Goddess' Gift

On her birthday She was given a sphere of granite.
Shining with many colors Blue , green, and gold.
Her father said that it was a planet,
A very precious gift, or so I'm told.

She carried it about in her pocket,
with the other things she loved too.
A key, a coin, and her mothers old locket
The silk lace from a her old dance shoe.

If you blew on the orb, remove it's shadowy mist.
You could see mountains, steams and meadows of green.
And the people, oh the tiny people who lived there in bliss.
This gift is the greatest thing you've ever seen.

As she grew older her play time was less,
there was school, and galaxies to tend,
the responsibilities of a Goddess I guess.
The occasional boy and a broken heart to mend.

Consumed by travelling from here to there,
meeting new faces, how her time was spent.
Her precious things fell out of her care.
The tarnish on the sphere, more from her neglect.

With a rush the years went by,
so quickly had her time been wrought,
She returned home and began to cry,
So hurt by the lesson taught.

So you see when the sky brings rain,
remember things precious in our care.
Tis the Goddess' lesson of pain,
An orb of granite and why we are there.

For Katrina and Alyssa

The Soda Bottle Kid

The next day they all arrived at the old barn, (Corporate Headquarters)
 Everyone had arrived by 9:30 Brian and Trav, Ton and Tank,
Brent and he brought Josh too. Rodney asked what everyones' chore schedule
was like, then wrote it on the chalk board with the expected days of completion.
  Then he asked when the guys could be ready to pick up bottles from
regular customers. Then what days would be best to look for new customers
and new recruits.
   At the end it seemed that everyone had to mow at least 2 times a week
usually Saturday and Thursday. The best days for regular customers was
Tuesday, that left Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the gang to look for
bottles, get new customers and hang out. And Sunday for the occasional
meeting and cookout.
 When Rodney put everything on the board it looked like together they
would have to each bring in 10 cases a week for a new bike.
plus what ever else the spent on cookouts. The goal was 15 cases a week
per man.
 " What about the big lie?" Brent asked
The room went quiet...
Rodney knew it was bound to be asked, "we will cross that bridge when we get to it."
  "Any ideas, what to do on that?"  "We could say we didn't make enough,"
Brian suggested. "No people would want their money back." Tank said.
  Ton said," We could fake it" " What?" Rodney quizzed.
 "We could fake it.", Ton repeated.  By then he had everyones' attention.
"How!" they all said in unison. "Camp Wanamaka is at Beaver Creek!".
"We will never pull it off", said Brian. "We can't fake being dropped off at
Ton and Tanks as a Camp for Boys!"
Josh , who had been quiet the whole time, turned and said, "I can do it!"
 "My dad has the keys to the church bus, we'll meet and load for camp at church."
"Just make a sign for camp in the window and we're in like Flynn."
Brent said, "That's the dumbest idea yet!"  " You got anything else brainiac?",
Josh demanded. "What're you going to do steal the bus you thief?", Brent retaliated.
Josh went to hit him, but Rodney stepped in," look you guys if this is going to
work, we have to work together!" Josh added," We don't have to take the bus
anywhere, we could all walk to T and T's after our folks left." " Just say the
driver was delayed." "All we got to do is get a high school kid to pretend he's
checking us in." "Melody's brother would do it.", Rodney said, "This just might
work". " Everyone, Camp Wanamaka plan is official? raise your hands."
" Okay, all in?"
 "Tomorrow's Thursday, who needs grass cut?" Brian, Travis, and me.
Rodney put together 2 man teams so everyone got done quickly.
The guys who live closest together will work together so you don't have to
drag your mower too far. By noon we can meet at the feed store and look
for soda bottles. "Meeting is adjourned." "Everyone look for bottles on the
way home, " Hey what do we do when we get bottles?", asked Travis
  "Wait meeting not adjourned.", said Rodney. He thought for a moment
then said, save them for a week then we all get together and cash them in
after an official count." "What if someone cheats?", asked Brian.
 "Anyone cheating, know this, we are in together and if we don't work
together, we don't stand a chance in hell of getting our new bikes got it!",
Rodney stated firmly, "Anyone screwin' around is out!"
 "That means you Josh," Brent snipped." That means you too, Brent",
Rodney resounded.
 "Meeting Adjourned"
All the boy's left picking at eachother and talking about the gang,
except for Josh," Hey Rod thanks for stickin' up for me. "
 Rodney turned with a dead serious face, "don't make me regret it."
" Hey I know I screwed up, but it's hard to get another chance around here.
" Do you think this bus thing will work?"
" God help us if it doesn't, everyone will know we lied to them."
 Josh rode away on his bike, Rodney rolled the idea around in his head,
if they got caught in a lie, what could possibly go wrong? Would people
think they were a bunch of bad kids? Would they want their money back?
Could he make up a big excuse and get away with it?

