A Lesson Learned, Chapter 2

Or: Always pay attention to the foreshadow.

An important lesson, to be sure, but often overlooked. Maybe you get a funny feeling about that dude staring at you in the dark alley.  Maybe that roller coaster looks a little rickety, and is it just me, or is the kid in the control box drunk? 

Ah yes, the paranoia of every day living. It's easy enough to shrug off-- Why shouldn't he be leaning against a wall in an alley? Of course he's looking at me, I'm the only other person here!

And, Would they really keep running the roller coaster if it was about to fall apart?  I mean COME ON! And how would a drunk kid ever get a job controlling a roller coaster? Get a grip!

Sometimes these reality checks are necessary.  You can't spend your life huddled in front of "Murder She Wrote" in your footy pajamas anticipating the next mysterious murder from the safety of your own pathetic papasan chair.  Get out there, walk down that alley, get on that roller coaster, give the drunk kid a chance.  

But.

But.

But.

At other times, and other more serious encounters with the foreshadow, I suggest you get your head out of your you-know-what and watch out!  

Chapter 2, The Road to Riches

Life Lesson #1: Heed the foreshadow

So maybe nothing all that weird happened in chapter 1.  I'm willing to give these kids the ginormous benefit of the doubt and say they did not have ample warning of their impending doom until chapter 2. In chapter 1 their dad died, they found out their mom is incompetent, and that they're about to be broke.  They were rightly distraught, and thus not up to sleuthing; I understand. I try to put myself in their shoes. This is how I would react in their situation. (See page 40 in my copy of the book to follow along.)

Mum: Gather some clothes and toys for your siblings. Fit them all in one suitcase. We're going to visit grandma.  

Me: Ok Ma... I wish I had a dad.

*hours later, middle of the night, on a deserted road surrounded by trees*

Mum: It's not much farther. Keep going.  

Me: Ma, why do we have to walk all the way to grandma's in the middle of the night? My young siblings are tired and so am I.

Mum: Well I can't very well show up at my parent's house in the middle of the day with 4 children, now can I?!  

Me: I guess that makes sense.  

*tired out from being 5 years old and hiking 15 miles, siblings fall asleep*

Mum: Wake them up! Stand them on their feet and force them to walk, whether they want to or not!

Me: But, Ma...

*Mum mutters something under her breath, something only I can hear*  [Foreshadow alert!]

Mum: Lord knows they better walk outside while they can...

Me: AHHHHHHHHH!! RUN SIBLINGS, RUN!!!!

That, at least, is what I would do.  Or, that's what I will do thanks to this book. Still, that's not what our 4 young heroes did.  Instead they kept going and soon found themselves at grandma's house.  

Foreshadow Lesson #2: How to know when your grandma is about to lock you in the attic

If she has, as you say, "a bosom like twin hills of concrete," and the first thing she says about you (in your presence) is, "But are you sure they are intelligent? Do they have some invisible afflictions not apparent to the eyes?" 

And if the first thing she says to you is, "You all keep quiet! If your grandfather learns you are up here, he will throw all of you out without one red penny-- after he has severely punished you for being alive!"

This is a no-brainer. If you're going to be punished just for being alive--listen to your paranoia, run for it.  

And finally, Foreshadow Lesson #3: So are you a product of incest or not?

(If you find yourself wondering, then the answer is likely "yes.")

But here's one telltale sign. If your grandma tells your mom that you and your bro can't share a bed, and your mom defends you saying "They're only children! They're innocent." And then your grandma says to your mom, "Innocent? That is exactly what your father and I always presumed about you and your half-uncle!"

Ouch. 

Chapter 2 didn't exactly dole the foreshadowing out subtly.  Those kids just lost my benefit of the doubt. They're idiots. Please learn from their poor example.  Just stay inside with Jessica Fletcher.