Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

July 28, 2006

Today’s announcements

A Happy Birthday wish goes out to our writer, Marybeth Elliott:  You can send her a card at: meeee@comcast.net

Something to help people with shaky hands – from Mark Crider

Probably not very interesting to most of your readers, but for
those with shaky hands (aka a tremor) like some this can be very good news. I
found this software application called Mousecage. Its intention is to help
people with hand tremor control their computer mouse. As you will
understand, using a computer mouse is often impossible for people with a
hand tremor. At first, Mousecage needed some getting used to, but once they did
that, it helped them enormously. For the first time in ages, they can now handle
the mouse without frustration! I found Mousecage mentioned on a Dutch
website, but the company that developed Mousecage is UK based (I think) and
has an English website: http://www.mousecage.org

Now onto the good stuff!

Today’s Queue Stories

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ValueSpeak

A Weekly Column

By Joseph Walker

valuespeak@msn.com

STUDENT OF STUFF

Beth is our youngest daughter, and the best student of all of our children.

Which isn’t to say that she’s the smartest or the brightest or the cutest or the best dancer (yes, I’m trying to do a little quick PR with her brothers and sisters here – hope you don’t mind). It’s just that throughout her junior high and high school years she has applied herself extraordinarily to her studies. She has taken hard classes – you know, math and science and Latin and stuff – and she has done very well. She takes great pride in her grade point average, which isn’t the highest in her class but it’s still pretty darn good.

At least, it was. Until this last term. And now . . . well, I won’t say the doors of Harvard and Stanford have slammed shut on Beth. But she’ll have to get in through the service entrance.

To be fair, it wasn’t really Beth’s fault. During the most critical week of the last term of her junior year, she got sick. It wasn’t anything really serious, thank heavens, but it did lay her up for more than a week. She tried to fight through the fog of illness to keep up with studies, but each day she fell further and further behind. By the time she got her health back, she was hopelessly lost in a few classes. She scrambled like crazy for the last few weeks of the term, but with the tough schedule of classes she was taking she could never quite catch up.

We haven’t actually seen her grades yet, but Beth knows it isn’t going to be pretty. And we’re OK with that because we know how hard she tried.

Of course, one bad term isn’t going to keep her from graduating from high school with an excellent academic record. She still has the four terms of her senior year during which she can rebuild her grade point average. The problem is, this bad term probably came at the worst possible time as far as college scholarships are concerned. Those applications will have to be in before she has a chance to do much rebuilding.

Which sort of changes everything as far as her plans for the future are concerned. There is a particular university she would like to attend for her undergraduate work, and she was in line for a possible scholarship. Now she’s just hoping she is accepted for admission.

So you would think Beth would be walking around with a dark cloud over her head, muttering – in Latin, of course – vile oaths about calamitous fate and capricious destiny or whatever it is that distraught people mutter when they mutter in Latin.

But she isn’t. No muttering at all – in Latin or any other language, as far as I can tell.

"There isn’t anything I can do about it now," she said the other day, with a philosophical tone that would have made Socrates proud (especially in his pre-hemlock days). "I’ll just do the best I can and see what happens."

Meanwhile, she’s got a great attitude. She’s exploring her academic options beyond high school and figuring out how she can save up enough money to pay for her education.

Oh, and she’s going back to her original hair color: blonde. I don’t know if this is significant or not, but she used to feel that other kids at school didn’t take her seriously academically because of . . . you know . . . the whole blonde thing. For the past year or so she went to an assortment of darker hair shades – some on purpose, some by accident. But now she’s blonde again, and I think it has something to do with all of this.

I’m just not smart enough to know what.

But I am smart enough to learn something from my daughter. Through her example she’s reminding me that stuff happens. And it can be frustrating, because it can change everything. But when it happens, the important thing isn’t the "stuff," but how we choose to respond to it.

Now, if only I’m as good a student of stuff as she is . . .

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 Rainbow Bridge Gang.  Buttercup

Tinker and Poo

tinkerpoo2000@yahoo.com

We was enjoying cookies and some fresh bowls of cool water, when up the lane came this beautiful Pug.  CharlieBoy looked up and went off running to great the new comer. The two met, and you never seen such goings on. We all just stood back and waited.   Poo all at once said,, that must be Buttercup, Charlieboy talked about so much.

They came walking back to the group, and we ordered up a plate of cookies and water for the little gal.  The two of them set right down on a rug, and we got the news.

She said yes she was Buttercup, Mistress Dorothy's  little Pug.  CharlieBoy was her help in crime at the home place.  CharlieBoy has been here right at a year.  She missed him so,  you know he was her eyes,  her eye sight had went bad, and he did so much in getting her around.  Then he took sick and came to the Rainbow Bridge leaving her.

Her health was not too great, and his leaving really she was at a great lose. But she still had her Mistress, and she was loved and taken great care of. 

About this time  one of the Dollie Angels came with a nice soft rug for Buttercup so she don't have to set so close to CharlieBoy.. She and both CharlieBoy said it was no problem as they shared lot of times before.  Besides they have so much to talk about.

It is so nice when one is joined by another family member, like these two was.  They can set, lay close to one another once again, and talk over the good times back there, they had with their Big People.  The ones that loved and cared for them.  Well it was a two way street. The Little People had the Big People to take care of you know.

Yes Dorothy, Little Buttercup is here, with her CharlieBoy. Both is just fine, no more pain.  All that is missing is you, and some day you too will come up the lane.  You  will be greeted by Buttercup, and CharlieBoy, walk over the bridge together, and see the rest of your family. CharlieBoy filled us in on those, you know,  He said he had heard about them.

