Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

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

October 13, 2006

Today’s announcements

Now onto the good stuff!

Today’s Queue Stories

~**~**~

Finding the Answer

Norma Liles

As a child, I felt cheated; threatened and forgotten.  I was not gifted with the aroma of a grandparent as some of my friends were or so I thought.  I always daydreamed of how it would be to sit with a grandmother and hear her tell about her life and how she happened to become my own grandma.

In my teen years, I felt it would be ideal to become a Mother.  I nourished this dream through caring for nieces and nephews and my few babysitting jobs but the fantasy was never fulfilled until I became a Mom.  To me, it has been the epitome of a woman's reason for living.

In time, my daughter grew to adulthood, became a Mother and I became the grandma to two darling granddaughters.  I have heard grandmas called by many names but I wanted my name to be somewhat different so I settled on G'ma; easy to say and easy to remember?

Today, I have two more grandchildren; not by blood but by love; an eleven year old grandson and an 18 month old little lady.  They, too, refer to me as G'ma or G'ma Norma.

As I ponder the events that have evolved with time, I have come to the realization that my dream of having a grandmother has come to the fruition of being a grandmother.

NormaLee Liles ©

hoopla214@yahoo.com

Norma is an Ohio native, senior citizen; happy in her own skin, loves the Lord God Almighty, her family, her friends and her computer; pretty much in that order! Her hobbies include reading, writing poetry, stories, a few songs; loves to sing; and prefers southern gospel music. She is retired from the business world where she worked as a data entry operator/supv; is number nine of ten children; is looking fwd

to her next birthday which will welcome #77. (Oct)

Her writings have been featured on: Starfish, Driftwood, Sandollar, Morning Spirit Lift, Prayer of God, Jan Karon, American Poetry Writer's League, Lucy's Inspiration, Faithful Hope reading room, Poetry of Today, Hope in Him, Bonnie's Place, America will remember, News Moose, Penworm Prayer Warriors, Angels on Earth, Canadian Memorial page, Eternal Ink, Heartcatcher and senior writer for Storytime_Tapestry.

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EATING WELL

By: Joseph J. Mazzella

     It is hard at times to eat the right foods for our bodies when the wrong foods can taste so delicious. I am just glad then that when it comes to food for the soul the choices are a little easier to make. Imagine, for instance, that you had two types of food before you. The first one is great for you. It makes your heart healthier, your mind clearer, and your body more energetic. It makes you feel fantastic both inside and out. It also tastes delicious. You could eat it for a million years and never get tired of it. It just takes a bit of effort and a few minutes to cook each day. The second food is terrible for you. It is hard on your heart and destroys your health. It depresses your mind and steals your body’s vitality. It makes you feel miserable both inside and out. It also tastes terrible. You can eat it right away, though. It is instant and takes no effort to make. Which one would you choose?

     Sadly, more people than you would think make the second choice. The second choice is acting from fear. It is choosing to feed the soul hatred, violence, negativeness, misery, pain, meanness, and loneliness. It is easy to do even though it hurts you every time you do it. It slowly poisons your life and the lives of those around you if they let it. The first choice, however, is choosing love. It is feeding the soul joy, peace, positiveness, happiness, delight, goodness, and oneness with God. It takes a bit of effort, but it brings a lot of Heaven to Earth. It enriches your life and the lives of everyone you share it with.

     What you eat is up to you. Choose your foods wisely then. God wants you to eat well not just with your stomach but also with your heart, soul, mind, and life. Lay out a table full of all the love, joy, light, goodness, and oneness with God that you possibly can. Then pull up a chair and invite everyone to the feast.

Joe Mazzella

joecool@wirefire.com

~**~**~

 ValueSpeak

A Weekly Column

By Joseph Walker

valuespeak@msn.com

CHICKEN . . . NO ALA KING

Shari loves cook books. She loves to read the recipes, and imagine how each delectable dish will taste. She loves to look at the pictures and imagine putting artistic creations like that before her husband, Sam. He would enjoy each mouth full. She knows that.

And her kids would turn up their noses without sampling a bite. She knows that, too.

"That’s just the way it is with my kids," Shari says. "If it’s got onions or peppers or mushrooms or any of the stuff that I like, they’re not interested."

Not that she hasn’t tried. About 25 years ago Sam bought her a popular cook book, and she was thrilled with it. She spent hours reading and re-reading the recipes, and selecting the best ones to try out on her family. It didn’t take long for her to figure out that any dish featuring onions, peppers or mushrooms was going to get a thumbs-down from the peanut gallery.

"For years I tried to get them to eat some of these things," Shari said. "I would blend the onions and cut mushrooms to the smallest portions possible. Peppers were hard to camouflage because of their color. But no matter how hard I tried to hide them, the kids always found them – and that would be the end of that dish."

