Monthly Archives: April 2022

THE MOST PRECIOUS TREASURE IN LIFE

Of all the pastimes that I have enjoyed over my lifetime the one, the one I loved the most was beachcombing. I spent all my summers in Wildwood, NJ as a child. Wildwood is a beach town on the Southern Coast of New Jersey. And when I grew up I saw no reason to stop going. Unfortunately, I was only able to go to Wildwood for two weeks during my summer vacation as an adult. But I counted the days until I returned like a child counting the days until Christmas.

If there‘s a better place to spend the summer than the beach I have yet to find it. The salty air, the ocean, the sky, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocky shore. And more than anything the feel of the warm sand between my toes. It‘s heaven on earth. Boy treasure hunting

I spent the long, hot, and sultry summer days walking from one end of the beach to the other. I carried a large plastic bag with Captain Hook’s picture on it over my shoulder. When I started to feel too hot I would run down and jump into the ocean to cool off. The water was cold and shocking at first but then I would get used to it. And I would swim out the waves and let the waves carry me back to the beach. I never felt more alive or free.

As I walked the beach I would look down and kick the sand to see if I could uncover hidden treasures. When I first started to comb the beach I would pick up shells in every shape and color and starfish. One day I found hundreds of tiny little shells and I filled up my bag to the brim.

When I got back home that day I put the bag of little shells on the floor under my bed. And later that day my mother went into my room to change the bedsheets and low and behold she saw hundreds and hundreds of tiny crabs crawling all over the bed and on the floor and under the bed and up some of the walls. I heard her yelling my name out at the top of her voice. And I knew that I was in big trouble. But I couldn’t imagine what I did wrong.

My mother continued to scream until I managed to collect them all and put them in my beach bucket. She looked at me like she thought I was out of my mind. “Why in the world would you bring all of these creatures into my house. You better find every one of them and take them back to the beach this minute. Don’t ever do this again or you won’t be going to the beach anymore. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mom I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were crabs. I thought they were just little seashells.”

I collected all of the crabs, at least I thought I did. And I took them back to the beach and released them. However, for the next week or so I found a crab on my bed, one in my closet and one made it all the way into the hallway before I caught it. And believe it or not about a month later I found one crawling in my sink and before I could catch it went down the drain. I guess he found a shortcut to the ocean.

One hot and humid day I walked down to the beach early in the morning and I saw an old guy walking on the beach he had something in his hand that had a pole with a round metal circle at the bottom and he was moving it slowly across the beach. I thought “what in the world is he doing?”

I decided to run up to him and ask him what he was doing. He was concentrating and he didn’t notice me coming near him. So, when I screamed “hello” at him he jumped about a foot into the air. I started laughing, and he got real mad and ask me, “are you out of your mind startling me like that? I could have had a hard attacked and died right in front of you?”

I looked at him, and I was about to say, “sorry”, when he started laughing. “What are you up to boy? What’s your name?”

“Everybody calls me Sandy because I’m always dragging sand into the house from the beach. But my real name is Sammy. I like to comb the beach for treasures and add them to my collection.”

“Is that so? Well Sandy that‘s exactly what I’m doing. I comb the beach with this metal detector for treasures. It can tell when there is any kind of metals under the sand. And it makes a sound when it finds metal. It can detect metal that’s under twelves inches of sand. I’ve found beer cans, coins, and a couple of rings. One of them was a gold wedding ring. And I found an old watch. Tons of stuff, some of it was valuable and some of it was trash. I do it for fun and it gives me an excuse to walk up and down the beach and to talk to interesting people like yourself.”

“Really? I would love to get a metal detector. Do you know how much they cost?”

“You can get a cheap one for about one hundred dollars. But a good one will cost ya about two thousand dollars or more.”

He saw Sandy’s jaw drop down as far as it could Sandy said. “Wow, I don’t think my parents have that much money. I guess I’ll just keep looking with my feet.”

“What do you mean looking at your feet?”

