STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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

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Oct 9, 2005? 

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Today's Queue Stories
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TRAVELING WITH CHARLIE . . . AGAIN

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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? By Barbara Deming

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? I've been married? over a quarter of a century to the man of my dreams.?  Well, like most women, I thought he was.?  And if he didn't quite live up to my expectations, I could quietly work behind the scenes on changing him, now couldn't I?
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All women know how well that works.?  Besides on most of the important life-style characteristics and decisions together we have been in sync.?  Except when we travel somewhere by car.?  That's where our differences are most pronounced.
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When I drive, he insists that I am always driving too fast.?  And he always catches sight of those obstacles in his vision.?  Watch that pothole under your left tire.?  Not that far!?  You're too close to the edge of the highway.?  All too soon he gestures.?  Didn't you see that screw??  It could puncture a tire, you know.?  It stands to reason that when he drives I brake for him on my side, grab the armrest or bury my head in a book - because I think he drives too fast, too.?  And a little too wild.?  Don't you dare make a gesture or say a word to that guy who just cut you off!?  I know he wants to get off at that exit but did you have to shove the nose of our car almost under the rear wheels of that semi to keep him from doing it?

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? When the car radio is on, he likes Mexican music, loves to practice his Spanish by translating the announcer's words in between songs.?  I'm more into humming along with the Irish Tenors or having my heart strings strummed by Placido Domingo.
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And is it a male thing that affects most of them when they are lost??  Gasoline is nearing $2.65 a gallon and my favorite driver goes ten miles in the wrong direction. I'm a better navigator than he is but in unfamiliar territory my sense of direction can also be cockeyed.?  So we are both saying, "That restaurant must be here somewhere."?  The difference is that I will eventually stop to make inquiries.
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Before he purchased a "real" tire and rim as spare for our car, if we dared have a flat anywhere but next door to Costco or Pep Boys, the charming man said we'd just have to drive on the donut.?  No matter that we're in Podunk, Wyoming and the nearest discount store is in Salt Lake City.?  We limp along at 35 miles per hour for those long miles.
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My honey also has these wonderful destinations he must see again as we travel along.?  "Remember that truck stop in Indio where we had the best biscuits and served? in this entire nation?"?  Off the freeway for several miles on the other side of lonely railroad tracks we're creeping along looking for a place that eventually we find closed up two years ago.

? "That campground in Missouri . . . you know the one, right there in the center of that little German town, the one where we could smell the fresh bread in the ovens of the bakery up the street - if the smell of the Missouri River didn't overwhelm it.?  Wouldn't let anyone run a place of business there unless they had a German name, remember??  Right friendly place."?  He doesn't remember the name of it or if it was east, west, south or north of St. Louis, but sure he can find it!?  He'll just take this next exit off the freeway onto some county road that might look familiar - and we'll see where it takes us.
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We haven't been taking many driving trips these last few years.?  I subtly arranged the travel brochures on his desk and he just "happens" to find this wonderful tour to take - leaving the driving to the pilots and railroad engineers.?  I do have one complaint about our last jaunt though.?  After a lovely train ride to Seattle on the Coast Starlight, we made a smooth transition to Vancouver where we sailed off.?  And several days later I knew we were in trouble.
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They must have let my darling husband in the pilothouse - we missed the most famous glacier in Alaska.

tejasbabs@aol.com
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BIO: Barbara Deming lives, volunteers and writes in San Marcos, CA. Her next collection of short stories, "Pink Poodle Pie (and Other Tales of How Women Get Even) will be released soon.

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~**~**~? 

A Thought In My Mind

Saskia Nienna Streidel

In our car.

A sunny day.

Out of nowhere a thought pops into my head.

???If I would die right now, I would die happy!???

I am smiling, till my brain notices, what I just thought about. Then I stop smiling. This smile freezes on my face.

IF I WOULD DIE?

I don??t know where that thought came from. It is a wonderful summer day, we are driving to see my family, I am happy.

Maybe because of that?

But what does happiness have to do with dying?

I cannot explain it.

But on that day, I just smiled and thought:

???If I would die right now, I would die happy!???

So isn??t that also great? It means, I have a wonderful life, I have no regrets. Who else can say that? How many people are out there who can?

If you would die right now, would you die happy?

From this moment on I started to ask myself every day again and again: Would I die happy?

If not, I need some changes. Because I want to be able to answer the same again and again:

Yes, I would!

