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

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Chapter 24 

We’re Kinda Bored

After we had a nice leisurely lunch, we dropped the two great-grandmothers at the assisted living facility.  When we arrived at Summerhill, both sets of grandparents needed to leave.  Mine had a flight to catch and Autumn’s had a long drive home.

It was just after three o’clock when Benji came to where Cole and I were sitting, “Dads, we’re kinda bored.”

Cole frowned, “And what is it that you would like to do to help you not be bored?”

“We were wondering if we could go back to the carnival, since we didn’t get to go on very many of the rides, yesterday.  We still have some tickets that we didn’t use.”

Cole sighed, “I don’t know.  Your Daddy and I are kinda worn out from having to work so hard, yesterday.  We might fall asleep driving there and back.  Besides we heard that there were lots of pickpockets at the carnival.”

I hadn’t realized but Peter and the three younger boys had been standing there listening.  Mikey asked, “What’s a pickpocket?”

Peter answered, “They’re bad people who go around stealing people's money and credit cards.”

I looked at Peter, “Peter, how do you know about pickpockets?”

Peter stood in front of me, “Before I tell you how I know about pickpockets, I have a favor to ask.”

I answered not knowing what to expect, “You certainly may ask us to do a favor.  What is it?”

“Could everyone please call me the same name.  My name is Peter, but I sorta like being called Rocky, like my Daddy.  I know that Grandmother Bertie will always call me Petey, but I don’t want anyone else to call me that.”

Benji giggled, “We’ll settle this right now.  All those in favor of Peter Throckmorton Cunningham being called Rocky, raise their hand.”

The four boys raised their hands.  Benji had a big grin.  “From this day forward, you will be called Rocky by all persons residing at Summerhill.  Now, how do you know about pickpockets?”

Rocky nodded, “Mr. Duvalier used to come home several times a week with someone else’s wallet.  He would always stop at the liquor store and charge his booze on the way home, before the people had a chance to report their credit cards had been stolen.  After he took whatever was important out of the wallets, he would burn any identification that would happen to be in the wallet, so it couldn’t be identified.”

Mark asked, “Rocky, who are you talking about?”

I decided to stop this discussion, “Mr. Duvalier was the man who lived with Rocky and his Mother.  If we’re going to the carnival, let’s get going.  Guys go get your leftover tickets and go to the bathroom.  I don’t want you going to the bathroom at the carnival.”

Benji challenged me, “Daddy, why don’t you want us to go to the bathroom there?”

“Son, I would prefer that you not go the bathroom, there.  They aren’t that clean, and who knows who has used them.  Dad Cole and I need to go get ready.  We’ll meet you here, in ten minutes.”

When we were in the bedroom, Cole chastised me, “Doug, you’re going to make the boys paranoid.”

“Listen to me, Weaver, don’t blame what’s happening, on me.  You’re the person who brought up the subject of pickpockets.  Speaking of which, we need to leave our wallets home and I’ll take my license and a couple of dollars.  We probably need to wear the tightest jeans we have, so that we’ll be able to feel someone trying to get into our front pockets.  On the other hand, that may not be such a good idea, because everyone will be trying to get their hands in your pockets to cop a feel of your monster.”

When Cole and I got back downstairs, the guys were waiting.  Benji announced, “We split the tickets five ways.  We each have three.  We separated the tickets and put one in different pockets so a pickpocket wouldn’t get much if they tried to take them.”

Matt shook his head, “I think this is stupid.  How can someone take something from you and you not know it’s happening?”

Rocky handed Matt a five dollar bill, “Here, put this in your back pocket and go talk to the Dads.  I’ll show you how easy it is to take it from you without your knowing I’m doing it.”

Matt was standing in front of Cole and me, “Dads, you’re supposed to talk to me.”

Rocky acted as though he stumbled and fell into Matt and pushed him against me, “Oh, so sorry, sir.  Are you okay?”

Matt turned around with his fists cocked, “You did that on purpose, you prick.”

This was a side of Matt that had not surfaced before.  He had always been the most laid back of the boys.  I grabbed him to keep him from hitting Rocky.  “Son, Rocky was just showing you how pickpockets take things.”

Rocky sniffled, “Matt, give me my five dollars back so we can go.”

Matt reached into back pocket but it was empty.  Rocky held up a five dollar bill, “Is this what your looking for?  You might want to see if you have your three tickets.”

