1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The Sea Lion hero … The Homesick Camel … True Love Birds … and Other Facts!
Month: April 2023
Before Captain Hook
Nicholas was fuming. What right did his Dad have to do this to him. He was pulling clothes out of his dresser and throwing them on the bed haphazardly. There was a knock on his door. “Come in.” He growled.
His dad entered the room and took a look around at things scattered all over the room. The suitcase still sat in the corner.
“It may be helpful to actually put some of your clothes into the suitcase.”
Nicholas didn’t say a word. His dad sighed. “Look son, I know you are mad, but I have no choice. You have become the laughing stock of the town, you know that. I am trying to save you some face! Would you rather stay and be known as Egghead?”
Grabbing his suitcase, Nicholas threw it on his bed.
“I have been too easy on you and sadly you have grown up to be a spoiled, and rude young man. Now I am trying my best to change that.”
“By sending me to work on a ship?”
“Captain Nook may be stern but fair. He will pay you well, as long as you work hard. There is nothing wrong with hard work, a lesson that you need to learn, son. Now finish packing. We leave in an hour, with or without your suitcase, your choice.” His dad turned around to leave and then turned back around. “One more thing. Don’t forget sunscreen, you will need it. ” The door closed behind him.
Nicholas threw his sneaker across the room and it hit the door with a thud. His face was flushed with anger. This was going to be the longest summer of his life. Of that he was sure!
One week. He had been on the ship for one week and was dying to go home. He had spent most of his time in his cabin fighting off bouts of sea sickness.
Tomorrow morning he was expected up on the deck at 5am sharp, orders of the Captain. Apparently he had spent long enough in his cabin. He groaned as another wave of nausea hit him.
Thankfully he slept through the night and didn’t feel too bad early the next morning. At least he wasn’t feeling bad until he was ordered to swab the deck.
“You want me to clean? I thought I could sail the ship?” The men on the deck laughed at him as Captain Hook sneered. “Swab the deck or walk the plank, your choice!”
Surely the Captain was joking, thought Nicholas. He wouldn’t really make him walk the plank, would he?
“Ask me about Thomas?”
Nicholas turned his head to see a young girl looking his way. He didn’t know that there were any young woman on this ship. She was attractive but looked rather sassy. He was intrigued.
“Well, Hello there, sweet thing.” Her eyes narrowed at him which made him smile. “What about this Thomas guy?” Nicholas had walked over to her and was standing rather close.
“He is the one whose job you took.”
“Oh, so did he go home, back to the finer things of life?”
“He stood up to Captain Nook, thought he was too good for swabbing the deck.”
Nicholas brightened up, “Good for him! The guy had fight. Guess the Captain sent him home?”
The girl cocked her head to the side. “You could say that … He did go home ….. to his final resting place at the hottom of the sea.”
She gave him a cheeky grin, “The Captain had given him the same choice he gave you.” Nicholas lost his smile, as the color drained from his face.
Patting his face, she said, “Don’t miss the spot over there. That’s where I got a little sick earlier, sorry!” Tossing him a wink over her shoulder she walked away.
His arms and back ached. The simple act of bending down to take his shoes off were hard. For a week he had been working hard, swabbing the decks and scrubbing the dishes. There was no way he would survive three months of this!
Where was that girl who had talked to him the other week ? He hadn’t seen her. She had seemed mighty confident of herself. That saucy smile of hers he couldn’t get out of his mind.
Nicholas was exhausted the next day as he was once more swabbing the deck. Then he spied the young girl, from before, and he felt some energy come back. Putting his mop down he walked over to her.
She watched him coming towards her,stopping right in front of her. “I don’t believe you gave me your name the other day.”
Looking up at him she said, “Its Virginia.”
“Did anyone ever tell you what stunning brown eyes you have?” He reached out and ran his finger down her cheek.
Poor Nicholas never knew what hit him but his head was throbbing something awful when he woke up.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He tried to smile and raise his head a little but ooh the pain.
“You will be okay, but you have to take it easy. No work for you for a little while, you have a concussion.”
“Wha-what happened to me?”
There was a knock on his cabin door and the Captain walked in. “How are you, boy?”
Nicholas squinted at the Captain. “I have been better.”
“Yeah, I … I am sorry. I get rather over protective of my daughter.”
“Your daughter!” Nicholas shot up in bed and then quickly fell back down, moaning.
“Rest easy boy ..” Captain Nook walked out of the room.
‘You, you are the Captain’s daughter? And you didn’t tell me!”
She put her finger on her chin, and raised her eyes, with a smile. “Hmmm….You never asked.”
