Hi there everyone. It's hard to believe that we're coming up on the end of January. What can I say about the NFL other than there is always next year for the Browns and Buccaneers. The Bucs held in there for an exciting game. I'm rooting for the Lions now to take it all the way.
I continue to rewrite, add to and write more chapters of this story and I'm seeking any suggestions, constructive criticms or positive feedback you have about the story. Please send information to cjwilson328@aol.com. For those if you who have already reached out to me - my thanks! I'm working your ideas into future storylines.
CJ gets back to his normal schedule and begins his planning for the arrival of UD and Jack.
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The party wrapped up around 8:00 pm and I felt exhausted after a beautiful weekend. I spent a few closing minutes with Ronny, Alex and Wally. I went into the bedroom for some sleep, while the three of them played a few more dart games.
As I was getting ready for bed, I reflected on the day and how much I enjoyed it. It was nothing special, but Alex was so pleased with how the day turned out. He put all of his effort into making the afternoon special for us, and I thanked him every time I could throughout the afternoon. I'm also pleased with how much I did accomplish to get me in a good position for this week and next. Trev and I are switching shifts this coming weekend and the following Thursday and Friday. It actually worked out better for him, so it ended up being a win-win situation for both of us.
I also confirmed who can make the Buccaneers football game on the 17th. Most of the original crew I invited can make it, but I ended up with four tickets left over. Thinking ahead, I'm planning to extend an invite to Fred, Jimmy, Zeke and Toby. If any of them cannot attend, I'll invite Randy and Leo. As I laid down in bed, I felt good about my plan and hope that Fred, Jimmy and Toby are able to make it. Zeke may not be able to unless he can hand over the bar duties to one of his associates. I'll give him and Toby a call tomorrow morning and put my plan into action.
I slept like a log and did not even feel Wally get into bed with me. My alarm went off, and I shut it off quickly to minimize the disruption to Wally. I went about my morning routine, and about 40 minutes later I was ready to head out for a full day at work.
Wally was waiting for me at the breakfast counter. He was drinking a cup of coffee and said "morning baby. How are you feeling?" I smiled at him, gave him a kiss and said "I feel great this morning Wally. We had a great day yesterday, I'm set at work for UD and Jack arriving and I have four tickets remaining for the football game. I'm going to invite Fred, Jimmy, Toby and Zeke. I hope they all can make it." Wally cracked up and said "you planning guru. You're bound and determined to get Fred and Toby together, aren't you?" I took a drink of Wally's coffee and said "we'll see. I think it will be a good introduction for the two of them in a group setting." I pulled out my coffee mug, filled it and said "well babe, I'm off to work. I hope you have a wonderful day." Wally followed me to the door, gave me a kiss and said "I'm planning on a good day CJ, and I hope your day goes just as well sweetheart."
I got to the station in fifteen minutes, and proceeded into the newsroom. Angela and Ross were there and both welcomed me back into the daily grind. Angela said "you got some good sun this weekend. Do you feel rested up?" I replied "it was a fantastic weekend. I went down to Wally's bungalow in Bradenton Beach. Besides the beach, we went parasailing and spent a full day out on his boat. It was a fantastic weekend, and I feel wonderful. I'm ready to get back into the swing of things here though. Is there any station gossip you two need to fill me in on?" Ross cracked up and said "you picked a quiet weekend to be gone. I can't think of anything exciting that happened here. Trev is coming along nicely in his broadcasting. He's still no CJ, but he's definitely improving with every show he completes."
I completed my weather segment first, then joined Ross in writing stories for the morning. He and I chatted continuously about his renovation projects, sports and his boy's activities. As we talked more, I created plan three in my mind, in case plans one and two fall through. Plan three is to invite Ross and his boys to the football game. I'm sure Ross will enjoy the game, and I believe both of his boys enjoy football as well. I need to get into execution mode later this morning, otherwise I may have plans four, five and six created before the end of the day. Leave it to me and my over analytical thinking to create multiple plans for a simple invitation to a football game!
Even though I had been gone for only two work days, it's amazing to me what all Ross, Angela and I discussed. The morning preparatory time went by very quickly, and before I knew it Ross and I were on the news set beginning the five am show.
