Solutions: A Dog's Dilemma by James Gerard (book suggestions .TXT) 📕

“Unload the trucks?  By myself?”

“Don’t worry about getting it done all today.  We plan on being here for at least three full days.  You can do a truck a day.”

Rick looked over at the trailers then back to Jack, “But I thought…I thought I was going to help you guys out.  You know, talk about God.”

Jack shrugged his shoulders, “Sure, you can do that, but first we need to get the food out of the trucks.”

Rick scratched his head then let out a sigh.  All of a sudden he figured out his usefulness to Jack and Amanda.  He slowly walked toward the trailers, looked up at the sky to thesSun, and felt the heat beating down upon him.

“Wait for me,” Sebastian called out.

“For what?”

“I will help.  Look, my back is strong.  You need a strong back for this type of work.”

“Nah,” said Rick, “I have to do it….”

“No my friend, you do not have to do it by yourself.”

Rick looked at Sebastian.  He saw the sincerity in his eyes, subtle smile, but at the same time he felt his own stubborn nature kick in, his philosophy of occupying a day’s time and space with anything and everything by himself.  His mind told him to decline the offer since his hot temper could peak as fast as the noontime sun.

“Come on then.”

Rick unlatched the lock of the trailer.  The door went rattling and banging to the top.  The faces of boxes stared back at him and Sebastian.  The first row was a clutter of small, medium, and large boxes that appeared to be thrown in without any thought or consideration.  Some were ripped or crushed or both.  The contents of some had broken through but were still held in place.  He asked Sebastian for suggestions on how to approach the unloading process.  Unload everything first then sort into like piles?  Unload and sort at the same time?  Just unload and not worry about sorting?  They decided to unload and sort at the same time and cleared a space in front of them cluttered with debris.  They were ready for work. 

He looked at Sebastian and his short and stocky frame.  He was young and strong, and just the type that could handle a hard day’s labor.  He could not decide if Sebastian would be better off taking the boxes and handing to him to sort, or himself being tall and lanky.  He looked at the jumble of boxes and figured he would be better able to reach up safely for any box atop a stack, dislodge it if necessary, and with lengthy strides quickly transport it for Sebastian to handle.  Once the plan was established, both began to toil.

Rick was pleasantly surprised about how Sebastian worked.  Like him, the job was done without words, without communication with each other about anything.  It was a routine, a rhythm, of point A to point B.

As the day moved on, amidst singing and clapping and preaching from beneath a cluster of shade trees, Sebastian worked silent.  He neither asked for a break, for food, or for water, nor did he call for a break.   He just went at the work with a steady and solid pace.  Rick was accustomed to working without, but finally he figured to take on the weaker appearance and called out a water break.

Rick jumped down from the trailer and went over to the water truck he had driven.  In the cab was a bucket and ladle.  Appearing clean, he filled the bucket and took it back to the truck.  Wiping off the sweat from his brow, he gulped down a few ladles filled to the top with water and handed it to Sebastian.  Without a word Sebastian too drank the water.  They looked at each other and Rick thought to ask him if they should take a lunch break, but figured he might say something to him about it later.  Neither said a word. 

All through the rest of the day, a day in which the sun beat Sebastian with waves of heat, turned the inside of the trailer into a sauna, they both worked rapidly.  Box by box by box came out, and box by box by box was sorted and stacked.  Sebastian still did not ask about a food break.  Rick figured he was satisfied with taking an occasional water break because food on a hot day was not so appealing.

As the sun began to set, the trailer was already emptied. Its contents was now sorted and stacked.  Villagers, young and old, came about taking what they needed.  Rick sat on the tailgate of the truck and rubbed his eyes.  He looked to Sebastian sitting on one of the boxes with his head down and his hands clasped together below him.  It wasn’t that bad, Rick thought, except it was too darn hot.

“Hey, Sebastian?  You figure it’s time to eat something?”

Sebastian looked up, “I think so, but let me take you over to where we will be sleeping tonight.”

Rick followed him through the village alive with smiles and happiness and voices to what looked like a good sized wooden hut.  They entered into a room illuminated by the light from a kerosene lamp.  Rick saw a cot in a corner, a chair, a table with plates of food and drink atop, and a few wooden crates sitting on the dirt floor.

“Thank God!” exclaimed Rick as he sat down in the chair.  “Where did the food come from?”

Sebastian sat up on the cot.  “Our work did not go unnoticed.  It is their way of saying thanks.”

Rick looked at the plates of food that somewhat resembled food he eaten in the past.  But he could not figure out if they dipped into the emergency supplies for the meal or it was a homemade assortment of staples they still had on hand.  There was also a plate of something he had never seen before.   “What is this stuff?”

Before Sebastian could answer a gang of children came bursting through the door and ran right up to Rick.  They stood there before him giggling and laughing and staring at the plate of mysterious food held in hand.

“It’s a special treat for special occasions.  They must have smelled it.”

