Read Online Patiently Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - Free Book Online
Authors: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
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his hand and Legs shook it.
“Leo Green,” Legs said. “I’m a friend of Gwen’s.”
“We’re glad to have you drop in, but all visitors have to register first at the office,” Jack said cordially. “Our counselors are on twenty-four-hour duty here, so… I hope you understand. We generally limit visitors to Sundays.”
In the movies Legs probably would have turned and pasted the assistant director in the mouth too, but that didn’t happen either.
“Well, I work Sundays, and this is the only time I could get off. I just want to talk with Gwen for a few minutes,” Legs said.
“Sure. You want to come up to the dining hall?” Jack waited. I’ll bet he could smell trouble at fifty paces.
“I’ll be right back,” Gwen said to the rest of us, and, turning to Estelle and Latisha, she said, “Okay, girls. You did good! Now keep it up, hear?”
The kids only gawked.
Legs and Gwen went up toward the dining hall,Jack walking about ten feet behind them. Joe nodded in their direction and looked at me. “Is Leo bad news?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. It was really Gwen’s story to tell, not mine.
It was time for the canoe lesson, so we guided the campers down to the river.
Connie was on the bank giving instructions through a bullhorn, starting with the safety talk about the right way to get in and out of a canoe while Tommie gave a demonstration. Then Ross took a canoe out into the water to show the kids the correct way to hold a paddle and a few of the basic strokes.
“Everyone will have a chance to go out in a canoe,” Connie said. “Some of you will get to paddle, and some of you will just go along for the ride. But before camp is over, we want everyone who would like to learn to paddle to have a chance.”
We lined the kids up in pairs, an older and a younger camper, and put life jackets on them. They reminded me of Chinese wontons, their heads the lumps in the middle, and they laughed and hooted at the sight of themselves.
It was when we actually tried to get them in the canoes that the trouble started. Kim was terrified, and one of Elizabeth’s charges clung to her andwouldn’t let go. Mary, of course, insisted that Josephine go in the same canoe with her.
Each fearful camper got the personal attention of a counselor, and I had to admire the way G. E. calmed Kim. He simply took her by both hands till she stopped trembling, and then, each taking a step sideways, G. E. counting all the while, “ one banana, two banana…,” they moved together toward the water and he got her to sit in the middle of a canoe.
We held the canoes steady while the kids got in. After each of the dozen or so canoes received its passengers, the counselor in the stern moved it out into the water. The rest of the campers waited their turn on the bank.
As each counselor gave directions to the older camper in the bow of their canoe, the campers awkwardly brandished their paddles, while the younger passenger in the middle either dangled his or her arms over the sides, prepared to enjoy the adventure, or sat frozen, as though the very act of breathing might overturn them all. But after about ten minutes of slowly moving out over the water, even the fearful ones, Kim included, looked as though they could enjoy it.
Once the kids got the hang of it, Connie called out instructions for the C stroke and the J stroke, so that they were turning this way and that, andJack Harrigan came back from the dining hall to patrol the perimeter in his own canoe.
From where I stood on the bank with the campers still waiting their turn, I saw Gwen coming down the hill. Elizabeth looked over too, searching her face, and then Gwen gave us the okay sign. Not only that, but she was smiling. From somewhere back by the parking lot, we could hear the sound of a car pulling out and heading off down the mountain road. Gwen silently lifted a fist in the air and mouthed, Yes! When we saw Joe looking at her, we all laughed.
I
“Leo Green,” Legs said. “I’m a friend of Gwen’s.”
“We’re glad to have you drop in, but all visitors have to register first at the office,” Jack said cordially. “Our counselors are on twenty-four-hour duty here, so… I hope you understand. We generally limit visitors to Sundays.”
In the movies Legs probably would have turned and pasted the assistant director in the mouth too, but that didn’t happen either.
“Well, I work Sundays, and this is the only time I could get off. I just want to talk with Gwen for a few minutes,” Legs said.
“Sure. You want to come up to the dining hall?” Jack waited. I’ll bet he could smell trouble at fifty paces.
“I’ll be right back,” Gwen said to the rest of us, and, turning to Estelle and Latisha, she said, “Okay, girls. You did good! Now keep it up, hear?”
The kids only gawked.
Legs and Gwen went up toward the dining hall,Jack walking about ten feet behind them. Joe nodded in their direction and looked at me. “Is Leo bad news?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. It was really Gwen’s story to tell, not mine.
It was time for the canoe lesson, so we guided the campers down to the river.
Connie was on the bank giving instructions through a bullhorn, starting with the safety talk about the right way to get in and out of a canoe while Tommie gave a demonstration. Then Ross took a canoe out into the water to show the kids the correct way to hold a paddle and a few of the basic strokes.
“Everyone will have a chance to go out in a canoe,” Connie said. “Some of you will get to paddle, and some of you will just go along for the ride. But before camp is over, we want everyone who would like to learn to paddle to have a chance.”
We lined the kids up in pairs, an older and a younger camper, and put life jackets on them. They reminded me of Chinese wontons, their heads the lumps in the middle, and they laughed and hooted at the sight of themselves.
It was when we actually tried to get them in the canoes that the trouble started. Kim was terrified, and one of Elizabeth’s charges clung to her andwouldn’t let go. Mary, of course, insisted that Josephine go in the same canoe with her.
Each fearful camper got the personal attention of a counselor, and I had to admire the way G. E. calmed Kim. He simply took her by both hands till she stopped trembling, and then, each taking a step sideways, G. E. counting all the while, “ one banana, two banana…,” they moved together toward the water and he got her to sit in the middle of a canoe.
We held the canoes steady while the kids got in. After each of the dozen or so canoes received its passengers, the counselor in the stern moved it out into the water. The rest of the campers waited their turn on the bank.
As each counselor gave directions to the older camper in the bow of their canoe, the campers awkwardly brandished their paddles, while the younger passenger in the middle either dangled his or her arms over the sides, prepared to enjoy the adventure, or sat frozen, as though the very act of breathing might overturn them all. But after about ten minutes of slowly moving out over the water, even the fearful ones, Kim included, looked as though they could enjoy it.
Once the kids got the hang of it, Connie called out instructions for the C stroke and the J stroke, so that they were turning this way and that, andJack Harrigan came back from the dining hall to patrol the perimeter in his own canoe.
From where I stood on the bank with the campers still waiting their turn, I saw Gwen coming down the hill. Elizabeth looked over too, searching her face, and then Gwen gave us the okay sign. Not only that, but she was smiling. From somewhere back by the parking lot, we could hear the sound of a car pulling out and heading off down the mountain road. Gwen silently lifted a fist in the air and mouthed, Yes! When we saw Joe looking at her, we all laughed.
I
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