Servo 16:2
Servo 16:2
The ride to Jimmy’s house went pretty smooth despite my long absence from bike riding. In the beginning I was a bit wobbly, but after a few minutes, I’d straightened out and was flying down the road right behind my friend. I loved feeling the wind through my hair. Occasionally along our ride, we’d pass a house with flowers growing. I loved the smell of what Grandma called Narcissi. Their delicate little star-shaped blooms held an amazing fragrance.We stopped at a little park not far from Jimmy’s to consume Grandma’s baked goods. They’d cooled, but the chocolate chips still melted in my mouth like they were fresh from the oven. Never in my life of living in the Inner States had I tasted something so enchanting. Her cooking and baking could soften the hardest of hearts. I watched Dagwood nibble on a cookie. He seemed to be relishing every morsel and took his time. Did his mother not bake for the family? I looked down and saw there was one last cookie. “Dagwood? Do you want this last one?”“Gosh, can I?”“If you want.”“Yes, please.” He reached to take the cookie. “These are so good.”“I’d say they’re addicting.”“Definitely!” “Don’t you get any at home?”“Naw. Mom’s too busy to bake. Instead, she buys these gross store-bought cookies.”“Oh, that doesn’t sound very appetizing.”“Trust me, they aren’t.” He continued to nibble. “And Mom wonders why it takes so long for the cookie jar to empty.”“Not a problem at our house!”We mounted our trusty wheeled steeds and continued our journey. Jimmy’s house was an easy five minute’s ride. We pulled up to his house and propped the kickstands. Dagwood went to the door and knocked. Jimmy came out. “Hiya, boys. Haven’t seen you around in a while.”“Snow makes it hard to get around on a bike,” I said, “Can I scavenge the bot for some parts?”“Sure, what do you need?”“Some more wiring, and a memory core.”Jimmy shook his head. “Core’s most likely been squished. Help yourself to all the wiring you want.”“Don’t think there’s any chance to salvage it?”“No, I doubt it.” He led the way to the barn. “The tractor did a good number on the bot’s head.”We stopped in front of the blue tarp-shrouded machine. Jimmy pulled back the cover. “I mean, if you want to, go ahead and dig around up there. Don’t think you’ll find anything usable.”I nodded politely. “Thanks, Jimmy. We’ll see what we can do.”“All right. I gotta go help my dad; he’s getting ready to plant a field.”“Rory’s out helping Grandpa now. Hope we get enough rain for the corn.”“Yeah, me too. Winter snow did help a lot already.” He left us to work on the bot. I slid off my backpack and pulled out a canvas roll of tools. “You think there’s anything left in the head that’ll work?”“Dunno,” I replied, sizing up the mashed cranium and trying to find a place to start. “I’m not sure how to get this apart.”Dagwood stepped in and got his fingers into a small seam. With his great strength, and a few grunts and groans, he pried the faceplate off. It came away with a resounding pop and sent Dagwood tumbling backward onto his behind. He looked up at me and laughed. “Got it!”I couldn’t help but join his laughter. It was amusing to see my friend on his back, legs in the air, triumphantly holding the bot’s faceplate up for me. We must have laughed about it for a couple minutes. When the mirth died, I went over and offered my hand to help him up. “Thanks, Dagwood, that was awesome.”He stood and dusted himself off. “Didn’t need that screwdriver now, did you?”“I will in a minute.” Returning to the bot, I knelt down and peered into the rumpled chasm that was once the bot’s brain. Wires were tangled, circuit boards crushed, and one of the “eyes” was completely unidentifiable. A total mess. “You need this, Jonah?” Dagwood said, holding out my little headlamp. “Yes, thank you.” I strapped it on, flicked the switch, and had immediate illumination. “Much better!”“Can you see the core?”Using the screwdriver as a probe, I began to dig through layers of mangled wires and boards. “I’m close.” My excavations caused parts to rain down the bot’s front like a waterfall.“That doesn’t look good.”“Worthless broken parts.”“Nothing you can salvage for later use?”“Naw, pretty destroyed.” I mined further, gaining access to the memory core area. “Well?” Dagwood was hovering over my shoulder trying to see.I fumbled, dropping the screwdriver. It clattered down the chest of the bot before landing between its legs. “Oops.” “At least your fingers aren’t cold.”“No.” Retrieving the tool, I went back to work. The memory core was positioned behind a small metal plate; the adjoining junction interface, just below it. With deft precision, I removed the four tiny screws that held the plate in position. Dagwood held out his hands. “Here, I’ll hold all that. I promise I won’t drop anything.”There wasn’t a single hesitation in my mind as to the trustworthiness of my friend. In all the time I’d known him, he’d never let me down. And I doubt he ever would. There was something about the quality of his friendship I’d probably never find in another human being. He was a rare gem.As each screw was removed, I placed them in his capable hands. Really, none of those parts were important; it was the parts behind that held value. Considering my simple-minded friend would never possess the skills to work on a bot, I figured this little bit of assistance would make him feel worthwhile. “One last screw?” Dagwood said, watching intently.