School of Two Thousand Smiles–Chapter Eleven

SAM

We sat down near the whiteboard, and I said, "Well, Danny, our team is really working hard. First, there is good news and bad news concerning your favorite chauffeur, Bubba Wilson. First, the bad news: your Ratso found him in San Antonio, Texas, and beat the hell out of him and left him for dead after he told Ratso that he had given you a ride to El Paso, Texas."

Danny was as shocked as I expected, and he showed it, shaking all over. He started crying and, through his tears, told me that he talked a lot to Bubba and had told him all about his family and about Ratso. He said that now he felt responsible for him being in the hospital. He said, "I really like Bubba, he is about the kindest old man I've ever met. And how is he now?"

He's had several operations at the hospital in San Antonio. Did you notice I said he told Ratso he took you as far as El Paso? I nodded. Remember Helen and Marty, the FBI agents? I nodded again. Well, they flew to San Antonio to talk to Bubba and found out he realized the boy Ratso was after was you. Bubba looked so damn mean and spoke like he didn't want to tell him anything. But Ratso figured out Bubba knew more than he was letting on, so he started beating on him. Bubba didn't want to admit he'd dropped you off in San Diego, so he lied and said you'd gotten off in El Paso so you could go north to Albuquerque or maybe Denver. I'm guessing Ratso's been all over the West trying to find you.

It all sounded like bad news to Danny, and he said he didn't think Ratso would go to all that trouble to find him. He mentioned that he hadn't told anyone anything except Bubba, and now look what happened to him. He was glad that he had lied about where he dropped him off and that he had never sent any mail back to Flowers.

"The good news is that Helen and Marty have gotten a warrant for Ratso's arrest for assault and attempted murder of Bubba Wilson. Before, we did not have the kind of evidence that we could have used in court to arrest him. He must be kept in jail so we can get your mom and sisters out of that damn house and town. Now, isn't that good news?" Danny nodded. "Now they'll need your help getting Ratso arrested peacefully – and getting your mom and the girls away from there. I'm going to set up a Zoom call with Helen, Marty, Clair, and you. We need to do it soon because the doctor taking care of Bubba says he was at death's door when he first came into the hospital, and his condition is still listed as critical. Do you want to sit here with me when we get them or wait until you get home?"

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"I'll stay here, I can take the tram any time. I'll call Cheryl and tell her I'll be a bit late, OK?"

It took me about half an hour to get the three others online, and while I was doing this, I heard Danny talk with Bubba in San Antonio. The call must have moved Bubba, as Danny was crying again when he said, "Bubba, man, I didn't want to make you cry. I'm really, really happy that you recognized my asshole dad and lied for me." He listened to the old man for a few minutes and ended with. "I do hope that you keep healing and getting better. Ok if I call you again?" I guess Bubba said yes, and Danny said, "Good, I gotta go now before a meeting with some good people who are helping me. Have a good evening, Bubba."

Danny and I looked at Marty, Helen, and Clair, and I said, "As you see, I have Danny here with me. Now, let's ask Danny what the best way is to protect his family while we arrest Ratso. Ratso is a name Danny and I came up with when I said that 'asshole' was too good a word for him. I said rattlesnake because I hate those poison bastards, so now we call him Ratso. So I think this needs to get done soon, given Bubba's critical condition and before Ratso finds out where Danny is. Oh, while we still have you two, Helen and Marty, on board. I asked Danny to tell us a little about his Ratso, so Danny..."

Danny said, "This Friday, I know it is the first home football game of the year, and that is one time when there are a bunch of strangers in town. That might help hide you if you dress like everyday kind of people and not like TV kind of black-suited FBI people."

Both Helen and Marty laughed and asked, "Where do we find Ratso on a Friday night?"

"He'll usually be driving around the school and stadium. We do call the football field and the little bunch of bleachers the 'stadium'. And sometimes he'll get outta his car and walk around to make sure nobody is causing any trouble. Everybody knows he'll arrest anybody at the drop of a hat."

Helen asked, "And will your mom be home and taking care of the girls? Oh, and what are their names and ages?

