Month: August 2016

Past, present & plans 8-18-16

/ Jim McDonald / Leave a comment

Past

 

I was stuck in the basement after watching a scary movie. Dad just called down and said, “Come up! Turn off the TV and light.” I turned the tube off and went upstairs.

 

Dad sternly said, “Go back down and turn off the light.” He wouldn’t let me turn the main light on, before I went back down. Walking down wasn’t so bad, but thinking about walking back up in the dark really scared me.

 

I walked to the lamp, slide my hand up under the shade and put right my thumb and index finger on the turn knob. Before turning the switch, I looked around for the monster. I thought maybe to peek behind the couch and move the coffee table out of the way first. Then quickly darkened the room and ran past the top step and slammed the door behind me.

 

Dad grabbed me with a big smile saying, “Good job son! You’re alright, don’t worry you’re alright” He hugged me so tight, that I could hardly breath. I felt so safe in his arms.

 

Present

 

Now I make appointments to be scared. A lady is going to stick a needle in the front of my jaw, then pull real hard till she has what she wants. A wiggly tooth, it’s hurts to bite anything, but I still don’t want her to have it.

 

Last night was my first board meeting at the local “Christmas in April” organization. It was cool, but it interferes with our monthly Charles County Writers Association Meeting. I feel honored to sit on the board, but I have so much to learn about writing.

 

Plans

 

Over the next week I’ll pray about the conflict and talk to a few friends. I have a feeling what they will say. The board is a prideful ego stature building process, while the writing is a pure love.

Reminiscin’ with Jenny

/ Jim McDonald / Leave a comment

 

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A Squirrel, A Sack and A Name

 
I Grew up in the state of Tennessee, the county of Johnson, the city of Mountain City, and the hamlets of Dewey and Doe Valley. We lived way out in the country about five miles from town…

 
My story begins when I was born on a place called Shupetown Road. My paternal grandmother was a midwife. She was also a medicine woman and used a lot of herbs and old wives tales for practicing her doctoring. She was born and raised in a place called Old Butler which is under Watauga Lake today. In her midwifery duties she delivered or helped to deliver lots of babies including four of my siblings. Today it is not uncommon to run into people she delivered.

 
On the morning I was born my father had gotten up early, grabbed his gun, a flour sack in which to carry his catch and set off to go squirrel hunting in the woods back of our place. He had been able to bag a squirrel and he carried it home in that sack.

 

When he came through the door, his mother rushed up to him and said, “Roy, you just had a brand new baby girl, what are you going to call her? He looked at the sack with the squirrel and looked at me and said, Virginia Rose”. That’s the story of how I got my name from a sack of flour.

 

And in the words of my Father, That’s it for Today,

Your three words, my little story 8-17-16

/ Jim McDonald / Leave a comment

Michael’s words: bananas, ocean & space

 

Michael’s favorite sandwich was sometimes called an Elvis Sandwich or simply The Elvis. It’s easy to make since all you need is bread, peanut butter and BANANAS. Some people put it on toast, with honey or even grill it. A friend told him to, “Add some bacon to it.” However, he couldn’t wrap his head around that taste. He loves bacon and likes peanut butter and bananas, but not together. He couldn’t imagine wasting a piece of bacon like that.

 
He told his friend, “Bacon was put on this earth to eat as a snack.” He decided to bring some Elvis Sandwiches, a bag of bacon and some water for the trip tomorrow. It was going to cost him and five of his friends $300 a piece for the deep sea charter. The eighteen hundred dollars covers the boat, a twelve hour trip, the Captain, first mate, boat, chum and bait. Rather expensive, but it’s a trip way out in the OCEAN. So the price, that normally could buy two weeks of groceries was well worth it.

 
Michael’s buddy Joe, got a little sick and started his own style of chumming. Michael said, “Let’s get you down below, so you can get some rest.”

 
Another friend said, “I can’t swim that good. I was all right as long as I could see land, but we’re so far out here, I’m a little scared. All I see is rough wavy water, blue sky and wide open SPACE.”
Michael again said, “Let’s get you down below, so you can get some rest.”

 

Now it was only four fishermen, which made it much easier on the first mate. He only had to bait four lines and less fish to take off the hooks, if the Captain guided them over some fish. That also meant his tip would be less, unless Joe gave him extra for cleaning his chum off the boat.

 
But Michael didn’t have share as much of his bacon, so he was good with it.

Poem: the hole in the wall (true story)

/ Jim McDonald / 9 Comments

The hole in the wall

By Jim McDonald (true story)

 

the hole in the wall
controls my all
an anxious captive
peeking out
screen or glass
buffers the fright
how do I leave
how do I stay
the hole in the wall
controls my all
breathing is rapid
breathing is brutal
afraid to leave
afraid to stay
the hole in the wall
controls my all
afraid to live
afraid to die
the hole in the wall
controls my all

2011

 

Your three words, my little story 8-16-16

/ Jim McDonald / 3 Comments

Casey’s words: microwave, shed & seagull

Casey carefully walked back from her SHED, carrying her old small MICROWAVE. Her peppy little Spike was jumping all over her and running between her legs. At one point she stopped walking, and yelled, “Stop it Spikie!” She thought he stopped, but what he did was sneak up behind her and tripped her. As she was getting up she noticed the glass in the microwave door was broken. Now she had two microwaves that didn’t work and that was going to change her beach plans.

“Spikie baby, now I have to buy one.” She picked herself up, stepped onto the deck and into her home. After giving Spike some food, water and a big hug she left for the Wilson Wal-Mart. She was pulling into the jammed parking lot, when she decided to give up shopping and headed toward Sloan. The beach was on the west side of the small town of Sloan. Now she’s in a hurry, because he was probably already there.

~~~~~

She yelled, “I’m here!”

“It’s about time honey.”

Casey said, “ Now I wished you picked me up.”

“Well, I wanted to, but you….”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. If you were there you could have helped me with my microwave. I dropped it, now I have to buy another one. When we leave, can you meet me at Wal-Mart?”

“Sure.”

~~~~~

Heading back to Wilson. Wally was leading the way as he normally would do with Casey. While he was pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot he always drives through the seagulls. He loved watching them scatter. One scooted over Wally’s car and that SEAGULL splattered all over Casey’s windshield. “Gross!”