              Tune in next time ............

The Soda Bottle Kid

The end of school came quickly after all the tests and papers were over.
At the school olympics Robin won the girls 220, Brian won the high jump,
Brent won the high hurdles 100 and 220.
Rodney came in 3rd in the 100 yd dash
Ton won the shot put 31ft 4 in. Tank was scratched for stepping over.
He was so pissed he cussed the ref an nearly was ejected.
Roxanne won the medley relay, with Melody, Kim and Roberta.

 The boys had cleaned their lockers out of all their stuff each of them had at
least a garbage bag of crap from a years worth of school.
Rodney said they could use it for the weennie roast at T an Ts.
Brent and Brian tied the bags to their bikes and headed for Beaver Creek.
Rodney hung back with the rest of the gang as they peddaled slowly to the
lane that went to the clubhouse of Ton and Tanks, down by Beaver Creek.
  As they approached a small rise with a couple of large oaks, Rodney saw
the peak of a shed , a rope hung from a tree. When they started down,
the full view was a mini barn on skids, a fire ring and log benches and an
old flat bottom boat. The rope swung out over the creek from a platform
about 12ft up, the creek bent around a corner forming a swimming hole.
  Ton and Tank rode up and said "lets get the fire going." Brent, Brian and
Travis stripped to gym shorts and went swimming.
Ton was telling Rodney how his Dad had dragged the old tack shed down
there and how they had built bunk bed racks in it. It had a couple of cabinets
inside the door that held, some sleeping bags and a lantern,
the other side had a few misc. camping supplies, marshmallows,
graham crackers, lighter fluid and charcoal. Ton said they couldn't keep
chocolate in there because Tank ate it.
  Rodney was taking in how cool it was and how close it was to town.
Tank was squirting lighter fluid on some wet wood that wouldn't take.
Brent and Travis came up to see what was going on, when Brent remembered
his bag of locker fodder and decided to throw it on the blaze. The bag of paper
woofed immediatly, but caught some of the other wet brush.
 "Here comes my Mom with the hotdog stuff", Ton said, " I hope she got chips and
Cokes too."  His mother was a kind, round faced woman, and got out and went round to
the back of their station wagon.
 "I need help here" she said, pulling out a cooler and a box of chips, and condiments.
Rodney went to the back of the car and carried the cooler to the fire ring.
"Thomas honey, would you get the hotdog sticks" she said to Ton.
"Oh boys, it's so good you guys made it another year of school."
"What will you do this summer?" " Well mam, we plan on collecting soda bottles
to pay for boys camp", Rodney gleemed." " What a cleaver idea, what camp
is that?", she quizzed. Rodney gulped, " we ah, ah, narrowed it down to
a couple of favorites. " Wild Wind or Camp Wannamaka. "  ''yeah wannamaka
enough for a bicycle" Brent whispered.
"Well that's nice boys, I'll let you have fun, Tanner watch the fire and make sure
it's put out before you come to the house," His Mom said.
 She drove back to the house, while the boys started roasting hotdogs.
After the dogs and chips, the boys sat around making fun and talking about the
school year. Each bragging on what they had done, and telling lies of what they had not.
 They drank Cokes and peed in the creek and poked sticks at the fire while it died out.
 The conversation came around to girls and who they kissed, and who they
wanted to go out with. " So what's the farthest you ever gone, Rodney?"
" What?" "You know", Brian pressed. Rodney blurted out " I kissed
Roxannes boobs" "who hasn't", Brent said. "Shut up Brent", Rodney
retaliated. "You haven't even gone out with a girl."
  Rodney thought about what he said, He had actually done what he said, but
was so scared when she lifted her shirt that he closed his eyes and nearly missed.
It was the first time seeing a girls boobs, other than Penthouse. He freeked out.
They had gone out to Skate Country a bunch of times but, that night at Melody's
house when he finally 'made out', it was great.
 Brian started saying how he went all the way , but everybody knew it
was a big whopping lie.
Travis was asking him how it felt, so everyone knew he was inexperienced.
  The sun was going down, so Rodney said he was heading home.
He thanked Ton and Tank for the fun and said "be ready for a busy summer,
let's meet at my house tomorrow". " Ok, see you then".
" camp wannamaka here we come," Travis jested.
Rodney rode home in the yellow pink sunset ....

