The Grandson
Grandma Jane is sitting on the front porch sewing. She sits there
every day waiting on Bobby her 9 year old grandson. Bobby is in
the fourth grade of school. Usually when he gets off the school
bus, the first words out of his mouth are: What’s for supper Miss
J.? Bobby thinks his grand mother is too young and pretty to be
called Grandma. She thinks so too.
Today Bobby got off the bus with a sad look on his face. He
slowly walks up onto the porch with out a word. Miss J. said, Bad
day at school? He just nods his head yes, and he goes on into the
house. Miss J. waits a few minutes to give him some time alone,
to think about what ever it is thats making Bobby sad.
Miss J. then goes in and asked Bobby if he is ready to tell her
whats wrong? He pulls out a waded up piece of paper and hands it
to Miss J. She unfolds the paper wad and it is Bobby’s Science
test. The paper had a B at the top for a grade.
Miss J. said, Well a B is no excuse for such a long face, that’s
good enough to get a hug and kiss. Bobby said, It’s not the grade,
its the answers that were marked wrong. That’s the problem Miss
J.
She took a closer look, this time reading the questions marked
wrong. One question was - Where did life first start at? Bobby
answered From God. In red ink an X was marked, followed by
- From the sea. The second question read - Where did man come
from? Bobby had answered From God, he made Adam and then
Eve. This too had an X followed by - From apes.
Miss J. said, Well Bobby some people believe different and they
teach it different in schools, they don’t teach the Bible in schools
any more. Don’t let it upset you, a B is still a very good grade.
Bobby said, The science teacher Mr. Hook, always gives tests and
says things against the Bible.
Mr. Hook says people that were insecure about themselves made
up God, and there is no Heaven and Hell. You live and you die,
thats it. You’re just food for worms to eat on after you’re buried.
Miss J. said, Bobby, what bothers you the most about this? Bobby
said I can live with a B, and I know I’m going to Heaven when I
die. What bothers me the most is Mr. Hook. He thinks just
because you don’t believe in Hell, it’s not a real place, and he
won’t go there when he dies. I stand up for Christ all the time,
and I let him and everyone else know I believe. I just don’t want
anyone to have to go to that awful place. Not even Mr. Hook,
none of the kids in school like him.
Miss J. said, Bobby, you can’t make a horse drink, and sometimes
you can’t lead it to the water hole. Sometimes you have to bring a
bucket of water, and leave it where the horse can see it.
Sometimes they will drink when no one is around, other times they
kick the bucket over and die of thirst.
Pray about it Bobby and continue being an example for them to
see. In the Bible it says - Some sow and others reap. That means
you may be the one to sow the seed of salvation now, while you’re
around. It might take years for that seed to grow. It could be that
you never get to see what grows, but that doesn’t mean that it
won’t grow.
People are not always saved by going to church and listening to
the preacher. Sometimes it comes from something they see, hear,
or read. It might come from a little thing that you would never
expect it to. Thats why they say, "God works in mysterious ways."
Bobby said, Whats for supper Miss J? She knew he felt better
about it now.
Bobby continued to put his two cents worth in, every time Mr.
Hook started putting down religion. Bobby was calm and
respectful, but never gave an inch or backed away. A couple of
times Bobby and Mr. Hook debated the whole hour of Science
Class. Sometimes other students in the class would speak up too.
One day Mr. Rice the principal was in the Science Class. He said,
Students I have some bad news, Mr. Hook will be off for a while.
He had a heart attack last night and is in the hospital. The kids all
said, Oh boy!!!! Until Mr. Rice said, He would be teaching until
they could find a replacement for Mr. Hook.
When Bobby went home that day, he asked Miss J. if he could
visit Mr. Hook in the hospital after school, and ride the city bus to
get there and back. Miss J. said, You will have to OK it with your
mom and dad first. But I will call and find out about the bus
schedule. Some of the kids rode on the city bus to and from
school. There is a city bus stop at school and on the corner by
Bobby’s house too.
Miss J. spoke for him and asked his parents to let him ride the city
bus. Miss J. said, I’ll catch the city bus to school and wait for
school to get out. Then I’ll ride with him and show him where he
needs to get on and off at. If he wants to visit his teacher at the
hospital any more, he will know the way and can go on his own
next time.
