pencil and frowned.  In truth, he wasn’t ready to think about 2017 yet.  But maybe writing down a list of resolutions would make him look forward.  As he started to get up from the couch, he looked over his shoulder and noticed Mannie, Minnie, and Moe looking down from the basket on Carmelita’s back.  They had their eyes fixed on him, waiting to hear what he would say next to Grandma and what he would do with the yellow pad.  Instead, to their surprise, Grandpa spoke to them.

“OK, you guys,” he said.  “Have YOU thought about your New Year’s Resolutions yet?  You haven’t? I’m shocked! Just Shocked!  Tell you what,” he continued. “Come with me into the study and we’ll work on a list together.  We’ll make it a team effort.”  And so they did.  They climbed out of their basket and onto Grandpa’s shoulder, and were carried into the study.  There they arranged themselves around the yellow pad on Grandpa’s desk.

“You first, Minnie,” said Grandpa.  “Make a wish for the New Year.  No, let’s not say a wish.  Let’s say a resolution.  You know, I think Molly and Rob call them goals.  Anyhow, it has to be something that you can make happen.”

“OK,” said Minnie.  “I resolve to make Mannie stop snoring.”

“That’s a great goal!” said Moe.  “But how can you make that happen?”

“Simple,” said Minnie.  “I won’t let him fall asleep…ever.”

“But to keep me awake, you have to stay awake…always” said Mannie.  “I’d like to see you try it.  I think your resolution will last maybe 15 minutes.”

“Seriously, guys, we have to come up with a list,” Grandpa reminded them.  “Instead of arguing about how to make 2017 a better year, let’s each make our own list of three goals.  Then we’ll put them together into a single list.”  Grandpa handed a small pencil and a piece of yellow paper to each of them.  They all stared at their blank sheets trying to think of what to write.  Eventually they all were able to write down three New Year’s resolutions.  To make it more fun, Grandpa decided to tear all the papers into pieces, with a separate resolution written on each piece.  Then he put all the pieces in a bowl so Minnie, Mannie, and Moe could take turns pulling them out of the hat and writing them onto their big collective list.

And here are the resolutions that came out of the bowl.

1st) Mannie resolved to not play any mean tricks on Moe.

2nd) Minnie resolved to finish her vegetables before asking for dessert.

3rd) Grandpa resolved to look at Grandma whenever she spoke to him so she’d know he was listening.

4th) Moe resolved to brush his teeth more often than once a week.

5th) Moe resolved to not play any mean tricks on Mannie.

6th) Minnie resolved to promise not to beat up either Moe or Mannie when they bugged her.

7th) Mannie resolved to remember to say “please” when he asked for something, and “thank you” when he got it.

8th) Minnie resolved to keep her promise not to beat up either Moe or Mannie when they bugged her.

9th) Grandpa resolved to not be grumpy when Grandma woke him up in front of the TV at night and told him to go to bed.

10th) Moe resolved to continue to be perfect.  (Moe added “I can’t think what else to resolve.”)

11th) Mannie resolved to snore quietly so it wouldn’t bother Minnie … or Moe, or Carmelita.

And the last piece of paper pulled from the bowl, the 12th on the list, was written by Grandpa.  It said “I resolve to always finish writing my stories before Ashby’s, Gray’s, and Quinn’s bedtime -- so they’ll brush their teeth, get to sleep, and be rested in the morning.”

“Great List!” exclaimed Grandpa as he looked at all of the resolutions they’d made.  “If we can meet our goals we’ll all be better people in 2017.  Now, shall we check Grandma’s list?”

The end.

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It was already late in February and, so far, not a single snowflake had fallen in Annapolis.  Well, that’s not exactly right.  There had been some snow flurries and one night some snow fell on the grass but it had already melted away by noon.  Daffodils were starting to pop out of the ground and Grandma Lin was even starting to talk about getting the garden ready for spring planting.  So, naturally, Mannie and Moe were thinking about skiing.

“We need a really cold week so they can make snow at Whitetail,” said Mannie as he looked out the window of the living room and watched squirrels racing up and down the trunk of the maple tree.

“Lots of Luck,” replied Moe.  “The weather report says it’s going to be warm for the next two weeks and by then we’ll be in the middle of March.  That’s when it’s supposed to get warm; and when the daffodils are supposed to come up.”

“I blame it on Grandpa,” said Mannie.  “You know we have global warming because of people having fires and releasing gases and stuff like that.  Well, Grandpa had some fires in the fireplace last month and here we are missing out on winter.  His fault.”

“That’s really a dumb thing to say, Mannie,” said Minnie as she jumped into the conversation.  “A few fires in the fireplace aren’t going to warm the atmosphere and cancel winter.  And, speaking of gases, what’s that smell?  Which of you two farted?”

“Not Me!” responded Moe, a little too quickly.

“To get back to what we were talking about,” said Mannie, “Whether global warming is Grandpa’s fault or not, before winter is officially over, I want it to snow so I can go skiing.”

“Then, I think you’re going to have to go to Colorado,” said Minnie, “ ‘cause it ain’t gonna snow here!”

“Great idea!” replied Moe.  “Rob and Molly are taking Quinn, Gray and Ashby to Colorado to ski.  They’re going to Frisco.  From Frisco you can go to a bunch of famous ski resorts like Copper Mountain, and Keystone, and Breckenridge.   They’ll have lots of snow, maybe even a spring blizzard.  Let’s go along with them.”

“Don’t we have to be invited?” said Minnie.

“I suppose…” said Moe.  “Maybe we shouldn’t wait to go with them.  I know, we can go ahead of them; and find the best trails and the longest chair rides, and tell them about it so they’ll know what to expect.  We just need to convince Carmelita to send us.”

“Or take us,” suggested Mannie.

Well, it turns out that Carmelita, being a camel from the deserts in Asia where it gets very cold in the winter, was also pretty disappointed with the warm weather in Annapolis; as well as with the gray skies and rain.  And while she would never consider skiing – after all, she’s still a camel -- going off to the Colorado mountains for some snow, sunshine and cold air sounded really nice.  So when Mannie asked if she’d think about bringing them to Frisco, she really surprised him by responding “pack your bags.”  

