Great Balls of Fire!

“Great balls of fire!” I heard the old man yell. He was sitting in the park. Next to him was a shopping cart. It was full of junk. His name was Henry. I saw him on my way home from school every day.

“Hi, Henry!” I called.

He waved. “How are you, Hester Sue? Great balls of fire!” he yelled again.
“How was your day, Henry?” I called.
“Same as yesterday,” he said. “Great balls of fire!”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said. “Great balls of fire!”
I walked over to the bench. I looked at his cart. It had the same stuff in it from yesterday. “Do you need help, Henry?” I asked.
This time he jumped up and yelled, “Great balls of fire! Great balls of fire!”

I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat down on the bench. He sat down and took off his shoe.

I looked inside. There was a small, sharp rock. It was stuck in his sock. “Let me take that out,” I said.
He said, “Sure thing.”
I took out the rock. It was sharp. “It would hurt real bad if it was in my shoe,” I said.
“Great balls of fire!” I said.
Henry smiled. “Now you see what I was talking about!”