His parents talked it over that night and laid out the rules for him
to follow about it. That day after school Miss J. was there at
school waiting for Bobby. They took the city bus together and
arrived at the hospital . They went to the information desk and
found out Mr. Hook’s room number. The receptionist said, Mr.
Hook, thats room 311, take the elevator to the third floor, turn
right when you get off the elevator. It’s about half way down the
hall way on your left. Knock before you go in, and have a nice
day. Miss J and Bobby thanked the nice lady at the desk for being
so helpful.
They followed the directions and found room 311. Miss J. said,
I’ll wait for you out here Bobby. We can’t stay long, the bus home
stops here in 30 minutes, so the longest you can stay is 20 minutes.
We don’t want to miss the bus. Bobby said OK, and knocked on
the door before going in.
Mr. Hook was laying in the bed, he saw Bobby come in. What do
you want here? He said it in a mean voice to Bobby. Bobby said, I
came to visit you, to see if you are OK. Mr. Hook said, To see if I
am OK? I’ve had 3 heart attacks in two days. I’m not OK, if I was
OK, they would have let me go home already. Why don’t you go
home, you only came to see if I was dead or not. I’m not , so tell
all your buddies at school, too bad.
Miss J. came into the room, with out knocking first. She had over
heard what was said. Miss J. gave Mr. Hook, -The Look- It said,
to him, What she wouldn’t let her mouth say. He understood it
perfectly. Then she smiled and said, Come along Bobby, you can
come back again another day. A day when Mr. Hook feels better.
She said to him, Get well soon. and gave him -The Look- again,
one more time so he wouldn’t forget Bobby had a grand mother.
Bobby and Miss J. caught the bus and made it home OK. Bobby
said, I can find my way alone tomorrow. Will you ask for me?
That way if they say no, they will change it to yes after you look at
them like you did Mr. Hook in the hospital. You could scare the
Devil away with that look.
It was OK for him to visit the hospital again. He arrived and
found his way to room 311. Mr. Hook was still laying there in
bed. Bobby noticed he had a TV in his room, but it was not on.
He asked Mr. Hook if he wanted him to turn it on for him. Mr.
Hook said, Go ahead. Bobby tried and tried but the TV wouldn’t
turn on.
Mr. Hook started laughing, he said, The Doctor had it turned off
down stairs, No TV for me, he said it might cause me too much
excitement and I would have another heart attack. The Doc was
down stairs the last time they announced a “code blue” on me. He
had to run up two flights of stairs, he almost had a heart attack. I
was watching Highway to Heaven. So he said, No more T.V.
Bobby said I watch Highway to Heaven, Why would that cause
you to have a heart attack. Mr. Hook said, The nurse told on me.
She told the Doc that they heard me cussing all the way down to
the nurses station. That show is so stupid, there is no God or
Angels.
Mr. Hook was getting excited again. Bobby decided to change the
subject. Bobby said My grandmother Miss. J. you met her
yesterday remember? Mr. Hook said ,Yeah, I remember her all
right. Bobby said, She had a heart attack a few years ago. She
told me about seeing a great light. Did you see a great light Mr.
Hook?
Mr. Hook said, I didn’t see nothing, all three times, I was dead on
the table, the Doc had to shock me back. Bobby said, I bet that
hurt. Mr. Hook said, By the time the Doc showed up, it hurt all
the way up to my neck. Bobby said, Miss J. didn’t say anything
about hurting, she said it was so peaceful.
Mr. Hook said, Well its not, it hurts worse that you can imagine
pain to ever be. Mr. Hook said, The pain starts in your feet and
works its way up. This bunch around here is so slow, it gets all the
way up to my neck and shoulders before they do anything. Bobby
said, What kind of pain is it like? Mr. Hook said, It feels like
someone poured gasoline on you, then set it on fire. It feels like
you’re on fire, that’s how it feels.
