by Todie West
“What’s that?”
“You can either come take him home and just keep him comfortable until he either passes naturally or if he starts feeling more pain you can bring him in and have him put down. Or you can just have him put down now. He’s 12 years old and there’s really nothing we can do for him.”
“If he’s not feeling any pain, then I think I’ll come and get him and bring him home. Is he eating?”
“Yes, he’s eating fine, but I am going to give you the name of a special diet for older cats that he seems to like and is so far agreeing with him. You let me know if that changes. You’ll have to purchase it at the pet store, and it is a little pricey.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“I’ll be here until 6.”
“See you before then.”
Michael could not think of putting his mother’s cat down right now, especially if he’s doing fine. If the cancer didn’t kill him, his old age would, eventually. Michael would keep Tabby alive and comfortable as long as he could, because it somehow would keep a piece of his mom alive for just a little while longer. He would pick Tabby up on his way home from the funeral home.
* * *
“Michael, she’s in here. Do you want to see her?”
Michael took a deep breath. “I just want to see her so I know this isn’t a big mistake. If she’s really dead, I have to know. I don’t want to hang around though. I have things to do. You pick the day when you want to have the service and I’m good with it.” Michael tried to make his visit at the funeral home as brief and painless as possible.
“Well, she’s already been embalmed so we have all week. Do you want to wait until the weekend?”
“No, let’s get it over with. I can get a sub.”
“But you’ll want enough time to get it in the paper this week.”
“Okay, call the paper today, put it in tomorrow and we’ll have it Thursday.” Michael was becoming agitated and nervous about seeing his mother.
“She’s in here, Michael.” Pastor Dan put his hand on Michael’s shoulder.
Michael walked into the small room where his beautiful mom was resting peacefully in a mother-of-pearl coffin with pink and silk interior. He couldn’t look long and quickly turned and walked out.
“Who do I write the check out to for the coffin?”
“We hope we didn’t overstep our bounds on this. We found out from the funeral home that your mother had already picked it out and paid a deposit. But we all knew how upsetting this was for you so we, as a church, took it upon ourselves to pay the balance out of our benevolent fund. But we want you to be comfortable, so if that’s not okay, let us know.”
“Just let me know and I’ll pay.” I knew she bought her plot when Dad died, but she even picked out her own casket, too?” Michael was dumbfounded by such morbid thinking.
“Okay. Not a problem. So Thursday let’s say 1:00 p.m.?”
“Fine.” Michael was visibly distraught. He reluctantly went over a few details of his mother’s life for the obituary and then left to pick up Tabby.
Michael drove as fast as he could out of the parking lot and over to the veterinary clinic. Tabby seemed delighted to see Michael and the reunion was just what Michael needed in his time of deep emotional distress.
* * *
Michael’s class seemed overly hyperactive for a sunny Tuesday morning. He made the quotes the first order of business.
“Gina and Rene were the only ones who met Friday’s quote challenge. To save time, I’m going to read their responses aloud and whoever met Monday’s quote challenge can turn their answers in now to be read tomorrow.”
Michael proceeded. “Gina wrote: The Gospel is the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible. Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14 hundred and 92. Very good, Gina.”
Some of the classmates recognized the familiar song and began to sing.
“Okay, Class. That’s enough.” Michael continued, “He traveled all over the world to tell people about the Bible. A bit brief, Gina, but the deal was $100 so here you go. Now I’ll read what Rene wrote: Christopher Columbus was a Christian and believed the whole world should know about Jesus. The Gospel is referred to by Christians as the Good News about Jesus and Columbus believed he was chosen by God to spread it all over the world.”
“Hey, that’s what I said,” Gina chimed in.
“Yes, Gina, you were both very close to the same answer. As I said, there’s really no wrong answer, unless you didn’t do any research, and I can tell you both did. You all see how it works now?” Michael asked the class, as he handed Rene her prize. “Now don’t tell me that Gina and Rene are the only ones who met Monday’s challenge.”
Five hands went up.
“Good. You can pass your papers to the front of the row and we can read them tomorrow.”
“Look, Mr. Webster. Did you see the new challenge?” Peter pointed to the board.
“Oh, I see. Well, let’s just keep this thing going until we can figure out who has been writing on our chalkboard.” Michael knew it was the same person by the handwriting.
The new challenge read: In God We Trust.
“Well that should be pretty easy for all of you. Anyone up for it? Write it down, go home and write down everything you can tell me about this quote. I won’t give credit unless I can see you have really researched it and can come up with a lot of information. Got it?”
“It doesn’t say who said it, Mr. Webster,” Gina noted.
“See what you can find. Okay, let’s go over our math homework before recess.”
* * *
Michael returned home after school. All day he had been dreading reading about his dead mother in the newspaper, but he had to be sure what they wrote was totally accurate. She deserved that much.
And there it was, in black and white, his mother’s life condensed into one newspaper column. It read:
Elizabeth “Bessie” Webster died Wednesday, October 5, while on a mission trip with her church in Ecuador. Bessie was born 68 years ago in Watsonville, California, to Walter and Helen Faber.