Rick looked at the plate then held it forward.  Little hands grabbed a treat and off they went out the door.  “Well, that was interesting.”

“Did they come in because they knew you would share?  Or are they unlike her?  Cannot ask, can only hope you hear.”

“What are you talking about?”

“To your left, that crate.  Put the plate on the crate and knock hard.”

The hut was silent.  Rick was not sure what he was doing but he did so anyway.  Then he spotted Sebastian with a beaming smile.  Getting up from the chair, he took a few steps and placed the plate on the crate and knocked hard.  A small hand reached up and surveyed the surface, found the plate and a sweet treat disappeared behind the crate.  Rick smiled, looked over to Sebastian and winked.  He picked up the plate and sat back down.  He patiently waited then the hand came up and searched, the crown of the head appeared the brows showed, the eyes rose, the nose, the smile; the entire face revealed the little ray of sunshine in the lighted room. 

Rick motioned to the little girl to come and help herself to what was on the plate.  She slowly came out from behind the crate.  She was dressed in a beautiful white dress, the kind of dress he would see at Sunday service so long ago.  He could see her clearly now.  She was petite and looked fragile amidst the sorrows of a horrible drought.  Yet she stood there in front of him smiling.  Not a single word was spoken.

“You said her name is Marisol?”

“Yes.  Marisol.”

“Hi Marisol,”

“I’m Rick,” he said pointing to his own chest.  “Rick.”

“She cannot understand you.”

“Then how do you say….”

“No Rick.  She cannot hear you.  She was born deaf.  Her vocal chords are deformed.  She cannot talk to you either.   She cannot make a sound.”

Rick looked at the smiling face.  She stepped toward him and took a treat off the plate and then hugged him.  Marisol knelt in the dirt, clasped her hands, and bowed her head.

“What’s she doing?

“She is thanking our Lord for the food.”

“What do you mean thanking?  Is she just copying what she has seen her mom do?”

“I do not know.”

“Well come on Sebastian, it’s not logical she can say, even think any words.  She’s deaf.  Don’t you get it?  She’s deaf, how can she know how to speak let alone pray?”

“Well.  You can see for yourself.”

Rick was confused.  How could she know what to say if she has never heard words before?  As far as what Sebastian said, he could not find the sense in it.  Suddenly his eyes popped open.  He leapt from the chair.  “He knows, doesn’t he?  He can hear her just like you hear me doesn’t he?  Oh my God,” he shouted, “He knows!”  He started dancing about, pointing up then pointing at Marisol.  “He knows!”

Sebastian laughed.  “Wow.  I have never seen someone get so excited over someone giving thanks.”

Rick sat back down, picked up Marisol and sat her on his lap.  He looked into her eyes and smiled.  “You talk to God don’t you?  You can hear God talk to you and you know exactly what he is saying don’t you?”

Rick’s eyes were transfixed on Marisol as she sat on his lap taking her time eating.  He wondered how it came to be that such a sweet little thing was dealt such a crushing hand in life.

All of a sudden the door flew open.  A woman entered screaming, ran over to Marisol and grabbed her away from Rick.  She again was screaming at Rick, but Rick had no idea about what.  Sebastian once again intervened and calmed the woman down.  He said something to her as she was leaving and she turned around again and pointed at Rick.

“Holy cow!  Now what?”

“Don’t take it personally.”

“Don’t take it personally?  Hell, Henry didn’t even yell at me that loud when he came to work in a bad mood.”

“Understand, except for her daughter, she is alone.  Her husband died the day she was born from an unexplained fever.  She too had the same fever but managed through the labor.”

“Wow; really?”

“Worse,” explained Sebastian.  “There are villagers that look upon her as cursed.  Her husband died, she gave birth to a deaf and dumb baby, and the drought began that same year.  They are afraid of her.  They look at her troubles as signs.  Even her family is afraid of her.”

“Aren’t they supposed to believe in God?  I mean, why are they afraid of her?”

“Do you believe in God?

“Of course.  But to do that to someone?”

“Do not underestimate fear Rick.  Fear is from our thoughts, yet it is a power that leads us to our poor choices.  Look at it this way, everyone here was brought into this world with a good heart, but fear makes us forget that.”

“Fine, but why is she screaming at me?  What have I done to her?  I’m no threat.”

“It does not matter.  She hurts.  Marisol is all she has.  She is very protective of her.  When Marisol was delivered she came into the world crying but she could not make a sound.  They drove all day to get to the nearest hospital, but there was nothing they could do.  She was just born that way.  Her mom held onto her day and night to be right there when her cries could not be heard.”

Rick looked to Sebastian, “That’s not very fair is it?”

“I look at it from our Lord’s truth.  He brought us all into this world with love, with good hearts, and with the Word written on our hearts.  But we live in the world Rick.  We go by what we can see and hear and touch and smell and taste.  Sometimes we are afraid