“Yup.” I worked the screwdriver and backed the final screw from position. It fell into my hand and then I passed it to him. The only thing obscuring my potential victory was a thin metal plate. The moment of truth. Had I wasted all this time for nothing? I reached in and curled my fingers around the plate and gave a little tug. It held firm. “Hmm,” I said, trying to figure out why it wouldn’t release. “Won’t come off?”“No. Odd.”It was then my friend said something so benign, yet so intensely helpful that I couldn’t believe my ears.“Did they put glue in the holes at the factory?”“Glue?”“Yeah, Pa got a wood table from a place and part of it broke. When he went to fix it, he found they’d put glue in the holes to make it hard to take apart.”“What should I do?”“Try pulling harder.”Again I bent my fingers around the plate. This time, as I was preparing to pull, I scrunched my face in anticipation of ending up on my behind. I’m sure if I did, Dagwood would be on the ground next to me laughing uncontrollably. A true friend indeed.“Here goes,” I said, giving a better second effort. I felt metal digging into my fingers as I strained to pry it free. “Argh!”“Come on, Jonah!”First one corner gave; it uttered a faint pop. Then another corner went, quickly followed by the last two. As I disengaged the plate, I noticed some stringy, gooey purple adhesive. “You were right.”“Excellent.” He leaned in closer. “What about the core?”“Hold on, lemme get in there and see.” I inched closer, the light shining into the compartment where the core was housed. “I don’t believe it!”“Is it okay?”“Yes! It looks to be just fine.”Dagwood juggled the parts in his hands to his left hand and picked up the bot’s faceplate. “Ya know why it’s okay?”“No.”“Look. The tread on the tractor tire was on either side of the core area. So the gap on the tire is what saved it.”I inspected the faceplate. “You’re right.”“Woooooeeeee!!” He jumped up and down a couple times then quickly stopped. “Oops, sorry, don’t wanna lose parts!” My heart was leaping somersaults in my chest. Another memory core! What amazing good fortune.
The ride to Jimmy’s house went pretty smooth despite my long absence from bike riding. In the beginning I was a bit wobbly, but after a few minutes, I’d straightened out and was flying down the road right behind my friend. I loved feeling the wind through my hair. Occasionally along our ride, we’d pass a house with flowers growing. I loved the smell of what Grandma called Narcissi. Their delicate little star-shaped blooms held an amazing fragrance.We stopped at a little park not far from Jimmy’s to consume Grandma’s baked goods. They’d cooled, but the chocolate chips still melted in my mouth like they were fresh from the oven. Never in my life of living in the Inner States had I tasted something so enchanting. Her cooking and baking could soften the hardest of hearts. I watched Dagwood nibble on a cookie. He seemed to be relishing every morsel and took his time. Did his mother not bake for the family? I looked down and saw there was one last cookie. “Dagwood? Do you want this last one?”“Gosh, can I?”“If you want.”“Yes, please.” He reached to take the cookie. “These are so good.”“I’d say they’re addicting.”“Definitely!” “Don’t you get any at home?”“Naw. Mom’s too busy to bake. Instead, she buys these gross store-bought cookies.”“Oh, that doesn’t sound very appetizing.”“Trust me, they aren’t.” He continued to nibble. “And Mom wonders why it takes so long for the cookie jar to empty.”“Not a problem at our house!”We mounted our trusty wheeled steeds and continued our journey. Jimmy’s house was an easy five minute’s ride. We pulled up to his house and propped the kickstands. Dagwood went to the door and knocked. Jimmy came out. “Hiya, boys. Haven’t seen you around in a while.”“Snow makes it hard to get around on a bike,” I said, “Can I scavenge the bot for some parts?”“Sure, what do you need?”“Some more wiring, and a memory core.”Jimmy shook his head. “Core’s most likely been squished. Help yourself to all the wiring you want.”“Don’t think there’s any chance to salvage it?”“No, I doubt it.” He led the way to the barn. “The tractor did a good number on the bot’s head.”We stopped in front of the blue tarp-shrouded machine. Jimmy pulled back the cover. “I mean, if you want to, go ahead and dig around up there. Don’t think you’ll find anything usable.”I nodded politely. “Thanks, Jimmy. We’ll see what we can do.”“All right. I gotta go help my dad; he’s getting ready to plant a field.”“Rory’s out helping Grandpa now. Hope we get enough rain for the corn.”