“You are trouble, young lady.”
“Maybe … but you will be glad to know we are sailing back home. My dad decided the sailing life was not for him. He is selling the boat to his brother Captain Hook. Which means sailor boy, we may be taking up residence in your town.”
His head may be hurting but his heart was jumping. Things were looking up.
“I would love to get to know you better but your dad gave me a concussion! And what about poor Thomas?”
Virginia laughed, “Dad hit you but he didn’t give you a concussion. You gave yourself one when you fell and your head struck the pole. My dad may sound gruff but he does care. He was in here often checking on you before you woke up.”
“Okay, but there is still the fact about Thomas.”
“Do you really think there was a Thomas? You worked really hard, after you heard that story, didn’t you?” Her eyes twinkled and she gave him a light kiss on his cheek. “Get some rest.”
His eyes held questions, had she pulled one over on him? He wanted to yell out to her, but sleep was overtaking him. His last thought was how fun it was going to be to get to know a certain young lady, named Virginia.
Friday’s Super Short Stories!
When your 21 and 24 year old children head out the door and you ask if they have their jackets and tell them to drive safe … It hits you that you will be saying that forever, no matter how old they get.
What goes together like peanut butter and jelly, or is opposite like sunshine and rain? Share in the comments!
When your smart dog finds the pill in the food …!
The Egg-cellent Day!
Sandra rolled her eyes. Here comes trouble, she said under her breath. Mr Smug doing his little swagger as he walked towards her. How she would love to wipe the grin off his face.
“Well, well, well …. if it isn’t the flower girl.”
“Go away, Nicholas.”
“Now is that a way to greet an old love?”
“Believe me I can think of other words I would rather greet you with, but Mama taught me to always be polite.”
Nicholas chuckled, as he bent down to pick up three bunches of flowers from Sandra’s basket. He stood up and brushed his hand along her cheek. Her body tensed. She gritted her teeth and asked for the money.
He slowly put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a folded bill, dropping it into the basket.
“See ya later flower girl!” He blew her a kiss. Oooh how she despised him. Going out with him had been the biggest mistake she had ever made.
She bent down to pick up the bill he had dropped. $1!! Her face flushed with anger. He knew how much the flowers cost and he could have easily afforded it. He may as well not have paid anything.
There was nothing sbe could do about it. She was the daughter of a poor family and he was the spoiled son of a shrewd businessman. Hopefully she could sell all her other flowers before the day was done.
Sandra thought back to the times when her heart would skip with excitement at the sight of Nicholas.
The way she blushed when he drew near and how she felt so special when he kissed her for the first time. Now the thought of what once had been a magical night, made her sick. He had thrown her away like a rag doll, she should have known better.
“Hi Sandra. How is it going?”
“Oh Katie, Mr Egotistical was by again.”
Katie, was her best friend. She was so bubbly, and outgoing. A fun, loyal friend and the look in her eyes was dark at the mention of Nicholas.
“Did he steal from you again?” She said, with a firmness in her tone.
“Yes, but he was kind enough to leave a whole dollar.’ Katie heard the saecasm in her voice. This was it! Nicholas bad wronged her friend for the last time!
“I will be at your house at 6pm tonight, I have a plan.”
Sandra raised her eyebrows, “What is the plan?”
“Its top secret. I will tell you tonight.” Giving Sandra a quick hug, she whispered in ber ear, “Don’t worry. No shovel is needed. We aren’t that vengeful. Will just teach him a little lesson.”
Sandra had to laugh about the shovel. “Good, about the shovel. I wouldn’t want to dig a hole. But you have me real curious!”
After Katie left, Sandra felt better. She was smiling at the thought of getting even with Nicholas.
The next morning Sandra was up extra early. She was anxious, hoping their plan would work.
The morning was her busy time, when she sold the most. While selling she kept an eye out for Katie. Ahh! There she was, with her chickens and eggs.
Katie walked over to her. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, but what if he doesn’t come?”
“He comes every day, he will come.”
They waited and waited, then sure enough they saw him from a distance. Katie gave Sandra a wink and hid out of sight.
Feeling a little nervous, Sandra hoped he came her way soon. It wasn’t long until he came over to her looking all proud.
“Hey flower girl, my girlfriend really liked your flowers last night.”
Sandra shook a bunch of flowers in his face. “Don’t touch my flowers, you thief!”
“Oh you do look cute when you are mad. Such ungratefulness calling me a thief, I left you a whole dollar.” He bent down and grahbed three more bunches of flowers.
“I am warning you … Hands off! Put the flowers back.”