(see you next time.)  ; >)

Stained

taken away, a small childs trust, another childs brave stance.
it is how I understand, this break, a sideways glance at the past,
it is pain, it is a suppression of a life, sprayed upon an uneven
playing field. it will yield , it will yield . an adult bouncing,
until the youth is sprayed upon another country, convinced of
an America. To touch, to ever touch something so gentle,
then thrust it so far away, break me, my heart, my arm.
it hurts now, it will hurt tomorrow, it will rob us until we
no longer exist. You have taken this bravery and wasted it
not on a just cause but on killing for killings sake.
pentagon fertilizer to enrich another oil saturated country.
I am sick of you, I am so entirely defeated by what you have manifested.
Every morning I weep, yet I wonder why, It is because we waste bravery?
It is because we waste? It is because? It is..............

The Soda Bottle Kid

Rodney found his mom crying again, "It'll be ok mommy",
something he had always said since he was little.
She tried to smile and hugged him tight.
Rodney liked being the good guy, and how it made him
feel warm inside.
  "What would you say to a rootbeer float and fries at the
A n W, my treat"?, Rodney said. His mom smiled and said "Okay,
 Ill get my purse and we'll go". Rodney went to the garage and got a 5
out of the tackle box, and got in the Montery,Turnpike Cruiser. 
Mom came out and they were off. Rodney liked to put all the windows
down in the old hard top even the special back window. So it felt like
a convertible, Clipper hung his head out as they drove to the drive-in.
  What had seemed horrible, was no longer, Rootbeer floats and the soft
 neon glow of the drive-in with the sun going down.
A softserve mustache on a french fry gobbling dog made them laugh.
"Just like old times, huh mom?", Rodney smiled.
" Thanks, Rodney You saved me again", his mom said gently as they started
the long drive home. "So, what was the fight about", Rodney asked .
 "Money, it's always money," his mom told him quietly.
Rodney thought to himself it had to be more than that
how could anyone get mad at someone just about money?
  The pillow consumed his tired head and he fell asleep,
The next day was filled with more tests and papers.
At lunch he talked to Ton and Tank about joining the gang,
and they said," Yes" almost in unison. Tank said "on one condition,
We can have cookout meetings at our fort by Beaver creek".
"Agreed", Rodney knew about the fort, but had never been there.
He imagined a lean-to of plywood and a campfire ring, "We'll meet
there next week, after school let's out for a party."Ton said.
Rodney passed the word onto Brian and told him to tell the rest of the guys.
  Social Studies ,Current Events Class was almost over when
Coach Harris said, "Rodney could you see me after school."
The class gave out a bunch of oohs and awws and Rodney sunk in his chair.
After the last bell he went to see coach, "you wanted to see me Coach"
Rodney almost stammered? " it's about your test, didn't you study? You got
alot of the true false answers right but, your essay where on earth
did you get that Cockamammy story from?" "From Lenny sir"
"From Leonard Larson your neighbor?" "yes sir", "I hardly think
Leonard Larson is a reliable resource for this class" the Coach leered.
"Do you understand?, You are getting a D+ on your final!" "Yes Sir"
  Oh no a D+ you idiot how could you have listened to him, that crazy hippy?
Rodney beat himself with the thought for awhile on the way home.
How was he going to explain the D+ on his report card?
He might as well just move to another country this summer,
He'd probably get grounded for life. All this whirled in his head
as he came to Lennys' house. " Hey neighbor", Lenny called from his yard.
Rodney in a rage pulled in and started yelling how Lenny had gotten him in
so much hot water. "Slow down little brother, What I told you was true. I'm
sorry the establishment has lied to everyone." Rodney felt tears well up in his eyes
" You probably got me grounded for the summer you crazy hippy!!!"
" I'm sorry you doubt me little brother, but one day the truth will come out
about Nixon and his whole gang of deviates." By then Rodney was too upset
and rode off on his bike. Lenny just shook his head.
  At home he went straight to the barn and hid out with Clipper.
" I am so screwed", he told the dog. He tried thinking about the
bottle scheme and making a bunch of money, he fantasized about
being the richest kid around and buy his mom A-W every night and
a new house and car, and having Edwin Foremann kicked out for being an
A-hole. " Clipper, one day, one day......"Rodney said