Saskia Nienna Streidel

saskiaofthewoods@yahoo.de

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My name is Saskia Steidel, I am born the? 17.10.1981 in Germany. I live in a small ? village in the middle of the woods and love to write. Right now I study learn therapy and music therapy and I just quit my job as a ticket manager in the administration of an soccer club, to have more time to study and to write and to work as a Nanny, what I really love. So far I published poems and some other pieces in different books and published one book called "Am Ende der Nebel". Right now I am writing on a children??™s book.

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? ? ~**~**~

? Home Sweet Home

? by Sharlett F. Hunt

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?  I went to town yesterday on the city bus since I don't drive.?  This limits me a lot but riding public transportation gives me the opportunity to meet so many people that I would never meet ordinarily.? 

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?  I live the life of a semi hermit and find myself staying home for days, never seeing anyone except my beloved cat, Precious, and parakeet, Sweetie.?  People wonder why I talk to myself.? 

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? ? ?  Actually, I talk to many people.?  I have long conversations with God and my pets.?  We are all good friends here in my little house.?  Of course, I talk a lot to me but I read that psychiatrists are now claiming that "self talk" is very beneficial.?  It's not just for crazy people anymore.?  In reality? it is quite normal.

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?  There are those times when I know I need to get out of here for a while.?  I get depressed from all the negative thoughts with no human to actually relate to.?  Thank God for computers and I have many online friends but a human in the flesh is what I really need to talk to.?  So I get myself together and go to the bus stop and wait.? 

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?  Yesterday was one of those days when I knew I had to get out of here or go stir crazy.?  I had been in a depression for about two weeks and had decided to go try to find an apartment and get out of this little mobile home.?  I was blaming my surroundings for my own failures.?  Not only that, I was becoming extremely difficult to live with, and when you live alone, that's saying a lot.

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?  I just go hog wild when I get out and around people!?  I talk to everyone, including the bus driver.?  I am so wound up from staying in my shell that I want to relate to anyone who looks my way.?  I was talking about getting my apartment to several people and they all looked at me strange when I told them I own this two bedroom, bath and a half mobile home but I am going to look at an efficiency apartment.?  I told them I thought God was leading me out of this old trailer on the highway.?  I needed peace and quiet and that's what the? apartment manager offered.?  So what if I would have to sell all my belongings because they would never fit inside a tiny efficiency.?  All the things God had blessed me with in the past few years I was willing to just give up.?  I wasn't thinking logically at all.

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?  Riding a bus here in my town is not an easy chore.?  It is usually a long, hot day for me when I do this.?  I talked with these fellow passengers? on the way and a lady asked the location of the apartments.?  She knew of them and then said that she didn't think I would like it.?  She had a friend who had lived there.?  I didn't pay attention to her, after all, this was a God thing.? I continued in my quest.

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?  The people on the bus are amazing!?  You can find most will help if you don't know where you are going.?  One fellow informed me when It was time to depart the bus and even gave me directions to the apartment from there.?  Then another, elderly lady told me she didn't think I would like living there.?  The location was in a known drug area of town.?  Of course, had I known this, I wouldn't have gone anywhere and would not have had this experience.? 

?  This was an extremely hot day in central Florida and I found myself having to walk several blocks after being dropped off at the bus stop.?  I looked around and slowly started trudging in the heat down the block to my destination.?  I was pouring sweat and had tried to look so nice that morning to meet my new landlord.?  I was lugging my big purse which had started to weigh a ton when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a car coming up beside me, going too slow.?  It was a large white Lincoln, and the guy was wearing a beret.

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?  I had heard of so many people being accosted and even murdered for almost nothing in this area.?  I wanted to turn and run but thought that would cause the guy to pursue me.?  I tried to just slowly, nonchalantly, move forward.?  The car pulled up? beside me and the guy rolled his window down,? staring at me, still moving very slowly.?  I stopped and mopped my face with my tissue.?  He kept? driving at a snails pace and I turned around and almost ran.?  I didn't even stop at the bus stop, I trotted all the way back to the downtown terminal, about a mile and a half.? ? ? I had been within a block of the apartments.?  I really didn't think I wanted to live there.? 

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?  One of my motivations for moving close to town was the fact that I could walk or ride my bike to many different places.?  I never gave a thought to the fact that I might be giving up my peaceful life to try and achieve peace.?  I live out in the country.?  Bad part is, I can't walk to the grocery store or shopping.?  Good thing is, I live in a senior trailer park where the biggest crime is gossip. I never even got to see the apartment.?  Funny how God works in our lives.

