Clarence Coyote slept well during his first night back from the six months he spent in the year 1960. It sure felt good to the little eight year old Coyote cub to be reunited with his original family in the year 2018.
Charley was the first one awake that morning to make a phone call in to where he works.
After everyone else had gotten up that morning, Charley asked Alice, "What's for breakfast, Dear?"
"I thought I'd fix up some scrambled eggs with cheese. And we can have some Raisin Brand and Pop Tarts to go with it", Alice replied.
"Sounds like a winner", Charley agreed.
"Oh, Pop Tarts. Now that's what I'm talkin' about", older brother Jack added.
"Breakfast ain't breakfast without 'em", older sister Rhonda remarked.
"So how's our little blast from the past this morning?", Daddy Charley asked as Clarence came to the breakfast table.
"I'm sure happy to be back", Clarence cheerfully answered, then added, "1960 was really cool though. But I'm glad to be back home".
"We all are. We sure missed you", Mama Alice added.
Alice then asked Charley, "Are you able to get today off from work?"
"I called in and explained the situation to them earlier this morning", Charley replied. "The dispatcher said he can get Greg Cougar to stand in for me today where the locomotive crews switch off".
"Gee, Dad. Did you tell them about the time machine?", Jack asked.
"I did". Charley replied.
"Are you sure that was a wise idea?", Alice asked.
"It's okay, Alice. Two old timers at the rail yard were around as cubs in 1960. Their families and them actually witnessed Clarence leaving in the time machine 58 years ago", Charley assured Alice.
"Oh, so they already know anyway", Alice surmised.
"Some of them do, including our dispatcher", Charley replied.
The family enjoyed their breakfast of scrambled eggs, Raisin Brand, strawberry Pop Tarts, Cafe' Bustelo coffee, and Tampico orange breakfast beverage. This morning was also special in that it was the first time since February the 9th that Clarence was able to be with his original family while having breakfast. The last time before that was on February 9th when the family had breakfast with Poindexter Fox at McDonald's in Roswell before going to see the body of the extraterrestrial who died in the 1949 flying saucer crash in Corona. That was the day Clarence got to messing around with the time machine and accidentally traveled back to 1960.
After breakfast, Alice mentioned, "We still need to get Clarence registered for the 2018 / 2019 school year".
"Clarence missed the last half of 3rd grade", Rhonda mentioned, then asked. "Does that mean he'll have to flunk 3rd grade this year?"
"Aw, no way", Clarence retorted.
"I don't think so", Charley answered Rhonda. "I have his 1960 school transcripts here from Torrance County that Al and Marge sent with him. And there are still many old timers around who can testify Clarence was present for six months in 1960".
"Al and Marge adopted Clarence for those six months too", Rhonda added.
Alice then mentioned, "You do know they have aptitude tests to determined grade placement. If the education system 58 years ago was as advanced as they say it was...".
"Hey, you're right", Charley said to Alice. "I believe Clarence could pass one of those tests to move on to the 4th grade with no problem".
"Jack and Rhonda are already registered for school", Alice mentioned to Charley, then suggested, "While you have off from work today, we should go to the school board this morning and get Clarence to take that aptitude test, then get him registered for school".
"We could go anytime we're ready", Charley mentioned to Alice. "Vaughn is within sight of here".
"I'm ready", Alice replied as the cubs agreed.
Thus, the family headed out to their Honda Odessy van as Charley locked up the doublewide home...Locking up the house is a necessity in this day and time. It isn't like it was in 1960 when Al and Marge could leave the house unlocked when the family went somewhere.
Once everyone were in the van, Charley started it up, pulled onto Highway 54 / 60 (which is now dual lane in this day and time), and headed north the couple of miles to Vaughn.
On the way there, Clarence asked, "So what's this test like?"
"It's to determine what you have learned in school so far", Mama Alice answered.
"If you can pass this test, you won't have to do the 3rd grade over again", Daddy Charley assured Clarence.
"I'll do my best with it", Clarence promised.
Within several minutes, the family arrived to the Guadalupe County School Board Office in Vaughn.
"Here we are", Charley said as he parked the van.
As everyone were getting out, Alice said to the cubs, "No acting up and goofing around while we're here. Be on your best behaviour".
