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Dear Reader,
One of the highlights of summer when I was a kid, was spending time at my grandparent's home. Grandpa Hale was up early every morning, because he delivered gas to the county repair road crews. His delivery route started at 6:00 a.m., and I was thrilled whenever he'd ask me to ride along.
Grandpa Hale was a quiet guy, I guess my grandma said enough for the both of them, but he had a lot of interesting talents and ideas about life. He didn't talk about his views, or his personal take on things too often, instead the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words" described my grandpa to a tee. I got to know and love my grandpa by watching.
Every afternoon when Grandpa got home he'd sit in his dark green recliner. The recliner had a pull down light above it with a long cord, and kind of like doodling, I'd pull it up and down when I was sitting in his chair watching TV. He always told me not to play with the cord, "It might break!" but of course I didn't listen and one day I broke it.
Howdy Doody was grandpa's favorite TV show and every afternoon he got home from work just in time to tune in. Howdy-Doody was labeled PG, a kid's cartoon program, the host, Howdy Doody, entertained kids with tricks and jokes, and in-between his on-air shenanigans there were cartoons. Grandpa LOVED cartoons! Now when you're a kid and it's apparent your grandfather likes cartoons, in fact, he may just be more serious about them than you are, it does cause you to pause and reflect. But once the show started I'd forget all about such nonsense thinking, and we'd just enjoy each others' company.
Grandpa Hale was also a caretaker of the city squirrels that lived in his neighborhood. He built tree platforms for the squirrels, keeping them stocked with dried corn throughout the year. Thinking about it now, I suspect he felt it completed some natural cycle of life, because he was a hunter of squirrels in the wild, too.
What a nice trip down memory lane this morning. I hope you enjoyed my story and have yourself a Howdy-Doody Monday, and if you haven't entered this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest--come on--I'm waiting to read your entry. It's a writing contest for fun. No need to call yourself a writer. Everyone has a story to tell, a memory, a hope, a dream that came true. Tell me yours. For all the info about the contest, including the cash prizes (Deadline, August 4th), go to: http://www.dearreader.com/contest2014/index.html
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
* This month's Penguin Classics book THE BIRD'S NEST by Shirley Jackson. Start reading now and don't forget to enter the drawing for your chance to win a Penguin Totebag: http://www.supportlibrary.com/bc/v.cfm?L=drclassqqxqB1AFE3FA7A33&c=CLASSICS
AUTHORBUZZ: AuthorBuzz authors are enjoying summer vacation this week, sipping lemonade and developing new story ideas. They will return next week.
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