Before long there was a growing pile of tiny suitcases and boots and skis on the shelf next to Carmelita’s wheels.  Minnie, Mannie, and Moe somehow managed to stuff their gear together with themselves into the basket on Carmelita’s back.  Then they closed their eyes as Carmelita winked a magic wink.  And when they opened their eyes they were coming out of a highway tunnel high in the Rocky Mountains.  The mountainsides were filled with tall pine trees with snow in their branches.  The road in front twisted downward toward a little town next to a big frozen lake.  Then they floated around a traffic circle with a giant elk statue in the middle and a sign that said “Welcome to Frisco.”

As you might expect, by then they were very hungry.  So their ski vacation started with a trip to the Butterhorn Bakery which they found right in the middle of Main Street.  Mannie had a western omlet; Moe a Reuben sandwich; and Minnie the French toast.  After that, well…they were sleepy and a little tired from all the travel.  Skiing would have to wait until after naps.

When they were rested there was still time to buy ½ day lift passes and hit the slopes.  But they had to decide which mountain to try first.  The decided to go to Keystone because they have night skiing at Keystone.  There they could be sure to get lots of runs even as it grew dark and other mountains closed their lifts.  So they bundled up their ski equipment, hopped on the shuttle bus, and went off to the slopes.  First they had to buy lift tickets.  There was a small line for tickets.   As they waited their turn, they jumped up and down with excitement and to keep warm.  Finally the last person in front of them was finished and the ticket salesman called out “Next.”

“Three afternoon lift tickets,” replied Mannie.

“Next” called the ticket seller.

“Three afternoon lift tickets,” said Mannie in a louder voice.

“Next” called the ticket seller again.

“Three afternoon lift tickets, PLEASE!” shouted Mannie as loud as he possible could.

“Whoa,” replied the ticket seller.  “I hear you, but where are you?”

“Down here,” said Mannie realizing that at only four inches tall he was more than a little too short to be seen at the window.

“Dudes,” said the ticket seller, “I think you’re all a little too small to get on the chair lift.  You’ll slip through the slots in the seat or slip off beneath the safety bar.  Next.”

Minnie, Mannie, and Moe were more than a little annoyed after having come all the way from Annapolis and waiting their turn in the ticket line.  Sensing trouble, Carmelita gave just one little wink.  Mannie suddenly grew to 5’8”, Minnie to 5’6”, and Moe to a gangly 5’10”.

“Much better, Dudes” said the seller who didn’t seem even a little surprised by their sudden growth spurts. “And I like your ski helmets…pots and pans.  Totally cool!”

So tickets in hand, they went off to the Keystone Gondola and a ride to the top of the mountain.  And what fun they had, skiing until well after the lights came on.  While they were riding up, Minnie remembered that Grandpa once told her he was night skiing at Keystone long ago and he got hit by another skier and knocked-out.  And that Grandma had once had a bad fall at Keystone and got a huge black eye.  But those were stories for another day.

The next morning it was bright and sunny.  Minnie, Mannie and Moe (still full size after their problem with the ticket seller at Keystone) headed off to Copper Mountain.  They’d studied the trail map and had figured out how they were going to cover the mountain.  Here was their plan.

First, UP the American Flyer chairlift (which is the longest lift on the mountain).  Then DOWN High Point to Vein Glory.  Then UP the Union Creek chairlift.  Then DOWN Woodwinds.  UP the Timberline Express.  And DOWN Soliloquy…and a rest at the T-Rex Grill.  The UP the Timberline Express again.  And OVER to Coppertone and then Carefree to the bottom of the American Flyer chair.  Then UP either the Flyer again or over to the American Eagle chair.  And DOWN Main Vein…and so it went.  By the end of the day they were so tired that they could hardly stay awake through dinner.

After they went to sleep that night, Carmelita rolled quietly into their bedroom at their hotel and gave another wink.  With that, they quickly became their normal sizes.  Carmelita packed them and their again tiny skis into her basket and they awoke in the living room in Annapolis.  Was it real, they wondered?  Is it possible that they all dreamed the exact same dream?  Or had they really gone to Frisco, eaten at the Butterhorn and skied at Keystone and Copper.   Well, all their muscles were a little sore.  And then there was the trail map from Copper Mountain that they decided to bring back with them to show Quinn, Gray and Ashby how they covered the mountain.  All three peered over the edge of their basket.  Yes! There was the map, still folded and lying on the shelf beneath Carmelita.

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Ashby, with Gray and Quinn, just went on a pirate adventure.  It was a lot like the pirate adventure that Gray went on with Quinn and Wesley in the summer of 2013. Back then, Ashby was less than too young to be a pirate.  He wasn’t even born.  And Gray was pretty young – just three and a half.  Quinn was five.  And Wesley, already six.  Back then, the Captain was named Ruby and the first mate, Scar.  The boat was the Sea Gypsy. They shot water cannons at Pirate Pete, found a sunken treasure, danced, drank grog, and said piratey things like arrgh and ahoy.  Quinn, Wesley and Gray were pretty good pirates.

Then Minnie, Mannie and Moe had their own pirate adventure.  On their trip, Pirate Pete climbed aboard their ship, the first mate fell into the water, and Pete almost got away with the treasure. Carmelita saved the day when she squirted grog at Pirate Pete and put him to sleep.  Minnie, Mannie and Moe weren’t very good or very lucky pirates.

This time, Ashby was ready – he is four and a half.  Gray…well, Gray is eight, which makes him a pretty old pirate.  And Quinn is ten – can you believe it?  Maybe Quinn is about ready to join the crew and be a pirate, full time.  Captain Ruby was replaced by Captain Rick; and first mate Scar replaced by first mate Zulu.

This time Captain Rick steered their pirate ship, the very same Sea Gypsy, out into the harbor while Zulu trained the crew.  They practiced aarghs, ahoys, and heave ho’s.  They did push-ups to build their muscles.  And hoisted the pirate flag with a loud “heave-ho”.  Ashby found the treasure map hidden under the rails.  It was marked with an “X” for the location of the sunken treasure.  Once more enemy-pirate Pete, who had stolen the key to the treasure chest, lurked in his small boat out in the harbor.  He was soaked and knocked overboard by the pirate crew with water cannon.  And of course this band of pirates found the treasure chest, shared the booty, and then had some of Pete’s Grog.  Quinn had the first taste – it was blue, bubbly, and tasted a little like raspberry – yuck.  But eventually Pete’s grog did the trick and the pirate crew slept as Captain Rick steered the Gypsy back to the safety of the pirate’s den.