"Okay, Mom", Jack acknowledged as Rhonda and Clarence agreed.
Before going inside, Clarence took a moment to look toward the built up overpass grade where the BNSF Railroad crosses above the Union Pacific Railroad.
"What is it, Son", Charley asked Clarence.
"Oh, I was just looking at the railroad overpass", Clarence replied. "It wasn't there in 1960".
"There was no railroad here then?", Jack asked Clarence.
"Both railroads were here back then. But the overpass wasn't", Charley interjected to Jack.
"The railroads simply crossed each other out that way", Clarence affirmed as he pointed west to where the railroads now overpass each other. "And route 54 use to go through town that way, and went over a railroad crossing".
"I remember seeing one of the pictures of it you brought back with you", Rhonda said to Clarence.
"That's been some time ago when they put that all in", Charley mentioned. "It was quite a project too".
After reminiscing about how the railroads crossed each other in 1960, everyone made their way to the school board building.
Once inside, the family was greeted by a young receptionist, Connie Fox. Charley and Alice mentioned to Connie they wanted to have Clarence take an aptitude test to determine grade placement. Connie Fox did not find the request to be so unusual being she has had parents come in before requesting aptitude testing for their cubs.
However, when Charley and Alice explained Clarence's situation, Connie Fox exclaimed, "Oookey. Hold on. You're joking with me, right?"
"I realize it sounds far fetched. But it's all true", Charley assured Connie.
"Our son, Clarence, actually did spend six months in the year 1960. We know others who were around in 1960 who can verify that", Alice confirmed as older siblings Jack and Rhonda agreed.
"Let me...uhh...have my supervisor come speak to you", Connie Fox said to the family.
Connie Fox then paged her supervisor on the desk intercom, "Harry, can you come out here a moment?"
Within a minute, Supervisor Harry Bear, age 55, came from his office to the lobby.
After Harry Bear greeted Charley, Alice and their cubs, he then asked Connie Fox, "What's up?"
"It's beyond me, Harry", Connie replied. "This coyote family is talking about a time travel machine, and that one of their sons had been to a time fifty some years ago".
"I am aware of Clarence Coyote's situation", Harry Bear assured Connie Fox, then offered the Coyote Family, "Let's come on back to my office. We'll talk a bit. Then I'll get that aptitude test for Clarence".
"Here are Clarence's 1960 school transcripts from Torrance County", Alice said to Harry Bear as she pawed the papers to him.
"These papers are in remarkably good condition for being 58 years old", Harry Bear mentioned.
"These copies were sent with Clarence aboard the machine just before he left 1960", Charley Coyote affirmed.
"Actually brand new then", Harry Bear acknowledged. "They didn't experience all the years between then and now".
"I bet it's the newest school copies from 1960 around", Rhonda remarked.
"The only paper copies anyway. The 1960 records Torrance County has would be on microfiche by now", Harry Bear assured the family as they made their way to the office.
"Harry", Connie Fox called out. "Was there...uh...really a..."
"Time machine?", Harry Bear replied to Connie.
"Yea", Connie replied back.
"Connie, I'm not at liberty to discuss that", Harry Bear answered as he and the Coyote Family continued to the office.
Upon entering Harry Bear's office, the family noticed awards, plaques and framed letters hanging on the walls that were in commemoration of his achievements as a school teacher, then as a school principal then as a school board supervisor.
Harry Bear mentioned, "The year 1960 was a little before my time. But I was born in 1963 and I had heard about you when I was growing up... the coyote cub from the future".
"Sounds like the receptionist didn't know about Clarence being in 1960 for a while", Rhonda mentioned.
"Connie Fox is young", Harry Bear said. "She had no idea".
Harry Bear then asked, "So Clarence. How was 1960?"
"It was really cool in a lot of ways", Clarence affirmed. "But there wasn't any internet though. And all phones were the old kind that were connected to a wire from a wall. But it was still awesome back in those days".
"Those old phones are called land line phones. And back then they had dials", Harry Bear mentioned to Clarence.
"Yea, they did", Clarence agreed.
Clarence then recalled how big and elaborate automobiles were back in those days.
"And most of the new cars back then had cool looking fins", Clarence further mentioned.
