Category Archives: Fiction

WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THE ANGELS THAT COME INTO OUR LIVES

It all began one rainy Spring morning. I kept hoping the rain would stop since it had rained daily for the last two weeks. I know that April showers bring May flowers, but could we please have at least one day when the sun is shining? I was expecting a package in the mail, so I knew I would have to make a run for the mailbox sooner or later since there were at least five days of mail in my mailbox. I know it’s mostly crap, but still, I was hoping I would get a surprise package from my Aunt Betty since today was my birthday. And she always sent me a birthday card and a gift.

I decided to put on my old raincoat and run for the mailbox. Lo and behold, my dear aunt had not left me down. When I opened the mailbox, a package was shoved way back in it, along with a whole big pile of junk mail. I have no idea how my name got on every junk mail list.

I grabbed the mail and the package and ran for the side door as quickly as possible. And just as I was about to grab the door handle, I lost my footing and fell flat on my face. The mail was scattered in every direction. I groaned and moaned. It felt like I chipped my front tooth. The one I just had capped recently cost me almost five hundred dollars since they had to do a root canal and the crown. If I weren’t lying on the cold, wet cement driveway, I would have started crying.

I made it to the door, pulled it open as quickly as possible, and smacked myself. I felt a tear, and then another ran down my cheek. I realized that it was raining even harder in addition to my tears. I gingerly picked myself up and slowly went through the door. Luckily, the package was in one piece, but the mail was scattered everywhere and was getting wetter by the minute. I wiped away the tears and ran for my life. Well, that could be a slight exaggeration. But, most likely, I would get a cold or pneumonia from the soaking rain. Or, once again, I may be exaggerating.

I made it into the house without any further drama. I put the mail on the kitchen table and then moved it to the top of the kitchen heating vent to dry. Most likely, It was all junk mail, and it wouldn’t matter one way or the other. I decided I would do the laundry and then vacuum all the rugs. Before I knew it, I cleaned the bathrooms, including the tub, shower, and toilet. Suddenly, I had a burst of energy and decided to vacuum all the bedrooms and clean the windows on the inside. I tend to get carried away with whatever I’m doing. And this, my friends, is why I’m not married and never will be. I drive everyone away with my manic behavior. What can I say, like Popeye used to say, “I am who I am.”

After I finished cleaning the whole house, I considered going out and looking at my garden, but then I remembered it was pouring outside, and the plants would be delicate without me today or whenever it stopped raining. I made myself a cup of hot tea and peanut butter on toast. This has been my favorite breakfast since I was a kid. I love peanut butter. After finishing my breakfast and cleaning up my mess, I decided to examine the mail and see if any of it was worth looking at or if it was all junk mail, as expected.

Then I realized that two letters were stuck together, and the letter on the bottom was from my Aunt Betty. I was so happy that she wrote to me. She is my favorite person on the planet. She raised me when my father and mother divorced, and neither wanted to raise me. I was heartbroken for many years after that. If it weren’t for my Aunt Betty, I would have been put into foster care since my parents didn’t want me.

I slowly opened the envelope, and my Aunt Betty said, “Dear Marie, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. Do you remember the old commercial on TV where the old woman said, “I’ve fallen and can’t get up?” Well, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up. I know you are busy with your work, but is there any way you can come and take care of me while I recover? I broke one of my legs and will have to use a walker for a while. I have been assured that I will be up and walking, but it will take a while, and I will need to go and get physical therapy until my leg heals. If you can’t come, I understand, and I will have to go to a nursing home until I heal. Please call me as soon as you know if you can come. Love, Aunt Betty.

I picked up my cell phone and called my Aunt Betty. I waited and waited while the phone rang. Then I heard someone pick up and, in a very low voice, say,” Hello, is someone there? Is someone there?”

“Yes, Aunt Betty, it’s me, Marie. Of course, I can come. I have some vacation time left, or I could do my online work. Do you have the internet, Aunt Betty?”

“ Well, you probably won’t believe this, but I recently installed the internet in my house. All my neighbors kept haunting me day and night to get it installed, and I did. It took a while, but it’s working now.”

“Aunt Betty, I will have to inform my employer what I will be doing, but there shouldn’t be any problem at all. I will give you a call tomorrow when I am about to leave and call you when I’m an hour away. I’m so sorry you got hurt, I love you Aunt Betty, I’ll see you seen. She said, “Oh, you are such an angel, “I love you too. I can’t wait to see you again. Bye, see you tomorrow.” And then she hung up.

I contacted my employers and let them know what I was doing. They didn’t have a problem as long as I continued to complete my work on time. Thank God for the internet; that’s all I can say. I spent the rest of the day packing my stuff, including my laptop and printer. I made some sandwiches and iced tea for the long trip and decided to go to bed early since tomorrow would be a long day.

I had a somewhat restless night. I kept waking up and looking at the clock, afraid I would oversleep. But the alarm woke me up right on time. I took a quick shower and got dressed. I left a note in the mailbox and asked the mailman to tell the post office to hold my mail until I called them and let them know when I would be back from my Aunt’s house.

I put my suitcases in the trunk. I hoped all my plants wouldn’t die, but if they did, they did. My aunt was more important than any plant. The whole time I was driving to my aunt’s house, I thought of all the good memories of my aunt and the childhood I spent with her. She is truly the most loving and caring person I have ever known. And I would do anything I could for her, as she had done for me. I do not remember a single complaint from my Aunt when I was living with her, even during those teenage years when I must have been difficult at times. It took me a long time to make friends at the school I attended while I lived with my aunt. Every day, she made me breakfast, packed my lunch, and met me where the bus let me out. She was never late, she gave me a big hug when she saw me, as if she hadn’t seen me in days or even weeks. And oh, how I loved her hugs,

My parents were not big on showing affection. Nor did they ever seem that interested in my experiences in school or who my friends were. And once their marital problems appeared, things just went downhill from there. First, my father moved out, and then my mother informed me that I would be living with my Aunt Betty since she would have to work full-time now. She would have to live in a small one-bedroom apartment in the city, and there wouldn’t be any room for me anymore. As soon as my mother told me that, it felt like my heart broke in two. My father, said, “you be a good girl, I hope to see you soon sometimg. And he was out the door and he never looked back, I never heard from him again. I’ve only seen my mother once a year at Christmas since then. Sometimes, she didn’t come at all and just sent me a Christmas Card with ten dollars in it. I wrote long, long letters to my father and mother. Telling them how much I missed them. And asking them when they were coming to get me. Over time, it became clear to me that they would never get me. And if a heart can break in two, I believe my heart did, or maybe it was shattered altogether. And I would never be able to feel whole again.

My Aunt Betty was the kindest, most loving person I ever knew in my entire life. It is only because of her that I learned there are caring and loving people in the world. I was a person of value who could do anything I wanted to do in life if I set my mind to it. And they never never lost faith in me because of her. And if I had to spend the rest of my life caring for her, I would do it. As I recalled all these memories, I realized how much I missed my Aunt Betty, not just her wonderful cooking, but everything about her, her hugs, her kisses. Every day I spent with her was a good day, living where she loved me and would do anything for me if I needed it.

Before I realized it, I was within three miles of my aunt, and I gave her a call to let her know. She didn’t answer the phone, I realized it must be the nurse or caregiver that was talking, I explained, this is Marie, Aunt Betty’s niece, I will be at the house in about fifteen minutes. Would you please let my aunt know I’ll be there soon? She said, “Yes, I will. She has been so looking forward to you. She will be so happy. See you soon.”
The last fifteen minutes of the drive flew by, and before I knew it, I was at my aunt’s home. And so many good memories came flying back to my mind. It looked the same. To tell the truth, it looked like heaven to me. I parked the car under the Willow tree and grabbed my bags out of the trunk. And before I knew it, I was knocking on the door. One of the caretakers came to the door with a big smile on her face and said. “Miss Betty has been so looking forward to you. Oh, I forgot my name, Teresa. Could I take those bags for you? Miss Betty will be so happy.”

I handed over my bags and I said, “ I have a few other bags, but I’ll bring them in later, don’t worry about it. And I ran up the steps two at a time. I looked around the house, and it didn’t look any different from the last time I was here. I couldn’t imagine coming here without my aunt living here. The very thought of the rest of my life without her loving presence in my life would be hard to endure. But, somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew my Aunt Betty didn’t have much time in her life. And I also realized that I would be staying here with my dear aunt for whatever time she had left on this planet. When I quietly knocked on her door, I heard her sweet voice say: “Marie, is that you? Oh, I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life. Please come over and give me a hug.” I didn’t know it at the time, but it would be the last hug I gave my dear aunt.

I pulled up a rocking chair next to her bed and quietly watched her as she closed her eyes, and then about five minutes later, I saw my dear aunt take her last breath and close her eyes. And I knew that my dear aunt had left this world, and I would miss her for the rest of my days. But I know she will always live in my heart and memories. And that someday, when my life would come to an end. We would meet again. I felt warm tears run down my face as I held her wrinkled hands and heard her take her last breath. This is the person who had loved me unconditionally my entire life. And I knew that someday we would meet again. But, until then, I would keep her in my heart and in my thoughts.

THE LUCK OF THE DRAW

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An older couple kept their life savings in the pages of the books in their home. At first, they put their savings in the Bible. They didn’t think anyone would think to look in the Holy Bible. They were about to look for a retirement home when they won the Jack Pot, $1,280,196. They were over the moon. This is what happened. They were really feeling lucky, so they made a decision to go to Atlantic City.

They were about to leave the casino because they only had a hundred dollars left, but they thought, why not try one more time? It could be their lucky break. The Borgata was the only casino they hadn’t hit, so they double-stepped it down the boardwalk. It was a beautiful sunny day, warm but not humid. There were a whole lot of senior citizens walking up and down the boardwalk.

The beach was crowded with families, with little kids running back and forth and laughing. They looked at one another, remembering the days long ago when they would bring their young children to the beach. Oh, those were the good old days. Now, they rarely saw their grown children. They were too busy with their own lives and young children. They were too busy to visit their parents. They barely knew their own grandchildren.

Just as they were reminiscing about their children’s childhood, they reached the Borgata Casino. Howard and Margie gave each other a hug and went through the Borgata’s double doors. The place was packed. Every slot machine was clinging and clanging, and the overall noise level was overwhelming. The machines were percussive, with high bells and bubbly sounds. The sound tended to wake people up. They were all convinced that they would be the lucky ones to win big.

Howard and Margie had considered going to the casinos for years, but they never did. That is until today. When Margie woke up from a dream about winning big at the Borgata. And now, here they were, chomping at the bit. I’m certain that they would win BIG. They couldn’t wait to get started. They looked all around to find a slot machine that wasn’t occupied. Finally, Margie saw one and was off to try her luck. Howard decided to play cards. Howard was determined that he was going to win big at poker. He played with his friends all the time, and he always won. Of course, his friends played with small change and one-dollar bills, and he won all the time. But, the most he won was fifty dollars.

