Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

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

May 30, 2007

Today’s Announcements

 I would like to thank all those who sent me emails about the poem I wrote, "God Bless."

So many of you are veterans.

My father was one of those wonderful men, as well as my grandfather and uncles and cousins who fought in all wars.

I miss my dad so much.  For not only was he a WWII veteran, he was a father some girls dream about.  He was always there for me.

It is those memories I now live on.

My father believed in supporting all our troops.  He was tickled when I told him the project I began here in Alabama for our current troops.

I'll never forget him telling me he was proud to be my father.  But, oh, if he only knew how proud I was to be his daughter.

Again, my thanks to you wonderful people who also stand behind our troops.

God Bless all of you.

Sharon Bryant

1946@bellsouth.net

"Operation We Care"

P.S.

I can always use a card or a letter if you'd like to drop a few lines to a soldier serving overseas.

The troops love hearing from folks "back home."

You can mail a card or letter to:

A Soldier

Operation We Care

P.O. Box 208

Green Pond, Alabama  35074

I will ship them over to a camp in Iraq.

Today’s Stories

~**~**~

 ValueSpeak

A Weekly Column

By Joseph Walker

valuespeak@msn.com

RECLAIMING TROUBLED YOUTH

We’ve been hearing a lot about troubled young people recently. Bad news has a way of focusing our attention on what’s wrong with the rising generation. But while there is every reason for concern, there is also every reason for hope. And to prove my point I’d like to give you some good news for a change. I’d like to tell you about Greg.

I first met Greg when I was assigned to teach a class of 8-year-olds at church. It was a wonderful experience because, for the most part, the children were adorable. They’d listen to my stories, laugh at my jokes and at least pretend that they enjoyed being with me.

Then there was Greg.

Don’t get me wrong – he was a good kid, and I liked him. But he was . . . well . . . a little out of control. He was disruptive in class. He’d say hurtful things to the girls in the class, and then smile at me when I told him that was unacceptable. And he was the first kid I ever saw who would get so worked up that he would literally start bouncing off the walls. He’d stand in one corner of the classroom, dash across the room and hurl himself against the wall. Then he’d do the same thing going back the other direction, laughing a kind of frenzied little laugh every step of the way until I was finally able to make him stop.

As you might expect, this could be somewhat disconcerting to the rest of the class. But I never sensed any malice in Greg. He was a sweet boy with a good heart who just did weird stuff. And while I occasionally had to get after Greg, we got along with each other and became friends.

As I became more familiar with Greg and his family I found that he had a learning disability that made it difficult for him to concentrate. As a result, he had a hard time at the local elementary school – academically and socially. The other kids hassled him, and some teachers had a hard time understanding him. Greg was a handful, and they didn’t have time to give him the special attention he obviously needed.

Thankfully, Greg’s parents did. With fierce love and concentrated determination they helped their son learn how to succeed. Friends and neighbors were enlisted to tutor Greg in school subjects that puzzled him. Sports became a way of harnessing Greg’s boundless energy while teaching him important lessons about hard work, discipline and obedience. Boy Scouting reinforced those lessons while exposing him to new experiences, opportunities and adventures. Greg’s parents volunteered to help at school, in sports leagues and as Scout leaders to make sure that their son received the training and supervision he needed to learn how to be successful.

And if there’s one word that described Greg as a high school student, that would be it: successful. He earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. He was a member of one of the state’s best high school football teams. And one term he even earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He sang in the church choir, participated enthusiastically in every activity or service project that came along and was a pleasant, happy neighbor and friend.

One time when he was a high school senior I was asked to substitute in one of Greg’s classes at church. Throughout the class period he was a model of proper behavior and decorum: calm and well-mannered, thoughtful in his comments and questions, profoundly kind to me and to his classmates. And believe it or not, he didn’t bounce off any walls. Not even once.

