Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Eat Your Furts and Vegys

I discovered this little gem while going through a batch of old papers and drawings.  It must have been written even earlier than my first journal entry, as my spelling/grammar/handwriting is crazier than anything I wrote in '93.  I have no idea what inspired me to write this piece of healthy eating propaganda back in the day, but here it is: 

Eat Your Furts & Vegys

Once apon a time ther lived a littel boy whos name was Ben he had a sister named Lucy and he had a Mom and a Pop.  One day when they wher edding ther dinner they had meat and mashed potados whith butter streming of the cripsickn and they allso had carrets and appel and sallry.  

Ben did not like the carrets and appel and salary.  So he just did not eat them!  His Pop said "Ben eat your furts and vetebels." 

"I do not like them" said Ben

"O-boy!" Said Lucy, "I get his pece of cake!" 

"Cake?" Said Ben "I did not know we had cake!" 

"Well we do" said Mom. "Lucy and I made it wall you wer palying ball."

"Ooo.." said Ben.  "Can I have a littel bit ove butter on my fautes and vegys?" 

"Shur." Said Pop 

"And just remember" said Mom. "Eat your futes and vegtibels!" 

"Ok," said Ben. 

And after dinner they all had a pice of homead cake and Lucy said "I wald of gotten tou pices if Ben wauld not of eten his fruts and veges!" 

THE END

Friday, August 17, 2012

Oh Brother

In which the varied emotions an almost-5th grade girl might have towards her dearest older brother are expressed.  

August 1, 1994
Hi!  I'm very sorry I haven't written.  I've been kinda busy!  I think my handwritings getting better don't you?  Well, this year I'll be in 5th and then...

MITTLE SCHOOL!

'Cool!' The school built another building and 3rd and 4th and 5th.  We'll be way out there! 

August 2, 1994
Hi!  Did I tell you on July 1st was Adam's birthday?  He's 14 now!  This year he'll be in high-school!  Yesterday night when he was tring on his new unaform (elementry, mittle, and high all have diffrent unaforms)  He looked so tall!  I felt like a silly unimportant little sister.  Ahhh! BOO-HOO! Oh-me-gosh, Adam will be driving soon!  I won't let him drive me to school!  Hey!  Guess what?  On Fri we're going to Houston!  Cause we going to see a ball-game, well Adam and Dad are.  Us girls arn't.  
PS. I saw The Lion King! 

August 3, 1994
Hi! I'm doing a lot better on keeping my journal!  I'm almost finished with it I've had it for more than a year!  Well.  I can't wait till Friday.  (We're going to Houston)  Well, I need to clean my room.  
PS. The Lion King's good. 

August 5, 1994
AH! Adam makes me so mad! He wanted to show me some dumb cave in the woods.  I didn't want to go but I went and we went all over the woods and we got mad finly we came out a street away from our house.  We walked home angerly.  

The Nelsons are at Faimly Camp at T Bar M and they're comeing to talk at 1:00 and it's, 11:54 now.  Before they come I'm going to roller-blade walk to the mail-box to mail 2 letters.   


Who hasn't "walked home angerly" with a sibling?  Below - me and my bub at a much younger age than the above entry.  But we weren't nearly as cute circa 1994.  





Friday, August 10, 2012

Airplanes and Awards

In which I am so excited about the surprise airplane trip (was it my first airplane trip? I'm not sure) to Houston that I am slightly incoherent.  

March 18, 1994
Hello!  Know how I told you that we were leaving on Sat?  Well, maybe NOT!  After recess Mrs. Alldaffer told me that Mrs. Brockmier, (the libraryian.) wanted me  Well she needed me for telling her some good books.  Later Mrs. A. came in and said, 'don't you think it's time to come back,' then I saw mommy poke her head in.  I thought, whats momma doing here?  Mrs. A. said, "Do you want to go back to Art or go with your parents.  Daddy was there TOO!  "Go where?"  I said.  "Airplane," they laughed, airplane, yes!  We went and got on the car, daddy drove us to the airport!  Adam is coming by himself tomorrow.  When I looked out of the window I saw the cars, they looked like busy little ants, and the houses looked like tiny plastic toys!  When I saw the swimming pools, they looked like little turquoise dots!  It was fun, I had peanuts and water.  When we got to grama's house Holly, me, and Bonnie played and played, and played, now I'm in bed so, night night! 