But today, he was absolutely certain that he was going to win “BIG.” Margie said, “Good luck. I’ll see you in a while. It turned out that there were over 6,000 slot machines at the Borgota, and she was overwhelmed. She didn’t know where to begin. The whole atmosphere was overwhelming, the wall to wall people, the smoke, and the noise level was almost overwhelming. There was even a band playing Heavy Metal. Margie thought she might go mad. She approached Howard and said, “I’m going for a walk on the boardwalk. I’ll be back in an hour. “Ok, see you then.” She waved him goodbye and headed for the front exit to the casino. And then she decided at the last moment to play her lucky coin in the next slot machine she saw before she left. And low and behold, she dropped several coins into the Ugga Bugga Multi-Spin Slot.

And the next thing that happened was all kinds of flashing lights and crazy noise. Everyone in the immediate area looked at her and began gathering around her. She had won the Ugga Bugga Multi-Spin Slot. Margie stood there in a trance, unable to move one way or another. Then, she heard someone yell. “You won, you won.” And everyone started clapping. Maggie looked all around. And she was so overwhelmed and surprised she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. She did a little of both. Howard came running towards her about that time and said, “What’s going on?’

“What’s going on? I won the the jackpot.”

“You’re kidding, how much?”

“I won $1,280,196..”

“You have got to be kidding.”

Then everyone started clapping and laughing. One of the casino employees asked them to follow him to receive their winnings. The rest of the day was a big blur. They were now, at home, finally able to take a deep breath, sit down, and calm down. They still couldn’t believe their luck.
On the other hand, their phone hadn’t stopped ringing since the big win was announced on their local news. From that time forward, their phone hadn’t stopped ringing between their friends, family, and people they didn’t know from Adam calling and asking for money. It was a miracle and a nightmare all at once.

It was about this time that they realized they needed to get a new phone number and perhaps move to another neighborhood. Neighbors who barely waved at them in the last twenty years were knocking at their door and asking for help. It was a nightmare.. It wasn’t that they were selfish; all of these people who rarely spoke to them felt they had the right to ask them for money, even if they had never spoken to them. That’s when they realized they would have to move if they ever had a moment’s peace. They considered changing their last names. It was becoming a nightmare, not a blessing. The phone that never stopped ringing, the strangers that came knocking at their door. It was relentless.

Finally, they decided the only thing they could do was move far, far away. And never tell anyone they meet about the money they have won. For a long while, they discussed where they would move to, and finally, they decided to move to Singer Island, Florida. They had vacationed there once at the Colonades Hotel and loved it. There was a place called the Collonades Health Center, where a chiropractor was located and a place to get massages and facials. It was wonderful. It was a gorgeous place. Right next to the beach. It became their paradise. One they hope would be their forever home.

They found that many people their age lived on Singer Island. And for the most part, they were well-off. So, they didn’t have to worry about anyone coming to their door asking for money since they had plenty of their own money. People came to Singer Island from as far away as Canada. It was indeed paradise—that is if you had plenty of money. They missed their families but not as much as they thought they might. Life was good.

They began to meet new, welcoming people who lived on Singer Island. It was the best possible outcome for them. They looked forward to many years of sitting on the beach, swimming in the surf, and going out with their new friends. Life can be good.

You never know what or when your circumstances will change. No one knows what their future holds. You have to take one day at a time. You keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best. Life can be a crapshoot. You never know when some unforeseen good fortune will come your way. Or you will suffer some downfall that you could not predict. Howard and Margie decided to take one day at a time and be as happy as possible. Because they knew better than anyone that you could have happened in their lives, they took one day at a time and looked forward to the remainder of their lives would be happy. Yet, they understood that anything good or bad could happen and would do their best to do what they could one day at a time. We can tilt the odds in our favor of living happily to a ripe old age, but we must have a high degree of awareness and exercise self-control. We must show pride in our lives by claiming responsibility for ourselves and all the choices we make during our lives, both the good and the bad. And then move forward with resolve to do their very best.

YOU HAVE TO DREAM, TO HAVE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE

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I just stepped out of the shower when I heard my front doorbell ring. I grabbed a towel and quickly dried myself off. And then, just as quickly, I pulled my robe off the door hook and put it on. I couldn’t help but think, who the hell is ringing my doorbell at seven o’clock in the morning? Have they lost their minds?

I rushed to the living room and peeked out the front window. I couldn’t see anyone standing there. I opened the front door a crack, and I saw…. No one. But on the top step, I saw a package about the size of a six-pack of beer. I quickly put my hand out and brought the package to my living room. I opened the package, and the only contents were a large envelope with an engraved invitation in it. Apparently, I’ve been invited to a secret underground event. And the invitation was titled “You Only Live Once.”

I stared at the invitation for at least five minutes. And all I could think was, “This must be some mistake. Or one of my crazy friends’ ideas of a joke. Plus, there wasn’t any name on the invitation. The address was one I wasn’t familiar with at all. And in parenthesis were the words “dress formal.”

I wasn’t familiar with the area, but I thought, well, isn’t that why I have a GPS and a cell phone? They sure didn’t give me much of a heads-up. The party was tonight. I considered the options: I could tear up the invitation and forget it. Or, I could look through my closet and see if there was anything in there that all my friends hadn’t seen before. My first impulse was to tear up the invitation and forget about it.

And then I thought, well, why shouldn’t I go? It might be fun, and I might meet “someone.” And I hadn’t really gone out in a long, long time. Well, since the break-up with Michael. It was possible I could finally meet “The One.” The one guy who would love me despite my flaws and who would see that I was a “hidden gem.” And so, I ran up the stairs to my bedroom and looked through my clothes closet to see if I had something special. Then I remembered the Dior designer dress I had never worn before, which was hiding in a plastic bag at the back of my closet.

I riffled through my clothes, and low and behold, I found it. It looked pristine. I thought this was the one that would finally help me find my Prince Charming. No one would be able to resist me in this dream of a dress. And I had my aunt Jennifer’s pearls that would be the perfect final touch. The next thing I had to do was get an appointment with my hairdresser and get a new hairstyle.

For the next three days, I prepared to unveil the new me. I couldn’t eat, and I couldn’t sleep. I thought the day would never come, but then it did. I spent the morning at the salon getting my hair and nails done, and then I put on “The Dress.” When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t even recognize myself. I looked like a new me, a new and improved version.

I decided to call a limo service to drive me to the gala. I sure didn’t want to arrive in a 1974 Volkswagon Bug, one that I had been around since dinosaurs roamed the planet. Well, maybe not that far back, but it was ancient, that’s for sure.

My limo arrived at eight on the dot. I believed that this opportunity would only happen once. And this was a big chance for me to start anew and find my one and only true love. The limo driver was friendly after I told him I was going to a big celebration, a gala. He said, “Well, I’m sure you will be the bell of the ball. You look beautiful.

I said, “Thank you.’ But I was sure he just complimented me to get a big tip. We arrived at the gala, and I have to admit it was a toss-up between excitement and terror. I had never been to such a big event before. The limo driver said, “What time would you like to be picked up?” Picked up?” I stared at him and said, “I completely forgot about being picked up. All I’ve been thinking about was the gala and meeting Prince Charming. The driver said, “Any Prince Charming would fall in love with you at first glance. But here is my business card with my phone number on it. Just in case you need a ride home. By the way, my name is Charles Prince. If you need a ride home, or if you ever need a driver in the future. Be careful, I hope you have a wonderful evening.” I was about to get out of the limo, when suddenly the driver of the limo was at my door and he said, “allow me to help you out of the car, and walk you up to the entrance of the Ball. I felt my face blush from head to toe. But, I took his hand, and he gallantly led me to the entrance of the Gala. And then he released my hand and bowed deeply from his waist. When he looked at me, I blushed so deeply it must have looked like I had a fever. He said, “if not tonight, I know we will meet again, ” and bowed again. And I walked toward the Gala’s entrance and turned momentarily to look back, but he was gone, and so was the pristine limo.

I walked up to the double doors and pulled open the door in front of me. I could hear music and laughter. I was feeling a mixture of fear and excitement. I was sure this would be the best night of my life. I knew this would be the night I would meet the man of my dreams, my prince charming. I had no doubt.

As I walked into the ballroom, the flashing lights and loud music startled me at first. But after a few minutes, I grew accustomed to the sounds and sights around me. It wasn’t easy to find any of my friends. So many people were milling around the hall, and it was dark, and the flashing lights made it difficult to get my bearings.

A couple of minutes later, I saw my best friends, Christina and Helen. I’ve known them since elementary school. They looked amazing. “Alicia, you finally arrived. We were afraid you chickened out.”

“Chickened out, no, why would I do that? I have been looking forward to attending this event since I was in high school. Not to mention, I spent all my babysitting money on this dress and shoes.” Christina and Helen laughed. I said, “What are you two laughing about?”

“Because we just said the same thing right before you got here.”

“Oh, I thought it was just me.”

“No, everyone here feels the same way.”

And we all started laughing, and then Helen said, “Hey, I’m starved. Let’s go see what the eats are, shall we?”

“ Yeah, let’s say I’m starved. I have been starving myself for two weeks, so I would fit into this dress.”

They looked at each other and started laughing again. “Now, what’s funny?”

“We have to. I’m going to eat until I explode,” Christina said. And off we went to the dining tables. We each grabbed a plate and tried to fit a little bit of everything on our plates. Then we found a table where some of our friends were sitting, stuffing their faces and laughing. I said, “ I guess all of you have been starving yourselves too?”

They all looked at us, and we looked back at them. And we all laughed. I finally took a break from eating and said, “I’m stuffed. If I eat one more thing, I’ll throw up. Then, everyone moaned. And said, “Me, too.” We just sat there quietly for about fifteen minutes and began gossiping about the popular girls and their boyfriends. And we sighed, “ I don’t see any guys who are not dancing with someone. We must be the only ones without dates. Then, a quiet girl in our group said, “So, who says we can’t get up and dance with each other? That’s better than sitting here and stuffing our faces until we get sick.”

And that is exactly what we did. Christina went up to the band and asked them to play our favorite songs, and then we all made our way onto the dance floor. We spent the next several hours dancing, singing, and having a great time, boys or not.

About two hours into the gala I saw the doors swing open and I saw a tall, familiar young man waving in my direction. I wasn’t sure who it was. But he was the first guy ever to look my way. I waved at him, and he came towards me. And that is when realized who Prince Charming was, he was my limo driver. And if he didn’t look like Prince Charming, I don’t know who would. My girlfriends were all whispering, “Oh my god, who is that gorgeous guy? Who is he looking for?”