?  I started smiling to myself as I waited on the bus to take me home.?  I decided to do some shopping while I was out and met a man in the pharmacy whose conversation blessed me even more.?  So much good for one little day!? 

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?  I was looking for Milk Thistle herb in the vitamin section and this fellow worked there.? He helped me look for it and we started a conversation about herbs and vitamins.?  He didn't know? about? Milk Thistle. I told him that it? is a good cleansing agent for the liver and I attribute it to the heath I enjoy today, living with cirrhosis.?  He confided to me that he had been stricken with Hepatitis B and spent months sick until he discovered that diet and exercise would help him.?  Of course there is no cure, as with cirrhosis.?  He doesn't have it anymore.? 

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? As we talked he admitted that he had found God and that is the only? thing cured him of this awful disease.?  As I told him, I would never look or feel as healthy as I do today without God.?  I know that for a fact.?  God showed me what to do with my life in order to get better.?  God also gave me this conversation to bless me and make me know that He loves me and everything is okay.

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?  ? I also know there are angels everywhere, especially in this day and time.?  They are always where you least expect it.?  I know that God wants me to stop talking so much and really listen.?  He gives me many choices.?  Sometimes that is hard for a person like me who always tries to analyze the situation at hand.?  If I listen, He will lead me in the right direction every time.? 

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?  I got my shopping done, got on the bus and came home.?  Yes, home sweet home.?  I was suddenly so grateful to see my little cat and bird, happy as can be in what I thought was an old shack.?  I was looking at life through different eyes.

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?  My manager here, Mary, instant messaged me later that day and asked me why I wanted to move.?  I had already told her a few days ago that? I was moving to an apartment.?  She thought I was crazy and I had to agree.?  Her words were, "You have to be happy with what you have."?  And I am.

Sharlette863 @aol.com


About Me:

I was born in Alabama, the middle of seven children. At about age four we moved to Central Florida and I have lived here most of my life. I am a Viet Nam Era Veteran. I have always enjoyed writing and as I get older it seems to come more naturally to me. I believe everyone has many stories inside them and some are blessed to be able to share them.

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Poetry Section

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Coming Alive

Robert White

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As the sun? approaches morning

I awaken to a soft glow dawning.

Light beams sun your hair, your face,

All of you lies restful while I gaze ..

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With? wistful whispers, you're breathing softly,

I cast adrift night??™s covers deftly.

A hand, a foot, a naked neck

A glimpse of promise? lays in check ..

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No longer? I lull? a quiet rest.

Seeing you in passion in my nest,

A fire ignites inside my being

Burning to touch and see you ... seeing.

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Now your sighs size up a calling

Ere? night before moaned out? recalling

That? winter's season??™s? naught? the same

From here, summer will? call our name!

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Morning rises a bright sun??™s season

Beaming rays of hope and all good reason

Two mortals merged, entwined to thrive

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  As love's glowing embers come ... alive!

Robert White
poeticrob@hotmail.com

About Me:
I'm a christian, 47 years of age, divorced with
2 children - Rachel who's studying to become a
nurse and Jonathan [Jonno] who is fast growing
into a fine young man.

I'm interested in writing - since early 2003
anyway, and have now written over 20 poems, 6
or so songs, a couple of short stories and some
other works. I love music and would love to write
songs with meaning touching on all parts of life,
from love to grief, from death to new life, fromAustralia to the world. You could say that I see
the world now in ways I hadn't noticed when I was
younger and I want to leave a legacy which will
bless and build up others.

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? ~**~**~

? My reply message:

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Norma Liles

An example of aging is when a younger person will

come to me for advise.?  How complimentary it is to feel

that I have expressed myself through my walk in life or

possibly as a good role model.?  I could not envision this

happening in my younger days.

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The most rewarding experience to me is to be a grandma

(g'ma to my grandkids)and to know that I am loved on a

different level than with anyone else.?  My prayer is to leave

an imprint in this world with the hope that this life is sweeter

because I have walked it well!

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Thank you, my dear Carol Roach (my #3 daughter-adopted

through cybspace, of course)for opening the door for my

input on aging.

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*Aging*

I walk the line

but just a tad slower

I climb the stairs

but with much care.

I greet my friends

if they are within eyesight

I answer the phone

If I hear it ring.

I love my Storytime_Tapestry

for all the beauty I find there

I love this newsletter

Because I have met you, my friends!

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Love and blessings,

NormaLee Liles

hoopla214@yahoo.com

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About Me:

Norma Liles is a retired data entryclerk/supervisor who lives in Ohio. Her hobbies
are: writing poetry and stories, reading,
her family, living for Jesus and
her use of her computer. Her ambition is
to add pleasure to those who read her
writings as well as sharing her faith.