"Mom's name is Marge, and she's about 26 or 27 – that's about twenty years younger than Ratso. I heard him say to a fellow one time, 'You gotta get 'em young and then ya can raise 'em right.'" All four of us frowned. It wasn't funny, and we could tell Danny didn't think so either. "Jaque is five and Susie is 8. Since we were caught trying to escape to Memphis a year and a half ago, Susie and I have been taking care of Mom more than the other way around. I guess Susie is probably doing it by herself. Since that time and the bad beating she took from Ratso, Mom trudges around the house like a zombie. She's a good cook – at least when Ratso buys groceries that she can cook. She's a good housekeeper even when she's moving around like a zombie. Oh, Ratso doesn't want anyone running away again, so he tells the school that Mom is homeschooling us. Of course, mom can't school nobody."

We all paused for a few minutes because Danny was having a good cry. I really love this boy, and I could tell that all three of our team members were beginning to love him, too. Marty asked, "Danny, do you think your mom could testify in court about the abuse she endured at the hands of Ratso?"

"If she could be in a safe and healthy place for a while, I think she could. I'm damn sure that I can. Oh, yeah, another thing. I think he will have one of his thugs, he's got two I think, kind of guarding the house and the family when he's going to be outta the house for a while, so I bet one of 'em will be there. And he'll have a gun, so we all were almost as afraid of them as we are of Ratso."

"Do you know where they live?" Marty asked.

"I'm pretty sure they live in an old cabin about a mile from town. Our house is just outside of town, about a quarter of a mile. It's kinda hidden by the trees and brush."

"So, a couple of our agents could sneak up on your family's house?" Danny nodded. "And what about your mom and sisters? If we got there and didn't see the guards, how do you think they would react when we went into the house?"

"I really am afraid Mom has been beaten again for letting me run away. I don't know whether the guards have ever killed anyone, but if Ratso told them to, I bet they would. I heard him often yell at them like, "Do that or I'll throw your ass in jail. He has something on each one of 'em."

"So, you're saying they, whoever is there in the house besides your mom and the girls, is armed and dangerous. Right?"

"Yeah."

"And one last question, Danny, you are sure your mom could not leave the house even if Ratso weren't there, is that right?" Danny grunted another 'yeah.' Marty shrugged and said, "Well, Helen, it looks like we're going to need several agents to help us. Do you think the New Orleans field office will help us?"

"I hope so. One of us needs to call as soon as we hang up here. Now we need to find a place for Mom and the girls. Danny, does your mom have any friends or family to stay with until we find a permanent place?"

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Danny looked puzzled and thought for a minute, then said, "Nope, Ratso pretty well kept her locked up. I don't know whether she has any relatives anywhere. Could we get them to come to California? Jacque and Susan would really love the school, and Mom would want to get as far away from Mississippi as possible." He looked at Clair and then Helen.

 Clair looked at me and said, "Sam, if I could find a place for them, could the school find room for them?"

"We don't like to go over 240 students, but one more kindergartner and one second or third grader, I think we could handle. It would be great if we could find an apartment in this area. Let's do it! Do you have the time, Clair?"  

"No, but I'll find a place. Let's all send Danny's family and everyone some CEUS."

Danny looked at Clair and asked, "What's CEU?"

Clair smiled, "Einstein said the force of love ties everything together, and I call it Celestial Energy Units. My mom calls it prayer. Anyway, we're going to need all the help we can get. Thanks, Sam, for being our coordinator."

I told Danny he could tell Ella about his family back in Mississippi and ask her to tell only her mom and dad, and ask them to keep it confidential. He added that they could help us find a more permanent place for them to live in this area. I left him in the room and went to talk to the principal. Clair told me that she knew a realtor who worked only with low-income families. And she was sure the two teachers would find room for them. I called Danny in the other building and told him what the principal said, and asked him what he thought would be the best grade to start Susan in. He said that he thought the second would be better than the third because of her trauma; she needs to do homework, of any kind. Take a back east. I agreed. 

Back in the room, I asked Danny to do some homework, then went to the corner cabinet and started on my own. An hour later, Marty called from Biloxi, Mississippi, and said he now had three FBI agents joining them, and that he'd call Danny if he needed more information about the layout in Mississippi. I told Danny to go on home to the O'Connell's. 

