Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

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

October 6, 2007

Publishers Favourite Sites:

Rosanne Catalano

http://www.rosannecatalano.net/

Michael Smith

http://subs.zinester.com/86758/

Barbara Weymouth

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Helen Dowd

www.occupytillicome.com

Dean Perchick

http://symzonia.blogspot.com

I'd like to tell you about a new website that I discovered and now love where all of your favorite authors can be heard on video from your own computer!

The website is Bookvideos.tv and is coming to you from Simon & Schuster publishing. Check it out at: http://www.bookvideos.tv! You won't be sorry you did.

Today’s Announcement

 My heart and soul, Little Bit, died on August 31. Although I have buried a husband and sent my only son off to war, I have never experienced a grief this deep and am totally lost without my Little Bitty Buddy by my side.

It's been 34 days and still feels like yesterday.

Arlene: Arolittlebit1@aol.com

Arlene, Pepper and Angel Little Bit - August 31, 2007

The news this morning was not good, I got told, we are going to have to get some food in her.  This after noon, she had a couple small bites and that stayed with her.   all she is getting is just a once in while bite.  and a little water.   she looked some better.  There was another doggie there, has had the same problems, and this lady vet pulled it out.  so it isn't nothing new to her. 

I must thank each and every one for the well wishes, and prayers. 

Bill Walker

wildbill6807@yahoo.com

Latest update

I got her home this morning at 11:30.   She on special diets  and it is just very small amounts.  and a couple pills twice a day.

Thanks to one and all for the well wishes. the kind thoughts, and the prayers. I am most richly blessed known each and every one that did so. 

Bill

wildbill6807@yahoo.com

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Today’s Stories

~**~**~

My Best Friends

Bonnie Carriles

I am one of those people who, if asked "would you rather have two best friends or 500 acquaintances; I would choose the two and did....well more than two.

I have been very lucky in my life to have had such long lasting relationships with people.

My friend Faith- I met her in high school and found out that she had a baby. A mutual friend of mine offered to watch her baby one night and thought it would be funny to put beer in his bottle "It will help him sleep!" It didn’t take long before I whisked that little boy away and I at 16 made a lifetime commitment to watch over this child forever no matter what. Faith and I became fast friends and we have a very deep and loving relationship. I am her kids aunt and she is my kids aunt...She was my first adopted sister and the one who when I need a good cry, she is always there! In addition she was my labor coach with my first child. She took my abusiveness so well! I was screaming in her face that she doesn’t know how I feel (she had a 2 year old and a now 2 month old child at home). She took it like a woman and just laughed it off. I don’t know what I ever would have done with out her that day! She is the wind beneath my wings!

Then there is Kathy. This is a strange one indeed and our relationship is something that no one can understand. Why? Because I am Kathy and she is me. I knew of Kathy because she hooked up with my (now) husbands best friend Herbie and she was also friends with the mother of my step daughter. I have run across so many people from 15 years ago and when mentioning Kathy's name they would tell me to watch what I was doing because she was "committed" to her other friend who we will call Beast.

However, that did not stop me from talking to her because we had a connection. Not only because our now husbands were best friends but because she too had gone through many many of the same things that I had too. See, unlike others me and Kathy had made an agreement with eachother and we stuck to it despite popular belief. We agreed that we would not even discuss matters having to do with the beast, and we honored it. However, this made me feel limited in my friendship with her and eventually I would fade into the sunset and not talk to her for a couple of years.

One day, I got to thinking about her for some reason and needed to call her but I did not know why. The first thing she said to me was "How did you know that I needed to talk to you?!" and the tone in her voice scared me and rightfully so because she told me that her son had been diagnosed with cancer.

After that phone call I was ashamed of myself because I was not there for her when she needed me the most. I had dropped out of sight, and off the globe. However, apparently I was not out of mind. Ever since that day, I make a concerted effort to "be there for her" as she has with me.

She is a rock...she is tough as nails and when I get psycho and want to go blow up the beasts house, she reminds me to keep a level head and comforts me by saying "you are better than that"....we are better than that. She is fondly known to my children as auntie too.

About a year ago, she and beast had a falling out and her husband pointed out to her that through all of the years, I had been the one there for her when she needed to crumble, and I was her true friend. I felt warm fuzzies hearing that he had said that, and even more when she agreed.

