PostAdventure: 'Tis Better to Give

• Mal and Mel were all excited about their "indoor adventure" and talked non-stop about their new friends, the posters they made, the games they played, the toys they bought at the silent auction with their allowances...four days of discovering new insights into people with a different environment and different needs from their own. They didn't think at all about the mysterious donors and the gift that was announced at the end of the event. But their parents and Inge did. On the drive home, Inge turned to Mike. "So THAT was all the talking I heard coming from your room Thanksgiving evening. You must have been on the phone for at least two hours. Don't deny it. You called your old corporate buddies to arrange the donations, didn't you?" Agnes spoke next. "That was a wonderful, generous gift you set up, Dad." "That's for sure," Mort said. "Most people forget to look long term, that it's one thing to build something but it takes a lot of support to keep it going. Your pledge will certainly help to encourage people to volunteer their time and talents for the clinic." "Hold on a minute," Mike protested. "What makes you so sure that I had anything to do with it?" "Oh, so you've taken to talking to yourself for hours on end, then?" Inge asked in mock concern. "Maybe I should reconsider..." "Well, all right, if you put it that way," Mike replied smilingly, as he decided to explain his reasoning. "In the software business, we always looked beyond the original price.  Maintenance over its useful life is the more important consideration. Same is true with the clinic. It's barely born now and needs help to survive. I figured that it would probably take about five years for it to grow up." Mal and Mel finally started paying attention to what the adults were saying when they heard the words "grow up." "Grandpa," Mal said, "everyone was so happy and clapping. Why didn't you stand up and let everybody know it was you?" Mel answered her brother by speaking to Mort. "That's 'cause we're a private family, right Dad? Just like Mom doesn't want us to tell about her being Ninja Mom." "Yeah, and Dad told the police sergeant at the dunes not to let the newspapers know we found the money bag," Mal admitted. "And that's only part of the reason, Mal, Mel," Mike said. "The reward is in the giving, not the thanks. And we've had a really fine Thanksgiving!" - - - - - - So ends Book 2 of BioFables; The Journey Begins. Book 3 continues the twins' first year of adventures, starting with their "Rocky Mountain High" ski trip in December and finishing up with the whole family (except Rufus, of course) joining "Ninja Mom" in Japan the following March. See you soon!