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My Mother's Story: My
Mother's Legacy
Eileen W. Fisher
©
Copyright 2018 by Eileen W. Fisher
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Just
as every immigrant has their own story, so does every immigrant’s
child.
No
one’s voice remains to tell my mother's story other than mine –
the story of an orphaned Jewish teenager from Russia who manages to
escape to America in 1922, at age fifteen.
It
was only from time to time that my mother was even willing to talk
about her childhood — and, usually in response to some event or
bit of news. But even then, she would only speak briefly. If I
persisted, her face would tense up; she would purse her lips and ask
me, “Eileen, why do you want to talk about such sad things?
We’re living today. The past is gone.” And I loved her
too much to upset her further. . . .
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How
Mary and Joseph Spent Christmas Eve
Carol Arvo
© Copyright 2018 by Carol Arvo
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Once
upon a time, a long time ago, in a far-away land without any snow,
Joseph and his wife Mary traveled to the capitol of their country to
be counted in the yearly census for their city. It was a long trip.
Cars, trains and airplanes weren’t invented yet. Joseph and
Mary didn’t have too much money in their budget for the trip,
so they couldn’t rent a camel and had to settle for their
dependable donkey as transportation.
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AWOL
Paul
Marion Fleetwood
©
Copyright 2016 by Paul Marion Fleetwood
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I
went AWOL to see my sweetie (and got away with it).
It
was the winter of 1952 at Ethan Allen Air Force Base near Winooski
Vermont. I was a lonesome Airman who had been away from home
and my sweetheart for way too long. Constantly bored with the
winter and mundane duties of working in the Crypto room, I was always
looking for a way to get back home by hook or crook. My
sweetie
lived in St. Louis some 1200 miles away and I didn't have "leave
time" or money to get back there often. But somewhere
around December 1952 an opportunity presented itself. . . .
The
Haircut
Kathryn
Lynch
©
Copyright 2018 by Kathryn Lynch
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We can
never forget the contributions that the “greatest
generation” of American GI's made to our country. We think
first of those who died and gave it their “all.” It is
easy to forget the GI's who were mechanics, cooks, supply personnel,
intelligence officers, or others who performed support services for
the soldiers in the trenches. This is a story about my Dad,
who was
a military policeman. His small, enduring contribution to race
relations, is one of my fondest memories.
. . .
Ballet Class
Reese Conners
©
Copyright 2018 by Reese Conners
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“Releve,”
tighten your core, squeeze your inner thighs, shoulders down,
heels up, chin on a shelf, roll towards your big toe, lengthen the
back of your legs, relax your face…
“There! Hold
that.” I hear, as I attempt to morph myself into one of the
simplest ballet positions. An overwhelming amount of corrections to
concentrate on, pain simultaneously coursing through my calves
threatening my foundation. Why am I putting myself through
this?
Day after day and week after week of my hair pulled so tight
to
my head that my face stretches upwards. Countless blisters and black
toenails with bruises to accompany them. Yet, today is a good day.
With only the tendinitis in my right ankle to bother me, adrenaline
overcomes my pain with ease. . . .
More...
Transitions - Chapter 1
Doug Sherr
©
Copyright 2018 by Doug Sherr
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This story is the
first chapter of a memoir. It details the moment when I knew I needed a
new life and what i did about it.
The
Triumph fired on the first kick. It’s a little sad when an
English motorcycle is one of the more reliable things in life. When
the bike was warmed up I still didn’t take off. The next twenty
minutes would be a delightful ride down Chicago’s waterfront,
but waiting for me was a windowless office and laboratory. At age
twenty-six, I felt like that little kid on a perfect day who wants to
play hooky; who just wants to play. I turned off the bike and went in
the house to call the boss and skip a day. When he answered, I
blurted out that I wanted to quit. Frank Iwatsuki was a brilliant
engineer and a fine man.
He
said, “Oh, that’s good Douglas, because you’re a
terrible engineer. You should be an artist or poet or something.”. . .
More...
A Successful Woman
Luxhmee Jaypaul
©
Copyright 2018 by Luxhmee Jaypaul
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In
a small town lived a girl called Roshni. She was the sole daughter
and has two brothers. She had educated and ultra-cultured parents who
love her a lot. Furthermore, she livedin an extended family. She has
spent an amazing childhood with her brothers and cousins. She was a
dream weaver and she cherished her dreams a lot. She loved simple
living but high thinking. She always wanted a happy life. She had her
own ideologies and she followed it by heart. . . .