I said,’ That is my prince charming, well, not my prince charming, but my limo driver. I guess he got tired of waiting for me outside. And then, in the blink of an eye. Prince Charming said as he walked up to me.’Pardon me for interrupting your gala. But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t take this opportunity to dance with the most beautiful girl in the room.” I looked at him, and I could feel my face flush. I couldn’t manage to get a word out, but I took his hand, and he led me out to the dance floor after requesting a song. It was “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.” He said, “This is one of my favorite songs’ Elvis Presley originally sang it.”

We danced together until the band began playing their final song. “Last Dance.” by Donna Summer. I felt like I was floating on the dance floor. I had never experienced such a night. And I never thought that my first Prince Charming would be the limo driver that drove me to the event of a lifetime. Who knew that falling in love for the first time would feel this wonderful?

A BEST FRIEND WHO LIVES FAR AWAY, MY PEN PAL

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Remember when you were a young child, and your mother used to tell you stories to help you fall asleep at night? I have a story to tell, but it doesn’t have a good ending. So, here goes. It all began when I was a young child. I absolutely loved going to the Ben Franklin Store in my hometown, where I grew up. It was actually called the Ben Franklin 5 & 10 Cent Store. Because many of the items in the store could be purchased for five or ten cents, I would spend hours walking up and down the aisles at all the treasures that were for sale. And all I needed to have was a dime, a quarter, or a pocket full of pennies, and I could get one of the treasures for a mere penny, nickel, or dime.

I would walk around town, up and down Main Street, with my head down, looking for a penny, a dime, or a nickel. And on a lucky day, a quarter. I could buy a whole lot at the 5&10 for a quarter. For me, it was like a treasure hunt. Just looking for the loose change lying on the sidewalk was exciting. It was exciting to go to the 5&10 and buy something with its aisles and aisles of cool stuff. The ladies that worked in the store were always so cheerful and welcoming. They never lost patience with me or any of the other children that used to go there. They would often make suggestions on what to buy.

One day, I was walking around in the back of the store, and I happened to find an envelope filled with canceled stamps from all over the world. Next to it was an album for sale for a dollar where you could store all your stamps. The lady who worked in that part of the store came over to me and explained that all the stamps had been canceled. Meaning they had been used by someone in another country and mailed to another part of the world. The lady who worked in the store told me that for a dollar, I could buy an empty album and fill it with canceled stamps worldwide. She also suggested that I try contacting some kids my age from other parts of the world and write back and forth to them. She said they were called Pen Pals.

I talked to my fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Mc Elliot, who told me about a Pen Pal Program I could join that the school I attended promoted. Several weeks went by, and I didn’t hear anything more about my pen pal. Then about five weeks after that I received a letter with a weird looking stamp on it. And it said Ireland. I had no idea where Ireland was located. So, I showed my father, and he said, “You don’t know where Ireland is?” And I said, “no.” So, he said, “Why don’t we take a walk downtown to our library and look at the globe.” I was so surprised that he said he would walk with me that I started jumping up and down. My father rarely went anywhere with me alone. Since we had a big family. But, sure enough, he said, “Let’s go.” Off we went down to Main Street and to the library, which was located right next to the town police department.

As we entered the library, my father said, “Do you have a library card?” And I said no. What’s a library card?”

“It’s an official card that says you can borrow library books. You have to take good care of them and return them on the due date. Otherwise, you get charged for being late.”

I started jumping up and down and saying, “Yes, yes, yes, I want a library card. I love to read.” The next thing I knew, we were in the library. It wasn’t really big, but it was packed with books from the floor to the ceiling.

Then, my father said, “come on I’l show you where Ireland is on the globe. So, he took me to the middle of the room, where a round globe was sitting on a table. “ Here it is, here is where we live, and here is where Ireland is located. He pointed to it, “See where I have my finger? That is where my mother and father were born, in County Down Patrick in Ireland. My mother came to America in 1904 from Ireland. And I was born in 1910 here in the United States. I looked at my dad and said, “Wow, you are really old.” Then he said, now you know that your family came from Ireland to America. And they came to have a better life and more opportunity than Ireland since it was such a small country.

Then, my father went up to the librarian lady and asked if I could apply for a library card. Believe it or not, she said, “But of course, she can.” My father spelled out my name and address and showed her his driver’s license. The next thing I knew, I had my very own library card.

Now that you know that your family came from another part of the world, you can find a pen pal from Ireland if you want to start writing them. Or you can write to anyone in the rest of the world who speaks and writes English towrite to you.

So, that very same week, my teacher gave me the name of a student about my age who lived in Ireland. And I started writing them. It turned out to be a girl about my age, and she even sent me a picture of herself. And she looked to be about my age. I didn’t understand the words she used in her letters, but I kept writing back, and she wrote me. She told me in her last letter that someday she would like to come and visit me in America. I couldn’t sleep for a week after that. I thought she was going to come any time now. But, she meant someday in the future, she would come.

Anyway, her name was Coleen O’Cabri, which my father said was a big coincidence because that was his father’s last name. However, when he moved to America, he changed his name to Carberry. O’Cabri meant driver of the chariots, which my father said was also a strange coincidence since he started out his working career driving trolleys and buses in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, my father’s mother had other ideas for him. His mother believed working in the office and Philadelphia Transportation Company, or PTC, was more prestigious, as my father called it. And so, he worked for the rest of his working life, scheduling the buses, trolleys, and drivers. It was a good job, but he had to work nights. And he used to sleep during the day. I rarely saw my father since he often slept during the day, and I was supposed to keep quiet so I wouldn’t wake him up. And he went to work at night.

Anyway, as I was saying, I decided to keep writing my pen pal Coleen O’Cabri, and I told her that O’Cabri was my dead grandmother’s name. When she wrote back, she told me that O’Cabri was a fairly common name in that part of Ireland. I told her that we had people from all over the world living there in America. And that my best friend was a mixture of Irish and Italian. She thought that was really weird. I explained to her that people from all over the world came to live here in America. I asked if she would like to come and visit me someday. And she said she would like that. Maybe when she grew up and had some money saved.

Coleen said there were some things different in Ireland. She said Ireland’s nickname is the Emerald Isle. Believe it or not, there are something like 30,000 castles in Ireland, and one of the oldest lighthouses is in Wexford, Ireland. Contrary to popular belief, the shamrock is not a national symbol of Ireland. Some people in Ireland spoke Gaelic, but most people since the eighteenth century spoke English in Ireland. Which I thought was weird. But then I realized that she had been writing me in English since we started being pen pals, and I didn’t even think about that at the time.

Another thing she told me that I didn’t know was that six million Irish people moved to America. At that time, it has been estimated that nearly two million people—about a quarter of the population—emigrated to the United States in a ten-year period.

That is how my family came to live in America: my father’s mother emigrated to the United States at the turn of the century. My father was born in 1911, and I was born in 1951. My mother’s family was also from Ireland. My mother’s last name was Brown. Marie Gertrude Brown until she married my father in 1929 and became Marie Carberry.

The Irish have contributed to America in many ways. They and their descendants made incalculable contributions to politics, industry, organized labor, religion, literature, music, health care, and art.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that people from Ireland or any other country that came to the United States were not that different from us. Some of their customs might be slightly different, or their food might not be the same as ours. But we are all people trying to make our way through life. Sometimes, having to struggle from one day to the next. But people are all the same. I kept writing to Coleen for a long time. Believe it or not, we became good friends by writing letters to one another. And I hope that one day she will come to visit me. And that I can go visit her. Do you remember what Forrest Gump said? He said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.”

But I know my friend Colleen and I will eventually get together. I don’t know if she will come here, or I will go to Ireland. But, one day, we will meet. And it will be my dream come true.

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New Beginnings Are Often Disguised As Painful Endings.” — Lao Tzu

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Well, the long-awaited day has finally, finally arrived. I had mixed feelings about retiring; I looked forward to having the freedom to sleep in late, dress as I pleased, and do what I wanted to do when I wanted to. I was no longer going to be a slave to my nine-to-five job. In fact, I was going to do whatever I wanted to with the rest of my life. The main problem was I didn’t really have any clue what I wanted to do.

But, the fact is today is my last day of work. It was the last day I had to climb that corporate ladder to the top. I had reached the top. And now I would collect my reward for all those years of hard work climbing up that corporate later.

I was somewhat concerned that I would be bored and lonely. I had been married once upon a time. But my spouse, Ellen, long ago grew tired of my absence from the dinner table. In fact, I was often gone for weeks or months at a time since my job required me to travel a great deal. I felt my generous corporate paycheck would more than compensate for my frequent absences. But alas, my wife, Ellen, disagreed. One night, when I arrived home from work quite late, around midnight, I was informed by a voicemail from Ellen that she had filed for divorce. And I could expect to be contacted by her divorce lawyer sooner rather than later.

At first, I thought it was some joke, but it wasn’t. And here I thought my wife and I would spend our retirement years taking cruises and traveling the world. Apparently, she had grown tired of waiting for me to have time for her. She found someone else, and it was her best friend, Which I have to admit was a real kick in the ass.

Well, live and let live, I thought. There wasn’t much I could do or say to change her mind. We never had kids, so I guess that was a good decision. I tried contacting her many times. Her lawyer informed me she had no desire to talk to me again, not now and not anytime in the future. It almost felt as if she had died suddenly, I never had the opportunity to say good bye. I have to admit I felt a big empty space in my heart where she used to live. But it was my own fault because I was a workaholic.

I tried to let go—I really did. I went to clubs with some of my office mates a couple of times. But I couldn’t imagine dating or loving anyone else. It didn’t matter how beautiful or intelligent they were; I couldn’t imagine having a relationship with anyone else. After about a year, I decided to stop dating anyone else. I decided that somehow, some way, I would win Ellen.

So, I began a campaign to win her back; I sent her long-stemmed red roses every week for several months. The florist informed me that every time they delivered flowers, they got a call that she didn’t want them. Or they would be arrested for trespassing on their private property. And the police would be informed that I was stalking her.

When the florist told me this, I laughed and said, “Stalking with long-stemmed red roses, that is totally ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Landers, we won’t’be able to deliver anything to that address again, we can’t afford to have the police at our door.” And then he hung up the phone. And that was the end of that. For the rest of the day, I tried to think of other ways to change her mind. I wrote her at least ten long, long letters begging her forgiveness.

