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 LIVING HAPPY     
UPLIFTING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING NEWS FOR OUR MIND, BODY,AND SPIRIT   

From Carole Kane


  Vol. 2  No. 17                                                   July 8, 2012

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Click here to meet our writers, read past issues, and see comments

 

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in this issue
Slice of Life: Love Story on Amtrak - by Carole Kane
Memories Don't Die - by Dr. Brad Holway
Poetry Corner: Heaven - by Josephine Pico
Clear the Air - by Frank Clark
Think a little, laugh a little

Dear Friends,

Carole Kane

Carole Kane 

M.A., N.C.C. ret.

Welcome to Living Happy,  a nice way to feel and be our best!   

 

This week we bring you a heartwarming vignette in my "Love Story on Amtrak."

 

Next, Brad Holway shares some of his childhood, and it will probably seem kind of familiar to many of us, in his "Memories Don't Die." 

 

Then, walk along with Jo Pico as she ponders what Heaven might be like, in her lovely poem "Heaven". 

 

And next, an excerpt from Frank Clark's story "Clear The Air"  will whet your appetite to read the entire version on his website.  

 

Enjoy the joke and the cartoon, and keep smiling!   

 

Happy reading!

   

Love, Carole XXX OOO

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Slice of Life:  Love Story on Amtrak                            by Carole Kane 

 

It was a bright Sunday afternoon as I watched the trees go by from my comfortable Amtrak chair. I was on my way home from a Mothers' Day visit with my daughter, who had given me a copy of a children's book, "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.

 

The book is about a mother who loves her child deeply, and tells him so all the time. "I'll love you forever/ I'll like you for always/ As long as I'm living/ My baby you'll be." This refrain repeats over and over throughout the book. My daughter told me that when she read this book to her own children, it reminded her of how much I love her and her siblings. What a wonderful tribute to me! Lots of happy tears between us that day!

 

As I watched the scenery rushing past the train window I became aware of a little boy in the seat behind me. He started to cry, and no matter what his mom did or said, he just wouldn't stop. He was tired and cranky and she didn't know what to do. She apologized to her fellow passengers for the noise. And then an idea occurred to me.

 

I turned to her and pointed to the empty seat next to me. "Would you like to let him sit here for a while?" I asked her. "I have a nice children's book I can read to him, and maybe it will help." She thanked me profusely, and showed the little boy to the seat next to me, and she sat directly behind us, never letting him out of her sight. I picked up the book and started reading... and he started to calm down. By the third repetition of "I'll love you forever...." he was rocking back and forth, back and forth, just like the mother and child in the book. His eyes got heavier and heavier, and finally he fell asleep.

 sleeping boy

Only then did I look up - and I saw all the passengers who were sitting near us, leaning forward to see and hear the story, all with tears in their eyes. We had forgotten everything but the little boy and the tale of love.

I will never forget that Mothers' Day on Amtrak. 
  
                                                                                               - -                                            Carole - -    
   

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Memories Don't Die                                by Dr. Brad Holway    

  

Memories never die, they merely slumber
Awakening in my mind, at odd moments
Some clear and vivid, others vague and dreamlike
They are the sum of my being
I have limited power over them

I can repress them but not kill them
I can summon them from the dark like a wizard
Yet they sometimes come on me unawares
Memories of lost loves and half-forgotten hatreds
Faces of friends who died before their time    

 

The smell of the cologne my father used to splash 
On his face in front of the mirror over the sink 
That overlooked a bathtub with clawed feet. 
My old kiddie books and kiddie toys 
Childhood pranks and 1950's sitcoms 

 
The babbling of the neighborhood drunks 
That never failed to make me laugh 
Humid summer nights in the alley
Playing "I Declare War" and "Chinese Handball" 
Kids I haven't seen for a half a century,

Cats I petted, dogs I played with,
My first taste of beer, mean old teachers,
The screech of chalk on blackboards,
Jingling bells on those white ice cream trucks,
The bawling of itinerant street vendors 
Knife-sharpeners, fish ladies, vegetable men


The iceman coming up the stairs
Holding a block of ice with homeric tongs -  

 

Indeed, the iceman cometh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Poetry Corner 

 

Heaven

By Josephine Pico   

 

I want to know what Heaven's like

Shall we all be young once more

Shall we run and play without a care

Just like we did before????