At the age of 18, Bessie met and married the love of her life, Andrew Webster, and they settled in Drake Valley to start their family. Bessie worked as a school bus driver for 40 years with the Drake Valley Unified School District. She was an active member of the Orchard Christian Church.
Bessie was predeceased by both her parents, her husband Andrew and her sister, Francis. She is survived by her only son, Michael of Drake Valley, and her church family and friends. She will be remembered for her contagious smile and giving heart. Wherever there was a need, Bessie was there. She will be missed.
A celebration of Bessie’s life will be held at Orchard Christian Church at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday and burial at Drake Valley Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Orchard Christian Church Reception Hall.
There was so much more that could be said about Michael’s mother, he thought. And he could not understand this celebratory attitude of these Christians. It’s like they’re happy when you die, he lamented to himself. I don’t get it. Since when is death a happy occasion? I could see if she was suffering or something, but they are just too happy.
Michael put the paper down and went into the kitchen for a bite to eat. He reached down and pet Tabby. ”It’s good to see you eating again.” Michael wondered when Tabby would notice that Mom was not coming home. It was evident the old cat was on his ninth life and it wouldn’t be long before he would be joining Mom, wherever that may be, unless they have a separate kitty heaven, Michael second guessed himself. Then he remembered his mother’s reassurance when his dog Dobie died, that he was running and playing in doggie heaven.
After dinner, Michael spent a few minutes going over homework papers, including the five responses to the Monday challenge. He wondered how long those quotes would continue to be written on his blackboard and, most importantly, if he would ever find out who was writin
g them. I’ll worry about that after all this funeral stuff is over, oh, I mean celebration of life, or whatever.
Of course Rene’s answer was the most compelling. Sounds like she’s been in Sunday school her whole life. Her definition of mercy caught Michael’s eye. She wrote, Mercy is not getting what you deserve.
Hmmm, I’ve never heard it put quite like that, but I guess she’s right.
The word humbly received some very intriguing answers, showing that at least Marco was merely guessing. He answered to walk humbly is to hum like a bumble bee when you walk, it’s called humbling. Michael had to laugh, but was concerned that this little exercise was futile for some, and that he may have to change the rules and not just dole out dollars right and left for such little effort.
Michael spent some time making up assignments for his mock city. He had 21 students and tried to give each of them a job that would tax their brain and teach them some responsibility. Of course, the jobs could be rotated every quarter to give everyone a shot at different ones. This town setting in the classroom was new for him, too. The program had worked well for other teachers, according to the magazine article. What have I got to lose, Michael had thought when he made the decision to try it. He hoped tomorrow would be a good day as he made the first quarter assignments. He was sure there would be objections and he pretty much knew exactly who would be making them. He had some extremely bright students in his class, but there were some possible future juvenile delinquents. But Michael was determined to try everything in his power to guide them in a different direction.
Chapter 7
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. (John Adams)
“Good morning, Class.”
“Good morning, Mr. Webster,” was the weak response from a handful of students.
“Today we are going to hold our election for mayor and city council.”
“Yeah,” was chimed in unison from the students.
“After the election I will make the rest of the job appointments.”
Groans from the classroom reflected their ambivalence.
“Now, wait a minute. When I proposed the classroom city, you were all for it. I told you there would be jobs to do and you all agreed.”
More groans.
“Well, if you want to go back to the regular classroom setting, that’s fine, too.”
“No, no, no,” they all sounded their agreement to continue.
“Okay, then. I will take four nominations for mayor and city council. The top vote getter will be the mayor and the others will be council members. Who would you like to nominate?”
Brittany raised her hand. “I nominate Gina for Mayor.”
“Okay.” Michael wrote Gina’s name on the board. “Next?”
“I nominated Thomas,” Jack announced.
“And I nominate Jack,” Thomas reciprocated.
“That’s not fair!” Marco protested.
“It’s perfectly fair, Marco. We need one more. Gina?”
“I nominate Rene.”
“But I wanted to be mayor,” Marco protested.
“Marco, you will have a chance next quarter. Okay, Class, we have our four names. Now I will pass out a slip of paper. Write only one of these names on the paper and we will tally up the votes. This is called a secret ballot. You are not to tell anyone who you voted for.”
Michael opened up the ballots, some of which had been folded ten times. Next time he would have to remember to tell them to only fold the paper one time.
“Okay, who voted for Mickey Mouse? And Mouse has an ‘e’ on the end.” After tallying up the votes, Michael announced, “The Mayor of the Sixth Grade Mock City at Drake Valley Elementary School will be …. drum roll please.”
The class made a loud rolling sound with their tongues and pounded on their desks.
“ …. Gina! Let’s all give Gina a hand.”
The class applauded.
“And the remaining three nominees will be the new city council members. Okay. Now here are the rest of the assignments. District Attorney: Peter; Public Defender: Marco; Street Sweeper: Brittany.”
“Ew, street sweeper? I don’t want to sweep the street,” cried Brittany.
