Come on up here, sid-down. Come on in the shade, have ya-self a khool drink while I tell ya the story.
When you was first born, your daddy and me was as po as po can be. None-a our families had ever had a break, none of 'em ever had much schoolin'. In fact, your daddy and me was the first in our families to graduate from high school!
That's how we met. We was always in the same classes, and would be competin' to be the teacher's pet. He was so skinny back then, your daddy was... but so handsome, oh so handsome! I just melted the first time he asked to walk me home from school...
Hmmm? What's that boy? Oh, alright! You know how yo momma is - I get all nostalgia and stuff! Silly boy... acting all 'mbaressed 'cause ya momma and daddy in love.
Hush ya complainin' and drink yo drink.
Anyhow, we got married right after graduation and your daddy straight away went to workin' for ol' Doc as his assistant. Ya see, Doc was gettin' up there in years and wanted ta pass on his trade to the most likely whipper-snapper, which turned out to be yo daddy. He took to it right away and ol' Doc swore up and down that yo daddy was gonna be a better healer than he ever was. And it came true!
Well, the big breakthrough that made yo daddy so famous - and made us rich - came 'bout 'cause of a terrible, terrible problem we folks used to be havein'. Ya see, used to be that when we would harvest our food, most of our eggs would be damaged, or just plain destroyed, by the harvest-time quakes. 'Cause them quakes be makin' evertyhing roll all 'round and fall all over the place. Always be happenin'! Such a sad, sad thing. It just broke the heart of yo daddy and ol' Doc, not ta mention all the families loosin' they babies.
One day, yo daddy declared to everyone that he had enough and was gonna do sumpin' 'bout it. None a us knowed what he talkin' 'bout, not even ol' Doc. He lock himself in Doc's lab and said not to be botherin' him till he come out. We was all mystified and such, but we done as he asked.
He stayed in there all day and all night! When he come out the next mornin', yo daddy say he goin' ta bed and ain't gettin' up till the next day, and he instruct ol' Doc and me ta be sure and gather up all the womens in the community for a meetin' after he done with breakfast on that day.
Boy, was we mystified and such!
But, we done as he asked. And lo and behold, after breakfast on that day, you know what he did? Yo daddy set about teaching us ladies how to use our own spit to make a special glue! A special glue so we could attach our eggs to the stalks ya see around us. Can ya believe it! It was like a miracle or some such! Ever since then our eggs stopped bein' damaged while we harvestin' food and the harvest-time quakes be happenin'.
Look over there and you'll see one a the neighbors attachin' her eggs to a stalk right now... doin' it just like yo daddy taught folks to do.
So, word spread real fast and healers come from everywhere to learn from yo daddy so they could go back and teach they women folk. And they paid some good money to get schoolin' from yo daddy!
Ol' Doc was so proud, and so grateful, that this terrible problem been solved, it was like ya daddy was his very own son. In fact, when he officially retire, Ol Doc put it in his will that everythin' he own, everthin' he had, go to your daddy. Sad to say, Doc passed on a month latter. An I am eternally grateful to that kindly ol' man for bein' so generous and treatin' us like his own blood kin. Between ol' Doc's kindness, and yo daddy's smarts and determination, we is set for life!
And that's how come we ain't po lice no more.
So, be nice to them people. Don't be makin' fun of 'em just 'cause they po and ain't got nice things like you got. In fact, make friends with them other kids and show 'em a lick a kindness. It'll do you and them a whole lotta good!
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By Hunter Sangfroid
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