Joshua's Family by Joseph F. Girzone

Author:Joseph F. Girzone
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780385522977
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2007-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

13

THE NEXT DAY, MISS AXEMAN KEPT LOOKING AT Joshua during class. She could see there was something unusual about this gentle, thoughtful boy, who was so much like the others, yet so deep for his age. Joshua noticed how she looked at him. He could tell she liked him and felt badly that she could not answer his question in class.

Though it had been her custom previously to discuss current events with each of her classes, she would be more careful from now on so as not to give her precocious student any openings. He saw things in a way that would never cross other students’ minds, and his unusual questions could make a teacher uncomfortable. Not that it would bother the students, but some parent might become upset if a student were to say there was a discussion about God in school.

Miss Axeman thought it silly that anyone should be offended by a student asking a question about God in class, but, realizing that we live in times when society is sensitive about everyone’s rights, she thought it best to be careful.

Joshua’s concentration, however, was more on the boat he and his father were making than on his class subjects, and he could not wait until recess so he could run home and help his father with it. Between classes he told his friends what he and his father were doing, and they were thrilled. One of the boys told Joshua his uncle owned the property where the pond was located. This uncle told his nephew that he and his friends could play there if they were careful. The boy also told his uncle that Joshua’s father might make a boat if they could use the pond, and he smiled and said it was okay. So, now that they had permission to use the property, it was literally clear sailing.

When Joshua arrived at home, Joseph had already made progress on the boat. He had constructed a mechanism for bending the wood to form the front of the boat. This would hold the wood in shape for a few days until it dried. After having done that earlier in the day, Joseph cut slats for the sides and set them aside until they were ready to put them in place.

There was not very much that Joshua could do, but Joseph taught him how to use the various saws and planes, and how to be precise when sawing wood. It was important that everything be done neatly and with precision. Joshua was curious as to how his father had bent the wood. It took a while for him to explain how he put everything together and how he was able to bend the wood easily. It was not too difficult as the wood was less than half an inch thick.

The two of them spent the next couple of hours cutting the wood for the bottom and back of the boat, and for the seats. Joshua let out a deep sigh of relief after all the hard work.

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