A Tough Call
Elementary: Grades 3–4
Story
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"What is it, Dad?" I asked now, shaking the package to see if it rattled. It didn't.
"You've got plenty of time to see for yourself before dinner," Dad said. Both he and Mom were grinning. They obviously knew what it was.
"I think you'll be pretty pleased, Danny," Mom added. I didn't waste a minute. Before they could say another word to spoil the surprise, I was up in my room opening the card that came with the package.
The note, from my grandmother, said, "Daniel dear, As you probably already know, Grandpa Charlie started out early as a Sox fan, too. It was one of the many things he loved sharing with you. He always said your love of the White Sox proved you had plenty of his blood in your veins!" I smiled at those words and went on reading the note.
"The enclosed have been tucked away for years and years in an old trunk. We'd practically forgotten all about them, in fact! Grandpa Charlie always wanted you to have them someday, especially since they were created by your great-grandfather Daniel Craig, your namesake. I'm sure you'll enjoy taking this trip 'back in time.' Much love, Grandma C."
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I put the note aside and picked up the package, bursting with curiosity. I opened it carefully and slowly pulled out its contents—two big, thick scrapbooks. Both had hard black leathery covers and were stuffed with pages bound together with gold cord. Inside each cover were handwritten dates. The first said 1915-1918. The other was dated 1919-1922. These books, I understood, represented eight years of my great-grandpa Daniel's life. He'd begun his first scrapbook when he was twelve years old, only two years older than I was.
The pages of both scrapbooks smelled kind of old and musty. But as I quickly glanced through them, I saw that they weren't filled with a bunch of matchbooks and napkins from fancy restaurants, like some others I'd seen. To me, these were books of magic, both devoted entirely to the White Sox!
I knew very little about their early years, but I did know the Sox team had got its start in 1900, as part of the American League. It was hard to imagine that Great-grandpa Dan had been born only three years later!
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