This is part three of 'The Saint of Liberty.' If you have yet to read the prior postings of 'The Saint of Liberty' Please do. Enjoy:
Mr. Jenson looked up to see where the bus was, just as Lilly reached the door. She was struggling to open the door with the thumb and forefinger of her left hand all the time trying to keep the huge stack of boxes balanced. She was only able to open the door maybe six inches before the door slipped from her fingers and closed shut. She immediately tried again to open the door. Mr. Jenson went to open the door when Lilly dropped a small box that was on the very top of the stack. Mr. Jenson quickly changed direction to pick up the box and set it back on top of the stack. He noticed that every box was labeled with Lilly’s prefect penmanship. Mr. Jensen chuckled again and said out loud, “and efficient too!” As he adjusted the small box labeled ‘watch’. Lilly hearing Mr. Jenson crammed her head around the boxes to look up at Mr. Jenson as she sweetly said, “Oh Mr. Jenson, I didn’t see you there. How are you today sir?” Mr. Jenson moved to the door and opened it and said “I am even better seeing your shining face Lilly”. Lilly seeing the door open, tried to curtsy as she said “Thank you sooooo much Mr. Jenson” and moved towards the opening. Lilly trying to squeeze through the opening bumped into Mr. Jenson and though the door of Mr. Sugars Candy store. Mr. Jenson with a huge smile feeling that he has been blessed to spend the smallest time with such a wonderful child replied, “It is my pleasure Lilly!” as she continued to bump her way into the store.
Mr. Jenson turned and walked towards the bank knowing that this small exchange had made his life richer. His mind occupied on the wonder that was Lilly Watson prevented him from seeing Little Steven Spazcosi who was staring through the candy store window. Mr. Jenson at the last moment jumped to the left to avoid tripping over Steven. Mr. Jenson not wanting to have his moment with Lilly ruined tried to ignore that he ever saw the Spazcosi punk. Mr. Jenson never liked Steven. Not only was Steven the son of Jack Spazcosi the local mechanic, Steven had the same rail thin, stained t-shirt, old worn tennis shoe, white trash look to him as did his father. To Mr. Jenson appearance was everything. There was no reason not to be and look the best one could. What would people think if they came to his bank and saw him in wrinkled dirty clothes? Who would want to do business with a man like that?
Mr. Jenson had other reasons not to like Jack Spazcosi. Jack had been his mechanic until three winters ago. Mr. Jenson mother up in Watits County had been struck by another case of pneumonia. Mr. Jenson’s sister Helen had phoned him to say that Mother was on her death bed and surely this was IT. Hearing of the condition of his mother he knew he had to leave immediately to be by her side at this woeful time. The one problem was that his car was in need of a tune up. Mr. Jenson always took his car in for standard tune ups every three thousand miles or three months, whichever came first. He had an appointment to have the car service by Jack in two days. With his average daily mileage he put on his car he knew that would put him right at his next three thousand mile service. The problem was that his dying mother lived way up in Watits County that was at the very tip of the state more than three hundred miles away. He knew that there was no way that he could take that trip without his car being serviced.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Thursday, October 20, 2005
The Saint of Liberty - Part 2
Every Tuesday and Thrursday I will be posting new sections of "The Saint of Liberty". Here is part two. Please go read Part one first if you have not.
Enjoy!
The Saint of Liberty - Part 2
It was Lilly taking her generous nature to other towns that really galvanized her divine image with the good people of Liberty. See Lilly truly was an ambassador of sorts. All month long Lilly would collect any and everything that the town of Liberty could spare. She would then, every second Wednesday, take the forty five minute bus ride into Jefferson City and give these softly worn items to the less fortunate. Lilly was everything good about the town of Liberty. She showed it in the way she talked, dressed and most importantly the way she acted. Many felt that she was living proof that a town could fight against the moral decay and selfish non-caring mindset that was prevalent today. Many of Liberty would swear that she emulated a feeling of good. Lilly was not only the prefect citizen but a living angel.
In early October, Liberty was enjoying the wonderful weather that the old folks often called an Indian summer. Mr. Sugars was washing the front windows of his Candy store that had been dirtied up by little Steven Spazcosi earlier that day. Mr. Sugars loved kids, yet he knew that they all weren't perfect. Some had yet to learn to listen to that little voice inside that warned them what they shouldn't do. Little Steven was a wonderful example of such a kid. Steven was a good kid but his love for Mr. Sugars ‘Drippity Droppity Double Dense Dutch Chocolate Bars’ had forced Steven to not listen to that little voice. This was the reason why Mr. Sugars had to ban Steven from his store. It broke both of their hearts but Mr. Sugars had to help Steven stop stealing for his own good. The month ban was that second such ban that Mr. Sugars had to impose on Steven. What hurt Mr. Sugars the most was he thought of Steven as his own Grandchild. No one in town loved candy like him and Steven. They were kindred spirits in this.
