STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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

July 29, 2005 

A Happy Anniversary wish goes out to Terry Evans and husband

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

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

Focus on Home

Jan Verhoeff

In the coffee shop, sat a couple of men sipping coffee, eating donuts and enjoying their morning.  I often passed them by with a simple greeting and some laughter, but this day I felt the need to stop a moment and share the day.  My life has been rather hectic, and I really needed the encouragement of old friends.

???I??™ve known this young lady since she was in diapers.???  Brownie bragged to his friend.

???I??™ve known her since before she could walk.???  Bennie returned with a grin, well at least as much as Bennie ever really grins.  ???I used to deliver her mail before she was writing letters.???  He continued.

???That was a long time ago.???  I laughed, enjoying the banter, and being the center of attention wasn??™t bad either.  I??™ve come to enjoy the attention I get from the elder folks in our community, knowing that they remember me back when I was still cute and showing off my ruffled undies on the town square; something I doubt I would get away with these days.

Our stroll down memory lane continued as various members of the community stopped by to say hello, a few sat a moment, and eventually we all wondered off one by one.  My day got hectic and I ended up driving to a neighboring community to take care of some business.  I watched a rainstorm build on the horizon. 

My kids, my mom and my aunt were traveling with me. We chattered about the kinds of clouds in the sky, and there was a lot of discussion about weather patterns, since we are currently studying about the development of storm fronts as part of our educational program.  The wide variety of cloud types drifting across the prairie motivated a lively discussion about the atmosphere, the high winds and dirt storm we encountered brought back memories of life on the plains during the dirty thirties.  We discussed homes with dirt floors, carrying water in wood barrels, and running out of water.  Then the discussion turned to moving into town from the dry land, and memories of who worked where and with whom.  My Aunt remembered a place called Eckles, a tire shop where her husband worked, and her husband??™s friend ???Brownie???. 

When you live where your family has been for decades, faces and names blend the years, time fades away, and sitting in the coffee shop with old friends means something far different than ???meeting your friends for coffee??™.  They remember you back when you were slobbering over a new tooth, giggling at pink bunny ears, and your entry in the town fair.  They remember when you got pulled over by the city cop two weeks after you got your driver license.  They remember that you grew up with their kids and grandkids and how much fun it was sitting around the kitchen table working on a class project.  And you remember when they shared a special moment with you, how their lives touched yours, and you know that life comes full circle. 

Precious moments happen when you least expect them.  Take a moment to enjoy the faces you meet, the moments that happen, and share a memory.

Jan Verhoeff

http://www.prepaidlegal.com/go/janverhoeff

Visit my weblogs at http://writeurthoughts.blogspot.com and http://coffeeclatter.blogspot.com

Make it a happy day - Blessings.

~**~**~ 

Did You Find Jesus?

Bill Walker

wildbill6807@yahoo.com

Did You Find Jesus?   This was the question the preacher asked.  Let me tell you a little joke and then we will get to the meat and potatoes.  See I can make like a preacher, got to get the crowd out of the slumber first.

This afternoon a certain Baptist preacher was doing the baptizing bit down at the river.  Had quite a line up of  new found converts.  A fellow that was the town drunk wondered by. He stood there for a couple minutes and figured out here is a line,  maybe there is some booze at the other end, so he too gets in line. At last it comes his turn to get dunked. Preach pulls him up out of the water and says."Did you find Jesus?"  Drunk says "no",  after about the third dunk.

Drunk sputters out, "is this where you lost him at?"

Now then I wonder about this baptizing bit a lot. Certain churches, it is a sprinkle job, while others it is a dunker.  Some do it a short time after birth, while others say it is to done after a person takes a walk up front and says he/she had seen the light. I am not going to get in this mess saying who is right and who is wrong.  But I am thinking of something else.

Now for those that wait till a certain age and maybe even later, when the light bulb does go on and they see the light. Let me ask a few questions.

What with this anyways? Jesus was thirty,  I believe when he was dunked by John the Baptist. Who dunked John the Baptist? And for what reason?  I myself think it is a show.  It shows you except some idea or some thinking.  It really does not wash away the many sins before or after dunking party. Think about that awhile!!  It is a show in front that you except.  But wait a minute.  Now for all that says it is a must, let me ask another question.

Who dunked the thief that was on the cross on one side of Jesus that dark day? I may have the answer to that after all, get to it in a minute.

Remember the thief said, "Remember me when you come into your Kingdom."  Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23: 42-43.  So who dunked the thief?

I said it has come to me a maybe answer for this question.  Now what washes away the sins?  Not water, but the blood of the lamb.  That was old Jewish ways, the lamb was pure.  Here we have the Lamb of God, pure as the driven snow of Nebraska.  Now if you will take your Bible and read.  What happened that day?  The sky became very dark, black even, stormy weather. Don't it always pore down rain when that happens?  The thief got baptized right there on the cross. And he found JESUS.