I bought two tickets to a three-month cruise to the location of her choice. NADA sent me the tickets torn into shreds three days later. I sent a letter of contrition once a week for a month and begged her to forgive me, but there was no response. And then I got a telegram. I didn’t even know telegrams still existed. It said I never want to hear from you again, not now, not in the future, never. You are dead to me. I have a restraining order against you. If you contact me ever again, you will be arrested. In the end, do you understand, as far as you are concerned, “YOU ARE DEAD TO ME.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the end. There was no place to go but away. Far, far away from my “wife.” It was over and done with. For a while, I considered committing suicide. I thought of all kinds of ways to do it. This is all I thought about for a good month. And then one morning, I woke up and said to myself, “ Have you lost your freaking mind, stop all this nonsense and start over, find a new job, or move to a desert island, or travel the seven seas, or just stop feeling sorry for yourself and start over.”

And my dear friends, that is exactly what I decided to do. I gave my notice at work. I put my house up for sale, and I sold all the contents of my house. I decided to retire early. I had tons of money in my retirement investments since I had been working over time for decades. I decided that I would take a cruise. In fact, I am taking a cruise that will take me to forty countries in five months. By the end of that trip, I will have decided which country I want to live in for the rest of my life.

The first cruise I signed up for was a 116-night voyage around the world departing Rome. It would take me to fifty destinations across twenty countries and include seven, yes, seven overnight stays. I would see and experience everything from the Mediterranean and South America to the beautiful South Pacific and get this Australian and Asian.

I couldn’t believe my luck. The ship was fully booked when I first contacted them, but at almost the last minute, I received a call that there had been a cancellation if I was interested. “Hell, yes,” I screamed into the phone. I couldn’t believe my luck. I had to prepare quickly since the ship would stay for forty-eight hours.

I ran around like a fool, getting packed and finding someone to come to my house while I was gone to care for my plants and parakeets. My wife had taken our dog. I couldn’t believe she was so cold-hearted. I loved that dog with all my heart. I decided that when I returned from my long cruise, I would adopt another dog. And nobody would ever be able to take him or her from me again. I missed that dog more than my former wife. Maybe that was one of the reasons she filed for divorce. She always complained,” You love that dog more than you love me.” She wasn’t wrong, I did.” My lawyer tried every trick in the book to get Andy (that’s my dog’s name.) back for me. But the judge disagreed.

Before I knew it, my trip was only two days away. I had hired a housesitter and a lawn care service. My next-door neighbor was going to pick up my mail for me. She’s a fantastic woman, but unfortunately, she’s old enough to be my mother.

The next thing I knew, the taxi came to drive me to the cruise ship. Then, it seemed like, in the blink of an eye, I was boarding the ship and unlocking the door to my room—a small cabin, not too small. Besides, most of my time on board would be spent having fun, drinking at all the different bars, singing, and dancing. And the best thing of all is a Casino. I have limited how much money I’m bringing with me. So I won’t get carried away. And I froze my accounts temporarily so I wouldn’t do anything too crazy.

I arrived in plenty of time to board the ship, and I couldn’t believe how big it was. It was really big, and I didn’t realize how big it was until I was standing next to it. Many people were milling around, waiting to get aboard, and an even larger crowd was there to see the passengers board the ship. It was almost overwhelming. People were laughing, crying, and waving at everyone they saw, whether they knew them or not.

After everyone, including the ship staff, boarded, we all went our separate ways to find our accommodations. My room was small, but not too small. The bathroom only had a shower, but I think I would survive with just a shower for the next couple of weeks that I would be on the ship. The first night I went to the dining area to eat dinner, I was a little late, and the only open seat I could find was a table with senior citizens, except for one woman who looked to be my age. At least, I think she was my age. She had a big sun hat on her head, which I thought was rather odd since we were in the dining room.

I took my time walking over to the table. There weren’t any waiters. It was a smorgasbord-type affair as tables were set up with different types of food, and you had to bring your plate to each table and help yourself. I filled my plate as much as possible since I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. And that was leftovers from the night before. I got carried away and brought back two large plates piled high. When I sat down, everyone at the table glanced at my plates. The woman with the big hat on started laughing, and then she pulled her straw hat down so I couldn’t really see her face.

I heard her laugh at one of our tablemates’ remarks, but I still couldn’t see her face clearly. But, she had a wonderful laugh, it sounded familiar. But I couldn’t place it. As I sat down and started eating, everyone was staring at me. Finally, the lady with the big hat took it off and said, “Well, it’s nice to see you haven’t lost your appetite completely, Bill. Bon Appetite.” I turned my head to get a better look at her, and I almost choked to death. The woman with the big hat was none other than my dear departed ex-wife Ellen. I stared at her and tried to swallow the food in my mouth. When I finally finished swallowing the food in my mouth, I said,” What in the world are you doing here, Ellen?”

“Well, I could ask you the same thing. It wasn’t planned. It’s a small world. You could move to another table if it’s that bad.”

“No, that’s not necessary. I lived with you for decades, so I guess I can tolerate one night in the ship’s dining room.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew it was a mistake. But, as usual, I opened my big mouth and stuck my big left foot into it. Ellen looked at me and said, “Yes, I guess one more time wouldn’t make that big a difference.”

For the next week and a half, Ellen and I kept running into one another. I began to think it wasn’t a coincidence, but it was deliberate. And it wasn’t Ellen stalking me; it was me stalking her. The last thing that happened was one evening. I was standing on the ship’s deck, looking over the side at the waves splashing on the deck. When suddenly, I heard someone come up behind me and say,” This reminds me so much of the first time you took me sailing on the ocean near Atlantic City. We had a great time that weekend. And come to think of it, we always had a great time together when we went out somewhere. The only time we fought was when we were home together.”

I stood there trying to decide what to say to her when she said, “You know, I always loved spending time with you. The problem was that you became so enmeshed with your job that you rarely came home until late at night after I went to bed. And I began to feel like you were avoiding me.”

“I wasn’t avoiding you, and I was working my ass off so you could have the big house, the new car, designer clothes. All those things you said you couldn’t live without.”
“I guess you are right, I did want those things. But what I wanted more was a house, kids, and you being at home spending time with our family.”

“Yes, not being able to have children was a difficult blow. But, you know, we could have adopted kids.”

“I guess it’s too late for all that, isn’t it?”
“No, Ellen I don’t thinks it’s too late, we could still have a family, the two of us, and perhaps older kids, not babies. What do you think?”

“ I think we have to see if we can have a stable life together and then consider adopting older kids. I still love you Ellen, I always will, what do you say?”

“ I say, let’s see how we get along during this cruise, and when we get back home, we start talking, really talking, not just sitting in the living room watching TV movies together. And by the way, I still love you and have missed you so much.”

For the final week of the cruise, they spent all their time together and did their best to listen, really listen to one another for the first time in years. By the time the cruise was over, they fell in love again, and they looked forward to all their tomorrows and a happy ending.

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FAIRY TALES DO SOMETIMES COME TRUE

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It was one of those beautiful early Spring days in North Carolina. My boss unexpectedly gave me a day off.

He said, “You’ve been working so hard for the past several weeks. Why don’t you take tomorrow off? You can sleep in, go out to lunch with some of your friends, and forget about work for a few hours.

I took one look at him, just to be sure he wasn’t pulling my leg. And sure enough, he was serious. “Really, I would love that. I haven’t had any time to myself in a long time, and I know exactly what I’d like to do.”

“Really, what’s that?” Oh, I know, go clothes shopping. I know how you ladies love to shop and buy clothes.”

“While that might be true for some women. It’s not true for me. I like to spend any “extra money” on my garden.”

“Well, whatever stokes your fire, I say. Have a ball and buy all the flowers you want. You only live once.”

“Thanks so much. I have about another hour to finish my report. I’ll email it to you when I’m finished, and I” ‘ll see you on Monday.”

That night, I must have checked the weather report ten times before I went to bed. We get a whole lot of rain in the early Spring here in North Carolina, so I kept my fingers crossed that tomorrow it wouldn’t rain. I also hoped it would rain the next day so that newly planted rose bushes and Day Lilies would get watered in.

I woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning, but to my surprise, it was still dark out. Then I remembered the clocks had been turned back recently. Honestly, I wish we could stop moving time forward and then back again. It takes me so long to adjust to it. Enough already, I say.

I rolled out of bed, gingerly put my legs over the edge of the bed, and headed toward my bathroom. I grabbed my sunblock and applied it liberally to every exposed part of my body. I am as pale as they come, and if I don’t douse myself with sunblock, I will be burnt to a crisp. I’m not exaggerating. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little.

And off I went to my backyard to get my gardening tools out of my little tool shed. As I opened the door, I saw something move rapidly across the front of the shed and out the back. I can’t be sure, but I think it might have been some rabbit. I sure as hell hope it isn’t a rat. I don’t mind squirrels, but rabbits love to eat all the vegetables I grow in my raised bed garden. And believe it or not, they are not averse to eating my flowers. The only thing they haven’t touched is my cactus and succulent garden.

I gathered my heeley hoe, my gardening gloves, and some containers to stash the grass and weeds I dug up. I was about ready to start when I heard one of my neighbors yell, “Good morning. I hope you have a great day. Good luck with your garden.”

It is my next-door neighbor, Piero; he is a nice man and always says hello, but beyond that, he minds his own business. Occasionally, he asks me gardening questions. And I’m more than willing to offer him advice or lend him a hand. He is an elderly man and not completely steady on his feet. Occasionally, he will ask me to come over and give him a hand with his grape vine that grows over his arbor. And I am more than happy to do that. Because eventually, he will turn those beautiful grapes into wine. And he always shares it with me.

I walk over to his fence and ask him, “How are you feeling? How’s life treating you these days?”

“Oh, good, good, the usual aches and pains, but nothing I can’t tolerate. I’ ’m looking forward to seeing your garden this year.”

“ And I’m looking forward to that wonderful wine you make.” Piero laughed and said, “That’s down the road a bit, but I won’t forget you. And if you have any free time, could you come over and help me get my ladder out of the garage and carry it back next to the trellis?”

“Yes, sure, but only if you let me hold the ladder until you’re done. I don’t want anything untoward to happen to you.”

“Yes, yes, you’re afraid I’ll fall and break my neck, but I’ll be fine. I need a steady hand to hold the ladder. It will only take a few minutes.”

“I’ll be right there. Meet me in front of your garage. And I’ll get the ladder out for you.”

I went to the side of my house, opened my gate, closed it behind me, and headed over to Piero’s front yard and garage. I could hear him rustling around inside the garage. The next moment, the garage door opened, and there was Piero—out of breath just from opening the door. I can’t tell you how worried I was about Pierro. He was such a kind and generous man that I couldn’t bear it if something unforeseen happened to him.

“Are you alright, Pierro?”

“Yes, yes, stop you’re worrying. You are like an old mother hen, guarding her eggs.’