"Those cars with the fins were a few years old by the time I came along", Harry Bear affirmed to Clarence, then mentioned, "But as an older cub, I remember when the muscle cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s were new cars".
Harry Bear then mentioned to Clarence, "What I'm interested in now is what you found school to be like compared to school now days".
"Oh it was way different", Clarence said. "And there wasn't a lot of goofing off like now days...Well, there were some goof offs, but very few of them".
Clarence mentioned about things to Harry Bear that were taught in 3rd grade in 1960 that isn't taught until later grades in 2018.
Clarence also mentioned, "Our class would also recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each day".
"Unfortunately, schools have stopped doing that a long time ago", Harry Bear mentioned. "In fact, they hardly even teach what it means anymore".
"I've seen things change even as I myself was going through school", Charley mentioned.
"I have too", Alice added. "And that was only since the 1990s".
During the interview, Clarence mentioned, "Oh, there were three pitbull bullies in the high school. They were goof offs. The dad of two of them owned a big Cadillac with big fins. They'd ride around in it with their girlfriends, drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes, and they were always causing trouble".
"Biff, Richie and Gaston", Harry Bear acknowledged.
"Yea, that was them", Clarence affirmed.
"They were certainly a bunch of wild cards from what I've been told. An uncle of mine went to high school with them", Harry Bear explained. "A week before New Year's Day of 1961, the three of them died north of here on Highway 54. They got into a car race one night with some other teenagers. From what I've heard, Biff lost control of that Cadillac and flipped it at 120 miles per hour".
Alice affirmed to Harry, "Last night after Clarence arrived here, some of the others Clarence knew back in 1960 told us all about that car race and how it ended".
"Seems like such a waste too", Harry remarked.
"There was this one time those bullies came to our elementary school while we were outside having recess", Clarence said. "And then they started robbing lunch money, and Biff beat up one of our class mates".
"High school teenagers robbing and beating up grade school cubs", Harry Bear added. "It happens and that's pretty low".
"Yea that was messed up", Clarence agreed, then mentioned, "But our teacher ran them off. She was Glenda Otter, and we all liked her".
"Glenda Otter", Harry Bear mentioned. "I grew up in Torrance County. And Glenda was my third grade teacher also. She was strict, but she also had a way of being well liked".
"After Al and Marge enrolled me in school in 1960, Glenda Otter took the time to help me along with things I didn't understand", Clarence said to Harry. "She was very helpful to me".
"Old timers who remember you from 1960 had told me you were special to Glenda. She really took a liking to you they say", Harry Bear affirmed to Clarence. "I fact, Glenda was an inspiration to me getting into the education field once I became an adult".
"Do you think there's any way I can get to meet Glenda Otter?", Clarence asked. "I'm sure she remembers me".
"I'm sorry, Clarence", Harry Bear said. "Glenda passed away from uterine cancer 25 years ago".
"That always sneaks up on a female until it's too late", Alice affirmed.
"Why they call it the silent killer", Harry Bear added.
"I'm sure getting to meet Glenda would have been nice", Charley assured Clarence.
"Yea, Dad...It would have", Clarence replied.
"One thing they say about time. It marches on", Harry Bear affirmed.
After everyone talked about various things a while longer, it was agreed that Clarence was ready to take that aptitude test.
Harry Bear then paged Wesley Raccoon to bring the aptitude test papers to the office for Clarence.
After Wesley delivered the test papers, Harry Bear assured Clarence Coyote, "Now this is not a pass or fail test. The purpose of this test is to determine what your aptitude is and what grade to place you in...So you're ready, Clarence?".
"Ready as I'll ever be", Clarence replied.
With that said, Harry Bear explained the instructions of the test to Clarence, then said, "You may begin now".
The family was allowed to remain in the office while Clarence was taking the test, though they were told not to do a lot of talking until Clarence was done with the test. The test covered 3rd grade material, and also 4th and 5th grade material being that school grades were more advanced back in 1960. Clarence found the test to be not all that difficult, and gave answers with good degree of confidence.
After about an hour and a half, Clarence said, "Well, that's got it".
"Done already?", Harry Bear asked.
"Sure am", Clarence replied.
"I wonder how well Clarence did", older brother Jack asked.
"I'll know after I look it over", Harry Bear answered. "Of course the results will also be reviewed by a school board panel".
