Grumpa Joe's Place

Chapter 5
          Luke, Jaime, and Lenny had not received the message yet.

They were too busy having fun to notice the wild blinking going on around them. The trio was busy practicing their flying. They learned how to fly together, side-by-side much like fighter jets in formation. The wildest trick they learned was to fly and to keep their lights on without blinking. They began to learn aerobatics with their lights on. Their spiraling climbs followed by giant loops and speedy dives were amazing. The show would have delighted any human who saw them. Luke and his team were sky writers in the night.

          As the summer days passed, many more Fireflies joined Luke. The new recruits all wanted to learn how to do aerobatics. Luke loved teaching them. Jaime and Lennie coached the new fliers on tail light operation. It was not long before Luke’s air force of fireflies was the envy of the insect world. Thousands of insects came out every night to watch the Firefly Air Force put on a show. Luke did not even know what was happening. He taught and flew too much to notice how much attention he and his friends got.

          Luke’s mother Nancy heard about the air force from her friends at the blue spruce meeting branch. Every evening, a group of firefly women met to gossip, and to sip nectar from the tree. They talked about many things, but one story caught Nancy’s attention. Her friend Celia told her about a visit she just had with her daughter Bonnie. Bonnie took Celia to see a show. The show was beautiful, and exciting.

      “It was quite a show,” said Celia. “A large group of fireflies did tricks in the night sky with their lights on. They danced, spiraled, and followed each other to form lines of light in the sky. I never saw anything like it. Afterwards, Bonnie introduced me to her friend Luke. He is the lead flier.”

      “My son’s name is Luke,” said Nancy.

      “You should be proud,” said Celia, “He is handsome, smart, and a great flier. My daughter is in love with him. She couldn’t control her flashes when he was near her.”

          Just then, a ladybug landed on the bough where the women were talking. Her body was bright orange with deep black spots scattered on her orange shell in precise alignment. She took a sip of nectar, and asked 

        “May I join in?”

      “Of Course” said Nancy, “come sit here.” The ladybug’s name was Martha. She sat and listened to Celia tell about the Firefly Air Force. All of the women listened with interest. The more Nancy heard about her son’s antics, the more she wanted to visit him.

      “I’ve talked all night,” said Celia, “Now it is your turn Martha.” At first, Martha was shy and giggled at the attention that the firefly women gave her. “Let me tell you happened to me this week.” Martha explained that she did not fly much at night. She was more active during the day. Last week though, the heat of the night kept her awake. She was sitting on a hibiscus. It was a native hibiscus with giant white flowers. The nectar was very sweet, and the aphids were tender. Another ladybug landed next to me on the same petal for a sip of nectar, and we talked. Suddenly, I saw a flash of light.

      “Did you see that,” asked Martha?

      “What,” asked the visitor?

      “Those bright flashes on the lilac bush.”

The stranger looked toward the bush and saw a brilliant yellow glow. The glow was the brightest of them all.

      “I see it, so what?”

      “I have to check it out,” Martha responded and flew off toward the light. The stranger took off with her. They landed on the lilac bush next to the flashing firefly with the bright light. It was Torch!

Torch asked the women if they heard the message yet. “I’ve been spreading the word for many days. I have a message for Morty Angel,” said Torch.

      “Who is Morty Angel,” they asked in unison?

Torch told his story again. He told it so often that it was automatic.

      He learned from Stretch, the worm, that Morty Angel was a guardian angel who watched a very special person named Ben. Ben is one of God’s favorite people. Morty Angel was going to help the fireflies give Ben a gift. “That is a great story,” said Nancy. Celia and the other women all agreed.

          Nancy excused herself and flew off to her forsythia bush to rest. She was so excited about Luke, her tail light blinked.

      I have to visit Luke, she said to herself. She prepared for the trip.

          The next evening, near dusk, Nancy lifted off the forsythia bush, and flew high. She hoped to catch a breeze that would carry her toward Luke. Her friend Celia told her how to go. The journey would take several days. Nancy flew slower than she did when she was Luke’s age. She made several rest stops during the night. She also stopped to sip on nectar. Each time she did, she repeated the story that Torch told to Martha. Sometimes she spoke to fireflies. At other times, she spoke to earwigs or ladybugs. The earwigs were not very friendly and they frightened her.

They are ferocious looking with those pincers, she thought. Nancy made good progress during the first night. The next night it rained, and she could not fly. She spent the time telling the story to anyone who would listen. That is the way Torch planned it. He would find Morty Angel by spreading the word one insect at a time.

To Be Continued . . .

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including those yet to be invented or discovered, without permission in writing from the publisher and author.

Filed under: Cartoons, family, Fire Fly Air Force, Garden, Gardening, Warm and Fuzzy, Writer | Tagged: Earwig, Fire Fly, Ladybug |