Now Mr. Sugars never had seen Steven steal form his store, but Steven was the only one it could be. See, every time candy was missing from his store, Steven had been there. The only candies that went "missing" were the "Drippity Droppity Double Dense Dutch Chocolate Bars", Steven's favorite. Mr. Sugars was positive that it couldn't have been anyone else. This is why Mr. Sugars banned his best customer. What had made it even harder on Mr. Sugars was that Steven refused to stay away from the store. Even though he had been banned from the store, he spent hours just staring in though the window. Steven had spent almost an hour earlier in the day looking though this window. He just stood there and watched as Mr. Sugars made lemon gumdrops. It was then that Steven had left the sticky finger prints that Mr. Sugars was now cleaning up.
Mr. Sugars knew that Steven was a good kid that just needed some tough love to find the straight and narrow. "Not every kid could be Lilly Watson!" Mr. Sugars said to himself as he finished the window and started to clean the door handle that Steven had grabbed right before he left. The sun reflected off something down the street and shined into Mr. Sugar's eyes forcing him to look up at the slowly approaching bus. He chuckled as he saw Sweet Lilly Watson not a block away walking towards his store with her arms full of boxes. Boxes of needed things that he knew were in route to Jefferson City. "Speak of the devil." Fell out of his mouth as he saw Lilly trying to transverse the Main St. sidewalk with it's, sandwich board signs, poorly parked kids bikes in front of Ms. Pearl's Toy store and noon crowd rushing to stand in line at Anna's Cafe. With each step Lilly took extra care to keep the precariously stacked boxes from falling. A happily shocked Mr. Sugars grabbed Mr. Jenson who was walking back to the bank with his egg salad sandwich that he ordered every Wednesday said while pointing down the sidewalk at Lilly, "That stack of boxes gets bigger each month. They are taller than she is." Mr. Jenson turning to see Lilly approaching said "How can she even see where she is going?" Mr. Sugars opening the door to his shop replied to Mr. Jenson, "She is an amazing child. I am going to get ice cream ready. I just saw the bus, she best hurry up or she'll miss it." Mr. Jenson just got off "Hank will wait for her!" as the door shut. Mr. Jenson checked his prized possession the gold pocket watch his grandfather had given him the day he went off to college. Eight minutes after twelve. The bus must have been a little early.
Enjoy!
The Saint of Liberty - Part 2
It was Lilly taking her generous nature to other towns that really galvanized her divine image with the good people of Liberty. See Lilly truly was an ambassador of sorts. All month long Lilly would collect any and everything that the town of Liberty could spare. She would then, every second Wednesday, take the forty five minute bus ride into Jefferson City and give these softly worn items to the less fortunate. Lilly was everything good about the town of Liberty. She showed it in the way she talked, dressed and most importantly the way she acted. Many felt that she was living proof that a town could fight against the moral decay and selfish non-caring mindset that was prevalent today. Many of Liberty would swear that she emulated a feeling of good. Lilly was not only the prefect citizen but a living angel.
In early October, Liberty was enjoying the wonderful weather that the old folks often called an Indian summer. Mr. Sugars was washing the front windows of his Candy store that had been dirtied up by little Steven Spazcosi earlier that day. Mr. Sugars loved kids, yet he knew that they all weren't perfect. Some had yet to learn to listen to that little voice inside that warned them what they shouldn't do. Little Steven was a wonderful example of such a kid. Steven was a good kid but his love for Mr. Sugars ‘Drippity Droppity Double Dense Dutch Chocolate Bars’ had forced Steven to not listen to that little voice. This was the reason why Mr. Sugars had to ban Steven from his store. It broke both of their hearts but Mr. Sugars had to help Steven stop stealing for his own good. The month ban was that second such ban that Mr. Sugars had to impose on Steven. What hurt Mr. Sugars the most was he thought of Steven as his own Grandchild. No one in town loved candy like him and Steven. They were kindred spirits in this.