Bobby said, Miss. J. is going to Heaven when she dies, thats why
she sees a light and feels so peaceful. Bobby said, Mr. Hook I
know you don’t believe in Hell, but its real, I think thats what you
felt, it was you sinking into the lake of fire. Mr. Hook said, I
asked the Doc about the burning feelings, he said a lot of people
get the burning feelings and only a few see any kind of a light. So
its just a normal reaction.
Bobby said, I have to go now, can I bring you anything when I
come back? Mr. Hook said Yeah something to read, I love to read,
I’ll read anything since I can’t watch T.V. Bobby said, The
Gideons sometimes leaves a Bible in the hospital rooms, I’ll look.
Mr. Hook said Don’t bother, I’m not that desperate yet.
Bobby opened the drawer up anyway. He pulled out a Gideon
Bible. Bobby showed it to Mr. Hook. He just turned his head and
said, Put it away, I’m not reading it. Bobby laid it on the table
beside of his bed. Bobby said, You can read it later if you like, if
you change your mind, it will be here were you can reach it. Mr.
Hook pushed the Bible off of the table and into the floor.
Bobby picked the Bible up off the floor and wiped it off with his
ball cap. The ball cap was his pride and joy. Bobby laid the Bible
on the table again. Bobby said , If you change your mind its right
here. Mr. Hook looked at him with a strange look in his eye. Then
Bobby left to catch the city bus home.
The next day he returned to the hospital. The over head speaker
was saying "Code Blue, room 311" "Code Blue, room 311".
Bobby remembered Mr. Hook talking about a code blue and his
heart attack and room 311 was Mr. Hooks room number. Bobby
ran up the stairs to where room 311 was. There was a lot of
doctors and nurses there, they wouldn’t let Bobby go in. One of
the Volunteers walked Bobby to the bus stop, after she had broken
the news to Bobby, that Mr. Hook had passed away. It upset
Bobby so much, the volunteer rode home with him and explained
to Miss J. about what had happened.
The Volunteer said, I love his ball cap. Miss J. said, Yeah thats
his pride and joy. He got it one year for his birthday in the mail.
The Volunteer said, Who sent it to him? Miss J. said, Its from one
of his uncles, he preaches in a small church far away. Bobby
thinks the world of that hat, so much he didn’t open the rest of his
gifts until we made him.
Bobby wanted to go to Mr. Hook’s funeral. Miss J. went with him
to the funeral for Mr. Hook. They were the only two that came.
The man preaching the funeral said, I never met Mr. Hook face to
face, I talked to him only once on the phone. He called me up at 3
Am . Mr. Hook said, He had asked one of the nurses at the
hospital to find him a preacher fast. They got my number from
one of our church members who works there mopping the floors at
night.
The preacher said, I tell all my members that Jesus has many jobs
for us and not all of them are inside the church walls. The
preacher said, Mr. Hook called and asked me if I would come right
away to the hospital and pray with him to be saved.
Then he said that might take too long, can we do it on the phone.
We prayed together on the phone. He asked that Jesus come into
his heart and lead him to be a Christian. He confessed his sins and
asked for forgiveness.
Mr. Hook asked that I have a ball cap made and place it on his
head if he was to die before he himself could have one made and
be able to wear it while he was alive. It was to have 3 little words
printed on it. "I’m a Christian." Mr. Hook said, People have
preached at him for years and nothing worked on him, until he
seen a little boy wipe off a Bible with his most cherished
possession. It was a ball cap with "I’m a Christian" across the
front of it.
The preacher looked at the ball cap Bobby was holding in his
hand. It said, "I’m a Christian" across the front. It was the one
thing that had saved Mr. Hook. The simple act of wiping off a
Bible with a ball cap that said "I’m a Christian" on it. The
preacher said, Son where did you get that hat, it looks like an old
army cap? Bobby said it’s very old, and has been in my family for
years. My uncle gave it to me. His father, Miss J.’s husband had
given it to him. He had it during the war in a Japanese prison
camp. He was baptized in that little church where my uncle
preaches now.
The preachers name that pastured the church then was Brother
Lee. He baptized my grandfather and all the men in the prison
camp with him. My grand father’s name was Michael Stamper.
I hope to some day get his jacket too. It has written on the back
of it. "I jump when God says, jump."
Written by: Johnny lee Hall