"I hope Clarence gets to graduate to the 4th grade", Alice said.
"I'm confident he will", Charley added.
Harry Bear continued checking over the test results as the family was hopeful Clarence would not have to flunk the 3rd grade.
When Harry Bear was done checking the results, he exclaimed, "Oh my".
"What's wrong?", Charley asked.
"Nothing's wrong", Harry Bear proclaimed. "According to these test results, Clarence is eligible to skip past the 4th grade and go on to the 5th".
"Wow! I guess the school system was good back in the day", Charley proclaimed as everyone were delighted to hear of the test results.
"Oh that's great", Alice added.
"Hey, congrats little brother", Jack congratulated Clarence.
"That's wonderful", Rhonda said. "Congratulations"
Harry Bear mentioned, "Now if Clarence keeps his grade averages up, instead of graduating in the Class of 2027 at 17 years old, he will be graduating in the Class of 2016 at 16 years old".
"Yea, awright!", Clarence proclaimed.
"I know you're happy", Alice said to Clarence.
"I know the school board panel will approve Clarence going on to the 5th grade", Harry Bear said. "There's no disputing that according to these test results".
"Well, if any good came out of Clarence spending some time in the year 1960, this is it", Charley surmised.
After all the congratulations were given, everyone agreed a celebration was in order. It was agreed the celebration would be at Mario's Pizza and Ristorante in Albuquerque. Charley and Alice agreed to invite Al and Marge, along with Jed, Rex, Donna, Beverly and their spouses. And of course, the phone call to Al and Marge was sent and received on cell phones, and not on land line phones as it would have been in 1960.
When Charley told Al and Marge that Clarence scored well enough to proceed onto the 5th grade, Al congratulated Clarence, then exclaimed, "Clarence got some good education 58 years ago".
Both phones were on speaker phone, and Marge also congratulated Clarence.
When Charley Invited Al and Marge, along with their offsprings and spouses, Alice asked Al and Marge, "Can Beverly and Austin make it being Austin is at work?".
Marge assured Alice, "Being that Austin is a manager at the shop where he works, his boss will let him have the day off. So yea. Beverly and Austin can make it".
"Austin isn't too many years away from being able to retire, isn't he", Charley asked.
"Just seven more years, and he'll be collecting social security and a retirement pension from where he works", Al affirmed.
"Then Beverly and Austin will be enjoying the golden years like the rest of us are", Marge added.
"What do you say we invite Sheryl and Dean?", Al mentioned.
"Sure. Why not", Charley replied.
"That would be nice", Alice added. "That would mean a lot to Clarence".
Before they hung up, Al said to Charley and Alice, "I'll call our offsprings, and then I'll call Sheryl and Dean as soon as we hang up".
"We'll be there", Charley said as they hung up.
By this day and time, Jed, Rex, Donna, Beverly and their spouses were already grandparents.
So when everyone were done at the school board office the Coyote Family made the trip along Highway 60 to Encino, north on Highway 285 to Clines Corners, then west on Interstate 40 to Albuquerque, then went to Mario's Pizza and Ristorante.
Not long after arriving at Mario's, Charley, Alice, Jack, Rhonda and Clarence were joined by Al, Marge, Jed, Rex, Donna, Beverly and their spouses, Norah, Hazel, Nolan and Austin.
"We'll be having a party of...What is it?...Seventeen?", Charley said to their waitress, an ocelot.
"Seventeen when Sheryl and Dean arrive", Alice affirmed.
Thus, four family size tables were placed together to make one big table for everyone.
Not long afterwards, Sheryl and her husband, Dean, arrived. Of course, being that Sheryl and Clarence were cub sweethearts in 1960, she and Dean invited Clarence to come over and sit between them.
Once the party of 17 coyotes were all present, their orders were taken, and not long thereafter, their pizza and sodas were served.
Everyone had stories to exchange as they all enjoyed pizza and soda. Al shared stories of various things he helped to design during his career as a scientist. Some of the stories Al told were about occasional goof-ups made by newbies entering the engineering field for the first time, which everyone got a good laugh out of.
