Caleb Smith

Caleb had missed me at the party at Red Door. Other plans. So, we called The Smiths and asked if Caleb could come over. Now, let me tell you who the Smith's are. I was in preschool and kindergarten with Caleb, and he was at Roswell North and is now at Crabapple. He's planning to go to Roswell High, where I'm probably going. I've known him for a long time too, and know his personality, traits, and everything else. He's been to many birthday parties, and I have been to a few of his. For about a year they would come home with us every Monday as they stayed at our house, and when I say they I mean Ethan (older brother, 8th grade) and Rachel (littler sister, 5th grader) would come too. Caleb's Mom, Mrs. Smith, babysits bucket loads of kids at her house every day, particularly toddlers. Mr. Smith is a history teacher, for high school. So we know them. Well. When I say well I mean I know them well. Not the thing that goes down with water, or the other one. Anyway...

Mom called their house phone and she and Mr. Smith had a long conversation about the trip and history stuff we've seen and principals to be learned, and only a sliver of that conversation was about the coming play-date. Before picking Caleb up, Mom went to the grocery store for the coming guests later that day, Johnny and Glenda, who have been mentioned in an earlier blog. See the one about the lake or something like that. Anyway, we picked Caleb up at their house in a neighborhood relatively close to ours, and I walked up to the door and saw their beagle dog, and Mr. Smith, who is thin and bald with a little beard. Caleb and I got in the car. Caleb is a big guy, and is a little short, also having a buzz cut. He is a smart guy,in all T.A.G (Talented and Gifted) classes except for one, Math, and that's only because T.A.G math is advanced, and he's in accelerated! He is an oratorical guy, plays football, chess, swimming, anything you can think of, and also is a very serious debater and logical thinker. Witty and fun too. We both got in the car, and once again I showed him the National Geographic Almanac, as we drove Rebecca to Sylvia's house. Then, with Rebecca gone, we went home. We got outside, went inside and put the books up and did things of that nature. I kept asking him about middle school, and he asked about the R.V. trip. We talked about stuff we got for Christmas too, and a book with totally strange facts you would never need to know. We had a small debate about it, in which I won, for once.

He wanted to watch a movie, the third one of the Star Wars Movies. I got the case in the den and put a DVD in, and as it loaded I was sad to find out it was the behind the scenes disc. Oh well. We were then planning to go outside, to get some exercise, you know, and so I found a light saber in the laundry room and another somewhere else. He got a red and me blue, and we got in position by the outdoor deck, me on a short ledge in front of my bedroom window, gazing down at him from his place on the hill. We would stay in this general area for the whole fight. I did a fighting position as we started. He gradually came upward as I lashed back at him with my sword. I struck at his feet, he stepped back and then came forward again. Desperate, I jumped down, as to scare him, and for a good 15 seconds we went back and forth, each trying to gain the upper hand, striking blows at one another, fence and parry, fence and parry. Red struck blue, blue struck red, fingers were hit by plastic as hands were switched. He dealt me a blow to the right hand, thinking I would be worse with my left. Well, unfortunately for him, and good for me, I am switch handed, or aspidistras. So I was just as good. He backed up as we both were getting tired from the constant alertness, and motion. He was clever, and he finished me off once and I took him down once. My legs were cut off and we struck me in the stomach, and on my time I stabbed him in the chest.We both had one point, and as we were tired, this was the deciding match. Up by a tree, he stabbed me in the stomach as I swiped across his body. Tie. One more game. We went further down the hill, as I advanced and advanced. Desperate, Caleb threw his sword, us both tired and sweaty. I had tried to compliment him and make him distracted, but he was too smart for that. I took his sword, and he grabbed the other one as we quickly switched. After that he knocked mine out of my hand, and I grabbed the blade of his, as he picked up the other. I got mine back. He threw his sword again, and fell downward, up against the ledge. He was on his back and as I prepared to finish him off, he said "GAME!" and lifted his hand to shield himself. Honorably, I drew my sword in and gave him my hand, to pull him up. He got up, saying he still won. As if. It was totally me. Oh well. No matter.

After that, we watched a Man In Black Episode in Dad's office, having a good meal of lunch. After that he kept asking if we could play in the pool, knowing that it was way too cold for that. An example of him being funny. As we decided to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean #4:On Stranger Tides," something I got for Christmas. Johnny and Glenda came over, and stayed down in the living room with the adults. The Pirates Movie couldn't go into the movie player upstairs, and so we went into the basement and settled down there, on the sand color couch. Mom fixed it for us, as the basement T.V. is as hard to fix as the government system in Italy. She got us chips and salsa as we turned off the lights and watched the movie. It was very good, it beginning in London and having a fun cool action part in the beginning. Basically it's about Barbossa and England wanting the Fountain of Youth for it's own, Barbossa wanting to kill Blackbeard particularly, The Spaniards also wanting it, and Blackbeard and his daughter and Jack Sparrow wanting it for Blackbeard's fate, and there is prophesy, riddles, mermaids, and all kinds of different things, though not as intriguing as the other films. It was good though, I give it a pretty good rating. Throughout the film, mostly at the beginning and middle, we ate the salsa, scooping it up in the bowl shaped chips and eating it. We did spill some, as we couldn't see, it being in the dark.

Rebecca came as we went upstairs and got salad and chicken. Then we continued watching and finished it. I give it a three and a half out of five stars. Which is pretty good. We wrote the first few pages of a story (forgot to mention, Caleb is a funny writer too), until we got bored. Well, Caleb stayed with us until we took him home, Dad and I going. I took him to his door, told him I would see him in 6 months, and then prepared to leave. Dad in the car was already gone. But I later found out it was just him turning around. I got inside the car, laughing a little. I was a little scared there. We went back home and chilled out until we went to bed. It was a good day, a fun play-date (for lack of a better word) with Caleb. I wouldn't be surprised if he became a politician, lawyer, or a Jay Leno or something. Or maybe even a 21st century John Grisham, as he likes to write. Whatever he becomes, one thing will never change, Caleb will never cease to be a fun and cool guy. See you in 6 months man.

"On a cold winter's night, young Thomas was sleeping like a baby. And by that I mean he was crying and wide awake."- Caleb Smith,

Andrew.