Benji in Control
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 21 

Restrain Him

Uncle Howie took a deep breath, “Cole, I think you should go first and tell what happened to you and boys this morning.  Before Cole starts, Greg and Jordan, you need to sit beside Doug to keep him from killing someone.”

Cole started, “Doug, you’re not going to appreciate what happened, but the boys and I suffered no permanent damage.  Anyway, after you had departed this morning, people were starting to come to the house asking if we knew anything about the accident.  I kept assuring them that we knew nothing.”

“I decided to take the boys and leave, so we wouldn’t be pestered by the onlookers and reporters.  As I was loading the three boys into the truck, a young lady stopped and asked if I could direct her to the home of Dr. Douglas Christiansen.  I informed her that this was the residence of Dr. Christiansen, but that he wasn’t home, since he had to make a trip out of town.”

“The woman thanked me and asked where I was taking the three boys.  I informed her that I was taking care of Dr. Christiansen’s three youngest sons, and we were going to Atlanta to take care of some errands that we had to do.”

“I departed with the three boys and we were making good time.  When we hit the city limits we were pulled over by two police cars.  The officers had their guns pulled and ordered me to get out of my truck.  The head officer informed me, ‘We’ve have a report that you have kidnapped the three sons of Dr. Douglas Christiansen.’  The second of the officers made the three boys get out of the truck and put them in the back of the police cruiser.”

“I was handcuffed and made to get into the other cruiser.  We were taken to a police station which I realized was not the closest station to the point to where we were arrested.  I was booked, charged and fingerprinted, I might add, before I was permitted to make one phone call.  I called Uncle Howie and thankfully he was home.”

Uncle Howie took over, “I immediately called the police station to find out the whereabouts of the three boys since they wouldn’t tell Cole anything.  They assured me that the boys were being well cared for but wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

“I got on the phone and called David Wilson, a friend of mine who is a very good attorney, and asked him to go to the police station and do what he could for Cole and the boys until I could get there.  I called Mr. Block to inform him of what was happening and he exploded.  Needless to say that by the time I could get to the police station, Cole had been released and reunited with the boys.”

Cole chuckled, “That’s not the best part.  Mr. Block was so upset that he called the Mayor, the Chief of Police, and Governor Perdue and demanded that they come and witness what was going on in the police department.  Here’s the kicker, Mr. Block was reaming the dignitaries butts when a gentleman came in and announced, ‘I’m Dr. Douglas Christiansen, I’m here to pick up my three sons who were kidnapped from in front of my residence this morning.’”

“Uncle Howie was so cool, ‘If you’re Doug Christiansen, what’s your middle name?’  The man was stupid enough to answer, ‘Why every one knows my middle name is William.’   Uncle Howie turned to the Chief of Police, ‘Chief, arrest this impersonator.  Mr. Christiansen is my nephew and lives next door to me.  I’ve never seen this gentleman before in my life.’”

Uncle Howie continued, “By the time that all charges had been dropped, the public officials were looking a little pale because Mr. Block called a news conference and had Cole and the boys explain what had happened.  Cole took one parting shot at the Chief of Police and the Mayor, ‘Since your people brought us here against our will.  It is incumbent upon the two of you to make sure that we get back to my vehicle.  If there is a mark of any kind on it, you will be buying me a new truck.’”

Cole sighed, “By the time we retrieved the truck, the boys were starving.  We stopped at a McDonald’s and grabbed some sandwiches, fries and a drink and went to pick up Peter’s jerseys  The boys didn’t want to do anything else so we came home.  It’s a good thing we did.  Over to you people from the college.”

Clark started, “Doug, it was if the these people knew that you were out of town.  It was approximately nine thirty when we were inundated by visitors.  A lady came into my office and demanded that she be shown a report of the college’s finances.  She claimed to be from the State Department of Education.  At about the same time, Bill Oliver had a gentlemen visitor demanding to see the financial records of the college, claiming he was from the State’s Auditor General’s office.”

“Logan had a visitor, who claimed to be a federal OSHA inspector telling him he was going to need to stop work on the construction because he was not meeting the safety standard set forth in OSHA guidelines.  Meanwhile, Derek and Austin were being invaded by people supposedly from the accreditation division of National  Accreditation Society of Higher Education.”

“To make a long story short, all the visitors were arrested when Grant called the Harwood Police Department and informed them that we had some unwelcomed guests on the premises.  They took them and charged them with trespassing.  They have been turned over to state authorities, since they are or were state employees who were connected with Senator Leggett and Senator Hodges.”