Minnie, Mannie, and Moe sat listening.  Another pirate adventure has taken place and it sounded like a lot of fun. Was it time for them to try again?  Could they have better luck then their first time when Carmelita had to rescue them from Pirate Pete?  

“I don’t know, said Mannie.  “As I recall, last time was pretty scary.”  

“But that was more than four years ago,” said Minnie, “We’re much older now.”  

“We’re not any bigger,” said Moe.  “I think we’re just too small to be pirates.”

“It’s not about size,” said Minnie. ‘It’s about being brave and grown-up.”

“Really, it’s about using our imaginations AND finding the treasure chest,” said Mannie.

“It’s about not getting thrown over-board and having to get pulled out with a fish hook,” said Moe.

“A boat hook,” corrected Mannie. “You get pulled out of the water with a boat hook.”

“You know,” said Moe, “it was so many years ago that I barely remember our first Pirate Adventure.  How well do you remember it?  Can you remind me?”

“Let’s ask Grandpa to read us his story about it,” suggested Minnie.  

And so they did.  And this is what was written:

First they got bandanas and swords and pirate patches – and went potty.  Then it was aboard the ship.  The first mate was named Scar.  When asked, he remembered what good pirates Gray, Quinn and Wesley had been.  He assigned jobs.  Minnie was to read the treasure map since she’s good with directions; Mannie was to shoot the water cannon when they found pirate Pete; and Moe was to climb the mast to be look-out and so no-one would have to smell his bad breath.

Captain Ruby steered the ship into the bay.  Scar shouted orders.  Minnie unrolled the treasure map.  And Mannie held the trigger on the cannon while Moe hugged the mast and closed his eyes since he discovered that he was afraid of heights.  Moe wasn’t a very good look-out with his eyes closed.  Carmelita sat peacefully on the deck near Captain Ruby.

Then the wind picked up and suddenly there were big waves.  A big sailboat came out of the harbor and pointed toward the pirate ship.  Behind it was hiding pirate Pete.  The wind filled the sails of the sailboat and it sped forward.  Waves crashed over the bow of the pirate ship almost washing the treasure map out of Minnie’s hands – and overboard.  Mannie lost his grip on the cannon and fell on the deck.  Moe swayed on the mast and got seasick.  Captain Ruby turned hard left to keep from crashing into the big sailboat just as another wave slapped the pirate ship and almost flipped it on its side.

Pirate Pete, seeing his opportunity, sneaked out from behind the sailboat, grabbed the rails and started to climb aboard the pirate ship to steal the treasure map.  He had a dark patch over his left eye, a curved sword in his right hand, and a mean smile on his face.  Aarrrgh.  Scar tried to push him away but pirate Pete was too quick and Scar fell overboard into the bay.  Captain Ruby turned hard right to try to make pirate Pete fall down but it didn’t work.  Moe almost fell off the mast.  Minnie clutched the treasure map to her chest and Mannie aimed the water cannon at pirate Pete…but missed.

Then Carmelita calmly rolled forward, gave a magic wink, and squirted pirate Pete with grog from one of her humps.   And you of course know what happened…Pirate Pete fell fast asleep.

Captain Ruby pulled Scar from the Bay with the boat hook.  Minnie showed them where to find the treasure.  Mannie put away the cannon and danced the pirate’s dance.  And Moe climbed down from the mast and sat next to pirate Pete ready to breathe his bad breath on him if he started to wake up.

The treasure chest was found and the pirate booty shared.  Everyone had some grog.  And Carmelita brought Minnie, Mannie, and Moe back to the big house in Annapolis.  They were sleepy and ready for bed. 

“So that’s what happened,” said Moe. “Now I remember it.  And you know what?  I didn’t like getting seasick and holding onto the mast.”

“And I remember that Pirate Pete was scary,” said Minnie.

“And I didn’t like the big waves, falling on the deck, or missing Pirate Pete when I shot at him,” recalled Mannie.”

“So you know what,” they all said together, “Let’s NOT do it again.  We’ll keep it a fun memory and a good story.”

And Minnie, Mannie, and Moe were never pirates again.

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“Did you see what I saw last week?” Moe asked Mannie.

“I don’t know”, said Mannie, “When did you see what you saw?  And where did you see it?”

“Right out the window”, answered Moe. “Down on the dock next to the boat ramp.  He was amazing!”

“And when was this?”

“Geez,” continued Moe. “It was when Wesley and Paige were visiting.  Everyone left the house and went down there.  Everyone except us, that is.  We were stuck in our little basket looking out at the fun.”  Moe was getting excited and starting to talk really fast.

“Whoa,” said Mannie. “Slow down. Now tell me what you saw.”

“OK, OK” answered Moe.  “First I saw Wesley stand on the edge of the dock.  And he jumped off.  And he disappeared.  Then I saw Quinn stand on the edge of the dock.  And she jumped off.  And SHE disappeared.  Then I saw Gray jump.  And he disappeared too.  Meanwhile Grandma and Grandpa were right there with Carly on a leash.  Carly was the only one who seemed worried that everyone had jumped and disappeared.  She was pacing back and forth and I could hear her bark all the way up here in the house.”

“Carly can be really loud,” said Minnie who was just starting to listen to Moe’s description.

“Mmm”, agreed Mannie.

“Anyhow,” continued Moe, “Then Ashby, little Ashby, walked right up to the edge of the dock.  And I said to myself, Grandma and Grandpa CAN’T let Ashby jump and disappear along with all the others.”  As Moe was describing this, he had climbed out of the basket on Carmelita’s back and tip toed to the edge of the shelf.  “But they did!” continued Moe.  “They did!  Ashby jumped and disappeared like the others.”

“Oh no!” Mannie suddenly exclaimed.

“What happened?” asked Minnie.

“Moe just fell off the shelf.  Or maybe he jumped – right when he said ‘Ashby jumped’.”

“You OK, Moe?” asked Minnie.  Moe groaned. “At least Ashby and all the other kids had the sense to jump into water.” Minnie continued. “It hurts less.  And they all had the good sense to disappear after they jumped.  We have to look down at you on the floor and listen to you moan and groan.”

“Not funny,” said Moe. “Help me up.”