“I mean, that as I walk along the beach, I kick the sand up with my feet and if I see anything or feel anything I dig it up with my shovel and my hands and I put it in my bucket and take it home. Last time I found a hundred little shells and I brought them home to my room and it turned out that they were little crabs. And they crawled all over my room even in my closet and on my bed. My mother had a fit. One even went down the hall to the bathroom. Now I’m not allowed to bring anything home that might be alive. Parents are no fun.”

“Well, Sandy, would you like to walk along the beach with me today and see if I find any treasures? Do you want to run home and ask your Mom if that’s alright?”

“No, she doesn’t care. She never asks what I’m doing as long as I’m home on time for lunch and dinner. Anyhow, I don’t know your name.”

“Oh, sorry I should have introduced myself to you. My name is Bill. My friends call be Billy Boy though. So, why don’t you call me Billy Boy? As I consider you a new friend.”

Sandy looked at Billy Boy and said, “OK Billy let’s go. I can’t wait. We’re going to find some gold doubloons I know it. Then my mother will be happy when I make her rich.”

“Well, I don’t know if we’ll find doubloons but you never know let’s be on our way.”

Sandy and Billy Boy spent three hours on the beach looking for treasure. And then Billy Boy said, ” you know what it’s almost lunchtime how about we take a walk on the boardwalk and get some lunch?”

“Yeah, I’m starved.”

“OK, Sandy how about the Do Wop Diner? They have the best hamburgers and Milk Shakes in Wildwood.”

“Yeah, Oh I love hamburgers and milkshakes. I want a chocolate shake.”

“Me, too Sandy. That’s my favorite too.”

Billy Boy and Sandy spent an hour eating and talking about the treasures they would find. And then Billy said, “I have to take a trip to the boy’s room I’ll be right back. Sandy gulped down the remainder of his milkshake. And as Billy Boy walked up to their table. Sandy let out a loud burp. And Billy Boy laughed and so did everyone that was sitting near him.

Well, I paid our bill, so let’s be on our way and continue our treasure hunt shall we?”

“Yay, let’s go.“

And they walked down the boardwalk for about twenty minutes and Billy Boy said, “Hey how about we play a game or two and buy some fudge. I do so love me some fudge.”

“What? I love fudge too.”

Ten minutes later they had finished their fudge and felt so full they could burst. And Billy Boy said, “back to combing the beach.”

After about ten minutes or so of walking down the beach, the metal detector started beeping. “What’s that Billy Boy?”, said Sandy.

“Why it’s telling us there is some kind of treasure down there. Start digging.”

And then Sandy dug and dug and dug and then suddenly he yelled, ” I found it, I found it, at the top of his lungs. And he pulled up a leather bag and it felt heavy. He shook it and it sounded like coins. Sandy yelled, “we found treasure, we found treasure.” Both Billy Boy and Sandy started jumping up and down. Which was no easy trick for Billy Boy since he was seventy-five years old.

Sandy opened the pouch and he found coins, but they were ancient coins. They were new ones. Billy Boy looked at them and said, “oh, look they are coins from the casino. Somebody won them and put them in this leather pouch. We aren’t rich, but we’re lucky. Who knows what we’ll find tomorrow. Gold dubloons maybe, you never know. Do you want to meet me out here tomorrow and we’ll try our luck again, same place, same time?”

“Yeah, we’re going to be rich aren’t we?”

“Well, Sandy, I feel richer already?”

“You do, Billy Boy how come?”

“Well, Sandy, I’m richer because I made a new friend today.”

“You did, who?”
“Well, you of course Sandy. I feel like the richest man on the planet. How about we split these coins and we’ll meet again tomorrow, buddy?”

“Yes, buddy let’s do that.” And Sandy smiled from ear to ear. And he never felt happier than he did at this moment.

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THE LITTLEST SOOTHSAYER

As far back as I can remember I have been able to sense how other people are feeling. And sometimes I could sense how animals are feeling.

The first time I remember it happening was when I was about five or six years old.