“Old mother hen, HUH? Well, that’s a new one. And then we both started laughing. Pierro laughed so hard that he started coughing. I patted him on the back until he caught his breath again. “Ok, let’s go. I’m alright now. Don’t worry so much.”

“Well, Pierro, worrying about the people I love is in my genes.”

“Pierro looked at me, and I saw a tear run down his face. And he wiped it away with the back of his hand. I said, “Here, let me grab the ladder. And before he could try to get it, I picked it up and said, “I’ll meet you out back.”

He met me out back. He must have raced all the way because he was out of breath. “Are you alright, Piero? You look like you can’t breathe.”

“ Ok, don’t start that again, I’m fine.”

I set up the ladder next to the trellis, and we began attaching the vine to it. We worked together, and before you knew it. It was done. Piero stood there smiling from ear to ear. This is one of the reasons I loved Piero, small things made him happy, he never complained. And even better, he had led a highly interesting life. And I loved hearing about it. He had served in the military and had several medals to attest to his courage and fortitude. And the stories he would tell were spellbinding. I can’t express how much I love this old man; the thought of never seeing him again at some time in the future breaks my heart. So, I made every effort to block it from my mind. I call out to him, “Hey Piero, how about coming over for dinner tonight? If it’s nice, we can eat on the back porch. I’m making your favorite spaghetti and meatballs. And I made a cheesecake, your favorite?”

“I say, “ what time, I’ll be there with bells on.”

“Really, that is a sight I would love to see. Be here at 5 o’clock sharp. Don’t be late.”

I saw a grin cross his face from ear to ear. “I’ll be there on the dot of five.”

I smiled at him, waved, and said, “See you later, crocodile.” He laughed like it was the first time I said it to him, but I say it every time I talk to him. I waved and headed back into the house, stirring my sauce pot. I can’t help but think how lucky I was to move next to this gentle old man. He’s the father and grandfather I never had.

At five o’clock on the dot, I hear my doorbell ring. I look out the window, and sure enough, it is Piero looking back at me with a big smile on his face, and he is rubbing his tummy in preparation for the big pot of spaghetti and sauce. He says, Buonasera, which means Good Evening in Italian. I only know Buonasera and Bon Journo, which means Good Day. He arrives with a big smile and a bottle of his wine. “Come in, come in, no formalities between you and me after all this time, Piero. You are so, so welcome in my home.”

The meal was good; even if I say so myself, the sauce was perfection. And the spaghetti was cooked just long enough, but not too much. “Don’t forget to eat your veggies, Pierro. You can have the cheesecake for dessert if you eat them all.” A big smile crossed his face. And then he said, Did I ever tell you about my Uncle Rudy, he made wine in the old country? I worked there for many years when I was quite young.”

I had heard this story many, many times over the years. But I said, “Oh, please continue. I love hearing about your Uncle and Aunt and the vineyard.”

And so he began the litany of his whole life, growing up working in his Uncle’s vineyard, making the wine. It didn’t matter how many times I heard this story, and I loved hearing it. The love that his family had for one another was heartwarming. I couldn’t hear it enough. I grew up in Foster Homes from my entire childhood through my eighteenth birthday. And that is when I was released from the states care to the big, cold world. One which I had no clue how to navigate. I hadn’t even finished high school. When I found myself on my own, with no job, no money, and no place to go. I ended up working at fast food restaurants. One of my coworkers offered to let me share his room if I would pay half the rent. And then took some night classes at the local county college. I learn how to use computers. It turned out that I had a natural gift for programming, which turned my life around.

I began to become well-known in the field and was offered one promotion after another. And here I am, living the good life. I own my home, which I paid off in five years. I have a new car. In fact, I have the means to “buy” myself anything I need or want. But I always wanted a family that loved me as far back as I can remember.

And then one day when I was in the main office where I worked a young woman knocked on my office door. I signaled for her to come in as I was talking on the phone to a client. I glanced over at her; she looked like a breath of fresh air. I couldn’t stop glazing over at her. Finally, I was able to get off the phone. I looked over at her and said, “Can I help you? And she said, “Well, actually, I’m here to help you. I’m your new assistant. My name is Angela DeMateo if Could you be so kind as to tell me what you need to be done ASAP? And what can wait? I will get down to business. “

Without realizing it, I kept staring at her, unsure as to what I should do or say. And then she cleared her throat and said, “Perhaps I should begin by familiarizing myself with your most important clients. And I will go from there. I pointed to my filing cabinet and said, “I suggest you begin with the McFarland file. They are my biggest client. Once you have a grasp of what we need to move forward with from there we can talk again, If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask. Here is my cell phone number if you ever need to contact me when I’m out with a client or working at home.”

Angela nodded her head and said, “I understand. I will begin now, if at anytime you need my assistance I will be availale. And that was the last time I saw her that morning until Angela buzzed me and asked if she could order lunch for me. And if so, what did I want? I told her anything but fast food and bad memories attached to fast food restaurants. She said, “ I understand. And I will be back ASAP with your lunch.” And she was in a shake of a lamb’s tail. The lunch was delicious. The next time I saw her was about thirty-five minutes before closing time. She came into my office and handed me what she said were the files that she had completed. I quickly looked them over. And it appeared as if she could fulfill any task set before her.

I said, “Angela, I think it is safe for you to leave now. I’m caught up on my clients. Thanks to you. I will see you no later than 9 a.m. tomorrow. Have a good evening, Angela.” She looked at me and said, “I hope you have a good evening. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow. You have my cell number if you need to contact me for any reason.”

And so it began. Over time, I realized that not only did I become reliant on Angela at work, but I knew that my feelings toward her ran deeper. So, although I knew it was a bad idea, I asked Angela if she would be interested in going out to dinner with me. At first, she hesitated, and I just stood my ground, and finally, she said, “Yes, I would like to have dinner with you.”

And that evening marked a beginning of my life, it was clear to everyone but me that I was in love with Angela, and life without her would be a sad life indeed. We began seeing her on a regular basis. We became good friends, and then it became more. She hadn’t mentioned any boyfriends. I asked her, “Could you please tell me the length and breadth of your feelings for me? Please be honest. Please tell me if you’re not interested in a long-term relationship.”

Angela closed the door behind her, walked over to me, put her arms around me, and kissed me. I took that as a firm “yes” that she was interested in. And friend, that was the beginning of my new life with a woman I loved, and I am getting married. And the rest, my friends, is history. Finding true love and happiness with a woman who loved me. And if that isn’t a happy ending to a fairytale, I don’t know what is.

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BECAUSE I WAS A GIRL, I WAS TOLD I COULDN’T BE A TUGBOAT CAPTAIN

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Ben Franklin Bridge, Philadelphia, and New Jersey

Kathleen grew up in the early 1950’s and 1960’s in an Irish and Italian Catholic neighborhood. Everyone in the neighborhood lived in similar houses with big backyards. The Catholic church and the Catholic School were within walking distance for all the children in our neighborhood. It was unusual for any of the Catholic kids to attend public school. But all the kids who were Christian but not Catholic attended public school. They were referred to as “The Publics” by all the Catholic kids. It was like it was some disease or something. And woe be it to any Catholic School student to be ejected from the Catholic School. And then had to attend “Public School.”
Kathleen’s family consists of a mother, a father, and five siblings. Kathleen’s siblings were all a lot older than her. In fact, her eldest siblings no longer lived at home. They were married and lived with wives and their own children. That may seem like a large family, but back in the day, all the Catholic kids had large families. Kathleen had friends in school who had up to ten children, sometimes more. When Kathleen visits one of her Catholic school friends after school, she is overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who live within the walls of their homes. Homes that were approximately the same size as her own home. It had four bedrooms, two parents and six kids. The noise level alone was overwhelming. Not to mention,, there was only one bathroom, which all of the family members had to share. So, as a result, most people only bathe once a week. I kid you not.

On the bonus side, due to the large families with lots and lots of kids, Kathleen never had a shortage of friends in the neighborhood or the town to play with after school, on the weekends, holidays, and, of course, all Summer, which was every kid’s favorite time of the year.

Kathleen’s parents never really seemed to be concerned about her whereabouts. She was told to be home by five o’clock for dinner. And in the Summer to come home when it was dark. Neither one of Kathleen’s parents ever asked her where she had been or what she had been up to. When she was going out, her mother would say, “Don’t be late. Dinner is at five o’clock.” Kathleen would be out the door and on her way to visit one of her friends in no time flat. When it started getting dark out, Kathleen would jump on her bike and head home. And yelling, “See you later, alligator. And her friends would respond, “After a while, crocodile.”

When Kathleen wasn’t busy visiting her friends, riding her bike, or roller skating, she would head downtown and visit the library, or the 5&10 Store, or the candy store. If she had enough money, she would ride her bike down to the custard stand and get a vanilla custard in a cone. Sometimes, she would stop by the vegetable stand, and the nice lady who worked there would give her a piece of fruit, or the lady who worked in the town bakery would give her a donut. By the time she made all her rounds in the downtown shops, she would be so full that when she got home to eat dinner, she wasn’t in the least bit hungry.

Her mother and father would say, what’s the matter? Why don’t you eat something?’ And Kathleen would answer I’m full. Her father would say, “What’s wrong with her? She eats like a bird.” Her siblings, who knew what she had been up to downtown, didn’t say a word. They just laughed. Her next older sister would say without fail, “Yeah, a vulture.” Her mother would say, “ OK, that’s enough, stop picking on, Kathleen. And eat your dinner.”

After dinner, Kathleen helped clear the table, and then she would have to do her homework. Kathleen had trouble with math, and her mother would help her” by giving her the answers.” But Kathleen had no idea how she got the answer. And then her father would say, “Come here, I’ll show you the right way to do it. But his way was completely different than what she learned in school. And the more they helped her, the more confused she got.

After her homework was finished, if it were one of her father’s nights off, she would sit in the living room with him and watch Gunsmoke with him or Wagon Train or Have Gun Will Travel? They both loved the old Western TV shows. But woe be to anyone who sat in the living room and made the mistake of talking while Kathleen’s father was watching TV.

Around nine o’clock, Kathleen’s mother would say, “Time for bed, time for bed.’

Kathleen would beg to stay up later, but her mother knew if she didn’t make her go to bed now, she would want to stay up until 10 PM. And that was out of the question. So, finally, Kathleen would give in and get up, and her mother would say, “Woah, you have to go in and brush your teeth. And you know you have to say your prayers before you go to sleep.”

“Kathleen would roll her eyes and go in and brush her teeth as fast as she could. And then spit it out and drink some water. And head off to her bedroom. Her mother would yell up the steps, ” Your prayers, say your prayers.” And Kathleen would say, “Yes, Mom, yes, Mom. “ She would say a fast Hail Mary and Our Father and then bless herself and try to fall asleep as soon as possible before her sisters came in the room they shared and woke her up with all the rackett they made all the time. As Kathleen started to fall asleep, she remembered she had to get her mother to sign a paper to go on a trip to the Ben Franklin Museum. She fell asleep before she took the paper downstairs. By the next morning, Kathleen completely forgot about the permission slip.

