STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

June 18, 2005

Now on to the good stuff..........

Animal awareness series endorsed by Shiloh and Hank our mascots; all stories must receive their approval.

Submitted by Mark Crider,

mark@cccoating.com

the author is unknown to him.

Anyone who has pets will really like this.  You'll like it even if you don't and may decide you need one.

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog, Lucky.  Lucky was a real character.
Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy.  Inevitably someone would forget and something would come up missing Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's favorite toys.  Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer.  Something told her she was going to die of this disease....she was just sure it was fatal.  She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders.

The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky.  A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky?  Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through.  If I die Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought.  He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him.  The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks.  Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully but the dog just drooped, whining and miserable.  But finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital.  When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom.  Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.

Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called.  It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.  When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong.  She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot.  Panic soon gave way to laughter though when Mary realized the problem.  She was covered, literally blanketed in every treasure Lucky owned!  While she had slept the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement and back bringing his beloved mistress his favorite things in life.  He had covered her with his love.  Mary forgot about dying.  Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every night.

It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free.  Lucky?  He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Live everyday to the fullest...because every day is a blessing from God!

Today's Queue Stories
~**~**~**~

God??™s Direction

Sharon Bryant

Yesterday something happened.  This woman came into the shop and said her husband was outside with their two dogs.  She said she'd pick out what she wanted, then switch places with her husband and he'd come in and buy what he wanted.

So here comes the husband.  He looked around and said, "I've got to find something sugar free for my mother-in-law.  I showed him the sugar free line when he said, "She's having such a hard time right now."  I didn't say anything and he said, "Her son just died and she's having a terrible time trying to live with it."

I looked at him and he said, "I'm a cop.  I can't do anything to help her."

I handed him an Angels Remembered card and told him there is help if she will go to the website.  He saw the photo on the card and said, "your child?"  I nodded yes.

Then he said, "Something told me to come here today, and I wondered why I would drive this far in rain but here I am."  Then he pointed his finger at me and said, "You know who directed me here, don't you?"

I said yes.

He told me about some cases where kids have died in accidents and he felt so bad for the parents.  I told him to keep the web site address handy, and if he ever needs it again, send them to the site.

As he walked out the door he turned and said, "You know who is directing you to do this kind of work, don't you?"  I nodded yes.

"You're an earth angel." he commented.  I told him no, I was not an earth angel.  I was just a mom who had lost a child and I know what a parent is going through those first horrible months and years.  He said, "You never get over it, do you?"  I said no, we learn to live with an inner pain that after a time, no one wants to talk about so we stay to ourselves.

The last thing he said as he went through the door was "You'll be hearing from me."  I told him, "Yep, I know I will."

I'm pretty sure who directed him to walk through that door yesterday.  It's such a small world after all, just so many do not realize it.

Sharon Bryant

1946 @bellsouth.net

About Me:

 I am Sharon Bryant, 59 years old and reside in Alabama.

I lost my child in 1977 when he was five and I write
articles on bereavement often.

I am a chocolate/candy maker and also a wood crafter and knitter.

I am married to a wonderful man, and have two remaining children, a daughter 25,
Amy, and a second son, Randy, age 22.

My main goal in life is to help those who
have lost a child. My website is: www.angelsremembered.tk

  ~**~**~

My Working Weekend

Dianna Doles Petry

Okay, it's time for a recap of the last couple of days of my life.  Warning: If you are drinking anything at all, please put it down and swallow before you continue or your monitor might be in trouble shortly!

I had thought I was going to leave home early Friday morning but as luck would have it, there was no school that day and I got a call that I would be working on Saturday only. I spent the day trying to catch up on the housework, baking goodies for the boys to have while I was away and doing laundry since my favorite pair of casual slacks was dirty.

Now, in doing the housework, I most generally clean my kitchen sink basins by applying a paste that I make up which consists of one part cream of tartar mixed with a squirt or two of fresh lemon juice. It will bring off any rust stains that might be there as well as leave the basins shining very nicely. At this point I need to add, it is not a very flavorful paste, just ask Courtney!