The morning shows flew by and overall went fine. We had some video glitches with our reporters in the field, but we covered everything fine. After the shows, Jennifer and Nick joined Ross, Angela and myself for breakfast at Cecilia's. Cecilia greeted us with her chipper morning greetings and sat us at one of our regular tables. I've never tried a breakfast burrito from Cecilia, so today I'm going to try a burrito from her restaurant to see how they compare to Mama Bette's place.
The conversation flowed easily and Nick changed topics by saying "okay everyone, I had a meeting with Bailey last Thursday. He informed me that he feels we're going into the fall sweeps with positive momentum. Bailey also likes our news department chances for the upcoming BANA awards. The BANA nomination lists will be released at the end of September, and the presentation of the awards will occur in early December. Keep up the great job everyone! I'm anxious to see how the morning team does in the sweeps, as well as the BANA awards. I feel we have some great opportunities to advance our position in both areas." I smiled at Nick and said "should we consider any final pushes for the fall sweeps?" Nick replied "no, we're going to hold our own right now. Bailey is very satisfied with what improvements we have made thus far and wants to see how the changes will work out in the two areas. Once we see the ratings and comments from the sweeps, we'll adjust and position us for future changes in 2024 and beyond."
Everyone was upbeat after Nick's comments. I hope we show overall improvements overall. I know Bailey has worked hard with us, and it's time to see how the work has paid off for all of us and the station. Bailey deserves the general manager of the year award, but I'm bias. I'm not expecting any awards for only being at the station one-half year in December. If any do come my way, I'll gladly accept them for recognition of my work and to enhance my resume.
I enjoyed the breakfast burrito, but Mama Bette's beat Cecilia's in the end for me. Mama Bette's has so much more flavor. The addition of shrimp, crab, extra spices and her sauce sealed the deal for me. Cecilia's will always be my go-to breakfast place in St Petersburg, but whenever I get to Bradenton Beach, it's Mama Bette's for me.
All five of us loaded into the news van, and headed back to the station. When I entered the newsroom, I ran into Trev and Carl. They were heading out for a segment shoot. Trev smiled and said "are you still doing good after your beautiful weekend together?" I flashed a smile at him and said "oh yeah, everything is good for me today. Thank you again for switching shifts with me over the weekend, as well as the next two weeks." He replied "no problem at all dude. It gave me more practice with Ross, and I know I can do co-anchor and weather duties together when I need to. I enjoyed it. We're off to do a segment in Ybor City today." I said "let me know what you think of it. I have not spent time there yet in that neighborhood, and sometime I want to get over there." Carl jumped in and said "well maybe that can be our engagement gift to you and Wally. Perhaps the four of us can go over there, get a hotel suite and party our asses off one weekend." I cracked up at Carl and said "that sounds great. You two have a good day over there."
I did not see Josh or Aaron lurking around the news room. They're probably both with human resources. I'm sure at some point today we'll cross paths. Angela mentioned over breakfast that Josh was going to work with her today, and the rest of the week he will be shadowing various reporters and anchors. She wants Josh to work with me and Daniel all day tomorrow.
I grabbed a bottle of water and went to my office. I made myself a quick list of items to accomplish this morning. The first item on my list was to touch base with UD about Wally's idea for their trip. UD was free for a call, and we ended up talking for almost thirty minutes.
UD loved the idea of boating, fishing, seeing the bungalow and relaxing on the beach. I told him we'll give him more details on the Sunday call. Their flight lands at 11:30, so our timing should work out fine. UD and Jack will be at Bradenton Beach ahead of us, but he said not to worry. He's already told Jack about Mama Bette's and Captain Zeke's places. Between the two hangouts and having the access code to the bungalow, they'll "rough it" until we get there. The call with UD was very pleasurable. I can't wait to see him without the family. I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I am to see him and Jack together. I need to get over my nerves before they get here. I told myself "It's just two new members of the circle of friends CJ. Don't do anything stupid to alienate them."
My next call was to Toby. Toby answered his phone and said "hey CJ, what's up do you need some more shirts made up?" Toby and I shared a laugh, and I said "not right now. The shirts went over well, everyone enjoyed them. I was surprised with how many of group stripped their shirts off, and put on their tee shirt at our barbecue yesterday." Toby said "good, I'm glad they went over well for you."
