by Sylvester Pierpoint (aka John Jeffries)

Created on: January 26, 2009

SURPRISE, SURPRISE - Tommy Tidwell was an eleven year old boy who lived on his parents' farm. He was a husky, well mannered and polite young man. His parents took pride in the way he dressed and cared for his personal hygiene and how his clothes were always neat and clean. His family was very religious and attended the Presbyterian Church regularly. His mother was strict on morals and addressed the subject many times with Tommy.

The county had built a new school for the area and Tommy, along with many other students in the area, was assigned to the new school and rode a bus there. Most of the children were strangers to each other and friendships began to blossom among them. There was a young girl named Maggie Thomas that Tommy thought very attractive and he began sitting next to her on the bus. They were both a bit shy and it took a while but they soon began to enjoy talking to each other and became very close friends. She was Catholic and like Tommy was very particular about her appearance and demeanor. Her mother made sure she was always neatly dressed. She was a very pretty young girl.

Both were good students and often waited at the bus stop after school to do their homework together. Tommy would then walk Maggie safely to her home and take a shortcut through the woods to his farm. The shortcut became a well worn path between the two farms. There was a small narrow creek that crossed through the path and had stepping stones for crossing. Normally this posed no problem but on occasion heavy rains would cause the creek to flow over the stepping stones and make them slippery. Footing was never sure under these circumstances.

They had read in school the legend about the chivalrous act of Sir Walter Raleigh in using his cape to provide dry footing for Queen Elizabeth I to cross a mud puddle. Maggie was very impressed with this and remarked to Tommy on several occasions how she felt about chivalry and asked if he would ever do something like that. Tommy wasn't sure if he would or not but he figured the opportunity would never come about so he told her he most likely would. The friendship grew stronger and the trust toward each other became unquestionable. They would have frequent talks about their religions and compare the differences.

Both churches were close to each other and Maggie and Tommy would often walk home together after the services. The old wooded pathway would be used again. Both Maggie's and Tommy's parents were satisfied and happy with their children's

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