“He snickered with derision, “And if I don’t…” His hand raised to touch her cheek again when SPLAT!!! A basket of eggs cracked open all over his head.
Nicholas spun around, seeing Katie triumphantly holding her empty basket. “Why you..!”
SQUAWK! The chicken flew out of the basket and landed on top of his head. Nicholas screamed, which scared the chicken, who dug in tighter to his scalp, which made him scream louder.
Nicholas was beet red in the face as he ran for home.
Katie and Sandra were bent over in hysterics watching him run.
“Excuse me Miss, but how much for your eggs?”
Katie looked up into the smiling eyes of Dr Jeffers. “Hi Dr Jeffers, I am sorry but I have no eggs today.”
“Yes, I know, it appears that Nicholas was wearing them all over his head.” The Dr started laughing so hard he was wiping his eyes. The girls didn’t know what to think.
“That young man has driven me crazy for years. It was about time for someone to put him in his place. I congratulate you both. Please let me pay you what all your eggs would have sold for. This was the highlight of my day! And Sandra I will buy all your flowers for the Mrs. She will delight in them.” He paid them and walked away whistling a happy tune.
The girls were left stunned, but smiling big. Tbey would be sure to remember this day with inmense pleasure for a long time.
Tuesday’s Thoughts!
Happy Tuesday! Have to love the times when your grown child is chatting with you about memories and you find out things that you never knew they did! The better times though are when they tell you something they did as a teen expecting you to be shocked and you can say, “Yeah, I knew that.” watching their shocked face.
Wishing you a wonderful week. Enjoy the quotes, and as always, thanks for reading my posts. I won’t promise posts free of typos, but I promise ones that hopefully bring smiles.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Little Fire
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Mason managed to crawl out of bed. He looked with longing at the other side of his bed. Amanda was due back tomorrow. He couldn’t wait.
Amanda, Cara and Sarah had gone away on a girls trip to visit Lisette at her Inn. They were gone for a week. One good thing about Amanda being gone, was that he had control of the remote. Tonight Tippner, Bard and Grayson were coming over to watch, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”
He needed to be at the diner extra early to set up for the day. That was the drawback to Cara being gone. No extra sleep for him.
Entering the diner, he flipped on the lights. Looking around, he felt a rush of contentment. This was his place. A dream come true and he would always be thankful. Even if it was hard to get good help these days.
Sonya, who was filling in for Cara, was pleasant, but she broke more plates in her week there than Cara did in a few months! He would be glad to have her back.
He also had to take over making the coffee. Sonya had tried, and he didn’t know what she had done, but it made his hair stand on end.
An hour later the coffee was perking, and he was frying up the bacon when Sonya walked in.
“Good Morning!”
“Good Morning Sonya! Ready for another day?”
“Yes, and today I will try not to…” Crash!.. She had accidentally knocked off the plate of pancakes that Mason had made.
Her cheeks resembled a sun burn as she quietly said, “Oops!”
“Why don’t you go out front and make sure there are napkins at each table. One can’t break napkins, Mason thought. Eager to please Sonya did exactly what he said.
Mason went back to making pancakes. Once he finished he walked out front to see if help was needed.
“WHA-WHAT ….. was sitting in the back corner bootb, Tippner’s booth? Staring at it he walked right into Sonya, whose tray smacked him in the head.
“So sorry!” Poor Sonya was all embarrassed again.
“It was my fault. I am the one who should be apologizing.”
She visibly relaxed, after hearing that and hurried over to the table of customers that had come in.
Mason rubbed his eyes again and looked. The thing was still there! He knew what it was but the big question was why and how? Why was there a small dragon sitting at the booth and how did it get there?? How had Sonya not seen it?
With his pulse beating rather fast he walked to the booth to face the dragon.
The dragon spoke as soon as Mason got up to the table. “Good Morning! This is a fascinating book I am reading.”
CRASH! The coffee cup fell out of Mason’s hand with a clatter when it hit the floor. Fortunately the diner was pretty empty except for a few customers up front, noone was paying attention to him, thought Mason.
“Whoa! A little noisy this morning.” Tippner said, walking up behind Mason.
“Umm…Mason, what…???” Tippner couldn’t finish his sentence, he could only stare wide eyed at the little dragon.
Sonya came walking over and gave the guys a strange look as they stood there staring at the booth in silence.
“Not sure what you all are looking at but Mason, a customer wants to talk to you.”
“Don’t you see it?”
“See what?” Sonya asked, with complete innocence.
The guys looked at each other and back at her.
“Is there a spot on the table that I missed cleaning?”