( a D+,  Rodney grounded, how will he make it? will he let the gang down?)
tune in next time.

The Soda Bottle Kid

Rodney awoke early monday morning, went done to the
kitchen. His mom hadn't left yet for work and was sitting
hands folded on a cup of coffee at the table. "Hey mom",
 Rodney greeted. "Good morning honey", she said in a
hushed voice. "You want breakfast?", "I got time for eggs
and toast if you want, when was the last time we had eggs?"
  Rodney said sure and looked at his mom a little closer,
"Mom you been crying?" She turned quickly and said,
 "how do you want those eggs"? "I guess I'm just tired, is all."
The job at the cafe is wearing on me, and my temp office job
 is coming to an end. I'll have to find something else to do this
summer, I guess. "Scrambled is ok mom don't fuss too much",
Rodney knew something was up, the job, maybe something else.
Either way, He didn't want to trouble her. "I gotta go or I'll be late"
Rodney gulped his milk and folded egg in his last piece of toast,
and was out the door with a quick kiss from his mom.
   No time for bottle hunting this morning. This was the last full
week of school, alot of final tests and papers were due in.
The last three days next week were end of school olympics
and clean out your lockers an stuff. But now was cram for tests
and take care of missing assignments, and extra credit too if you
needed it, And Rodney needed it!! Rodney was a smart kid but,
school never held his attention. It wasn't long before his mind was
wandering and he found himself looking out the window or
doodling in his note book.
  "Hey Hot Rod", Travis called after him at lunch, " Wait up,
I got 2 guys interested in the gang, you know them Brent and Josh."
  Brent was cool but Josh was kind of a loner and got caught stealing
last year from the feed store. Just some candy and a coffee can full
of change, but he had to do a bunch of chores for breakin' in, and
had to pay back all the stuff he stole.
  " I don't know about Josh, Trav" Rodney said " he's a thief".
" He learned his lesson, he said he knew it was a stupid thing to do."
Travis defended, and added " think about it". 
  Rodney returned to class, current events, " take out a pencil",
Coach Harris said " we are going to see if you did your assignment
over the weekend".
 The blood ran from his face, the assignment? what assignment?
Crap, Walter Kronkite, The President, Crap Crap Crap!!!
Rodney went down through the true/ false and guessed which
one sounded right. Then he started on the multiple choice,
Rodney might as well have called them multiple guess.
Then he turned it over and there on the other side was,
In 25 words or more discribe the circumstances around
President Nixon's empeachment.  ( this will count for 1/2
of your semester test grade).
  Holy crap he was screwed, his mind flashed back to Lenny
and what he had said last night. He couldn't remember all
of it but wrote down the story as best he could.
   The rest of the day he was so worried about the test
it messed with his concentation, Am I even going to pass
this year? It was a long bike ride home. He turned in the drive,
called Clipper and went to the barn.
  "Clipper am I a screw up?" Man I know I messed up today
on one test, and some of my other papers. I wish I could just
run my own gang and get out of school".
 Clipper looked at him as if to understand and licked his face.
"You got it easy bein' a dog, life sucks when you're 12 years old."
Rodney always felt better after talkin to the dog.
He threw a stick on the way back to the house for the dog to fetch.
  He came up to the back door he could hear his mom yelling inside,
As he reached for the door, Ed came out, mad and said,
"Get the hell outta the way you punk." He jumped in the truck and
threw gravel all the way out of the drive. Rodney ran inside.

