JoJo 17.7; Summer of 1976; Part Seven; Round Two of Fun

"O..o..OK, Mom." JoJo was out of breath. "I finished the three miles."
"Not bad, JoJo. You did it in 42 minutes. Your father's instructions are as follows:
1. Take a shower
2. Eat something
3. Call him.
PS Do this within 30 minutes."
"Really? Are you going to help me with lunch, Ma?"
"Yes, Silly! I will have a BLT sandwich, fries, and banana pudding. Now, go clean up."
"What time is it?"
"12:14"

After JoJo showered and ate lunch, the time was 12:39.
"Dad, I am ready for Round Two to begin."
"Let's see. It is 12:40. I will call you back in one hour...GO."

JoJo read the verse (Proverbs 21:24) three times. Then, he tried to say it aloud.
"Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with...."
JoJo read the verse 3 more times.
"Mockers are proud and haughty: they act with boundless arrogance."
JoJo said it again.
"Mockers are proud and arrogant; they act with boundless arrogance."
Unexpectedly, JoJo felt conviction about the way he treated Runt. The words had worn into his soul. I am a chump.
JoJo decided to call Randy.
"Hello"
"Hey, Randy. It's JoJo."
"Hey JoJo."
Wow! I thought he would give me the business for the way I treated him. JoJo thought.
"Uhh, Randy...I want to apologize for the way I treated you last night at the Rec. Department."
"Oh, that's Ok. People treat me like that ALL the time!"
"Really?"
"Sure. I am used to it."
"Randy, I will never treat you like that again!"
"Oh gee wiz, JoJo. That's super!"
"Cool. I'll be seeing you, Randy."
"Yea, see ya."

"Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance."
JoJo knew there was one other person he needed to call.
"May I speak with Sydney?"
"Hold on."
"Hello."
"Hey Coach. This is JoJo."
"Well, my batting taunter."
"I know Sydney. I am really sorry. It was rotten the way I acted."
"No Problem. Hey, what made you decide to call me?"
"I don't want you to get the wrong idea. No-one made me call you--or even knows I called you. But, my Dad found out about it."
"Ha! What is your punishment?"
"My Dad calls it 'FUN' which makes it worse. He is making me memorize a Bible verse. For every word I got wrong in the first hour, I had to run a mile."
"And, how many miles did you run."
"Three."
Sydney laughed so hard that he had to put the phone down.
"Woo hoo. Sorry, JoJo."
"Naw man, I deserve it."
"What verse did you have to memorize?"
"Proverbs 21:24; Mockers are proud and arrogant; they act with boundless arrogance."
"Go Mr. Smith. Sounds like you learned a lesson."
"Huh. I really wasn't even thinking about learning something from this. I just wanted to get right with everybody. But, you are right. I learned a lot!"
"It's none of my business, but did you call Runt--I mean Ray?"
"I sure did."
"Good JoJo. I am proud of you!"
"Thanks Coach. Is it OK for me to come to the next game? Am I on Suspension or anything?"
"Let me think about it." 3 SECOND PAUSE "You can come back."
"Cool. See ya next Tuesday."

At 12:40, the phone rang.
JoJo didn't say Hello. Instead, he said, "Proverbs 21:24; Mockers are proud and haughty: they act with boundless arrogance."
"That's my boy! Round Two of Fun is over. See ya at 5. Have the ball and gloves ready...."