"Well dear, this is Friday and I guess in the morning I had better trim the hedge, well not the hedge but the junipers in the driveway out front," Bob's dad said as he sat down and watched his wife finish supper. "Where is Bob?" He asked, as it was too quiet in the house.

"He went over to Kevin's to play monopoly, Kevin has learned and he is going to teach Bob how to play," mom replied as she took a glass and rolled the biscuits out so she could wrap them around hot dogs. "If it is just Bob and Kevin, it should be OK for Kevin is older and he makes Bob do what he wants, well part of the time."

"Yes but if Naomi, Kevin's sister decides to get in it, there will be a fight for sure," Bob's dad replied with a laugh, for Bob and Kevin played together and they never fought or fussed, they always seemed to just adapt to whatever the other one wanted to do. But Kevin's sister Naomi was a twelve-year-old going on sixteen who knew it all.

Bob's mom made the slaw and his dad set the table, as the clock said five-twenty-five and Bob was supposed to be home by five thirty. They looked at each other, "Quarter says he does," Bob's dad said.

"Doing the dishes says he doesn't," mom replied, hoping to get a better wager.

"You are on, for he will be," Bob's dad laughingly replied.

"Go check your WWV radio, and set the clock, for the power was off this morning, just for a second, just enough to make all the clocks blink," Mom said. Then added, "And your son helped me reset the clocks." Dad went into his study and soon came back and sat the kitchen clock, the microwave clock, the oven clock and the clock in the dining room. Five-twenty-nine. "Dear, check the rest for as I said Bob helped me set them, and check the alarms, he loves to set the alarms." Both laughed for just last week at four ten on Sunday morning the alarm sounded.

Five-thirty, five-thirty-one and no Bob, then at five-thirty-one and thirty seconds kerwham the back door opened. "Mom, mom, wow, I bought four hotels and then went to jail, that Monopoly is a neat game." Bob saw his dad, "Hi dad, did you have a good day, I learned to play monopoly, Kevin taught me how to play." Then Bob looked up at the clock, scratched his head, "Mom, you reset the clocks for I left Kevin's at one minute before the big hand got to the six?" "Yes son, dad just reset them to WWV," mom said as she put the pigs in a blanket into the oven. All three of them did like pigs in a blanket, with slaw and a cold glass of milk.

"Great Son, after you and Kevin play a while one night we will have to play," he replied as Bob ran over for an evening hug. Dad hugged his son then lifted him up and threw him up in the air, his head nearly touching the ceiling. He bounced his son a few times, and then with a dour look from mom, they stopped.

"Dad, you know how to play Monopoly?" Bob asked.

"Yes son," dad replied.

" You sure dad for it is a complex game, and dad, can you count that good?"

"Well Bob I am sure with your and mom's help I will learn."

The evening was spent working on Bob's Pinewood derby racer for Cub Scouts. Bob's mom made it simple she just bought two kits, one for Bob and one for Bob's dad, and they did have a good time building the racer, especially when Bob's racer beat his dad's.

Saturday morning looked to be a great day for the temperature was to be in the mid sixties, and no chance of rain. After breakfast Bob's dad got his electric hedge trimmers and his hand powered clippers and headed out front, with Bob in tow. "I will get the cord straightened out for you dad, I can do it," Bob said with authority. Dad sort of grimaced for the cord had been carefully served up and would just fall out if not bothered.

"Uh never . .. . , oh Ok, but be careful, and don't plug it in till I tell you," Bob's dad knew this would not be a simple job now that his son was going to help.

With fierce determination Bob set to work to string out the orange extension cord, a hundred foot one at that. Bob was so funny to watch for he would set his jaw, and get this real serious look on his face and his eyes would narrow and he would start in, trying to do whatever. Bob's dad smiled and took his shears and started to trim.

"Good job Bob, keep it up, I am waiting for you," his dad said as he started to clip the growth which was the longest. The electric trimmers were great for short and soft bits but not strong enough for older growth. Snip, snip, snip, he was going along when his wife came outside,

"Phone call, it is P-dab," she said and then went back inside. Bob's dad went inside to answer the phone, leaving Bob working with he extension cord. In a few minutes he put he phone down, "Have to go to work, P-dab has run into a problem on the Swigglub's survey and we have to have it to them by four today." He then went outside, "Bob son, dad has to go to work for a while, finish up wit the cord, but don't plug it in OK, and dad will be back as quick as he can." With that he left for work.