I was sitting on my father’s recliner on the back porch of my house. And all of a sudden I had the feeling that something bad was going to happen to my friend, Tiger, who was a big, old orange cat that I loved.

Tiger was a cat that lived in my neighborhood. As far as I knew he didn’t belong to anybody in particular. One day he just appeared in my backyard. The first time I saw him I called out, “here kitty kitty.” And he came right over to me. And I petted him from his beautiful, orange-striped face to the tip of his long, striped tail. I couldn’t help but notice that he had scars all over him. As if he had survived many battles with other Tomcats.

He would purr loudly when I pet him and rub his whiskery face against my cheek. Sometimes I would sneak into my kitchen and open a can of tuna fish and bring it outside for Tiger. He would gobble it up in the blink of an eye. He always seemed as if he was starved. And maybe he was. My father didn’t like cats, he only liked dogs. And he would yell at Tiger and throw things at him to make him run away.

Anyway, it was a really hot and humid summer’s day. I was sitting at the kitchen table under the ceiling fan, when I suddenly had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen to my friend, Tiger. I jumped off the kitchen chair so suddenly that the chair fell over. My mother was sitting at the head of the table. And she said, “what in the world are you doing, Kathleen? Please pick up the chair and sit down and be quiet.”

“Mom, mom I have to go outside something is going to happen to Tiger. I have to go and save him.”

“Kathleen, sit down. Nothing is going to happen to that old cat. He has nine lives.”

I rushed out the kitchen door and I looked out back and I didn’t see head nor tail of Tiger. So, then I ran out front and looked up and down the busy street. And I saw Tiger leisurely crossing the street, and I heard a loud beeping from a car that was barreling down the street. And there was Tiger in the path of the speeding car. Tiger seemed totally unaware of the car that was about to run him down in the prime of his life. But, he saw me and he double-timed it and ran to the sidewalk to see me. I put my arms around Tiger’s neck and I hugged him tightly. I didn’t want to let him go. Tiger wasn’t a fan of hugs and he struggled free and went on his merry way.

Whenever I sense that something bad is going to happen first I get a feeling of heat up the back of my neck and I begin to feel a little dizzy. I also get a weird chalky taste in my mouth and begin to feel nauseous. And then I would get the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Usually, I know immediately who it‘s going to happen to. But, sometimes, I don’t know who it was going to happen to until the last minute and then I have to run outside and warn the person or animal that something bad is going to happen to them. Animals always believe me, but people don’t.

My best friend, Jackie is one of the people I feel closest to and I always knew if sometimes bad or scary was going to happen to her. One time I woke up in the middle of the night and I felt like she was going to get hurt badly or maybe even die. So, I ran downstairs and called her on the phone. Her father answered the phone on the fifth ring. And he yelled at the top of his voice. “Have you lost your mind? You better have a good reason for waking up us in the middle of the night? Who is this?

Back then you didn’t know who was calling until you picked up the phone and asked who it was. There wasn’t any caller ID.

“Hello, Mr. Joy. This is Kathleen from down the street. Please go down to the cellar and check your heater. There is a gas leak because the pilot light went out. And you all are going to die if you don’t turn it off right away.”

He said, “Is this some kind of joke? If you don’t stop calling night and day I’m going to call your Mother and tell her to whip your ass. Do you understand that you must never call us again late at night?“

“Yes, but please, please check the gas leak and the pilot light on the heater.”

I heard him put down the phone. And then I heard him say, “I’m going to give that kid a swift kick on the ass one of these days. Iif she doesn’t stop banging on our door and calling us in the middle of the night.”

Then I ran into my parent’s bedroom and woke them up. “Mom and Daddy there is a gas leak at Jackie’s house and if they don’t go outside right away. They are all going to die. You have to call the fire department right now.”

“My father didn’t wake up right away because he was a sound sleeper. My mother woke up immediately. And she said, “oh for heaven sakes, Kathleen. Go back to bed. Why are you always waking everyone up in the middle of the night?”

