Angel Diaries: Samuel - Libations Friday! 30 Oct 2009

*** How do you recognize when an angel has truly come into your life? Do you remember your angel sightings or did the moment pass you by?

From Denny: This is a little story poem to be included in a developing book, written from the perspective of the child.





Angel Diaries: Samuel

This new house was different to her and so were the new people.
Everything was different; everything had suddenly changed.
The little girl was now three years old and studying all around her.

When the family first arrived, mysterious people from their old house visited.
Before talking to the parents, one man bent down to reassure the little girl.
He told her she was safe now as the bad woman who tried to harm her had an accident.
He said he and his friends made sure she was dead and wouldn’t harm anyone ever again.

The little girl was relieved, knowing he spoke the truth to her.
The same man repeated the story to the parents and they too were relieved.
The little girl knew powerful people were watching over her.

After the mysterious men left the little girl felt uneasy, sensing other problems to come.
For the first few months, the little girl watched as her parents invited new people into the new house.
She lingered near doorways straining to hear their conversation without entering the room since she was not allowed to participate.

The number of new friends grew and the parties grew louder so she couldn’t sleep.
The next morning, after those parties, her father was grouchy, grumpy and cross from too much drinking.
She had to step on egg shells around his meanness as he didn’t like children.



In the new house, everything seemed to change; the parents were no longer happy.
The father’s new job was difficult and stressful, making him angry all the time.
The mother was nervous and fearful around the father, especially when he yelled a lot.

Then, one Sunday afternoon, when the father was screaming and the mother, the older brother and the little girl were afraid, a very tall man knocked on the door.
His name was Samuel; he lived just across the street in this sleepy small town.
He was so tall he had to stoop low to fit through the house’s doorway as it was a 100 year old house in New England.

Later, the little girl learned he was almost seven feet tall. Samuel was in his 80’s now and had shrunk to six feet 10 inches. He said he was seven feet tall when he was young.
The family and the little girl had met Samuel when they first moved in and when Grand Dad was visiting for the summer. Grand Dad and Samuel became fast friends as they were close in age.

Grand Dad and Samuel were both mellow sociable men, always in a good mood.
Both Grand Dad and Samuel took a special interest in the little girl and took time to teach.
They told her stories about life, stories from their youth, people they knew and the future. They were amazed she listened to them which only caused them to teach her more.

One day when the father was angry and abusive again, the little girl remembered Samuel’s visits.
She prayed and asked God to send Samuel to stop her father from being so angry.
She knew her father was so tall he didn’t fear anyone but she knew he would fear Samuel who was the only person she knew who was taller.



As soon as the little girl finished her prayer, there was a knock at the front door.
The father went to answer the knock and was shocked to see Samuel standing there.
Samuel said, “I hear someone asked for my assistance.”

The father turned red with embarrassment and stammered his hello, not knowing what to say. He sensed someone told Samuel about his bad temper.
When Samuel came into the living room, the mother breathed a visible sigh of relief.
Samuel came over to sit down on the largest couch, sprawling his long legs out in front of him.

The little girl greeted Samuel as she climbed up onto the brown couch to snuggle up to him. Samuel grinned, winked and whispered low, “I hear you requested me; things will be fine now.”
The little girl was so excited Samuel could hear her in the spiritual silence that she beamed!

The father was annoyed and told the little girl to get off the couch. Samuel insisted she remained to complete her visit.
At that the little girl tried to stand next to the sitting Samuel to prop her arm and lean on Samuel’s shoulder like she did with other loving adults who liked kids. He was so tall and long that his shoulder was way above her head.



So, the little girl decided she would do what she used to do when she was two years old: stand on the lap of the adult to get to their neck to hug them. She couldn’t reach Samuel.
Well, Samuel was not the kind of guy who would scoop up a child to pull them up. He expected her to figure it out and smiled at her to try again another way.
The little girl was drawn into the moment and started to crawl up his chest, digging her knees into his slouched reclined body to gain traction. It seemed to her like a mountain to climb.

The little girl kept sliding down his chest and then had to retrace her knee-steps over and over again. Finally, on the third try she made it all the way up his chest and grabbed so wildly on to his neck she practically seized it. Samuel only laughed as the father looked on in horror.
Samuel winked at the little girl as her legs dangled down his chest without support as she clung to his neck. She pulled herself up to his huge long face that was almost as big as her entire body. Then the little girl claimed her prize and smothered him with cheek kisses and neck hugs as gratitude for showing up for a visit. At that success, he gathered her up with one giant hand and held her up against his neck like a small tiny kitten in need of a cuddle. The two were wrapped in this glowing energy.

The father kept complaining about the little girl being a nuisance but the mother pulled him away. The mother sensed there was something more here than just a child on a visit as she saw the glowing light. The father never did understand because he could not see what the others saw. He could not understand because he could not feel what the others felt.



Samuel visited the little girl for a few years more and then moved away. He came often when the little girl prayed he would visit. The father changed a little each time Samuel appeared, more fearful he would be held accountable of his own misbehavior though Samuel never directly challenged him.