I continued on and said "I'm calling to invite you and your dad to a football game in Tampa on Sunday, September 17th. The game features Chicago Bears against the Buccaneers. I've got the station suite for the day, and if you're both available I'd love for you to come up and join us." Toby excitedly said "let me call dad now. We're both Buccaneers fans, and we've never been to a live game before at the stadium." I replied "great, let me know what he says if you can this morning. By the way, Wally and I will be back to the beach next week on Wednesday afternoon. We'll be leaving Saturday morning. My uncle and his partner are flying into Sarasota. The four of us are going to stay at the bungalow and we're going to take them boating and fishing. The four of us will come back to St Pete Beach for the game on Saturday morning." Toby said "everything sounds great CJ. Does your uncle like karaoke? If so, dad and I have been wanting to try a Friday night karaoke. This may be the perfect time to try a Friday night out, and your uncle and his partner can join in the festivities with us." I chuckled and said "they both love karaoke, Toby. I can see them both now having a great time with your excellent bar food, plenty of beer and fun."
Toby and I ended our call, and I switched back to get my weather segment together for the noon news. There was a knock at my door, and I looked over to see Mindy with Aaron and Josh beside her. I stood up and said "good morning you three! It's great to see everyone. Josh, did you get settled over the weekend and how is the apartment for you?" Josh smiled at me and said "it's good to see you CJ. My parents helped me get moved over the weekend. Mindy helped us out quite a bit and so far, I'm loving the downtown life. Mindy took us to two great restaurants over the weekend and she's giving us the station tour this morning." I did not want Aaron to feel excluded and said "Aaron, have you met the marketing team yet?" He smiled at me and said "yeah CJ, I met everyone before coming over here with Mindy. I'm going out on a sales call this afternoon with Mark." I heard my phone ringing but continued the discussion with the three of them.
I continued the discussion and said "Josh, you and I are going to be working together tomorrow. Angela is going to work with you today. Did Bailey or her tell you what your first assignment is?" Josh said "Bailey wants me to get ready to do the weather on Saturday and Sunday nights." I smiled and said "perfect. We'll work together the rest of the week, and I'll have you ready to go for your broadcasts. I'm switching with Trev on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We'll have you feeling like a weather pro before you go on for your first broadcast." Josh smiled and said "I'm looking forward to it CJ. Bailey also told me to get a story from Angela, and he wants to see me do a field report within a week. It's all good, and I can't wait to get my hands into everything here."
Mindy said "okay guys, let's do a few more stops and then I'll take Aaron back to the marketing area." I shook both of their hands and said "it's great to see you both here. Remember, I'm here as well as Trev and Ronny. We're all the newbies at the station. If you need anything, give one of us a yell and we'll cover each other as much as we can." Both of them said thanks to me and continued on their tour with Mindy."
The call I missed was from Toby. He left me a message and said "CJ, count dad and me in for the football game. We're going to move karaoke to Friday night, and if you don't mind, we're going to follow you back up to St Pete beach on Saturday morning. Call me with any questions or we can talk more next Wednesday when you, and Wally are down here. Take care, have a great day and thank you so much for the invite. Dad and I are looking forward to it CJ."
Okay, part one of plan one is complete. My next to-do item is to call Wally. He answered and said "hey baby, miss me?" I smiled and said "yes, I do! How is your morning going sweetheart?" He replied "it's going well. I'm over at Fred's site helping out now. What can I do for you CJ?" I said "well, can you get to Fred easily and keep this call open? I'd like for the two of us to invite him and Jimmy to the football game." Wally smiled at me and said "I'm heading over to Fred now babe, hang on." Wally adjusted his phone, and soon Fred and him were in the camera view." I said "morning Fred. I won't keep you long, but I want to invite you and Jimmy to the Buccaneers game on Sunday, September 17th. I have the station suite for the day. We'll have plenty of cheeseburgers for Jimmy, and you know most of the crew coming. You two will get to meet my uncle UD and his friend Jack also." Fred didn't hesitate and said "wow CJ, thank you for the invite. Jimmy and I love to watch football together. He will love this as it will be his first professional game he will see live. You can count us in. I'm going to keep it as a surprise to him and we'll tell him together sometime this weekend. How does that sound?" I cracked up and said "sounds great Fred. I'm so glad you two will be able to join us. We're going to tailgate prior to the game, and enjoy the suite during the game." Fred replied "thanks CJ for thinking of us. I hope you're ready for Jimmy this afternoon. He insisted on wearing his parrot shirt to school today and has named the parrot on the back. I think he is going to live in it for a couple of weeks. He's got a lot of content he wants to work on with you for his hurricane project." I said "looking forward to seeing him today, and getting the content created. Thanks for supplying me with the pictures of his display. We'll work in the content around his model, and he is going to have a fantastic project for the science fair. We'll see you tonight Fred at the condo."