Al told a story, "About 50 years ago, we were designing a prototype for turbine Navy boat engine. We had this one young apprentice, Leo Ferret, who already thought he knew it all. He was given the task of designing the bearings for that engine. We told Leo to allow a few thousands of in inch tolerance for heat expansion, but he insisted he wanted to design those tolerances as precise as he can get them. One of our senior scientists back then, Woodrow Raccoon, even told Leo what would happen without allowing the tolerance, but Leo still did it his way".
"So how did that one end up, as I can imagine being a shop manager", Dean asked.
"Oh Leo designed it precise alright", Al said. "They installed that prototype engine in a PT boat at a Navy testing facility. One minute into the test, that engine seized up".
"They must have give poor Leo Ferret a good talking to", Sheryl commented after everyone got a good laugh from Al's story.
"I bet they did", Clarence added.
"No...They fired him", Al affirmed. "It was don't let the door hit you on your way out".
"When someone won't listen, sometimes firing them is the only thing to do", Dean further affirmed.
Of course, those things Al mentioned were projects from 30 to 60 years ago and were no longer in a classified status.
Marge shared stories about her and Al's grand cubs and great grand cubs growing up...stories that went as far back as the 1970s. And there were those storied of grand cubs and great grand cubs getting paddled for robbing the cookie jar.
Clarence had mentioned to Jed and Rex, "On my was from 1960 to now days in the time machine, I saw images that appeared".
"Such images are associated with time travel", Al interjected, then reminded Clarence, "But not so loud about time machines in here".
"Oh, okay", Clarence acknowledged to Al, then mentioned to Jed and Rex, "In some of those imaged in the machine, it looked like you all were in a war".
"The images you're talking about were when Rex and I were serving in Vietnam", Jed said to Clarence.
"Oh yea. That's been more than 45 years ago", Rex added.
"We learned about the Vietnam War in history class at school", Jack said to Jed and Rex. "But I never actually heard what it was like from anyone who was actually there.
Clarence and his siblings, Jack and Rhonda, wanted to hear some war stories from Jed and Rex.
"Is that okay with you?", Jed asked Charley and Alice.
"We're good with it. I'd be interested in hearing some of them too", Charley answered as Alice agreed.
"What about you", Dean asked Sheryl.
I'm up for hearing about them", Sheryl agreed.
Jed mentioned about how he was on an Army, four member, demolition team, and that he eventually made it to the rank of sergeant in charge of that team.
"Oh wow. A sergeant", Rhonda said. "You were actually a sergeant. How romantic".
Jed also shared stories of how he and his team blew up makeshift bridges and other things that were built mostly of bamboo by the Vietcong for use in their rebel movement against South Vietnam.
"Oh wow! I bet that was so cool!", Jack proclaimed.
"That sounds like a blast...Get it?...Blast", Clarence jested.
"The biggest thing we ever blew up were firecrackers", Rhonda added. "Sounds like you guys had loads of fun".
Jed then mentioned to the cubs, "Okay. Hold up before this goes any further. I should tell you young ones, war is not the all cool and glamorous Rambo head trip that Hollywood wants you to think it is. I've seen good friends of mine get really messed up, and messed up bad. I've witnessed a taxi scooter carrying a family of pangolins get blown up when it ran over a defective anti-tank mine. And we were lucky because we rode over that same stretch of dirt road in a truck before that taxi did...You know, witnessing something like that will haunt you for a long time.
"War never is cool", Jed's wife, Norah, agreed. "You cubs should remember that".
Jed also told about the time when he was a sergeant, a PFC pine martin on his team stepped on a trigger mechanism to a bouncing betty.
"I take it a bouncing betty is not a good thing", Jack surmised.
"It's an explosive loaded with shrapnel", Jed explained to Jack. "When triggered, it's propelled upward by a spring loaded launcher to chest level, then it explodes".
"Sounds nasty", Alice mentioned.
"Hence why it's called a bouncing betty, I guess", Dean added.
"Aww...I feel sorry for that poor pine martin", Sheryl mentioned.
"We were able to save him", Jed assured Sheryl. "It was designed to go off when you lift your foot off the trigger. I slid a dagger in between his boot and the trigger mechanism. Other members of my team then piled rocks on the ends of the dagger to hold it down so he can safely step off. Once we got a safe distance away from it, one of my team members shot the dagger off with his M-16, and we watched it bounce up and explode.
