Category Archives: Fiction

Each New Page Is A New Day In The Diary Of Your Life

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I never considered myself to be naive. I’ve lived in the world for a long time. And I’ve had my share of life experiences to make me even more aware that not everyone you meet in life is trustworthy. But in addition, there’s the old maxim, “Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover.”

Unfortunately, I’ve always been succor for a beautiful smile falling. My mother always told me to ensure a person’s smile reaches their eyes. If it doesn’t, their smile is fake, and therefore don’t trust that person.

Unfortunately for me, about six months ago, I found myself in somewhat of a pickle. I decided to go down to my basement to look for a book that I had read years ago. I looked everywhere upstairs and even went so far as to search my attic. Oh, but that was a mistake. I spent three days going through old newspaper clippings and furniture that I no longer needed or wanted. But, still, I was unwilling to throw it away. I even found some of my father and mother’s memorabilia, including some of her silver. I realized I definitely needed to clean out my house from top to bottom. It was a mess. 

It was really too much for me to do on my own, so I put a small ad in the local newspaper for a part-time person to help me clean out my attic and basement. I was offering five dollars an hour, and for some reason, I only got two responses. One was a teenage boy who looked about ten years old to me. But he insisted that he was sixteen. He looked at my attic and said, “Oh, you got to be kidding me. I’m not cleaning out this mess for only five dollars an hour. And then he gave me a cold stare. And the other one was a woman who looked about thirty-five years old. And was thin as a reed and looked like she hadn’t eaten a good meal in a long, long time. She also seemed really nervous and jumpy.

She came into my house like a stormtrooper. She rushed around like the house was on fire. And then said, alright, “I’ll take a good look at your attic. And then I’ll give you an estimate for the whole job. I will clean the house from top to bottom, including the basement and the attic. When she returned to my living room, she handed me a small piece of paper that said $500.00. I looked at the paper, and I said,” Are you out of your mind? I told you the pay was five dollars an hour. Do you plan on working more than two weeks here??”

Lady, you have clearly underestimated how long it will take to clean up this mess you have created for yourself. You won’t find anybody else who will do this job for less. Take it or leave it. I don’t have all day. I have other fires to stoke.”

“Other fires to stoke. What in the world are you talking about?”

“ It’s just an expression, meaning I’m a busy woman.”

I stared at her for a minute or two, unsure what to do. I decided I wasn’t going to find anyone else to help me. So, I would have to bite the bullet and pay the piper. So, I said, “OK, when can you start? And how long do you think it will take? And also, I’m not going to pay you until you complete the entire job. And I’m satisfied.”

“OK, I’ll start Monday. You must order a dumpster to put all the trash in.”

“What? I’m not getting rid of everything I own. I’m just getting rid of things that I don’t need anymore. On the first day, we will walk through the house and make a list of all the things that have to go and those that won’t. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I understand. I’ll be here first thing Monday morning at 9 AM sharp.”

And with that, she went out the front door and slammed it shut. The whole house shook. I hope I wasn’t making the worse mistake of my life.

I guess I have to give her credit. She did arrive at 9 AM sharp on Monday morning. She banged on the front door as hard as she could. I opened the front door, and I said, “Oh, for heaven’s safe, you don’t have to bang on the door so hard. The whole house shook. By the way, I realized after you left that I didn’t get your personal information and references before you left the other day.”

“ My name is Thelma Rice; I’ll give you the names of a couple of people I have worked for recently and their phone numbers. I see you got a small dumpster, and you’ll probably have to have it emptied a couple of times. It would have been cheaper to get one big one, but that’s on you, not my problemo. Where do you want me to get started?”

“Let’s get started with the cellar. I’ll go down with you and tell you what has to go and what I want to keep. I got a new light in the stairway and in the basement. I feared you would break your neck going up and down the steps in the dark.”

“ Oh wow, how thoughtful of you to put a light bulb in the stairway for me.”

She looked at me with such disdain, I had to look away. I felt like we started off on the wrong foot. But my intuition told me there was no right to this woman. “OK, why don’t we go down and start making a list of what has to go and what will stay.”

“Yeah, let’s. I’ve really been looking forward to it all weekend.”

I didn’t realize she was being sarcastic immediately until I looked at her face. “OK, let’s go. I’ll lead the way.”

We made it safely down the steps. I rarely went into the basement except to put the wash in and take it out. It really was a pit down here. But what can I say? Basements are not supposed to be a place where you spend a lot of time after all. We walked from the front of the basement to the back, and I wrote down a list of what absolutely had to stay and what was going in the dumpster. I guess I didn’t realize how much crap I had saved over the years until now. I even found an old washboard that was my grandmother’s. It might be something of value just because it was an antique. But I put it on a list of the stuff that had to go.

About four hours later, I said, Thelma, that looks about it for the basement. Let’s head upstairs. I made some fresh coffee and bought a couple of Danish for us to eat for a snack. What do you say?”

“ I say, it’s about time. I”m starved. I didn’t have anything to eat this morning. And a cup of strong coffee would really hit the spot. Let’s head up.”

I looked at her, and I thought that was about the nicest thing she’s said to me since I first met her. “Sure, let’s go and take a little break. It will do us both good. I have to admit the basement is really a pit.”

“So, we made our way up the stairs. And I said, “So, how do you like your coffee?”

“Black, two sugars, and hot.”

“Really, Thelma? That’s the way I like it too.”

For the next five minutes, we ate and drank the coffee in silence. And then Thelma said out of the blue,” This reminds me so much of Sunday morning after my parents and I came home from church and ate breakfast. Except, we always had bacon and eggs and toast and hot coffee. But this was really nice.”

“My family used to do the same thing. Sunday was always my favorite day of the week. It was the only day I saw my day. He worked all the time. We had a big family, and he rarely took a day off. My mother would make a cake on Saturday morning, and we used to eat it after Sunday breakfast if we still had room in our stomachs. She made the best cake in the world. My favorite was vanilla cake with chocolate icing. It was delicious. I wasn’t allowed to drink coffee, so I drank tea or hot chocolate.”

“Well, that’s something we have in common. I still miss my mom and dad. However, they have been gone for many years. I would give anything to see them one more time. A tear ran down Thelma’s face as I said this. And my tears followed soon after. It was ridiculous for two middle-aged women t cry over the loss of their parents so many, many years ago. After a few minutes, we stopped crying, and I offered Thelma another cup of coffee, but she said, “Better not, or I’ll have to use the lady’s room sooner rather than later. I’ll have one later if that is alright?”
For the rest of the afternoon, we carried stuff out of the cellar and went up and down the steps and brought boxes and boxes of stuff I didn’t even remember having out to the dumpster. I kept asking myself, “Why, oh why did I keep all this stuff for so long?”

When it was time for me to leave, Thelma said, Thank you for all of your help. And then she stopped talking and said, “I’m sorry, but I forgot your name. What is it?”

“Well, you’re probably not going to believe this, but my name is Louise. So, together that makes us the team of Thelma and Louise. And I believe we do make a good team. We work quietly but efficiently. We got a lot done. And we shared a pleasant meal together. You probably won’t believe this, but I don’t really get along with many people. I guess I tend to pre-judge people, or maybe I’m just a big grouch. My family always told me I was a grouch, so maybe I am.”

“Well, Thelma, I think we get along fine. It was somewhat of a rough beginning. But now we are really rolling forward and getting a lot done with no difficulty. So, I’ll be here first thing tomorrow. Maybe you should call the company that brought the dumpster over and ask them to pick it up and bring an empty one over.”

“Good idea, I forgot all about that. Thanks for reminding me. I do really feel like we got a lot accomplished. I feel good about it. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. How about if I stop by the donut shop on the way and pick up some treats? I have to admit I really have a sweet tooth. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow, Louise.”

The next morning I woke up with a start and realized I had forgotten to turn on my alarm clock. It was eight o’clock. I would have to skip my shower and throw on my clothes and stop at the donut shop on the way. I bought hot coffee for two and four donuts. I wouldn’t ordinarily eat so much junk, but I felt justified because we were doing all the heavy lifting and running up and down the steps”

As I walked up to the front door, Thelma said, “Oh, it’s so nice to see you again. I didn’t realize how lonely I get here at home by myself until you started coming here. Well, today, we’ll be working in the attic. It is hot up there, so I opened all the windows and turned the big fan on. So, at least we get some fresh air. I also stopped at the food store and picked up boxes to put all the stuff in rather than climbing up and down the steps so much.”
We spent the next four hours going up and down the steps carrying boxes. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any hidden treasures or anything valuable. One unusual find was a speaker from a drive-in theater. Thelma explained that when she was a kid, her family used to go to the drive-in theater. And once, her father forgot to take the speaker off the car window and drove off with it. And he never took it back, and he put it up in the attic. It was a somewhat valuable object for her because it was probably the last time her family went to the drive-in and saw an outdoor movie. And it had always been a good experience for her. And reminded her of her father, who she still missed after all those long years ago.

The good thing in life is that memories can stay with us for our entire lives, and they do not take up space, and there’s always more room for more memories. Thelma hoped that after Louise was finished helping her clean out the clutter, she and she could become friends and make some new memories. And much to her surprise as Louise said, “ I hope I am not over-stepping, but I was wondering if you would like to go out on Saturday to breakfast with me. And perhaps go to a local Farmer’s Market to pick up some fresh veggies and fruit and then later go to lunch together?”

“Really, I would love that. I haven’t been out to eat for years. And going to the farmer’s market would be such a treat. I haven’t done that in years. Do you want to pick me up, or do you want to give me your address, and I’ll come get you?”