“Seriously,” said Mannie, “It was pretty dumb of you to jump off the shelf” as he dropped a string down to help Moe climb back up next to Carmelita’s wheels.

“I didn’t jump,” replied Moe. “I fell.  But anyhow, I couldn’t stand to watch Ashby jump off like the others had.  So I closed my eyes and waited for Grandma to scream.  But she didn’t.  She laughed!  And when I opened my eyes, all four of the kids were back on the dock laughing with Grandma.  And then they all did it again.  And after that they all jumped in at the same time while Grandma took a picture of their butts.”

“Not nice,” said Minnie.

“I don’t know if it was nice or not,” said Moe.  “I haven’t seen the picture.”

“I meant not nice to even try to take a picture of their butts.” Replied Minnie.

“So who was amazing?” asked Mannie. “At the beginning, when you started asking if I saw what you saw, you said ‘He was amazing.”  Who was he?”

“Ashby, of course.  He was amazing.  He jumped and disappeared just like the bigger kids.  And then they all reappeared.  It was like a big magic trick.”

Minnie sighed.  “Moe,” she asked, “Has it occurred to you that they jumped off the dock into the water?  You know, like splish splash.  And then they swam around, climbed out and did it again?  They didn’t jump into nothing.  We just can’t see the water below the dock from here.  It would be bigger magic if you jumped off the shelf onto the floor and didn’t hurt yourself.”

“Anyhow, No.” said Mannie.

“No what?” said Moe.

“No, I didn’t see all the jumping off the dock, and the disappearing, and the laughing, and the reappearing.  That’s what you asked me…at the beginning.”

There was some silence before Moe next spoke.

“You know what?” Moe said. “I think we should try it ourselves.  We can’t get down onto the dock without Carmelita’s magic to move us there.  And she’s not likely to do that.  She’s a camel and camels don’t like swimming.  But we can jump from here and pretend we’re disappearing.”

“Oh yeah,” Minnie responded. “Actually, we can really disappear to the hospital -- with broken bones.”

“No, No.” said Moe. “We’ll jump into a pool.  Well, not a real pool.  A pretend pool.  But it’ll be soft and landing won’t hurt, just like jumping into water.  We’ll need Grandpa’s help.  But he’ll do it if we ask nicely.”

“OK.” said Mannie who was getting interested. “Tell us your idea.”

“Simple – really.  We’ll make a pool out of bubble wrap -- Green bubble wrap so it looks like water.  Grandma and Grandpa have a big box of it.  Grandpa will cut out a circle for us and we’ll jump onto it.  And no one will get hurt OR get wet.  Whaddaya think?

“Genius” said Mannie.

“Idiot” said Minnie. “Call the ambulance ahead of time.”

But that’s what they did.  With Grandpa’s help they cut a circle of bubble wrap to put on the floor below the shelf.  Actually they cut two circles and put them together to make them extra soft.  Moe jumped first.  When he hit the bubble wrap, there was a loud pop.  But he bounced up with a big smile.  Mannie went next.  And when he landed there was another loud pop.  Carly paced back and forth and barked, just like she had with Ashby, Gray, Quinn and Wesley on the dock.  Finally, Minnie couldn’t resist it any longer and she jumped too.   After Minnie climbed back up onto the shelf they decided to try a spectacular trick.  So they all turned backwards and held hands.

“Ready on the count of three,” said Minnie.

“One, Two, Three” they shouted together and jumped off at the same time.

Grandma tried to take a picture of their butts.  But she was too slow and only got a picture of Carmelita alone on the shelf with a special smile on her face.

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Minnie, Mannie and Moe had a hard time deciding on costumes for Halloween.  They started out with each wanting to be something different.  But ended deciding that they would be more noticeable if they all wore the same thing.  One idea was to wear one costume that would make them look tall, kind of like Big Bird.  But no one was willing to be the kid on the bottom who would have to carry the other two.  For that matter, none wanted to be the kid in the middle either.  So they decided that they would dress up as a team.  But then they had to decide what kind of a team.  Minnie suggested a dance team but Mannie and Moe would have none of that.  They imagined having to wear tights and a frilly skirt – besides neither Mannie nor Moe knew how to dance.  So they agreed on going together as a sports team – a soccer team to be exact.  That would be easy and their costumes would be pretty much the same as their regular clothes, except no pots or pans on their heads.

After deciding to be a soccer team, they had to agree on a name for their team.  They were sure that the first question anyone would ask when they said they were a soccer team would be: “Oh, what’s the name of your team?”  So they needed a name.  

“Team Annapolis,” suggested Mannie.

“Don’t like it,” said Minnie, “How about Team Sunset, since we live on Sunset Drive?”

 “No good,” said Moe. “How about the midgets, or the tinys?”

“Aren’t those names you’re not supposed to call people anymore?” asked Mannie.

 “There are lots of soccer teams called United – Like DC United and Manchester United,” said Minnie. “So how about Annapolis United?”

“Right,” said Moe sarcastically. “That’ll put our team in just the right league.  D.C United’s new star is Wayne Rooney.   So maybe we should all be Rooneys, too… like Minnie Rooney, Mannie Rooney, and Moe Rooney.

“I like the name Moe Rooney”, said Minnie. “It sort of sounds like moron.”

“Ha, Ha” replied Moe.

Obviously picking a team name was pretty hard but they finally agreed that it wasn’t something to argue about.  They settled on Team Lita.  Since Carmelita was taking them around the neighborhood, they figured that she might take them to more houses if she was proud of their team’s name.  

Team Lita went out to ring doorbells while it was still light.  In the daylight, whoever answered the door was more likely to look down and see them.  They rode in their basket on Carmelita’s back as she glided up and down the streets pulling a little red wagon behind her into which they could pile their loot.  At each house they’d climb out of the basket, run up the walk, knock and then jump up and down when someone opened the door to attract attention.  They’d shout “Trick or Treat” and then haul candy back to the wagon.  Then they’d climb back into the basket and go to the next house. Before long the wagon was pretty full and they were very tired from all the climbing and running and shouting and hauling.  So they came back to the shelf in the living room to rest and to check out what they collected.

Skittles, 3 Musketeers, Reece’s cups, M&M’s, Kit Kats, Oreo bars, Tootsie Roll Pops and more.  Moe and Mannie started stuffing their mouths.  

