It’s too “daggone” hot outside for baseball. So the boys head over to the Drug Store Soda Fountain for some ice cream. There they learn from High School hot-shot Tommy Lee Mason that “the mob” has been secretly sending a spy to the diamond to report back news on the weak spots in the boys playing.
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While at the neighbor’s farm, Jimmy and Billy encounter the shock of their young adult lives. Later on, the boys discuss the risk of allowing T.J. to play ball against the ultra- racist likes of Jonas and his team. It’s either replace their friend T.J. or call off the game all together.
Tom McGee’s punishment for the twins really threw a wrench into their much needed daily baseball practice with the team. Still, this hindrance didn’t preoccupy Billy enough to keep him from slipping into a deep daydream about his one true goal in life: to fly for the United States Air Force.
No amount of speed could get Jimmy and Billy to church on time. They walked in late and daddy was furious. Tom McGee dragged out delivering their punishment but it didn’t keep Billy from daydreaming about his true life goal of joining the United States Air Force.
Chapter 9 of Extra Innings: The Diamond Thieves starts off with the following:
It was curious how no obstacles arose when Skip proposed what he called the “T.J. contract” to Jonas and the mob. They all agreed. It was equally strange that kidnapping the mob’s “ball-retriever” was so easy. Slave, as he was called, immediately took off running to fetch Jimmy’s fly ball. As he stepped into the street and reached down to pick up the baseball, a whispered voice called out to him. Panicked, the boy froze still.
What is this? Cliff Notes? The original version of Extra Innings devoted pages to exactly how this scene unfolds and then I went and revised it to this extremely abridged version. Obviously, you can probably tell by my tone that I’m not happy with this. There is so much underlying potential to build suspense and wrestle with conflict. So this week I am digging deeper into this particular incident and bringing it more to life for the reader. Although I’m a little constrained on time, my goal is to get it done by Sunday. We shall see. I will keep you all posted and maybe provide a brief snippet of the finished copy. Stay tuned and wish Jimmy, Billy & Skip luck as they try and escape the confrontation they receive from Jonas and his boys.
Oh yeah … and for those of you who were following … I will continue with the Chapter Summaries as well.