Now Mr. Sugars never had seen Steven steal form his store, but Steven was the only one it could be. See, every time candy was missing from his store, Steven had been there. The only candies that went "missing" were the "Drippity Droppity Double Dense Dutch Chocolate Bars", Steven's favorite. Mr. Sugars was positive that it couldn't have been anyone else. This is why Mr. Sugars banned his best customer. What had made it even harder on Mr. Sugars was that Steven refused to stay away from the store. Even though he had been banned from the store, he spent hours just staring in though the window. Steven had spent almost an hour earlier in the day looking though this window. He just stood there and watched as Mr. Sugars made lemon gumdrops. It was then that Steven had left the sticky finger prints that Mr. Sugars was now cleaning up.
Mr. Sugars knew that Steven was a good kid that just needed some tough love to find the straight and narrow. "Not every kid could be Lilly Watson!" Mr. Sugars said to himself as he finished the window and started to clean the door handle that Steven had grabbed right before he left. The sun reflected off something down the street and shined into Mr. Sugar's eyes forcing him to look up at the slowly approaching bus. He chuckled as he saw Sweet Lilly Watson not a block away walking towards his store with her arms full of boxes. Boxes of needed things that he knew were in route to Jefferson City. "Speak of the devil." Fell out of his mouth as he saw Lilly trying to transverse the Main St. sidewalk with it's, sandwich board signs, poorly parked kids bikes in front of Ms. Pearl's Toy store and noon crowd rushing to stand in line at Anna's Cafe. With each step Lilly took extra care to keep the precariously stacked boxes from falling. A happily shocked Mr. Sugars grabbed Mr. Jenson who was walking back to the bank with his egg salad sandwich that he ordered every Wednesday said while pointing down the sidewalk at Lilly, "That stack of boxes gets bigger each month. They are taller than she is." Mr. Jenson turning to see Lilly approaching said "How can she even see where she is going?" Mr. Sugars opening the door to his shop replied to Mr. Jenson, "She is an amazing child. I am going to get ice cream ready. I just saw the bus, she best hurry up or she'll miss it." Mr. Jenson just got off "Hank will wait for her!" as the door shut. Mr. Jenson checked his prized possession the gold pocket watch his grandfather had given him the day he went off to college. Eight minutes after twelve. The bus must have been a little early.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
The Saint of Liberty - Part 1
I have been writing like nobody's business lately which is a big reason I haven't done much on the Blog. I will start posting excerpts from my current story.
Here is the first:
Set in amongst giant redwoods is the quaint old Victorian town called Liberty. This town called Liberty looks much like it did eighty years ago. If it were not for the automobiles, street lights and telephone poles, one would swear that they had been transported to another time. The people of Liberty cherished that their little haven had done well at staving off the ills of modern society. They were proud to have a place that was filled with values that the rest of the country had turn their backs on. Yes it was always a challenge keeping children from being possessed with modern things like TV, but the whole town had worked together to keep the young folks of Liberty in line. Sure there were some kids that needed extra help, but the town was up to the challenge. One child that no one had to worry about was sweet Lilly Watson. Lilly's caring selflessness had made her an example of all that was good about Liberty. If ask to describe her one would have to say she was average. From her mousy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes there really wasn't one thing about her that stood out. She was just a normal looking young girl barely the age of ten. What made Lilly stand out was, as so many of the townspeople swore, she was truly a saint. She was the pride of Liberty; she had stolen the hearts of the whole town.
Lilly's accomplishments were many. Not only did Lilly help Fred Tucket at the animal shelter whenever she could, she also helped Mrs. Fatters with her garden. Mrs. Fatters had broke her hip a year to the day that old man Fatters died in his sleep. Since, she had troubles doing every thing that need to be done in her garden. The death of Mr. Fatters ended the little extra income that he had earned working at the towns Fireman's Museum. The Fatters had depended on that money to supplement their fixed income. Quickly after the death of her loving husband Mrs. Fatters realized she was in trouble. After several days of racking her brain she came to a conclusion, a garden. She would make the biggest garden her land would permit. She cried as she ripped out the rose garden. That was the hardest part. She then turned every square inch of her yard in to a garden, just as many had done during world war two. They had called them victory gardens. She canned as much as possible for the winter and sell any unused vegetables to the local market. She started to make strawberry preserves and selling them also. The garden had given her a feel of power she had never known while Mr. Fatters was alive. The garden that first year had saved her from certain ruin. Sure some days she would long for the roses that she had to rip out, but in the long run it had been worth it.
