Tommy Makes It Rich

Chapter 04. 3 January 1967

3 January 1967

As soon as I opened my eyes I sprang out of bed. I couldn't wait to get to the cow yard and check the separator. I raced into the kitchen. Mum was just coming in. "What has gotten into you?" she asked as I raced by her.

"Nothing."

"Yesterday you wouldn't eat now you are running around like a flea in a pickle bottle. What is wrong with you? Are you at least hungry today?"

I stopped and thought. Yes. Well, I guess I am I didn't eat dinner with Jackie so yes I am hungry. "Starving!" I said.

"Well, for goodness sake sit down and I will make you a cuppa. You can spread your own bread."

By the time mum had made the tea I was finished my sugar sandwich. I had one mouthful of tea, burned my mouth, spat it back in the cup and then said. "Right I am off to get the cows."

Mum looked at me funny as I dashed out of the door. I could hear her mutter something like "Where did I go wrong?"

I ran all the way round the back to get the cows and then chased them home at a gallop. Mum was furious. "For goodness sake, Tommy. That is no good for the cows. They will be all stirred up and won't let their milk down."

"Sorry Mum. I was in a hurry."

"Well, trust me you are not going anywhere till the milking is done. So forget about your hurry."

"That's alright, mum. I only wanted to look at the separator block."

Well, I thought mum was going to have a stroke. Her face went red. Then it went pale. "What on earth for?" She managed to get out.

"To see my initials." I replied as if it were obvious. I raced into the dairy and had a look at the separator block. The separator was long gone but there just below the top on the side was TA JA 1900. "Look mum it is there." I said excitedly.

Poor mum had passed the stroke phase and was now heading for a heart attack. "Those initials have always been there, you idiot. Well, at least since 1900 when I guess they built the bails or installed a separator. I don't know but they have always been there since we have owned the farm."

"I have never noticed them before." I said.

"That's because you are always daydreaming and never concentrate on what is happening around you."

"You really need to join the real world."

I thought of telling her that I had carved them yesterday or last night then I remembered what Jackie and Mrs. Andrews had said about telling people about time travel. Besides mum looked about done in so I thought it best to just leave it.

"Sorry, mum. I will try harder in future."

"Well, just see that you do. Come on, you are back so early I haven't even finished mixing the feed. You do the molasses while I do the bran."

The milking seemed to take forever. I was so excited about the initials and couldn't wait to dig up the box. I don't know how many times mum went crook at me for not concentrating. But after what seemed an eternity we were finally finished. The calves were done and the washing up and we headed down for breakfast, bacon, eggs and toast same as every other day. But today was not like any other day. As soon as it was done I raced down stairs to get a shovel to dig for the box, but the shovel wasn't there. I searched everywhere. Even in the room under the house. I got a chill when I went it there. It was full of old furniture and junk and there were fleas in there as well. It looked nothing like the cozy room that I went to sleep in a few hours earlier. Eventually I had to ask Mum were the shovel was. So then it was the third degree.

"What do you want the shovel for?"

"To dig a hole."

"Where?"

I couldn't answer that.

"Why?"

I really couldn't answer that.

"Don't worry I was just thinking of making a veggie garden."

"Oh, Tommy you are such a dreamer, a veggie garden? Do you have any idea how much work a veggie garden is? You won't even chip weeds out of the cow yard. I can't see you digging a veggie garden let alone looking after it. But just so you know, Dad has taken the fencing tools and is working at Granddad's place."

"Doesn't matter I will find something else to do."

"I can give you heaps of jobs to do. If you want something to do." Then she rattled of a list of things that needed to be done. If I waited till I had finished all of them I would be seventy and probably need to time travel just to get them finished.

But I bowed my head and said. "All right I will start with spreading the manure." At least that put me in the vicinity of the locked box at the cow yard. Then it dawned on me. The manure shovel, it is not the best for digging but it would do in a pinch. So off I went back to the bails leaving mum standing behind me shaking her head thinking she had a moron for a son.

Not being a complete moron I did spread some of the big pile of cow muck that was in the back of the bails. But after about half hour I thought it would be safe to look for the box. I had scraped about 25 cm of dirt off the spot that I reckon the box was buried under when mum came to see how I was doing. She was livid when she saw me digging with the manure shovel in front of the bails instead of at the back spreading manure.

I should have thought of a plan before I started. What was I going to say? I suppose I could start with the truth. "Yesterday in 1906 I buried a box right here. It contains all the notes I need to be a successful time traveller." Yes, that would go down a treat. If she didn't blow a gasket she would probably send me to the funny farm. So I tried "While I was spreading manure I thought that perhaps I could start my veggie patch."

Mum thought about that for a bit. She wasn't happy but said. "All right if you are so keen on a garden lets build one. I am not sure if this is the best place but it is close to water and a good supply of cow muck, which is great for veggies. How about I give you a hand?"

"Oh this day just keeps getting better!" I thought to myself.  I guess she is worried about me. Maybe she wants to keep an eye on me. Maybe she thinks she has neglected me. At least we are digging in the right spot.

When I recommenced digging she said. "No, that's deep enough. We only need about six inches of dirt turned and we will mix that with cow manure. That will make a lovely bed. What sort of veggies do you want to plant?"

I thought back to Jackie's garden. "What about corn, and tomatoes? Some potatoes and pumpkins, can you think of anything else that would be good?"

She said, "There is not enough room here for pumpkins and we don't have any seeds for most of those things. I have some old potatoes in the kitchen maybe the best thing would be to plant some of them. They will grow quite quickly and will make the soil better for your next crop of what ever you want to grow."

"OK," I agreed. All the while thinking, "How can I dig here now?"

We worked on the garden till lunchtime. Mum used a chip hoe and the grubber. I used the manure shovel. It was not nearly as much fun working with mum as it was with Jackie, but it was kind of nice just the same. Mum normally had a nap after lunch so I thought it would be a good time to sneak back, dig up the box and cover the hole with manure. But she came back to finish the job. So we worked right through to milking time. I must say the garden was looking good by then. We had planted six neat rows with potatoes. Watered them and everything.

Mum said, "This was a good idea, Tommy. This piece of ground has always been wasted space. It already has a fence around it. And it will give you something to do looking after it."

"Great." I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Then it was time for the same old chores and then dinner. It was a special treat tonight, calf liver and bacon. After I hearty meal I quietly slipped out to go to bed. I was exhausted after the day's digging but I couldn't wait to see Jackie again. But I was careful this time. I put the radio on and stood by the bed. When the seven o'clock news started I jumped into bed and closed my eyes.