"Pictures in her mind like you're lazy. And like she wanted to hurt
you," I said.
Gramp's eyes got wide. He kept looking at me, and then he said, "Get
your cap, Chum. We're gonna take a little walk."
Gramp didn't say anything until we walked all the way to the main road
and past Mr. Watchorn's corn field. I walked behind him, counting the
little round holes his wooden leg made in the gravel. Finally Gramp
said, "Abracadabra."
That was our secret word. It meant that if I was playing one of our
games, I was to stop for awhile. Gramp and I had lots of games we
played. One of them was where we made believe. Sometimes we'd play that
Gramp and I had been working all day, when we really just stayed in the
shade telling stories. Then when we got home and Gramma asked us what
we had done, we'd tell her about how hard we had worked.
"I really did see mad pictures in Gramma's mind," I said.
"Have you ever seen pictures in anybody's mind before?" Gramp asked.
"I always see them," I said. "Don't you?"
"No," Gramp said after a minute. "Other people can't either. You're
probably the only little boy who can."
"Is that bad?"
"No," Gramp answered. "It's good. But remember how I told you that
people don't like other people who are different? Well, even though
seeing pictures like you do is a wonderful thing, other people won't
like you if they know you can do it. So we'll just keep it a secret
between us."
I was glad Gramp told me, because he always knows the best things to
do. I'm his Chum. I love him better than anyone else in the whole
world. Whenever the other kids tease me and call me Crazy Joe I go to
Gramp and he tells me funny stories and makes me laugh.
* * * * *
I remember the first time he told me about people hating other people
who are different.
"Why do the kids call me Crazy Joe and laugh at me?" I asked him.
"Well, you see," Gramp said slowly, "your Daddy worked for Uncle Sam
in a big place where they make things that the government won't tell
anybody about. Then your Daddy got sick from something in the big
place. After a long time he went up to stay with God. Then God took
Mommy too, when He gave you to her. And now you're our little boy,
mine and Gramma's. And because you're a very special kind of little
boy, the other children are jealous. So I wouldn't play with them any
more if they tease you. Just don't let them see you're afraid of them.
You'll always be Gramp's Little Joe."