I was even more on edge than Danny, but he managed to keep his feelings to himself. I had an earpiece firmly in my ear, and about ten o'clock, Mississippi time, I heard Helen whisper, "We managed to hack into the phones of the deputy's guards. One called our man, Ratso, and told him someone was prowling around his house. We are going to take him out." I hoped they could do it quickly and non-lethally. I was holding my breath, and I couldn't remember the last time I automatically did that.  

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About a half hour later, Helen came online and whispered, "Both of the guards are tasered and tied up, we're going to wait upstairs with mom and the girls." I think I heard a gunshot. I waited in anxious silence. I don't know how long I waited until Helen came back on. "Damn,  Sam, you still there?"

I exhaled rather loudly, "Yes, and are all of you?"

"Yes, all of the 'we' are alive, but Ratso is not. Did you hear the gunshots?" I muttered a 'yes' and she went on, "That was Ratso's gun and our tasers. As soon as he saw us, he raised his gun, and our New Orleans guy fired his taser. Ratso shot himself in the neck as he fell to his left and then down the stairs. He's dead." She lowered her voice to say, "Thank god. Betty, another New Orleans agent, is tending to Mom and the girls. They are all crying up a storm. Not because Ratso is dead, I think, but out of nervousness and fear, I believe. Has Clair found a place for them there?

"She told me to have you put them on the high-speed train and send them to San Diego, and she would have a place ready for them by the time they get here. Give them, Mom, and the older girl cell phones, if they don't have them, and give me the time when they will arrive. We'll be ready. And thank you for a job well done. Thank you, thank you." I took a deep breath and exhaled for a long time. 

Sometime Saturday morning, Helen called to tell me that she was going to escort the little family to California that evening, and they would arrive in San Diego at 11:00 a.m. Sunday. She added, "I talked to the captain of the Mississippi state police, and he sent two of his agents from Jackson down to Flowers and has them take care of things. Flowers is a helluva name for this forlorn little old burg. It would make our little town of Julian look like a modern metropolis. The state police consist of a grumpy old fellow and a much younger woman who seems to have a brain and a heart. She is easy to talk to and takes our word for what happened. The old guy thinks they should investigate a possible homicide. The sensible one, a female, of course, tells me they call you all in Cal people, 'Californicators'. I told her to tell her that we call them 'Mississhitians'. I smiled at my own humor. The smile felt good.

Helen went on, "Oh, Sam, Marge, and Danny's mom is in terrible shape. I guess she is about 28 years old, and her poor, beaten-up body looks like that of a poor, beaten-up little girl, and her face like a tired and bruised old woman. She shuffles along with a limp and is in obvious pain. She needs to go to a hospital, but I don't think we should take the time. Please make arrangements for her to go to the emergency room as soon as we arrive. I'll see you Sunday. And that makes the trip more bearable. Take care, Sam. I'll see you soon."

School of Two Thousand Smiles–Chapter Ten

DANNY

I woke up this morning feeling better than I’ve felt in my life. Most importantly, having all these people at the FBI working to find a way to help me get Mom and the girls away from Ratso. And having a teacher help us is so good.  Second, for the first time in my life, I’m looking forward to school – especially to see Sam and Ella. 

It seemed like Sam was waiting just for me when I stepped off the tram in front of Two Thousand Smiles. I think Mom would tell me I was sinning by feeling proud that I was important enough to have a teacher waiting to see me, and that teacher is really smiling when he sees me. I’m beginning to think that mom is wrong on this — and on lots of things—especially about the husband being the head of the house. My head is swimming with lots of good thoughts, and I really like that. 

Sam held a guitar in both hands and gently handed it to me, and said, “Ella said you needed a guitar, and here is one you can borrow until it can find an owner. It was in the school’s storeroom. I will probably call you this evening with the rest of the Danny team, so until then, have another good wacky day.” He patted me on the shoulder. I really liked it that Sam called all the people helping me, ‘Danny’s team’. I turned around just as Ella arrived. I held up the guitar and thanked her for telling Sam about my need.  