"So then...war does get real", Jack said.
"War gets very real", Jed affirmed to Jack. "And you aren't really sure yourself if you're going to make it back home alive".
"So, I guess that doesn't sound like loads of fun", Rhonda admitted.
"No...It's not", Jed replied. "But it's something you have to do if you're called upon to do so. And I was proud to have served faithfully as was required of me. But it wasn't loads of fun".
Jed's younger brother, Rex, then told of how he was assigned to a Navy river patrol boat.
"Our boat was HB-165", Rex said. "Patrol boats had a crew of four; a skipper in charge, a gunner's mate, an engine tech, all which were petty officers. The newest member was a deck paw which was always a seaman 1st class or below. Our skipper was Petty Officer 1st Class Charley Rat. And he was the best teacher a crew could ever want...He really knew his stuff".
"Sounds like an easy job. Being on a boat crew", Rhonda mentioned.
"Oh no. No no no. Far from it", Rex corrected Rhonda, then explained, "When I was a deck paw aboard Patrol Boat HB-165, a petty officer, Vince Otter, who was our engine tech, became a good friend and mentor to me. He taught me a lot about maintaining the boat's twin diesel engines in case I was ever called upon to do so. One day we ran into hostile action from a Vietcong sampan..."
"What's a sampan?", Jack interjected.
"A sampan is a 3rd world, makeshift boat", Rex answered Jack, then continued, "During that encounter, my good friend and mentor, Vince Otter, was shot in the chest and he died right there next to me. And I came near taking a shot in the head myself ".
"Wow, that's scary", Jack mentioned.
"So you almost died", Clarence said to Rex, remembering how he and Rex were same age step brothers, playmates and school class mates back in 1960.
"Came close", Rex affirmed, then mentioned, "After Vince Otter's death, I was moved up from deck paw to engine maintenance. We had a fox, Andrew, come aboard as our new deck paw".
Rex also told about the time the crew rescued a female Indo-Chinese leopard cub who was the only survivor in a riverside village that was destroyed by Vietcong rebels.
"So I guess that boat job wasn't a skate job after all", Rhonda affirmed.
"No it wasn't", Rex affirmed to Rhonda, then mentioned, "When I was a gunner's mate at the rank of Petty Officer 3rd Class, our skipper lost part of one of his his legs due to a Vietcong fire fight encounter. That's when I was moved up to being skipper, and Andrew Fox, who was our engine tech at that time, became my gunner's mate. I remember it like it was yesterday, before Charley Rat was sent back home, him telling me at the base hospital, 'Rex, she's yours now. Your the skipper'. And Charley telling Andrew Fox, 'Your his gunner's mate'. And him telling Joseph Hound, 'You're now the engine tech'. Charley Rat then told all three of us, 'Take good care of her boys. And remember everything I've taught you all. As for me, it's been fun. I'm going back home' ".
"I know that had to be a big responsibility", said Charley Coyote.
"It was. Came suddenly too", Rex replied, then said, "And you know, when Charley Rat was still our skipper, he taught us a lot of things that kept us alive out there after I became skipper".
"Certainly no place for idiots...Vietnam back then I mean", Charley Coyote said.
"I did have an idiot to deal with after I became skipper", Rex affirmed. "That was when Andrew Fox was my gunner's mate, and Joseph Hound was the engine tech".
"Sounds like you all got moved onto jobs you weren't familiar with", Charley Coyote said to Rex.
"Oh, all members on patrol boat crews were crossed trained on all four of the jobs", Rex affirmed.
"Oh I see. So in case something happened to a crew member. Good idea", Charley replied.
Rex continued, "The idiot I had to deal with was a young cat who was our new deck paw... just out of Navy boot camp and a real screw-up too, Lester. A few days after I became skipper, we came under an ambush from a river bank. As we all fired back, Lester Cat crouched down and didn't want to fight. I hollered at him, 'What the Hell are you doing? You crazy or something?', then ordered him to fight back. My gunner's mate also ordered him to fight back. But Lester still refused to fight back. During that ambush, my engine tech, Joseph Hound, was blazed on the arm. The only way we had to get out of it was by me radioing in for a napalm strike. Two jet fighters toasted that area good and we were able to get away".
