The Big Storm

The big storm hit Periwinkle County. The kids loved it, especially when school was called off. The parents felt a little differently about it, especially Chuck "Ugly" Bogreen,whose friends gave him the nickname in high school since the girls all swooned over him because he looked like John Mellencamp. On second thought, maybe they called him that precisely because he looks like John Mellencamp.

His wife, Jenna, works all day as a nurse at The Blau Harr Center for Dessert Days, as the local nursing home, which overlooks the parking lot of The Furry Mammal IGA, is called. Chuck is a carpenter's assistant for his brother-in-law. They had no inside jobs this week, so Chuck had no excuse to take the kids to his mother-in-law for the day. He had to stay home with them.

So Chuck was actually pleased when the homeless guy from Alamama came to the door, frozen like a grape popsicle, and asking for a handout. Chuck saw all sorts of possibilities. He invited the man in, sat him down at the table, got rid of the awful casserole from the night before. The kids all clustered around the table to watch the man eat. Chuck understood; it was an awesome sight. Then the kids began to ask the man questions about his life on the road. The man began to tell them stories. Chuck saw his chance.

Jenna doesn't let him smoke in the house. He went to the garage and lit up. That's also the location of the old pickup he is restoring. Soon he was involved in grinding pistons. Every hour or so, he would stick his head back into the kitchen. The homeless guy and the kids were always around the table. Sometimes he was telling them stories, sometimes showing them card tricks. At lunch, he even fixed them boloney and egg sandwiches.

"That guy is really desperate to stay out of the cold," he thought.

At 4:30, though, he turned him out. The storm was still dropping snow by the pickup load, and it was cold as a banker's heart, but Jenna would be home soon. "Try down at the Methodist," he said. "Maybe the Bleeding Hearts will be there."

Unfortunately, Jenna got home before he had a chance to tell the kids that the presence of the homeless guy from Alabama would be their little secret.

"How did it go today?" Jenna asked.

"It was great," the kids all yelled. "This guy came and Daddy let him in 'cause he was cold and he told us great stories and told us to live right."

Jenna looked at her husband from under unhappy brows. "Just what stories did he tell you?" she asked. "And just what did he say about living right?"

"He told about how he used to play guitar and stuff. And he told us to stay away from drugs and women who can run fast, so we wouldn't have to clap. And he showed us how to fool the card dealers at the casino."

"Ug" nodded as sagely as he could. "All good life lessons," he said.

"Just who was this character, anyway?" Jenna asked.

"Oh,just a homeless guy trying to get warm. It was a good thing to let him get warm, wasn't it?"

"Didn't he at least give you a name?" Jenna asked.

"He told us just to call him Elvis," the kids chorused.