Samuel became known as the little girl’s godfather as Grand Dad used to label him. But Grand Dad knew all along who Samuel really was; so did the little girl and her mother. Before Samuel left, he kneeled down to the little girl and told her not to worry about what life would bring, no matter how bad it seemed.



He said that he was sent from Heaven to help her and the family, now his assignment was done. He instructed her that if she first invited them how other people would come into her life to teach and protect her. And the last thing Samuel promised her was this as he smiled down at her, “One day it will be you doing the teaching and the protecting and you are going to be very good at it.”


Denny Lyon
Copyright 30 Oct 2009
All Rights Reserved

*** Thanks for visiting, everyone, have a great weekend!




Photo Credits

Little girl with red roses Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography @ flickr

Little girl with teal tights holding shoes Photo by randyloodle @ flickr

Little girl with fistful of flowers Photo by mollypop @ flickr

Little girl sitting on outdoor bench Photo by somma1977 @ flickr

Shy little girl Photo by tibchris @ flickr

Beautiful dancer Photo by tibchris @ flickr

Angel and Bird Post Dividers by Sandychosen @ Photobucket

Floral Post Dividers by Shabby Blogs

Totally Ridiculous Comedy: Jacks Nightclub

Totally Ridiculous Comedy: Jacks Nightclub

By Denny Lyon @ HubPages

From Denny: "I like nonsense - it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope... and that enables you to laugh at all of life's realities." - Dr. Seuss

Wrote this recently as a raucous fast-paced ridiculous short story. It's really a silly very short story. Take a look and you will be amused!

Writing Exercise

Many times I will assign myself some kind of writing exercise to loosen up my mind to push it out of the usual day-to-day analytical mode of just plain dealing with life, you know, solving problems. You might need a break from everything you do, well, this is a great way to take a vacation without spending any money or leaving the house - how convenient! :)

Seriously though, writing like this is such a good idea to stretch your imagination, give you more ideas of what else you could write and most of all, no pressure of deadlines or expectations from yourself or others.

The idea is to forget most of what every writing teacher ever taught you. Sit down to the keyboard and start writing, literally, whatever silly thing comes to mind, the more ridiculous the better. Don't plan a thing; don't outline a plot, a theme, characters, nothing. It's strictly funny brain drivel!

The second idea to keep in mind as far as technique is to use a couple of "don'ts" like run-on sentences and cliches which usually are the kiss of death for a good write. But when it is a zany little romp like the short story here it actually is a fit!

Try your hand at this kind of writing exercise, have some fun, and then laugh your socks off at what comes out! The only rule? It has to be utterly and completely ridiculous!

Here's an excerpt from my world of the ridiculous:

"Jack jumped over the electric blue fox - who was hunting down the orange cat - who was preying upon the stupid cockroach that was having an identity crisis - and believed he was a popular dragonfly down at the local Irish pub - because he sang Irish songs everyone loved and wrote some damn good poetry.

The orange cat circled back to chase the identity crisis cockroach - who just knew he was really Irish in a former life - while the blue fox preened and bathed in the fast-paced lights of the nightclub – this fox enthusiastically embraced blue as the new fashion neutral - it was Jack who was looking for the weird alien orange cat that kept eluding him - who was stalking the brave Irish-singing cockroach determined to make it to Broadway.

The powerful-singing cockroach drowned out the elegant Irish pub-singing dragonfly - and soon the people customers complained about the strange odd noises blaring from the rising platform – it was two ants standing on a leaf singing opera - and more ants joined them from the audience singing 49 Bottles of Guinness Beer on the Wall and Get Down Tonight! – and soon the nightclub was jumping and bumping - and the people were dancing and squishing and splatting the friendly ants - who got the place hopping on a Saturday night in the first place."

For the rest of the story just click on the title link! Thanks for visiting!



HubPages, literature, Lyon, online writing, Short Stories, short story, Tonight Show, writing exercise, Online Writing, Arts, Denny Lyon, Short story, The Social Poets

Libatons Friday! 26 June 2009

Photo by once and future @ flickr

From Denny: With the triple digit heat across the nation and summer has barely begun – whew! – I’m looking for cold drinks and coffee cold drinks are my favorite. Here are two interesting ones from Food Network.

This one is from Guy Fieri of Guy’s Big Bite who used to be a bartender/mixologist before starting up his restaurant, getting noticed, then offered one happy gig on the Food Network! He’s high intensity and fast forward all the way, definitely as entertaining as he is knowledgeable and talented.



Chai's Big Bite Cocktail

From: Chef Guy Fieri of Food Network
Prep Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 1 drink

Guy Fieri Image by Laughing Squid via Flickr

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces coffee liquor

• 2 ounces Irish cream

• 1-ounce vanilla vodka

• 8 ounces Chai-tea concentrate (recommended: Oregon Chai Brand)

• 6 ounces milk or half-and-half

• Shaved chocolate, for garnish

• Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

• Fresh mint sprig, for garnish

Directions:

Fill blender with ice, pour in all ingredients, and blend thoroughly. Pour into a tall iced tea glass
Garnish with shaved chocolate and fresh nutmeg and a mint sprig.

