STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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

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Nov 5, 2005? 

Today??™s Announcements:

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Writers and readers alike, I need your votes for the Halloween Contest.?  Even though you have until Nov 10^th, please don??™t all 12,00 of you wait until the last day.?  Have pity on me please.?  But most importantly, support the writers you have come to know and love.?  Please vote!

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

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

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? Wrangler

Mark Crider

At a lean 125 pounds, he's formidable. Quick snuffles on your hand and a big lick/kiss instantly lets you know you're not going to be an appetizer as long as you show no signs of aggression towards the eight or ten squealing kids jumping and laughing in the pool or their gramma.

You know your place, keep it, and you will be rewarded with loving attention. A red dot on your heart from some unknown hidden spot comes to mind. Keep smiling when you notice it and be nice, you will be able to leave alive and come back another day to have fun, is his demeanor.

Big brown eyes that lovingly pierce you and short floppy ears that discern sounds of glee with those of distress. How would you know? He has the final say. He's boss of security.

A quick breath and he is in the pool investigating or was he really joining in the fun? Swimming powerfully, head high in the water, searching for anyone that may be in trouble.

I've met these old wranglers all my life. Dedicated, loving and loyal to the end. All they ask is meager fare, good care and a little love. They will give their all for you and yours.

When I go to the Rainbow Bridge I know Wrangler will be there keeping watch on all our little fur friends and I'll bet Misty Blue, Nicky, Tinker and Shiloh will be there too.

R.I.P. Wrangler Walker 1995-2005

Mark Crider

mark@cccoating.com

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

? A SINGLE LEAF

By: Joseph J. Mazzella

I love it in the late Summer just before the beginning of Autumn. Everything is still green or so it seems. When you look closer, however, at the trees you can see a single leaf here or there that has already changed color. Among the sea of dark green you see shining out brightly a single yellow, orange, purple, blue, or red leaf. It is almost as if that leaf is leading the way to something better and more beautiful.

I love looking at these leaves because they remind me of special people I know in this world. These people shine with so much joy, love, and light that they stand out among us. They too seem to be leading the way for us. They show us everyday how good life can be, how much love and kindness people can share, and how happy we all can be if we only choose to. We are all Children of God, but these people truly live up to their birthright. It is people like these who will one day bring a glorious Autumn of love, joy, peace, happiness, goodness, and kindness to the world. It is people like these who will show us all how to shine in glorious oneness with God. It is people like these who will show us all how to make a paradise of this world before going on to the even greater paradise of the next one.

You too can be one of these people. You too can choose love and joy in your life. You too can share it with the world. You too can shine forth in your God given light. You too can bring a colorful paradise to a sometimes dull, green world. Make your choice today. Bring color to your tree and joy to your world. Remember, God didn??™t put us on this Earth to be a part of the crowd, but rather to shine forth in our own unique beauty and light.

Joseph J. Mazzella
joecool @ wirefire.com

Joe lives in West Virginia with his wife and three children. Various dogs and cats have adopted Joe and his family for their own. Joe enjoys his family, beauty, love and hearing from his email friends. Joe likes to take the time to smell the roses and enjoy the beauty around him as he goes about his daily life.

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~**~**~? 

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The Wrong Turn

? Sharon Bryant

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I was in the area so decided I'd drop in and say hello on my way home from work.? ?  I heard through the grapevine that he'd moved back into his old town.?  Someone had given me? his address a few months back.?  I heard he was living with some girl.?  It had been a few years since I'd seen him.

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I walked up the two flights of stairs to the apartment.?  I knocked on the door.?  He answered, stared at me for a minute then started grinning saying, "Come on in old friend."?  I was surprised at his unkempt hair, and I noticed something odd with his eyes.?  He had trouble walking as he led me into the apartment.

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He led me to a small living room.?  She was the first thing I saw as I entered the tiny room.?  There was a tattered worn couch on the one wall, an end table with a paper plate and what looked to be a dried up egg on the plate.?  I could see the fork was stuck to the food.?  It was obvious it had been there for a few days.

A small television sat on a cardboard box in the corner.