My writings have been published on Starfish,
Driftwood, Sandollar, Morning Spirit Lift,
www.poetry.com, PrayerofGod, Jan Karon's
newsletter, American Poetry Writer's league,
Lucy's Inspiration, Faithful Hope reading room,
Poetry of Today publishing, Hope in Him,
Bonnie's Place, America will remember and
News Moose. Finally senior writer for Storytime Tapestry

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? ~**~**~

?©THE HOUSE THAT LOVE BUILT??¦

Barbara Weymouth

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This house was built with pride, with love and? guidance from above.

This house was built by my Daddy??™s hands and they were filled with love!

It would tell how Momma saved her tips from the restaurant and paid cash for the lot it sits on??¦

This house has been a home and a home away from home, for, four generations??¦

If this house could talk, oh the stories it would tell!

It would tell of the many years of family dedication

It would tell of, the glad times, the Sad times and all the in between times??¦

It would tell about the laughter and the tears

It would tell of, times of sickness, times of health, times of much joy and happiness.

It would tell of, births, first days of school, graduations, first jobs,

New careers, weddings, grand hellos and sad goodbyes.

It would tell of the day my brother left for Korea, to serve in the U.S. Air Force??¦

It would tell of my parent??™s 56 golden years of marriage

It would tell about the days my parents and my brother passed away

It would tell about how carefully this house has been cared for over the years.

It would tell about the day I was born and came home here from the hospital

It would tell about the day of my wedding and the birth of my son and

The day he took his first steps??¦

It would tell about my son??™s wedding and the births of my two grandchildren

It would tell about the day I retired after 22 years and then earned my Teaching Credential??¦

It would tell about the births of my parent??™s five grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren??¦

It would tell about the beautiful rose garden and flowers, and the fresh fruits and vegetables that Daddy tended and grew??¦his yard and garden were his recreation after a long day??™s work.

It would tell how Momma canned those fresh fruits and vegetables, preserves, jellies and jams, enough to last all winter long??¦

It would tell about the great times shared with our beloved grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends??¦!

It would tell about the many beloved family pets that called this house their home.

It would tell of all the dear friends and neighbors that touched our lives over the past 57 years??¦

It would tell of times of family and friends shared together, these precious memories

that will never fade away??¦!

It would now tell you that it??™s time for me to close the door here, in 2004, to begin a new Chapter? along life??™s journey!

And in closing it would say, ???Take good care of me, I will shelter you and fill your hearts with warmth and love.

Yes, if these walls could talk!

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Barbara J. Ervin-Weymouth

?©Copyright, July 28, 2004, ?®All Rights Reserved

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My name is Barbara J. Ervin-Weymouth; I was born and raised and still reside in the Sacramento Valley of California.?  I am a Christian and a proud mother of one son, Eric who is married to my daughter-in-law Dawn, together they have given me two beautiful gifts from God, I call my grandchildren.

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I have one very spoiled Staffordshire Terrier, Rosie, who doesn't know she's a dog, shhh!?  I have worked in public education for 27 years.?  After 22 of them I decided to become an Adult Education Teacher.?  It has been the realization of a life long dream. I have been substitute Teaching for the past five years.?  I??™m still praying for a classroom and students of my own.?  The Lord had another plan,

I am now working as an Office Administrator for Placer Hills Church; I am truly blessed beyond measure to be able to work in our Lord??™s service.

Email:?  Weymouth@cwnet.com

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I am published on the following E-Sites: Storytime Tapestry, Starfish (ripplemaker.com), Hearts With Soul, Pearlsoup.com, Women With Heart, Poetry.com

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Writers Feedback

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Prayer Requests and Updates

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? SENIOR WRITERS

Chief Writer: Sharon Bryant

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

Boda, Ginger;? ? Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.;?  Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark;? 

Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria; Goodier, Steve; Halley, Ellie Braun;

Harris, Kathy Anne;? Hunt, Sharlette;? 

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

Liles, Norma; Lock, Joyce; Mazzella, Joe;? Ojeigbe, Georgewaters;

?  Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan;?  Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan

Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe;? Warner, Gorden K; Walsh, Sue

Whirity, Kathy;? White, Robert;

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STORYTIME TAPESTRY STAFF

Publisher: Carol Roach-founder

Moderator: Thelma Hartselle-co founder

Moderator: Clara Westerfer

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