That first year Mrs. Fatters saved and made more money that Mr. Fatters had made the last year he was alive working at the museum. She found a new life at eighty, and then she broke her hip. One morning while Mrs. Fatters was still bed ridden Lilly came and offered her services. Mrs. Fatters offered a share of the profits but Lilly wouldn't have it. Lilly worked with Mrs. Fatters on her garden from March till October. She helped Mrs. Fatter do all the things that age and an achy hip had prevented her from doing. A mantra became common place in the wake of Mrs. Flatters as she walked downtown. Even the children started to copy what the people of Liberty had been saying for over a year now, "If it wasn't for sweet Lilly Watson, I don't think Mrs. Fatters would be with us any more." Some just started to say, "Lilly Watson, the saint of Liberty"'.
Here is the first:
Set in amongst giant redwoods is the quaint old Victorian town called Liberty. This town called Liberty looks much like it did eighty years ago. If it were not for the automobiles, street lights and telephone poles, one would swear that they had been transported to another time. The people of Liberty cherished that their little haven had done well at staving off the ills of modern society. They were proud to have a place that was filled with values that the rest of the country had turn their backs on. Yes it was always a challenge keeping children from being possessed with modern things like TV, but the whole town had worked together to keep the young folks of Liberty in line. Sure there were some kids that needed extra help, but the town was up to the challenge. One child that no one had to worry about was sweet Lilly Watson. Lilly's caring selflessness had made her an example of all that was good about Liberty. If ask to describe her one would have to say she was average. From her mousy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes there really wasn't one thing about her that stood out. She was just a normal looking young girl barely the age of ten. What made Lilly stand out was, as so many of the townspeople swore, she was truly a saint. She was the pride of Liberty; she had stolen the hearts of the whole town.
Lilly's accomplishments were many. Not only did Lilly help Fred Tucket at the animal shelter whenever she could, she also helped Mrs. Fatters with her garden. Mrs. Fatters had broke her hip a year to the day that old man Fatters died in his sleep. Since, she had troubles doing every thing that need to be done in her garden. The death of Mr. Fatters ended the little extra income that he had earned working at the towns Fireman's Museum. The Fatters had depended on that money to supplement their fixed income. Quickly after the death of her loving husband Mrs. Fatters realized she was in trouble. After several days of racking her brain she came to a conclusion, a garden. She would make the biggest garden her land would permit. She cried as she ripped out the rose garden. That was the hardest part. She then turned every square inch of her yard in to a garden, just as many had done during world war two. They had called them victory gardens. She canned as much as possible for the winter and sell any unused vegetables to the local market. She started to make strawberry preserves and selling them also. The garden had given her a feel of power she had never known while Mr. Fatters was alive. The garden that first year had saved her from certain ruin. Sure some days she would long for the roses that she had to rip out, but in the long run it had been worth it.
That first year Mrs. Fatters saved and made more money that Mr. Fatters had made the last year he was alive working at the museum. She found a new life at eighty, and then she broke her hip. One morning while Mrs. Fatters was still bed ridden Lilly came and offered her services. Mrs. Fatters offered a share of the profits but Lilly wouldn't have it. Lilly worked with Mrs. Fatters on her garden from March till October. She helped Mrs. Fatter do all the things that age and an achy hip had prevented her from doing. A mantra became common place in the wake of Mrs. Flatters as she walked downtown. Even the children started to copy what the people of Liberty had been saying for over a year now, "If it wasn't for sweet Lilly Watson, I don't think Mrs. Fatters would be with us any more." Some just started to say, "Lilly Watson, the saint of Liberty"'.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Fest come and go, and I just keep smiling!
I have been pathetically bad at posting for the last month. I hope you can forgive me, it has just been pretty crazy lately. On the weekend of the 23 through 26, the RockThrower played three times at the Orinda International Film Festival. All three showings were packed out. The two kids showing, Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning were crazy pack with kids sitting on the floor because there was no room left. The people of Orinda were great and very receptive to my film. Talk about a well ran festival.
Speaking of festivals 'The RockThrower' has been excepted into two more festivals.
The Annapolis Film Festival and Alameda International Film Festival. The Annapolis Film Festival is November 11 through 14. http://www.annapolisfilmfestival.com
The Alameda International Film Festival will show 'the RockThrower' during the kids screenings on every weekend from 15th of October to the 6th of November. http://www.alamedafilmfest.com
Speaking of festivals 'The RockThrower' has been excepted into two more festivals.
The Annapolis Film Festival and Alameda International Film Festival. The Annapolis Film Festival is November 11 through 14. http://www.annapolisfilmfestival.com
The Alameda International Film Festival will show 'the RockThrower' during the kids screenings on every weekend from 15th of October to the 6th of November. http://www.alamedafilmfest.com
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