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I looked at her thinking she was just sleeping maybe from being worn out after work.?  I wondered why she was sleeping? on the floor and not on the couch. ?  He told me to take a seat on the couch.?  When I did, I was closer to her face. ?  It was then I realized what was going on and why he looked so different than the last time I'd seen him.?  We used to attend the same church together and never had I seen him look as he did now.

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Drool? oozed from her mouth.?  Her nose was bubbling, running down her chin? and blood had crusted around her nostrils.?  Her long brown hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days.?  It was plastered against her head.?  And then I knew.?  I looked up at him and said, "This is how you are living??  Is this what you want out of life??  A junkie for a girlfriend??  "Hey man, I love her, what can I say," he replied.

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I stood up and told him I had to leave.?  He stood and said, "Hey man, I got some good stuff, you should try it."

I shook my head, realizing his life and mine had not gone the same path.?  I was in my second year of college, doing great.?  I had a wonderful girlfriend I hoped to marry one day.?  This was not the life I would ever choose to live.

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I told him as I reached the door that I was sorry he turned to drugs for a lifestyle.?  He looked at me and said, "You should try it dude.?  It's cool, you get SO high, it's the greatest."? 

"No thanks," I replied.?  I have the greatest life ahead of me.?  I have a degree to earn, a woman I want to marry, and dreams of my future.?  What dreams do you have?"? 

"Hell, I'm just going to stay high.?  I got these pills, I cut them in half and sell them on the street and I can make a fast $20 in a minute."?  I shook my head again.

"Hey man, come back anytime, ok?" he said.?  "You sure you don't want to try a mushroom??  Someone brought me some awesome mushrooms today.?  They give you the biggest high you could ever imagine."

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I got to the door, turned to look at him and said, "Does your parents know what you're doing??  Does your parents know you and your? girlfriend there on the floor are snorting coke?"

He looked at me and replied, "My parents don't need to know anything, I'm over 21."

"So am I," I said.?  "And I've got dreams, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

I left.

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I think of him sometimes. I have never seen him since that day.?  I used to know him.? ?  He seemed then like he was going to have the dreams that I had.?  But something happened to him along his path of life.?  He took a wrong turn.

I know one day I will hear that he's either in jail, prison, or dead.? ?  It's so sad.?  There are so many like him out there.?  I can't help but wonder when he turned away from the good life he once had and took the turn that he did.? 

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As I walked down the sidewalk to my car, I only thought of the beautiful girl I had waiting for me to pick her up for dinner.?  Greeting me with a smile when I'd knock at her parents home.?  Knowing I could take her home to my parents anytime because they approved.

As I walked away, I remembered what my parents had told me all my life, "Drugs destroy you.?  They strip you of your pride, your future, your life."?  I knew they were right.

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Sharon Bryant

1946 @bellsouth.net

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About Me:

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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

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~**~**~? 

? ~ Make no Mistake ~

? Joyce. C. Lock

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However you came to be, in this world,

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~ You are not "a Mistake" ~


Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;
and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee ...

Jeremiah 1:5

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If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many,
and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial;

I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

Ecclesiastics 6:3




I formed thee from the womb.

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Isaiah 44:2

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You were born, by me, from the belly.

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Isaiah 46:3

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I am the Lord that maketh all things.

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Isaiah 44:24
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I created you in my own image.

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Genesis 1:27

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You are? a child? of the most High.

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Psalm 82:6

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You were fearfully and wonderfully made.

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Psalm 139:14

You are the image and glory of God.

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I? Corinthians 11:7

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My Spirit dwells in you.

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I? Corinthians 3:16

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You are my temple.

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I? Corinthians 3:17

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You are my heritage.

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Psalm 127:3

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and

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I do not create? "Mistakes".

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Do not err, my beloved brethren.?  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

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James 1:16-17

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?© 2004 by Joyce C. Lock
http://our.homewithgod.com/heavenlyinspirations/

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Writers Feedback

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Thanks to Archie for an inspiring story of his life.?  Gabrielle Morgan.

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? SENIOR WRITERS

Chief Writer: Sharon Bryant

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

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; Lilly, Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Mazzella, Joe;? Morris, Deepak; 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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