Paul Bunyan & Me in Yosemite (Chapter Thirteen) Jr. Ranger Celebration

Jr. Ranger Celebration

        Paul Bunyan was anxious after the President finished his speech and announced his name as the new director of National Jr. Ranger Committee.

        Reporters from all over the world were in attendance as hundreds sat in chairs placed in front of the Yosemite Chapel near the meadow.  Many children were just waiting to see what Paul Bunyan really looked like.

        Paul Bunyan was still hiding, feeling nervous about this moment.

        “Dad, get up,” Paul Jr. demanded. “We need to get out there!”

        Paul Jr. was sitting on his left shoulder next to Lucy holding tightly to his hair. 

        The President thought it was extremely important that Paul Jr. and the others were seen on his shoulders as he came out from the trees.  They would avoid feeling too frightened.

        Paul Bunyan finally took a deep breath and walked out from the trees.

        “Here we go!” he said.

        “They will love you!” Lucas told him right in his ear.

        As Paul took a few long steps in-between the trees, he could hear the gasps from the people and children.

        Many people stood up to get a better look at him, and several children even screamed, running to sit with their parents.

        A video camera zoomed in on Lucas, Lucy, and Paul Jr. to help people feel calm, causing everyone to stand up and cheer.

        “You see, they love you, dad!” Paul Jr. said proudly.

        “Is that a tear in your eye?” Lucy teased.

        Paul Jr. quickly wiped away any evidence.

        “No, it’s just the wind up here,” he replied.

        The President spoke into a microphone as he stepped into the middle of Paul Bunyan’s hand. 

        “I present to you, Paul Bunyan, a wonderful man who is going to help lead this country as our Jr. Ranger Director.”

        Paul Bunyan was comfortable enough to smile and wave to the people.

        “Where is Babe?” someone shouted.

        Paul began to laugh sending his thunderous voice out into the public for the first time.

        Some people ran for cover, but the majority sat still in their chairs enjoying the greatest moment in Jr. Ranger history.

        Paul cleared his voice as the people fell totally silent.

        “I am grateful for the opportunity the President has given me to be of service, and I am grateful to be with the people once more, after so many years,” he said with a smile.

        Many people were clapping for him as he lowered the kids to the ground.

        “What do I do next?” he asked the President.

        The President smiled.

        “I got this!” he replied.

        The President walked over to the kids.

        “Who wants to go to the river with Paul Bunyan and work on a Jr. Ranger badge?” he called out cheerfully.

        Once again, the people began to cheer.  Parents began to send their children running towards Paul to follow him to the river.

        The President ended the ceremony by calling loudly into the microphone.

        “Let the festivities begin!”

        Paul led the children and many parents to the Merced river, only a short walk away. Many kids went swimming while others went fishing. The greatest part of all was when Paul Bunyan would lift the kids and let them jump from his hand like a diving board.

        Babe just fell asleep, happy to see his old friend Paul Bunyan with people once more.

        After swimming in the river with the Jr. Rangers, the President, and his family said goodbye and climbed into the helicopter.

        Before going up the stairs, the President turned back to find Lucy, lifting a bag of trash into the air.

        “Hey Lucy,” he called. “We are the first ones to show the Love. Taking our trash with us.”

        Lucy waved goodbye as the President and his family each had a large trash bag to take with them.

        Tali and John stood next to Lucy as they watched the helicopter fly away.

        “It doesn’t get any cooler than this!” Lucy said proudly.

        “You did great,” Tali told her, giving her a big hug.  "Now it’s our turn to say goodbye.”

        Ranger Pam was standing behind Tali holding a large basket from the Yosemite museum.  Lucy and Lucas both walked over to say goodbye. Lucy had tears in her eyes.

        “I’m going to miss you,” she said sadly.

        Ranger Pam held up the basket.

        “I am going with you,” Ranger Pam replied.

        Lucy looked up at her, surprised.

        “That’s great!” Lucy said, immediately cheering up. “What is the basket for?”

