WORM FARM PART ONE:
BIG EXPECTATIONS AND SMALL PACKAGES

“Wow!” exclaimed Andy, as an advertisement leaped off the page of the “COUNTRY FISHING MAGAZINE”  like the lunker bass in an adjacent photo. Placed in its own box the ad looked very promising:

“Start your own worm business. Big profits. One Starter Worm Breeding Unit, Worm Breeding Manual, 500 worms and a free Mega Worms Catalog. ($99.00 Value) Only $19.95 + $6.95 shipping and handling.”

Scenes from a recent family discussion started  replaying in his mind like parts in a play. His request  for an allowance or a part time job had been denied  as usual. His family believed that allowances spoiled  children and that he was needed on the family farm.  Andy tugged down his Royal Rangers tee and said, “That’s how I can earn some money!”

Andy pawed through his top dresser drawer until he  found his birthday money. He’d just celebrated his  fourteenth birthday and had planned on using the money to buy fishing gear. Andy knew he’d be able to  get a money order at the post office while his Mom  was at the  Laundromat. He grabbed a green Wayne Seeds cap from off his bed post, scrunched it onto his orange curly hair, and then went out to help his Mom take the laundry out to their red Chevy Citation.

Later, while riding in the car with his Mom, Andy asked, “May I stop at the post office?”

She asked, “What are you sending for now? More books?”

Andy anxiously replied, “No, I’m sending for a Worm Farm Kit. I’m going to sell worms.”

Mrs. Jenkins exclaimed, “You don’t need no Worm Farm Kit! Just put up a sign that says, ‘WORMS FOR SALE.’ Then go to the barnyard and dig’em up whenever you get a customer.”
Andy groaned and said, “But Mom, the barn is almost 1/2 a mile away. And the worms are too hard to find when it gets dry. It’ll take a half hour!” “It won’t take no half hour,” grumbled Mrs. Jenkins. “You can dig a mess of worms in ten minutes.”

Andy replied, “O.K. Let’s say it only takes fifteen  minutes to dig worms when it’s dry. It’s still going to be a seven or eight minute walk both ways. That’s still a half hour.”

Mrs. Jenkins asked, “Why don’t you dig them in the garden? That’s right in the backyard.”

“They’re too small. That’s why Dad always drives over to the barn to dig for worms.” The scar on his Mom’s lower lip popped out. “Where there’s a will there’s a way!” quoted Mrs. Jenkins irritably. She added a religious saying that she thought was a Bible verse, “God helps those who help themselves!”

Andy knew he’d better be quiet.

If you want to read the rest of the story,  Adventurer’s Horn, written by Wayne O’Conner, is available in paperback and ebook editions at Amazon.com.