What created the dark cloud?
Billy and John had been best friends since grade school. Everywhere you saw Billy you saw John.
Billy was a tall lanky boy with straight yellow hair. Billy wore a size twelve-dress shoe, white button down shirt and black slacks.
John was a tall stocky boy with straight Un-kept hair and always wore boots. John’s feet were small for his size and the bottoms of his boots were covered with dead bugs. If John ever saw a bug he would follow it. Smash! It was dead!
For twelve years the boys rode their bicycles to school. In the summer both boys worked as lifeguards. Once John saved a small red haired, freckled faced girl from drowning.
John’s father owned the local hardware store.
Jones and Jones Hardware had been in the family for many generations, where you could buy a variety of items for your home and garden.
While Billy’s father was a partner in the local bank called Smith and Barnes Branch Bank of NY. Both Billy and John’s fathers were well liked and both were very active in the community.
After graduation Billy went away to Harvard to study law and John went to Cornell to study Agriculture.
Cornell is one of two private land grant universities.
After John got his PHD in Agriculture he came back home to begin his career but he was not sure if he wanted to teach at the local university or plant his feet in the soil of farming.
Mean while his best friend whom he had not seen or heard from in years was working for one of the top law firms in NY.
Billy now went by the name of William James Smith III Attorney at Law.
John was working with large farms helping them get grants from the government. Billy hated what he called second-class citizens and did everything against them. The Blue Collar workers he called them!
John had gone to Washington DC to get a bill passed to help the farmers.
While debating his bill in the senate John saw Billy, now called William James Smith III Attorney at Law, sitting on the opposing side.
Before that day ended John and Billy would become mortal enemies. The harder John fought for to get the bill passed for the farmers the more Billy fought to block the bill that John was trying to pass. Billy was acting as if he never knew John and made John look like an ass in front of his piers.
John wanted to take a gun and blow Billy’s brains out right there on the senate floor.
The debate went on for several days, bickering back and forth; finally the farm bill passed the senate. But needless to say Billy and John became mortal enemies.
It was like they were living on opposite sides of the fence of life. How could someone that you had grownup with and spent endless days playing together have changed?
How could this be? When did they change?
By the end of the debate a dark void, emptiness, had fell over both men. A dark cloud followed both men as they left Washington DC
Sally’s Distrust
Greenport NY, a town where fresh air does wonders for the appetite, no smog, no pollutions, and the only thing you carry to school is your lunch.
Greenport extends its arms out to Gardiners Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, which offers sailing, swimming, boating, and fishing.
Sally’s dad was a designer of sailboats, and his love for sailing won him many sailing contest.
On Sundays John’s dad would close his hardware store so he could go fishing on his sizable fishing boat.
Mr. Smith was a man of leisure and he enjoyed his luxury yacht, this was Billy’s dad.
So, as you can see many hours were spent at Gardiners Bay or on the Atlantic Ocean, where
Sally, Billy and John grew-up.
Billy was the number one quarter back at Greenport High School and their team was the number one football team in the state.
Sally had been a cheerleader from the time she could walk, and was always cheering for Billy. John was a reporter for the high school newspaper.
To get his foot in the door at Suffolk Times John would get up early every morning to deliver their news papers, for he thought he wanted to be a reporter. But that was not to be!
Seems like yesterday as John sits at his office desk listening to Sally on the telephone.
Sally was not a gossip but like to know what was going on in her hometown.
Sally received a scholarship to study at Harvard in Cambridge Ma, where she received her PHD in Education and where she went on to teach History.
Sally had married Billy while they were at Harvard.
After Billy passed the bar exam he started his own law firm in Cambridge and he and Sally started a family, two boys Sam, & Thomas.
The next twelve flew by and everyone was happy.
One day Billy received a telephone call offering him a partnership at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz the most prestigious law firms in New York City.
Billy accepted without asking Sally. Sally was upset!
Billy commuted back and forth for many years from Cambridge to New York City.
There was many parties, long hours and many nights no coming home and these were the times that Sally called John.
John really enjoyed talking to Sally but hated the sound of her voice as she talked about Billy. John started getting a bitter taste for Billy’s life style. Was this when the cloud appeared or was John secretly in love with Sally?
The decision
Sally’s passion for history got her a scholarship to South Africa. She would be helping and observing the ways of life of the people in Africa especially the children.
Her plans were to live in Africa for one year.
Sally was very delighted about her up coming trip and could not wait to tell John.
Sally and Billy had been estranged for many years and their boys were now rambunctious teenagers.
Her sons Sam and Thomas were thrilled about living in Africa.
Both boys loved creatures both great and small especially the endangered animal.
The family would be leaving at the end of the boy’s school term, which ended May 30.
March was a bitter cold month and Sally had just a couple of months to make sure that she and her boys had everything they needed for their up coming trip.
They would need several shots to prevent diseases and passports for travel, which sometimes can take several months to receive.
Sally was going to miss her weekly calls to John.
Sally secretly hoped that John would accept the position her University was offering.
Cambridge University wanted to send someone with a PHD in farming to Africa.
They wanted to teach the local people to farm and harvest their vegetables with the use of irrigation.
John had just received the package from Cambridge inviting him to join the research in farming in Africa.
Sally had said that she was going to Africa to teach and her boys would be there to help who ever went on the farming scholarship.
Would John have enough time to get his passport, & shots and be able to fly to Africa with Sally and the boys?
John was troubled about making the right decision
Should he go or should he stay? His mind was muddled right now; maybe he should sleep on that thought.
John did not want Sally and the boys to go alone.
He knew she could take care of herself for she had taken several self defense classes and the boys were big and strong.
John loved farming, the environment, and people.
This would be a great opportunity for him.
John could experiment with his new farming techniques on fertile and infertile soil.
John would be receive a grant from Cambridge as well as keeping his current position.
John tossed all night, thoughts running through his mind.
The sun came streaming into his bedroom window. It was time to get up.
John had made his decision.
Going to Africa
John was on his way to Africa along with Sally and the boys.
Living in Africa would be very different from living in the states but they were all up for the challenge.
The African children were thrilled to meet the boys and the boys fit right in.
The boys could speak many foreign languages and most of the African children could speak some English.
No more suits and ties, Burma shorts and tee shirts. This was the life!
They would be living near the Atlantic Ocean and the boys loved to swim, fish, and surf.
Fun in the sun all day but first the boys had to do their chores.
Living in Africa would be hard work because there was no modern farm equipment to use.
The boys did not mind as long as they could spend there free time at the beach.
John spent long hours planning his techniques to teach the locals.
Sally spent most of he time getting the small schoolhouse ready for the children.
Sally would not only be teaching history but many other subjects.
The children would have to share books for Sally had not brought enough books to go around.
No, I Pads here!
In the distance the sounds of gunshots and missiles
In many parts of Africa there was violence.
Hopefully the rebels would not come within distance of where they were living.
The rebels hate Americans and Europeans.
It could be fatal if one got captured by the rebels.
The big cats have been driven out of their land and farmers had found carcasses of their cattle and goats.
The big cats had not harmed humans yet!
The raining season had begun and many animals had started migrating toward the once dried up water hole that now was now over flowing with water.
Now was the right time to start planting crops.
Out of the blue Sally’s husband Billy appeared!
What was he doing here?
This was so out of character for Billy!
Billy always wore a suit, but wait what was he wearing?
Had Billy come to stay?
Had Billy come to ask Sally for a divorce?
Did Billy know that John was here with his wife?
What a dilemma for John!