   Tune in next time will school ever end?
        What's up with Ed and mom?

Mothers Day- Letters from home

At a low point in my life, like so many of us I needed money.
with a check or a 20 my Mom replied with this: 12/03/97
Hi Honey,
This isn't much- but maybe it will help a bit.
I wish I could do more.
What I really wish is that I could do or say whatever
it would take to make everything in your life OK.
Isn't that every mother's wish for her children?(Fathers too)
I don't know that there are any easy answers.
After talking with you last weekend, I did some reflecting
upon my own life and it's trials and tribulations.
  It really was a struggle at  times, and mostly because of money.
It has gotten easier the past 5 or 6 years since Bud got out of
school and were getting debts paid off.
If there is anything I worry about now, it's that we aren't
putting back anything for retirement; and what if one or both of us
loses our jobs at our age. 
Not a happy thought. In other words, were like everyone else
just a paycheck away from poverty. And of course our health
is another concern, but ill health can happen at any age.
 Whatever serenity I have comes from being in the country,
loving and being loved. And as much as possible- not worrying
about tomorrow, but doing my best to take care of today.
Oh yeah , and trying to accept myself as I am. Admitting that I
am not perfect, and I can't do everthing.
  Two sayings that I kept in my mind over the years that
helped me are: from my Mom ( Grandma Ruth)
" Your happiness comes from within you."
And from Albert Rockwell- "Youre not a man until you
accept the responsibilty for yourself. Until I really thought
about that one, I thought I did accept responsibilty for myself.
Then I realized I still blamed other people and "circumstances"
for my problems or for my lack of joy- whatever.
It wasn't until I realized what the saying means that I could start
changing my life.
   The one thing I do know is that you never get everthing figured
out. Sometimes I wonder if
the moment you die- my life will make since to me.
I doubt it. I think it takes many life times. Or maybe this one is all there is.
Who knows? Try not to be so hard on yourself. You are a good person.
  So if I was 50 before life got a little easier- you've got 15 years to go.
Hope it happens sooner for you. I know it will be better when you get 
moved to the your farm.
         Keep on keeping on---
                                          I love you,Mom
Note:
 I near 50 now It is your love, letters and encouragement,
You're my keel and rudder, I could never have sailed with out you.
                I love you so much, Doug

