Ruby's Pearls Elecmag 14/RUBYV14.ZIP/RUBY14-3

Text File | 1992-10-25 | 10KB | 156 lines

     Copyright 1992(c)

                            The Late Mr. Wilson
                             By John Chambers

          Fred Wilson brought the car to a screeching halt in front of
     the hospital. He jumped out of the driver's side door and ran
     around to help Mrs. Wilson out of the car. While doing all of
     this running, he was also waving his arms toward an attendant
     with a wheel chair.
          "Over here!", Fred called to the hospital attendant. The man
     with the wheel chair came rushing over toward the Wilson's car.
          "Geez Fred," said Louise Wilson, "I'm not even having labor
     pains yet. They're going to have to induce labor. There's no
     rush."
          Fred beamed at Louise and helped her into the wheel chair.
     "I know," he said, "but the situation calls for it. This is our
     first child, even if it is 3 weeks late."
          Fred was right. The doctors said that she should have given
     birth in mid-December, and today was January 6th. The doctor was
     going to induce labor today to speed along the birth of their
     first child.
          Arthur Wilson, a happy and healthy baby boy, came into the
     world on January 7th. He had a minor respiratory problem at birth
     and had to stay an extra day in the hospital, but otherwise he
     was just fine.
          Everyone who saw Arthur said that he was a delightful child.
     He never got into trouble, didn't cry very often, and was a well
     behaved and happy baby. This proved to be true as Arthur grew
     older, started to walk, and started talking. He reached these
     childhood milestones a bit later than others, but he was such a
     wonderful child that it didn't matter.
          The only problem that Fred and Louise ever noticed was
     little Arthur's tardiness; he could never get anywhere on time.
     Something always came up just as the Wilsons were ready to leave
     in the car, have dinner, or go for a walk. Arthur would always
     forget his teddy bear and have to go back for it, or have to go
     potty, or change his shirt. It was an annoying little problem,
     but since Arthur was such a wonderful child, it was easily
     overlooked.
          Arthur Wilson was late for his first day of school. He had
     forgotten the crayons his mother bought for him and had to go
     back into the house to get them. Once in the house, he had to go
     to the bathroom. On his second day of school, Arthur forgot his
     lunch money and had to run back home to retrieve it, so he was
     late again.
          Although Fred and Louise Wilson didn't know it at the time,
     this was to be a lifelong problem for Arthur. He was late to
     school almost every day. He was late both going to recess and
     returning to class. He was late for lunch, late for dinner, and
     late to go play outside.
          When he was going to the playground for a baseball game with
     his friends, he would forget his glove. "Hey, wait up guys!" he
     would yell. The next day he would forget to wear a belt. His
     friends would see Arthur turning for home and tugging at his
     pants while screaming, "Hey, wait up guys!"
          He was known as "Wait Up" Wilson to all of the boys and
     girls in the neighborhood, and whenever the children would go off
     to play, one would hear little laughs and giggles and one little
     voice saying, "Hey, wait up!"
          Arthur's problem was never a bother to most people. He was
     such a likeable person that almost everyone overlooked this
     little quirk. He was very intelligent and made good grades in
     school, he was always available to help others, and he always had
     a beautiful smile. It was really difficult to get mad at Arthur.
          The Army was one of the exceptions to this rule. They didn't
     like Arthur being late for things. Arthur was drafted into the
     Army in 1966, but reported late because he had gotten lost in
     Oakland. Though Arthur was always late for things, he did
     excellent work. His superiors liked the way he performed, and his
     attitude. Most of the time they just put Arthur on K.P. as
     punishment, so Arthur spent much of his time peeling potatoes.
          Being late was not always bad for Arthur. While his squad
     was on patrol in Vietnam, Arthur fell behind to lace his boot.
     In this instance, Arthur decided not to yell his usual, "Wait up,
     guys!" As it so happened, a North Vietnamese patrol was just
     ahead. The entire squad unknowingly walked into an ambush while
     Arthur was lacing his boot. Arthur, late as usual, came up behind