Everytime I hear Shania Twain sing "Your still the One" I think about Kathy...because I am so glad we made it. We didn’t listen to anyone else or let other influences cloud our friendship. We stood our ground and grew from rocks into mountains and even though life has offered the mountains several streams,adventures, and terrors....our relationship is beautiful and I value it everyday, she was my second adopted sister.

Then there is Kristy, I "knew" about Kristy since 1993 when I dropped my brother in law off at a football game for his high school. I was happy he was so gitty about seeing "this girl". However, things turned bad that night when he got home.

His attitude and demeanor changed and he demanded to be sent back to Texas. Not knowing why we obliged and he left two weeks later. It wouldnt be until years later that I would actually meet her again through her trying to find Paul (her true love).

I learned how much I really liked her and we became fast friends. She is a volcano who erupts frequently but that is what I like about her. She will tell you how she feels and is not afraid if feelings get hurt. We have had some really good times together through family fishing trips, fishing, camping, and just going out to lunch. She isnt the type of person who needs day to day contact and is very low maintanence.

As Kathy would state "Upon becoming friends I need you to sign the NO DRAMA clause". lol

Don't get me wrong, she has her dilemmas but she keeps it to herself and figures it out on her own. Usually she cannot be persuaded to do anything and I learned my lesson through the movie Ghost ship that she did not want to see. Many people got coke spilled on them that night, and I learned that what Kristy says, she means. She is the sushi in my pupu platter of life!

Then there is one guy who has "been there" just a hair shorter than Faith....going on 17 years. His name is Brad. I met him in the beginning of 11th Grade. He was the new kid in school and he seemed stand offish. I remember the first time I met him we hit it off, but oddly enough it was not in a sexual way. He became friends with my boyfriend at the time and would "hang out" with us all the time.

Oddly enough whenever troubled seemed like it was on the horizon he was there to rescue me. We partied allot, when I ran away -so did he. We were like twins and we had a mutual understanding that we were never going to stand in the way of each others relationships.

We became so close that we tested the limits one night and it was not planned at all. After a night of drinking and partying we went and spent the night at Brad's house which we thought was” the mansion". He was the rich kid who had everything and we all were very envious. However, we always respected his mother's home.

When we decided to finally pass out, my boyfriend insisted that he sleep in between Brad and I and of coarse we obliged. I had finally got comfortable, fell asleep and felt warmth and I was awoken to the scream of Brad saying "What the f Man!" and he picked the boyfriend up and tossed him into the bathtub.

I said "Oh my god, did he just pee on us?" grumbly and very grumpy, he said yes. I had never seen Brad so perturbed. I told him he should be thankful, he has a dresser full of clothes (none of them fit me) and he didn’t own sweatpants because his mother thought they were for poor people. So, he gave me a long t-shirt and we curled up on the couch together (thank god G strings were not out yet). We didn’t immediately go to sleep. He played with my hair and I held his hand as we talked. We wanted each other but somehow secretly agreed it was not a good idea. I loved him too much.

We awoke to the boyfriend screaming his head off and making all kinds of accusations and while we had cheated on him emotionally, physically we did nothing wrong. That was the beginning of the demise between me and the boyfriend (of 3 years). The end would be at the beach when I caught him cheating with the girl named Colleen.

We had our tiffs, broke up and I seriously became friends with Colleen just to keep an enemy close. It didn’t work out though because we intrigued each other. After she found out what a JA the boyfriend was and I began liking her more, I hooked her up with Brad. They got real serious and we all remained good friends. They would go through my pregnancy with me and be one of the first people to greet my little man when he came home.

Eventually we grew apart, I was a mom and they decided to get married. I too had gone back and mended things with Robert (my husband) and we have been together ever since. We all went on with married life but somehow Brad got lost. he would do drugs and get busted time and time again. Eventually the drug use would be the demise of his own marriage to Colleen.

We lost contact before that had happened because I had moved away. One day 3 years ago my sister gave birth to her little boy and I was in the room while she gave birth. All of a sudden this nurse walks in the room ....and it was Colleen. I wanted to cry. We caught up and she told me that I shouldn’t contact Brad because he will ruin me too.

Upon returning home, I didn’t care what she thought and began to search for him and found out that he had been locked up and sent to jail for 4 years on a parole violation. I was sad for him and discussed with my husband that I wanted to reach out to him. I was more or less giving my husband a courtesy chat because as far as I was concerned, we were talking about my brother.

