No. 122 - The Neighborhood Submarine

Randy Campbell had done what very few boys his age had ever accomplished. He’d built a submarine.

Not the pretend kind, or a toy, either. Randy had constructed one that worked.

His first order of business was to arrange transport for it from the shed in his backyard to the lake. He sat down and, over a cool glass of lemonade, considered his options. He arrived at a novel solution.

The first posters went up immediately. He used the same supplies and telephone poles that he’d seen his mother use when their cat, Mr. Fluffy, ran away.

It had worked to recover Mr. Fluffy, much to Randy’s chagrin. He did not care for Mr. Fluffy. He was confident, therefore, that his scheme would work, too.

The posters offered a simple transaction: In exchange for help carrying the submarine to the water, a five-minute ride would be conferred.

A candidate arrived at Randy’s door within the hour. However, the interested party was not the ideal partner. Randy continued to wait.

 But as time passed, it became clear that the rest of neighborhood would not be supporting his endeavor. Reluctantly, then, he agreed to accept the help of Marnie Maplewood, age 12, from two houses over.