“Mom, Mom please get up there is going to be an explosion at Jackie’s house if they don’t turn the gas off. The pilot light went out. I called them and he doesn’t believe me. Please Mom call the fire department.”

My mother sat up. And said, “this better not be a joke, Kathleen. Please let your father sleep he has to go to work tomorrow. Pipe down. I’ll go down and call the fire department and then we’ll wait outside until they show up and we know Jackie’s family is alright. Now pipe down, will you? You don’t have to wake up everyone in the house do you?”

I thought about it for a minute and then I said, “I guess not. But hurry up I want to go down to Jackie’s to make sure they all came outside and they are safe. Hurry up Mom call the fire department I’ll wait outside on the front porch for you to come out.”

When I got outside I looked down the street. Jackie lived three houses away from me. And sure enough, I saw two fire trucks and an ambulance outside their house. So, I ran down the street in my pajamas and bare feet to Jackie’s.

A fireman came out of their front door. And said,”OK, people. There was indeed a gas leak. We have turned the gas off. Later today you have to call your heater company and have them come over and check out your whole heating system. To see what happened and so this won’t occur again. You could have all died in your sleep and been none the wiser. Mr. Joy, what woke you up? Did you smell the gas?”

“No, it was that damn kid. She’s always calling us day and night. She’s a pain in the ass. But I guess she saved our lives this time. Oh, there she is right there. Come here, Kathleen. Thanks for calling Kathleen, you saved all of us. You’re a good kid, even though most of the time you’re a pain in the ass.” And then Jackie’s grouchy father squeezed me so hard I almost screamed. I don’t know if he was trying to hug me or kill me.

Just then my mother arrived on the scene as Mr. Joy was saying I was a pain in the ass, but I saved their lives. My mother hugged me then and said, “Oh Kathleen, I’m so proud of you. I will always believe you from now on. You are a real heroine. How did you know that their gas was leaking?”

“I don’t know Mom, sometimes I get strong feelings that something bad is going to happen. And sometimes I know exactly what is going to happen and when and where. And sometimes I can hear what people are thinking and feeling.”

My mother hugged me again. And then she said, “well, I guess anything is possible. There are miracles.”

My mother believed in all kinds of strange things. But, I never told her I didn’t believe in things like that.  I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Because my mother has the kindest and most loving heart of anyone I ever knew or will ever know. I hugged her tight. And then let her go.

And then my friend Jackie came running over to me and hugged me too. “Thank you, Kathleen. I’m so glad you are my best friend. You saved my whole family. You’re the best.”

And that is when the fireman came out and said, “alright people the show is over. We have aired the whole house out. It’s safe to go back in now. And everybody else should go home and go back to bed. Or you all will be too tired to go to work or school. Good Night. All the firemen came filing out and went back into their respective vehicles and trucks and left. Jackie’s father came over and shook my hand and gave me a little hug. I guess you’re not such a big, pain in the ass. But still, stop calling us all the time. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” I said and nodded. But I had my fingers crossed behind my back. Because I knew something else that was going to happen in their family, but I didn’t know when I should tell them. I decided I could wait a couple of weeks. Because I knew that Jackie’s mother was going to have another baby. And she didn’t even know yet. But I bet she would be really happy. Because now she wouldn’t be alone all day, She would have a baby to keep her company while all the other older kids were in school. And she wouldn’t have to go back to work yet. Like she told me she was going to a couple of weeks ago. Won’t that be surprised?

And best of all I have a surprise for my mother and father. They are going to be taking a trip to Ireland and visiting some of their family that they haven’t seen in years. Since my father is going to win big at the Cherry Hill Race track. And he is going to buy tickets for them to go visit their relatives in Ireland that they haven’t seen in almost twenty-five years. Won’t that be fun?” I can’t wait to tell them.