Lenny the Hippy, Fishin worms,and Walter Cronkite

Clipper milled about the barn, while Rodney tacked up a piece of cardboard.
He had brought markers from his art set to the barn to create the flow chart.
Brian and Travis were going to be there soon, he had to have a good plan.
He wrote M E F S B D at the top. then anticipated the questions it would generate.
  Brian yelled first sayin "comin in", then Travis just a stones throw behind said
"Hot rod you woosy, I'm here." They had rode the mile together and raced the length
of the drive. They settled into the old couch in the grain bin.
 Rodney controlled the room from the start with " what does this mean to you?"
Rodney pointed with a cherry switch like a drill sargeant.
Travis said "my extra farts silent but deadly"! "No",  Rodney retorted.
It is our new saying, "Minimal Effort For Soda Bottle Donation."
I want you to pledge that by next Saturday you will get 2 more guys.
Then get 2 customers to pledge their bottles to the gang.
Then tell the guys that they can get a new bike if they get 2 more customers a week.
Get it? Travis said " I got to go to church tomorrow", " Perfect" Rodney said " have your pastor
tell your congregation that we are raising money for orphans. Brian said "we'll burn in Hell man,
you can't say that." "You will say that and more if you want a new bike." Rodney commanded.
"You got what I'm sayin", "this is a business". "Okay, Hotrod but what if our guys fall thru?"
"Then you take up the slack and your chores don't get done. We have to make a weekly chart to
take care of the lead guys chores and get as many bottles per week as we can."
  Rodney was sure as sure and steel eyed his buddies into beleiving as well.
"Now can you make a flyer?"Brian started folding a paper airplane, " no you dip make a
sign that says we want your bottles for a boys club."
  Rodney shook his head, was it really going to work with a gang like this?
Brian and Travis drew a bunch of posters touting the virtues of supporting the boys club.
Not the "Boys Club" , but their boys club.  And how the bottles would send them all to camp.
And provide them with all manner of camp B.S.
Rodney stared at the crude posters and said" It just might work".
    Rodney slept that night, better than ever with the plan well on it's way.
The next day he told his mom that he was invited to church in town.
A gentle lie to get him out all morning to hunt for customers.
 He stopped at a few people that he knew, some were receptive
to helping out " the boys club". and said to stop by time to time.
for some bottles.
 Then some said stop by every week for a donation.
He wrote them down in a note book.
 Then he stopped by a strangers house and the man who lived there said,
 "I got some bottles but I don't wanna giv'em away come back an I let you
work for'em.
  Rodney thought on that for a bit.
By the time he made his regular search for bottles, he had 5,
enough for a Bubble Up at the bait and tackle store.
The only place open on Sunday.
When Rodney was milling around the minnow tank with his pop making
faces at the fish, He heard a familiar voice. Turning around, there was Lenny.
Lenny waved and said,"howdy neighbor." Rodney said hi and wondered what
he was doing. "Hey Lenny what you got?"
  " Nightcrawlers, I sell'em every week."
Rodney envisioned Lenny out in his yard with a flashlight every night
hunting down worms.
 " So how do you get so many"?
"You going home Rod, ? I'll give you a ride, an show you my operation."
" Ok I'll get my bike in the truck".
  They loaded the bike and drove west out of town to the old farmstead.
  Lenny was longhaired and bearded, a kind face with bright eyes.
He came home after a tour of Nam with a new look on life.
He spoke about alot of things that were inter-related and how people didn't get it.
How the government was killin' the common man. And he was making his own universe
and then no one could put the screws to him.
  Rodney nodded at him and soaked in as much of what he said as he could.
He asked about the chicken coop and how many eggs Lenny could eat a week,
but Lenny said the chickens provided a bigger service. I take the chicken crap
put it on the worms and dirt in the cellar. They walked to the cellar and went down
to a pair feed bunks converted to worm beds.
  After the tour Rodney, turned and said, " I got this test coming up on current events,
I was supposed to watch the news tonight". "Do you know about why President Nixon
was empeached?  Lenny said " , You come to the right man, I got the inside news on Nixon.
According to my Weatherman weekly, He, blah, blah ,blah ,blah.
Rodney drifted back to the bottles and money , bicycles, the gang, what they were shooting for.
" and the FBI taped his crooneys spying at the hotel", and at the White House,
He was in bed with the Chinese, J Edgar Hoover found out he called him a fairy.
and didn't like how he was takin care of the protesters.
And he had blood on his hands from Kent State, and he had bad karma.
 "Hey you listenin?"I'm tellin you the true facts. Don't listen to Cronkite
the FBI's been payin him to say what they want for years.
 Rodney nodded as he pulled his bike from the back of the old International pickup.
"I gotta go", Rodney said. He pedaled up the road, home to his drive.
turned in Clipper wagging his tail and wooo-wooo ing his arrival home.
 "Hey boy it's been a big day".
"I think this is going to be big," Rodney fell asleep after dinner,
Thinking of spying at the hotel in Springtown and kicking the President outta town....