I threw up my hands, “So you’re saying that this has been a normal day here in the state of Georgia.  Let’s turn on the news.”

“This is Rich Caster, tonight’s breaking news is about all of the sudden openings and resignations in the state and local  governments, caused by greed.  The strange part of this story is that  there is a name that is the common thread in the events that took place in three separate locations in our state today and that is Dr. Douglas Christiansen and his family.  They dared to stand up to the big boys and they won.  It’s about time that the elected officials do what they were elected for.  Here’s to you, Dr. Christiansen and your family.”

I turned the television off, “People, go get some rest.  Surely tomorrow won’t be as hectic as today.  If it is, we are going to need all of the rest we can get.”

When Cole and I were in bed, Cole remarked, “Doug, I was sure you were going to explode when you heard what happened to me and the boys, this morning.”

“Cole, my love, I knew you and the boys were safe, so why aggravate my blood pressure by getting upset.  Let’s get some sleep.  I have no idea what to expect anymore.”

Cole and I were awakened by Benji, “Dads, none of us are going to get arrested today, are we?  Rocky is really worried.  He thinks this is all his fault.  I keep trying to tell him, it isn’t his fault but he won’t believe me.  Please talk to him.”

I went to the boys bedroom.  The three youngest were already asleep, so I picked up Peter and took him to our bedroom and put him down on the bed.  “What seems to be your problem, young man?  Benji says you think that everything that is happening is your fault.”

“Mr. C., it seems as if ever since you captured me, that bad things have been happening to you and your family.  Why don’t you send me to live with Grandma Bertie.  That way the other boys wouldn’t be hurt because of me.”

I took a couple deep breaths, “Peter, trust me, what has been happening in the last couple days has absolutely nothing to do with you.  It started when Benji and his brothers found the coins on the Harwood Community College campus.  What happened in Columbus yesterday had nothing to do with anything else.  You and Benji were very brave, yesterday.  Some things happened that I had not anticipated.”

“But Mr. C., Benji said his grandparents were going to be coming to visit, today.  What are they going to think when they find a black boy like me living here?”

That was obviously more than Cole could handle, “Listen to me, Peter T. Cunningham.  I’ve been living here with Dr. Christiansen and his sons for a long time and the boys’ grandparents don’t have a problem with it.  If you don’t stop thinking in terms of the pigmentation of your skin, I’m going to have the four boys take you out behind the barn and whip your butt so hard that you will forget what color is what.  Did you understand what I said?”

Peter sat up, “Benji, go call the Sheriff and tell him that Dad Cole is going whip my ass.”

Benji giggled, “Rocky, it isn’t Dad that going to whip your butt but the us four boys.  Let’s go get dressed, I'm starved.”

When I left for the office, I hugged Cole, “Good luck.  After yesterday, who knows what’s going to happen today.”

Everything was going fine until just before lunch, when Derek came to me.  “Doug, we can’t accept many more students.  People are clamoring to take classes in the fall.”

“Derek, if they are people from the Harwood area, we need to find a way to accommodate them.  If we need to hire more faculty then we will do so.  If we need to find more classroom space, then we will do so.  We have been in the spotlight and we need to capitalize on it.  We’ll have a staff meeting on Monday to determine how to best resolve this problem.  After what has been happening, I need some time to regroup.”

After a relativity uneventful day, I made my way home. Both sets of Grandparents were there and I was so proud that the boys were taking care of them.  I hadn’t been home more than five minutes when I realized that my Dad and Peter had formed a special relationship.  Benji came and whispered, “Daddy, Grandpa C. and Rocky really like each other.  It’s weird, Rocky was like one of those snakes and took control of Grandpa.”

It was as if Peter was making sure that my Dad had everything that he needed.  My mother came and whispered, “Doug, I’ve never known your father to attach himself to someone the way he has Peter.”

It was almost seven o’clock when the front door bell sounded.  All five boys froze.  Cole got up to answer the door.

When he returned he had Agent Lund and Agent Wills with him.  Agent Wills smiled, “Mr. Cunningham, we have some important papers that will enable you to move on with your life.”

She handed Peter an envelope.

Agent Lund grinned, “In addition, Peter, we have a reward for the capture of the counterfeiters that was posted by the businesses that were being vandalized by the people, including Senator Hodges.  We want to thank you for being brave enough to stand up to these people.  There are a lot of public officials in jail tonight because of what you and your brothers have done.”