Matt searched his pockets and he only had one ticket left, “Dads, Rocky stole my tickets from me.  Beat him up.”

Rocky threw up his hands, “Okay, if you’re going to make such a big fuss about it, here are your stupid tickets.”

I had a sudden thought, “Rocky, where did you get the five dollars?”

“Granddad Christiansen gave each of us guys a five dollar bill before he left and told us to save it for a rainy day.”

Cole looked outside, “If he said save it for a rainy day, then why do you have it with you.  There’s not a cloud in the sky.”

“But Dad Cole, I’ve never had five dollars of my own at one time.  What if I see something I would like to buy?”

“If you see something that you think you want, then come talk to us, and we’ll decuss whether you really want it.  If it’s something that you would really like to have, then you can always get it later.”

Cole wasn’t finished, “Too many times, people spend money on things they find out they they didn’t want, and then they won’t have any money when they finally see something that they really want or need.  Put the money in the end table drawer until we get home.”

Rocky frowned, “Does that mean everyone who has money, with them, has to put their money in the drawer?”

Cole pointed at the boys, “It means anyone who is not a teenager and who has money with them will put it in the drawer.”

We watched as the four older boys put their five dollar bills in the drawer.  Benji turned to Mikey, “Michael, aren’t you going to put your money in the drawer?”

Mikey put his hands on his hips, “My name is Mikey.  I already hid my money and was saving it for a rainy day, like Granddad told us to do.”

I whispered to Cole, “The guys are certainly developing their own unique personalities.”

As we were walking over the bridge to the carnival, to the park where the carnival was being held, Rocky asked, “Is this the bridge that Jack, Jimmy and Jay were living under.”

I nodded yes.  “This is the bridge.  The city has closed the way down to the area so no one can get down there anymore.  That’s why the orange fence with the signs.”

Benji was leaning over the bridge, “Now I understand why Jack, Jimmy and Jay smelled so bad.”

When we arrived at the carnival area, it became evident that the Chief of Police had listened to what Jack had said about preventing pickpockets.  There were a number of police officers in uniform with their night sticks in their hands.  Matt asked, “Why are the policemen here?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I’m guessing they’re trying to make sure that everyone is safe, and stopping people from having their pockets picked or their purses snatched by thieves.”

Matt got a funny look on his face, “I’ll be right back.”

Cole and I watched as Matt went to a young police officer who was walking near us.  He brought the young man back to where we were standing, “Officer, I think you should spank my brother for picking my pockets and taking the five dollars and two carnival tickets from my pockets.”

The young officer looked a little lost, “Where did this happen and where are the tickets and money now?”

Mark answered, “It happened at home.  I have the two tickets in my pockets and Dad made us put our money in a drawer at the house to save it for a rainy day.”

The young officer chuckled, “It sounds to me as if you and your brother both need a spanking.”

Rocky backed away, “Officer, I don’t need anymore spankings.  I’ve had enough in my life.  I was just showing my brothers how pickpockets worked.

The officer looked at Cole and me, “Cole, could you make sure the Christiansen boys don’t get into any more trouble, today?”

“Tony, I can’t promise anything like that.  Doug, this is Tony Roberts.  He and I used to play football together.  Tony, how is the family?”

I shook the young man’s hand, “Dr. Christiansen, I’ve enrolled at the Harwood J.C.C. starting this fall.  The parents have finally forgiven me for making a mistake and have offered to pay for my education, now that the twins are old enough that both sets of grandparents can’t do enough for them.”

We heard a lady screaming, “That kid stole my purse.”

A young teenager was coming right toward us.  Rocky took off followed by the other four boys.  Rocky grabbed the young man’s feet  and he went sprawling, “Guys, sit on him, so he can’t get away.  Mikey, take the purse to the police officer.”

The teenager was struggling to get away when a man stepped out of the bystanders, “Guys, I’ll take care of the thief until the police get here.  You young guys did your part.  It’s time we adults did our part.”

As the boys were walking back to where Cole and I were standing the people around started to applaud.  The lady whose purse had been snatched gave the guys a $20.00 reward.  Rocky acknowledged the gift, “Thank you, ma’am.  We’ll split this five ways and save it for a rainy day or for when we find something we really want.”

The guys decided that they would go on two rides and use their last ticket to play a game.  I kept expecting them to ask for more money, but that was not the case.  The four oldest guys had played a game and lost their money.  Mikey went up to a stand where ducks were going around in circles and asked the you man, “If I pay to pick up a duck, will I win something?  My brothers didn’t win anything on the games they played.”