“Well, how about I pick you up this time, and next time you can be the driver. I know we are going to have a great time. And the weather is supposed to be beautiful. How about at 9:00 Saturday morning and bring some shopping bags for the fruits and veggies. They both smiled at each other and said, “See you then,” at the same time. Then they laughed again. They gave each other a big hug. Who would have thought that two such different people would become friends? But the fact is life gives you many opportunities to find happiness and friends. You have to be ready to grab it while you can.

 

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KNOCK THREE TIMES

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Someone must have seen and recognized him because the police and what looked like Homeland Security were at his front door. His first impulse was to run out the back door. And run as fast and as far as he could. But, it occurs to him that they probably have people surrounding the house.

As he walks toward the front door, he glances in the mirror next to the steps and glares at his reflected image. He sees a reflection of himself that looks like an old man with white hair and a white mustache, and white stubble on his face. The lines on his face look deep and ancient, as if they had adorned his face for a long, long time. He hoped that his present appearance would throw them off. He had a reputation for being the best man for this particular job of concealing his identity. 

The men at the door began to bang harder and louder. Then he hears someone shout. “Open the door. We know you’re in there. You have thirty seconds to comply, or we will knock on your door. Take your pick.”

He walks ever so slowly to the front door and then begins coughing as hard as possible. He says, “I’m coming as fast as I can.” He grasps the door knob and unlocks the door, and pulls the door open. He sees before him what looks as if two men are standing there, glaring at him and brandishing weapons. They look like they meant business. And they weren’t going to put up with a whole lot of bologna. He puts an expression of absolute terror on his face. And put his right hand over his heart as if he would die of a heart attack at any moment.

The man at the front door was armed and looked dangerous as hell. The man said as loudly as he could?“Drop your weapons down, and put your hands over your head. Your under arrest.”

“Who are you looking for? I just moved into this home a few weeks ago. The young man I rented this home from moved to Puerto Rico temporarily. He said he wouldn’t be returning for another eight months or so.”

“ Show us your ID right now, and don’t try anything funny.”

“ Try anything funny? Is this some kind of joke? I’m eighty years old. What am I going to do? Run away? I need a nap after I shower and put my work clothes on. I can barely walk. Just who do you think I am anyway? I’ll get my ID. Just wait a minute. I’ll be right back. It’s on the kitchen table. I left it there last night because of a doctor’s appointment this morning. You must be at the wrong address or something. This is insane. Maybe I need to contact my lawyer. Oh, no, he’s not a criminal lawyer. He handles my investments. I think I’ll call him anyway to get the name of a criminal lawyer.”

“Buddy, you ain’t going anywhere except to prison. Stick your hands out in front of you. We need to cuff you. You can call your tax attorney or whoever you want to once you have been morandized and are in our official care. Now, stick your hands out right now.”

At that moment, the old man steps forward, and in the blink of an eye, he kicks both police in the cojones. And left them breathless in a heap on the front step. He pulls a weapon out of his pocket and shoots them both without a second thought. They were still alive, but probably not for long. He wacks them on their heads. They wouldn’t be getting up any time soon, but just in case, he shoots them both at close range a bullet to the head.

He needs to get his shit together and get the hell out of Dodge before the neighbors start calling in the Marines on him. He quickly runs upstairs and throws on his clothes. Gets his weapons and his getaway bag which includes money and various fake IDs. He had been through this many times. So, he knew what he was doing.

Two minutes later, he drags their lifeless bodies into the living room and shoves them into the hall closet. Five minutes later, he’s backing his getaway car out of his garage. None of his neighbors had ever seen the car because he kept it hidden for such an occasion.

He spends the next forty-five minutes driving in the bumper-to-bumper traffic to the Philadelphia airport. He decides to go to the Philadelphia International Airport and get on the next available flight to Toronto, Canada. And then travel on to Argentina. He’s fluent in Spanish, so he wouldn’t have any problem communicating. He also had several international contacts that would be more than happy to assist him in his escape from justice.

Fourteen hours later, he arrives in Argentina, where he plans to meet with business contacts he had established many years ago. During his long flight, he grows restless and stands up and walks up and down the aisle. He notices someone at the front of the plane in First Class. He opens the door to use the bathroom, and while he is making use of the facility, he realizes who his fellow passenger is in First Class. So, now he went from being up in Deep Shit to an even worse Shit’s Creek.

He decides he needs to shift gears and ensure the passager doesn’t recognize him. However, he was still in Old Man mode. He decides to change his look altogether. It was a good thing he brought and hid all his other fake ID’s with him. Because it was not out of the realm of possibility that the man would recognize him, so, he had two choices go into the deep cover or get rid of this guy altogether and make it look like an accident.

He decides that it would be better not to call any further attention to himself. In addition, he didn’t doubt for a minute that the Stewardess’ would notice if suddenly there was a new and unfamiliar passenger sitting in his seat. He decides to ask for a blanket and a pillow and pretend to take a long nap. And perhaps the man would not recognize him with his eyes closed and under a blanket. Just in case he planned on being ready for whatever came his way. Be it friend or foe.

Several hours later, he was suddenly awakened by a loud noise like a gun being fired in a closed space, and then there was a noise and alarms going off inside the plane. He is immediately on high alert. He looks around in every direction. He still doesn’t have any clue as to what is happening. Then, he hears a second shot. It seems to be coming from the cockpit. In a flash, he understands that the plane is being highjacked. He chuckles to himself. And says, “ I guess I’m not the only bad guy. And then he has a flash of insight. I know exactly what I should do, he says aloud.

Everyone else has their heads down as low as they can go. Some of the people are squatting in the space where they usually put their feet. And somehow, they have compressed themselves to save their own lives. He thinks, what a pathetic bunch of losers. He has always hated common people, who barely scraped by in their pathetic, pointless lives. If he could, he would kill every one of them. And at that moment, he realizes what he should do to escape this predicament.

He was sitting in the first-class area. And he was the first one to be escorted. In fact, he had one of the airport employees push him in a wheelchair to the gangway before any of the passengers were allowed on. No one ever expected a decrepit old man to be a threat to anyone. So, he was alone in first class, and while he was there, he had placed a small, disassembled but deadly handgun taped to the toilet in first class. He starts moaning and groaning until someone comes to assist him. He begs to be allowed to go to the toilet. “Please, please, I need to go right now. I think I left my medication in there when I first arrived. I am having cardiac symptoms. I’ll die without it. Please.”
“Alright, sir. But you are doing this at your own risk. There is a problem in the cockpit, be aware and get back to your seat as soon as possible.”

So, he gets out of his seat and hunches over, and ever so slowly makes his way to the first-class toilet. He quietly opens the door and makes his way inside. He retrieves the parts of the gun and quickly reassembles it. He slowly and silently opens the bathroom door. He hears loud voices from the cockpit, and then a shot rings out. He waits. He looks down the aisle to see how many people are missing from their seats. There are two missing.

He waits. The door from the cockpit swings open, and two armed men come out with the crew and shove them down to the floor. They look a little worse for wear. It appears as if the captain didn’t give in immediately, and his face suffered the consequences as he is sporting a black eye and a broken nose. And one of his front teeth is missing.

He wonders whose flying the plane. He considers his next step one. He starts moaning and groaning. And then yells out, “Help, help. I’m having a heart attack. He keeps moaning. One of the highjackers tells him to “shut the hell up, or I’ll put you out of your misery for the rest of your miserable life.”

He moans loudly again and stumbles down the aisle to where the highjackers are situated. One of them comes at him with murder in his eyes. “what the hell do you think you are doing, old man? Get back in your seat.”

I need help. I can’t get up. So, the highjacker grabs ahold of his shoulder, and as that is happening, our hero of the day shoves his little gun onto the neck of the highjacker and silently blows his head off. In fact, it was so quiet that no one even looked in their direction. He heads to the cockpit again. He stands as close to the door as possible and taps on it repeatedly, and whispers at the top of his voice,” I need help; the passengers are out of control. One of them has a gun and killed someone.”

The next thing he knew, the door flew open, and He said, “Help me, help me. I’ve been shot. The highjacker said, “Get back to your seat, or you won’t live to see another day.” And that is when He silently raised his pistol and shot him right in the temple above his left eye. And the highjacker fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

The day was saved, and all the passengers stood up and clapped their hands. Clearly, they didn’t know what was going on other than the highjackers were done for. They didn’t know who this old man was, and they didn’t care. The pilot headed back on course and headed toward the nearest airport. He returned to his seat like nothing happened and waited for the plane to land. Twenty minutes later, they landed, and after about half an hour, all the passengers filed out one by one. No one even questioned the Old Man, and he silently and, as he left the plane, shoved the disassembled gun into the nearest seat in the pocket of the seat in front of it.

Just another day in the life of an unassuming old man nobody noticed or cared about. He had work to do today, and he was anxious to finish it so he could go back home and live his life, dull though it was. Life goes on, after all.

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MOTHERHOOD IS BOTH THE GREATEST THING AND THE HARDEST THING

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Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a child was born. Her parents had hoped and dreamed for a child. But, as the years went by, they began to lose hope. And then, out of the blue, after many years of trying to have a child, their prayers were answered.

The mother, whose name was Sandra, woke up one morning feeling sick to her stomach. Nausea continued for many weeks. She finally decided she should go to the doctor and find out what was wrong with her. It did not occur to her that she might be pregnant. Since she had given up, all hope long ago. She felt weak and tired, and depressed. The nurse took her temperature, weighed her, and asked if she had any other symptoms.

Sandra said,” Not really. I don’t know what is wrong with me. Can you help me, please?”

“Well, there is one more test I can do, and we will be able to get the results soon after. Please go into the ladies’ room and urinate on this stick and then bring it right back to me.

