Hearts and Humor - Just Imagine

Hi, Gang!

I'm sorry for not posting my mid-week story. Work is a real
bear lately. By the time I get home - around 8PM, I'm
exhausted. When I tally up my time sheet and add the
commute time to it, I'm coming close to 70 hours a week.

Today's story is an old one. I hope you enjoy it.

Tomorrow I will have something off the wall for you.
I'm anxiously waiting for an email. This is my weekend
to create a story for the "Writers Weekly 24-Hour Short
Story Contest."

They are going to send me a paragraph and tell me the maximum
word length. I have 24 hours to write a story around the
paragragh and have it submitted. Most times I'm up all night
working on this.

The probem is, you, my wonderful family of readers, usually
expect my stories be something to touch your heart or mind.
My contest stories tend to be something totally different.
I'll post my entry tomorrow along with a warning that the
story is not something you'd expect from me and to delete
it if you think you may be upset.
I'd rather you delete the story than lose you as a
member of our group.

Comments from last week's story will be included with
tomorrow's story. Ginny and I have some running around to do
today, so I can't add them right now.

    If you enjoy a story, feel free to pass it on to
your friends. I only ask that you leave the link
at the bottom for them to join us.

    NOTE: IF YOU WISH TO STOP RECEIVING MY STORIES,
PLEASE USE THE UNSUBSCRIBE LINK BELOW. PLEASE DO NOT
MARK ME AS SPAM. MY STORIES ARE ONLY SENT TO THOSE
WHO SUBSCRIBE TO MY EZINE.

    I Love your comments.
    Send them to: msmith4@nj.rr.com

    If anyone is interested in greeting cards, Ginny
belongs to a group of artists. They've teamed together
to market their products. Check them out at:
http://www.etsygreetings.blogspot.com

    Ginny's cards and other crafts are at:
http://www.ginginsgoodies.etsy.com

    Be sure to check out my collection of inspirational
   
sites at the end. There's something for everyone.

    Now for today's story.

                          Just Imagine

    Ginny and I married in May of 2004. In the process, I gained
a new son, daughter and four grandsons - instant grandpa. I met
my new son, Brandon, a few months before we married., but I never
had the chance to meet Ginny's daughter, Heather, and Heather's
three small boys.

    Over the July 4th holiday of 2005, I got to meet them for
the first time. Heather, separated from her husband. She needed
a place to stay. Ginny and I flew to Oklahoma to drive them back
to New Jersey to live with us.

    It took a day for my new grandsons to warm up to me. The
first day they stared at me, wondering what they were suppose to
do with this man, who they were told is "grandpa." I waited
patiently. I knew boys like to play. They'd come to me in their
own time.

    On the second day, the oldest two were doing summersaults
over my lap. The youngest, Ben, took a little longer, but a few
days later he raced me across the yard thirty times and won the
race every time.

    That weekend brought back memories of my own childhood. We
had such imaginations. In our minds: a tree was a tower to spot
approaching bad guys; a big rock became mountain; a fallen log
was a space ship, headed to the stars. We had toys, but we
had to use our minds, not like the new toys I see my grandkids
with. Our toys didn't talk. If they did, you pulled a string to
make it work. We had blocks to build, crayons to create, and
trucks and cars to push. They were simple toys that required
imagination.

    I thought about the toys in my garage, the ones my children
outgrew. They're simple and needed their imagination to work.
"Mr. Potato Head" allowed them to learn the parts of the body
and giggle at the funny face with an ear where it's mouth should
be.

    I still have an old plastic phone. It has a dial to turn,
a bell that rings when you push a button, and that's it. It
doesn't talk, squawk, beep or move around the room. It
was used when they played house, nurse, doctor, and secretary.

    I have a toy doctor's bag, with all the plastic doctor's
tools. I remember the broken bones, cuts, bangs, scratches and
aches my daughter repaired, as I lay in her office moaning.

    Toys today do it all. Kids don't need imagination. It comes
in a box. There are videogames that take us into other worlds;
talking toys, with vocabularies better than most people; and
computerized toys to teach the alphabet. Kids sit and have
imagination brought to them. The teaching toys are great, but
children tire of them. It's like being in school.

    When my son was young and tired of his toys, he'd come to
me, "Dad, I'm bored."

    "Go find something to do." I'd replied.

    "I don't know what to do."

    "Go outside and find a friend."

    "Naaa! I don't want to do that."

    "Use your imagination."

    "Huh?" What do you mean?" he asked.

    "Well, when I was young......" You know the routine.

    Sports is the same. We're entertained for hours, watching
someone else have fun, doing what they are good at. Wouldn't it
be better to be playing yourself? If we don't like the sports
available to watch, we create new ones. It doesn't matter what,
people will pay to see it, because they need to be entertained.
I haven't heard of world championship worm digging, but if
someone offered a large cash price, people would buy tickets to
scream at the contestants.

    I worry. Are we becoming a society that needs outside
influence to have fun? I think I'll go climb a tree. Maybe
there's pirate ship on the horizon or someone is attacking
my castle.

    Just imagine?

    Michael T. Smith
 

     If you enjoy a story, feel free to pass it on to your friends.
   
My only request is that you include the link for your friends to

join our family.

To join our family, go to:

http://subs.zinester.com/86758/

    As promised, here is a list of great inspirational sites.

I subscribe to all of them. You will love these sites.

    A good friend of mine has a new book out. You should check
this out. Carol's been through rough times. She tells it all
in her latest book.

Carol Roach
M.Ed, B.A.
Publisher: Storytime Tapestry
Author: Angels Watching Over Me:http://www.lulu.com/content/644485
Picking up the Pieces: A Woman's Journey: www.publishamerica.com

To join Carol's story site, go to Storytime Tapestry at:
http://archives.zinester.com/98907/

From my wonderful writing friend, Jan. She writes wonderful
stories about her life and losing her sight.
Janet Perez Eckles
Faith and Love with a Latin Flair
www.janetperezeckles.com

Here's a good one by Linda Della Donna
Freelance Writer
www.littleredmailbox.com
www.griefcase.blogspot.com
www.storybone.blogspot.com
"...and sometime when I wasn't looking, I got a new life."

By my good friend Keith in Australia:
http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/

My friend Phil runs http://www.peoplestuff.com.au/
Phil's awesome and brutally honest

Zev, yes another friend, runs http://empoweringmessages.com/stories/

Heart Catchers is a wonderful site.  www.DianeDeanWhite.com

www.Heartwarmers.com and www.petwarmers.com are two

wonderful story sites.

http://hodu.com/

http://www.mydailyinsights.com/

www.ripplemaker.com

http://www.sermonillustrator.org

http://www.SkyWriting.Net

Here's a newly discovered one I like:

http://www.archive.zinester.com/9516

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WarmFuzzyStories/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WithInSight/

If you, or anyone you know needs prayers for health concerns,
struggles,etc visit www.janetperezeckles.com
Janet's prayer group will respond.

That's all I can think of right now. If I come up with

more, I'll add them.

Enjoy!!!

I love your comments, Send them to msmith4@nj.rr.com.

I'll include some in every post.