Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

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

Hearts and Humor – A Michael Smith Column

July 5, 2007

Happy July 4th to all our USA readers. I hope you
had a safe and happy one. Ginny and I spent the afternoon
and the early evening at our friend, Kathy's.

Kathy cooked out for us. Of course, just as the BBQ was
fired up, it started to rain. We sat under the umbrella and
ate corn on the cob, ribs, burgers, and potato salad.
The umbrella was just large enough to cover our eating area,
but not big enough to cover the backs of our chairs or
our backsides It was like camping out.

Kathy said, "Mike, you and Ginny are the only two people I can
think of who would sit outside in the rain and eat while water
dropped off an umbrella and soaked your backsides."

Kathy's right, we probably are. It's the company that matters
more than water down my back.

After eating, we went inside, sat on towels, and played scrabble.
Ginny won - the second time she's beat me. The last time she
beat me, was the last time we played. She's getting good.

I want to ask for some prayers tonight.
Last night, my son's friends dropped him off at home. A few minutes
later, the SUV, loaded with six teens, sped down a city street,
clipped a curb, flipped, and hit a power pole.

One of my son's friends died. His best friend is in a coma.
He broke every bone in his face - teeth, jaw, eye sockets, etc.

They'd all been drinking.

A lesson to pass on to your children.
My son got lucky last night. The others didn't.

Pray for the families of those injured and the family who lost
a young life.

I also ask for prayers for the 18-year-old young man who was
drinking and driving. Tonight he is in jail, charged with vehicular
homicide and drunk driving. He made a horrible mistake and
now has to pay the price for his actions. Pray for his family.
They must be horrified at what their son did. They will lose
they're son too.

They all need your prayers tonight.

Here's a great link from Diana, one of our readers.
http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/

I cried like a baby, even though I've read the story before.
This is a great presentation.
Thank you, Diana.

My story called "HooHoo Fraks" was used on my good friend
Keith's site last week.
You can view it here:
http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/feature/index.shtml

Thank you, Keith. I hope your readers enjoy it.


    If you enjoy a story, feel free to pass it on to
your friends. I only ask that you leave the link
at the bottom for them to join us.

    NOTE: IF YOU WISH TO STOP RECEIVING MY STORIES, PLEASE
USE THE UNSUBSCRIBE LINK BELOW. PLEASE DO NOT MARK ME AS SPAM.
MY STORIES ARE ONLY SENT TO THOSE WHO SUBSCRIBE TO MY EZINE.

    I Love your comments.
    Send them to: msmith4@nj.rr.com

    If anyone is interested in greeting cards, 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.

    Also attached is a picture of a rainbow sent to me
by my friend Alice in Nova Scotia.It was taken from her
sister's deck. It's beautiful


    Now for today's story. This is one of my favorites.



                   The Color of Yogurt

    "What color it is?" my grandson Benny asked me, pointing
to the patio chairs.

    "Blue." I replied.

    "Booo." he repeated.

    He pointed to his shirt, "What color it is?"

    "Green."

    "What color it is?" pointing at my pants.

    "Purple." I lied.

    "No, no, no, no. No! It bwown."

    "Very good, Benny! It is brown."

    Benny was two and a half. In just a few months, his vocabulary
took off. He was quite proud of it.  I was reminded of my own kids
at that age. I wish I had written down the things they said.

    My son came to me one day, "Dad? What's the groan area?"

    "The what?"

    "You know, Dad! The groan area!" he motioned his hands in front
of his private area. "The groan area, Daddy?"

    "Do you mean the groin area?"

    "Yeah! That's it! The groin area! What's that, daddy?"


            *********************

    I was lucky to have the opportunity to experience this verbal growth
again. It gave me a lot of laughs.

    Little Benny loved to name his colors. Ginny had him in a department
store. She was looking at shirts. As she moved along, slowly examining
them, Benny reached out to each one, lifted it and stated the color of
the fabric. He came to a new one, reached out, lifted it, put it down and
reached for the next.

    "Benny, you missed one. What color is this?" Ginny asked him.

    Benny stared at it, a look of concentration on his face. Ginny could
tell he wasn't sure what color it was. "Yogurt." he finally said.
Apparently, his favorite flavor of yogurt is pink.

