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| << October04, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - The Fall of Life |
October26, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - I Stepped on a Lantern >> |
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Hi, Gang! I'm sorry I haven't posted as much lately. Please forgive me. Ginny is going away for a few weeks. She'll be leaving next Monday. She's going to be with her daughter, who is having a baby girl soon. Ginny is excited about having her first granddaughter. She'll be 1000's of miles away and happy. I'll be 1000's of miles away in the other direction - happy for Ginn and her daughter, but lonely without my little girl - Ginny. Thanks to all of you who offered to try out my new E-zine. Please let me now how it works. I have some wonderful links to share with you tonight. Read below the story to see the links. I'm such a sucker for words that touch my heart. I Love your comments. Send them to: msmith4@nj.rr.com If anyone is interested in greeting cards or crafts, Ginny belongs to a group of artists. They've teamed together to market their products. Check them out at: http://www.etsygreetings.blogspot.com Ginny's cards and other crafts are at: http://www.ginginsgoodies.etsy.com Be sure to check out my collection of inspirational sites at the end. There's something for everyone. Now for today's story. I Stood In The Rain My hand slipped, giving the black cat a lumpy nose. Fur rose on it's back. It's fluffed tail stood straight in the air, as it hissed at a ghost rising from the ground. I grabbed an orange crayon and began to trace the outline of a Jack-O-Lantern, careful to stay inside the lines and not make the same mistake I did with the cat. I wanted my Jack-O-Lantern to be perfect. On my right, Rosemary was almost finished. She was fast and really good. She was the best colorer in our four-room school. My crayon twirled in small circles, carefully filling the pumpkin with orange. I reached the teeth - the hardest part. Everything was fine, until the last tooth. My crayon caught in a crease in the desk under the paper. The crayon followed it and caused me to go outside the lines. To correct my mistake, I made that tooth bigger than the rest, ruining my pumpkin's toothy grin. Then again, maybe it made it scarier. The bell rang. "Be careful tonight, children. Have fun trick- or-treating. I want you to write a story about your evening, when you come to school tomorrow." I rushed home and burst through the door, "Mum? Mum, when can I go out?" "Michael, I've told you a hundred times this week, you can't go out until it's dark. Do your homework first. When you're done, you can have your supper and then get dressed." The smell of fried bologna and boiled potatoes drifted into my room. My stomach growled, as I completed my additions. "Michael, supper's ready." Mum called. I closed my scribbler and rushed to the table, ready to eat and get my costume on. My thoughts were on the night ahead, as I spread butter on the steaming potatoes and then smothered the bologna and potatoes with Ketchup©. Normally, this was a meal I savored, but it was Halloween. I woofed my dinner down. "Mum? Time to get ready?" I stared at her anxiously. The sun slipped behind the tress across the street. "Ok, I guess it's time." Mum helped me dress. Like most years, I was a hobo. We didn't have fancy "Star Wars'" or "Ninja Turtle" costumes back then. We had plastic masks of scary, old men handed down from my older brothers. I slipped on a black pair of pants several sizes too large for me, and threaded my arms through the sleeves of a plaid checkered shirt. Mum helped me feed a piece of rope through the belt holes of my jeans and tied it tight around my waist. My winter boots completed the outfit. We adjusted the mask on my face - eyes aligned with the holes. "Be careful!" Mum called after me. I tilted my head, held the railing, and tried to see the steps from the front door through the holes in my mask. My pillow sack was slung over my shoulder. In a few hours it would hang like an anchor, slowing me down. I knocked on the door." Is Justin ready?" I asked. "He sure is!" his mom said. "He's been waiting for you." Justin Gilkie was my best friend back then. We planned to walk through the whole village of Sambro. He was dressed as a pirate and had a real sword from the nose of a swordfish. The scars on his mask, with red paint for blood, look real in the growing twilight. "How much do you think we'll get?" Justin asked. "If we walk all the way to 'The Basin,' We'll have more than we can carry." The Basin was on the other side of Sambro. "I hope we get lots of candy and chips. I hate it when we get too many apples." he said. "I heard Martha's mom is giving candy apples." I said. "OK! I like those, but regular apples seem cheap to me." We reached the end of the point, and began to walk from house-to-house. Friends joined us. Sweat beaded on our faces under the masks. Between stops, we'd lift the masks to cool off. In a few hours, we walked dirt roads, climbed steep hills, stumbled back down them, and knocked on doors