The Speech Contest
Charleine Sell
©
Copyright 2018 by Charleine Sell
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As
a shy, skinny, too tall ninth grader, I was devastated to
learn I
had been selected to give a speech before the whole school!
September
in St. Petersburg, Florida is always hot and humid, but during my
ninth grade year in 1961 at yet another new school, I had a
frightening experience that made me shiver with fear. I had attended
7 different schools over the years. The more recent ones were all in
the St. Petersburg area; seventh grade at Madeira Beach Junior High,
eighth grade at Lealman Junior High, and now ninth grade at Southside
Junior High. Needless to say, I was a shy girl, skinny and too tall,
who spoke in a whisper in class if I was called upon, and never ever,
ever volunteered an answer. . . .
More...
Pickle
Girl
Kathryn
Lynch
©
Copyright 2018 by Kathryn Lynch
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At the end of the Second World War, the country
of Japan lay in
ruins. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were piles of rubble from atomic bombs
with badly wounded people wandering around glassy eyed in need of
medical care. People were starving throughout the nation because
farmers, fearing Allied attacks, had failed to plant their yearly
crops of rice.
It fell to General Douglas MacArthur
and his Allied Forces to to
enter the devastated country, spend time there, and attempt to “fix”
the problems the War had created. Their efforts proved so successful
that within 10 years, the average Japanese citizen was four inches
taller (diet changes), lived an average six years longer (medical
care), and enjoyed growing business success (trade with Europe and
US). . . .
Second
Job
Kathryn
Lynch
©
Copyright 2018 by Kathryn Lynch
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A few years into her retirement, it became abundantly
clear to the Old Lady that her Social Security Retirement check of
$800 a month would support a very frugal lifestyle, but it would not
extend sufficiently to cover extraordinary expenses or expensive
repairs. At the age of 80, heart disease had reduced her days to
resting in a recliner, and her nights to sleeping in the same chair.
A long plastic tube emerging from an oxygenator, pumped oxygen into
her system to assist her breathing. She was, in effect, a disabled
shut-in. It was not clear, under these circumstances, how she could
devise a plan to supplement her income.
The Old Lady pondered this problem for several months.
When no solutions came to mind, the stress of unpaid bills frequently
interrupted her sleep, driving her blood pressure dangerously high.
Finally, in the middle of one very long night, she awoke abruptly and
the answer, so awesome in its simplicity, had been right in front of
her the entire time. She needed a job to make money, so she would
MAKE MONEY! . . .
The Resurrection of Palley
Kathryn
Lynch
©
Copyright 2018 by Kathryn Lynch
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. . .“What's that?”, asked the girl, pointing to
a yellow swathe of color that was too large to be a bush or flower.
The boy, who had little interest in flowers, but who could fix
anything with moving parts, was driven by curiosity to see what lay
partially hidden beneath the tangled weeds.
“It's an old forklift”, said the boy,
“rusted out, dirty, tangled with blackberry vines., paint faded
until it nearly melded with the dead grasses.” “Useless!”,
he repeated, but the challenge of fixing the impossible stirred
within him. . . .
Maya
David Njuguna
©
Copyright 2018 by David Njuguna
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Having
long been plagued by the mosquitoes that reside in my backyard, I
decided to write about the life of just a single one of them. I can’t
be completely sure her name was Maya, but for the sake of the story,
I assumed it was. Some bit and pieces might be a work of my
imagination (the meeting with her suitor for example). . . .
More...
Ianfu
Razel Suansing
©
Copyright 2018 by Razel Suansing
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Braids
in my hair droop alongside my silky majestic gown. Dazzling
chandeliers hover above me, crowning me with their enchanting
illuminations. My father kisses me good night. I see him still
wearing the bracelet I crafted for him when I was six. The tangled
twigs tied along his wrist where his lifeline lies. . . .
Not Just Another History Lesson
Anne Organista
©
Copyright 2018 by Anne Organista
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Every
teacher has his or her moments of glory; those moments when students
rise above their expectations or when lesson plans go awry only to be
salvaged by a completely unexpected situation. I say this with much
candor. In all my years of teaching, many little things made me
happy, feel appreciated and loved. Nevertheless, it was this one
event in 2001 back in the Philippines, when I felt especially proud. . . .