I had mixed the paste and set the bowl down to go switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer. Apparently, since I was also baking turtle brownies and white chocolate cookies, Courtney thought the paste in the bowl was some kind of batter. She scooped up a huge spoon full and put the whole thing in her mouth.

If you have ever seen a nine-year-old turn as pale as a ghost and run to the waste basket to spit something out, you know that this is not the funny part. The poor thing thought she had been poisoned and she got hysterical.

Nicole, thinking she was helping Courtney, began to hit her on the back as you might do a choking victim. Sable, thinking Nicole was attacking Courtney, attacked Nicole's shoes. Skye, thinking that Sable was attacking Nicole, attacked Sable and bit her on the backside. All the while, Kanawha is standing by yapping at all of them.

I got the situation under control after a few minutes and the children went back to playing video games and board games. I tossed the dogs outside and went back to the housework.

By about one o'clock, the kids were all telling me that they were starving. One wanted pizza, one wanted grilled cheese sandwiches, one wanted hot dogs and my mother wanted fresh oysters! What they all got was a pot of potato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Can you see why I look forward to weekends away?

Cleaning up the kitchen and dining room was another adventure. Chris came down the stairs wearing his Freddy Krueger glove and pretending to go after the little girls. They ran and squealed and anytime he stopped, they would sneak up to him, (or so they thought), and pinch him. During one of these sneak attacks, one of the little girls bumped into Ted's cage and the door flew open. He flew out and straight into the living room he went.

My mother, who was watching television at that point, threw her arms up and began flailing them about when she saw Ted going by. She swore he was "one of them Kamakazi people going to drop bombs!"  (This is one of the funny parts!)

If she only knew the kind of bomb Ted was eager to drop, and drop he did, right on Nicole's shoulder. He had landed on the top of my office door and she stood directly under him laughing and trying to prod him back towards the living room to get my mother motivated again.

When he did head back towards the living room, my mother was ready for him. She had her cough drops and her bubble gum ready and she tossed them at him in rapid succession. She was using some newly developed words and phrases but as he flew into the dining room, she was feeling like a flying Ace who had just saved her country!

By late afternoon, I had decided that as soon as the daycare children left, I was going to leave too so that I could get a room and really relax and get some sleep. I hurridedly put a few clothes into my suitcase, including my favorite casual slacks fresh from the dryer. I was ready and eager to get moving as soon as possible.

I left as soon as the last child was gone. My mother begged me not to go to Oregon because people go there and never make it back, or so she said. Don't ask because I have no idea why she had Oregon on her mind either!

I'll fast forward to Saturday morning at the hotel. I slept in until 6 o'clock and was at work by 7 o'clock. I felt pretty good and once I got busy, the time seemed to pass pretty quickly.

Now about an hour or so into work, I had to get up to get something I needed for the job. The supplies were down the hallway from where I was working and I headed towards the boxes of supplies. I felt something against my leg and reached down to swat at it thinking it was most likely a ladybug or something along those lines.

To my surprise, there was a pair of purple panties lying there at my feet......my panties! Of course, there were several people there to see them and the laughter rang out immediately. (This was funny to everyone but me!)

Apparently, in my rush to get the laundry done and take care of the children at the same time, I had left panties in the dryer when I tossed in the load of slacks. This pair of panties had ended up in my pants leg and decided to break free in front of several members of the technology team! Thank goodness they were clean and not the kind my grandmother wore!

One lady picked them up and seemed to study them for a second before saying, "Well, the elastic seems to be just fine. How in the world did that happen?" She was staring at me waiting for an answer!

One of the men said, "I know the ladies think I'm irresistible but I've never had one to drop their panties in the floor for me like that!"

Oh, needless to say it was a long day! I guess I shouldn't even mention that during dinner the button in the middle of my blouse flew across the table like a rocket when it came out unexpectedly! I was only grateful that it didn't hit anyone.

