July 4 was tomorrow and preparations where underway - the Martin baseball diamond was mowed in a precise diamond pattern - Max's Trail in the Woods was complete with the new bridge in place and bunting, flags and 4th July decorations adorned the houses. All seemed well . . . but we could not find Uncle Sam. Forever he had lead the parade at Lake de Neveu. He was there last year but something terrible had happened to him. He was missing! Yikes . . . possible reasons were discussed - he was sent for repair; Luke had him; the neighbors borrowed him - no was the answer to all of these situations.
One final and terrifying thought - had the Antique guy who cleared Steph's barn taken him by terrible mistake? One hasty phone call with a nervous, quivering voice asking the question - is it possible you have Uncle Sam?
I think he is still in the basement - the antique guy said he had him - he was having his antique sale today but ran out of time to put Uncle Sam out for sale and he was still there. We fell about with relief and 3 responsible adults were despatched to collect him. It has a biblical ending almost like Luke and the maker of Uncle Sam, Chris's grandfather, were directing his rescue from a fate worse than death.
He lead the parade as he always had and no one was any the wiser, except that the whole Lake community knew what had happened. We call it the Bush Telegraph. And it certainly made July 4, 2009 more special if that is possible.
And the wonderment went on as to how lucky we were to have Uncle Sam cause wouldn't you think that if you were an Antique dealer selling July 4 type stuff, this would be the first thing put up for sale? Thanks Luke, you saved the day.