        “My grandmother made this basket, and we need it for our trip to the Grand Canyon,” she replied.

        Lucy was thinking of why she would bring such an important basket.

        “What do you use it for?” Lucy asked.

        Ranger Pam lowered the basket for Lucy to look inside.

        “Put your hand inside.” Ranger Pam suggested.

        Lucy carefully lowered her hand inside, trying to feel what might be inside. She could not even feel the bottom.

        “It feels magical,” she said. “Why can’t I feel the bottom?”

        “My Grandmother created this basket to hold the great Kokopelli,” she replied.

        “Who is the great Kokopelli?” asked Lucy.

        “Nowadays we call her Mother Nature,” replied Ranger Pam.

        Lucy was feeling confused as Lucas interrupted.

        “How does Mother Nature fit inside the basket?” he asked. “And how do you plan on catching her?”

        Ranger Pam set the basket on the meadow floor, for Lucas to feel inside.

        “My ancestors believed that Kokopelli is an actual person, sent by the Great Spirit,” she explained. “She has been provoked and was last seen in the Grand Canyon after causing the Colorado river to dry up.

        “She can fit in this basket?” asked Lucas.

        “If your father and Pecos Bill can round her up, she will fit inside,” Ranger Pam explained.

        “Let’s go find her,” Lucas commanded.

        Paul Bunyan looked down at Lucas and Lucy standing next to Ranger Pam and the others.  

        “I guess we will see you in a few days,” he said in a sad voice.

        Paul Jr. had the first hug and goodbye, then John tapped Paul on the side of the leg.

        “Try and get to the Grand Canyon as fast as you can,” he ordered.

        “I will see you there,” Paul Bunyan replied.

        Talitha just blew him a kiss and walked toward the truck with John.

        Lucas was like Paul Jr. and hated saying goodbye, even if he knew that he would see Paul Bunyan in just a few days.

        “How do you hug a giant?” Lucas asked.

        Paul Bunyan smiled and carefully lifted both Lucas and Lucy up to his heart, pressing them gently against it.

        “This is the best I can do,” Paul Bunyan replied.

        Lucas and Lucy could both feel the love booming from the world’s biggest heart, and it was amazing.

Paul Bunyan & Me in Yosemite (Chapter Ten) Secrets

Secrets

        Early the next morning, Lucy woke up to the thunderous sound of a garbage truck dumping one of the large dumpsters of campground trash.

        She was immediately reminded of the bear cub that was trapped the day before, so she quickly put on her clothes and ran over to make sure the bear clips were put back. 

        She was thankful when she saw the clips were secure and no bears could be inside.        

        A familiar voice spoke to her from behind.

        “I already checked all dumpsters in your camp!” the voice called from behind.

        Lucy turned as fast as she could to find Paul Jr. standing there.

        “That was right out of the Jr. Ranger handbook,” Lucy told him proudly. “A good deed for today.” 

        “Yes, it was,” Paul Jr. replied with a big smile on his face.

        “Why are you up this early in the morning?” Lucy asked him. “Breakfast with the President is not for another three hours.”

        “I’m not invited to the breakfast, and my mom has a long list of things for me to do before leaving for Ireland this afternoon,” he replied.

        Paul Jr. looked down at the ground feeling sorry for himself.

        “They left me out of the Grand Canyon trip,” he mumbled.

        “That’s terrible, why can’t you come? asked Lucy.

        Paul kicked his feet in the pine needles covering the dirt.

        “My birth mom is in Ireland and I was told she needed me,” he explained.

        “Cheer up! It sounds fun,” she said cheerfully, trying to cheer him up.

        “My mother is a little boring,” he explained.

        Lucy was sad Paul Jr. was not going to the Grand Canyon.

        “How did Paul Bunyan meet a girl in Ireland?” asked Lucy. “She must be one tall momma.” 

        “She is tall when she wants to be, but that’s a long story,” Paul explained.

        “What’s her name?” Lucy asked.