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THE NEW NEIGHBORS

It was just an ordinary day in the neighborhood. I have lived here for almost six years when my next-door neighbor had recently put their house up for sale unexpectedly. We weren’t close friends. They were quiet and kept to themselves for the most part. When I saw the For Sale sign on their lawn I was shocked. But I guess I shouldn’t have been since. We waved at each other but never really said anything beyond, “hi, how are you doing?” We both always said, “fine.” in response but a little more.

At the time I was a stay-at-home Mom. Since both of my children were under five and hadn’t started going to school yet. I waited a long time to have children and I wasn’t in any rush to go back to work. My day was focused on taking care of my kids and tending to the house and garden. My days were busy day so I didn’t have much time to worry about what any of my neighbors were up to. Since most of the neighbors, kids were in school and the husbands and wives were working full time.

But after that For Sale sign popped up life changed. There was a string of young, middle-aged, and even a few older couples who came by with their realtors viewing the house for sale. It was the first time in about fifteen years since there was a house for sale in our neighborhood. Pennsauken was a great place for kids to grow up. It was a quiet street with little noise. People maintained their homes and gardens. The elementary and middle schools were within walking distance. There were two playgrounds nearby.

During the Summer neighbors had bar-b-ques and invited their friends and neighbors to stop by. While the adults talked and ate hamburgers the kids would swim in the neighbor’s pool. Everyone decorated their house on Christmas and Halloween. I didn’t realize how much I love it until things started to change and not for the better. And it all started the day my next-door neighbor put that For Sale sign up.

After about three weeks passed I happened to be outside hanging the laundry on the clothesline. “Yeah, that’s right I had clothes outside to dry.” Anyway, I noticed the For Sale sign next door had a sticker on it that said in bold, red letters, SOLD. After lunch, I started getting phone calls from the neighbors who lived nearby asking me if I knew who was moving next door to us. I said, “no, I hadn’t seen or heard anything”. It must have happened yesterday when I had taken my kids to visit their grandparents who lived two towns away.

About ten days later I noticed a moving van pull into our neighbor’s driveway all their worldly belongings were being loaded into it and the family members got into their respective vehicles without a how-to you do, or see ya later. And they had been our neighbors the whole time that we lived here. They didn’t even wave goodbye. I have to admit I felt kind of sad. I began to get a bad feeling about who or what kind of people they sold their house to.

Early the next morning I noticed a large moving van pull into the driveway next door. It was Deja vue only in reverse. Two movers began moving in the new owner’s furniture. I hoped that it would all work out and they would be a good match for our neighborhood.

Later I was outside sitting on our front porch and I saw some people getting out of their cars. There was a woman and two young children and two men. I decided to walk over and say hello and welcome them to the neighborhood. “Hello, my name is Sarah, I’m your next-door neighbor. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know you are busy. Welcome to the neighborhood. I’m right next door if I can help you in any way let me know.

The woman said, ” Hello, my name is Meghan Walters and this is my husband Paul and this is my boyfriend, Harry. And these are John and Rob, my kids.” My boyfriend, Harry is a cop in Merchantville.”

I stared at her momentarily. I thought I must have misheard what she said. But then I knew I hadn’t because she said twice this is my boyfriend, Harry. I really didn’t know what to say about that. So, I just said, “well, it was nice meeting you all. And I waved goodbye.”

I walked back to my front porch and plopped on the chair. And I kept thinking husband and boyfriend? What in the world is going on here? Good grief. As I was sitting on the porch I glanced over and I noticed that the new neighbor’s two kids were next to the curb. And the youngest boy had a rope tied around his neck and was sitting on a bike and the older boy was getting ready to push the bike from under him.

I jumped up off the porch and ran over to the two boys. And I screamed, ” what in the name of god are you doing? Are you trying to kill your little brother? That is when their mother, Meghan called out, “oh they always play like that they’re fine. Not to worry.”

I looked over at her and I yelled,” Is this some kind of joke? He was about to hang his little brother?”

“Like I said, they always play like that. “

That is when I leaned over the two boys and whispered to the older brother, “if I ever see you do this to your little brother, I’m going to make you very, very sorry. Do you understand?”