“Kid, you’ll win something, but it may not be much.  Every duck has a number on the bottom that tells you what you won.”

Mikey handed the guy his last ticket, “Do I get to pick the duck I want?”

The man took Mikey’s ticket, “Yep, you get to pick the one you want.”

Mikey watched as the ducks went by and several boys and girls picked up a duck and won a cheap trinket.  Mikey finally picked up a duck that looked different from all the other ducks  The man in the booth looked at the number went and pulled a rope and sirens and whistles started to sound.  The man yelled in his best barker voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, someone has won the grand prize at the duck game.  It’s about time, because I’ve been carrying the beast around with me for five years and I’m tired loading and unloading him.”

Mikey had backed into me when the sirens started to sound, “Daddy, what did I do wrong?”

I hugged Mikey, “Son, you did nothing wrong.  Let’s go see what you won.”

The game barker went to the side of the booth and picked up a giant stuffed panda bear and handed it to Mikey, “Here you go, kid, I hope you have a room in your house big enough for this beast.”

The bear was so big that Mikey couldn’t carry it.  Cole took the bear and Mikey glared at the man, “Pick will be sleeping in my bedroom.  Dads, can we go home?”

The bear was so big that he almost didn’t fit into the van.  When we arrived at Summerhill, Cole took the bear out of the van so the other five guys could get out.  Mikey looked at Cole, “Dad, please take Pick to my bedroom so he knows he belongs to me.”

When we were eating a light dinner, the other guys started to give Mikey a difficult time,  Benji asked, “Why did you call the monster bear Pick and why did you have Dad put him in your bedroom since you haven’t slept in it in... forever?”

Mike looked up from his soup. “You guys are jealous because I won something and you wasted your tickets on some dumb games.  I decided the bear's name was going to be Pick Pockets, because of everything that happened today.  I won’t be sleeping with the rest of you anymore because you hog the bed and I need to take care of Pick.”

No more was said, because Mikey told it like it was.  Cole and I got the guys ready for bed, and sure enough, Mikey hugged Pick and crawled into his own bed without complaining.   After we had hugged the other guys Cole and I went to get ready for bed.  We had just gotten into bed, when there was a knock on the door.

Cole sat up. “Benji, come in.”

Benji came in and plopped on the bed, “How’d you know it was me?”

Cole hugged Benji, “You’re the only person we know who knocks like a bull going into a China shop.  What’s wrong?”

“Dads, I don’t understand what’s happening to my brothers.  I’ve never seen Matt about to fight anyone and now Mikey isn’t going to be sleeping with me, or so it seems.”

I hugged Benji, “Son, your brothers are growing up.  They have relied on you ever since their Mother died, and now they have Rocky to help take care of them.  It will be better for everyone, if you and Rocky just set a good example for the other three guys.”

When I woke the next morning I took my shower and was dressed when I went to check on the guys.  Benji and Rocky were cuddled together, and Matt and Mark looked like they were Siamese twins.  I went to check on Mikey and he was lying in Pick’s arm and Pick was covered with a blanket.

I went to get Cole to show him what was happening.  When we looked in Mikey’s bedroom he looked up, “Pick got cold last night so I took the blanket off the bed so we could get warm.  He’s not used to air conditioning.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  Mikey is quite the mature young man, isn't he?

I guess kids grow up faster than they did when I was one of them. 

I am very glad to see that the boys are still willing to hug each other and show affection.  I am sure that the older guys will do their best to set a good example for the younger boys. 

It will be nice for Rocky to have one name, for the most part.  It was getting a little confusing, trying to remember who was being talked to. 

Pickpockets are not very nice people, most of the time.  Being successful at that game requires a lot of skill, almost as much as being a magician.  The idea is to distract your victim, while you relieve them of their valuables.  The act of "accidentally bumping into someone and holding on to them to steady them, after the encounter is the most popular version of the trick.

It is never a good idea to have your wallet in your back pocket.  However, the front pocket is not much safer.  It is a very good idea to wear trousers that have a button on the pocket. You can use a money belt.  It looks pretty much like an ordinary belt except that it has a compartment in it to hold your cash and maybe an ID card and or a credit card.

I agree with the idea of not taking much money with you if you are going to any sort of a celebration like a carnival. That is one of the most likely places to get mugged.

I am certainly ready for another chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher  

Posted: 06/04/10