Can you believe it's 2016? Where did the last year go? I've checked under the beds and in the closets, but I haven't found any extra days lying around. Have you? But seriously, this was one quick year filled with memories, challenges, joys, struggles, and through it all my Heavenly Father has never left me. And I'm looking forward to seeing what this new year holds.
In case you did happen to get on this blog at the usual time of about 7:30 and didn't find anything, well, it's because I'm still on "vacation" at my grandparents and didn't have time to post before breakfast. It's not because I stayed up late. :) I actually went to bed at the usual time last night. I figured that since I was going to see 366 days of this year (yes, there will be 366 days because it's leap year) I didn't need to stay up and see the first few minutes. :P
I'm very much looking forward to next week though because I can finally get back to writing! As much as I've enjoyed my break and the time to read and not even think about writing, I've missed it and my brain didn't always leave all story ideas behind. (I've had multiple ideas for stories!) But next week I'm jumping back into the mystery with the Graham Quartet! I'll keep you posted about my progress. And I might even let you read another part or two while I'm writing it. Would you like that?
And by the way, if you have NOT signed up for my e-mail list on Read Another Page, you might want to do that now. I won't always be telling you about my special sales and discounts on here any more. I will this time. ALL my kindle books (except the short story) are on sale today! And the first TCR book and the Graham Quartet book are actually FREE today and tomorrow.
But now I must go. I will leave you with the first half of a short story. If you don't know who the Medfords are, go to my short story page and read the story about their 4th of July. :)
Climbing with the Medfords
Part 1
It was a beautiful October day. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky and the air was brisk as the Medford children of school age climbed onto the school’s bus. It was time to head home and the bus was full of chattering children.
“What are you going to do when you get home?” Alice asked her best friend Katie.
“I’ll probably have to help with some chores or start on my homework. I wish we could do something fun.”
“Me too.”
“Maybe we could go roller skating later.”
“Oh, that would be fun. I’ll check with my mom after we get home.”
The two friends continued to talk as the bus stopped here and there to let children off. They were discussing their teacher’s upcoming wedding when a sudden noise and the jerking of the bus interrupted them.
“What’s happening?”
“Did something break?”
“Why did we stop?”
The questions were asked so quickly that Mr. Benton, the driver, held up his hands. “I don’t know. You kids just sit there a minute and let me take a look.”
After waiting a few minutes Mr. Benton climbed back into the bus. “I don’t know what we’ll do. There’s something wrong with the engine. Don’t know how long it will take and I’ve got to get you kids home.”
“Oh, we can walk home,” Walter Medford spoke up.
“Yeah,” Frank Burton put in. “We all live near each other. Why can’t we walk home?”
“Please,” the rest of the children begged, eager to be out in the sunshine and fresh air.
For a moment Mr. Benton looked at the excited, pleading faces of the school children. “All right,” he began. “But,” he raised his voice to be heard above the sudden clamor of tongues, “you must all promise to stick together!”
A loud chorus of “We promise!” filled the air as the children eagerly grabbed their books and climbed down off the bus. With many shouts and waves, the children set off down the street in a happy bunch, jackets open or slung over shoulders. It was glorious to be outside at last with a tramp through the town ahead of them.
They had walked a few blocks when suddenly Frank exclaimed, “Walter, look!” He pointed to a very large billboard. It was the largest one the children had seen and it excited their interest. “Let’s climb it!”
“Yeah, let’s!” Walter shouted eagerly, running towards it with Frank on his heels and the rest of the children tagging along. Climbing billboards was a favorite activity for Walter and Frank as well as several others in the group, though no one had climbed one that high before.
Reaching the bottom of the billboard pole, the schoolbooks were quickly dumped on the ground and the girls waited eagerly for Walter and Frank to tell them it was all right to climb. The two boys, feeling responsible for the welfare of the rest of the children, wanted to make sure the billboard was safe.
“I think they just wanted a chance to enjoy it by themselves,” Alice whispered to Katie.
Katie nodded.
After what seemed like hours to those waiting below, Walter called down, “Okay, come on up!”
There was a scramble for the ladder and before long Lillian and Alice Medford, Katie Burton and Ester Hershal were standing with the boys at the top of the billboard taking in the amazing bird’s eye view of Boonsville.
“It feels like we’re birds in a nest,” Ester laughed. “But I don’t see any mother bird coming with a bug to feed us.”
The girls laughed at that thought and Katie added, “Good, because I’d hate to have to eat a bug!”
“Look!” Walter pointed, “there’s our house!” Sure enough the Medford house could be seen among the trees many blocks away.
Turning to look in another direction, Frank pointed out the large church on Clark street.
“Why, I think I can see the school,” and Alice pointed in the direction where a building of some sort could be partially seen that might indeed be the school.
“I don’t know if it is,” Frank said.
“It rather looks like it though,” Walter added, not wanting to sound too critical of his younger sister’s idea.
“And see there,” Katie pointed near the Medford’s house. “Is that Rob and Sara?”
“Where?” Ester and Alice asked at once.
“There, at the corner grocery. Don’t you see them?”
Frank and Walter turned. “Wouldn’t that be funny if it was? We ought to ask them if they were at the grocery at this time,” and Walter looked down at his watch. “Too bad we didn’t bring any binoculars with us. Then we really could have seen things.”
“Walt, you and I should come back some time with a pair.” Frank grinned at the idea.
Would you like to climb a billboard?
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Would you like to read more of the Graham Quartet?
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