until our knuckles were sore. I stood behind my friends, as Justin knocked on my door. My mum looked out and began handing out candy. "Michael! You can't fool me!" My face turned red under my mask. "Let's try my mom." Justin said. She won't now it's me. **************************** "I'm tired." I said. "Me too." Justin replied, his mask resting on the top on his head. The elastic band holding it, tangled in the hair at the back of his head. "I got enough! Most houses are out of stuff anyway. Let's go home." My legs hurt. Sweat rolled down my spine, and my feet ached from the heavy boots. I wanted to go home and see what I got. "OK! Let's go home. Tomorrow, let's get up early and look for firecrackers the big kids dropped. I wonder whose outhouse gets turned over?" In my bedroom, I spilled the contents of my pillow cloth onto my bed: chocolate, sweet candies, potato chips, and so many wonderful things. I stuffed it back in my bag and hid it under my bed, where my brothers wouldn't find it. ******************************** I stood by a light pole and watched little kids run from their parent's cars to the front door of our house. They knocked, gathered the candy my mum handed out, and rushed back to their parent's cars. Heavy rain beat down on me. I was thirteen - a year of change. I wanted to be little and gather candy. I wanted to be older and join the big kids in their mischief - lighting firecrackers, throwing rolls of toilet paper over tree limbs, or even rolling over an outhouse. The rain beat down. I walked home. "You miss going out, don't you?" Mum asked, as I walked in the door, dripping water on the floor. "No, I'm OK." She looked at me and handed me a bag. "I saved some for you." I went to bed, cherishing the bag Mum handed me. ************************************* It was the first big change of my life. I was too old to trick-or-treat. Toys were left in a box under my bed. Cars, dating, and freedom were in my future. I was at the in-between stage. That night was the beginning of many changes. I'd grow comfortable, think everything was right in my life, and once again stand in the rain. I went to work and learned layoffs were coming. I wanted to stay where I was, comfortable in my surroundings. The future was unknown. I stood in the rain. A job offer came. It was in another province. I didn't want to move from what I knew. I stood in the rain. I met new people, experienced new things, settled down, and in a few years, another job came to an end. I stood in the rain. Dressing up and knocking on doors ended a long time ago. Today, I stand in the rain, knock on new doors, hold out my pillow cloth, and wait to see what treat life will fill it with. Michael T. Smith If you enjoy a story, feel free to pass it on to your friends. My only request is that you include the link for your friends to join our family. To join our family, go to: http://subs.zinester.com/86758/ As promised, here is a list of great inspirational sites. I subscribe to all of them. You will love these sites. A good friend of mine has a new book out. You should check this out. Carol's been through rough times. She tells it all in her latest book. Carol Roach M.Ed, B.A. Publisher: Storytime Tapestry Author: Angels Watching Over Me:http://www.lulu.com/content/644485 Picking up the Pieces: A Woman's Journey: www.publishamerica.com To join Carol's story site, go to Storytime Tapestry at: http://archives.zinester.com/98907/ From my wonderful writing friend, Jan. She writes wonderful stories about her life and losing her sight. Janet Perez Eckles Faith and Love with a Latin Flair www.janetperezeckles.com Here's a good one by Linda Della Donna Freelance Writer www.littleredmailbox.com www.griefcase.blogspot.com www.storybone.blogspot.com "...and sometime when I wasn't looking, I got a new life." By my good friend Keith in Australia: http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/ My friend Phil runs http://www.peoplestuff.com.au/ Phil's awesome and brutally honest Zev, yes another friend, runs http://empoweringmessages.com/stories/ Heart Catchers is a wonderful site. www.DianeDeanWhite.com www.Heartwarmers.com and www.petwarmers.com are two wonderful story sites. http://hodu.com/ http://www.mydailyinsights.com/ www.ripplemaker.com http://www.sermonillustrator.org http://www.SkyWriting.Net Here's a newly discovered one I like: http://www.archive.zinester.com/9516 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WarmFuzzyStories/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WithInSight/ If you, or anyone you know needs prayers for health concerns, struggles,etc visit www.janetperezeckles.com Janet's prayer group will respond. That's all I can think of right now. If I come up with more, I'll add them. Enjoy!!! I love your comments, Send them to msmith4@nj.rr.com. I'll include some in every post. 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| << October04, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - The Fall of Life |
October26, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - I Stepped on a Lantern >> |
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