The next day, when Kathleen arrived at school, she realized that she hadn’t gotten the permission slip signed. And she decided to run home as fast as she could and have her mom sign it. The school wasn’t that far away. But she just barely made it back to school before the morning bell rang to go to school. Katleen was out of breath. She felt sick to her stomach since she ran so fast and she had just eaten breakfast before she left for school. Kathleen sat on the school bus quietly for the whole trip from her school to the Ben Franklin Museum. She felt like she was going to throw up any minute. Finally, Sister Joseph said, “Alright, we here. Everyone slowly gets up and brings any and all belongings with them. And form one line and follow the student in front of you.

As Kathleen got off the bus, she realized that she was going to be sick, and she stepped on the sidewalk and threw up. Unfortunately, Sister St. Joseph was standing there. And she was on the receiving end of Kathleen’s upset stomach. All the kids started laughing until they saw Sister Joseph Catherine’s face. Then they immediately stopped laughing, double-timed it, and entered the double doors in front of the Ben Franklin Museum. It looked like everything would be alright until one of the boys started laughing, and before you knew it. All of the kids were laughing. Kathleen knew she was in big trouble. Sister Joseph Catherine was two-stepping it in her direction. “Kathleen, you are to stay by my side for the rest of the day; after we leave the museum, you will sit next to me on the bus back to school. Do you understand?”

I looked down and nodded yes to her, the thought of sitting next to her on the bus all the way back to school, seemed like a nightmare. If there were any way to get out of this mess, she would do it. Catherine felt a tear run down her cheek, and more followed. Catherine wiped her sleeve across her cheek. There was no way she was going to let anyone see her crying. Kathleen took a deep breath. And slowly walked toward Sister Joseph Catherine. This was going to be a terrible day. Katherine wished she had stayed home.

For the next several hours, Kathleen followed Sister Joseph Catherine all around the museum. She could barely look at the exhibits. She decided that on the next school trip, she intended to pretend to be sick. Because there was no way she was going to repeat this outing.

Kathleen’s stomach started to growl. She didn’t eat any breakfast this morning. And she was really thirsty. And then Kathleen heard Sister Joseph Catherine say,” It’s time for lunch. Let’s head back to the bus. That was the moment Kathleen realized she had forgotten to bring her lunch bag. And she didn’t have any money to buy lunch in the cafeteria.

Luckily, her best friend Helen asked her to sit next to her. When Anne Marie realized that Kathleen didn’t have lunch, she said, “No problem, you can have half of mine. My mother always packs too much lunch.” Kathleen smiled at her and said,” Thank you. I’m really starving. So, they found a table in the cafeteria and quietly ate their lunch together. Anne Marie said, “Wow, Sister Joseph Catherine really has it in for you today. “

“Yeah, I wish I didn’t even come today. She never leaves me alone.”

“Well, we had fun together, and your lunch was really good. Your mom makes great sandwiches. I guess we’ll see the rest of the museum when we’ve finished lunch. I love seeing “The Big Heart.”

“You do; I think it’s creepy, and the beating of the Big Heart makes me feel sick to my stomach. I hope the next time we go on a field trip, we do something new.”

“ Yeah, your right, they should take us somewhere new.”
The next thing they knew, the sister was calling all the students to gather as they were going to leave the museum and go see some historical sites, starting with City Hall. “Alright, children, we are going to get back on the bus and head towards City Hall to see all the historical sites. I want you to pay particular attention to the speaker because we are going to have a test at the end of the week regarding that period of history.” There was a group moan from all the children. Why did the sister always ruin everything with tests after an outing?

After the visit to City Hall, the kids all got tired and bored. They had enough history in one day and just wanted to go home. And before you knew it, the tour of the City Hall was over, and they were loaded back onto their bus and headed back across the Ben Franklin Bridge and back to New Jersey. All the kids were tired, and several of them fell asleep on the ride back to school. Kathleen was one of them. And then suddenly, the bus stopped. Kathleen woke up. “What’s happening?” The bridge is up because there’s a big ship going underneath it. It’s cool. You can see it if you look out the window.

All the students were glued to the windows, looking at the open bridge and at the gigantic ship that was passing under the bridge. The kids were excited and staring out the windows. When the ship got to the other side of the bridge, all the students tried to get to the other side of the bridge. All the kids started clapping.

The next day, the students were asked to write an essay about their outing, and they all talked about their outing to the Ben Franklin Museum. Kathleen decided to write about what it was like in the Big Heart exhibit. She wrote down every detail that she could remember. Then she decided that her next favorite experience was waiting to cross the Bridge while the bridge was up and the big ship was passing beneath. She added that she decided that she wanted to grow up and be either the captain of one of those big ships or in charge of the bridge.

When Kathleen got her paper back, the teacher said she had written a good description of her experience on their outing. However, there was no way that any female was going to grow up to be the captain of a ship or man at the Ben Franklin Bridge. Her teacher said, “She should accept that girls would grow up to get married and have children, or they could become teachers or maybe nurses because that’s what girls were supposed to do.

Kathleen got so mad that her teacher said that the only thing girls would be is a mother, a teacher, or a nurse. She decided that, on that very day, no matter what it took, she was going to be the captain of a boat or be in charge of the Ben Franklin Bridge. Tugboat going under Ben Franklin Bridge, Philadelphia/ NJ

But, it wasn’t until 1968 that a woman was allowed to work as a tugboat captain in New Jersey. But, after that first woman was hired, other women did the same. Sure enough, Kathleen was one of those women to be a tugboat captain, and she crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge countless times in her lifetime as a captain of a tugboat. And she led the way for other women to do the same. And it was because of women like her that all women were allowed to work in occupations that formerly had been men only.

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WITHOUT CHALLENGES YOUR LIFE IS AT A STANDSTILL

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It appeared to be an ordinary day, much unlike any other work day. I was sitting on the bench at the bus stop, waiting for my bus to Philadelphia to arrive. And it was late, really late. As far back as I can remember, that bus had never been late. I was getting nervous, I absolutely abhor being late. It just set my day off to a bad start. I began pacing up and down, looking for the bus. I thought I might go out of my mind. I hate being late for anything, let alone being late for a job I just started the previous day.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, it was extraordinarily cold outside. There was a cold, almost frigid wind blowing, and the rain that had been steadily falling began to become hale and sleet. Everyone standing on the corner waiting for the bus let out a moan, seemingly all at once.

I heard one woman say,’ What’s next? Why does everything bad always happen to me?” I stared at her hard and said,” It’s not just happening to you. It’s happening to all of us.” She looked at me, and if looks could kill, I would be dead right now. I stared back at her. She looked away while mumbling curse words under her breath. I stood there thinking, good lord, if this is the way this day is starting, what will the rest of the day be like?

And just as I was considering going back home and calling out for work that day, I heard the woman say, “Well, it’s about damm time.” And then everyone clapped. Loudly. You would have thought they won the lottery. But no, it was just the 407 Bus that runs from Main Street in Maple Shade to Philadelphia. And we all let out a sigh of relief.

As the bus pulled over to the curb, it drove through the muck and cold water that had collected there. And low and behold, we all got a filthy, freezing cold shower. We looked at each other, and then almost as one, we sighed and got in line to board the bus. We were frozen, wet, and filthy. From head to toe. What better way to start the day, I thought. And I let out a sigh and found a relatively dry seat behind the bus driver. The bus driver was cursing under his breath. I guess he wasn’t too thrilled with all the wet, miserable, and grouchy passengers he was going to have to deal with that day.

As I sat there wet and miserable, I kept telling myself, Oh, things will get better; don’t lose hope, things will work out alright, don’t worry. This is what I tell myself every time something goes wrong first thing in the morning. It’s like I’m my own cheerleader or something. I try to be optimistic about life, but sometimes I get overwhelmed and depressed. Life is not a bowl of cherries. It is more like a bowl of jello.

Ben Franklin Bridge Philadelphia/ New Jersey

As we headed towards the Ben Franklin Bridge, I couldn’t help but notice that the traffic was slowing down to almost a snail’s pace. And that is when I noticed that the bridge was up, but I didn’t see any ships passing under the bridge at all. I wondered what the problem was. I heard the bus driver, and he was saying, “OK, folks, it looks like there’s going to be some delay on the bridge. It probably has something to do with the ice storm. So, everybody needs to settle down and calm down. There isn’t anything we can do but wait.”

At just that moment, a man who was somewhat rotund and was wearing a really worn-out-looking winter coat walked up to the driver and said, “I want to get out. I can’t sit here all day and wait. I have to get to work on time, or I’m going to lose my job.”

The bus driver looks at the man and says,” Look buddy, the bridge is all iced up, and not only that the bridge is iced up and even if the bridge were down, I wouldn’t recommend you getting out of the bus and walking across the bridge in this kind of weather. It’s virtual suicide. So, please sit down, try to keep warm, and accept what’s happening. There’s no point in going off the deep end, literally because you’re going to get seriously injured or worse. Return to your seat, now.”

The man looked at the driver as if he wanted to kill him, and then he looked out the front window of the bus and said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” And he returned to his seat, looking as if he had lost all hope.

Everyone on the bus looked at each other, and then there was a moment of silence and a loud sigh of acceptance from everyone on the bus who had accepted that this day they were going to be late for work and there was nothing they could do about it. And then one middle-aged guy said loudly, “Well, hell, when I was a kid, the snow would sometimes get three feet deep, and I would stay out all day until dinner time. And here I am, stuck on a bridge over the Walt Whitman Bridge because of a little snow. “And then a young guy in the front says, “Well, if you feel like swimming across the Delaware bridge in this freezing rain and snow, then go ahead. Otherwise, sit the hell down and stop moaning. Nobody, but nobody is going to get to work on time today. We should have all stayed home.”

Everyone looked at one another, and then one guy said, “Well, I grew up in Pennsylvania in the 1950s. And I can vouch for the fact that back then, we got a hell of a lot more snow. That snow storm became known as “The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950,” the snow storm blanketed areas from western Pennsylvania southward deep into West Virginia with over 30 inches of snow. Several areas got more than 50 inches of snow, and in West Virginia, I remember my grandparents told us they got an unbelievable staggering 62 inches. So, we shouldn’t complain, Who knows what’s going to happen with this Climate Change. And that is when everyone on the bus started discussing Climate Chage. Some people didn’t believe in it at all, and other people explained in great detail exactly what was happening and what might happen in the future.