"I bet you were really mad at that cat, weren't you", Jack said to Rex.
"You bet I was", Rex said. "When we got back to Saigon and moored the boat , I literally yanked that cat off the patrol boat onto the dock and marched him straight to our lieutenant, and said, 'Sir, with all due respect, get this imbecile off our crew before he gets us all killed', and my gunner's mate even said, 'Or before we kill him first, Sir' ".
"I know my Rex well", said Rex's wife, Hazel. "I can picture Rex yanking that cat off that boat".
"So what became of Lester by the way?", Charley Coyote asked.
Rex answered, "They charged him with cowardice, two counts of disobedience of a lawful order, and an article 99...misconduct in the presents of the enemy. Lester Cat went up before a general court marshal where he received seven years in Leavenworth and was kicked out of the Navy on a dishonorable discharge".
"The ole dead duck", Jed added.
"Cowardice is a severe charge in the military", Donna's husband, Nolan, said. "It was cowardice that got that cat the sentence he received".
"Served him right too", Hazel said.
Al then added, as Marge agreed, "South Vietnam became a lost cause in the end. But we are proud of our sons giving the effort and doing what was expected of them".
"And we are so thankful we never received a dreaded telegram from the war department", Marge said.
"Oh yea. the one that starts out, 'We regret to inform you...' ", Al agreed.
"I'm thankful that Rex and I were never exposed to Agent Orange", Jed mentioned.
"Oh my gosh", Sheryl exclaimed. "Your cubs and grand cubs would have been messed up had you did".
"It's a shame no one even knew how dangerous that stuff was back then", Nolan said.
"I think they knew", Al added. "They just weren't telling everyone".
Dean mentioned, "I barely missed being sent to Vietnam. When I was 19, I wasn't yet drafted. It was shortly after that they did away with the draft and went to the selective service system".
Beverly's husband, Austin, mentioned, "I wasn't old enough to have been to Vietnam. But I just did join the Marine Corps before the Iranian hostage crisis unfolded".
Austin also shared stories of his time in the Marine Corps, though they were not nearly as epic as the stories Jed and Rex had.
Donna and her husband, Nolan, told stories about how their oldest son who was in the Army Reserves served in the Desert Storm campaign of 1990/1991.
Noland mentioned that he himself was in the Army a few years before the end of the Vietnam War, but never was sent to Vietnam.
The waitress then came by and asked if anyone wants refills on their sodas, which everyone accepted.
Al then offered to Charley and Alice, "Anytime you want to bring your cubs over to our house, we still have that train board set up that Clarence and our cubs played with back in the day".
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"Awright!", Clarence proclaimed.
"Oh cool!", Jack added. "How big is it?"
"Takes up a large recreation room", Al replied.
"They're the O-27 gauge trains", Rex mentioned.
"It's the gauge with the three rails", Jed added.
"I know the know the ones your talking about", Dean mentioned. "I had a set of those when I was a cub".
"It will be the first time I've run a model train", Rhonda said.
"Same here", Jack added.
"I ran them lots of times with Jed, Rex and Donna back in 1960", Clarence proudly boasted.
"We greatly appreciate it, Al", Charley said. "I know our cubs appreciate it too".
"We had lots of fun with those trains when we were cubs", Donna said.
"We sure did", Rex affirmed.
Marge mentioned, "After our cubs grew up and got married, our grand cubs also enjoyed them.
"Our grand cubs did too", Jed added.
"Yes they did", Marge agreed.
"Jed and I are about to become great grand parents", Norah mentioned.
"Our oldest grand daughter is expecting soon", Jed announced, followed by congratulations from everyone.
"Those trains will be enjoyed by yet another generation of us. Congratulations", Al proclaimed.
"Just think, Al. Our cubs soon becoming great grand parents", Marge said.
"That would make us great great grand parents", Al replied.
"Kind of makes us feel older, doesn't it", Marge added.
"Well, it's like an old novelty slogan goes", Al said to Marge. "It's not that we're getting older. We're getting better".
"Aww. That's so sweet", Marge said as she gave Al a hug.
Everyone had a good time as they all listened to old stories and celebrated Clarence's successful aptitude test results with pizza and soda's of choice.
The day has been good.