GOD, FOOD, AND FRANKIE Another night when Herman was too tired to tell the boys a bedtime story he tried to excuse himself. Frankie thought he could prolong his father’s visit if he asked him the right questions. So Frankie asked his Daddy about God. Where does He live? What does He look like? When could he go and visit Him? Herman sat down with him and answered all Frankie’s questions as well as he could. Food was also the subject of Frankie’s curiosity. “Daddy,” he said, “Let’s talk about things.” Like what, Herman asked him. “Well, food, for instance,” Frankie said. Herman then explained to the boys what happens to food when the body takes it in, in a very grownup fashion. The boys seemed to understand it all. One afternoon Frankie came in from play- ing with his friend Dave, flopped down on a kitchen chair and announced that he wanted a bottle of beer, he felt like getting drunk. Some- times he is a little too grown up.
FAIR TRADE AGREEMENTS Michael and Frankie ran next door to the Flannigan’s house every opportunity they got. The Flannigans had two birds, a cat and a dog. Michael asked Mrs. Flannigan if he could keep all those creatures and take them home with him. Mrs. Flannigan asked him what he would give her in exchange. Michael said, “I’ll give you my baby brother, Stephen.” Seemed like a fair trade to him. Frankie had another plan that included expanding the family. He said we should have three sisters, one for each brother. One could sleep with him, one with Michael, and the rest could sleep at the bottom of our bed. That’s where Michael and Frankie slept when they got in bed with us in the morning.
Dorothy taking Frank and Michael to the water in Atlantic City
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