Cookies

A Bag of Cookies
by Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
with several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shops,
bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,
that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be,
grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,
which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock,
as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I would blacken his eye."

With each cookie she took, he took one too;
when only one was left, she wondered what he would do.
With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other;
she snatched it from him and thought... oooh, brother.
This guy has some nerve and he's also rude;
why didn't he even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled,
and sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat;
then she sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise;
there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair,
the others were his, and he tried to share.
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

(From Glen Leverentz's "Glen's Story Corner" on Relevant Radio - www.relevantradio.com).

"I Used to be Pretty" by Rob Chaffart

It is amazing how your brain can bring back to mind long forgotten memories, even insignificant ones. My youngest son, who is nearly twelve years old, was responsible for triggering a long forgotten memory this morning, an event in my life that happened when I was about his age.

It was late July, and it was breakfast time. I was sitting outside on the veranda of a hotel in Italy with my parents, enjoying the outstanding view of the city. Firenze, or Florence for us English-speaking people, lay nestled in the valley below, surrounded by the foothills of the Apennine Mountains. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore stood out in the distance in all of its splendor, complete with pigeons on every possible ledge.

Oh, the pigeons!

Last Day by Bob Perks

"This is to inform you that today will be your last day. Please make every effort to get your affairs in order and take care of all last minute contacts."

He knew it was coming, but still he was shocked.

"Time seemed to fly by," he thought to himself. "I had so many great things going. I don't understand why this should happen now."

But often this happens with no particular explanation, rhyme or reason.

He was angry, confused and saddened by it all. But after some reflection and a few tears he began gathering his belongings.

Then pulling out his address book he started with the "A's" and made his final phone calls.

She Was an "8 Cow" Woman

Perhaps you've heard the story of Johnny Lingo, a man who lived in the South Pacific. The islanders all spoke highly of him. He was strong, good-looking, and very intelligent. But when it came time for him to find a wife, people shook their heads in disbelief. The woman Johnny chose was plain, skinny, and walked with her shoulders hunched and her head down. She was very hesitant and shy. She was also a bit older than the other married women in the village, which did nothing for her value.

But this man loved her. What surprised everyone most was Johnny's offer. In order to obtain a wife, you paid for her by giving her father cows. Four to six cows was considered a high price. The other villagers thought he might pay two or even three cows at the most. But he gave eight cows for her!!

Everyone chuckled about it, since they believed his father-in-law put one over on him. Some thought it was a mistake.

Several months after the wedding, a visitor from the United States came to the Islands to trade, and heard the story of Johnny Lingo and his eight-cow wife. Upon meeting Johnny and his wife the visitor was totally taken aback, since this wasn't a shy, plain, and hesitant woman, but one who was beautiful, poised, and confident.

The visitor asked about this transformation, and Johnny Lingo's response was very simple. "I wanted an eight-cow woman, and when I paid that for her and treated her in that fashion, she began to believe that she was an eight-cow woman. She discovered she was worth more than any other woman in the islands. And what matters most is what a woman thinks of herself."

(From Glen Leverentz's "Glen's Story Corner" on Relevant Radio - www.relevantradio.com).

The Quiet Man

Carl was a quiet man.

He didn't talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.

Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII.

Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.

When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristically un-assuming manner.

Without fanfare, he just signed up. He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened.

He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose?

The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure", with a malevolent little smile.