Mason shook his head. “Give me a minute I will be with the customer soon.”
“Are you sure you are alright, you look a little pale. Don’t worry about the customer, I will take care of it.”
Once she was out of earshot Tippner looked at Mason, “She has to be pretending! How could she not see it? Maybe you could touch it. See if its real.”
“You want me to touch a dragon? You touch it!”
“You have seen wild animals before, and you are going to let yourself be scared of a little dragon?”
“It talked to me!”
Tippner’s eyebrows rose, “Are you sure you are alright? You are sounding like Cara now, talking about animals that talk. You do know that talking dragons aren’t real right?”
“Of course, don’t be silly, but…” They continued to stare at the dragon and noticed its wings flapping.”
There may have been a small quaver to Mason’s voice. “We do both know that Betsy is a real, talking cow. What if there is something about Bittersweet Creek that makes animals talk?”
“Oh, this is crazy! Betsy may be a special cow, but, I will grab this dragon and prove to you that …”
“WHOOSH!” Fire came out of its mouth, as Tippner was about to grab it. The guys stepped back instinctively and covered their faces. Then they peeked out and saw the fire still coming, but wait, nothing was burning up. Something was going on.
The fire went out. “Good Morning! This is a fascinating book…”
Mason grabbed the dragon. Its a toy! I think its a remote controlled dragon but …. who is controlling it? ” Mason paused in thought, “Follow me, Tippner!”
“Surprise!’ The girls shouted when Mason opened his office door. Well the girls and …” Arthur! I should have known you would be behind this prank.” Arthur was holding the remote control and the girls were laughing.
“Your surveillance camera worked perfectly.” The guys noticed that the camera was focused on Tippner’s booth. Cara looked at them with a smirk. “Did you two and Little Fire, the dragon. become friends?”
As the guys stood there momentarily speechless. Arthur said, “I think this may be a good time for us all to go order some breakfast, follow me.” They all followed Arthur out the door, but as Amanda tried to follow, Mason blocked the door. She saw the teasing glint in his eyes.
The others heard Amanda say, “But it was all Arthur and Cara’s idea” … before the door closed.
“Go help her, Arthur.”
“Oooh … I think she will be fine,” He gave a wink, “and besides, you heard her, it wasn’t all me, little Miss. “Innocent,” He looked directly at Cara.
She laughed, “Don’t say anything to Bard. I think I will put the dragon in the bathroom at night. His eyes glow in the dark.”
“Poor Bard!” Tippner shook his head,”But I would like to say I knew you all were behind it all along, just played along. Can’t fool old Tippner!”
“Yeah, riiiight!” They all replied.
Moon Rock Craziness … Sticky Waterfall … A Blizzard Hero …And Other Facts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Silence is Golden
Thanks to Jason for this incredible photo of the mountains. Give your eyes a treat and visit his blog to see more photos, http://jasonfrels.com/2023/04/21/the-towers-of-the-blue-mountains/
The water was finally simmering over the fire. Olivia sighed, in the time that it was taking her to make a large pot of soup, she could have easily heated up several bowls of soup in the microwave. If only Grandfather owned a microwave. He said he had no need for technology high up in the mountains.
Olivia was on Spring Break from high-school. She wanted to go to Florida for the week with a bunch of her friends, but her mom had said no. Instead, she sent her to be with her grandpa in the mountains. She wanted to be sunbathing on the beach. Had wasted money on a hot pink bikini. She loved her grandpa, but …. her mom didn’t understand! Everybody who was somebody was going to Florida.
Since she had to come, she was set on encouraging her Grandpa to move in with her mom. Olivia didn’t understand why her mom didn’t insist on it. Now that Grandma had died, he was all alone.
Yes, he was in good shape, and still able to take care of himself, but he was growing older. “Grandpa, why do you want to be so isolated up here?”
“Isolated? I don’t think of it that way. ” He laughed. “After lunch I have something to show you.”
The log cabin was filled with the aroma of Grandpa’s special soup. Olivia hoped it tasted as well as it smelled. It was beef vegetable soup, and Grandpa had insisted on adding his special spices to it.
They sat down at the table and Olivia tried some. It was really good. She took a couple more big spoonfuls.
“This is the tastiest….” Olivia’s eyes started watering. She grabbed her glass of water and gulped it down!
Grandpa was grinning. “It makes you feel alive, doesn’t it!”
She couldn’t answer she was busy getting herself a cup ot milk. Note to self, she thought. Never trust Grandpa with spices. Meanwhile Grandpa was wiping away tears of laughter from his eyes.
“The heat does have a way of building up as you eat it.”