“It’s just a name. Your job is easy, and I expect everyone in the class to help out on this one. You will be in charge of keeping the room picked up, like scraps of paper on the floor, that kind of thing. Juror #1: Tiffany; Juror #2: Ryan; Juror #3: Christy; Juror #4: Joshua; Juror #5: Jonathan; Juror #6: Ashley; Banker: Gabe; Assistant Banker: Emily. The banker will keep everything honest, no money laundering.”
“Mr. Webster, you can’t wash money.”
“You are so very right, Emily. Money laundering is, well … that will be a lesson for another day. Let’s move on. Store Manager: Ana.”
“What’s the store manager do?”
“Well, we’ll have a store, and if you run out of supplies, you have to buy them at the store.”
“But why?”
“Because. I said, we’re learning responsibility. It will teach you to conserve your supplies, not waste them, or lose them.”
“Oh.”
“Secretary: Nicholas.”
“What’s the secretary do?” Nicholas paused. “Wait a minute! I thought secretaries were girls.” He folded his arms in disgust.
“Where does it say that?”
“I don’t know; I just thought they were.”
“Well, you’re not a girl.”
The class laughed.
“Have you heard of the Secretary of State? He’s a man.”
“Really?” asked Nicholas.
“Yeah, but he could be a girl, right, Mr. Webster?” asked Gina.
“Yes, Gina, you are correct. I want you to know, Nicholas, that the secretary in our town has a very important job. He, or she, will be in charge of collecting completed assignments and passing out papers for me.”
“Oh, I guess I can do that,” Nicholas agreed reluctantly.
“Recorder: Amber.”
“What’s that?”
“The recorder will keep attendance.”
“Cool.”
“Bailiff: Jose. And I know you don’t know what a bailiff is. The bailiff keeps things under control. If anyone talks out of turn, the bailiff will record their name on the board and, if it happens more than two times, they will have to go to jail. And yes, we have a jailer, who will be Vicky. When someone goes to jail they will have to sit up here in this chair, and the jailer will have to sit over here and keep an eye on them. Oh, and the bailiff is also in charge of getting everyone lined up for recess or lunch, in a quiet and orderly manner.”
“The bailiff sure has a lot to do.”
“That’s why I have appointed an assistant bailiff who will be Danielle. Okay, that’s 21 positions.”
“What about Ruben.”
“Ruben is no longer in our class.”
“Yeah, he got expelled for carrying a knife at school; isn’t that right, Mr. Webster?” asked Gina.
“That’s right Gina; so let that be a lesson to all of you. Something that serious would not be handled by our jury, but by Principal Mason and the School District.”
“What if we don’t like our job?”
“Try to learn what you can from it and then, before you know it, we’ll be into the next quarter and you will have a different job. Remember, I told you we will rotate every quarter. Everyone will get a shot at several different jobs. Now, are there any other questions?”
“What if no one goes to jail? I won’t have anything to do.”
“Then that’s a good thing. It means everyone is obeying the rules. And we all have a corporate responsibility to make our little city the best. Like I said, even if you’re not the street sweeper, you can still pick up, especially after yourself. Now let’s go over the rules and the point breakdown. I have posted them over here so you
have no excuse for not knowing what they are.”
The students read over the list of rules as well as the list of fines and payments.
“You will each receive a salary every month for your job. I have made the salaries all the same, and it’s up to each of you individually to pay your bills and, if you have to pay a fine, it will be to your benefit to pay it as quickly as possible, or there will be an interest charge.”
“What’s interest?” asked Amber.
“That’s a very good question. Interest is a percentage of the amount you owe. These are great lessons for you. When we get through with this school term, if you have paid attention, you will know how to stay on a budget, balance a checkbook, and pay your bills on time. Are there any more questions?”
“On the fines list, say we get caught cheating and we weren’t really cheating?”
“Ah, there’s where our jury will come into play. If you have witnesses to prove that you did not cheat, you can have them testify on your behalf and the jury will carefully consider all the evidence and make a preliminary judgment. This is not a popularity contest, so I will still be the judge, if it seems to me the jury is not being fair.”
“What’s a preliminary judgment?” Gabe asked.
“That’s what the jury decides first, but it is preliminary, because I can overrule it, meaning, as I said, I can agree or disagree with the jury. I will have the last word.”
“Could we go to jail?”
“Perhaps. You see here the list of fines and that on some of the offenses, on your third time, you may have a fine as well as jail time.”
“What do you do in jail?”
“Homework. But you will do it during recess and lunch. You might also do jail time if you cannot or if you refuse to pay any fines. So try to budget your money just in case something happens and you won’t have to stay in at recess, unless you would rather do that than pay a fine. Are there anymore questions? … Good. Now everything off your desk and get ready for the spelling test.”
The class groaned.
“What if we don’t know what the words mean?” asked Marco.
“You’ve had plenty of time to look them up.” Michael pointed to one word on his list of infractions and reminded the class that “groans can be counted against you. We’re also going to work on having a positive attitude. Mr. Bailiff, you need to be on your guard. I think we have a rowdy bunch today.”