Well I??™m a story teller, not a writer. Never learned the art of fancy English. I

happen to live in Nebraska, but I??™m still Missouri. Never married, all the Dollies I

ever took a second look at was too smart. Now at 74, just turned that other day, I

figure they all home safe. I love Doggies and Dollies in that order. Lost my two

true friends this year, that be Tinker and Poo. So I found me a new one. This

time a little girlie Peke. She is a normal female. Got a mouth, talks all the time.

She will never be a great writers of stories like Tinker and Poo. They have

about 50 stories on HWS. And now writing back from Rainbow Bridge.

I just try to write about people, places and things best I remember. Have something

over 250 stories on HWS. under three names.   

~**~**~ 

Downtown On A Saturday Night

Pamela Blaine

There used to be busy little small towns or villages within just a few miles of most residents who lived in rural areas.  The people who lived in or near these communities got most of their supplies from within these small towns. 

The few other things that they needed were usually found in the next largest town, normally the county seat, which was not too far away.  Most of these towns were laid out with the courthouse in the middle of the town square that was surrounded by a park-like area with a few park benches here and there.  At any rate, over the years, it became a tradition to many folks to go downtown on a Saturday night.

Although people came to town to do business, it was an enjoyable time when folks looked forward to just seeing who was in town, visiting, and hearing all the local news.

Farmers and ranchers came to town on Saturdays to do business with the feed stores and stockyards while others came because it was a day off from work when they could pick up supplies.  It was the only day that usually the whole family came along to town.   Later in the afternoon or evening, even more folks showed up in town after their chores were all through.

Our family was no exception and we all looked forward to the trip to Edina on many Saturdays.  My brother and I would often do extra errands and chores to save up money for those trips to town. 

We bought most necessities from our local stores in Baring so the things we purchased in Edina were usually items or services that weren??™t available in Baring.  Young people today would probably think it strange to keep their frozen foods away from home but that is exactly what we did.  Like many folks, we only had a tiny freezer in our refrigerator that held very little so we paid locker rent to keep our frozen meat there.  The locker plant was especially nice on a hot summer??™s day because we would walk inside a large room that was like a quick visit to the North Pole and pick up some frozen foods before we left for home.

The trip to town usually included something that was fun for us kids.  We might get a new pair of shoes from Sandknops or P.N. Hirsch or something new to wear.  We didn??™t always have money to spend in town so sometimes we did what Momma called, ???Window shopping???.  That simply meant that we were looking through the store window at things and dreaming.  Perhaps someday there would be money for that doll or bicycle.

My brother and I had our favorite places to visit.  He would sometimes go to Gambles or Western Auto but my favorite place to go was to the Ben Franklin Store or what we called, ???The Dime Store???.   There were so many things to look at there but before I left the store, I would usually go by the candy counter where glass bins held all the different kinds of candy.  You could buy candy there by weight that was scooped into a brown bag and placed on a scale.  I would usually ask for a dime??™s worth of M&Ms and my brother and I would split them between us.  When I got older, it was the cosmetic counter that drew my attention where there were perfumes for sale.  I remember Blue Waltz and Ben Hur perfumes but my very favorite fragrance was Evening In Paris in that distinctive cobalt blue bottle.

Another fun place to go was the drug store.  There was the choice of either the Southside Drug or McKay??™s Pharmacy.  They each had a soda fountain where you could get a lot of wonderful treats.  My favorites were a cherry root beer or a Helen Special.  There??™s a story behind the Helen??™s Special.  As I recall, there was a lady named Helen who asked for certain toppings on her sundae and everyone liked her concoction so much that it became a regular item on the menu.  It consisted of vanilla ice cream covered with marshmallow cream, chocolate sauce, nuts, and topped off with whipped cream and a cherry if you desired. 

Being downtown on Saturday night was good anytime but I remember summertime the most.  I think it was because people would stand around and visit outside of the stores or sit on benches and visit.  The town would be crowded with hardly a place to park and there was usually a pickup or two that would park sideways along the curb to sell vegetables or fresh fish from the back of a truck. 

There were also special things that went on during the summer months on Saturday nights.  We might get to see a movie at Lindina Theater where there was usually a double feature or sometimes there was a live band and a street would be blocked off for a dance.  Many times during the summer Toby and Susie came to town and set up a big tent to perform their theater show.  Daddy would usually buy us Cracker Jacks from a vendor who passed through the aisles of the tent.  We loved the Cracker Jacks but we had the added treat of the toy that came inside the box.

At one time, all the little towns around this part of the country were busy, thriving communities.  It was rare to see any storefront buildings vacant or abandoned like we see in our small towns these days.  Many small towns, have few businesses left that haven??™t been boarded up or torn down and they struggle to keep what little is left.  Rural areas that are primarily agricultural are working hard to survive and yet it seems unfair and ironic that without agriculture people could not survive.   Our area is often referred to as ???The Breadbasket???.  We should remember where our food comes from, it??™s not from the grocery store, it comes from the harvest of the fields across our great land.  As one bumper sticker I saw says, ???Eat today?  Thank a farmer!???

Some small towns, like mine, were once booming railroad towns where many trains stopped to take on passengers, produce, and stock from the farmers. Now there are fewer trains going through and they don??™t stop anymore.  Yet, we still hear that lonesome train whistle blow in the distance.  Perhaps it reminds us not to forget of another place and time.