Fortunately there was ice cream for dessert. Olivia’s tastebuds thanked her.
“What did you put in the soup?”
“Thats my secret.” His eyes twinkled. “So, are you ready to walk outside with me?”
“Sure!” She took his arm, “Be my guide.”
They stepped outside and walked a little ways. “Look around! Breathe in the fresh air. You say I am isolated up here , but no, up here I am free. Walk with me.”
They started walking and Olivia did feel herself getting lost in the grandeur of the mountains. There was no denying that they were beautiful and majestic.
“Do you hear that?”
Olivia tried to listen but heard nothing. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly! You hear the magic of silence.”
“Oh Grandpa, Look!” She pointed to the sky where a condor was flying. They stood there in silence, awwed by the moment.
After it flew out of sight they started walking and talking again. Olivia was surprised at how she was enjoying herself.
Grandpa put his arm around her, “There was plenty of times that I felt alone when I was younger, even in the midst of a crowd. But up here, with no one else around I don’t feel lonely at all. Well, except for the times that I miss your Grandma Rose.”
A stray tear fell from bis eye. Olivia squeezed his hand. “I think I am beginning to understand. Its peaceful here.” Grandpa gave her a warm smile.
She let out a little chuckle as they kept walking. “I think this is the longest I have gone without using my phone.”
He felt her forehead. “You aren’t sick are you? You feeling okay? You aren’t going to suffer some bizarre ailment since you been without your phone?”
“Grandpa! I am fine! I actually haven’t missed it.”
“Miracles never cease.” He said, with a teasing grin.
Olivia made a face and then hugged him. “I love you Grandpa!”
“I love you too, and you want to know a secret?”
“Yes! Please!”
“I am glad you didn’t go to Florida.” And he gave her a wink.
.
Friday’s Super Short Stories!
Survey time … Do you eat Apple Dumplings as a dessert or as a complete meal with cheese and crackers?
When a dream wakes you up with tears on your face …
When your daughter makes a witty comeback to your dear brother-in-law and he says, “You sound like your mom.” And you feel so proud!
A Day of Dolphins and a Decadant Dessert!
This is Part 2 to last night’s post, A Magical Day
Herb was not going to believe this! Esther saw him coming toward her.”Okay I found my hat, we can go.”
Esther stood still, “Esther? Are you okay? You look a little pale. Esther?”
She grabbed his hand. “They disappeared! A woman and a little boy. Right in front of me. They were right in front of me and then lots of pink and purple smoke and when it cleared, they were gone!” Squeezing his hand tighter she said, “I think aliens snatched them.” Her eyes were frantic with worry. “We have to get out of here!”
Poor Herb didn’t know what to think. Maybe Esther had been out in the sun too long. That must be it. He would get her home and all would be well.
WOW! Melinda was flabbergasted. What had happened?? How … ?
“MOM! This is awesome! My cowbell must be magical!” Cody’s face was totally enraptured with the scene in front of them.
Melinda had never believed in magic, but she was at a loss for words. What else, besides magic would explain them standing on a cruise ship watching dolphins frolic in the cerulean blue water?
If this was magic, Melinda didn’t want it to end. Perhaps they could keep traveling around the world and be carefree. She wouldn’t have to worry about finding a second job to deal with the mounting bills.
Once the dolphins swam away they toured the ship. When they found the swimming pool Cody didn’t want to go anywhere else!
Later that evening they went to the dining room and the array of food was amazing. The Baked Alaska dessert was divine!
“Mom, you have to make this when we get home.” Cody’s honey brown eyes pleaded with her.
Melinda was about to reply when the Captain made an announcement. They were in dire need of a cook. One of the cook’s had a family emergency and would be gone for awhile.
The wheels in Melinda’s head started spinning. Sbe had worked as a cook before, she could do it again. What an adventure it would be to work on a cruise ship. She had to talk to the captain.
“Cody, stay here, I will be right back.”
Sbe approached the Captain and asked about the job. After talking about her qualifications she felt like a songbird, wanting to sing at the top of her lungs. The job was her’s! They could move into the cook’s suite. No more worries about bills. The wage that the Captain had mentioned, would be more than enough. Melinda blushed. There was no denying how handsome the Captain was. Perhaps they had landed on the Love Boat.
Back at the table Cody was patiently waiting. “How would you like to stay on this ship for awhile as Mommy fills in for one of the cook’s ?”
The tightest hug ever answered her question.
Cody went to sleep that night with visions of Baked Alaska dancing in his head and Melinda may have been dreaming about a certain man’s charming smile.
Nuggets of Gold 