I found him...and not a day has gone by that we don’t write to each other. He is locked up only 15 minutes away but we agreed that visitation was not a good idea, for my sake. He still knew me after all those years. "I don’t want you to see me like this; I can’t stand to see you cry!”

Through the years, he has supported my efforts in college and I supported his NA efforts. We have decided that we are supposed to be in each others lives. and that’s all there is to it. He sent me a graduation card in the mail and I got it yesterday....maybe his own words can explain

"Bonnie, your day came and I can’t tell you how proud I am of you! You’ve been through so much babe and always pushed yourself to the top. I don’t know if you even know this but you’ve almost done 3 years with me while I have been locked up. I could never begin to explain to you what that means. Life changed so much since being locked up, we've kinda grown together. I want you to know with out one hour going by how much I love you. And always will. In a way you've been my girl for so long. Robert was really lucky to get a woman who is as special as you. Love you~ Brad. Ps. ive been loving you 17 years, that’s a long time!"

I love you too Brad...and Kristy.....and Kathy.....and Faith!

Bonnie Carriles

Krazyb73@aol.com

~**~**~
A Couple Things
Bill Walker
missourisage@yahoo.com

There are two things I have noticed in my life time. One is about a certain kind of buggy, and the other is pet lovers. If I have to explain to a person that don't have one or the other, the case is lost. Those poor people would never understand the love a person has for a pet, or for a buggy.
The buggy is a Jeep of course, I mean a honest to goodness JEEP. One that can go anywhere and do anything. Not a want to be JEEP, you know one of them big fancy Dan wagons, or a look alike. I have noticed in my time, people that have a real honest to goodness JEEP is a special breed of people. They speak to one another on the road, if a Jeep is pulled over, it isn't long till another Jeep pulls up. Got a problem, well it is like old friends get together to see what can be done. If it's one of them fancy Dan things, a common Jeep will just roll on by, don't even see the blasted thing. It's a JEEP thing you know; if I have to explain it to you, forget it.

Now the same goes for us pet lovers. If I have to explain it to you, forget it. You're never going to understand. If a pet lover has a sick pet, or one should die, we can all get in crying time. We worry about the well being of one another's baby. We also worry when we see a pet that is lost, or for some reason has lost it's home. Us true pet lovers will spend the last dime on the well being of our baby. That is our child you know, if I have to explain it to you, I am sorry, you're never going to understand. You just don't know what true love is until the day a pet owns you.

Pet lovers are much like Jeep people, we stick together when a pet is sick, or in trouble. Yep, if I got to explain it to you, you just don't have either a Pet or a Jeep, or better yet both. Tink and Poo loved riding about town in their little Red JEEP, watching the Dollies wish.
Tinker and Poo; The Boys Write
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-35741-5
 
 

~**~**~

Poetry Corner

~**~**~

~It Was You~
Mary Dees
My destiny was questioned,

My real reason unknown.
Until my eyes seen the light,
That beckoned me home.

~It was you~
It has always been you!

My road maps erased,
I ventured so long.
Though I loved once to sing,
I could not feel our song.

~Because It was you~
It has always been you!

Lost in the valley,
No peeks I could see.
My once, gentle river,
Could not flow with me.

~Although it was you~
It has always been you!

The clouds rolled like thunder,
With no courage to strike;
I knew of your pain,
Because it found me tonight.

~It was you, my love~
It has always been you!

Then out of the sunset,
Gods orange armor disguised.
You resurfaced, you found me,
In my honest surprise.

~You remembered.. it was you~
It has always been you!

Just as clean as linen,
Washed with the spring scented dew;
You forgave me and laid me,
In your blanket of truth.

~You knew it was you~
It has always been you!

And now in this light,
In love which I lay.
I don't question my hopes,
Or the prayers that I've prayed.

I only reflect on this one life renewed,
Because for me, even in death......
~It will always be you~!

By Mary M. Dees
marlena7694@yahoo.com

By Mary M. Dees
marlena7694@yahoo.com

~**~**~

Readers Feedback

Carol,
   I appreciate your running "Almost Heaven" today.  I hope that all of your days here
are Heavenly my friend.  Wishing you every joy, Joe

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