Sandra did as she was told and returned to the exam room with the stick in hand. The nurse walked in and took the stick, and said,” I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please sit down and take deep breaths and try to calm down. I think you will be feeling much better soon. “

Sandra laid back on the exam table and quickly fell into a deep sleep. She was so exhausted from not sleeping well for weeks. The nurse poked her head in the door and saw Sandra sleeping. She decided to let her sleep since the doctor was on his lunch break and wouldn’t be back for an hour.

About forty-five minutes passed by, and the nurse decided to check on Sandra and make sure all was well. She brought the test results into the exam room where Sandra was quietly sleeping and said, “Sandra, wake up Sandra, I have very good news for you.”

“ Sandra slowly opened her eyes. She didn’t remember where she was right away. She looked around and remembered she was at the doctor’s office. “You do. Am I going to be alright?”
“Yes, Sandra, you are going to be more than alright. In fact, I have great news you are going to have a baby. You are six weeks along. What do you think about that?”

Sandra was so shocked by what the nurse said that she responded,” Is this some sick joke or something? It’s not funny.”

“No, of course not. You are going to be a mother in about seven and a half months.”

Sandra was so happy that she started crying tears of happiness. The nurse came over and said, alright, try to calm down. I have some prescriptions for neonatal vitamins. Please try to take care of yourself and eat healthy foods, but don’t overeat. And you don’t want to gain too much weight. The doctor will be in to see you in a few minutes to talk to you. Then you will need to make an appointment to come back in six weeks. We want a healthy mom and baby.

After the nurse walked out of the room, Sandra couldn’t stop smiling. She had so longed for this day to happen and had all but given up on her long-awaited dream of becoming a mother. She had always loved children. She started babysitting when she was ten, and as an adult, she worked in schools as a teacher’s aide. Her face was starting to hurt from the broad smile on her face. Just then, the doctor came into her room and said, “It seems like congratulations are in order, Sandra. This must be a happy day for you.”

“Yes, yes, it is. I can hardly believe it. I can’t wait until this baby arrives. It seems like I have been waiting for a long, long time for this to happen.”

“Sandra, I want you to follow the letter and the diet the nurse gave you and take those prenatal vitamins every day. We want both you and the baby to thrive. I’ll see you in six weeks if you have any problems before then, please call the office immediately. I look forward to seeing you soon. Please take care.”

Over the next six weeks, Sandra found that her appetite increased quickly. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night, and her stomach was growling. When she returned to the doctor for her six-week check-up, she was astounded to find she had gained twelve pounds. The doctor was not pleased.

“Sandra, how are you feeling? Have you been experiencing nausea, vomiting, or any other symptoms you might want to share with me or concerns you may have?”

“Well, my stomach growls all day and night. It is really uncomfortable. I am always starving. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and eat something. I can’t help it. The hunger wakes me up.”

“Have you tried drinking water before you go to bed”

“Yes, but then I must go to the bathroom all night. I promise I’ll do better and try and keep my weight down. I’ll see you in six weeks, doctor.”

The time flew by, and before she knew it was only two weeks before Sandra’s due date. It was difficult to sleep at night since her baby seemed so restless and tossed and turned all night while Sandra was trying to get sleep. And the baby didn’t calm down during the day; she could feel her baby pushing his legs against her ribs.

Sandra couldn’t wait for her baby to be born, and before she knew it, the nine months had slipped by. And one day, her contractions started, and Sandra called her husband at work and told him it was time. After they arrived at the hospital, Sandra was taken into the delivery room. There was a television on in the room, and the doctor watched the show up until she was ready to give birth.

The baby arrived, and Sandra was handed her baby to hold for a few minutes. Until she was taken to the neonatal room. After the obstetrician spoke to her husband for a while, he said he would return later to check on her. And Sandra tried to get some sleep but was suffering from afterpains from her uterus contractions.

A couple of hours later, a nurse came into the recovery room and said we are moving you into your room now. So you can spend some time nursing your baby and holding her. Right now, she is making so much noise that she is disturbing all the other babies. Then a second nurse came in holding Sandra’s newborn, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Her face was red as a beet. Sandra looked at the baby and then at the nurse and said, “Oh my,  she is really making a ruckus. Let me see if I can calm her down.

So, Sandra took her tiny, red-faced newborn baby and nursed her until she quieted down. As it turned out that nursing her baby was the only thing that quieted her down. Sandra decided to stay overnight at the hospital and leave first thing the next morning.

Sandra realized that having a baby was a gift, but it also was a somewhat overwhelming experience. And Sandra’s little girl was indeed challenging from day one forward.  Sandra never regretted her choice and took one day at a time. Each day was indeed a gift, but it was also a lifelong challenge.

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YOU WERE NEVER PROMISED PARADISE

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I had moved out of my parent’s house the Summer I turned eighteen and graduated from high school. I had planned my exit for years since I was a Junior in High School. My parents had a volatile relationship. By that, I mean they argued night and day. And often, the verbal arguments turned physical. I can not begin to count the number of times that I came downstairs to our kitchen and found my mother sitting at the kitchen table with an icepack on her face.

My mother would look at me with a weird grin on her face. I never understood what she was smiling about. When I was younger, I would run over to her and say,” Mommy, are you alright? What happened? Did you fall down again?” She always told me she tripped and fell and hit her head. I couldn’t understand why she fell down so often. Then I would hug her and say, “Mommy, please be careful and try not to fall down.”

Of course, as I grew older, I realized that all the yelling and screaming every night was followed by my father hitting or punching my mother. And in the morning, the trashcan in the kitchen would be filled to the brim with empty beer bottles. At first, I thought it was just my dad drinking a lot of beer. But at some point, I think about the time I was going to Middle School, I realized that they were both drinking beer or wine every night. And that is when they would start arguing. And the arguing evolved into knock-down, drag-down brawls in the kitchen or sometimes in their bedroom. I didn’t know anything else. I thought everyone’s parents had verbal and physical fights every night.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I was invited to a birthday party that was also a sleepover at my best friend Kathleen’s house. Six other girls from our class were invited. We had so much fun playing games. And watching a scary movie and eating junk food until we felt sick, screaming and hitting each other. But they never did. In fact, Kathleen’s mother brought tray after tray of food and sodas and, finally, the birthday cake for all of us to eat. And she smiled and hugged us and said, “Thank you, girls, for coming to Kathleen’s birthday party, and thank you for all the wonderful presents.

I didn’t have any money to buy Kathleen a present, so I made her a present. It was a drawing of her and me playing at the park, swinging on the swings, and going down the slide. When we were little. Kathleen gave me a big smile when she opened it. And said, I love it, Coleen. I will treasure it always.”

All the other kids had brought games and toys for her. But my father yelled at me when I asked him for a couple of dollars to buy my best friend a birthday present. He said,” What do you think that we are made of money?”

Around ten o’clock, Kathleen’s mom said, “ok, girls, it’s time for everyone to go to sleep. If anyone has to go to the bathroom, now is the time to do it. We were all sleeping on the living room floor in sleeping bags that Kathleen’s mother had laid out. We didn’t go to sleep right away. We whispered to each other and laughed. I kept waiting for Kathleen’s mother or father to come into the living room, yell at us, and tell us to shut up, but she never did. After a while, we all quieted down and stopped talking. But I laid awake for a long- long time waiting for the yelling and screaming and fighting to begin, but it never did. It was so quiet I had a hard time falling asleep since I was used to yelling, screaming all night long. Finally, I fell asleep, and for the first time in my life, I slept all through the night without being afraid or crying.

In the morning, Kathleen’s mother crept into the living room and said, “OK, sleepyheads, time to come into the kitchen for a special breakfast. We all slowly woke up and stumbled into the kitchen. Kathleen’s mother had made special pancakes with smiling faces on them and magic candles in the middle that looked like they were burning, but no matter how many times we tried to blow the candles out, they wouldn’t blow out. The pancakes had blueberries in them, which were my favorite fruit, and I gulped them down. And Kathleen’s mother said, Coleen, there’s more where that came from, so take your time. And she smiled at me and patted me on the head. I ducked because I thought she was going to hit me. But she didn’t. She just gave me another blueberry pancake.

After breakfast, Kathleen’s mother said, “ I have a surprise for you. We will all go to the roller rink and roller skating. Don’t worry about having skates because. We will rent them when we arrive. We’re going to leave in about a half hour, so everyone go and brush your teeth and comb your hair, wash your faces and get dressed. And then we’ll be on our way.”

Everyone started yelling and saying, “Hurrah.” I had never been skating and didn’t know how to skate. I went over to Kathleen’s mom and said, “I don’t know how to skate.” She said, “Well, don’t you worry about that. I’ll show you how and we’ll start out slow until you get the hang of it. And I’ll hold your hand until you feel like you can do it on your own, OK.” I nodded my head, and she said now go get dressed so we can all be on our way and have a lot of fun. And you know what else? I’m going to tell you a secret. I was afraid of what she was going to say. But, she said, “We are going to skate until lunchtime, and then we are going to have a pizza party at the roller rink and have an ice cream cake after. How do you like that?”

“I like that, and I love pizza. My father doesn’t like it, and he never lets my mother buy it. I can’t wait. Kathleen’s mother gave me a hug and said, Coleen, you are welcome to come to our house every time we have pizza. I know that Kathleen would love to have you come over since you are her best friend.”

“I’m her best friend, really?”

“Of course, Coleen. You’re her best friend. Now, let’s get ready to go. Shall we?”

And then I ran into the bathroom, washed my face and hands, and brushed my teeth extra long. Then I looked into their bathroom mirror and saw a smiling face looking back at me. And I was surprised when I realized it was my own face smiling at me. And then I ran into the living room and said, “Well, I’m ready.” And everybody laughed because I hadn’t changed out of my pajamas yet. So, I ran back into the bathroom and put my clothes on, and the next thing I knew, we were all pilling into the van and on our way to the roller rink.