The call ended, and part two of my plan one is also now successfully completed. I feel much better getting everything in place, and I'm looking forward to hosting everyone at the football game. I quickly forgot about plans two and three, but I immediately thought of something else to do. I typed an email to Laura to see where she got the Baker Mayfield jerseys. Since all four of my plan-one participants enjoy football, I'm going to see if I can get them each a jersey with their name on it to match the ones that Laura got the original four of us for our birthday presents. I sent the email off, knowing that my cousin will reply to me today as she is conscious about staying on top of her email.
It was only 10:15 am, and I went to the newsroom to see what was happening. Angela was talking with Josh and saw me. She said "hey CJ, do you have a couple of minutes?" I smiled and walked over to her and Josh. Angela said "Bailey overbooked me this morning with a meeting in 15 minutes. Do you have some time to work with Josh now?" I replied "I sure do. Josh, let's go create my noon weather segment together. I already started it, but I'll walk you through step by step and let you do the work. How does that sound to you?" Josh smiled at me and said "excellent CJ. I'll get practice in for my weekend broadcasts." I smiled at him and said "perfect. Let's grab a couple bottles of water, and we'll get started."
I had Josh sit down at my office terminal. I logged off everything, and I had him log onto the systems he will need for station work. Luckily, he had access to everything and we began a weather segment from scratch with him. I showed him my shortcuts that I have learned, and I had him copy over my morning show segment. We walked through the necessary changes, and the noon segment was created by 11:30. I loaded it to the switcher as time was becoming important. He looked at me and said "thank you for letting me do that. Can I do it each day this week for you to get more practice?" I cracked up at him and said "you bet. You did good with that segment and you'll be able to see your creation on the noon news today. Tomorrow, we'll start earlier and you can even load it to the switcher for me."
Since we had a few minutes before the noon news, I said "how did the rest of your summer go?" He replied "too quick CJ. All I could think about was getting back here to start the internship. I had to make some adjustments to my fall schedule, but James was instrumental for me in making the changes happen. I hate to ask you, but is Maddie, okay? I sent her a couple of emails, but she did not reply to them. I know she was getting busy with her school starting." I smiled at him and said "okay, we're Maumee bros here and anything said does not leave this office unless we both agree to it. Deal?" Josh cracked up on my comments and replied "deal CJ!"
I continued and said "I love my cousin dearly, so please don't take these comments wrong. Maddie was with someone new the week after you two met. She's guy crazy Josh, and driving my aunt and uncle crazy. My aunt even told me to tell you to not wait for her and have fun here in St Petersburg. Who knows, once she has her license and knows you're back at Maumee she may surprise you with emails, calls and a visit. I hope I'm not hurting you with this news Josh?"
Josh smiled at me and said "thanks my Maumee bro! I knew that Maddie and I hit it off, but there was no formal commitment when we left here in August. I liked her and did my best to keep communications going. Like you said, she may surprise me in the future out of the blue. Do you know if Mindy is seeing anyone here? I really enjoy her company, and she and I hit it off good over this weekend." I cracked up at the young horn dog sitting next to me and said "I don't think she is. I'll ask Bailey if she has mentioned anyone to him and let you know. You may also want to check out Jennifer on the morning news with me. She is single, has a great personality and I bet she looks fantastic in a bikini." Josh cracked up at me and said "thanks CJ for this talk. Let's leave this one here in the office between us bros."