Greg had become an exemplary young man. But more than that, his story is an eloquent real-life example of how troubled young people can be reclaimed by loving, devoted parents and supportive neighbors, friends, coaches and teachers. What Greg’s parents did for their son may not work for every child. But it certainly worked for Greg.

And that’s good news indeed – for Greg, and for the rest of us.

Poetry Corner

~**~**~

Grandma's Tattoo
Carol Meeks

The room brightened when she entered
and all eyes turned on her.

"Did it hurt?" Some asked.
"No," she replied, "just another step in this task."

"They put me on a table,
then turned me now and then.
The markings I could feel.
They let me leave as soon as I was able."

"Now all I need is leather
and boots up to here?"
Grandchildren in the midst
put their hands together and said a cheer.

She seemed so strong-like the mighty oaks,
this little ole grandmother lass,
whose heart harbors and sails with class.
Fear, not in her eyes-twis us she gave comfort and support.

Grandfathers out there would love to court
And make her their sport.
"No Way"! She does retort.
To us younger folks, her wisdom cuts the jokes.

The detection was earlier verified.
The family, at first, was horrified.
But her, solid as steel.
We know time is on our side,
As Chemo greeted us on the shore.
Her markings, groundwork, for Colon Cancer Treatments.

©  Carol Dee Meeks
c_pmeeks@hotmail.com
http://home.comcast.net/~pkmeeks/

~**~**~

 My Mom's Last Days
Carol Meeks

We remember:


The doctor led us to an adjoining room,
I knew I was staring at her for the last time.
Her journey home was now in bloom.
Too early, her tenure was in her prime.

She also knew her end was here
the cancer had slowly worn her down.
Like mighty Elms surrounded by deer,
the best would go with head in crown.

And she did, with dignity,
she closed her eyes and met her Lord.

She left six children in much pain,
and a spouse of almost thirty years.
We'll limp through life with this strain,
and soaked-up day filled with tears.

Years have passed and we still remember,
the holidays we've spent alone.
She left us the month after November.
We talk of her when we're all home;

it makes the pain bearable.
Mother's Day is manageable.

For surely God has helped us cope.
It's like a toothache that's so dull.
He wrapped His arms around us in hope,
And it gives us comfort knowing
that He took her like flowers.
He selected her from the cull.

©  Carol Dee Meeks
c_pmeeks@hotmail.com
http://home.comcast.net/~pkmeeks/

 ~**~**~

My Mom and Her Worries
Carol Meeks

With all her worries
she remains
strong
courageous
steadfast

never knowing
where the dust
will settle, to her
no harm done.

With all her worries
others would try to burn
them away
thirst for a better day
pioneer a fresh, new way
it's just cancer, she'd say.

For she frames
all her hardships in prayers
dashes straight through them

For she frames
all her hardships in prayers
dashes straight through them,
and when her Savior stands by her side
adorned in coaching cleats
no one sits
no one speaks

© Carol Dee Meeks
c_pmeeks@hotmail.com
http://home.comcast.net/~pkmeeks/

Storytime Tapestry Angels

Angels on earth, they exist they are out there.  Angels come in all ages, shapes and sizes, civil status, and religion.  Their nature is love and their purpose is giving to the less fortunate of this world.  Storytime Tapestry angels are no exception.  These angels are loyal members who have contributed to the upkeep of Storytime Tapestry newsletter so that Storytime Tapestry can continue come to your email box 350 days of the year.

Here is our Storytime Tapestry Angels: Also, I would like to thank those of you who chose to be a silent angel and gave an anonymous donation to keep Storytime Tapestry up and running.

Clara Westerfer, Mark Crider, Rosanne Catalano, Paula Booher, Kay Seefeldt, Mariane Holbrook, Mary Ellen Grisham, Louise Nomani, Sharon Bryant, Angela Walker, Hart and Helen Dowd, Keith Ready, Ginger Morgenstern, Ellie Braun-Haley, Surinder Jandu, Bob Shaw, Carol Meeks