He looked at me and laughed. Laughed, he laughed! I walked away and didn’t look back I felt like I was in some kind of bad dream or something. I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen next. But I was about to find out.

Each day that went by something unexpected and unpleasant happened. And it always involved my new neighbors. And their close proximity to my home. Which heretofore was uneventful and peaceful. One day I took my children outside to play on their swing set and slide. Only to find that the swings were missing and the chains that held the swings were broken. I just couldn’t imagine what had happened.

Did someone come into my backyard and vandalize the swing set for some unknown reason. I just couldn’t imagine why anyone would do such a thing. My children start crying about their broken swings so I said, ” you know what I think it would be a good idea if we take a walk to the park. It’s such a nice day. What do you say?”

They immediately forget about the broken swings and want to go to the park. I found that distraction is something that always works when kids are upset about anything. So I said, “let’s go it’s a beautiful day for a walk in the neighborhood.” And in less than ten minutes we‘re at the park and the kids run-up to the swings and are laughing.

About an hour later I say, “time to go home and eat lunch. Who wants peanut butter?”

They both yell out, “I do, I do.” And we‘re on our way home. When we got back to our street we stopped at the candy store and I buy them both a pop cycle for after lunch. As we‘re walking past my new neighbors’ house I happen to notice what looks like our swings seats and the chains sitting on the front porch deck. I decide to give the kids lunch and put them down for a nap. I think it would be a good time to go over and have a talk with my new neighbor.

After the kids fall asleep I head downstairs to the kitchen. I wash the dishes and as I start putting them away I see that my neighbor has just pulled up into her driveway and her kids all but fall out of the back door of their car. The older boy grabs his little brother and starts throttling him with both hands around his throat. Meghan says absolutely nothing to either one of them. I open the kitchen door and double-time it across my driveway to her side steps. I yell, at Meghan at the top of my lungs to get her attention and hopefully to stop the homicide I see happening right in front of me.

“Hello, hello, Meghan. Sorry to intrude but someone came over into my yard earlier and broke my kid’s swing set. And I couldn’t help but notice that the swings and the chains are sitting on your front deck. “Oh, yeah, I meant to come over and apologize but I had to run some errands this morning. But you know boys will be boys. And you can only beat them so much. “

“What? Did you say you beat them?”

“Yeah, how else can you teach them?”

“I don’t think beating them changes their behavior. Has it worked so far?”

“Well, no. I guess not. But eventually, it might if I hit them hard enough.”

I looked at her and if looks could kill, she would be lying dead at my feet. Well, I’m going to take the swings and chain back to my house and I’ll ask my husband if he can repair the swings. Can I talk to your boys for a moment?”

“Yeah, go ahead but I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour. So, I don’t have much time to chit-chat. Do you know what I mean? I have a prenatal three-month visit. I hope I have a girl this time. I don’t think I can handle another boy. Say, could you watch my boys it will only be about an hour or so?”
“Prenatal visit? Oh sorry, I didn’t notice.

Congratulations. Sure, I can watch them for an hour or so.

“And maybe I’ll find out whose the lucky father? LOL

“Whose the lucky father?” Oh yeah, of course.” I blinked my eyes a couple of times. I was flabbergasted by the whole conversation. But I did know one thing I was going to get to know John and Rob and I was going to give them a safe haven to spend time in.

“How about they come over and have lunch at my house. And then they can play out back until you come home. I’ll sit outside with them it’s a beautiful day out isn’t it?”

And that my friends is how my daughters and Rob and John started a friendship that lasted for years. And when Meghan had her little girl. I took care of her on occasion. And when she got older. She would come over to my sidestep and keep me company while I was cooking dinner. She could talk my ear off.

Meghan and I just never hit it off. But I came to love her kids. At some point, her husband woke up and they got divorced. And somewhere along the way, her boyfriend went home and never came back. Meghan informed me that she was on the lookout for a new guy. Some people are incapable of learning from their mistakes. And Meghan was one of them.