I told Josh I needed to hit the bathroom before we made our way to the set. While I was in the bathroom, I thought to myself "where the hell did the comment, she looks fantastic in a bikini come from?" I cracked up and am so glad that Wally, Ronny or Alex did not hear that comment. I'd never live that one down with any of them. On the flip side, it was a bonding moment for Josh and myself. I hope to earn his trust as I know he will figure Wally and myself out at some point. Who knows, he may be a future hire here at channel 2, and it will be good to have his trust and friendship as an ace card in my back pocket.
We made our way out to the news set, and Ross and Jennifer were already on set getting prepared for the noon show. I said to both of them "hey you two, I hope you remember Josh from last month? He's starting his internship with us today." Ross stood up and said "of course I do. Josh, it's great to have you here and if I can help you with anything, do not hesitate to ask." Jennifer chimed in and said "it's good to see you again Josh. I'm glad you accepted the internship and I know you're really going to enjoy working here with us." He smiled at both of them and replied "thank you both. My first day has been great so far, and I'm really looking forward to getting into the inner workings of the news department here." Jennifer smiled at him and said "Angela informed me this morning that you are going with me on Thursday to my ZooTampa segment. It's a weekly segment about conservation efforts going on at the zoo." Josh got a big grin on his face and said "that sounds great Jennifer. I hope that I can help you out with something on Thursday's segment." She said "we'll think of something to get you on camera and help me out."
I internally cracked up watching Jennifer and Josh together. I know he heard me loud and clear, and I'm watching him now work his charming frat boy characteristics on Jennifer. Goodness, I hope I don't create a future cat fight between Jennifer and Mindy over Josh. Ross will never forgive me if another cat fight disrupts the news department.
Our noon show went fine. We ended up needing to fill about two minutes at the end of the show. Angela came in over the audio and said "get Josh on set and CJ introduce him. Josh, don't be nervous and tell the audience they'll see you on Saturday and Sunday news shows." The floor director hooked a microphone on Josh, and queued me when we came back for our final closing. The shot was of all four of us at the news desk and I started off with "well it's my pleasure to introduce our newest member of channel 2 news to our noontime audience. Josh Trumball is joining us for his fall semester internship at channel 2 today. Josh, welcome aboard and tell the audience a little bit about yourself." Josh smiled into the camera and said "thanks CJ, it's great to be here with you and the entire channel 2 news staff. I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina and attend school at Maumee College in Ohio where I'm majoring in television broadcasting. I'm excited to be joining the news crew and will be here on the Saturday and Sunday shows, as well as doing reports throughout the week. From what I have experienced in the St Petersburg area already, I know that I'm going to enjoy the community and all of the events and attractions the city has to offer." Jennifer then jumped in unexpectedly and said "Josh, do you have any hobbies or interests that you want to share with the audience?" Josh said "oh there isn't enough time Jennifer to go into everything. I do like to go biking, hiking, reading, watching sporting events and I'm hoping to get into some competitive beach volleyball games while I'm here. I enjoy cooking, eating at new restaurants and going to movies. I've identified a number of different restaurants in the area I want to try out. If you see me out doing a story in the city, please stop by and introduce yourself to me. I've found the residents of St Petersburg so friendly, and I'd like to meet as many as I can while I'm here."
The father figure of the news cast took back over and Ross said "welcome aboard Josh, and we're glad to have you join us on the news team. As Josh said, you will see him on the Saturday and Sunday news shows, as well as joining us through the week with news reports going on all over the bay area. For Jennifer, Josh, CJ and myself, thank you for joining us at noon today and turn back into channel 2 this evening for more of the bay's best news coverage. Have a wonderful afternoon everyone."
The floor director gave us the cut signal, and I said "great job for little notice Josh." Ross and Jennifer gave similar comments, and soon Bailey and Angela came into the news set clapping. Angela said "nice job everyone. You four did great for Josh's introduction." Bailey added on and said "we've got to find more work for the four of you to do together. What a closing segment, and excellent job to all. Josh, welcome aboard and keep up the good work. I've got to send that clip to James and let him know that you're here fine with us."
