Raymie Nightingale

Raymie fondly remembers Mr. Staphopoulos, her lifesaving coach, and his cotton stuffed drowning dummy, Edgar. Mr. Staphopoulos believed that flexing your toes cleared your mind, and every day he would have his students “flex their toes and isolate their objectives” (57). She wistfully thinks about the day she said goodbye to Mr. Staphopoulos and Edgar when they moved to North Carolina and wonders why this simple goodbye was so poignant.

Back at home Raymie goes to her room to fill out the application form for the Little Miss Central Florida Tire contest. One of the sections requires a list of good deeds performed by the applicant. Raymie looks out of her window and sees Mrs. Borkowski sitting in a lawn chair in the middle of the road. Mrs. Borkowski is very old and lives across the street from Raymie. Even though Rhonda thinks Mrs. Borkowski is “crazy as a loon” (46), Raymie is close to Mrs. Borkowski and trusts her opinion, so she asks her advice about the “good deed” section. Mrs. Borkowski tells Raymie a story but gives no help.

Raymie then calls Mrs. Sylvester at Clarke Family Insurance to ask her advice about a good deed, and Mrs.