Lunchtime came and there was a, "Bob, Bob son, lunch time," mom called, and she did not have to say it twice for soon Bob was in the house. "Potty and wash your face and hands, and we will eat, dad isn't home yet," she said as she cut a carrot into strips and then took some celery and put peanut butter in it. Oh she had to be specific when telling Bob what to do for if she had said, wash your hands and potty, he would have done it in that order.

They sat down at the table and Bob dove into his grilled cheese sandwich with pickles, he loved grilled cheese with pickles and carrots with celery filled with peanut butter. "Mom, that is a tough job, dad really has that extension cord in a mess, it is a man sized job, but I can do it."

"Yes Bob I know you can." Mom, just smiled as she watched her hard working son put away the groceries. One thing about Bob, he does not whine and not want to eat.

After lunch Bob went back outside and his mom went back to her chores. About three or so his dad came home, "Oh that P-dab, sometimes . . . . , I wonder about him." Dad had a quick sandwich and then asked, "Where is Bob?"

His wife smiled, "At lunch Bob said you had that extension cord in a mess, but he would get it straightened out, and I haven't checked for he was still working on it the last time I checked." They both arose and went to the front window.

"Oh no!"

Bob's dad ran outside, "Hi dad, since you had to work, I am helping trim the hedge," the youngster beamed as he stopped chopping and looked at his dad. Dad wanted to scream for his son had trimmed, well not trimmed, but hacked the junipers around the big circular driveway as high as he could and they look notched, serrated, and nearly mutilated from the ground up. However the top had not been touched. "You should have waited for me son, for those shears are dangerous, and you could have cut yourself."

"Ah dad, I watched you and I made sure I was safe," the boy was so proud of his feat. "Dad did I do right pretty good?"

Dad swallowed hard, and looked at the mess, "Son I will say you did one notchy job," he replied in frustration. He took the shears from his small son and then hoping he had only worked on the side facing the house, walked over to the steps and then down to the lower, driveway level.

His wife by this time had come out of the house for she had seen the damage Bob had done. "Bob, how . . . . . . ." dad shook his head no, so mom just looked.

The front side was even worse than the back side because Bob had to stand on the ground and the retaining wall was about four feet high, so he had only butchered the bottom of the what was a smooth and even growth of junipers. How do I recover, how do I make this presentable, how do I Unbob this?

Bob's mom and dad and of course Bob walked down toward the road all the while looking at the hedge, and all the while dad was shaking his head. "My fault, my own fault for I left the tools there and I left him be." Then he smiled, "I am glad he did not decide to use the electric shears."

His wife looked and then saw something, "Look, look at the saw-tooth pattern, see?". She canted her head from side to side, and held her hands up like a photographer looking to see what a scene would look like.

Dad too began to look, and he too put his two index fingers together and two thumbs and looked, "Yes you are right, yes there is a pattern, and if I trim it smooth, and then make it a little wavy on top, it might just be OK."

"Dad, did I do right pretty good, did I help you because you had to work, did I dad, did I?" Dad just smiled and put his arm around his small son,

"Yes son you didn't do so right pretty bad." Then he walked to the other side and just grinned for that side had really been "Bobbed."

After twenty minutes the cord was stretched and the lebenty leben knots had been taken out dad started to trim, slowly he would trim then walk down to the road, look, come back trim a little and then look again. Just as it was getting too dark to do work any longer the task at hand was done. So with Bob's help he raked up the trimmings and hauled it to the compost pile.

The first thing on Sunday morning before he read the paper and long before church dad was out looking and it really didn't look too bad from the road but from the house that was another story, but may it would be a fast growing season.

At breakfast dad and mom noticed people driving down the road slow down and gawk at the junipers; heck a couple cars even stopped. Both mom and dad laughed, "They should see this side," dad said as they finished breakfast. Wednesday after work dad and Bob drove out to the Stretch's to get some seedlings and all at once Bob said, "Dad, dad, dad, look, their hedge is cut like ours."

Dad looked and sure enough it was, this long juniper hedge was cut in a serrated fashion with an undulating top; and by Saturday there were three more over along Bar X row, the jillion dollar houses.

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