I did not notice that Ronny had entered the news set. He approached us at the news desk and said "nice job Josh. No rest for you today. You're coming with me this afternoon to interview a local high-school football coaching staff and players. They've made it to the state playoffs the last two years, and are hoping for a third appearance this year." Josh smiled at Ronny and said "sounds great Ronny. Let me go to the bathroom, and then I'll be ready to head out."
I looked at Bailey who was smiling ear to ear. He said "way to go everyone, and let's capitalize on our Muskie power we have going."
I left the station and intended to get in a workout before the study hall. Once I got back to our place, I was surprised to see that I had a return email from Laura. She gave me all of the specifics on the football jerseys she had gotten for Wally, Ronny, Alex and me. I decided to get an order placed before my workout, and headed into my closet to change clothes.
I grabbed a glass of ice tea and headed for the office. I put some music on and got myself to the company website that Laura had given to me. I was surprised to see a banner on the site which said `Buy one get one 50% off on NFL jerseys.' I cracked up and said "all right, maybe this is a sign to me to get everyone in the group a jersey for the day."
I found the location where you can make your own jerseys. I started my order with two bears jerseys with Justin Fields number 1 jersey. I ordered two, one with UD and the other with Jack over the number 1 on the back. I continued on and ordered a Tampa Bay number 6 jersey for Aaron, Bailey, Trev, Carl, Darrell, Lucas, Jimmy, Fred, Toby and Zeke. I looked at the grand total, and cringed even with the sale discount. I remembered back to the weekend when Wally said "it's only money sweetheart, and we can't take it with us." There was a surcharge for a rush order, which I also included. I submitted the order, and received a message that the order will be shipped via Fedex, and will arrive on or before September 13, 2023. I yelled "perfect! They'll be here four days before the game." I smiled as I shut my laptop down and thought "another pleasant surprise that I hope everyone will enjoy for the Buccaneers opening day game."
I did not realize how much time I took placing my football jersey order, and decided to forego my workout for today. I changed into a polo and shorts, put on a pair of sandals and headed for the community center. As I was driving back towards downtown, the skies left loose with torrents of rain. I made it into the community center, and it was the first day that I did not have anything special planned for the kids.
I got to our workroom, and my buddy Jimmy was the only one at the table. I snuck up on him and asked "did you name your parrot on your shirt yet?" He smiled and said "yeah, I did. I found a you tube video and listened to a number of parrots who were screeching. There was one that sounded like it was saying WRAC all the time. I liked that as the initials are in the names Wally, Ronny, Alex and CJ. So his name is WRAC." I smiled at Jimmy, ruffled his hair and said "I love that name Jimmy. You're very creative. Where are the others today?" Jimmy said "they all had someplace else to be today. Scott and Betsy have doctor's appointments and Ralphie had to go somewhere with his mom." I smiled and said "okay, we can just concentrate on your project today then." He said "yep, that's what I thought too CJ. I've got my homework done and I have most of my content written, which I want you to read. After you think it's good, I'll type it into a computer and we'll print it out."
Since it was just Jimmy and me today, I said "what do you say if we go back to my house and I'll fix us a snack. We'll work on your content, and your dad will be there around 5:30 to pick you up." Jimmy said "that sounds great CJ. Did you bring an umbrella in, because I did not bring one with me today." I cracked up and said "I forgot mine Jimmy. What do you say we make a run for the jeep, and then do what Taylor Swift says and shake it off?" Jimmy busted out laughing and said "that's too funny CJ. Let me pack up my stuff, and then we'll run to your jeep."
On our way out, I left Randy know that only Jimmy showed up for study hall today and we're going back to my place to use the computer and printer there. Randy's aware of Alex and I helping Fred out by taking Jimmy to the condo for pickup and said "you two have fun, and keep up the good work on your project Jimmy." Jimmy and I dodged the rain as best as we could making our way to the jeep.