And just about that time, I heard the bus driver say,” OK folk, everybody go back to their seats and sit down. The bridge is closing, so it looks like we can be on our merry way; a little late is better than not at all. About twenty minutes later, we were on the other side of the bridge and only a few minutes away from downtown Philly as passengers began disembarking from the bus. Almost everyone was in a better mood and said thank you to our bus driver and waved to their fellow travelers as they stepped down from the bus.

I’m sure in the future, all the people who rode to work on this particular snow day will have tall tales to tell their children and grandchildren. We all arrived safely at our bus stop and hoped the ride home would be without any problems. We each stepped carefully down the steps and on our merry yet slippery way to our jobs.

As for myself, I felt a little lighter as I stepped down the bus steps. I know I will remember this experience for a long, long time. It would be a story that, no doubt, over the years, would grow and grow until it was unrecognizable. I let out a sigh as I stepped onto the sidewalk and hoped that my ride home would be a safe one. But who knows what challenges will come our way in the future? We have to take one step at a time, one day at a time.

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DID THE WALLS HAVE EARS

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I have been fascinated by the town of Haddonfield, New Jersey, ever since I attended high school at Saint Mary of the Angels Academy. I graduated in 1969. And after I graduated from St. Mary’s I worked for a high-risk auto insurance company in Collingswood. I rented a small one-bedroom apartment in Haddonfield. It was only a block away from the Haddonfield library and within walking distance of downtown Haddonfield. Some years later, after I was married, my husband and I were looking for a larger house to purchase, and I suggested looking at homes that were located in Haddonfield. And what I found fascinating was the local legend that all the local businesses had relationships with the local ghosts. Of course, I didn’t tell Steven about this. And I kept my fingers crossed.

Actually, we found one house that we liked, but it needed a great deal of repair. And we decided we couldn’t afford to have all the repairs done. Unless we did the repairs ourselves. In addition, the taxis in Haddonfield were high, very high. We would have to find another way to save money. Steven was going to have to rent an office too.

But then there was the experience we had when we were viewing the large Colonial house we were considering purchasing. How can I begin to explain our experience without coming off as some kind of nut case? Let me start at the beginning. And we had an appointment to meet with our realtor at the house we were considering purchasing. But when we arrived, our realtor wasn’t there. However, there was a note taped to the outside of the front door. It stated, “So sorry I couldn’t wait any longer for you. I’ve left the key in the mailbox so that you can view the house. Keep in mind that this is a house with a great deal of potential but needs work. As I previously explained to you during our last phone conversation.

Please give me a call if you decide you want to make an offer. This house has great potential, it is located in a fantastic neighborhood. And the schools in Haddonfield are top-notch. It is a safe and inviting place to live. The house is located close to the downtown area where you will find a great many wonderful restaurants. Not to mention the beautiful homes in that area. It would be a good investment, and with repairs, this house will eventually be a valuable asset for you. And if you start a family, the schools in Haddonfield are, without a doubt, the best in the area. Give me a call and let me know what you decide to do. Marion Lombardi.

My husband went over to the mailbox and opened it. And low and behold, the keys to the front door were indeed waiting there for us.

Steven put the key into the front door, and with some difficulty, he was able to turn the key and unlock the door. The door creaked open. We took a step forward into the entryway, and we found ourselves looking into what must have been the formal living room. We stepped inside, and to our left was a staircase that looked as if it must have been truly outstanding back in the day. To our right was a brick fireplace with a marble mantlepiece. Above it was a huge mirror that reflected the whole living room.

The floor looked like it was mahogany, but it was in very bad shape as it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a very long, long time. On the walls was a blue and silver wallpaper that looked like it had been hanging there for a century or more. And may well have been.

There were double doors between the living room and what we thought might be the formal dining room. It was empty save for what I can only describe as a long bar with a huge mirror behind it. Steven and I looked at one another, and finally, I said, “Why in the world is there a bar in the dining room?

Steven took a look behind the bar, and there wasn’t anything there except dust, years and years of dust. He blew at it, and he was able to see that the top of the bar was beautiful marble. He said, “Wow, I’m sure we could make use of this beautiful marble somewhere in this house.” I just nodded my head, and Steven said, “Kelly, let’s keep looking at the rest of this floor. There was a small pantry with shelves and drawers and a small pantry closet, and we walked through the doorway into a kitchen that looked like we were stepping right into the last century. There was an old, perhaps ancient stove that looked as if it hadn’t been used for decades and white cabinets that were tall and had glass windows. I said, “Oh wow, this kitchen has a great deal of potential.” Steven didn’t respond. So, I said, “Shall we carry on to the second floor?”

“But first, let’s go look out the back door. And see what kind of yard it has. And off we went to the back door. It was locked, and we didn’t have a key for it. And the front door key didn’t fit it. We looked out the back entrance and saw steps that were in bad shape, many bricks were missing, and the hand railing was in place but extremely rusty. The backyard was small, and we could see a two-car garage and a long driveway. There were large trees lining the driveway, and we could see the side of a neighbor’s house behind the trees.

Then we went to investigate the second floor there. When we arrived at the top of the steps, there was a railing to our right and a closed door in front of us. Steven walked over to the door and opened it. It was a bedroom with a large closet. I could see it had great potential. Steven said, “Nice, let’s keep going. The next closed door was just ahead of us. It turned out to be a huge bathroom with black and white tiles on the floor, a large tub with feet, and an empty medicine cabinet. As I looked in the mirror, I saw my reflection, and then, for a moment, I glimpsed another face. It looked like an elderly woman with many wrinkles and white hair that was pulled back into a bun high up on the back of her head. I saw her wink at me. And that is when I let out a blood-curdling scream. Steven said, “What in the world is the matter with you? What are you screaming about?”

I said, “There was a very old woman looking at me in the mirror?”

He said,” What in the world are you talking about” No one else is in the house.“

“I don’t know. It must be my imagination getting away from me again. You know, “a spooky old house and creaky steps. Oh, I don’t know. It’s just that I don’t feel like we are alone in the house. It feels like there are other people here, too.”
“Oh boy, you are letting your imagination get away from you once again.”

“Ok, Ok, that’s enough. Stop making fun of me. But, I promise you, I did see some old woman’s face in the mirror. She had long, grey, and white hair that was up in a bun with a metal clasp. And she had a wrinkled face. She looked ancient, really.”

“Oh brother, you are really letting your imagination get away with you. Let’s keep looking. We walked down the hallway, and to our right was another bedroom twice as large as the first one.” It had floral wallpaper on it. It was faded, but I imagine that once upon a time, a long, long time ago, it must have been beautiful. And some young lady loved it.”

“Let’s continue on, shall we.”

“Yes, let’s continue. As we stepped out the bedroom door we realized that there was a wrong iron gate ahead of us. But luckily, there wasn’t a lock on it. So, we just pushed it out of the way. And we walked into yet another bedroom. It was painted pink. Albeit a faded pink. “Good Lord, pink?”

“Well, maybe it was a baby’s room?”

Then we found a bathroom and a dressing room to the left. It was small but not in bad shape. I thought oh, maybe a bigger mirror. And as I looked in the mirror, I saw the old woman’s face again. She was staring at me so hard I could almost feel it. I screamed, “Good Grief! It’s that old woman again, “Why? Oh, Why? Do weird things always happen to me?

”Did you see her face in the mirror this time?”

“No, dear. I didn’t. You have an active imagination. It is a bit of a spooky house. It is old, and it’s been empty for a long, long time. Maybe it’s just energy that built up here over a hundred years.”

Let’s keep going. And they stepped back into the empty bedroom and towards a closed wooden door. That looked ancient. Steven stepped forward in the doorway. And then he let out a low whistle. “O my god. Would you look at the size of this room?”

I stepped through the doorway and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the biggest room I ever saw in any house I had ever seen in my own life. The ceiling had to be fifteen feet high. There was a huge chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling. There was a brick fireplace on the back wall. And the window on the opposite side of the room nearly took up the whole side. I could see the top of two trees at the bottom of the outside of the window. There was a bird’s nest on the top, and I could see baby birds being fed by their mother. I made a 365-degree turn around the room. And I just could not get over the sheer size of the space. And all along the walls of the room were bookcases. There was not a single book on the shelf.

“Steven, it would take us a lifetime to fill up these bookcases. It’s bigger than the library where we used to live. This place is simply unbelievable. “ I walked toward the window and saw another window to my left. And I couldn’t believe my eyes but there was a balcony outside the window. And just as I was about to call Steven to come over and look at the balcony, I saw the old woman on the balcony, and she was waving at me. She was wearing a long, long black dress with a white lace collar, and as I stared at her, I realized that her fingernails were very long and were painted a bright red. They were almost glowing. I turned around to get Steven’s attention. “Steven come here, the old lady is out on the balcony. Hurry, hurry.”

Steven nonchalantly walked over and then I heard a gasp come out of him. And he said, “What the…”

“ Steven what is it.”

“It’s the old lady, I saw her. She is standing outside the double doors. She’s on the balcony.”

“I told you, I told you. You never believe me. But, now you saw proof.”

“I guess I did.”

“Well, Kelly let’s get the hell out of here. It’s giving me the creeps.”

“What? You mean you were going to let some ghosts keep you out of this fabulous house? And you know this would be absolutely perfect. You could have a home office right here instead of renting space. That would save you money, wouldn’t it? How about we think about it overnight, and then we can make a decision?”

“OK, but I’m certain, I won’t change my mind. Let’s discuss it again tomorrow. Meanwhile, tomorrow I’m going to go to that library we passed on the way here and do some research.”

The following day, I spent several hours at the local library. What I found out was that many people who are Haddonfield residents or are owners of Haddonfield businesses have a cordial relationship with the local ghosts. Many residents have reported over the years or were aware of that creepy feeling of being watched in their own older homes.

And then one day that I will not forget, I was standing in the biggest bedroom when I heard what sounded like an older man clearing his throat and coughing vigorously. And then I saw smoke and smelled smoke rising up to the chandelier that hung from the fifteen-foot ceiling above me. It really freaked me out and I went downstairs looking for someone else to tell about my experience. But everyone had already left for the day. I thought about calling one of my friends but I knew they wouldn’t believe me. And most likely, they would go around town and tell everyone they knew that I was losing my mind. So, I decided to keep it to myself.

From that day forward I often felt the presence of an unseen person and often smelled the cigar smoke. I decided to keep it to myself. As I continued my research into the people who have lived in the house over the past one hundred or more years, that the most likely life force roaming the house was the original owner who died suddenly from a combination of lung cancer and heart disease. And it was believed by many of the older residence in the area that he still lived within the hallowed walls of the old house. And most likely there lived similar spirits in most of the older homes, especially in the Grove area where the oldest homes resided.