“Careful”, said Minnie.  “Too much chocolate before bed and you’ll have bad dreams.”

“Where’d you hear that?” said Moe as he let out a chocolate burp.  But he was tired from all of the excitement and the exercise; and he soon drifted off to sleep with a tummy full of chocolate.

Moe awoke with the roar of the crowd in his ears.  It took a moment to focus.  The Uniteds had the ball set for a corner kick.  Minnie and Mannie were out in front of the Lita goal while Moe, the goalie, paced back and forth getting ready for either a header from the striker standing in front of him or a grounder from an attacking forward.  The ball soared toward the front of the goal, the striker rose high above Mannie and made contact with his head.  Moe leapt upward, fingers outstretched.  In an instant, he felt a sharp pulse of pain as the ball forced his wrist backward and then shot beyond him – just over the top of the crossbar.  A save…

“Lucky one,” said the United striker who had headed the ball. “You won’t be so lucky next time, Mr. Moe Rooney” -- which he pronounced it with an funny accent.  Moe thought he heard “Morony”… but he wasn’t sure.  The striker then turned and ran upfield.  As Moe set the ball on the line and prepared to kick it, he noticed the number on the striker’s jersey.  Number 9… United number 9.  Why did that number seem familiar?  Who WAS it?

Moe put the question out of his mind and kicked the ball up toward midfield.  But, in his dream, he wasn’t sure who his teammates were.  Minnie suddenly appeared and stopped the ball with her chest. Her jersey said Minnie-rooney (#6).  The ball dropped to her feet and she tapped it to her left…to Mannie. His jersey said Mannie-rooney (#4).  When Moe realized that Minnie and Mannie were on the field with him and that the Litas were together in the game, he felt a sense of relief – even in his dream.  And as they pushed the ball upfield Moe saw more teammates in the distance.  Who were they?  In the center was someone with long hair and a bright yellow t-shirt.  To her left was someone with short hair and goulish make-up on his face.  And on the right, a little guy dressed like a ninja.  He peered at the names and numbers on their jerseys.  Quina-rooney (#10) – attack.  Graysa-rooney (#11) left forward.  Ashba-rooney (#7) right forward.

The United team also spread out before Moe’s eyes.  They all looked the same.  Short.  Round M&M heads.  And everyone wore #9. 

Mannie-rooney kicked the ball forward to Graysa-rooney.  But now it wasn’t a ball, it was a skittle.  Graysa crossed the skittle to Ashba-rooney.  Ashba centered it to Quina-rooney, but now it was a peanut butter cup.  Quina-rooney shot at the right corner of the net.  The goalie, a number 9 with a yellow M&M head, opened his mouth and swallowed the peanut butter cup whole.  “YUM” he roared.  Then all together and all at once all the United number nines let out a huge burp.  The smell of peanut butter spread over the field.

Now the Uniteds controlled the ball except it was a tootsie roll pop.  As they kicked it, it became an oreo bar; and then a 3-musketeers; and finally a kit-kat.  Then United #9, the striker, was alone in front of Moe, with his foot poised to kick a big peanut M&M into the goal.  But he paused … and in a quiet voice that sounded a lot like Carmelita’s he said:

“Look Morony, my name is Wayne. Wayne Rooney actually.  Now that you’re done with your tricks and treats, all of you have to stop pretending you’re me or I’m going to take away all your candy.   Obviously, you’ve eaten way too much.”  Moe gasped.  Then, with a flick of his foot, #9 booted a big tootsie roll into the upper corner of the net.  A score!  United 1, Lita 0.

Moe startled awake.  He was in the basket with his pot back on his head. “Having a bad dream?” asked Mannie.  “You sure were excited –like you were in some intense game.” “I was,” replied Moe as he looked around realizing where he was.  Then his eyes came to rest on the red wagon they’d filled with candy.  It was empty.  “Our Halloween Stash! What happened to our Halloween stash?” he moaned.

“Oh,” replied Mannie sadly, “Carmelita thought we’d all eaten too much too fast.  So she put it away --probably until next Halloween.”

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One morning Mannie looked up and noticed the wire thing over his head.  Of course, he’d seen it before.  It had ALWAYS been there.  But on this morning, Mannie really looked at it.  It was like seeing it for the first time.  But what WAS it?  What was it DOING?  And WHY was it there to begin with?

Mannie thought about it.  It couldn’t be an umbrella.  If it were an umbrella, it would be a really crummy one.  It couldn’t stop rain.  And it couldn’t shade anybody from the sun.  And being stuck up in the air and made of wire, it could attract lightening.  “So what’s the purpose?” Mannie muttered out loud.

“What’s the purpose of what?” asked Moe.

“What’s the purpose of that wire thing over our heads that’s shaped like an umbrella but isn’t one?” answered Mannie in his regular voice.

“You mean that wire umbrella thing?” said Moe.  “I dunno… Never thought about it.  Maybe it has no purpose. Like, you know, like…maybe its just there.  For decoration.” he added.

“I don’t think so,” said Mannie. “Do you think Carmelita would tolerate something hanging over the basket that’s on her back, the basket that holds us, the basket that… (let’s face it) … that we LIVE IN, that has NO PURPOSE?”

“Decoration has a purpose.” said Minnie, who decided to chime into the conversation.

“Carmelita doesn’t like decoration,” responded Mannie.

“She doesn’t?” said Minnie. “She wears false eyelashes.  Those are decoration.”

“False eyelashes?” responded Moe in astonishment.  “Her eyelashes are false?  I don’t believe it.”

“Moe, don’t worry about the eyelashes… We’re trying to figure out the purpose of the wire thing.” answered Mannie.  “Do you think it could be a flycatcher?”

“Not a very good one,” said Minnie. “Ever see a fly caught in there?  Wait, I’ll answer that for you. Never.  Not one.  Not even a moth -- which might be big enough to get stopped by one of the holes.”

“Ok,” said Moe, “I give up.”

“Me too,” said Mannie. “We’ll have to ask.”

“Who?” said Moe.

“Alexa, what’s the purpose of the wire thing over our heads that looks kind of like an umbrella?” shouted Mannie.

“Alexa doesn’t live here.” Minnie reminded Mannie and Moe. “Do you think that by shouting you can wake her up next door?”