The home on earth is a bit more on the quite side tonight, Buttercup is not there, but here. But Dorothy, you may some times hear little foot steps, that only a couple puppies can make in playing, or maybe out of a corner of your eye get a look of a couple little puppies running by.  A slight breeze of something just went by.  It is only Buttercup and CharlieBoy dropping in for a short visit, to see if every thing is all right.

Those two will set here, and wait for the time when the mist will part, and here you come home too.  And just like CharlieBoy did a bit ago.  Here they will run to greet you. Oh Happy Days, and Times Again. Remember we are never far apart as long as you think of us. 

Poo said to me. "Tinker, Buttercup is like family,, we have heard so much about her."

Well guess so,, after all we are family.  Just waiting for our Big People to come home.

Tinker and Poo; The Boys Write

http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-35741-5

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Poetry Section

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Before God Can

 Joyce Lock

Before God can give us more,
We must learn to appreciate where we are.

Before God can help us grow,
We must learn in Whom the answers bestow.

Before God can give us love,
We must learn that all blessings are from above.

Before God can answer prayer,
We must learn to keep our motives always pure.

Before God can give us might,
We must learn to not ever give up His fight.

Before God can give us pow'r,
We must learn to remember just Whose we are.

© by Joyce C. Lock

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Blessed to Be a Blessing

Joyce Lock

From House to House and Land to Land,

as We Gather to Celebrate our Blessings,

May we also Consider the Blessings of Prayer ...

and make this Thanksgiving

a Special Time to also Be a Blessing;

by Praying for Those in Need.

 

© by Joyce C. Lock

~**~**~

Blessings to You

Joyce Lock

When you are weak, then God is strong.
May you draw, from Him, all the day long.
May He put in your heart a brand new song.

May God guide you, all the day through.
May He give you strength to start anew;
Giving you joy, as He said He would do.

Ps. 145:18

© by Joyce C. Lock

Readers Feedback

Dear Carol,

What a nice gesture on your part to send out birthday greetings to your writers and friends. I thank you for the very nice card you sent me yesterday. I would also like to thank all those Storytime Tapestry writers for taking the time to send me a birthday card. What a wonderfully warm feeling it gives you to open an email and know that someone has taken the time to send B.D. greetings to someone they don't even know.

Thank you and  God's blessings to you all.

Barb

busyb460@msn.com

Luck Revisited - I am happy for Paula that things worked out for her. Jene

Thank you for that story for I find it very comforting at this time. At the age of 16, I was a child bride which was called custom but never regretted the true love of my life who passed over in 1989. Someway I found a way to bottle my feelings all inside myself which one event brought them to a surface as I had to relive everything that had happened to me which came flowing as a river all confusing after my son was murder triggered my mind now four years has passed. Now I feel that the pieces are finally coming to more comforting moments and memories of joy and love. I let Jesus my savoir lead me through my journey of confusion but never let him slip away from myself. I was once lost but I have truly found myself again and the one thing I do know my Lord loves me as I do him. Thank you for sharing such a comfort for me as well others.

                                                                               Gods Greetings

                                                                                        Patty Ann

Ron, Charles B. Ainsley,

      This was the most beautiful story and it brought tears to my eyes. My spouse has been ill since 1987 and he now has heart trouble. He buys me good food but is very strict at times but I will miss him when he is gone! jerrieroy@consolidated.net You sure will touch a lot of hearts with this story. Keep it up!

Charles B. Ainsley by Ron Gold: Very emotional story about your friend, lover and husband.  Memories are forever, they never can die.  Such memories are labeled ‘GOLDEN MEMORIES’.  Death has always been a sting.  There shall come a time when death will have no power over us anymore and we shall once more cling to our dead loved ones.  May Charles B. Ainsley a “fuddy-duddy” soul rest in perfect peace and may you always continually be filled with blissful atmosphere. 

GEORGEWATERS OJEIGBE – Lagos, Nigeria

HOW delightful, the tale about Sharon's Rascal. What a heart~warming story and it really brought smiles to my heart.   Please pass this along to her.  Thanks:-)
Love & blessings, Maryxo

Raccoons Make Great Pets by Sharon Bryant (1946@bellsouth.net):  A beautiful story about the Raccoons although, I do not have any ideal of this pet.  I presume it is something like a monkey or so.

GEORGEWATERS OJEIGBE – Lagos, Nigeria

Senior Writers

Chief writer: Sharon Bryant

Chief researcher/historian: Hartson Dowd

Agee, Vance; Apted, Violet; Baker, Kathy; Batt, Al; Berry, Nell; Blaine, Pamela; Boda, Ginger; Booher, Paula; Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.; Costner, Joan Clifton; Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark; Dees, Mary; Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria;

Dowd, Hartson; Dowd, Helen; Gilbert, Robert, Jr.; Gold, Ron; Goodier, Steve; Braun-Haley, Ellie; Harris, Kathy Anne; Henry, Linda Ann; Hunt, Sharlett; Hymes, Christina; Jacobson, Gary; Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim; Jenkins, Pamela; Liles, Norma; Lily Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Marlor, Janice Bumbalough; Mazzella, Joe; Morris, Deepak; Ojeibge, Georgewaters; Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan; Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan; Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe; Warner, Gordon, K; Walsh, Sue; Weymouth, Barbara J.; Whirity, Kathy;

Wainland, David; Westerfer, Clara; White Robert;

Storytime Tapestry Staff

Carol Roach - Founder/publisher

Thelma Hartselle - Co-Founder, Moderator

Clara Westerfer – moderator

Bob Johnston - moderator