She replied, “So, I hope you can join us tomorrow after school. Did you get off the tram?” I nodded. “I guess you were in the other car. I usually sit in the second car, so join me there if you want to.” Ella seemed a little nervous about inviting me to be with her. I told her I’d go to the second car tomorrow, and she relaxed as she gave me a little card with her phone number and text number and said, “Call me if you can’t join me, because I would worry. Our class is having a science class first period and now…” 

The music from the Ragamuffins started, and Ella again dragged me over to meet her dad and see her little sister. The music had just started, so I could only shake hands with her dad, who had a little darker skin than Ella. He was a handsome guy in jeans and a pinkish polo shirt.  Angie, the kindergartner, had a big, welcoming smile and reached up, taking one of my hands and Ella’s other hand. We started the day with a song that seemed everyone knew but me, that started with “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, zip-a-dee-ay, my oh my, what a wonderful day.” I learned later that it was another really old song from the last century. I’m sure the old, grumpy people in my super sober Mississippi school would condemn all this as a complete waste of time because education is serious business. I’m sure I was more open to learn something after the wake-up singing and dancing than I was after my old sour march into the school building with a bunch of grouchy teachers and sad-looking kids. After more dancing and singing, I was glad that Ella’s dad was really enjoying himself and singing along with everybody else. When the music stopped, he held out his hand and said, “You must be Danny. I’m Mark Haloran, and Ella has told her mom and me that you are a refugee from our most conservative state. I’m happy to meet you, and I hope Ella has been a pleasant guide.” 

I nodded and replied, “Yeah, she’s really helped me a lot. This school is so different from back home. It’s like being released from prison and being thrown into a fun garden.” I was surprised that I called Flowers, ‘back home’. I never wanted to go back there in my life. Just thinking about it made me all tighten up. 

Angie piped up, “And I like you, Danny, even if you do talk funny.” All three of us laughed. Mark took Angie’s hand, and he let her lead him to her classroom. Ella and I headed to our big classroom and were greeted by a young man who looked like he’d just graduated from high school. He introduced himself as Josh Speers and informed us that he had just graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and had a Ph.D. in Physics, so he could be called Dr. Speers, but was fine with Josh. He was also a graduate of Two Thousand Smiles. I had even heard of MIT and knew it was considered one of the best universities in the world. He told us that he volunteered to teach at our school as part of his two-year community service, which all young people, male and female, must complete after graduating from high school or college. He concluded by saying, “Eventually, I want to work in Kenya, Africa, where my mother is from. I’m still learning their language, and I thought I’d learn how to teach at a school like this one. So, you are all going to help me to become a teacher. Are you okay with that?” We all clapped and yelled, “Yes, Great, We’re the best…” and other positive and boisterous comments. 

Josh said that he wanted to get into microbiology and physics. He went on to tell us that it included atomic theory, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and quantum mechanics. I looked around the room and was relieved to notice that I wasn’t the only one who looked confused. Josh said. “So first, please place your right hand on the little desktop on the side of your chair. Now raise your pinkie finger up and down. Now, keep doing this for a few moments and ask yourself, ‘How am I doing this. How am I able to raise and lower my finger like this?”

“Now, I hope you have come up with several answers to yourself, ‘How do I do this. Your little finger is tired now, so let it stop. And how do you do that, too?” He looked around the room and, with his eyes, seemed to meet each one of us. At least that is what I felt when he looked at me. “Now, who would like to tell us what he or she is thinking about this question?” 

Joe Jackson held up his hand, and Josh nodded. Joe said, “I think I have an invisible little genie running around in my mind and my body and waiting for my mind/brain to tell him what to do, and he does it. Oh, I really love that helpful little guy.” Joe smiled smugly and looked around the room as everyone laughed. I wondered if the other fifth-grade cohort had a class clown like Joe.

Maria didn’t wait and said quickly, “That’s just the way god made us, we think something and god makes it happen. Maybe Joe’s really right, his little invisible genie is an angel that helps us and is sent by god.” Two students from the other 5^{th grade} cohort gave similar answers.

Olivia sang, “And, and an invisible little devil is trying to knock us down, and sometimes I think that my little devil has an evil power that makes me a cripple and my angel keeps me strong enough to smile and move my little finger – not, uh, not as good as you all, but good enough.” It must have taken her five minutes to tell us her thoughts, and everyone was quiet as mice. I felt sure that if Olivia were in a classroom in Mississippi, the other kids would have laughed at her. I was so glad to see everyone, even Joe. Quietly respect her.