 Tune in again Schools almost out.....

The Soda Bottle Kid

                The Plan

   The orange glow of mornings arrival woke Rodney.
Ran a comb through his hair, pulled on his dungerees, and
a striped tee shirt. He quietly crept downstairs,
made some peanut butter toast,and gulped it down with some juice.
Having saved the crust, coaxed Clipper on the screen porch,
so he wouldn't follow him. Unhooking his army knap sack from
it's peg, slung it on and gave his bike a push, as he swung his leg over.
Morning air was crisp and filled his lungs as he pumped the pedals
down the road. Once he made the hill down to the bridge he would coast,
and search for bottles along the ditch. What luck there were 2 by the bridge
railing and he poked his head under the bridge, 2 more from somebody that had
been fishing. Putting his swag in his pack he headed to the feed store.
He always looked by the straw bales, where the farmers sat in the afternoon.
His search turned up another empty. Five was good for a trip to school,
that made 15 cents. Rodney hurried to the store to cash them in before school.
  When he was there he saw an ol lady with a bunch of bottles in one of those
fold up grocery carts. " Can I help you", Rodney smiled. "Oh sure honey",
the old woman said. Rodney pulled the two wheeler the rest of the way across
the lot. Rodney cashed his bottles in. He would add that to the coffee can bank
under his bed.That money was for his new bike, but sometimes he put
it in the tackle box in the back of the garage. That was seed money for the gang.
All together he had about 18.00 in the coffee can, and 12.40 in the tackle box.
This was all bottle money except for the birthday dollar from Grandma and
Grandpa.
   That day at school he was talking to Travis and Brian about the gang.
He disclosed his plan about everybody working together to get new bikes
by summers' end. Travis said", I got too many chores to do, let alone do
more work for some gang, Hotrod". "Yeah, My ol man got me mowing the yard
every other day in the summer", chimed Brian. "Hotrod you're crazy",
added Travis. "You see that's the beauty of my plan", said Rodney
"How fast could you do all that crap if you had 7 guys helping you?"
"So what kinda extra work are we doing?", "That's the best part, Travis"
"People are just goin to give us their pop bottles!", beamed Rodney.
" Now I know you're crazy, Rod" said Brian. "You'll see," said Rodney
" I got the idea today when I was at the store, I saw this ol lady
she could barely carry her bottles." People don't like to
mess with them 'til they have to, then they got so many it's a bitch 'cause,....
'cause they got so many."
   Tomorrows' Saturday, meet me at the barn, and we'll start planning. 
"I got to mow," Brian complained . "Me too" said Rodney "Get up early
get your chore's done and we'll have the meeting at 10:30."

  That night Rodney could barely sleep he was thinking about all the
potential things he would face to make his plan work.
How he was going to juggle all the gangs chores and still
have time to collect the bottles from all the little ol ladies in
Springtown. He was going to have to get busy on getting
customers.
 Morning arrived way too soon, but he dragged his butt out of bed.
Took a shower and gulped some chocolate milk, and ate a cold pop tart.
It was 6:30 am when he tugged the rope on the mower.  
Clipper was chewing on some roadkill bone when he finished,
"Let's get you some dog food boy", Rodney got the kibble out of the metal
trash can in the garage. Clipper wagged his whole body at the attention.
" Come on boy, we got stuff to do before the Travis and Brian get here."
 The two of them headed to corporate headquarters....

            Tune in next time for another exciting episode!