We listened to the radio on the way back to the condo, and luckily a Taylor Swift song came on. He started singing along to it at the top of his lungs. I can't say that I'm a Swiftie, but seeing Jimmy enjoy her songs so much brings a smile to my face. It seemed to be raining even harder when we got to the condo. I looked at Jimmy and said "we're tough guys, let's dodge these rain drops too and get upstairs." He ran screaming to the elevator. We were both drenched and laughed at each other as we got into the elevator. Once we entered the condo, I pulled out a towel and handed it to Jimmy. I said "dry your hair and arms off with this. We'll hang WRAC up so he can dry to, and I'll find you a shirt to wear." I went to my closet, and retrieved a channel 2 tee shirt that I have rarely worn. I returned to Jimmy just as he was taking WRAC off and said "here Jimmy, try this one on." He smiled when he saw channel 2 and said "wow, you have so many channel 2 clothes CJ. Do you have to wear all of them for work?" I smiled and said "yes, I wear a lot of them for work when I'm in the field doing a news report."
I dried my hair off with Jimmy's towel and changed into my work out shirt I had on earlier. I looked at him and said "how about a glass of milk and some cookies? We can work on your content here at the dining table, and if we're ready to start typing it up we can go to the office and use the computer there." Jimmy said "that all sounds good CJ. You get the milk and cookies, and I'll put all of my work on the table."
A few minutes later, we were set up at the table and I said "what do you want me to look at first Jimmy?" He handed me a piece of notebook paper and said "what do you think about this for a description of a hurricane and how it forms?" I took a few minutes to read it, while Jimmy enjoyed dipping oreo cookies into his milk. Jimmy had a very good start on a high-level description." I looked at him and said "this is all very good Jimmy. I don't think we should change any of this, but I do think you should add where hurricanes can form and the different names of hurricanes in other parts of the world." Jimmy smiled, went through his notebook papers and found two more pages. He handed them to me and said "you mean something like these two pages CJ?" I read the first page which had a map stapled to it. He had made a copy of a map of the world and oceans which illustrated where hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons form and the countries they hit.
Once I had finished reading the information, I pulled up the picture of Jimmy's hurricane model on my phone. I put the phone between both of us and said "Jimmy all of the information you let me read is very good, and I think it all needs to be included. What do you think about typing all of this up, and we can make a copy of your map in color? All of it can go on one side of your display. Do you think it should be on the left or right side?" He thought for a moment and said "the left side CJ. You always read left to right, so I'll start explaining the left side first to the judges." I smiled at him and said "that makes perfect sense Jimmy. What information do you think should go on the right side of the display?"
Jimmy ruffled through the remainder of his notebook pages and produced four more notebook pages for me. Two of the pages illustrated the detailed stages of how a hurricane forms, and the other two discussed the Saffir-Simpson scale used to measure hurricane strength. One page was pure verbiage, while the second page was the scale itself with strength levels and wind speeds. He looked at me and said "I think I should type up the words on these pages, and include a fresh copy of the scale." I read his verbiage, smiled at him and said "I think this is all very good information Jimmy. I know I have seen a graph of the elements which form a hurricane. What do you think if we find an easy one to follow, and paste it below this verbiage? I think between that and what else you have, your right side of the display is now filled up." A big smile came to Jimmy's face and he replied "I like that CJ. This is all important information for my project."
Jimmy continued on and pointed to the center display of his project, which he and Fred have been working on. Fred took some wire, and formed it into a tube formation to illustrate the hurricane eye. Outside of the eye, Jimmy stuffed cotton in white, grey and black colors to illustrate the storms around the eye. The bottom of the display had blue paper to show the ocean, and on one side of the ocean, Jimmy dyed some cotton blue and increased it in height to show the storm surge. He let me read his definitions for each part of the hurricane and how he planned to attach the information to each part of the storm. It is very impressive to see how much he has been thinking about it, and I'm so pleased with his work. He finally said "I'm going to put my title across the back top. It will say HURRICANE, by Jimmy Peterson."
Once Jimmy was done explaining his thoughts he said "what do you think CJ? Am I missing anything important? I have five minutes to explain it to the judges." I looked at Jimmy, put my hand up for a high-five and said "give me a high-five Jimmy. You have done an excellent job, and with all the information you have, you will have no problem in talking to the judges for five minutes. You can be very proud of your work and I'm certainly proud of what all you've done. We'll start typing the content up, attach it to your display and get it finished up for the science fair."