Take, for example, her favorite recipe from the cook book Sam had given her: Chicken ala King. It had all kinds of tasty things in it – including, of course, mushrooms, onions and green peppers. She followed the recipe precisely the first time she made it, and for her it was love at first bite. Such a wonderful mix of flavors and textures! But the children picked out the offensive little tidbits right away, and would have nothing to do with Chicken ala King.

Shari tried everything she could think of to save the recipe intact: coaxing, threatening, bribery, sabotage, trickery. No luck. One Sunday, the family hadn’t eaten in nearly 24 hours and everyone was hungry. It seemed like the perfect time to bring out the Chicken ala King.

"I’d rather starve!" said Robbie.

"That can be arranged!" said Sam.

Shari prepared the meal, but she and Sam were the only ones to eat.

"I just couldn’t enjoy it," Shari said. "My kids were hungry and I felt so selfish."

So Shari started tweaking the recipe. Out came the onions, mushrooms and peppers. In came . . . well . . . chicken. And rice.

"My Chicken ala King recipe pretty much became chicken and rice," Shari said. "No ala King. The kids liked it, but it always seemed a little . . . you know . . bland to me."

Earlier this year, however, Sam’s work took them to the Middle East. Their children, now young adults, opted to stay in the United States. It should come as no surprise that one of the first meals Shari prepared in their new apartment in Abu Dhabi was Chicken ala King.

"I was so excited," Shari said. "For the first time in years I was going to be able to prepare this recipe the way it was meant to be prepared."

She went to the local markets to carefully select all of the ingredients. She found some incredible mushrooms, onions and peppers. She hurried home and meticulously followed the recipe. It looked even better than the picture in the recipe book as she placed it on the table before her adoring husband, and the smells . . . oh my goodness . . . to die for.

Sam took a bite. He chewed slowly and deliberately (Sam is an engineer – he does EVERYTHING slowly and deliberately). He smiled at Shari, who anxiously awaited his verdict.

"Well," he said, "maybe if you add some green olives . . ."

Sam ducked as the cook book whizzed past his head.

No wonder Shari likes cook books so much!

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Poetry Section

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*I want to write a love song for Jesus*

Norma Liles

I want to write a love song to Jesus

I want to sing it clear and concise

I want to let Him know that I know

The powerful love I have for Him.

He wishes to be first in our lives

I want Him to know He is number one

I want Him to know why He went to Calvary

I want to spread His love to everyone.

I want to tell others of why He died for me

I want to shout from the housetops of HIs purity

He knew me before I learned about Him

What a wondrous story is His life and love.

I want to let Him know I love that baby

Who laid in a blanket of straw

The One who taught the disciples

How to follow in His footsteps.

Someday in glory, I will sing of His grace

I will sing of the wondrous story of old

I will praise Him forever and ever

I dedicate my life, my heart and my singing to Him.

NormaLee Liles ©

10/7/06

hoopla214@yahoo.com

~**~**~

Readers Feedback

Hi Carol,

I know where you're coming from with this article. Nothing makes me more furious than poor customer service.

I used to work as a checker in a local supermarket chain, and I always made it a point to be cheerful, helpful, and to treat the customers the way I would like them to treat me.   I was getting paid to work there and I saw it as my job to give good customer service.  If people would only realize that when one strives to be polite and cheerful, the day goes by so much better and you find yourself enjoying your work. It takes the same amount of energy to be grouchy as it does to be nice, so why not make life more pleasant for others.

I found out a little secret too, during my first week or so on the job. A lot of the customers can be really mean and hateful. However, if you speak to them kindly, show a little hint that you really do care, and keep smiling and trying to be pleasant, their attitude changes like magic.  I made it a game to see how many people I could cheer up in a days time. I didn't always succeed, but more often than not, those who came in with a frown, left the store with a smile. Smiles can be contagious.

I'm sorry for your bad experience and I hope you have changed to a Bank with better customer service.

Smiles & God Bless

Leeuna

Ref The Little Guy Next Door by Mark Crider               What a beautiful story and it comes at a time when I am feeling an accumulation of grief over losses.  It is very positive, very hopeful!  Thank you Mark                              Louise

The Cascade Effect – Mike Firesmith - Now I know---------I always wondered.  Its all those darned parakeets!             Louise

Enjoy the Ride - Thank you Joe but is this why my life is running away, out of control with too many to love and too much to do and too little energy and time to tuck in the corners and smooth out the wrinkles?              Louise

Thanks for sending this one.  Tell Louise not to forget that every bike
has a brake and God wants us to take time everyday to lean the bike against
a tree, sit in the grass, and watch the sunset.
Wishing you every joy, Joe

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; Grisham, Mary-Ellen; 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; Meeks, Carol; Mizrany, Mary Carter; Morris, Deepak; Ojeibge, Georgewaters; Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan; Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Smith; Michael; 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