It was a time when folks got together, pulled up a bench, and talked about how their crops were doing and if they thought it would rain or not.  People talked about births, community events, weddings, and how sad it was about the newest grave at the cemetery. 

That??™s how it was in our small town.  That??™s how it was downtown on a Saturday night. 

Pamela Perry Blaine

?©April 2005

Pam lives in Missouri with her husband, Michael.  She enjoys composing music and writing stories.  She writes "Pam's Corner" for her local newspaper, The Edina Sentinel.  Pam and her husband are active in their church where she plays piano and he is music leader.  They have a CD available called, "I'll Walk You Home".   The title song is about her lifelong friend who died of cancer.  You can hear this song on her website: http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
Several of her stories have been published on the internet as well as in books such as The Miracle Of Sons, 2The Heart/People Who Make A Difference, and A Tribute To Moms.  Her goal is to write to encourage others and to write stories for her children and grandchildren so that stories and family history will be preserved. 

My Website:
http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
e-mail: pamyblaine@blaines.us

~**~**~ 

Poetry Section

~**~**~

Mountain Girl

Dianna Doles Petry

I grew up in the mountains,

Learned to give instead of take.

I played in fresh creek water,

Never swam in a man made lake.

The mountain side was my playhouse,

It's not there to see anymore.

Strip mining turned it into a mole hill,

Also gone is the company store.

A slate pile was our playground,

There was no fret when we played.

The loudest cry was from a bee sting,

You were born there and you stayed.

Then I grew up above my raisin'

Took off for a fancy school.

I've seen a lot of life these days,

But I still live by the Golden Rule.

When you come to my house,

You'll be invited right on in.

You're welcome here just anytime,

Whether stranger or some kin.

Hugs,

Dianna Doles Petry

?©May 11, 2005

Dianna59@charter.net
~**~**~

If Only I Could

Dianna Doles Petry

I'd love to share my dreams with you tonight,

If only I could.

When I dream I see your smiling face,

I swear I can almost touch you,

If only I could.

I'd love to pick up the telephone and call you,

If only I could.

When we talked I always ended up smiling,

I swear I can almost hear you laughing,

If only I could.

I'd love to spend the day and night with you,

If only I could.

When you held me close I felt so at ease,

I swear I can almost feel your arms,

If only I could.

If only I could go back to yesterday,

I would gladly give up my tomorrows.

If only I could change the ending now,

I would make sure I took away the sorrow.

If only I could.

Dianna Doles Petry

?©May 26, 2005

Dianna59@charter.net

~**~**~

Dancing

Dianna Doles Petry

Did you ever try to catch a moonbeam,

That was shining down from above?

Did you ever lose your sense of time,

Dancing as you thought of love?

Did you ever dance away the time,

Remembering how people used to look?

Did you ever close your eyes and relive,

Other times and trips that you took?

Did you ever lose yourself in the dance,

A silent ballet that no one else could feel?

Rhythm moving your body and your soul,

For a moment in time it all felt so real.

Dancing to forget I've grown older,

To have the heart of young girl once more,

Dancing takes away the things that hurt,

Let's me remember what living is for.

Did you ever try to float away with a song?

Have you danced away the night?

Have you let yourself feel free to soar?

Dancing just seems to make everything feel right.

Dianna Doles Petry

 Dianna59@charter.net

June 7, 2005

Proud founder of:
Women With A Unique Soul
www.womenwithauniquesoul.com
Webmaster of Short Stories
http://diannapetry.tripod.com
Webmaster of Poetry From Life
http://www.geocities.com/diannawv/
Poems By Dianna
http://members.tripod.com/~poemsbydianna/PoetryofLife.html

~**~**~

Writers Feedback

HI Carol-- your piece in the July 6th was excellent. I enjoyed it so
much. As you can see, I am behind in my reading. LOL  I just love the
word dance in itself and use it a lot for some of my paintings

Kay

Re:  It's all in the DNA or is it?

Carol we will have truly arrived as human beings when the emphasis is no longer on "multiculturalism"

but on a "Oneness".   I believe that the multiculturism (or pointing out our differences) is a tool used to divide

and separate which eludes the feeling of oneness and maintains our current separtism, yes, even in 2005. 

Each culture brings something beautiful to this tapestry called life.  Each one of us should celebrate our

important part of this great tapestry.

Perhaps if we would dwell within our many comonalities....  rather than our differences we could discover a

way to come together in mind, body and soul as "One World, One People, one family, with One God knowing

we're All His Children in Christ Jesus. 

Christian Singer, Charlie Peacock,  summed it up best in one of his songs titled, "We're a whole lot different,

we're a whole lot the same". 

Barbara J. Ervin-Weymouth

SENIOR WRITERS

Chief Writer: Sharon Bryant

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

Boda, Ginger;   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;  Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan

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

Whirity, Kathy;  White, Robert;

STORYTIME TAPESTRY STAFF

Publisher: Carol Roach-founder

Moderator: Thelma Hartselle-co founder

Moderator: Clara Westerfer

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