Jimmy got up from his chair, put his arms around me in a hug and said "thanks CJ for helping me with this. I've learned so much from it, and I'm really excited about showing it off at the science fair."
Just after Jimmy finished up giving me a hug, the Walters Construction crew entered the condo and Jimmy yelled out "hi everyone. Hey Daddy, CJ and I decided on all of the stuff to go into my project. He says the hurricane looks very real, and I'm going to start entering the content into a computer next time we get together." He ran to Fred, gave him a hug and said "CJ and I got wet, so I had to change my shirt and let it dry. You didn't tell Wally and Alex his name, did you?" Fred smiled and said "no, I didn't spoil your surprise, Jimmy. Why don't you tell them his name now." Jimmy pointed to his shirt hanging on the clothes bar in the laundry area and said "the parrots name is WRAC" and giggled after he said it. Alex smiled and said "wow that's a different kind of name Jimmy. How did you come up with that?" He replied "Daddy and I watched a parrot video on you tube before going to bed last night. I think the parrot kept saying WRAC, and I liked it because the W is for Wally, R is for Ronny, A is for you Alex and C is for CJ." Alex looked at Wally, and I'm not sure who was going to break down in tears first.
Wally picked Jimmy up, gave him a hug and said "that's a perfect name for him Jimmy. You are one smart young man. Now we can all say WRAC on the patio and teach the parrot out there how to talk." Jimmy chuckled and said "that sounds like fun Wally."
All three of the guys looked exhausted after a long day at the construction site. Fred said "I'm not trying to be anti-social everyone, but I'm going to get Jimmy back to our place, heat up our dinner and then get us both ready for bed. Jimmy, pack up your stuff and tell everyone goodbye." Jimmy did as Fred requested, and gave us each a hug before leaving. I said "Jimmy, we'll either be here or at the center on Thursday. I'll bring my laptop to the center just in case the other kids show up. If they don't, we'll come back here and you can work in my office. I'll fix dinner for all of us then." Jimmy smiled wide and said "that sounds good CJ. I hope the others don't show up. I'll get a lot of work done while you fix dinner for us." Fred, Wally and Alex all smiled at him and he said "okay daddy, I'm all ready to go. By everyone."
We all walked out and waved at Jimmy and Fred as they pulled out of the parking lot. I looked over at Alex and saw a tear running down his face. I put my arm around his shoulder and said "what's up chief? Did you have a bad day at work?" He cracked up at me and said "no it was a great day CJ. I was able to help out Wally and Fred with so much interior trim work. The place we're working on looks great. That little guy just makes my day everyday I see him. His simplistic views are just a joy to admire, and if we were all like him in our thought processes, the world will be a much happier and safe place to be in." Wally grinned at the two of us and said "well said chief. CJ, sometime I want to take you to the construction site. Alex has done some fantastic interior work, and I want you to see all of it for future ideas here and at the bungalow." I said "sounds great. Maybe we can fit that in our schedule on Saturday or Sunday morning after breakfast. Remember though, I'm taking Trev's shifts this weekend to get some time away for UD and Jack next week."
The three of us went back into the condo and I said "guys, I did not get anything fixed for dinner. How does pizza, salad and wings sound tonight?" Alex replied "that is perfect CJ after a long hot shower." Wally grinned, gave me a kiss and said "that sounds great babe. I'm beat today and don't want to cook. I'm going to rinse off as well while you place an order."
The rain subsided and when the food arrived, we decided to enjoy it on the patio. Ronny joined us shortly after the food arrival, and we all chowed down on some good pig-out food and beer. We talked about so many topics and shared the WRAC story with Ronny. He found the name just as touching as the three of us had. I also informed everyone about the jerseys I ordered and to be on the lookout for several Fedex boxes next week. Alex smiled at me and said "that's a great idea CJ. I know everyone will enjoy the jerseys, and we'll be showing off our support for Wally's favorite QB."
All of us agreed that it was a tiring day, and we decided to retire early for a fresh start on Wednesday morning. I'm not sure if Ronny and Alex went right to sleep, but Wally and I ended up making love before falling asleep in each other arms. It was a long day, but I was definitely back in my comfort zone with the love of my life right by my side.