“OK, OK,” replied Mannie in a quieter voice.  Who shall we ask?  Carmelita never really explains anything.  She just smiles mysteriously when we ask a question.

“Let’s try, anyhow.” suggested Moe. “Carmelita,” he continued while pointing up over his head, “what’s the purpose of the wire thing up there?” 

Carmelita smiled mysteriously.

“That didn’t work,” said Mannie.

“Who do we ask next?” said Moe.

“I think you should ask Grandpa,” suggested Minnie. “He’s the guy who seems to know us, even better than we know ourselves.”

“Do we dare?” asked Moe.

“Why not?” said Mannie. “Grandpa seems nice enough and I know he likes to be asked questions.  ALL old people like to be asked questions.”

And so they came to me.  And of course I had an answer for them.

“It’s an antenna,” I said.

“An antenna??  That’s pretty old fashioned, isn’t it?” asked Moe.

“Like for radio or television?” asked Mannie.

“Well, Yes…”

“Today doesn’t everything come on a cable, or from a router?” interrupted Moe.

“Or streamed into a computer?” added Mannie.

“Well, Yes…”

“Be quiet and listen,” interjected Minnie.  “Let Grandpa answer.”  And there was, at last, a moment of silence.

“Yes, Moe and Mannie, it is an old-fashioned antenna and a very special one.  It doesn’t get a radio signal, or a TV signal, or an internet signal.  It captures stories.  To understand this, you need to realize that there have now been 50 stories told about the three of you, and Carmelita.  I suppose that everyone believes that each of these stories came from my imagination.  But that’s not quite right.  I believe that the Carmelita stories have always existed.  All these stories have been floating around somewhere, perhaps just thin air, where they’ve always been.  They’ve just been waiting for someone to listen to them and then to share them.  The antenna over your heads captures them and lets me hear them.  So that thing that looks like a really lousy umbrella is an antenna that can collect the stories out of thin air.  What do think of that?”

“Hmm,” said Mannie.

“Well,” said Moe, “If it’s a story antenna, can we change the channel?  So you could hear some stories about someone else?  Like, maybe the Hulk? Or Thor? And you could tell those stories to Gray and to Ashby while we listened?”

“Moe!” shouted Minnie. “That’s really rude.  How could you ask Grandpa that?”

“Well Moe,” I replied. “I’ve never seen a dial or a button that would change the channel.  When I sit in the living room and listen carefully, stories about you and Mannie and Minnie and Carmelita are what I hear.  And so those are what I write down.  I’ve never heard a Marvel superhero story…not through this antenna.”

I paused and, feeling a little hurt, decided to leave it at that.  Maybe Mannie and Moe just didn’t like being the center of attention.  Maybe they didn’t believe me.  Maybe the wire thing really isn’t an antenna – except that stories about Carmelita and her three little passengers did come into my head from somewhere.  And collecting them from thin air through a little antenna over their heads seems a reasonable explanation.  These were my thoughts as I wandered back into the study to sit quietly and listen for another story.

“What do you think?” said Moe to Mannie after I’d left the living room. “Do you buy the antenna idea?”

“Nah,” replied Mannie. “I think Grandpa was making it up.  He imagines a lot of stuff that’s not true.  I think he was just telling us a story like he has before.  He does that.”

“So,” asked Moe, “What do you think the wire thing is?”

“Maybe a basketball basket that doesn’t have a hole in the bottom.”

“How about a really badly made lacrosse goalie stick?”

“I got it, it’s a fishing net.”

“Or a tiny soccer goal.”

Minnie groaned. “Maybe, just maybe, it IS a story antenna,” she said. “I think you should hope Grandpa is right about that.  Think about it.  If it isn’t a story antenna, maybe, just maybe, stories about us will stop; and we’ll stop being alive -- for Ashby and Gray and Quinn, and for Wesley and Paige and Maggie…and we’ll become nothing more than little dolls on a shelf.  We can’t be that.”

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It’s been hot.  I mean really really hot.  So hot that Minnie, Mannie and Moe have mostly sat around in their basket not moving.  Getting out of the house has been impossible.  Even a little movement with all the heat and humidity means instant sweating by the thimble.  (When you think about it, a thimble of sweat from Minnie is like a gallon from Grandma.  And that’s a lot.)  So they’ve stayed indoors, watching Grandma and Grandpa go in and out three times a day for Carly’s walks.  Poor Carly.

This morning (Yes, this very morning), with nothing better to think about, Moe wondered how quickly Grandpa could come up with a story about the three of them.  He was just killing some time with his mind as he waited for cooler weather.  Idly, he asked Minnie what she thought.

“Well,” said Minnie, “Stories take a long time to write.  You have to get an idea; and then the idea has to bounce around in your brain for awhile so it can ‘mature.’  Then you have to write the story; and wait a few days to see if you like what you’ve written.  Then you have to fix the writing so the story is fun to read or to listen to.  So I’d say, a week.”

Mannie, who had been half listening to Moe and Minnie while he watched a fly travel around the living room looking for a way to get out, thought Minnie was way off.  

“That’s not right,” he commented. “Stories don’t take anytime at all.  All you have to do is sit down with a pencil or at a computer and start writing.  It helps to have an opening line – like ‘once upon a time’ – which doesn’t really have anything to do with the story itself.  That’s a way to get going.  Why do you think so many stories begin with ‘once upon a time?”

“I guess that’s a way to write a really bad story,” replied Minnie. “If you don’t have an idea for a story, then all you’re going to get is a lot of characters saying and doing stupid stuff.  Kind of like what we’re doing right now.”

“Now wait a minute,” said Moe.  “The question was how long would it take Grandpa to come up with a story about the three of us.  It wasn’t about how long it would take Mannie to write a story with stupid characters and stupid conversation.  Mannie’s probably right that it wouldn’t take long for that kind of a story.  Anybody could do it.  Anybody but Mannie, that is.”

“Well, I guess we can argue all day about that.  But we’ll never know the answer,” answered Minnie.

“Um,” said Mannie as he watched the fly settle on the fern near the piano.

“Sure we can know,” said Moe.  “We’ll issue Grandpa a challenge.  We’ll challenge him to write the fastest story ever.  But it has to be a good story.  Not one with stupid people saying and doing stupid stuff.  He won’t be able to resist it.  And we’ll see how long it takes him.  If he comes back with a story next week, Minnie will be right.  If he can do it in a day, Mannie will be.  Wait, I take that back, Mannie can’t be right.  We’ll just say Grandpa will be FAST.