It was the best day of my life. I know it was Kathleen’s birthday, but it felt like a gift to me. Roller skate with my friends, eat pizza, and drink sodas and then ice cream. I ate so much that I almost threw up after lunch when I started roller skating. Kathleen’s mom said, “Maybe we should wait a little while before we roller skate. So, our food will get digested. So, we all sang Happy Birthday to Kathleen and gave her a pinch to grow an inch.

At the end of the day, we were full of food, and our legs were tired from roller skating, but it was the best day of my life. And I knew I would never forget it. After we left the roller rink, Kathleen’s mother said she had to call my mother to make sure she was home. So, after a few moments, she came back to the van and said, “Coleen, your Mom had a little accident, but she is going to be OK in a few days, but until then, you will be staying at my house.”

“Is my mother going to be alright?” Yes, she will be fine in a few days, but your dad is not going to be home for a while. So, that’s why you are staying with us until your Mom is all better. Later today, I will go over to your house and get some of your clothes, school stuff, and anything else you need, you can tell me, and I’ll get that too.”

I knew my father had probably hit my mom, and I wished he would never come back. I loved my dad, but he was always mean to my mother and hurt her. Kathleen’s mom said, “After I see your mom, I’ll tell her you will be safe and sound at our house until she feels all better. And that she doesn’t have to worry about you.”

“Can I go see my mom at the hospital?”

“Of course, you can, but maybe tomorrow would be a better day after she rests for a while. But, if she is up to it, I’ll ask her to give you a call from the hospital. “

“Really, OK. Please tell my mom that I love her.”

“Oh, I know your mother loves you right back with all her heart. Everything is going to be alright.”

And everything was OK. I stayed at Kathleen’s house for two weeks until my mother left the hospital. I never saw my dad again because after he got out of jail, my parents got a divorce. I still missed my dad; even after all he did, I still loved him. But, after a while, my mom and I were alright. I don’t know if my father ever talked to my mother. If he did, she never told me.

Kathleen and I stayed friends all the way through high school. And we both applied to the same college and were accepted. We were roommates for four years. And when we graduated at the top of our class. Kathleen’s mother and my mom came together to watch us. They had become friends over the years. Sometimes, I think about my dad and miss him. But, I had to accept that everything in life doesn’t always have a happy ending for everyone.

 

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A RUN OF BAD LUCK AND A GREAT FUTURE

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I heard my alarm clock go off and blindly reached across my pillow to turn off the alarm. There is no more annoying noise than an alarm clock. I suppose that is its sole purpose in life, making a horrible noise that people can not sleep through.

As I lay there after I slammed my fist down on the alarm clock, I tried to think of a single reason why I should get up and shower and get dressed. And then I looked over at my desk and saw a stack of bills that could pass for the Leaning Tower of Pizza. I had recently been laid off from my job. Apparently, the company I had been working for was having its own run of bad luck. Since I found out the day I was called into my boss’s office and informed that, unfortunately, I was being laid off. Because the company was going bankrupt, apparently, the vice president had been slowly bleeding the company dry in the past year. And no one caught on until it was too late. Since, apparently, he had been cooking the books. Can you believe it?

Business towers

I slowly lowered my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. My head was spinning like a top. That’s when I noticed the empty bottle of Macallan Lalique whiskey, a bottle my father had left me in his will. It was probably the most expensive hangover I ever had. And at that moment, I realized that I had to get to the toilet now, not in a minute, this moment. Unfortunately, I didn’t get there fast enough. I felt tears run down my cheeks as I looked at my newly installed carpet, which would no doubt retain the smell of that Macallan Lalique whiskey until the end of my days. I  rose from the putrid puddle and slowly made my way into the bathroom and ran the cold water, and put a cold washcloth on my face. It was going to be a long day.

Just then, the phone rang, and I thought my head was going to explode. There was no way I was going to answer the phone, and it rang and rang until I thought I would lose my mind. And finally, the answering machine picked up. I heard my ex-wife’s strident and shrill voice speaking. Apparently, she was extremely annoyed that my last alimony check hadn’t arrived yet. God, would it ever stop?

Well, she was going to become even more annoyed when I told her I didn’t know when I’ll be able to send any more alimony checks since my cupboards were bare, as well as all my bank accounts. I was dead broke. And so far, I didn’t see any end to it until I was able to get a new job and start paying all my bills. And that she was at the bottom of my priority list. She could sue me, but it would be a waste of time and effort since I was renting my apartment and selling all my furniture and belongings that had any value at all. Not to mention that I also had to sell my wedding band and the gold watch I was given when I got my last promotion before my company went under.

I had already explained to her several months ago that I wasn’t holding out on her and that I was at the end of my string. Honestly, sometimes I felt like pulling my hair out. But that would be an impossible task since I had very little hair left on my head. In the last year, I aged tremendously, and I looked ten years older than I did before my wife asked for a divorce.

The only reason I have been holding on to my sanity at all is because of my children. They mean the world to me. And I make every effort not to miss any days that I am able to see them. In fact, I have spent more time with them since the divorce than when I was married to their mother.

When I was a kid, I was really into playing basketball. But, once I got married and was working long hours at a high-pressure job, I rarely spent any time with my boys. I worked late every night and had to go on business trips that took me away for weeks at a time. I missed so much of their childhood. So, after the divorce, I made it a priority to spend as much time with my kids as possible. I feel like I’m really starting to know them. Before the divorce, I barely knew them. And now I feel like I’m not just their dad. We have become friends.

I really had no clue what I should do next. I had sent out so many resumes that I ran out of companies to send them to. I called everyone I knew from my past employment and let them know that I was available for a new position asap. I was about to give up, but I realized deep down that wasn’t an option. If I just had to worry about myself, it would be one thing. But I couldn’t give up because my kids depended upon me to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

The other day I took a public bus, and I overheard two people talking who were sitting directly behind me. And the older guy was talking to a much younger man and telling him that he should consider applying for unemployment and food stamps. Because if he had worked and contributed when he was working that now that he needed this help, he should apply for it.

As I sat there contemplating the older man’s advice, I realized he might as well be talking to me since I was in the same predicament. It’s not that I didn’t know it existed. It was just that I never thought I would find myself in a place where I would need financial assistance from the government. I guess I was embarrassed to admit it. But, at that moment, I realized that I did need that help. And it occurred to me that I should also apply for a job through the unemployment office.

And that is just what I did the very next day. First, I applied for unemployment benefits, and then I went to the unemployment office and applied for a job. When I spoke to one of the employees there, I explained my situation. And I applied for a job at every business that might have an opening in my field. And now I was desperate, and I was willing to take any job to pay my bills and help pay my child support. I was asked to fill out a myriad of forms explaining my experience, previous workplaces, and what my income had been during my most recent employment.

The man who interviewed me told me that I had no reason to feel embarrassed because I had lost my job. Many people have found themselves in this position at some point in their working life. I filled out all the forms, and I told him I needed work right now. And he showed me several jobs that needed help right now. He also told me that the pay rate was lower than in my previous jobs. But I could start working by the end of the week if I was willing. I said, “yes, I’m more than willing. And he picked up the phone and called, and then he said to me, “well, here is a job that you can start today. But be aware this is not a corporate job. This is a small business owner that is looking for a partner. It is a small restaurant. Have you ever worked in a restaurant?”

“Well, I put myself through college working in a small restaurant on campus. And, of course, my experience in the corporate world gives me the experience of how to grow a business. I have many contacts with companies that might be interested in using the restaurant’s services for corporate meetings. What do you think?”

“That sounds like a good fit or a least a beginning for you with an opportunity for you to move up if and when this restaurant owner wants to enlarge his restaurant or add more locations. Here is the address. You have an appointment tomorrow morning at ten thirty. Make sure you arrive on time. It never looks good if you are late for an interview.”

The restaurant was only a twenty-minute bus ride from the Employment office. I was somewhat nervous about the interview. And then I realized that I had no reason to be. I had been talking and dealing with heads of major corporations for years. And keeping that in mind, I calmed down. About five minutes later, I got off the bus and looked up and down the street, I saw the restaurant was at the end of the block, and it looked larger than I thought it would.

I walked down to the restaurant, and I could see that it was more upscale than I thought it would be. This lightened my heart and put a spring in my step. I pulled open the door and approached the young woman at the front. “Hello, my name is Adam Carter. I have a job interview with the owner. Oh, yes, Mr. Argento has been looking forward to meeting you. I’ll let him know you are here. “

I only had to wait a few minutes, and then I saw a rather rotund man with jet-black hair coming from the kitchen area. He was wearing a white apron with what looked like sauce on it. “Bonjourno, Mr. Lombardi, I am so happy to meet you. Can you tell me a little about yourself and your background?”

“Well, I have a long history of working in large Corporations. But unfortunately, my most recent employer laid me off last year along with about one-half of the staff that had been working for him for years. Apparently, he had invested a great amount of money in the wrong investments, and he lost it all. As a result, all the higher-echelon employees who earned the highest salaries were let go. I was one of them. I have spent the last six months looking for a new position with no luck due to a downturn in the economy. Or at least that is what I believe happened. If you take a look at my resume, you will see that I have always excelled at whatever challenges I face. Unfortunately, the only restaurants I ever worked at were when I worked my way through college. And as it turned out, it was an Italian restaurant. Here is a copy of my resume.”

“Yes, I can see you have many years of experience behind you. And you have done quite well for yourself. It is so unfortunate that it came to an abrupt and unfortunate ending. I would like to hire you as I can tell you are a hard-working, intelligent, and experienced man. However, I am unable to pay you the salary you have earned in the past. But, what I can offer you is an opportunity for a steady income and an opportunity to become a partner in my restaurant, which I intend to open a chain of restaurants across the North East. Here is an explanation of your pay, benefits, and a plan for expansion of this restaurant and where I plan on expanding. And what your responsibilities will be and your future with my company. Be aware that it will take time and hard work. What do you say?”