 

I want to know what Heaven's like

Marshmallow clouds on high

With angels playing on their harps

As gently they glide by????

 

I want to know what Heaven's like

I've heard so many lines

But no one here has yet returned

To tell us of their finds.

 

I want to know what Heaven's like

When shadows dim the sky

Will I be zapped up by the stars

Or given wings to fly????

 

I want to know what Heaven's like

No earthly cares or duty

Just love and peace and happiness

And warmth and endless beauty????

 

I want to know what Heaven's like

These thoughts inside my head

Did I get things all messed up

And is it here instead?????

 

 

  From Vol. 1, Number 33

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Clear the Air                                                                                   By Frank Clark 

 

Unresolved Issues

 

"You owe me an apology."  "For what?"                                                                         "Edgar, this morning at my kitchen table, you had the nerve to say that                      my biscuits were dry.  They're never dry."  "They were, Mildred."                                 "Well, you always show up when I take them out hot from the oven. You'd always say 'flaky and tasty.'"  "I do, but not this morning, hon."

 biscuits

"Well, Edgar, where's my apology?"  "I ain't apologizing.  Just telling you the truth.  Maybe they'll be better tomorrow.  By the way, to soften them up,  add a pat of butter to each or some red eye gravy.  Then, maybe, someone  will be fool enough to eat them.  But not me."  "Edgar, please leave, I don't need anymore insults.  I have my rolling pin on the counter, just to the left of the oven."  

 

"I'll see you tomorrow 'Betty Crocker'"  "See you then and I'll expect an apology         before I serve you anything."

 

Edgar thinking to himself  Mildred is not herself.  Her biscuits are never dry.  She's     been so touchy lately.  If she wants an apology, I'll give it to her tomorrow.  Maybe     she's going through the change.  Women are not in their right minds when this happens.  Elsa hasn't been the same since.  

 

Edgar passes through the hedge over to his porch.  He will rock the morning away.

 
Excerpt from "Clear the Air" by Frank Clark. 
Read the whole story at
 
Think a Little, Laugh a Little

Tony and Yvonne had been married for sixty years. They were both in very good health, largely due to Yvonne's insistence on healthy foods and exercise.

  

One day, they went on vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven, and St. Peter escorted them inside.

 

He took them to a beautiful mansion, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid was hanging their favorite clothes in the closet. 'Welcome to Heaven," said Saint Peter. This will be your home now.'


Through the window Tony saw a championship golf course. 'What are the greens fees?' he grumbled. 'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play for free, every day.'

 

In the clubhouse they saw a lavish buffet lunch. 'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to Tony. This is Heaven; it's all free for you to enjoy.'  'Where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods and the decaffeinated tea?' asked Tony.  St. Peter replied, 'You can eat and drink as much as you like and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!'

  

'No gym to work out at? No testing my sugar or blood pressure?'

'Never again'

 

Tony glared at his wife and said, 'You and your Bran Flakes. We could have been here ten years ago!'

- - contributed by Josephine Pico   

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Remember This      

 

Your daily life is your

temple and your religion.

  

When you enter into it

take with you your all.  

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Your Space - For Guest Writers, Ghost Writers, and Commentators

 

THANK YOU!  to Dr. Brad Holway, Jo Pico, and Frank Clark, and all the L. H. Group writers, for making Living Happy the best weekly newsletter on the Internet!  

 

Would you like to submit an article, around 250 to 300 words?   

     

This Could  be YOU!

Remember, every writer in the Living Happy Writers Group started out by offering a story or article.  You are invited to join this eminent group.  Just submit a story or a poem, and click on the Living Happy link below.  I look forward to  reading your work!   

 

For Comments and to Contact Living Happy  click this link.  

Thank You!    

 - - Carole - - 

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