And so, late this morning, Moe presented me with a tiny note inside a tiny envelope.  I opened it and, after finding the magnifying glass that Gray was using to start a fire, I read it.  It said: “Grandpa is CHALLENGED to write the fastest story ever for the purpose of seeing whether Minnie or Mannie is right about how long it takes.”  That was it.  After reading the challenge, I asked Moe what I would get in return for writing the fastest story ever.  Moe paused to think.  Then he said, “If you finish a story for bedtime, we will all go right to bed, teeth brushed, lights out, no more stories, no arguments, no dunking when you tell us to.  But if you can’t finish a story by tonight, then you will have to live with the Minnie being right until, well, until you can get over it.  Think about that.  Minnie being right.  What could be worse?”

I accepted the challenge.  Here we go…

2 PM, Thursday, August 22nd.

“Once upon a time…it was hot.  It was so hot, the squirrels outside the window sprawled on top of the fence not wanting to climb or gather nuts.  It was so hot that Carly only wanted to sit inside the sliding door and watch the squirrels doing nothing.  Minnie, Mannie, and Moe were bored.  They needed to get out and onto the water, the only place they could move and stay cool.  They remembered that Grandpa had promised to someday take them tubing on the river.  So, they figured, this might be the perfect day.  Minnie climbed onto Mannie’s shoulders to get a look out the window over the piano.  It was calm and no one else seemed to be out on the water.  But they realized they had a problem.  They needed a tiny boat and a tiny tube and, possibly, a tiny Grandpa to drive the boat.  But all that they could count on was the Wayne’s boat, the Strawberry.  And it was a big boat for real sized people with a big tube to pull behind it.

Together they sighed a big sigh of disappointment.  Tubing, for them, seemed nothing but a dream.  

Carmelita heard the sigh and immediately understood the disappointment.  She of course had the magical power to do something for them.  And realized that she hadn’t been called upon to use her magic for many of the latest Carmelita stories.  So now was her opportunity.  “Do you three really want to go tubing today?” she asked Minnie, Mannie, and Moe.  

“We do, We do,” they responded collectively.  “If we were made big, Grandpa and Grandma could take us out to tube behind the Blackberry.  It will be so fun!”

And with that plea, and a magic wink, Carmelita made Minnie, Mannie, and Moe suddenly as big as real people.  They, in fact, suddenly looked a lot like Quinn, Gray and Ashby.  Grandpa was startled and a little confused.  But a promise was a promise, and today was a good day for tubing.  So he said, or perhaps it was Grandma who said, why not go tubing today?  It’s really hot but the water is calm and it will cool you off.  And we have permission to take the Huckleberry out when Wayne isn’t using it.  So what do you say Quinn and Ashby, er…Minnie, Mannie and Moe, you want to go out?”

“Yea, the three responded.”  And so, after inflating the tube, and getting life jackets, off they went.  The Mulberry started right up and soon they were cruising out onto the river to begin there tubing adventure.  

They first stopped along the Noisy Waters Park shoreline, and Minnie and Moe climbed onto the tube for their first ride.  Just as they were getting settled and Grandma was focusing entirely on keeping the tow rope out of the motor’s propeller, the Yakety Yacht pulled out of Saddle Creek and turned toward the Bay.  It was traveling fast, too fast, and creating a huge wake.  Huckleberry moved forward, straightening the tow rope, and then sped up to quickly move away from the yacht’s wake.   Gray and…I mean, Minnie and Moe held on tightly as Yakety’s huge wake swept under the tube and lofted them into the air.  Oof…they came down hard onto the water, bounced, and flipped.  Mannie screamed, Grandma gasped, Grandpa cursed, and the captain of the Yakety smiled and waved like a clueless idiot. But the waters soon calmed and Minnie and Moe swam out from under the tube with smiles on their faces. 

“Wow,” they exclaimed. “That was fun.  Ready for your turn Mannie?”

“Uh, sure” said Mannie hesitantly. “But I don’t want to go alone.  Who will ride with me?”

“Me,” said Quinn, uh Minnie.  “Me,” said Gray, uh Moe.  Grandpa was at this point getting confused.  It must be the heat, he said to himself.  Clearly, I need some water and shade.

“Tell you what,” said Grandma, “All three of you ride together and we’ll take Blueberry back to the dock. Then we’ll get back to the house, have smoothies, and cool off.”

Back at home, and with the blink of her eye, Carmelita had Minnie, Mannie, and Moe settled into the basket on her back.  Grandpa finally cooled off and ended his story.

4PM, Thursday, August 22 – he wrote.

“What do you think, Moe?  Two hours, start to finish. Did I win the challenge?”  

“Well,” Moe told me, “It’s awfully short. But there aren’t any stupid characters except the boat captain.  And there wasn’t any stupid conversation.  And you proved Minnie wrong about how long it takes to write a story.  That alone is worth a lot to me…to prove Minnie wrong about something.  So I say you win!”

Great, I said.  So all of you – Quinn, Gray, and Ashby, have to go right to bed, teeth brushed, lights out, no more stories, no arguments, and no dunking.  I may still be a little confused.  Grandpa’s get to be that.  And it shows that story telling has its special rewards.

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One recent quiet afternoon, Minnie was thinking about what she wanted to ask Santa for Christmas.  This led her to wonder about whether to expect Santa to bring what she asked for; or whether Santa would bring what he wanted her to have without paying any attention to her list.  In other words, should she be hopeful. Or just accepting.

“Do you guys know the difference between and optimist and a pessimist?” Minnie asked Mannie and Moe?

“Where did that question come from?” said Mannie, who was starting to work on his own wish list.

“Huh?” said Moe.  Not surprisingly, his mind was somewhere else.  Usually that was some place that nobody could figure out even if they asked.  So, Minnie didn’t ask. 

“Moe’s in La-La Land again,” said Mannie.  “No, I’m right here,” replied Moe.

“An optimist is somebody that thinks everything is going to be great and turn out just the way they want.  And a pessimist is somebody that thinks everything is going to turn out badly and that nothing they want will happen,” continued Minnie, figuring that neither Mannie nor Moe were paying attention anyhow. “With Christmas coming, I’m going to be an optimist.”