“I say thank you for offering me this opportunity, and I accept. I promise I will not let you down. And I believe we can build a strong and durable partnership. And over time, we can look forward to a bright and successful future. When do you want me to start?”

“Well, how about tomorrow at 7 AM? That is when I go to the market and purchase vegetables, fruits, meat, etc.”

“Well, I have to admit that will be a challenge. I have a lot to learn. And I will be here first thing tomorrow morning at 7 AM. I thank you so much for this opportunity. They shook hands. And the owner of the restaurant said, “Bye the way, please feel free to call me Carmen, And may I can you Toni.”

A family is eating dinner at the Pizza Parlor—part of the Utah RedRockaLypse4 North.

“Of course, I look forward to tomorrow and all the days that follow it. I’ll be here tomorrow bright and early. Ci vediamo domani come prima cosa.” (See you tomorrow first thing).

 

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SOMETHING TO DO,SOMETHING TO LOVE, SOMETHING TO HOPE FOR

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I have been looking forward to this day for over a month. I have been working for over six months straight with no day off. It’s true I had earned time and a half pay, but still, you can only work so much, and then your mind and body say, “that’s enough.”

My job at Pratt and Whitney required absolute attention to every detail. Our company has invested heavily to bring our company into the next century. Presently Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in designing, manufacturing, and servicing aircraft and helicopter engines and auxiliary power units. There is a high demand for our products. I am responsible for making sure our success continues. My job is a difficult and demanding one. I must admit I really need a break because of the constant pressure at my workplace. And finally, I see there is a light at the end of the tunnel since my department head has given me the go-ahead to take a week off with pay.

Now you may or may not be wondering what a person like myself does for fun. You probably think I spend my whole time solving complex mathematical problems that heretofore haven’t been solved by anyone. But no, nothing like that. But you must promise not to share my secret with anyone else. So, mum’s the word. My secret hobby, if you want to call it a hobby, I call my raison d’etre. Or, as some less extraordinary person might call it, their reason to live.

Do you think you can guess what it is??? I know you never will, so I will let you in on my secret pastime. On my day off, I go to all the thrift shops within thirty miles of where I live. And I search through all the coats, pants, and jacket pockets. I make sure that I try on all the coats and jackets that have designer names. And if I have the time, I go through the pockets of all the pants, jackets, and coats. You probably think that this is a complete waste of time. But, you would be wrong, so wrong.

Allow me to illustrate why checking all the pockets of high-end clothing is not a waste of time. The reason is that people who buy expensive clothing often stash money and jewelry in their pockets and often forget about them. And after wearing something for a while, these wealthy people decide it’s time to donate their old clothing and buy new. I know if you are anything like me, you can’t imagine being so self-indulgent and wasteful. Let me illustrate with examples all the money and jewelry, including silver and gold pieces that I have found in the pockets of clothing.

One day I was at a thrift store outside of Tampa on the main highway. I used to go to this shop at least once a month because many of the people that donated high-end clothing were employed as Management Executives and highly paid techies. They often replaced their wardrobes quite often because they interacted with many wealthy people during their work days. And they couldn’t afford to be seen wearing that same blue or black suit week after week, and that including women and men.

The week before a big corporate meeting, I decided to stop by one of my favorite haunts, a thrift Shop called It’s All Good. I found a three-piece woman’s suit with a vest to match. And I was lucky enough to find a white silk blouse, all for less than fifty dollars.

I tried it on in the changing room at the thrift store, and it fit like a dream. It looked like it was made for me. I decided to have it dry-cleaned. When I arrived home, I tried it on again. And I put my hand in the pocket of the vest, and I found a fifty-dollar bill. When I pulled it out of the pocket, I almost passed out. I never really ever had any good luck.

I took this as a good omen. My luck was changing for the better. So, I adopted a more optimistic point of view. I felt like the meeting was going to be a success, and more would follow. The corporate meeting was going to last three days at a nearby hotel. I decided I better find at least one more suit to wear and another blouse. I didn’t want anyone to think I only had one suit to my name. So, the Saturday before the corporate meeting, I stopped at the thrift shop. And I found they had acquired a new selection of woman’s high-end business wear. I was thrilled, to say the least. While I was there, I found a knee-length leather coat in my size that was to die for. I snatched it up and took it into the dressing room. And the suit and the leather jacket fit like a dream, like they were made for me.

When I arrived home, I took my bounty out of the bag and looked it over. I decided that first thing tomorrow morning, and I would take it all to be dried clean and get it freshened up. I decided to look through the pockets in the vest and the jacket, just in case. And  I found a leather wallet in the inside pocket of the vest that I hadn’t noticed before. And unbelievably, it had five one hundred dollar bills in there. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was my lucky day, and I had no doubt that I would have more good luck in the future.

That week I felt so buoyed up by my run of good luck, I felt like the Corporate meetings were going extremely well, and I felt highly motivated to keep on top of things and keep my good luck going in the right direction. And then, it occurred to me that I have had lots of luck in my career, but there has also been a lot of hard work. In other words, yes, I had a streak of good luck, but perhaps my strong work ethic and years and years of preparation are what was the cause of my good luck.

The last day that we were meeting, my boss came over to me and said, “Jeanette, I want to give you a little advance warning during the lunch meeting. You are going to be called up to the dais. Because of all your hard work and skill, you are getting promoted to vice president of the sales department. So, you need to be prepared to say a few words. Congratulations, you deserve every bit of your success. I know you are somewhat superstitious and believe in luck. But the truth is hard work and dedication are what has taken you to this point in your career. I have no doubt that you will have more success in the future.”

I was so flabbergasted by my boss’s kind words that I stood there momentarily like the cat got my tongue. I finally snapped out of it and said, “Thank you, Mr. Cooper. Your kind words mean more to me than I can say. I promise I will continue to give all the energy I have to our continued success.”

“ I have no doubt that you will do just that, Jeanette, none at all. Now take a deep breath and prepare for the great future that I do not doubt is waiting for you.”

My boss shook my hand, and I went back to my seat and took a deep breath. I felt a smile spread across my face, and I looked around the room at my fellow employees. I realized that it was the hard work and long days and nights that I devoted to my responsibilities, not good luck, not a new suit. It was me. And I felt that I would indeed have a great life and future ahead of me. And I would live one day at a time and plan for my future.

I knew I probably wouldn’t have to shop at thrift stores anymore, but I would most likely continue to do as I considered it yet another challenge to dress well without spending all my earnings on clothes.

As I sat there at my table, I reached into one of my jacket pockets to get a tissue, and low and behold. I felt a folded-up piece of paper. I looked at it closely, and it was handwritten, not apparently from the original owner of the suit that I was presently wearing. The writing was a beautiful handwritten script. It said, “to the new owner of this beautiful suit, my wish for you in your life is happiness, contentment, and appreciation of all the good things in life. Keep in mind that material things add to our happiness, but they do not ensure it. You should look for your happiness to come from being kind and generous to the people you come in contact with over the course of your life. Do not be blinded by the accouterments of life. Recognize what things bring you true happiness and contentment throughout your days. They are family, friends, good health, home, your pets, a good night’s sleep, a job that you enjoy, a clear conscience, and beautiful music.

I knew I couldn’t have said it more beautifully. That is truly what makes us happy and content in our lives. Yes, nice clothes and all the other things that we enjoy in life are nothing compared to our friends, our families, and the things that bring us joy and make us feel fulfilled.

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NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER

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As a child, I had a highly active imagination. Every day I would come home and regale my family at dinner time with stories about my daytime activities. I realize now that my family didn’t always believe my stories, but nonetheless, I continued. I have to admit that, at times, I may have exaggerated my stories. But, in fact, there was always some truth.

White rabbit with pink eyes

One night as we all sat down to eat our dinner, I said, “I saw a strange-looking lady walking down the street?”

One of my older sisters moaned and said, “oh no, here we go again, and they all rolled their eyes. I knew this meant that they weren’t going to believe a word I said. But I said, “it’s the truth. This afternoon I was sitting on the front step, and I saw a woman walking down our street. She had just gotten off the public bus on the corner of Main Street. And she walked in the direction of our house. I wanted to say “hello, so I walked down our front sidewalk and started playing hopscotch on the sidewalk closest to the street. When she was about to come near me, I looked at her and said, “hello.”

That is when I realized that she was kind of different looking. She had a young face, but her hair and eyebrows were completely white. And the strangest thing of all was that she had pink eyes, not blue, not brown or black. Her hair wasn’t blond like mine is. It’s white, like snow.”

“Oh, come on, Mom, you know that this is a completely made-up story. A young woman with white hair and eyebrows and PINK eyes.”

My mother said, stop making fun of your sister, she just has an active imagination. It’s not lying. She’s just telling a story.”

I got really mad at my sister because she was always telling everyone that I lied. But I don’t lie. I like to tell stories about what happens to me every day when I’m outside. And besides, the lady told me her name was Barbara. and that she at the end of our street in the house that has the apartments upstairs. And she works in a building in Philadelphia. I asked her what she did, and she told me that she types. And then she said, I better get home because I live with my mother, and she’s sick, and I have to cook her dinner. I asked her what she was making for dinner, and she said baked macaroni. I told her that was one of my favorite dinners. And she said she would save some for me and drop it off when she got home tomorrow.”

My other sister, said, “oh boy, that’s one of biggest whoppers she ever told. A young woman with white hair, white eyebrows, and pink eyes. Maybe she is part rabbit or something. My friend, Christine had a white rabbit with pink eyes.” And that is when everybody looked at me and started laughing. And that is when I decided I wasn’t going to tell anyone in my family my stories. And my mother said, “leave the child alone she just has a wild imagination, and that’s a good thing.” Everyone looked at me and that at my mother and laugher. My father said, “that enough.”