March 20, 1994
Today is Momma's B-day!  I made her a little heart cardbord case that she can put her combs in.  Grandma gave her a glue gun and Mary gave her poporie.  
The Nelsons went tome yeasterday, and we go home tommarrow.  Today we went and saw three short ballets.  I liked the last one the best. 

May 18, 1994
Hi!  We had to do chaple yesterday and we did it on Sam Houston!  Dallas was Sam, Sarah was his wife and I was his mother-in-law!  My lines made everyone laugh!  
The other kids did stuff too. 

May 25, 1994
Ouch!  Right now Mommy's doing my hair!  Yeasterday in chaple was awards day and I got honer roll and perfect attendance.  Mrs. Liles, (our PE teacher) gave everyone a PE certifacite and to each class she gave a pinck ribbon for 4th place, bronze meadle 3rd, silver for 2nd, and gold for 1st in how many miles you ran.  In our class Sarah got 4th, Beth got 3rd, and I got 2nd and Ryan got 1st.  I could have gotten 1st if I had ran only like 3 more miles, he only beat me by like 1.  But I don't care really. 

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Lee's Story Book Edition 2


I believe it was around this time (spring of 1994) that the long-anticipated sequel to The Very Interesting Advenchors of Ted, Fred, and Sarah! was penned.  Although the spelling and grammar is improved (thanks, Mrs. Alldaffer!), there is an unfortunate lack of dramatic action.  Critics may wonder why the author sacrificed the salty character of the nightwatchman for two new, bland (though chocolatey) characters.  Wonder away. 

Here Comes, TED, FRED, & SARAH! 
And 2 new characters! 



Chapter One
Mrs. Harmon quikly put in Pete's sandwich, 2 quarters for a soda a peach and two brownies.  
"Pete!" She called. 
"Com'en," called Pete. 

Later Pete was strutting on the sidewalk wisling a merry tune on his way to school.  He swung his paper sack lunch, he had used to have a lunch-box, but had lost in by the dump.  It was strange, he knew exactly where he put it, but when he came back for it next day, it wasen't there! 

But what he didn't know, and you know if you've read my first book, "Ted, Fred, & Sarah," is that the lunchbox opened somehow and a good fary came along and turned the sandwichs and cookies alive with hands and arms and a preasent of each giving them some roller-blades. 

Sadly, the illustrations for this story are in black and white.   Maybe I was going for artsy? 

Chapter Two
Arabiscus the fairy, which turned Ted, Fred, and Sarah into live was having a casul "fly" along the street.  She saw a little boy leaning against the fence of a dump.  She smiled, this was the dump which she had turned two sandwiches and cookie alive, she grinned wider at the memory.  

"Boy, am I hungrey!"  She heard the boy say.  "I missed breakfast!"  

The fairy remembered her breakfast, cloud biscets and dew-juice.  

"I'll have something from my lunch."  Said Pete (for it was,)  "I'll have my brownies."  Pete pulled them out.  "Ew!  Nuts!  Whatd'd mom pack brownies with nuts"  Muttered Pete, dangling the brownies in his hands. 

Arabiscus frowned.  She liked brownies with nuts.  

Pete's fried Josh walked by.  

"Hey Josh!"  Called Pete

"What?"  Josh said stopping. 

"Want some brownies?"  

"Uh, sure..." Said Josh; Pete usaly didn't give away desserts, he shrugged. 

"Here."  Said Pete, stuffing them into Josh's hands.  

The bell rang.  "I better go." Said Pete.  And ran off.  

Josh didn't care if he was late or not, so he unwrapped the brownies.  

