STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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

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Jan 15, 2006? 

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

Looking At Fall And Hauling Grain

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By Richard D. Sims

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God would make a great artist, he sure makes fall a beautiful sight. Driving along in S.E.? Kansas, S.W.Missouri,? N.W.Arkansas and? N.E.Oklahoma there? are? many beautiful sites to be seen.

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Now just picture this; the evening sun just before dusk with its red, orange and light? ? ?  blue, mixed with a light white shining bright through the proud tall standing trees of?  the Ozark Mountains, right here in our own four states, the heartland of God's Country,? a part of the good old USA!

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My son Rick and I have been hauling corn, milo and now soy beans to Sherwin, Ks. Pittsburg, Ks., Springdale, Ark., Siloam Springs, Ark, Westville, Ok. and now? Port of Catoosa, Ok. I am seeing all of our four states, or what is known as the ozark plateau.

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Thank you Father God for your beautiful creations of fall here in the Ozark Mountain

Country. Amen!

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About Me

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I am Richard D. Sims 48 years old, I was born in a small town called Granby, the oldest

mining town is Southwest Missouri. I am the youngest out of five children ( The Brat )

I am just a simple back woods country boy, I wear Dan post western style boots and

western shirts, wrangler jeans and my black western hat. I am a jack of all trades yet

a master of none, I have found out I can do most anything and what I can't do? I am willing

to learn.

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I moved here to Arma, Kansas 3 years ago when? I married my lovely wife Jackie, I have

two children of my own, Richard II ( Rick ) Sims 26 years old, and a daughter Rebecka

Sissom age 22. A stepson James Morrison 26 who lives with Jackie and I because of his

birth defect of Spina - Bifida.

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We have found a great church here called the Arma Family Christian Center, My wife

Jackie and I are online prayer warriors so if you have a prayer request just send it to us

to receive a written prayer, please make sure you don't have your E - mail blocked.

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My hobbies are building quarter mile dragsters and drag racing at Asberry, Mo. at

Mo-kan dragway. I also do wood working and wood crafts, Bow hunting and fishing,

motorcycling, and just spending quality time with my family and spoiling my

granddaughter Destiny Dawn Sims age 5.

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Richard Dean Sims? ? ?  armaksman@yahoo.com

~**~**~? 

? My Diagnosis

Norma Liles

Recently, I received a message which determined which tree

I was akin to depending on my birth date. I came under the heading

of a maple tree. I am going to endeavor to investigate into

these attributes.

Independence of Mind Yes, I would say that this

is a true description as I feel that my thought process is not like that

of anyone else as I have the freedom to think as I perceive what I

hear and see.? 

No ordinary person, full of imagination and originality

Oh yes, this mostly definitely describes me as I am a writer of poetry

and stories.? 

Shy and reserved?  No, this one doesn't fit the 'now me!'

Earlier in my life, this was so true but I have passed that stage long ago.

Ambitious?  yes, this is so true!?  I am always reaching for the brass ring

that proves that I have become better today than I was yesterday.

? Has many complexities I find this difficult

to answer as I only see myself as myself but not as other perceive me. Feel

free to comment on this one as it could be very interesting?? 

Good Memory

Yes, I would hope so as to be able to write stories and poetry, I have to be

able to make some sense of what is 'spoken' in the written word?

Learns Easily Not necessarily true!?  I think I get in my own way at times and do not

lean on my own understanding. I pray for this to become better the longer

I live.

Complicated love life Sad to say, yes, this is true with memories of a lost

love to alcohol and one to the dreaded cancer but the memories are sweet.

Wants to Impress By all means, YES.?  Why else would I be writing these few

lines or the ones that you have read before??  I wish to be the best that I can

be and more.?  Please feel free to contact me with your impressions of me,

your dedicated writer,

Norma Liles of Ohio? ? ? 

hoopla214@yahoo.com

Norma Liles is a retired data entry

clerk/supv who is 76, a native of Ohio

and still resides there. She is very

outgoing and loves to make new friends!? 

Her hobbies are: writing poetry and

stories, living for Jesus, reading,
enjoying her family, and her use of

her computer.Her ambition is to add

pleasure to those who read her writings

as well as sharing her faith. She enjoys

Southern Gospel Music and loves to sing.

Her 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,
News Moose & Penworm prayer warriors as well as

a senior writer for Storytime Tapestry.