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THE EARLY BIRDS GETS THE WORM

As far back as I can remember my family has been telling me that I let my imagination run away with me. One family member actually had the audacity to tell me I was full of malarkey.

As a child, I would come home after playing outside with my friends and as soon as everyone was seated at the dinner table I would regale them with the adventures I experienced that day.

I always begin by saying, “wow you won’t believe what happened to me today.”

And then one night at the dinner table my oldest siblings said, “oh no, here she goes again with one of her wild stories. Mom, can’t you tell her to shut up? We can never eat in peace. You know she is full of bologna. There is no way that one person could have some crazy thing happen to them every single day of their life.

The weirdest thing that happened to me today is that my boss at Acme didn’t fire me. After I forgot to bring in the dairy delivery immediately after it arrived. He’s fires people for smaller mistakes. I consider it almost a miracle that I still have a job. But you don’t hear me telling you every night what awesome or strange thing happened to me every day do you?”

“Larry does not use that kind of language at the dinner table. And leave Sandy alone. She’s not doing any harm. She just has an active imagination. That’s all. She’s a very creative kid with a big imagination. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yeah, imagination, sure. If anyone of the rest of us told so many lies, we would never hear the end of it.”

“He’s right Mom. You do favor her. She gets away with murder.”

“That’s enough Libby. How about we all just eat out dinner quietly.’

As a result, I never did get to tell them what happened to me. Every time I tried to bring it up. Someone would tell me to shut up, And my mother would say, “you are not allowed to say shut up in this house.

“Maybe I should start at the beginning. After I got out of school that day, I ran home. So that I could change out of my school uniform and into my play clothes. And then I ran over to my best friend’s house down the street. I banged on her front door. No one answered.

I banged and banged at the door for at least twenty minutes. I was about to give up and then I saw someone at the front window. She looked like a witch. Her hair was standing up in every direction. Her face had something sticky smeared across it. All the way up to her hairline. At first, I thought it was blood. The longer I looked I realized it was some kind of food on her face, maybe jelly. The window was half-opened she screamed out the opening, “help, help me they are keeping me, prisoner, here. Help, help, help.”

At first, I thought I better run away. She‘s some kind of witch, She‘s going to eat me. But then I saw tears slowly running down her face from her red, bloodshot eyes and down her wrinkled cheeks. And she kept wiping them away with the back of her hand. This further spread the jelly or whatever it was across her face. There seemed no end to her tears. I ran up to the front garden under the window and yelled up at her, “are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you want me to call the police?” She continued to moan and cry, “help me, help me.”

I decided to try getting into the house through the screen porch at the back of the house. My friend, Jilly lived there. But it didn’t seem like anyone else was home but this old lady. Jilly had told me that they never locked the back porch in case one of them got locked out of the house by mistake.

So I pushed it open and ran over to the kitchen door. I turned the knob and I was in. I stepped into the kitchen it smelled like pizza like it always does. My best friend‘s family is Italian and they eat spaghetti or lasagna or pizza almost every night. It always smells delicious in their kitchen. I called out, “Hello, hello where are you?” I could hear her crying from the living room. I yelled out, “hello it’s me, Sandy.”

Nobody answered me. So, I just walked quietly into the living room. I didn’t want to scare her. “Hi, it’s me, Sandy.” I saw her still looking out the living room window. I tiptoed up to her and said, “hi, I’m here. She screamed at the top of her lungs. I let out a scream myself. ” Good grief, you scared me half to death. Where is everyone? Why are you all alone? Where’s Jilly?”

She said, ” they left me all alone. They are keeping me a prisoner. They won’t let me out.”

I said, “let’s sit down in the kitchen. I know let’s eat a cookie. I saw some on the counter when I walked through there. Do you want a cookie?” She smiled for the first time.

“Yes, cookie, I want a cookie.”