     the enemy soldiers and rescued his squad. He was later awarded
     the Bronze Star medal for his actions.
          Much later in life, Arthur missed a plane to an important
     meeting in Dallas. Lady Luck once again shed her light on Arthur
     - the plane crashed upon landing, killing all those aboard.
          Arthur married Joyce Bentner when he was twenty-eight. He
     was, of course, a bit late for the wedding. Joyce tried for years
     to get Arthur where he needed to be at the correct time, but was
     always foiled in her attempts. She and Arthur got along very well
     together, and loved each other very much.
          Throughout his lifetime, Arthur remained a very popular
     fellow. He was successful in business ventures most of the time,
     and earned a good living as an inventor and businessman. He
     missed several opportunities to make large amounts of money in
     the stock market because the stock would be over-priced by the
     time he got ready to make his move. On the other hand, Arthur
     would often fail to buy a "hot" new stock when everyone else was
     buying, and would be safe when it came crashing down. When the
     hula-hoop craze hit the country Arthur decided to jump in and
     make a profit. He was late as usual, and ended up with 2
     warehouses filled with useless toys when the craze abruptly
     ended.
          Arthur made his mark on the world when he was in his
     fifties. After many years of research, he patented a new type of
     shoe sole for use on running and athletic shoes. Arthur was
     always running to catch up, so it was only fitting that he
     invented this particular item. The invention caught on quickly,
     and he constantly received royalty checks for the use of his
     patent. Arthur was finally financially secure enough to take a
     long awaited two-week cruise.
          Arthur and Joyce enjoyed their cruise very much. The
     relaxation of the open sea, the fancy dinners, and the joyous
     atmosphere was a wonderful break for them both. For ten days they
     cruised the Caribbean, visiting many wonderful ports and having a
     great time.
          On the eleventh day they were heading to port in Saint
     Thomas when the skies became very dark. A tropical storm was
     rapidly approaching, and the Captain of the ship immediately
     began to head for a safe port. Unfortunately, the cruise ship ran
     aground while trying to make port, and a large hole opened in her
     side. With the ship quickly filling with water, the Captain
     ordered all hands to the lifeboats. The passengers had been
     through several of these drills, and the rescue was proceeding
     smoothly - except for Arthur. Once again, Arthur was late.
     A deck hand finally forced Joyce into a life boat, and she saw
     poor Arthur stumbling around the decks of the cruise ship
     yelling, "Wait up!" Just at that moment, a huge wave swallowed
     the decks of the ship. The life boats were shoved out into the
     sea, and Arthur Wilson was taken prisoner by the ocean.
          They located his body two days later. Joyce Wilson was
     distraught and tearful at the loss of Arthur, but bravely headed
     back home to make the proper arrangements. She left complete
     instructions for shipping Arthur's remains back home, and set the
     funeral for the following Wednesday.
          On Tuesday, the day before the funeral, Joyce discovered
     that the body had been delayed in shipping. Arthur's remains
     would not arrive until Wednesday morning, and this would not
     allow enough time for the funeral personnel to prepare the body.
     Joyce re-scheduled the funeral for Thursday.
          Thursday morning services were held in the funeral home, and
     many of Arthur's friends gave him glowing testimony. It was a
     very tender and moving service, and everyone was very sad. When
     the service was over, the funeral party climbed into long black
     limousines and began the slow, somber journey to the grave site.
          Along the way to the cemetery, the hearse which carried
     Arthur's body suffered from an untimely flat tire. The driver
     immediately jumped from the hearse and waved the other cars on
     toward the cemetery, then began to busily replace the flat tire.
          At the grave site, the local reverend gave Arthur his final
     rites, and said a few carefully selected last words about the
     late Mr. Wilson.
          Joyce Wilson peered sadly into the open and empty grave,
     then tilted her head up just in time to spot the rapidly
     approaching hearse which carried Arthur.
          "Damn. Wouldn't you know it," she said. "He's late for his
     own funeral."
                                   END