Home  >> Stories  >> The Tale Spinner #2018-16

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IN THIS ISSUE

• Here is the story of a young boy who is making a difference
• Kate Brookfield has WIFI again, so she continues her story
• Catherine Nesbitt sends a story about first-time sex
• Rafiki shares another fattening recipe
• Shirley Conlon describes a medicare plan for seniors
• Tom Telfer suggests that you take care of your life partner
• Sites are suggested by Barbara Wear and Jay Sansum

Laura Raymond? of Palm Springs, California, wrote to Heroic Stories about

A STITCH IN TIME

Recently, a friend, knowing I edit a newsletter, came to ask for help with a project her son is doing for his Eagle Scout badge. She wanted to put a notice in the paper asking for donations of toys, games, and books for her son, John Scott. His plan was to give them to the children in our local shelter for victims of domestic violence and abuse. He also wanted scraps and pieces of fabric, because he wanted to make at least 25 child-sized quilts for these children so they would have something warm and soft.

John Scott comes from a prosperous middle-class professional family; he has never had any personal experience of the kind of suffering that abused and neglected children endure. Most kids and young adults, and more than a few older ones, don´t have much of a sense of what it´s like to be someone different - compassion and empathy seem to be rare and strange these days. But John Scott has enough sensitivity and awareness of the needs of children who come from a life so vastly different from his own that he could imagine what a difference a quilt, a toy, or some books could make to someone who has never had something made just for them. When he found out how little these children have, since nearly all of them fled their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs, he just felt that he had to do something for them.

He thought about what the most comforting thing in his life was, and decided that it was the quilt his grandmother had made for him when he was little. He realized he could make quilts for these children, too, even though he had never sewn before. His mother was flabbergasted by his project, and supports him by driving him to pick up donations, and letting him use her sewing machine.

Once John Scott realized that he needed help to get the quilts made in time for the cold weather, he coordinated a bake sale with a troop of ten Cub Scouts that raised $300 toward the purchase of books and toys for the shelter children, and at the same time, supervised a group of 30 people from the community - men, women, boys and girls - who completed the quilts.

But that´s not all: he also submitted a grant application to get matching funds for the money he raised on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Since he had already raised $400 in donations in addition to the $300 raised by the bake sale, the total came to $1,400.

He hasn´t finished tallying the books and toys he received, but thinks he has almost 500 books and 350 toys in good enough shape to give to the children, ensuring that each of them can have a book and a toy or two for their own, plus a reserve for future children who come through the shelter.

Did I mention that John Scott is only 13?

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Kate Brookfield writes about

TWO WEEKS AT SEA WITH NO INTERNET!

Some people thought that 14 days at sea would be boring. Quite the reverse - the time went fairly quickly, with plenty of activities to keep us busy!

At first, I got up at 7:00 a.m. and went to exercise class. But with clocks going forward an hour every other night and the instructor not catering for older folks, I dropped out and chose to walk the deck. The first week was hot and sunny, so many people were lying on lounge beds, or walking the decks. The pool was very small, and there were two whirl pools.

I spent time making friends. One couple, Margaret and Peter, were from Vancouver. They were going to Greece to help with Syrian refugees. They have been doing this for three years since visiting Greece and going to offer help with the refugee crisis. The coincidence is that they were visiting Peter´s 97-year-old mother in a retirement home in Orangeville on the same day that we were there visiting Joyce, one of our long-time computer friends! Small world, eh?

At night time we had musical entertainment from two different groups. There were also guest lecturers in the morning. One speaker, a Canadian, was Richard Chamberlain, who gave talks every other day about writing short stories about your life as a legacy for your family. He gave us lots of themes to think about. His book is called "Writing Your Legacy." Another speaker was a psychologist who talked about child and teenage psychological issues.

The hour-long Trivia Quiz was vey popular, but not for me. Since Google, I don´t fill my head with trivia! Guests formed teams for the trivia, making it competitive. I enjoyed playing bridge from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00, but only after partaking of afternoon tea with fresh scones, cream and strawberry jam, and other tasty goodies with a good hot cup of tea.