I helped her sit down and pushed her chair in. We both sat quietly and ate the chocolate chip cookies. And then I said, “are you Jilly’s grandmother?”

“Yes. I’m a grandmother.”

“Are you living here now?”
“Yes, I’m living here. They left me all alone. I was taking a nap and when I woke up, they were gone. I was scared and lonely and all by myself.”

“Well, I‘ll stay here until they come home. Would you like that?”

“Yes, stay. I’m scared.”

We sat and ate our cookies for a while and I ask her what’s your name? She said, “my name is Alma. I came here a long time ago. I’m from Italy. We landed in New York City at the Statue of Liberty in 1905. We lived in Camden, New Jersey for many years. My husband was a tailor and he made suits for men. I had twelve children. They are all grown up and have children of their own. And some of their children have children. My husband died and now I’m all alone.”

“You’re not alone Alma. You live with your son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. And now you have me, I’ll be your friend and I’ll come to visit you anytime you want me to. Maybe we could take a walk around the garden in the backyard. And there’s a big swing hanging from the Willow Tree that we could take a ride on. What do you say?”

“Yes, I say let’s take some cookies outside too. I love cookies.”

“Really I love cookies and candy. Next time I come over I’ll bring some cookies that my mom made. They’re oatmeal raisin. They are so yummy.”

Alma had a big smile across her face. And that’s when I saw Alma didn’t have any teeth. And I wondered how she could chew the cookies. I handed her two of the cookies and we sat down on the couch that was on the back porch. She finished her cookies before I did.

“Good, they’re good cookies. Give me more.”

“Maybe next time, I don’t want you to get sick.”

She smiled at me. And that’s when I heard my friend Jilly’s car drive up. It was an old car and it made a lot of noise. I said, “Alma your family is home. Do you want to go back into the house?”

She said, ‘no, I like it out here. It’s nice and there are a lot of birds and flowers. I used to have a garden when I lived in Camden in the front yard. I had all different kinds of roses. And we had a grapevine and my husband used to make his own wine. I miss that.”

“Maybe your son would let you have a garden here. And then you could go outside in the fresh air and not be stuck in the house all the time.”

“Yes, I would love to have a garden again. Let’s do that.”

And then I thought, oh no, I shouldn’t have told her that. Maybe they’ll say no. And then she’ll be sad again. “Alma, stay here. I’m going to run around front and tell them we are out on the porch. So, they won’t worry. I’ll be right back. Stay here.”

I ran out front and Jilly’s father said, “what are you doing here? Why are you here all the time?”

My friend Jilly’s father was a grouch, just like my father. I ignored what he said. And I said, “I was visiting Alma I heard her crying when I was knocking at the front door. And we were sitting on the back porch eating cookies. I told her I would bring her some of my mother’s cookies the next time I come over.”
“How did you get in the house Sandy?”

“I came in the back porch. Jilly told me it is always unlocked. And your mother and I were visiting on the porch and eating cookies. She said she wants to have a garden in the backyard. She loves flowers and grapes.”

“She did, she’s done nothing but cry since she got here. OK, let’s go see her on the back porch. We all marched around the yard to the backyard. Alma was sitting there quietly looking at the backyard. “Hello, Sandy said I could have a garden and work in the backyard.”

“She did Mom. That sounds like a great idea.”

And Sandy said, “she will come over and help me.”

“Well Mom, that sounds like a fine idea. And maybe Jilly can help you as well.”

And that is when I saw the most beautiful toothless smile appear on Grandmother’s face. That’s what she told me to call her, Grandmother. I never had a grandmother before. So, at least once a week I go over and help grandmother in the garden. And she tells me all kinds of stories about the olden days when she was growing up in Italy.

And that is how I made my second best, Alma. At least once or twice a week I go over to Jilly’s house and sit on the back porch and eat oatmeal raisin cookies with cold milk. And sometimes we go in the yard and work in the garden. I’m in charge of any worms we find. Because Alma is afraid of snakes. I keep telling her that these are just little worms but she doesn’t believe me.

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