“What exactly are you going to be optimistic about?” asked Mannie.  Minnie was surprised that he was listening.

“About getting what I’m going to ask Santa to bring me, or really, us for Christmas”, responded Minnie.

“Us?” said Moe – suddenly realizing that Minnie might do something that involved him.

“Well,” said Minnie, “I don’t know that I want to tell you. It might jinx things.”

“That doesn’t sound too optimistic, Minnie.  If you’re going to be an optimist, you can’t worry about getting jinxed,” said Mannie.

“This reminds me of a story I once was told about optimists and pessimists” said Moe, who immediately launched into his story without asking if Minnie or Mannie were interested. “There was this guy with two sons.  One son was an optimist and the other was a pessimist.  At Christmas, to try to get him to think positively, he gave the pessimist son a big expensive Lego set with a thousand pieces.  When his pessimist son saw what he was given, he started to cry – oh dear, it’s too big and complicated; I’m going to lose pieces; and I won’t be able to complete the set.  And if I do, someone will break it.  And then I’ll be really sad.  Oh my, oh my.  At the same time, in order to help his optimist son be more realistic, the guy gives him a paper bag filled with poop.  The optimist son peeks in the bag and immediately shouts with joy, “It’s a puppy.  I got a puppy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“A pony.” said Minnie.

“What?” replied Moe.

“In that story, the optimist thinks he’s getting a pony.  The bag held horse poop.”

“Puppy, Pony – what’s the difference?”

“Big difference,” responded Minnie who seemed suddenly to get a little nervous.

“Wait a minute,” said Moe, sensing the change in Minnie’s mood. “You’re not thinking of putting a bag of poop on your Christmas list are you? … Miss Minnie the optimist.  Wow.  Imagine Santa bringing you a horse.  Even a pony. Even a little tiny pony. It would have to live with us here on our shelf.  Grandma would have to bring it hay.  Grandpa would have to clean up the you know what.  They’d love that.”

Mannie rolled his eyes and started to go back to work on his list.  Minnie blushed.

“A pony is definitely NOT on my list,” said Minnie. “So, forget about it.  I’m sorry that I even mentioned it.  End of discussion!”

Mannie peeked at Minnie only to see her furiously erasing something on her list.  He continued to watch. Minnie re-wrote the number 1.  And then the letter R.  She then paused and looked up to be sure Mannie and Moe weren’t spying.  Mannie quickly looked back at his own list.  But Moe stretched his neck high enough to look over Minnie’s shoulder.  He watched Minnie write an E and a S.  Then, feeling Moe’s gaze behind her, she flipped over her list and turned to face him.

“Stop spying, Moe.  Remember what I said about getting jinxed.”

“You’re really being silly,” responded Moe.  “I don’t buy the idea of being jinxed.  Your welcome to look at my list.  I don’t think your seeing it will have any affect on Santa’s generosity.  Here, See.”  And he handed his list to Minnie.  It read 1) Gummy Bears 2) Tootsie Rolls 3) Milky Way Bars 4) Kit-Kats 5) Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups.

“Very ambitious,” said Minnie. “It looks like your asking for a re-play of Halloween.”

“Well, Carmelita did take away my candy before I could eat it all.  So, I’m asking Santa to make up for that.”

“Good Luck.  I’d say you’re jinxed”

“So now that I’ve shared, how about you let me have a peek at your list.”

“Well…” said Minnie reluctantly.  I haven’t written much.  And what I have written probably won’t make any sense.  So, I’ll let you have a look.”  With that, Minnie turned over her list, quickly added a few more letters and showed it to Moe.  It read “1. RESCUE”

“Rescue? That’s it?  Nothing more? Hey Mannie,” Moe shouted, “Minnie wants out!  She wants out of the basket.  Off the shelf.  Out of our lives. She’s asking Santa to rescue her!”

“Rescue her?” replied Mannie. “From what?  From our fat little life here at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  Heat in the winter.  Air Conditioning in the Summer.  Occasional fires in the fireplace.  Visits from Ashby and Gray and Quinn.  Stories written about us.  Personally, I think that if Santa came to rescue her, he might decide to trade places.”

“OK, enough,” said Minnie.  That’s all the hint you’re going to get.  Minnie then wrote three more letters down, folded the paper, put it in an envelope on which she had written “To Santa, from Minnie”, and licked it closed.  “Done,” she proclaimed.  And I’m going to be an optimist.

Mannie and Moe were overcome with curiosity.  “Minnie, what did you write?  You put only one thing on your list.  That’s it?!  You’ve GOT to tell us.”

“Nope,” said Minnie. “I won’t let you jinx me.  But I’ll let you try to figure it out.  You get one clue.  I wrote “Rescue”, you saw that.  And I wrote three more letters.  That’s your clue.  And my lips are zipped.”

“Rescue _ _ _”.  What is she asking for?  

“It’s not “me” said Moe, “That has two letters.”

“But it IS you,” said Mannie, “MOE.  Three letters.  Perfect.  It means she wants Santa to rescue you.  Which must mean Minnie’s sees something bad in your future and wants you to be rescued…or else”

“Or else what?” 

“I don’t know,” replied Mannie. “You’ll just have to worry about it by yourself.”

“Nonsense,” answered Moe. “I’m the nicest guy in the world and nothing bad is happening.  Think of something else with three letters.”

CAT, HAT, EGG, KEG… What else?  PEG, PIG?

“Got it!” exclaimed Moe.  “Rescue Pig.”

“Seriously, Moe” said Minnie. “Who’s ever heard of a rescue pig?  And if there are such pigs, I wouldn’t ask for one.  Promise…”

“What’s left, then?” asked Moe, starting to tire of the guessing game.  

“How about a car?” suggested Mannie.  “I can imagine a cool rescue car with lights and sirens and a big hook to pull people out of the water.  Just what Minnie would want more than anything else.”

“Very cute idea, Mannie.  Maybe that’ll be on my list next year” replied Minnie sarcastically.  “But since you’re both such hopelessly bad guessers, you get one more letter.  It’s a D.”

Mannie and Moe both broke into a broad grin.  Of course!  What a wonderful request.  But will Santa deliver?  Or is Minnie jinxed?”

Minnie sighed.  Now we’ll all just have to wait until Christmas morning.

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