From Denny: This recipe is from the Ask Aida show over at Food Network. I’m not familiar with her and this recipe popped up on the search and looked so good it just had to be included! Besides, it included my favorite ingredient: expresso! If any of you watch her feel free to leave a comment about her.



Caffe Shakerato

From: Aida Mollenkamp of the Ask Aida Food Network show
Prep Time: 2 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Serves: 1 drink

Ingredients:

• Freshly brewed double shot espresso

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• Crushed Ice

• Coffee Whipped Cream, for garnish (Make this recipe before serving)

Directions:

In the base of a cocktail shaker, mix together espresso and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Fill shaker with crushed ice, close, and shake until shaker is frosted and mixture is foamy, about 20 seconds.

Strain into a martini glass, top with a dollop of Coffee Whipped Cream, and serve.

Coffee Whipped Cream:

• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)

Directions:

Place very clean glass or metal bowl and metal whisk in freezer just until cold, about 5 minutes.

When everything is cold, place cream in bowl and begin to whisk until it froths up and starts to thicken, about 1 minute. Whisk vigorously until soft peaks form (the cream will hold a point when the whisk is lifted but will fall back into the bowl almost immediately), about 1 minute.

Add the liqueur and whisk until stiff peaks just form (the cream stays put on the whisk when it is lifted from the bowl), about 1 minute. Store covered in refrigerator until ready to use.



Word Cloud Photo by Denny Lyon - from playing over at Wordle.net! :)

From Denny: With the extremely hot temperatures of early summer heat you can expect anything! Instead of a poem, out popped this zany romp of a short story this week that started as a self-imposed writing exercise. I thought you might enjoy trying this idea for yourself to get the writing juices going. Maybe you just want an emotional and mental vacation from the heat or stress of everyday life. That'll work too! :)

Wrote this recently as a raucous fast-paced ridiculous short story. It's really a bit long to post here and when that happens I park those writes over at HubPages. Take a look and you will be amused!

Writing Exercise

Many times I will assign myself some kind of writing exercise to loosen up my mind to push it out of the usual day-to-day analytical mode of just plain dealing with life, you know, solving problems. You might need a break from everything you do, well, this is a great way to take a vacation without spending any money or leaving the house - how convenient! :)

Seriously though, writing like this is such a good idea to stretch your imagination, give you more ideas of what else you could write and most of all, no pressure of deadlines or expectations from yourself or others.

The idea is to forget most of what every writing teacher ever taught you. Sit down to the keyboard and start writing, literally, whatever silly thing comes to mind, the more ridiculous the better. Don't plan a thing; don't outline a plot, a theme, characters, nothing. It's strictly funny brain drivel!

The second idea to keep in mind as far as technique is to use a couple of "don'ts" like run-on sentences and cliches which usually are the kiss of death for a good write. But when it is a zany little romp like the short story here it actually is a fit! What I found is that the run-on sentences help increase the intensity of the action and create this fast pace that leaves you dizzy.

Try your hand at this kind of writing exercise, have some fun, and then laugh your socks off at what comes out! The only rule? It has to be utterly and completely ridiculous!

Here's an excerpt from my world of the ridiculous:

"Jack jumped over the electric blue fox - who was hunting down the orange cat - who was preying upon the stupid cockroach that was having an identity crisis - and believed he was a popular dragonfly down at the local Irish pub - because he sang Irish songs everyone loved and wrote some damn good poetry.

The orange cat circled back to chase the identity crisis cockroach - who just knew he was really Irish in a former life - while the blue fox preened and bathed in the fast-paced lights of the nightclub – this fox enthusiastically embraced blue as the new fashion neutral - it was Jack who was looking for the weird alien orange cat that kept eluding him - who was stalking the brave Irish-singing cockroach determined to make it to Broadway.

The powerful-singing cockroach drowned out the elegant Irish pub-singing dragonfly - and soon the people customers complained about the strange odd noises blaring from the rising platform – it was two ants standing on a leaf singing opera - and more ants joined them from the audience singing 49 Bottles of Guinness Beer on the Wall and Get Down Tonight! – and soon the nightclub was jumping and bumping - and the people were dancing and squishing and splatting the friendly ants - who got the place hopping on a Saturday night in the first place."

For the rest of the story just click on the story title link, go here! Thanks for visiting!

Story-A Visitor

Story-A Visitor: "..Today my uncle comes to visit and when he comes here we always have a lot of fun. Me and my sister have a good time teasing him with the marbles we roll under his bed to wake him up, well we have a good reason for doing this , honest."

By G-Ma Johnson @ HubPages

From Denny: This is a wonderfully told very short story told from the perspective of a child and how she perceives the serious activities of the adults around her. This is from one of my friends at HubPages and she writes a lot of easy enjoyable reads!