“Yeah, me too. Winter snow did help a lot already.” He left us to work on the bot. I slid off my backpack and pulled out a canvas roll of tools. “You think there’s anything left in the head that’ll work?”“Dunno,” I replied, sizing up the mashed cranium and trying to find a place to start. “I’m not sure how to get this apart.”Dagwood stepped in and got his fingers into a small seam. With his great strength, and a few grunts and groans, he pried the faceplate off. It came away with a resounding pop and sent Dagwood tumbling backward onto his behind. He looked up at me and laughed. “Got it!”I couldn’t help but join his laughter. It was amusing to see my friend on his back, legs in the air, triumphantly holding the bot’s faceplate up for me. We must have laughed about it for a couple minutes. When the mirth died, I went over and offered my hand to help him up. “Thanks, Dagwood, that was awesome.”He stood and dusted himself off. “Didn’t need that screwdriver now, did you?”“I will in a minute.” Returning to the bot, I knelt down and peered into the rumpled chasm that was once the bot’s brain. Wires were tangled, circuit boards crushed, and one of the “eyes” was completely unidentifiable. A total mess. “You need this, Jonah?” Dagwood said, holding out my little headlamp. “Yes, thank you.” I strapped it on, flicked the switch, and had immediate illumination. “Much better!”“Can you see the core?”Using the screwdriver as a probe, I began to dig through layers of mangled wires and boards. “I’m close.” My excavations caused parts to rain down the bot’s front like a waterfall.“That doesn’t look good.”“Worthless broken parts.”“Nothing you can salvage for later use?”“Naw, pretty destroyed.” I mined further, gaining access to the memory core area. “Well?” Dagwood was hovering over my shoulder trying to see.I fumbled, dropping the screwdriver. It clattered down the chest of the bot before landing between its legs. “Oops.” “At least your fingers aren’t cold.”“No.” Retrieving the tool, I went back to work. The memory core was positioned behind a small metal plate; the adjoining junction interface, just below it. With deft precision, I removed the four tiny screws that held the plate in position. Dagwood held out his hands. “Here, I’ll hold all that. I promise I won’t drop anything.”There wasn’t a single hesitation in my mind as to the trustworthiness of my friend. In all the time I’d known him, he’d never let me down. And I doubt he ever would. There was something about the quality of his friendship I’d probably never find in another human being. He was a rare gem.As each screw was removed, I placed them in his capable hands. Really, none of those parts were important; it was the parts behind that held value. Considering my simple-minded friend would never possess the skills to work on a bot, I figured this little bit of assistance would make him feel worthwhile. “One last screw?” Dagwood said, watching intently.“Yup.” I worked the screwdriver and backed the final screw from position. It fell into my hand and then I passed it to him. The only thing obscuring my potential victory was a thin metal plate. The moment of truth. Had I wasted all this time for nothing? I reached in and curled my fingers around the plate and gave a little tug. It held firm. “Hmm,” I said, trying to figure out why it wouldn’t release. “Won’t come off?”“No. Odd.”It was then my friend said something so benign, yet so intensely helpful that I couldn’t believe my ears.“Did they put glue in the holes at the factory?”“Glue?”“Yeah, Pa got a wood table from a place and part of it broke. When he went to fix it, he found they’d put glue in the holes to make it hard to take apart.”“What should I do?”“Try pulling harder.”Again I bent my fingers around the plate. This time, as I was preparing to pull, I scrunched my face in anticipation of ending up on my behind. I’m sure if I did, Dagwood would be on the ground next to me laughing uncontrollably. A true friend indeed.“Here goes,” I said, giving a better second effort. I felt metal digging into my fingers as I strained to pry it free. “Argh!”“Come on, Jonah!”First one corner gave; it uttered a faint pop. Then another corner went, quickly followed by the last two. As I disengaged the plate, I noticed some stringy, gooey purple adhesive. “You were right.”“Excellent.” He leaned in closer. “What about the core?”“Hold on, lemme get in there and see.” I inched closer, the light shining into the compartment where the core was housed. “I don’t believe it!”“Is it okay?”“Yes! It looks to be just fine.”Dagwood juggled the parts in his hands to his left hand and picked up the bot’s faceplate. “Ya know why it’s okay?”“No.”“Look. The tread on the tractor tire was on either side of the core area. So the gap on the tire is what saved it.”I inspected the faceplate. “You’re right.”“Woooooeeeee!!” He jumped up and down a couple times then quickly stopped. “Oops, sorry, don’t wanna lose parts!” My heart was leaping somersaults in my chest. Another memory core! What amazing good fortune.
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