The next day I was sitting on my front step, waiting for my new friend to come down the street. And sure enough, a few minutes later, she just got off the bus. And she was carrying something in her hands. As she walked up towards me, she called out, “hello, I was hoping you would be here. I brought you a surprise. Remember I told you I would bring you some of the macaroni and cheese? Well, here it is, and it was really delicious. I hope you like it.”

“You did. Oh, thank you so much. I can’t wait to eat it. I told my family about you, and they said, that I made you up because I have a wild imagination. I told them how you had beautiful white hair and that you had pink eyes. But they didn’t believe me.”

“Oh, they didn’t well when you give them some of my macaroni and cheese. You tell them that said, hello and I hope they like my casserole. I will look forward to seeing you again if you are outside when I get off the bus. I was telling my mother last night that I had made a new friend. And she was happy for me, you know you can never have enough friends in life. Life would be empty if we didn’t have friends, wouldn’t it?” By the way, what is your name? I forgot to ask you?” And you can tell your family my name and tell them I have something called Albinism, and that is why my eyes look pink, and I have white hair.”


Just then, I heard my mother call my name. My name is Susan, but my daddy calls me Susie-Q. You can call me that. Because you’re my special friend.”

“Well, thank you, Susie-Q, that’s the nicest thing anyone ever said to me. And you‘re my special friend too. I hope you enjoy the macaroni. I’ll see you tomorrow. I look forward to it. Maybe you can ask your mother if you can walk me home sometime. I get lonely walking by myself.”

“Really, I would like that. I’ll ask my mom tonight at dinner. And that is exactly what I did, but my mother said, “well, maybe tomorrow I should wait outside with you so I can meet your new friend. Would that be alright?”

“Sure.” And that next afternoon, I was so excited about seeing my new friend that I went out there right after I got out of school at 3 o’clock. So, I had to wait a long time. Then I saw her getting off the bus, and I ran into the house to tell my mother. My mother said, “hold your horses, Susan. I’ll be right out.

And just as Barbara was out in front of our yard, my mother came up the sidewalk and said, “hello, I’m Susan’s mother. She has been so excited about me meeting you. Thank you for being so kind to my daughter, and the macaroni was delicious. I brought your dish back. And as a thank you, I filled it with my special Tuna Fish surprise casserole. I hope you like it.”

“Well, thank you. This has been a great week for surprises. I made a new friend. And now I don’t have to cook dinner tonight. Well, I better be on my way. My mother is probably looking out the front door for me. She’s alone all day, and she doesn’t get out very much.”

“Really well, she is welcome to come down and visit me anytime. Right now, I’m a stay-at-home mom. My husband sleeps all day because he works at night at the Callohill bus depot in Philadelphia. He is the head dispatcher.”

“Really, I walk right by that depot when I leave my job, and I take the bus home. That’s a coincidence. Maybe I’ll stop by and introduce myself one day. What’s his name? His name is Hugh, everybody knows him at the bus depot. And my name is Marie. And you already know our Susie-Q.”

“So, Susan, it was my lucky day when I met you. I made two friends.”

“Mom, can I walk Barbara to her house? I promise I’ll come straight back. I won’t be late for dinner.”

“Alright, Susan, but come right back, or you’ll be late for dinner, and you know that’s a no-no at our house. It was great meeting you, Barbara. I hope Susan doesn’t talk your ear off. She does love to tell her stories.”

“OK, mom, I’ll be right back after I walk Barbara to her house. I won’t be late.”

And that is how I met my new best friend. And every day after that, I would wait on my front step for Barbara to get off the bus on the corner, and then I would walk her home. Sometimes, she gave me some homemade cookies to take home to my mom and sisters. And one day, she asked my mother if it would be alright if I came to her house to have dinner with her and her Mom.

And a week later, I walked with Barbara to her house, and I had dinner with her mother and Barbara. And we had my favorite dinner, hot dogs and beans. And Barbara had made my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

It’s like my mother always said, “don’t pick a book by its cover. Or you’ll never know what treasure you will miss.

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LIFE ISN’T ALL IT IS CRACKED UP TO BE

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Life isn’t always easy, is it? At least, that has always been my experience. My troubles began when I was a little girl. I know that was a long, long time ago, but it still affects my everyday life. Let me explain, one day, and I was out on my front sidewalk. I was about seven years old at the time. I was playing hopscotch with my best friend, Jo Ann Mortimer.

Anyway, it was my turn, and I began by singing the part that says, “step on a crack, break your mother’s back.” And at just that point in the rhyme, I tripped and stepped on the crack and fell. I really got a big scape on both of my knees at the same time. And I started crying, and I guess I’ve always had a low threshold for pain. All the other kids started laughing and making fun of me, calling me a “crybaby.” I got even more upset because they were calling me names. So, I started crying even louder, and everyone started laughing at me. I got up from the sidewalk and ran home. I was only three doors down from my house. But I cried all the way home.

When I was out in front of my house, I saw my mother on the sidestep. And that is when I really started crying full blast. For some reason, whenever I got hurt playing outside, the sight of my mother took me to another level of hysteria. My mother looked up in alarm, and she started coming down the steps to intercept me, and she tripped and fell down the four remaining steps, and then she didn’t move.

I ran as fast as I could to get to my mother. But when I ran over to her, I realized she wasn’t moving at all. I called out,” Mom, Mom wake up, wake up.” She didn’t move or answer. I ran up the steps and flung open the kitchen door, and it made a loud bang as it hit the side of the railing that was on the top step. My father must have been sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast along with two of my older siblings. And he shouted,” Sally, what the hell have you done to your mother? She could have broken her neck or her back. Get out of the way.”

I stood there transfixed by my mother, who was still lying at the bottom of the steps on the sidewalk, and she was moaning and attempting to sit up. My father said, “Mary, Mary take it easy you took a fall. Move slowly. My mother then sat up, and she cried, “oh my back, my back, it really hurts.” A single tear slowly made its way down her cheek, followed by another and another. My father said Mary take your time. Let me help you get up. And then he helped her sit up and then slowly lifted her up to her feet. He said, “ OK, Mary, let’s get you in the house. Take it easy. There’s no rush.” And he slowly helped her through the kitchen door and lowered her to her chair at the kitchen table. I stood there silently, feeling such tremendous guilt and remorse. Because I knew it was all my fault because I had stepped on the crack, and now my mother’s back was broken. I cried and cried and cried.

My father said, “what the hell are you crying for?”

I said, “it was my fault because I was playing hopscotch, and I stepped on the crack, and now Mommy’s back is broken. And I renewed my crying and began wailing. My mother said, “Sally, it was not your fault I tripped and fell. Please stop crying. I’m going to be alright, “Henry, could you please go get me the heating pad and a couple of aspirin?”

“Of course. I hope she stops crying by the time I get back, and I can’t stand when she carries on like that.”

My mother said, “come here, Sally, give me a hug. Everything is fine. I’ll be right as rain in no time. Why don’t you go in and watch some cartoons? You’ll feel better in no time, and so willl I.”

And over a couple of weeks, my mother did start to feel better. My father even took her to the doctor to make sure she was alright. And my mom came into my room when she came home from the doctor. She told me that the doctor said it was just a bad bruise and a pulled muscle. And that she would be her old self in no time at all. I said, “Mom, I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t know that saying that rhyme could actually make you hurt your back. I promise I’ll never say it again.”

“Sally, please stop blaming yourself. It was just an accident, no more. Now go in and watch TV.”

I never brought up the subject of my mother falling down the steps again in front of my parents or my brothers and sisters. But I never for a minute forgot about it. And over the course of my childhood, I became more and more fearful. That if I said the wrong thing or did the wrong thing, I could hurt my mother or anyone I cared about. So, I knew I had to be extremely careful of all my words and actions. By the time I graduated from high school, I had transformed into a frightened and neurotic person, afraid of everything, and anything I did or said might hurt my family and my friends.

In my senior year in high school, I caught a cold, and my father told me I couldn’t stay home from school since it was my last year and to take tissues with me and take some cough medicine before I left to take the bus to school. I tried to be careful and not get too close to anyone or cough without covering my mouth. But, somehow, some way, a few days later, several girls that I went to school with were sneezing and coughing. They all knew what a germaphobe I was, and they called me a “typhoid Mary .” Because I was so afraid of everything, I mean absolutely everything, germs, steps, heights, enclosed spaces like elevators, storms, and spiders, and getting sick and dying suddenly. In other words a complete basket case. But, the worse fear I developed was social anxiety. I developed a belief that people thought I was crazy because of all my phobias and didn’t want to be around me. Of course, there was some truth in that since I was acting out of control and frightened of my own shadow at times.

On graduation day from high school, I was a complete and utter basket case. I was afraid of wearing the cap and gown that my school required. I only felt safe in my own clothes and my school uniform. The mother superior of my high school knew all about my phobias since the school had to deal with them for four years. So, she called me to her office, and she asked me, “how are you doing, Sally?”

“Well, I’m a little nervous about graduating and leaving school and getting a job or maybe going to college. I haven’t been able to decide what I want to do yet. I really don’t have a clue what I can do since there are so many obstacles in my way. And right now, I’m upset because I can’t wear my uniform under my cap and gown. I only feel safe in my uniform. I don’t want to wear a dress under the cap and gown.”

“Sally, that is not a problem. It is perfectly fine if you wear your uniform under the cap and gown. So, put that worry right out of your mind. OK?”

“Really, thanks, sister. I was so worried about that all year.”

“What else is on your mind, Sally? Have you decided to go on to college or get a job?”

“I haven’t decided. I don’t know what I want to study. Maybe I should get a job and then go to college later when I have a better idea of what I want to do. But I don’t know how to do anything, so I don’t know what kind of job I could do?”