        Paul was not in the mood to talk about his birth mom. He felt that he hardly knew her.

        “It is hard for some people to say,” he replied. “Her name is Bébinn.”

        Lucy tried to picture a woman named Bébinn. 

        “That is a very pretty name. Do you have a picture?” she asked.

        Paul felt embarrassed that he did not have a picture, and mostly because he could hardly remember what his mom Bébinn looked like.

        “This may sound strange, but I am not allowed to have or take pictures of either of my parents,” he whispered.

        Lucy giggled.

        “It’s not easy for weirdos like us who have strange parents,” she said hoping to make him smile.

        Paul started laughing.

        “My mom Bébinn is the strangest of all. Hopefully your family can come and meet her after the Grand Canyon,” he replied.

        “That would be fun,” Lucy replied. “Is Bébinn nice to you?”

        “She’s nice, but she has a huge hazelnut farm and she is hardly home to spend time with,” he explained.

        Lucy smiled and felt happy that Paul was willing to trust her with so much of his personal life.

        Paul Jr. began noticing how strange the animals were starting to act. Blue jays, squirrels, ravens, and even a few deer began getting closer to them.

        “This is kinda creepy!” Paul Jr. said pointing at a dozen ravens that just landed on the dumpster in front of them.

        Lucy was calling them on purpose using her mind.  She wanted to share her own secret with Paul Jr. 

        “If I tell you a secret, do you promise not to tell anyone?” she asked.

        Paul looked around at all the animals listening quietly.

        “I can keep a secret, but I think we have a few more ears that may not be able to,” he replied. “Did you notice that none of the animals are making any noise?”

        “That is my secret,” Lucy whispered. “I can communicate with animals.”

        Paul Jr. looked over at the squirrels that were getting closer and closer to his feet.

        “I did notice something strange between you and the bear cub the other day,” he whispered back to her. “I just did not know it was this cool!”

        “Do you want to see something else?” asked Lucy.

        Paul Jr. looked up at Lucy already impressed.

        “Go ahead,” he invited.

        Lucy knelt on the pine needles and dirt and closed her eyes. 

        For about a minute nothing happened until finally there was movement from every corner of the campground. Even more squirrels were running as fast as they could towards Lucy. They climbed down trees, out of holes in the ground and began getting a little too close to Paul Jr. 

        Paul Jr. scared away the ravens and climbed to the top of the dumpster faster than he thought was even possible.

        “That’s good enough.” Paul Jr. warned.

        Lucy started to laugh when she heard a voice calling from the bathrooms.

        “Luuu-cccy!!”

        It was her mom Tali, so Lucy quickly stood up and gently waved her arms at all the animals, sending them away. 

        “I’M OVER HERE!” she yelled back.

        “Come back and start getting ready,” Tali called back to her.

        Lucy helped Paul Jr. jump down from the top of the dumpster. 

        “I need to go,” she explained. “First, tell me what your dad is like. Lucas went to bed before telling me”

        “It is still hard to believe that Lucas is your twin,” he replied. “My dad is great.”

        “Lucas is a long story,” Lucy replied. “I can’t wait to meet the great Paul Bunyan.”

        “My dad is big but he is not scary at all.  He is the nicest dad a boy could have,” he explained.

        “Does he still love Bébinn?” she asked.

        “More than anyone could love someone,” Paul replied cheerfully.

        “Then they will be back together before you know it,” Lucy explained. “What time do you leave tomorrow?”

        Paul began walking home.

        “I catch the train from Sugar Pine with your family right after lunch,” he replied.

        Lucy was confused.

        “Don’t you need to fly to get to Ireland?” she asked.

        Paul stopped walking and smiled.

        “The Cannonball can get you anywhere faster than planes or boats,” he explained.

        “What’s the Cannonball?” she asked.

        “It’s the name of Casey Jone's train,” he replied.

        “Sounds impossible that it would be faster than a plane, but I guess anything is possible in our world,” Lucy said happily, before returning to her camp.