"EW!  NUTS!  What a tricker, Pete knows I hate nuts."  Josh grumbled.  He looked over at the dump.  "Hey, what are dumps for?"

He shrugged, and threw the brownies over the fence.

Chapter Three
"Sigh.  This must be a habit!"  Said Arabiscus softly as she watched Josh walk away.  She flew down to the brownies and toched them lightly with her wand.  Slowly they sprouted arms, hands, less, feet, and a face. 

"Who are you?"  They asked Arabiscus at the same time. 

She laughed, her laugh was like the tinckle of bells.  

"You," she said, pointing to the boy brownie, "are Mr. Nut, and you," she said pointing to the girl, "Are Mrs. Nut."  

Quickly she told them their past, and gave them each a pair of roller blades.  "You'll find friends if you go there."  She said, pointing to a little red lunchbox.  


Chapter Four
Ted was singing at the top of his voice, "Fiagarol, Figarollll!  Figarol, Figarolll," (etc) It was something he had heard on a old broken radio.  "TED!"  Screamed Sarah, stopping from ploishing the quarter on the wall with a bit of rag. 

"You have sung that, figural enough!  You..." She stopped dead, then her face turned scarlet, Ted looked up from snickering, and Fred raised his head from reading a corner of newspaper, Mr. and Mrs. Nut stood in the doorway.   

"I...I...who are you?"  Asked Sarah, stunned.  

"I'm Julie Nut," Said Mrs. Nut shyly.  

"And I'm Matt Nut."  Said Mr. Nut. 

Note the decorative quarter on the wall.

Fred got up, taking everything calmly, as usaly, as stuck out his hand, Mr. Nut shook it.  "I'm Fred, she's Sarah, having a little trouble with Ted over there.  Have a seat."  

Fred waved his hand to two rusted thimbles covered in white linen from a napkin.  

"Yes, tell us about yourselves."  Said Sarah, feeling she ought to put a word or two in.  So Mr. and Mrs. Nut realated how they had come to life and how the fairy gave them rollerblades.  

"Was the fairy's name Arabiscus?"  Asked Ted when they were through. 

"Yes, how'd you know?"  Asked Mrs. Nut. 

"That's what happened to us!"  Said all three at the same time.  

So the five talked deep into the night untill it was 12:00am. 


Chapter Five
Next morning Mr. and Mrs. Nut, Ted, Fred, and Sarah, got up to walk around the dump to find a home for the Nuts.  

The night before Sarah had fished out some ugly, holey, pea-green leg warmers from a pile of junk, cut off a square, and the Nuts, slept cosily on that, that night.  

Soon Ted pealed off a newspaper from a lump and found a telephone.  

"Hey!  I tell you what," said Fred, looking thoughtfuly at the phone.  "See this hole in the phone?  Let's go in it and clear away all the wire and junk, and ya'll can live here!"  

Mr. and Mrs. Nut looked each other then nodded.  So next morning Ted, Fred, and Mr. Nut set to work on the telephone.  

Sarah and Mrs. Nut sat on thimbles and made house supplies.  Sarah was teaching Mrs. Nut how to make pillows out of a few strands of yarn.  

"Cris-cross, twist, pull ugh!  Oh Sarah!  How do you do it?"

Sarah smilied proudly.  "Well, Mrs. Nut," 

"Do call me Julie."

"Well, Julie.  Pretty soon you'll be doing as good as me, just, criss-cross, twist, pull, gently, criss-cross, twist, pull.  Now when your at the end of the piece, tie it onto the next and continu."  

"Sigh.  Sarah, I'll never make a pillow out of this!" 



"Did you see the pillows you slept on?"

"Yes."

"This was how I made them!" 

"Sigh.  Criss-cross, twist, pull, criss-cross, twist, pull."