“Well, Sally, that’s not really true. You know how to type. You’re quite proficient at it. And you are an excellent writer and have an amazing imagination. You are highly efficient and organized. You are kind and thoughtful of people. In fact, I had two employers contact me seeking a new employee, and I feel like you would be a great fit. I spoke to them about some of the issues you have with phobias. And they both felt that over time you would be able to adapt to their office environment. What do you say? Are you interested?”

“Well, I don’t know. I have trouble meeting new people sometimes, and I have difficulty learning new things.”

“Sally, you lack confidence in yourself. You have excelled in school, especially in tests. You always studied hard and were prepared for every class. Yes, you are quiet and shy. But over time, you did make friends here at school. I trust you will be able to do the same thing at a job. And later, you might consider going on to college part-time and taking some classes that you are interested in.”

“Really? You really believe I could do that?”

“ Oh, course. Are you interested in finding out about the jobs?”

“Yes, I guess so, and my dad told me I had to get a job, so I don’t really have much choice.”

“Alright then, the first job is a dental assistant job. You would be assisting the dentist chairside with his patients, developing ex-rays, answering the telephone when patients call to make appointments, setting up the dental instruments for the doctor before the patients arrive, and also, on the dentist’s day off, typing bills and sending them out to patients. The dentist assured me that he would train you to do one thing at a time and not overwhelm you with too many tasks until you were ready to learn a new skill and confident in yourself. “

“Answering the phone, oh, I don’t know. “

“ Well, you would answer the phone and tell the patient that it was the dentist’s office, and they would tell you if they needed an appointment and or to cancel an appointment. Easy, and if you didn’t know, you ask the doctor. “

“The other job is similar, only it is in a psychiatrist’s office, and you would be answering the phone, greeting the patients, and transcribing the doctor’s notes. Not exactly rocket science. And you are a highly structured young woman and smart, and you learn quickly. You will gain confidence over time, just as you have done here at school. Think about it for a few days or a week, and let me know. All of your teachers are more than willing to give you good references.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I have seen you grow and evolve over time. I know you still have some fears and phobias, but I believe that over time you can over overcome these difficulties. And do you know that everyone has situations where they are frightened. Over the course of our lives, sometimes bad things happen, but we can overcome our fears, and we can move forward in our lives, one step at a time. What do you say? Are you ready to take that next step forward into your future? I have every confidence in your ability to succeed.”

“Well, I’m not sure, but I will do my best. Thank you for believing in me..”

“ That’s great, Sally. Take one step forward at a time, one day at a time. Now let me give you the phone number of the two potential employers. I know they are looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.”

Sally slowly looks up and smiles  shyly at the principal, and said, “yes, one day at a time.”

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LIVE IN THE PRESENT, LEARN FROM THE PAST

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I moved to the city ten days ago. I grew up in rural North Carolina on a farm. My father grew soybeans, corn, and, my favorite sweet potatoes. He made a good living, but it was back-breaking work. We all helped out when it was time to harvest the crops. I made a promise to myself that when I graduated from high school, I was going to move to the city up North.

18th Century farm

And I kept that promise to myself. Halfway through my senior year in high school, I started surfing the web job market in the Philadelphia area. Luckily, I had taken as many courses in high school and some night adult classes to prepare me for office work. I spent the months before graduation sending out resumes to companies that I researched on Google. I didn’t get any responses for the first couple of weeks, and I began to get a little nervous. I was just about to give up when I received a text and then an email from Colonia Pennsylvania Preservation in Newton Square. It turned out that it was an eighteenth-century living history farm. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake, but I was desperate. I wanted to move up north and away from the rural south.

I called the number they sent me and ask if I could speak to the person in charge of hiring new employees. I waited a few minutes, and then a man who identified himself as Mr. Charles Daley said he was so pleased that I had responded to his email. He believed I would be perfect for the position that he was trying to fill. I said, really? Because I don’t remember sending a resume to your company. He said my resume had been forwarded to him by a close friend who thought I would be a perfect fit. Farm North Carolina

“Really, what position is it? He said, “it is the assistant Program Manager for a Historic Farm in Gradyville, Pa.” I hadn’t heard of Gradyville, Pa. But, then I really didn’t know any other city except Philadelphia. He said, “it‘s about a two-hour drive to Philly from Gradyville to Philadelphia. He knew it must seem like a long trek, but I would have a vehicle at my disposal and would have two days a week off during the week since they were busiest on the weekends.

I said, “well, honestly, Mr. Daley, I really do not want to do any farm work, I’ve been doing it most of my life, and I was looking forward to a different kind of challenge. He said, “well this will be a new challenge I believe you have the skill set and the knowledge for this position. “You will be the assistant Farm Manager, but most of your time will be teaching students about active participation in historic farm practices and skills that made 18th-century life possible.”

“Really?” And you think that I will be up to that challenge? I have only been out of school for one year, and I hope to work in an office.”

“ You will be working in an office at times and in the field with students. You will be coordinating weekend programs and events for children, visitors, and volunteers, including weekly field trips and summer camps. You will be overseeing the planting and weeding harvesting of crops. And teach the continuation of heritage variety seeds. In addition, maintaining the necessary supply of feed and bedding for the farm animals.”

“Wow, that sounds like a huge undertaking, and you believe I’m up to that?”

I spoke to all your references, and they gave you glowing reports. You will also be working in an outreach program in the Philadelphia area seeking new students, schools, and donations. So, I can safely say you will have every opportunity to visit the city. I would like to assure you that you will be starting off with a full benefits package and thirty- five thousand dollars for the first Year. And up to forty-thousand the following year. “

“I said, “wow, I’m impressed, but perhaps I should come to The Farm and get a better idea of what I would be doing from day to day. And you would have the opportunity to meet me in person and see if I am the right person for this opportunity.”

“Well, how about you come here for a week, and then you will have a clearer picture of what your position would entail and the quality of people who work here? How about that? Of course, we will pay for your travel expenses. Why don’t you take a day or two to think about it and then call me back at this same number and give me your decision.”

“Alright, I will have to look into taking a train when I have that information, I will let you know, and hopefully, you can arrange for someone to come and pick me up at the train station.”

“Yes, certainly, I can do that. Text me when you know when and where we should pick you up. It’s been great talking to you. Talk to you soon, Elizabeth. Good Bye for now.”

Three days later, I made my decision. I have to admit that my parents put a lot of pressure on me to accept the job. Although, they weren’t crazy about me living so far away from the farm. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I have to admit I still had doubts about having that much responsibility. On the other hand, I had a great deal of responsibility working on our family farm my entire life. I started helping out when I entered grade school. And my responsibility increased the older I got. And perhaps fate had stepped into my path with this opportunity, and I decided I would be a fool to let it pass me by.

I notified Mr. Daley that I decided to take his job offer, and I sent him the schedule for the train that I would be taking from Raleigh to the Gradyville area. And then I found out that I could get a train station near Gradyville. And when and where I could be picked up. For the entire week before I left for my new life, I was torn between fear and excitement. I was having a lot of difficulty falling asleep at night.

But, before I knew it, there were only two days before my departure date arrived. Although my parents were happy, I was hired for such a prestigious position, and I could tell it was hard for them to say goodbye. Especially my mother, who cried for three days before I left. They took me to the train and watched me board, and then they stood there until my train began to depart and waved at the train long after they could no longer see me.

I was amazed at how fast the train traveled and how quickly I arrived in the North East. What I could see of the passing landscape was not that different than North Carolina. But as we got closer to Grandyville, I could see that I had once again arrived in a rural area. I knew that I had planned to try and live in the city, and that didn’t happen. But, I also knew that with a short train ride, I could visit Philadelphia and, maybe one day, New York City.

When the train finally arrived, I saw two people standing at the train station holding up a sign that said, “Welcome Elizabeth to Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation. And there was a young man holding it and waving it frantically, which made me laugh. I waited until the train came to a complete stop before I stood up and grabbed my bags from under my seat. And then, I had to wait patiently for everyone else on the train to do the same. We slowly progressed up the train aisle and waited until it was our turn to step off the train. And I could begin my new life. I have to admit I was excited, especially when I saw that I wasn’t going to be the only young person working at the farm.

I walked up to the people waiting for me, and the woman that was standing next to the young man said, “Welcome, Elizabeth. We are so happy that you decided to take our job offer. You are the perfect candidate for the job. You have your whole lifetime of experience in farm life in a rural area, and I know you will bring that expertise to our clients.”

“Thank you, I hope I will be able to fulfill all your needs. I have to say I was surprised that you would consider hiring me since I haven’t really had any other work experience outside of working on our farm. “Well, your teachers all gave you an A +. And they assured us that you were mature for your age and a hard worker who was always on top of things and strove to surpass any expectations that they had. By the way, I’m Jimmy Daley, and this is Ms. Christine Simmons. So, let’s be on our way. Is that all your belongings? “It’s all I brought with me on the train, and I’m having the rest of my things shipped here. They should arrive by the end of the week. I look forward to seeing the farm.

The time seemed to fly by as Elizabeth watched the landscape go by. As they got closer to the farm, she started to feel more at home. She knew it would take a while for her to adapt to her new home and live away from her parents and the home she had lived her whole life. She started to feel excited and less fearful. She was looking forward to the challenges that she would have to meet in her new job. She had every intention of doing everything within her power to succeed. But still, she kept her fingers crossed that all would go well.

And then she heard Jimmy Daley say, “well, here we are. That didn’t take that long, did it? I hope we meet your expectations and that you will be happy here. If there is ever a problem, you know you can come to me, and we will work it out. Don’t be bashful.”