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? ? ~**~**~

ValueSpeak

A Weekly Column

By Joseph Walker

valusespeak@msn.com

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WHEN BIGOTRY POSES AS PATRIOTISM

"Excuse me. Do you mind if I sit by you?"

The afternoon bus was crowded, so the request wasn??™t surprising. But the gentleness of the man??™s voice and his accent prompted me to look up from the magazine I was reading.

He was in his thirties, of average height and looked for all the world like a younger, thinner version of Saddam Hussein ??“ moustache and all. And OK, I??™ll admit it ??“ I flinched when I saw him. Just a little. But enough for him to notice.

"Never mind," he muttered, his voice edged with anger and resignation. "I??™ll stand."

Embarrassed, I tried to recover. "No ??“ please, sit down," I stammered. "You just . . . startled me a little, that??™s all. I mean, I was concentrating on this article . . ."

The man glanced at the magazine in my hand. It was opened to a photograph of angry Iraqis waving their fists and burning American flags. He looked at me, smiled weakly and sat.

"It is troubling," he said, looking at the article. "So much hate in the world."

I nodded and returned to my magazine, and we rode in silence for several minutes. At least, there was silence between us. But around us was a swirl of commuter conversation, especially from the teenagers in the back of the bus. They grew louder and more boisterous until I finally became aware that every joke and comment was laced vitriol aimed at my seat-mate.

I observed my neighbor out of the corner of my eye. His gaze was focused on the back of the seat in front of him. His jaw was clenched. He was pretending not to hear ??“ sort of.

In retrospect, I should have jumped to his defense. Racism is racism, even when it masquerades as nationalism. Instead, I tried to relieve the tension by engaging in conversation.

I leaned toward him. "I guess you were right," I said.

He looked at me, puzzled. I nodded in the direction of the young people behind us. "Too much hatred in the world."

He smiled. "I try not to pay attention," he said softly. "But sometimes, it is hard."

Then he added good-naturedly: "I guess I shouldn??™t take it personally. I??™m Iranian."

Something tells me that detail wouldn??™t have mattered to the comics behind us.

During the next few minutes I learned that my seat-mate was a college student pursuing a medical degree. His brother was killed during the "holy war" between Iran and Iraq, and an uncle was killed during "Operation Desert Storm." So he understood the passion he was hearing from the back of the bus.

"What I don??™t understand," he said, "is why they are here and not in the military. In my country, if you feel so much hate you go where you can fight. Here, you just talk."

Defensively, I tried to explain that what was happening to him on the bus was somehow more civilized than what was happening in Kuwait. But I quickly discovered that it??™s awfully hard to make an ethical case for hatred, regardless of the form it takes.

Besides, he wasn??™t really being critical.

"Whenever I go home I keep telling my family and friends that there is much to admire in the American people," he told me as my bus stop approached. "And when I am here I tell my American friends that there is no reason to fear my people."

He signed. "They laugh at me ??“ in America and at home. To me, it is sad."

Sad ??“ but not surprising. One of the first rules of international conflict is that difficulties between nations usually result in difficulties between people. That??™s an understandable fact of life ??“ and death. But the mix of fear and patriotism can fool people into thinking that it isn??™t enough to vanquish our foes on the battlefield; we must also hate and humiliate them .

Such thinking has nothing to do with patriotism. It diminishes the spirit and cheapens the soul. And it shines a bright spotlight on differences between people at the very time we ought to be doing everything we can to find common ground.

And the truth is, commonality isn??™t all that hard to find. There is a great deal that we share ??“ things like the ability to love and be loved, the need for tenderness and acceptance, the yearning for home and family ??“ by virtue of simply being human. Those things are far more significant than divisive superficialities like race, nationality and political persuasion.

Which is why we need to think about what??™s going on in the world in terms of our own attitudes, values and priorities. We??™re all spinning around on this planet together, and our mutual survival ultimately depends upon our ability to get along. And so when there are difficulties we care, and not just because our national nose has been tweaked. We care because we??™re family.

Even in the back of the bus.

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~**~**~

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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; Gilbert, Robert Jr; Goodier, Steve; Halley, Ellie Braun;

Harris, Kathy Anne;? Hunt, Sharlette;? Hymes, Christina

Jacobson, Gary;? Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim 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

Weymouth, Barbara; 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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