In a few days Ted, Fred, and Matt Nut, stood proudly in frount of the telephone survaing their work.  The telephone was cleared of wires and junk.  I's shiny black reciver leaned against the polished phone.  They where done with their work, but the girls still had some, no, a LOT of work, they had to, set up furniture, clean the cloths, set up important things, and every which-way and which-thing you could think of! 

(Note: Apparently Ted, Fred, and Matt Nut were not progressive enough to help the ladies?  Or vice-versa?  Hmm...I'm seeing a paper titled Gender Roles in the Junk Yard..) 

Finly everything was finished. 

The lads calmly observing the ladies rushing about.
Chapter Six
On quiet, rainy afternoon Sarah sat on a thimble drawing on a slightly battered piece of white leather with charcoal.  "What are you doing, Sarah?"  Asked Fred.  

"Drawing a map of our house and the Nuts house." 

"Can I see it when your done?"

"Sure." 

Later a new picture was hanging on the wall. 

Who wouldn't want a ground plan of their own house and their neighbor's house hanging on the wall? 
Chapter Seven
(Note: In true classical form, we end with a rhyming verse....sorta)

On sunny day in the mounth of May, 

Sarah, the Nuts, Ted, and Fred went to the back of the dump where the poppies are red. 

They had a picnic and the grass was green. 

Oh! The prettyest sight you ever seen. 

THey lived peacefully in the telephone and old lunch box. 

But they had lots of adventures, LOTS!

But know it's time to go, 

Oh HO, 

Next time they have an adventure I'll write about it. 

Matt Nut, Sarah, and Ted (or Fred)

Fred (or Ted) and Julie Nut.  "Orvio" = my approximation of "Au Revoir" 

Sadly, this is the last story of Ted, Fred, Sarah, and their boring neighbors the Nuts.  Unless I write another one called The Return of the Nightwatchman.  


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

On School Spirit, Flint, and St. Patrick's Day

March 3, 1994
Today was the last game of the season!  We won both!  Girls and boys!  YES!  I'm so happy that tomorrow is Friday!  AAANNNDDD, that Beth is spending the night on Fri!  I am HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!  

March 5, 1994
Beth spent the night last night!  When we got home from school we changed and went outside.  Then we came inside and she read some of my stories.  Then we made cookies for our new next door neighboors.  At the end of the dough we made two big cookies and cooked them.  And cooked them, and cooked them!  Finelly we went out and gave our nieghbors and when we got back our cookies were done.  Then we ate and slept.  In the mornig we ate strudle and got dressed and played outside.  I showed her the place where Tate built and got a TON of flint!  Then when we were coming back to get some more Josh ran up so we got a bucket and put the flint in there.  Wer'e going to take it for Show and Tell.  When I went to the White Musem with Mrs. Cross and Josh and Beth it was on bats.  It was cool!  Then we went to a resurant and some parks. 

March 17, 1994
Happy St. Patricks Day!  Are you wearing green?  I wasn't when I got to school, and Craig tried to pinch me, but Vicky fought him off, loyal Vicky!  Then I colored some green on my hand.  Did you have a good day today?  I had a pretty good one.  Well bye!


Working on some opus, probably in the spring or summer of '94.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Hollyidise

In which I appear to be just a teeny bit bossy with my fourth grade peers...

March 1, 1993
Hello!  Sorry I haven't written in a mounth!  Today is Mr. McRynallds B-day!  I'm going to make him a card. 
Oh! And last week at school we had recess inside and Beth and I got together and she said lets write a story she wrote one about George Washington and I wrote one about 4th Grade.  It was 3 chapters.  And yeasterday we had recess inside and we asked Tai and Sarah and Vicky to draw a self-poitrat of themselfs to put in our book.  Then later we got in frount of the class and made an anoncment that if they could all draw a picture of themselfs.  Everyone did and tonight Beth will do it on her computer, I hope we get extra creidet for it.  
I got Spring Fever and Hollyidise.  

The last word is "Holly-itis."  Basic symptoms include extreme impatience to see my dearest cuzzies.  I still come down with it from time to time. 


All tuckered out. 



Bon-Bon!