And that was the beginning of my new life. And it truly was a new beginning. I worked hard every day, but it was certainly a learning process. I interacted with people from all over the country. People who were interested in how farmers ran their farms in the eighteenth century. People knew there was a lot to learn from the past that could be assimilated into present-day farms. The past became my present, and I looked forward to it. Every morning I awoke, I was excited about what that day would bring me. And every day, I learned something new. I planned my first trip to Philadelphia, and Jimmy Daley invited himself along. I learned that life is what you make of it.

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THE STORIES OF MY LIFE

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retirement home

I have considered writing the story of my life for a long time. But something held me back. There are a lot of reasons why people, myself included, procrastinate. We all have our own reasons for putting things off. You could be lacking in self-confidence and unable to start things for fear of failure. Or you could be lazy and have difficulty finishing things.

But my justification for procrastinating is not any of those. My reason is that since I was a young child, I loved telling people stories of my daily experiences. As a child, most of my experiences were similar to other children my age. So, at some point, at a subconscious level, I decided that I would embellish my stories. You know, tweak it here, tweak it there. Make it a little more interesting, more spellbinding. Take the mundane experience up a notch. That’s not so bad. I never considered it to be lying. I considered it to be similar to creative writing. I never thought of it as a lie. Or if it was a lie, it was only a white lie. In other words a harmless lie. But, my ultimate goal was to entertain people by telling them interesting and funny stories to make them laugh.

I told most of my “stories” to my family at dinnertime. At first, my parents seemed to believe every word that spilled out of my mouth. My siblings were not quite so easily led astray. They would sit at the dinner table quietly with a look of disbelief on their faces. And at the end of one of my tales, they would either laugh or say something to the effect of, “what you got to be kidding? And they would start laughing. My father would say, “oh brother, you must have really kissed that blarney stone. That was a good one, and then he laughed and laughed and laughed. Which means he thought I was exaggerating.

Well, to be perfectly honest, I did have a tendency to exaggerate. But, then, doesn’t every writer have that proclivity? And I didn’t just share my stories at the dinner table., I told them to my friends, their parents, all our neighbors, and strangers on the street waiting for the bus. I loved a captive audience. I would start by saying, “hello, how are you. And then I would say, “oh, you know what happened to me?” And off I would go.

Sometimes, I really got carried away with myself and didn’t know when to stop. And the people would eventually try to escape by saying, “oh, here comes my bus, nice talking to you, little girl or I have to be going. I’ll be late for work. One older man that waited on the corner of Main Street at the bus stop always said the same thing. “ I have to go. I have a dentist’s appointment. I’m having a tooth pulled.” The day he said that for the last time that I talked to him, I said, “I’m surprised you have any teeth left to get pulled out.” I knew I had met my match that day, and I didn’t stop and regale him with any of my stories after that. I just waved as I rode by on my second-hand bike.

And then, one day, when I came home, we all sat down to eat dinner. All my siblings were there for once. I was thrilled I rarely had the opportuning to tell a story to both my parents and all of my siblings at once. I sat quietly for a few minutes. I was trying to decide what story I should tell everyone. We were all sitting quietly, waiting for our Irish Stew to cool down. My mother cooked it all day because she wanted it to be thoroughly cooked and hot when she served it. We could all tell it was scalding hot because the steam was rising up over our bowls in unison. So, as I sat there contemplating the tale I would tell, it came to me in a flash.

After everyone settled down and started eating dinner, I said, “guess what I saw today walking down Main Street. My oldest sister said, “ “oh no, here she goes again, with her stories. Does she really think any of us believe these stories. She has a wild imagination, that’s for sure. My father looked at me and said, “go ahead and tell the story. What or who did you see?”

I looked at my father and said, “well, I was walking past that vegetable store next to the bar across the street from the school parking lot. And I saw a woman who was wearing a long, red velvet coat. And a big hat on top of her head with a chicken sitting on it. And it was clucking away. And she had a basket over her arm, and it was full of chicken eggs.”

Everyone at the dinner table stared at me, and then suddenly, they all started laughing. I looked at my mother and father, and then I started crying really loud. “my brother said, well, that’s the biggest whopper she ever told. That even beats the story she told about the old man. She said that he had a bowtie around his forehead and wasn’t wearing any shoes or socks. And he got off the bus at main street and went into the bakery, and came out with a huge box of donuts.”

My father said, “OK, stop laughing. She has an active imagination and likes telling stories. She isn’t lying.”

My mother said, “ stop laughing and finish your dinner. She looked at me with a weird expression on her face. And that made me start crying even louder. Then I got up and ran out the run to the bathroom I didn’t come out until I didn’t hear any of them talking anymore, and it sounded like dinner was over.

But that incident didn’t deter me from telling my stories. I just decided that I would have to broaden my audience beyond people waiting at the bus stop and my family at dinner. So, I thought about it for a long, long time. And then it came to me. I would start visiting the old people’s homes and telling them stories. I was certain that they would love having a young visitor who spent time with them and told them some tall tales. So, the first thing the next day, I rode my bike down Route 73 and across the highway to visit the old people.

I parked my bike outside the front of the building and walked through the front door to a desk where a lady was sitting. She said, “ can I help you, young lady?” I looked at her, and then I looked all around, and I didn’t see any ladies, so I figured she must be talking to me. I had never been called a young lady before, and I was either called by my name or “hey, kid.”

“I would like to visit the old people every day and tell them stories. They’re very good stories. And I know they would love to hear them.”

She looked at me and the biggest smile I ever saw spread across her face. “When would you like to start?”

“Well, there’s no time like the present. That’s what my mother always says.” She laughed out loud after I said that. Just wait a few moments while I call one of the aides to come up front and show you around. And you can decide if you want to talk to one person at a time or everyone at the same time.”

“Well, I think I’ll tell one person at a time. And see how it goes over. And if they all like my stories, I’’ tell them all at once. What do you say?”

I say, ‘outstanding.” And then she called someone’s name over the loudspeaker. And I stood at the desk and looked around until a woman came over to me and said, “Hello, my name is Miss Hartman. I heard that you would like to tell our residents some stories. What is your name?” They are going to love that. Some of them hardly have any family or friends that come to visit them. And they rarely see young people.”

“ Oh, everyone calls me Sissy. Why don’t their families come to visit them?”

“Well, for the most part, they have outlived their mates and family members, or sometimes they live far away or don’t take the time to visit them. They get lonely. However, we have a lot of activities for them. They miss seeing people from the outside.”

“Outside.” Aren’t they allowed to go outside?”

“Oh, of course, they can go outside. I meant that they seldom come to visit them. So, it just so happens that most of the people are in the dining room eating lunch. And so, off we went to a big room with a lot of round tables spread out across the whole place. And there were four people at each table, and there was a lot of chatter from all the people talking. I noticed it was mostly old ladies and an old man here or there.

Then she said, “let’s go up to the front of the room, and I’ll make an announcement about you and how you like to tell stories to people. You can come up and stand next to me, and then I will introduce you to them. How’s that?” I was surprised that she wanted my opinion, “ I said, that’s great.” She smiled down at me. Let’s do it. So, I followed her up to the front of the room, and she called out,” Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement. Can you quiet down for just a moment, please?”

They all quieted down. You could have heard a pin drop. This young lady, whose name is Sissy, is going to start coming here and telling us some stories. She is a storyteller. And she said she could tell stories to everyone at once or come to your rooms and tell one person at a time. What do you think?”

And then, all of a sudden, everyone was clapping and stamping their feet, and someone yelled out, “tell a story now. Please.”

Miss Hartman looked at me with a big smile on her face, “Well, Sissy, it looks like you have a captive audience. Do you have a story you would like to tell right now?”

“Yes, I have a story about my neighbor, Mrs. Collins. She lives down the street from me, two doors down. She loves cats, and she has a long fenced-in area in her backyard that runs the length from front to back. And the cats have a door in the basement that they can go through to the cat run. She has over thirty cats. I like to visit them almost every day. They like to be scratched and talked to. I know all their names. And she has a big white dog with black spots, and his name is Rudy. He barks a lot.

And sometimes, one of her cats escapes out of the pen and gets in a big fight with the neighbor’s cats. They roll around and scream at one another so fast that you can’t even see them clearly. So, they all have scars on them from fighting with other cats, mostly Strottles, who loves to fight. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. And all the people started clapping and yelling, “tell another one.”

So, I said, “sure, well, let me think. Oh, I know I’ll tell you about what happened to me last Halloween.” And they all started clapping again. Well, first of all, my mother made me a costume. And it was a hot dog, with a roll with mustard on it. And I was in the Halloween parade. At first, everyone laughed at my costume, but I won the first prize because it was such an original costume. Since most of the other kids were dressed as ghosts or witches, a princess, or pirates. Then after the parade, we all started going around town with our pillowcases and knocking on everyone’s door and saying,” trick or treat.”

And I stayed out really late and ate so much candy I thought I might get sick. When my pillowcase was so full, I took it home and emptied it and then went out again on the other end of town and got it filled up again.’

Everyone started clapping and laughing. One old guy got up and said, “Hey, I used to do the same thing, and a lot of other people said the same thing. Al, the old ladies, and the men started talking to one another and telling them about their Halloween experiences, and everyone was laughing and smiling at each other.

Ms. Hart looked over at me at said, Sissy, I think that it would be just wonderful if you came all the time and talked to our residents. It looks like you helped bring back some of their good childhood memories and made them happy. Would you like to come and visit them?”

“Yes, I would love that. Especially visiting the old people that don’t get any visitors.”

Then Miss Hartman said, “may I have your attention, please? Would anyone like to have Sissy come back again and visit? And then everyone stood up and clapped their hands. And that was the beginning of me coming to visit the old people and realizing that they were just like me, only with wrinkles and gray hair. And making new friends every time I went to visit them. And it was one of the best experiences of my life.

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