Just Joshing

JIMMY BOY

 

There's James, Jim, Jimmy, Jonas, John, Jerry, Joe and our smallest Jay is Jake. We're all neighbor's who live on Jefferson St. We are close in age and been friends for always. Macon's Saturday's-Sunshine edition did an article on us last Fourth of July and wanted to do another this year. With a few of the parents acting as chaperones, we filled a small jitney bus to Gracy's fire work extravaganza. Three reporters, one about our Joe's age, eighteen, met us at the front gate and gave us each a stack of free tickets to use on anything we liked. He apologized and said, 'but there is a caveat.' What, what is that? Where can I buy some?'  John asked. We were all in the dark but quickly got the message, had no trouble at all being special, being looked at, smiled at, envied.

 

Trouble found us when we went overboard on our privileges. Only Jake wasn't anxious to go on the racer dip. We called him a baby, and he sat down in the las open place. With him along, we filled one entire car. The ride was wild. We screamed enough to wake the dead. And we had plenty of tickets to take one more ride. The ticket taker made no attempt to stop us. We got all the kids in line waiting their turn, very, very angry. Some of them had Sugar Daddy suckers. There were guys with cell phones, cameras. They took a few pictures of the Jays. We knew we did wrong but did it anyhow. What a swell super ride we had. That is, all of us except Jake, who barely managed to reach a trash can when he left the car, tried to throw up in it, missed and fouled his shoes. The guy with the camera must have got a good shot of that mess.

 

Miss Helferstay, a reporter for Saturday's Sunshine, gathered us all around the entrance to the Penny Arcade, posed us making silly faces.
We argued with her about making us into idiots but she laughed and told us she didn't. We already were idiots. None of us thought that was funny at all. A clown in full array was strutting around, stopping little kids, showing off his big shoes and red nose. Mothers holding little hands brought their kids to say hello to him. Miss Helferstay somehow left us alone and snapped the clown and the little girls. 'Come on Guys, your jitney awaits you at the exit. Let's go.' We had all had it and were ready, all except Jake. He wanted to watch the clown.

 

John called him a baby and he got so mad he raised his voice and hollered back, 'You guys want to see something? Want to have a nice surprise to end our day?' 'Sure, Jake. Make us laugh and we'll get on the bus.' Jake stands straight as he can, orders us to make a small circle around him. 'Close your eyes, Guys, until I tell you to open them. No peeping!'

 

'Open, Sesame!' Jake is standing in front of us, his pants around his ankles, his private part is showing. Who yells first we don't know but we all know what we see. Jake is a girl!

 

In total silence we all walk to the bus, get on. Jake takes the last seat. She cries and laughs, laughs and cries. Our July Fourth ended again with a bang.