Over time I became comfortable with this belief. In fact, I found some comfort in the thought that I was never really alone. That old soul still visited or even lived permanently within the walls of my historical home. Then one day I woke up feeling fatiqued even though I had fallen asleep early the previous evening. And then I felt a shortness of breath and then a crushing pain in my upper chest. And that was the last thing I remember. And then one overcast day I became aware that I was looking down from the ceiling next to the large chandelier in the center of the ceiling in the large bedroom. And that is when I realized that I, yes, was no longer among the living but was now a spirit that lived within the walls inside my beautiful Victorian home.

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I HAD A DREAM WHEN I WAS A KID, THAT I WOULD BECOME AN INVESTIGATOR

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For as far back as I remember, I loved going to the library. The day I was old enough to get a library card, I rushed home from school and ran through our red front door. And I begged my mother to let me go to the library and get my very own library card so that I could borrow books on my very own library card.. I finished reading my last book on Sunday afternoon, so I was really looking forward to finding a new book to read.

As I walked through the swinging doors of the library. One of my school friends was on her way out, and she said, “Hi, Terry. How are things going?” I said, “OK, I just finished reading my last Nancy Drew novel, and I wanted to find a new one. I absolutely loved mysteries. “

“Me too. My mother keeps telling me to go outside and get some fresh air. But, once I get started on a new book, I have to finish it. Or, I have trouble sleeping at night. Of course, while I’m reading a new book, I have trouble sleeping at night because I want to find out what’s going to happen.”

“That’s weird. That’s exactly how I feel. Oh well, I better get into the library, so I have time to find a new book, and I won’t be late for dinner. I’ll talk to you later, bye.”

I walk through the doors and head towards the children’s fiction section. I wave at the librarians at the front desk. And they both wave back at me and say, “Well, we were wondering where our little bookworm, Terry, was today. LOL.”

“Oh, I was a little late getting out of school. And when I got home, my mother had made some cookies. And well, I didn’t want to miss having some because I knew my sisters would eat them all before I came home from the library.” The librarians all laughed and said, “Well, you better get busy finding a good book before they’re all taken.”

For a moment, I was terrified, and then all the librarians started laughing. And I realized that they were joking. I said, “Oh, that’s so funny. Ha, ha, ha…

I had a couple of books picked out and was looking for a third one when I looked up at the big clock on the library’s wall and realized that it was time to leave. Or I would be late for dinner. And that would make my parents mad. I decided I better check out my books and get home. Because tonight was one of the nights when I had to set the table for dinner. So, I grabbed my books and headed toward the check-out desk. All the librarians smiled at me because they told me they really loved all the bookworms. I didn’t tell them that I hated being called a bookworm because they were always nice to me when I came to the library.

I handed over my library card, which had my name on it, and the code MA236. And the tall, thin librarian asked for my books. I always thought she looked like Popeye’s girlfriend, Olive Oil. But my mother said, “Don’t call her Olive Oil. You’ll hurt her feelings.” I just said thank you, I’ll see you later after she handed me my books and my library card. I head off to the book stacks, and I begin my search for my next book is the Mystery section of the library. Even though I’m not an adult yet, the librarians know I have read all the books in the children’s sections and let me borrow adult books.

After perusing most of the mystery books, I finally found ‘the one.” It’s a mystery story about stolen jewels and a jewel thief, whose name is Larry Lawton, who apparently was a famous Jewel thief at one time. Terry took the book over to one of the tables in the adult section and began to skim the description of the book and the names of the chapters. Oh, she couldn’t wait to read. It was probably one of those books that she would read all the way through in a couple of days. It sounded so exciting. Terry took the book up to the check-out table and handed the librarian my card. She said, “Wow, I can see you are a big reader. Your library card has really had a workout.” Terry didn’t realize that the librarian was kidding. And she just said, Yeah.”

On her way home from the library, she ran into a couple of her classmates. They said in unison, “Oh, here comes the bookworm and laughed. Terry just ignored them and kept walking and then she started walking faster and then started running. By the time she arrived home, she was out of breath. When she arrived at her front door, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She never understood why kids were mean to her, especially when all she did was keep to herself and read books. Why would they care?

She made her way into their kitchen, and her mother said, “What happened to you? Why is your face all red? Were you running? Was someone chasing you again? Terry said, “No, Mom, I just decided to see how fast I could run home. That’s all.

“Well, I see you got a new book. What kind of book is it?”

“It’s a mystery, just like all the other books I read. You know, I like to figure out what is going to happen in the story by myself and then read the ending. It’s fun.”

“Terry, you are an interesting and intelligent young girl. I know you are going to do great things in your life. And you won’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. I think you are awesome.”

“Oh, Mothers always say things like that to their kids. It’s part of their job as a parent to help their children feel confident about themselves.”

“Terry, what you just said is an example of how intelligent you are. Few kids would even think to say anything like you just did. You are going to go far in life.”

Terry felt her face blush, and she said, “Oh, Mom. I guess I’m going to go into my room and read until dinner time.”

“OK, Terry, it will be at least one hour from now.”

Terry went into her room, pulled her chair next to the lamp, plopped down onto the rocking chair, and immediately opened the book. She opened the book and rocked forward on the rocking chair, and a slip of paper fluttered to the ground.

Terry didn’t notice it right away because she was already engrossed in the first chapter of the book. And the next thing she knew she heard her mother yelling up the steps that dinner was ready. Terry looked at her clock, and sure enough, it was dinner time. She reluctantly put a bookmark on the page she was reading and closed it. And then she put it on her bedside table. She was about to head down for dinner when she saw the slip of paper on the floor.

It said, “For whoever finds this note, please contact me as soon as possible. I desperately need help. Terry thought it must be some kind of prank that the last person who checked out the book must have left the note as a joke, for the next person that read the mystery book. Or maybe the librarians put the note in the book as a surprise for her. But, then she noticed at the bottom of the small note was a phone number. She decided to hide the note inside the book cover until she decided what to do about it. And she went back to reading her later mystery story. It was called, “ When the bell tolls, could it be ringing for you?”

Terry loved the title because it promised the story would be kind of scary and mysterious at the same time. Terry loved solving mysteries. She planned on being a detective when she grew up. She couldn’t think of anything she would rather do than solve mysteries and save lives. She wanted to make a difference in the world and fight evil. She knew she was a young girl, but somewhere deep inside resided the heart of a courageous heroine. And she looked forward to the day everyone else would recognize her as a true crime fighter. She truly believed that she would be a real fighter of crime and evil in the real world, as Nancy Drew was in the books Terry read.

The following day, after Terry arrived home from school, Terry remembered that her mother said she might be a little late and she would leave a snack out for her. And that she would be home in time for dinner. And sure enough, Terry found her favorite snack, Fig Newtons, and she dropped her school bag down on the kitchen floor and kicked her shoes off. Then she got a clean glass and poured herself a cold glass of milk. And retrieved her latest book from her room and sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy her snack. But, as she was sitting there it occurred to her that it was the perfect time to call the phone number from the note that dropped out of the library book she took out yesterday.

Terry decided to make the call out on the back porch, just in case her mother came home early for some reason. As she settled herself on the porch chair, she quickly called the phone number on the note. The phone rang several times, and Terry was about to give up when she heard someone say,” Hello, hello.” Terry finally got the courage to respond; she said, “Hello, my name is Terry. I found your note inside a library book that I checked out. Are you alright? Are you in trouble? Is Somebody hurting you? Do you want me to call the police? Tell me where you live.”

There was silence for several long minutes. And then Terry heard a young girl’s voice saying,” Can you meet me today at four o’clock? I need your help.

Terry took a deep breath and swallowed, and then she said, “that depends on where you are at. I will have to ride over there on my bike. Is someone trying to hurt you or won’t let you go outside? Do you want me to call the police to help you? Were you kidnapped?”

“No, I haven’t been kidnapped. I need you to come to my location to talk to me. It’s a secret location, so you can’t bring anyone else with you.”

“Oh, I don’t know. My mother has warned me to talk to strangers or go alone to a place I’ve never been before. How far are you from where I live? Do you know where I live?

“I know where you live, and I don’t live too far from you. I’ve seen you at school. I am in a different grade than you are. But I’ve seen you around. Do you want to come here or not?”

“What is this all about?”
“Terry, it is a test to see if you are ready to become an “investigator” isn’t that what you always wanted to be? We do not accept just anybody, and we have been watching you for quite a while. Only a few qualified people are invited to join. Are you interested or not?”

“Yes, I do want to be an investigator, but I’m just a kid. Did you know that?”

“Yes, of course, we have been watching you for a while. I am going to leave a note for you in your mailbox tomorrow after school. And there will be directions to my location. If you decide to participate, be there by 4:15 pm. We won’t wait passed that time. And then the voice gave Terry precise directions. Terry thought about it for several minutes and said, “OK, I’ll come tomorrow to your location. This better not be some kind of prank on me.”

“I promise this is not a prank I’ll see you tomorrow by 4:15.” And then Terry heard a dial tone. And she hung up. Terry didn’t know if she was scared or excited. She didn’t have any intention of telling her mother what she was up to. She had trouble sleeping that night. And the next day she had even more difficulty paying any attention at school. She probably failed her Math test because she couldn’t concentrate on anything. She kept thinking about what might happen the next day.

Terry all but flew home the next afternoon after school let out. She ran up to her mailbox and pulled open the door with such force that she almost broke the door off. And there it was, a note. Terry pulled out the note, and it was typed so that she couldn’t recognize any handwriting. It said, “You must arrive at the following address today by 4 PM. The address is 26 South Forklanding Rd. It is a white house with a red door. There are Holly Trees on either side of the front entrance. Go to the backyard. You will see a shed with a bell over the door. Ring the bell three times and then say your name. We will be waiting for you. Say the secret password, investigator.”

Terry followed the instructions to the letter. After she rang the bell three times, she said, “Investigator.” And then someone said, “You may come in.”

Terry’s heart was beating like a snare drum, but she stepped forward and pushed the door open. And when she looked inside she saw a whole group of kids from school huddled in there. She was afraid that this was some kind of prank that was going to backfire on her. But what happened next was a complete surprise. She heard them say, “Terry, you are now a member of the Investigator Squad. We solve all the crimes big and small that occur in our schools and our neighborhoods. You will be a great addition to our team. What say you?”

“What say me? I say yes, yes, yes. And then they all shook her hand and made her promise to keep the club and what they were doing to stop crime a secret. And Terry smiled so wide that you could almost see her tonsils. And that was the beginning of Terry’s secret life as an investigator. And who knew where that would take her in her life? She believed she would be the new investigator that would take Inspector Clouseau’s place someday in the French Sure’te.

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Writer's Blog by Susan A. Culver

Category Archives: Fiction

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