            *********************

    Benny came to me, "Mum, Mum!" He paused. "Gin, Gin!" I waited for
him to get it right. "Poppa!"

    "Yes, Benny." He was in such a hurry to tell me something, he got
our names mixed up.

    Benny pointed to a lamp. "This?"

    "No, Benny. Not that. Don't touch the lamp."

    "Nope! Sawwy." He said and pointed to my glasses, "This?"

    "No! Poppa needs those."

    Around the room he went, determining the things he could
or could not touch.

    He pointed to a book, "This?"

    "Sure, Benny. You can touch that."

    "Otay! T'ank you." and off he went.


                *********************

    They grow older and learn to put sentences together. They know
more words, but it's hard for them to grasp certain concepts.

    Ginny and I took our six-year-old grandson to see the Statue of
Liberty. We drove down the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Seth
looked across the river at Manhattan, "Poppa Mike! GinGin, Look!
It's the Vampire State Building."

            *********************

    A cruise ship was going down the river. "Seth, look at the big
cruise ship!"

    "That's not a cruise ship, Poppa! That's a party boat!" Sometimes
kids get it absolutely right.

            *********************

    Seth was helping Ginny cook dinner one night. "GinGin, little
kids can't cook, can they?"

    "Sure they can," she replied. "They can cook with supervision."

    There was a pause before Seth asked, "You have to have super
vision to cook? Like Superman"

            *********************

    Little Benny sat on my lap on the deck. Seth walked up, "Benny,
you have my shirt on!"

    "Seth, it's OK!" I said. "That shirt doesn't fit you anymore. It's
too small for you."

    "Poppa Mike, how come clothes get smaller?" he asked.

            *********************

    Of course there is Josh and his trains, which he calls, "HooHoo's."
He turned a train car full of tired people, into a car full of smiles,
as he screamed, "Poppa Mike! Poppa Mike! Look! Hoohoo's! And fracks!!!
Poppa, look at the fracks!"

            *********************

    I wasn't much help to my grandsons. They were in their little wading
pool playing.I looked over the deck, "Seth, what's that in the pool?"

    He looked, "It's a chip." They had been eating potato chips near the pool.

    "It's a chip wreck?" I asked.

    "Poppaaaa!" he scolded me.

    "Is it a sunken chip?"

    "Poppaaaa!" he scolded me again.

    "It must be a party chip then."

    "Poppaaaa Mike!!! You're silly."

    It's a great stage in their life to witness. Don't miss out on it. If
you do, you might never know they make shirts the color of yogurt.

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/

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.

Now for some comments on my last few stories:

Regarding the story, "Just Three Words."

Thanks Mike!
    That was a very powerful and moving story; as all
of yours are, those are the best words to hold onto when
the rough times come.  I hope that Heather will keep in
touch with you and Ginny, and that she talks about you
with the boys and helps them remember the fun times you
and the boys had.  God Bless you and Ginny both,
Julie.

Regarding my story, "Life is a Bag of Frozen Peas."

    I've been reading your stories for a good while now.
They are  very touching and  I  seem to learn something 
(good) from each of them. So far my favorite is "Life Is
A Bag Of Frozen Peas" .

    I am thankful to  the Lord that He saw fit to  put
your life back together. I'm glad you are giving others
hope & increasing their faith through your stories------Keep
up the good work !

Joyce

From Diana - She loved the links to Paul Pott's singing:
I am not an opera fan, but wasn't he great?? It's amazing
some of the talent that's out there

About my Canada Day Story:
Hello Michael,

My name is Loretta and I read your Canada Day message, which
was very enlightening.  I live in Arkansas, but I am visiting
my son in Phillipsburg, NJ and I spent last weekend in Canada. 
I son has friends there and I also learned a lot about Canada
and we did take part in the Canada Day celebration.  I
thoroughly enjoyed  visiting the Paraliment and observing the
changing of the guards.  I also received a crash course in
Canadian history.  I didn't expect to see so much diversity
among other things.

I really enjoyed my visit there and plan on making more
visits in the future whenever I visit my son.

Have a happy and safe 4th.....
Loretta