Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Mr. Thomas Stepforth Sr., at 66, was in quite good condition and still could show his grandsons some moves on the basketball court that reminded them their grandfather had been a college star and that fundamentals mattered in basketball – but still, there were times he became weak, and Mrs. Velma Stepforth found him in one, helpless from laughter.
“Go out on the porch, Big Velma, and listen to your two youngest Trent granddaughters talking like they are you and Sgt. Trent's mother Gladys Jubilee Trent in miniature!”
Out on the porch, the older two Ludlow grandsons were telling the younger two Trent granddaughters about their latest exploits.
“So, you know, Cousin Harry is a whole colonel and police captain and gets busy, so we just took care of the problem,” ten-year-old Andrew Ludlow was saying.
“All those mosquitoes were coming from a pool that water main break had left, so we just spread a whole bunch of Cousin Harry's good soap in there and got 'em all,” nine-year-old George Ludlow said.
“Made a whole bunch of good suds and that was that – they went extinct,” Andrew said.
“I've been telling y'all!” eleven-year-old Velma Trent said. “When you and your family do the foolery for too long!”
“Ain't it the truth,” eight-year-old Gracie Trent said, “because God doesn't play favorites out here, so if He would do it to the Washingtons, He surely would let it happen to some mosquitoes!”
“What I'm trying to figure out is,” Mr. Stepforth said as he was just about recovered, “what do Andrew and George plan to do when their colonel cousin finds out what happened to his soap?”
“Well, it's a good thing Capt. Ludlow has five more grandchildren,” Mrs. Stepforth said before she grinned and added, “because I've beeeeeeeeeeeeen telling y'all – when your family does the foolery for too long!”
"Ain't it the truth," almost 18-year-old Vanna Trent came by to say and fill in for Grandma Gladys.
Ten minutes later … .
“Is Pop-Pop even going to be OK, laughing that hard for that long?” nine-year-old Milton Trent asked.
“Will you shut up?” 16-year-old Thomas Stepforth III asked. “We might actually have a chance to beat him at basketball tonight – just shut up!”
Nine-year-old Vertran Stepforth just happened to notice that his grandfather started laughing ever harder after that!