I'm home now and I think I'll be more careful with the laundry this week. How was your weekend?

Love,

Bio: For Diana Doles Petry

Dianna59@charter.com

 Proud founder of:

Women With A Unique Soul

www.womenwithauniquesoul.com

Proud member of:

Nuttin But Sunshine

www.nuttinbutsunshine.org

Webmaster of Short Stories

http://pages.ivillage.com/dianna40

Webmaster of Poetry From Life

www.geocities.com/diannawv/poetrypage.html

Poetry Section

~**~**~

Morning Star

Sue Walsh

You are the Morning Star

Don??™t look to the sky my love

For it rests in the Crown upon your head

And when you feel its energy flow

Know that you are one with Me

~**~**~

Love

Sue Walsh

Hand in hand they strolled down the lost and lonely beach

Neither daring to speak or break the precious silence

But the energy flowing from one hand to the other

Made any words redundant

And as the waves rolled in with the gentle breeze

The sun set on their perfect day

~**~**~

Death

Sue Walsh

They both knew it was time to move on

One would be left behind to grieve and the other would be gone

How painful to watch someone you love slowly die

Impossible not to question ??“ ask the reason why

She made all the preparations that she could

She??™d said goodbye to all she should

But knowing she??™d never see her baby grow strong and tall

Made the tears in torrents fall

It wasn??™t death that was painful ??“ just the dying

And the sense of loss for all ??“ caused the crying

As she drifted off to sleep

He thought about all the memories that were his to keep

Heaven stood waiting its gates open wide

And Heavenly Angels descended to be her loving guide

Goodbye my love ??“ Goodbye!

Sue Walsh

Adelseal @senet.com.au

Bio

My name is Sue Walsh - I live in Adelaide, South Australia with my husband and two children.  I worked as a Legal Secretary for 25 years and then my husband and I started our own engineering import/export business.  I love to learn about spiritual subjects and have study many different areas.  I love to write spiritual/religious poetry and peace prayers, I am also endeavouring to complete a novel.

Writers Feedback

Bravo!  Your son is one fine, young man.  My son was born with a severe clefting of the lip, gums and hard and soft palates.  We have raised him to define himself by who he is on the inside, and not the scarring from the surgeries.  He is a happy, delightful thirteen year old.

Thanks for the article.  Well done. 

LEARN TO LIVE by Steve Goodier: Steve thanks for simplifying the PhD. It is helping me out now. Beautiful story!

Georgewaters Ojeigbe ??“ Lagos, Nigeria

Prayer Requests and Updates

Dear Prayer Warriors:

Please pray for this soldier in Iraq...  Keep him safe Lord

and bring him home soon!

Love,

Barbara

Here is the note:  one of the women in my group has

a son that might be missing in Iraq....please pray.

Terre 

Carol;

Father in heaven I come to you asking that you reach down your almighty hand and touch

our friend Carol, help her with her money problems and show her your most awsome powers.

Father you know her needs and we know that your will be done. It is in the name of

Jesus Christ the holy son that I pray. Amen Amen father I praise your holy name thank

you father.

With Gods love

Richard & Jackie Sims

SENIOR WRITERS

Agee, Vance;  Apted, Violet;  Baker, Kathy;  Batt, Al;  Berry, Nell;

Boda, Ginger;  Bryant, Sharon;  Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.;  Crider, Mark; 

Deming, Barb; Goodier, Steve;  Harris, Kathy Anne; Hunt, Sharlette; 

Jacobson, Gary;  Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Jenkins, Pamela;

Liles, Norma;  Mazzella, Joe; Ojeigbe, Georgewaters;

  Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan;  Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam;

Walker, Bill;  Walker, Joe; Warner, Gorden K;

Whirity, Kathy;  White, Robert;

STORYTIME TAPESTRY STAFF

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Moderator: Clara Westerfer

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