Josh shocked me by saying, “You know, I think you all have wonderfully true ideas. Joe, the way you talked about a genie, reminds me of Albert Einstein’s famous E=MC²* or ‘energy equals matter times the speed of light squared. Oh, you all have heard of Einstein, haven’t you?” Joe glanced around the room, scrunched up his face, raised both of his arms like a band leader encouraging everyone to join him, and I think everyone except me let out a loud, “DUH!!”

Josh laughed and said, “Now I know you are all awake and informed. And I want you to know that I picked that little finger exercise from a fellow named Jesus featured in a 21^st century blog that attempted to tell readers about what the author dreamed about how Jesus really wanted his believers to think about him. Anyway, I enjoyed the blog and some of the ideas. And now back to our own renowned physicist, Dr. Joseph Jackson. I believe Einstein would agree that when we think about moving our little finger, we send an energy signal to our finger to move. Everything is energy, and just recently, the multinational, multi-billion-dollar project to find the most basic particles may be changed to focus more on energy forms, because all the scientists finally agree with Einstein’s theory that everything is made of energy. That includes our thoughts. Questions?

Gordo asked, “So, Maria’s idea that god makes our fingers move, right? And I’ve heard that our bodies and souls are separate kinds of beings, so when we die, our souls or energy that gives us our forms leave our bodies. Josh, is that true?”

Josh told Gordo and the rest of us that it was an excellent question, that he didn’t know, and that we’d spend some time on it later in the school year. “Now I’d like to say to Maria that I don’t believe we have to invoke god to move it, we just do it ourselves. It is like our thoughts are the starter button. You know, my dear students, all these brilliant scholars at MIT are still puzzled by this question. I believe Einstein was still thinking about the kind of energy that thought, thinking, and feelings were made of up until the day he died. And the god question will have to wait, maybe for years.”

I really enjoyed this class, and I even enjoyed the homework of asking two adults what they thought about thinking as a form of energy. I would like to ask about it intelligently. I guess I’ll ask the O’Connell’s, the family I’m staying with. The last class in the morning was Spanish, and I was told I needed to join Joe Jackson with third-grade students because we were beginners. I felt like a giant with all the eight-year-olds, but they didn’t seem to care, and we felt welcome – I think Joe more than me. Maybe not. Anyway, I wanted to learn the language and I liked the woman teacher.  

At lunch, I was back with the same four fifth-graders. I missed our four big brothers and sisters, but was pleasantly surprised to see Cheryl O’Connell and Debbie’s dad, as well as another mother and another dad from the other cohort’s fifth graders. Cheryl sat next to me, and I introduced her to Ella. She told us she had just received a call this morning, asking if she could join us. “I was scheduled to join you all on Friday, and I was going to tell you on Thursday.” Neither she nor I told the rest of the group that she was my foster mom. Ella knew but didn’t say anything about it. I acted like whoever she was, it was just fine with me. Cheryl was her usual gracious self. Two of the four parents were ‘old hands’ at meetings with students and parents at Two Thousand Smiles. The other two were new to the lunch meetings but had been to the ten-session parents’ orientation before school started, so they were at home with everyone – even more at home than I was, but I was getting more comfortable every hour.

I’m glad that the first class after lunch is tai chi. It gives me a chance to relax my whole body, at least the part I’m in touch with. Back in Mississippi, the only thing we were encouraged to do was to get strong and tough enough to play tackle football. We were told we didn’t need to learn to relax; we just needed to be tough enough to take and dish out a hit. Too often, I was called a sissy. I didn’t have to worry about that here, and I was glad. The second afternoon class was cosmology, which Ella informed me was the study of the cosmos, and just as the other science class was on the microcosm, today’s class is on the macrocosm. Micro and macro are new words I need to learn. A delightful young woman who was working on her Ph.D at the University of California was the teacher who showed us several short films made by the Webb Space Telescope. Wow! I’d never even heard of it. And the last class was Geography and International Relations. We hardly got out of the state of Mississippi back in Flowers, and here we were going to learn about everyone on our planet. This school year was gonna be fun.