The food for all meals was excellent. In addition to the regular dining room, there were two other restaurants: a French Bistro and another called Candles. On other cruises, the special restaurants are extra charge, but on "Windstar" there is no extra charge, but reservations are needed. Our agent booked us at the Bistro for a Golden Wedding Anniversary. The photographer came and all the waiters came with a cake and sang "Happy Anniversary!"

Unfortunately, the weather changed during the second week. The swell was high as we forged east battling the north-east winds. The pool was closed and on Thursday, we were not allowed out on the deck. A big jigsaw was started with many people getting involved. It was a navigational map of the world and very difficult. It was almost completed when a very rough sea on Thursday night swept it off the table. The piano was also pushed across the deck and damaged.

The next morning was the day of my disaster. One moment, I was sitting having breakfast and suddenly I was no longer sitting, but sprawling on the deck with a broken chair by my side, with broken plates and scrambled eggs beside me! Not a good moment! The rolling ship and strong winds was the result of bad weather coming from Canada! A reminder that what happens in one part of our world affects other parts on this tiny planet.

Despite my accident, I did like the "Windsurf" because there are not so many passengers as on the larger cruise ships - 300 or less as opposed to 3000, or more! It makes it easier to build meaningful friendships. The crew were always happy and willing to help. The chef gave lessons in cooking, such as making pastry and carving joints of meat, and gave tours of the galley. Also the Captain´s Bridge is open policy so anyone can go and see the navigation equipment, talk about sailing, even hold the wheel! All in all, a relaxed happy experience. We will probably cruise on smaller boats again.

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On April 14, Kate wrote: The good news, we arrived safely in the port of Lisbon this morning. The bad news, I came off the ship in a wheelchair!

We had rough seas from Wednesday until late Friday when we entered the estuary of the Tagus River. I was coping well with the rolling ship and boasting about the sea in my blood when on Friday the 13th, I met my comeuppence. I was seated at the breakfast table when suddenly a huge roll caused me and my chair to rise in the air, and on the backward roll, we came down in a heap. The chair fell and I fell on top of it and broke the arm of the chair. The chair and table and dishes all crashed and slid across the floor. I was in a heap and unable to get up because of a searing pain in my left side.

The doctor came and managed to get me strapped onto a stretcher which was pushed into an upright position so they could get me into a wheelchair. After examination, the doctor decided that nothing was broken and gave me pain killers. Since then I have experienced intense searing pain in the lower rib area when I move my left leg.

We borrowed a ship´s wheelchair to get me to our present accommodation - four flights up, but a nice place above a busy square. I can watch the activities in the square around the fountain. The cruise ships are docked very close. I can see the Holland America ship, the "Oosterdam" from the window. We sailed from Vancouver to Sydney on this cruise ship in 2012.

If the sharp pain does not go away I might go and get checked out at a hospital. The ship´s doctor said nothing is broken - maybe a cracked rib and/or torn muscle. Whatever, it is a nuisance, and fingers crossed, the pain will go away tomorrow.

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On April 15, Kate wrote: Good news! Nothing is broken. I was given an injection and some pain killers. The doctor says it could take a month for the pain to go away.

The bad news - it is raining in Lisbon, but we hear there is freezing rain and snow in Ontario!

To be continued.

Catherine Nesbitt sends this story about

FIRST-TIME SEX

A girl asks her boyfriend to come over Friday night to meet and have dinner with her parents. Since this is such a big event, the girl announces that after dinner, she would like to go out and make love for the first time.

The boy is ecstatic, but he has never had sex before, so he takes a trip to the pharmacist to get some condoms. He tells the pharmacist it´s his first time and the pharmacist helps the boy for about an hour. He tells him everything there is to know about condoms and sex.

At the register, the pharmacist asks the boy how many condoms he´d like to buy, a three-pack, 10-pack, or family pack. The boy insists on the family pack because he thinks he will be rather busy, it being his first time and all.