After the two agents had departed, I spoke up, “My dear young men, me thinks thou dost smell.  I think the five of you need to take a shower and make sure you shampoo and condition your hair, since we have a parade to be in tomorrow.  We wouldn’t want to drive the people who came to watch the parade away.”

Benji sighed, “Come on guys, Daddy just said we should make ourselves scarce.”

After I had a severe butt chewing by both sets of grandparents, we went to bed.  Cole held me, “Doug, the parents don’t really blame you for what has been happening.  They are as frustrated as you and I are, trying to figure out a way to stop these attacks.  Look at it this way, we have made a lot more friends than we have made enemies.  I’m sure that you find that hard to believe right now, but trust me.”

After an uneventful night, we were getting ready to go to the parade.  Thankfully it was a relatively cool day.  After we had lunch, we went to pick up Grandma Bertie and Grandmother McBride and went to our assigned spot so we could meet up with the drivers who would be driving us in the parade.  The five boys and Cole were wearing their Atlanta Falcon jerseys that had number 13 on the back.

 

We got the Grandmothers situated into the front seats of the two convertibles.  Cole climbed into the back of the car with Mrs. McBride followed by Benji and Mikey and were sitting on the back of the car.  Peter, Mark, Matt and I were riding in the car with Mrs. Cunningham in the front.

When the parade started, the Harwood High School band led the parade followed by Mayor Langdon and her husband.  They were followed by Senator Baumgartner and her husband in the next car.  There was a mild applause as they passed by.  The mood entirely changed when Governor and his wife were announced.  There was  smattering of boos.

Since we were next in the line, Peter looked at me, “Dad, are they booing us?”

“Son, I don’t think so.”

The speaker came on, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have the great pleasure of presenting our grand marshals for this year.  In the car nearest to the judges stand is Mrs. Emily McBride a long time resident.  Riding in the back is her great grandson, Mr. Benji Christiansen and the next superstar of the National Football League, our very own Mr. Cole Weaver.  Riding with Mr. Weaver and Benji is the youngest son of Mr. Christiansen our other grand marshal, Mikey Christiansen.

The speaker continued, “The occupants of the second car are Mrs. Alberta Cunningham, another long time resident, her great grandson Mr. Peter Cunningham with the President of Harwood Community Junior College, President Douglas Christiansen and his twin sons Mark and Matthew Christiansen.”

There certainly weren’t any boos and the boys were waving to the people as were the two great grandmothers.  Peter looked up at me, “Dad C.”

“Yes, Son P.”

“I shouldn’t be here.  I don’t know any of these people.”

“Wrong way of thinking, son.  You will get to know a lot of these people when you go to school and the other kids will already know who you are.  Look over there, you know those two people.”

Peter looked and saw, Detective Murky and Sergeant Hood and waved to them, as did Benji.  We were almost to the end of the parade route when we saw the two sets of grandparents with Uncle Howie and Rob Nixon.  Suddenly it dawned on me that we hadn’t seen many people from the college along the route.

When we exited the cars, the Grandmothers’ wheelchairs were waiting for us, thanks to Uncle Howie.  We went  to the area where the two sets of Grandparents were seated on folding chairs so we could watch the remainder of the parade.

The public address speaker was announcing. “The winner of this year’s outstanding float award is the first time entry from the Harwood Community Junior College entitled Achieving Through Academics and Special Activities.  The entry is in two parts.  The first part depicts a classroom of the Harwood College students being instructed by the first president  of the college, Mrs. Doris Harder.  The second half of the float features head basketball coach, Mr. Kyle Carpenter and young men who will be the nucleus of the school’s basketball team.  Walking along side the floats are the key staff members of the college.”

When the float passed in front of us Denny was driving the first tractor with the academic scene replete with Doris and some actual students.  David was driving the second tractor with the ten basketball scholarship players wearing basketball uniforms with Harwood C.J.C.”

I looked at Cole, “How did all this happen without my knowing anything about it?”

“You’ll have to take that matter up with your Administrative Assistant?”

“Which one?”

“The Biggest Giant, of course.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  It seems that greedy people tend to lurk around and try to get things that they shouldn't have, a lot more than we might have thought. 

Once again, we seem to be left waiting for answers.  This is not unusual, but I suppose it is not that bad a thing, since we haven't left anyone in mortal danger.  That doesn't mean that I am any less interested in knowing what is going to happen next.  I want another chapter, please!

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 05/14/10