I told Ella I would see her after classes, and I did, but I also saw Sam, our Tator. He said that he needed to talk to me right now. I told Ella that I’d catch a later tram and followed Sam back to our cohort room.  

School of Two Thousand Smiles–Chapter Nine

SAM

After Danny left our Zoom connection, I asked Clair what she was thinking about that could help Danny’s family. She told me what he had told her when she first talked to him, and the very idea of talking to that man again gave her shivers. “I’ll get in touch with my FBI friend and ask her what she and Marty Barnes had come up with, and maybe have another Zoom conference. Oh, and I’ll ask her to have her research team look into finding that Bubba W fellow online. 

I told them what Danny said about Ratso whor’n around on Saturday nights and getting drunk. They all got a bit of a chuckle when I told them that Danny said he didn’t know what whor’n around meant, but that it was just what his mom told him about what Ratso was doing.  

I was surprised that Helen called only minutes after we had hung up. It was great that our ‘team’ was already becoming a team. “I told her what Danny said about the idea of an out-of-town couple nosing around the little town of Flowers and the probability of his deputy sheriff dad putting them in jail. Marty Barnes was on the phone with her and wondered if it would be possible to incapacitate the dad somehow and grab the mom and girls and get them out of town as quickly as possible?” He asked how they might figure out when Ratso would be drunk enough to be knocked out of commission.

Helen asked, “Could we get into the house and take mom and the girls just because we think they are in danger? What do you think, Marty? After all, we only know he is a dangerous criminal bastard, as Danny says he is. I believe Danny, but we need something that will hold up in court. That Robert E. Lee fellow is evil, and he is clever, and he seems to have covered up things and intimidated everyone in that dinky little county.” 

Marty suggested that they do more digging before taking any overt actions. “Let’s see if we can find Bubba, the truck driver. I’ll check on Bubba, and Helen, why don’t you see if there is anyone in Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, who has a file on our ‘friendly’ sheriff.” 

I agreed that we wouldn’t do anything until we could get Ratso arrested when we took action to rescue Danny’s mom and sisters. I told Helen and Marty that I’d do my best to keep Danny safe and as emotionally level as possible. I saw Danny right before our morning pep rally and told him we were working on it and that I hoped he would have a good day.

Helen said there was a large file on Robert E. Lee in Jackson. Still, every entry stated that there were reports of spousal abuse. During his twenty-three-year career as a Deputy Sheriff, there were no serious reports that warranted sending a state police detective to Flowers to follow up on the incidents. As far as the state was concerned, Flowers was a serene and peaceful little town. 

Helen and Marty called late in the afternoon. Helen reported her disappointment about Ratso’s non-record at the state level. Marty had better luck finding information, but it was horrible news about Bubba, the truck driver. Marty had tracked Bubba down and found him in the hospital in San Antonio. It seems that the poor man was found unconscious in the parking area at a huge truck stop there. He had been robbed and beaten nearly to death the previous Saturday, there in San Antonio. He had needed several surgeries and was currently at a rehab facility near the hospital. He did not have any visitors and was conscious and cussing up a storm about the ‘sombitch’ that had beaten him up. He didn’t know him, but the nurse, Marty, had spoken with him and said she thought he might know more than he was letting on.

Marty concluded, “I think that Helen and I should fly to San Antonio and talk to Bubba Wilson. So, Danny was right, it was a ‘W’ something last name. I think the poor man will talk more easily if a woman is with me, don’t you?” Helen imperiously tilted her head back and looked down her nose at the two men. They smiled.

I said, “Yes, I do. And, I’m like you, Marty, I don’t believe in coincidences, and I’m sure Ratso perpetrated the assault.“ I paused and then added, “The name ‘Ratso’ has really caught on for us, and we’ll need to be cautious about using it. I hope Bubba has not lost his memory after the attack. How far is San Antonio?”

“About five hundred miles from New Orleans, I’ll get tickets for tomorrow. Is that okay with you, Helen?”

She nodded, “Yes. And I’m wondering if it might be a good idea to take Danny with us?”

I immediately said, “No, for two reasons. One, we are not absolutely sure Ratso is the one who assaulted Bubba, and more importantly, Danny has already been through a lot, and I don’t want to add to his trauma. So, let’s talk when you get back tomorrow, okay?” They both nodded and hung up.