That night, the boy shows up at the girl´s parents´ house and meets his girlfriend at the door. "Oh, I´m so excited for you to meet my parents! Come on in!"

The boy goes inside and is taken to the dinner table where the girl´s parents are seated. The boy quickly offers to say grace and bows his head. A minute passes, and the boy is still deep in prayer, with his head down. Ten minutes pass, and still no movement from the boy.

Finally, after 20 minutes with his head down, the girlfriend leans over and whispers to the boy, "I had no idea you were this religious."

The boy turns and whispers back, "I had no idea your father was the pharmacist!"

Rafiki shares another fattening recipe:

CHOCOLATE BILLIONAIRES ??

Ingredients

1 package (14 ounces) caramels
3 tablespoons water
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup crisp rice cereal
3 cups milk chocolate chips
1-1/2 teaspoons shortening

Directions

Line two baking sheets with waxed paper; grease the paper and set aside.
In a large heavy saucepan, combine the caramels and water; cook and stir over low heat until smooth.
Stir in pecans and cereal until coated.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared pans.
Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until firm.
Meanwhile, in a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth.
Dip candy into chocolate, coating all sides; allow excess to drip off.
Place on prepared pans.
Refrigerate until set.
Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 2 pounds.

Shirley Conlon forwards this suggestion for

MEDICARE - PART G: NURSING HOME PLAN

Say you are an older senior citizen and can no longer take care of yourself, and the government says there is no nursing home care available for you. So what do you do? You opt for Medicare Part G.

The plan gives anyone 75 or older a gun (Part G) and one bullet. You are allowed to shoot one worthless politician.

This means that you will be sent to prison for the rest of your life, where you will receive three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating and air conditioning, cable TV, a library, and all the health care you need. Need new teeth? No problem! Need glasses? That´s great. Need a hearing aid, new hip, knees, kidney, lungs or heart? They are all covered!

As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you at least as often as they do now!

And, who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you they can´t afford for you to go into a nursing home!

And you will get rid of a useless politician while you are at it.

And now, because you are a prisoner, you don´t have to pay any more income taxes!

Is this a great country or what? Now that you have solved your senior financial plan, enjoy the rest of your week!

Tom Telfer forwards this essay about

YOUR LIFE PARTNER

Who is your life partner? Mom? Dad? Husband /wife? Best friend? Son? Daughter? Or someone else?

Your real life partner is Your Body.

You and your body stay together from the beginning of your life until your last breath.

You enjoy each relationship in this world that you feel is good for you. But you also play an important role with your body.

What you do to your body is your responsibility, and that will come back to you. The more you care for your body, the more your body will care for you.

What you eat, what you do for being fit, how you deal with stress (physical/mental/emotional), how much rest you give to it, will decide how your body is going to respond in your day-to-day life.

Remember your body is the only permanent address where you live.

What your body wants is love, care, respect, politeness, honesty.

Your body is your responsibility, because you are your real life partner.

Fitness First!

SUGGESTED SITES

Barbara Wear sends the URL for a vacation travel guide to spectacular St. Petersburg, in Russia:

Barbara also forwards a compilation of old historical photos, some as early as the Civil War era:

Jay forwards this link to a video of an 11-year-old yodeler on the Ellen Show:

Jay also sends the URL for a report by The Automobile Protection Association´s annual auto sales survey which bears warnings about sales tactics and fees that may be against the rules:

This CBC story claims that many Canadians are recycling wrong, and it´s costing us millions:

Canada has just introduced a new motion that would take on plastics pollution from corporations like McDonalds and Nestlé in a huge way. Please join me and call on Canadian politicians to vote yes for motion M-151:

This story from the Daily Mail shows a mother raccoon marshalling her four babies into their tree house:

This Prince George student fought back against bullying by putting the words on a t-shirt and wearing it to school:

From The Washington Post, the story of a quest for a limited-edition toy plane for an autistic boy: