Havenwood School Inspiration ~ Life Lessons of Spring

Excerpts from the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

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In the meadows and pastures, lines of fat raindrops clung like jewels to the undersides of new branches too green to absorb them, backlit by a cautious sun. Yellow-budding tulip trees drank thirstily of the fresh, pooled rain. And redbuds and dogwoods bloomed pink and white in the patches of light and shadow cast by canopies of hardwood trees, greening to life in the fertile woodlands.

I soon returned to school to discover all manner of winged creature, lending song and sound and motion to the Spring outside our classroom . . .

Ruby-throated hummingbirds zoomed on invisible wings from flower to flower, sharing nectar with the honeybees in the gardens we’d planted. And as the apple orchards sprinkled their delicate blossoms onto the breezes, sweet brown wrens whistled duets with the chickadees and chirping sparrows to the counterpoint, drumming staccato of woodpeckers courting their mates . . .

SEE: “Spring in Heartland America“

A 3-Part Excerpt from the Novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

by Author D. J. Houston

Copyright©2008, 2014 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

Mystery Novel – Inspiring Stories – Life Lessons – Visionary Fiction – Heartland America

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Havenwood Tall Tales ~ Trudie McAfee’s Spring Shenanigans

H E L L O there !! And H A P P Y  S P R I N G !!

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Trudie McAfee here to share the latest with all our wonderful friends and fans of Havenwood Tales!

My author D.J. asked me to write and tell you she’s alive and well and working on HAVENWOOD TALES, and that I am eternally young. But instead, I’ll let you in on what I’ve been up to meanwhile. And please don’t tell D.J. — okay? She might thing I’m being saucy. Let’s just let this be our little secret ; )

I’m SO EXCITED!! You should see all my beautiful Pinterest board pictures!!! There’s books and birds and flowers and Spring, and surprises for Mama and all kinds of things!

You can peek at what Home in Havenwood‘s like, the 1940s, America, My Favorite Things, a Magical Kingdom, Amazing Nature, Native Americans and lots more fantastical stuff, from fancy foods and beautiful quilts to Life Lessons I’m learning (… some the hard way) ; D

Spring has sprung and the race is on to share more Havenwood Tales with you! Thanks very much for being my friend! I hope you enjoy my Pinterest fun, I really like sharing the joy : ))

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Love and Hugs,

Trudie McAfee – Narrator of HAVENWOOD TALES

P.S. I love my Author. I did this for you, Miss D.J. Please don’t be mad.

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Coming of Age – American Tall Tales – Inspiring Stories – Magical Mystery – Heartland America

Copyright©2014 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings Novel by D.J. Houston

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Happy Beginnings ~ Inspirations and Celebration from Havenwood Tales

Warm Winter GREETINGS to Fans and Friends!

from D.J. Houston, Author of Havenwood Tales

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HELLO! HAPPY 2014!!

Yes, I’m still wishing friends Happy New Year! And yes, I’ve truly missed getting to “see” YOU more often with updates from Havenwood Tales.

TRUE CONFESSIONS: The arduous task of MOVING (on top of pursuing key studies) has lately put life for this author on hold. That’s my excuse, anyway — that and waaay too much stuff to unpack, despite tossing what must have been roomfuls before the move! But I’m guessing you already know (too well) how moving goes 😉

As a saga of preparation continues for release of the Havenwood Tales trilogy, our heroine Trudie McAfee’s fans will be happy to hear that more surprises and secrets from the opening novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings are heading your way again SOON.

Meanwhile, feel free to enjoy a walk down memory lane in the HAVENWOOD TALES ARCHIVES section at the bottom of our blog menu. And I hope this fun photo helps WARM YOUR WINTER and brings you an extra SMILE!

Hang in there — Spring happens 🙂

May your fondest dreams come true,

D.J. Houston, Author of Havenwood Tales

~

American Literature Treasures – Inspiring Stories – Visionary Fiction – Life Lessons – Mystery Novels 

Copyright©2014 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

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Humorous Stories from Heartland America – Havenwood School Life Lessons

Brand new peek at HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

D.J. Houston, Author

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There were fourteen of us, the last of Havenwood Township’s Depression-era babies born in a flurry before America’s role in the war was sealed at Pearl Harbor . . .

Out In The Country by Paula Ford

And while none of us were the first young minds fresh off the farm to gather there, nor destined to be the last, the question as to how Miss Greenlee could captivate the attention of that motley gang of six and seven-year-old renegades I found myself surrounded by – much less ever teach us the same subject at the same time – might easily beg for a miracle. But two things were certain . . .

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Paranormal Stories – Inspirations of Gifted Children

A new peek at the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings by Author, D.J. Houston

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Continued from Havenwood Tales Surprise – Gabriel White Cloud Walling

 “I like all your names, Mister Walling,” I assured him, and that pleased him very much.

Then he told me the story of a loyal Irish setter named Buddy. And how, when he was a boy, Buddy laid down one day and never got up.

He told how his father had lumbered off on a spotted mule with Buddy’s body draped behind him over the mule’s rump.  And for seven years after, a bright orange butterfly flitted and danced above the cornfields where Buddy and he used to race the sun together.

Mister Walling never said life goes on. And all I did was listen . . .

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Father’s Day Nostalgia — Inspirations from Havenwood Tales

My father taught me how to fish, and how to make a string box with a handle. And the silent peace of fishing, and the joy of soaring my kite in the summer wind.

Remembering him this Father’s Day, I thank my Daddy for all his helpful influences.

I miss the smile behind his eyes, as if he knew a secret joke about life and knew that I’d learn it some day.  But I can still hear his deep, warm voice chuckling, “You’re welcome, kiddo.”

 

C L I C K   H E R E   for LINKS, QUOTES  and M O R E   

“Father’s Day Inspirations”

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H A P P Y   F A T H E R’ S   D A Y !

from Trudie and her Author, D.J. Houston

Copyright©2011, 2013 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

American Family Life – Inspiring Stories – Life Lessons – Mystery Novel – Author D.J. Houston

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Mother’s Day Musings – Havenwood Tales Nostalgia – Inspirations

A Mother’s Day Tribute from Havenwood Tales

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Who ran to help me when I fell,

And would some pretty story tell,

Or kiss the place to make it well,

My mother.

— Ann Taylor, poet — (aka Mrs. Gilbert)

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CLICK to READ:

“Mother’s Day Inspirations from Heartland America”

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Coming of Age Story – Life Lessons – Wisdom – American Literature Treasures

~ From HAVENWOOD TALES Novels ~

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Irish in America – Inspirations from Havenwood Tales

“I wondered if God might not have gotten sick of watching that blizzard stir up so much trouble down on earth, and decided to just suck up the last of it into the Milky Way . . .”

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 HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings  by D. J. Houston

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My father’s camaraderie with his able-bodied, Irish-minded brothers was always a source of luck and light to the McAfee clan.

Their jovial triumvirate pulled Daddy out of his pensive moods and raised everyone’s spirits around them; together, they made us all feel more playful and safe. . .

When the three Irish brothers teamed up for a challenge, it was “God between us and all harm.”

Anything was possible . . .

CLICK to READ

“Life Lessons – Mysteries of Snow”

Copyright©2007, 2013 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

Mystery Novel — Inspirations — Historical Fiction — Nostalgia Stories — Paranormal

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Inspirations from Havenwood Tales Author, D.J. Houston

A Note to Fans and Fellow Writers from D.J. Houston, Author of HAVENWOOD TALES

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Hello, Hello! And HAPPY 2013!

I’ve thought of you — a LOT 🙂 And of what I might share with you next that could be most helpful, as the first month of another new year has flown by and we all go about our busy lives — and I, the busy business of writing.

Shall I share quotes from famous authors to inspire my amazing Writer friends? Or another final draft of another surprise from HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings to entertain Trudie’s loyal, loving Fans?

I decided to share this (click title below). I hope it brings you some joy and inspiration. And maybe a little useful life lesson, too 😉

May your fondest dreams come true!

D.J. Houston, Author of Havenwood Tales

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CLICK: Mystery Novel Miracles – Life Journey

Mystery Novel – Paranormal Stories – Life Journey – American Literature Treasures

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Magical Mystery – Inspirations – Uncle Chester’s Music

From the Mystery Novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings by D.J. Houston

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Down on the floor, hidden from view by a heavy crocheted tablecloth, I could hear Uncle Arthur and Daddy in the parlor, whooping and slapping their thighs, swapping Irish tall tales and war buddy stories — good for a smile, but nothing I hadn’t heard before. And then somewhere off in a corner, Uncle Chester started picking country tunes on his guitar.  And that was it: I was mesmerized . . .

I couldn’t say how long I stayed there, listening to his music. Or know my life would be forever changed by the experience . . . But there was nothing to do but close my eyes and bow my head to the moment . . .

C L I C K  for  M O R E

Copyright©2010, 2013 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

Life Lessons – Coming of Age Story – Mystery – American Literature Treasures

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Christmas Nostalgia – Havenwood School – Vegetables, Dirt and Gingerbread Men

NEW peek at the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings  by D.J. Houston, Author

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Katy Winthrop’s Gingerbread Man

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Miss Greenlee’s class learned to make Art out of gingerbread men. And not just any old brown paper cut-outs of gingerbread men, but real-cookie keepsake ornaments you could dangle from a Christmas tree!

Using her curvy metal cookie cutter, we molded the figures from sheets of rolled-out gingerbread dough we’d made by ourselves with arithmetic and a recipe.  A loop of fuzzy white pipe cleaner wire was attached to the top of each man’s head for a hook, while the dough was soft.  And then we set our little men aside to dry in the window sills.

We watched the dough harden for three whole days under the frosty window panes before Katy Winthrop couldn’t stand it any longer . . .

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Magical Mystery of Trudie McAfee – Life Lessons and Autumn Dreams

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I hadn’t pictured my mother away from her home and work routines since the factory days of the war.  But this peaceful, natural setting seemed to suit her to her core.

I realized she’d brought me here for a reason.

C L I C K   for MORE 

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From HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

D.J. Houston, Author

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Mystery Novel – Coming of Age – Inspiring Stories – Life Lessons – American Literature Treasures

Copyright©2010, 2012 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

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Hay Rides and a Brother’s Desperation – The New World of Havenwood School

New peeks at HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

by D.J. Houston, Author

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This excerpt is CONTINUED from “Humorous Stories – Baseball Rules – American Tall Tales”  – Missed Part I ? – CLICK HERE

I don’t know who the heck Timmy thought he was fooling . . .

Anybody with an ounce of sense and eyes in their head could figure it out. Ever since the preacher’s niece from Poseyville, ten-year-old Josie May Redding, had blinked at him on a hayride, he’d been praying she was a cradle robber.

The last thing he needed was flirty Miss Josie May thinking he was some kind of sissy babysitter for his dumb little sister.

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NEWS FLASH – Trudie McAfee of Havenwood Tales – Now On PINTEREST

HI Everybody! SURPRISE!

It’s me, TRUDIE, your HAVENWOOD TALES Narrator character 🙂

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GUESS WHAT ?!! 

B I G  N E W S  — I’M on PINTEREST at http://pinterest.com/trudiehaven/

And it was a BIG DEAL to get there, too!

I confessed to the folks at Pinterest that I live in the 1940s in Heartland America.  I even admitted to being precocious and said I could see the future.  But they said all I needed was a Facebook or Twitter account, and they’d send me an invitation to join.

Simple, right?  So I asked my author — who is (as you probably know) none other than my friend and confidant, D.J. Houston — to sign me up for Facebook BUT…

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Havenwood School Rumor Humor – Life Lessons – It’s Hopeless

  A peek at  HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

 Author, D.J. Houston

My little pet skunk, Stripey, wasn’t little anymore …

So you couldn’t tell him anything.  And Sweetie – the possum I fed in the woods every night so she wouldn’t go grubbing in Mama’s garden – just waddled away, oblivious, if I even so much as thought about broaching the subject.

When it finally came right down to it, the only person I could get to just sit there and hear me out was Mama Dog’s fluffy pup, Rowdy. . .

But what was the use?  I was a goner . . .

C L I C K  for “Heartland America Warning”

Copyright©2008, 2012 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

Humorous Stories – Mystery Novel – Life Lessons – American Literature Treasures

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American Tall Tales – Humorous Stories of Bribery and Havenwood School

A favorite from HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

 Author, D.J. Houston

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You can call it bribery if you want to, I don’t care.  Other than the possibility of getting to see pickled brains in a jar, I was looking forward to going to school about as much as slopping hogs for the rest of my life . . .

But I was pretty sure God would forgive me   . . .

–C L I C K  H E R E  for  “SCHOOL RUMOR HUMOR”

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Copyright©2008, 2012 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

American Tall Tales – Humorous Stories – Mystery Novel – Historical Fiction Books

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Inspiring Stories – Father’s Day – Author D.J. Houston

H A P P Y   F A T H E R’ S   D A Y !

A Note from Author D.J. Houston

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FATHERS — and our unique experiences and life lessons with them — are as varied as individuals themselves.

My own father’s common sense, persistent work ethic, a calm strength of character and endearing, almost corny sense of humor are traits I treasure and remember him for most.  But when I was a child, he could seem a bit mysterious. . .

Remembering him this Father’s Day . . . I miss the smile behind his eyes, as if he knew a secret joke about life and knew that I’d learn it some day . . .

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C L I C K  H E R E  to READ. . .

“Father’s Day Inspirations from Heartland America”

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Copyright©2011, 2013 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

American Family Life – Inspiring Stories – Life Lessons – Mystery Story – Author D.J. Houston

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Father’s Day Inspirations from Heartland America

“He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” – Clarence Budington Kelland

 

 A Note from Author, D.J. Houston  & MORE 🙂

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FATHERS — and our unique experiences and life lessons with them — are as varied as individuals themselves.

My own father’s common sense, persistent work ethic, a calm strength of character and endearing, almost corny sense of humor are traits I treasure and remember him for most.  But when I was a child, he could seem a bit mysterious.

His favorite song was “The Tennessee Waltz,” but I never saw him dancing.  He’d been to college, but never encouraged me to go.  He’d been a soldier, but he wouldn’t talk about the war . . .  

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Mother’s Day Inspirations – American Literature Treasures

“My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.”  ~  Mark Twain

♥

Portrait courtesy of Dave Thomson

For mystery, miracles and memories of MOTHER’S DAY from Havenwood Tales author, D.J. Houston

CLICK HERE

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Inspirations – Auld Lang Syne – A Valentine from Heartland America

New Year’s Eve had come and gone to the tune of Aunt Julia’s piano and a rousing Auld Lang Syne . . .

Our old house was almost done mourning the departure of its Christmas tree. Mama was back to baking for Birdie’s Kitchen and school had just gotten good and started again.

Then, on the 30^th of January, a roaring blizzard slammed its way out of Canada like a bull shot loose from a rodeo pen and pummeled everything south of it from Michigan to Texas and east to the ocean . . .

CLICK to READ

“Valentine for Uncle Chester”

Photography by Anna Laura Livinal Belanger

Excerpts from novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

by Author D.J. Houston

Copyright©2010, 2013 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

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Autumn Dreams – Life Lessons – Truth in Nature

“Sprinkled with shadows of leftover leaves in the bare autumn branches that filtered the sunlight above us, we soaked in the splendor of that golden afternoon together. . . “

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I hadn’t pictured my mother away from her home and work routines since the factory days of the war.  But this peaceful, natural setting seemed to suit her to her core.

And I realized she’d brought me here for a reason . . .

CLICK HERE –

Excerpts from HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

Copyright©2010, 2012 D.J. Houston.  All Rights Reserved.

Literary Fiction Novels – Mystery Story – Intrigue – Nature’s Beauty – Inspirational Stories
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Havenwood Inspirations – Spring in Heartland America

Excerpts from the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

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Rain was another week coming to wash the sin from the charred remains of Peterson’s Salvage Yard, leaving behind no scarcity of pristine air to clear my head and lungs as I wandered the woods and countryside. Any desire for vengeance that haunted me after the fire was soon purged from my heart by the merciful, relentless beauty of Spring in Havenwood.

In the meadows and pastures, lines of fat raindrops clung like jewels to the undersides of new branches too green to absorb them, backlit by a cautious sun. Yellow-budding tulip trees drank thirstily of the fresh, pooled rain. And redbuds and dogwoods bloomed pink and white in the patches of light and shadow cast by canopies of hardwood trees, greening to life in the fertile woodlands.

I soon returned to school to discover all manner of winged creature, lending song and sound and motion to the Spring outside our classroom . . .

Ruby-throated hummingbirds zoomed on invisible wings from flower to flower, sharing nectar with the honeybees in the gardens we’d planted. And as the apple orchards sprinkled their delicate blossoms onto the breezes, sweet brown wrens whistled duets with the chickadees and chirping sparrows to the counterpoint, drumming staccato of woodpeckers courting their mates.

I took to drawing pictures of whatever Mother Nature offered those halcyon days, using up boxes of colored chalk and watercolor paints faster than art supply mail orders could arrive.

I was also reading every book I could get my hands on.  And because I was so far ahead in Arithmetic and so hungry for Art and Reading, Miss Greenlee made a special place for me at the back of the classroom where I could spread out my work on a nice long table with a window view.

Gnarly old Miss Hickey, the Latin teacher, disapproved, of course.

I caught her peeking through the windows before she could duck. But she didn’t dare complain to Mister Attabee; he’d already put her in her place that famous day under the hickory tree in the schoolyard, defending Miss Greenlee’s artistic license to do whatever she pleased.

Maybe she wanted her own artistic license. Maybe she was just jealous. But whatever the case, “Hickey Witch” just had to make her spiteful point by glaring at me with those snaky eyes and that squinched up face of hers whenever I passed her classroom door on my way to the library . . .

C O N T I N U E D  – C L I CK  for PART II

–D.J. Houston, Author

Copyright©2008, 2014 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

From the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

Magical Mystery – Inspiring Stories – Life Lessons – Artists of Spring – Heartland America

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Valentine for Uncle Chester – Inspirations of Auld Lang Syne

~ from the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

by D.J. Houston

New Year’s Eve had come and gone to the tune of Aunt Julia’s piano and a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne, while the grownups held up their glasses and Timmy and I toasted all their toasts with mugs of hot chocolate and root beer.

Our house was almost done mourning the departure of its Christmas tree. Mama was back to baking for Birdie’s Kitchen and school had just gotten good and started again.

Then, on the 30^th of January, a roaring blizzard slammed its way out of Canada like a bull shot loose from a rodeo pen, pummeling everything south of it from Michigan to Texas and east to the ocean. Havenwood’s countryside looked like something out of a Russian fairytale by morning.

In a place that’s lucky to get two feet of snow in a whole year put together, that storm left more than a calling card under the solid white blanket that smothered the rolling landscape. All the roads had disappeared, the well was frozen over and drifts around our house were sloped so high, you could have walked right off the edge of the porch with no place to fall.

We were loitering over breakfast, contemplating how to dig out, when the clarion cry of “Man alive!” sounded in the yard.

By the time Daddy and Timmy and I could scramble to the front door, ever optimistic Uncle Arthur was tromping in, stomping his snow-caked boots on the rug and rubbing his hands together like two sticks praying to kindle a bonfire, hollering, “Nothing like a little cold snap to clear a fella’s head!”

by Ian Wilde

Behind him, a deep voice grumbled beneath a bundle of woolen mufflers topped by Uncle Chester’s red nose and a brown leather aviator cap with humongous, sheepskin-lined ear flaps.

Once Uncle Chet pulled the mufflers loose, we could hear him saying, “That’s the doggoned awfullest mess I ever seen. You got drifts clean up past your window sills, Ben. We better git to work.”

Extreme weather — or any challenge, for that matter, so long as it was tractor, truck, food, fire, flood, Act of God or gun related — seemed to bring out the best in men of their ilk. 

With telephone lines down across the Heartland and the roads too buried in snow to be located, much less traveled, Uncle Chet had been rolling along on a beeline since well before dawn, determined, on his big-wheeled tractor. He picked up Uncle Arthur in Rainbolt Hollow. And damn the torpedoes,  the two had arrived to help out their family at our house, shovels in hand.

We were grinning and grateful for their efforts, needless to say.

“Where in tarnation did you find that hat, Chester?” my daddy teased.  “Come in, come in!”

A quiet cloud settled over Uncle Chet’s face, and we realized at once that Aunt Rose must have given him the hat and made him promise to wear it in inclement weather, before she passed on.

The McAfees were a close-knit bunch; tacit rules of engagement for generations had kept us so.  Even Timmy and Rowdy Dog fell silent, and my daddy’s question about the hat was respectfully dropped.

Mama emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. She slipped past the group of us gathered in the foyer, helped Chester out of his coat, then stood patiently by as he heaved a sigh and carefully placed his hat over the last empty hook on the hall stand.

“That husband a’ yours leave any hot coffee on the stove, Birdie?”

He was grumbling again. But he thanked her kindly with his eyes and laid a big, gentle hand on her shoulder. The rest of us picked up gabbing where we’d left off, happy to see each other, while we followed Mama and Uncle Chester into the kitchen.

I always did have a soft spot in my heart for Daddy’s older brother, especially when he had a hangover after pining for his delicate Rose.

And I figured if he was grumbling, it had to be better than singing sad songs to his own guitar all night out on the farm, with nobody to talk to but his flop-earred hound and the howling coyotes . . .

~

by D.J. Houston, Author

Copyright©2010, 2014 D.J. Houston. All Rights Reserved.

An excerpt from HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

Photography by Anna Laura Livinal Belanger

Mystery Novel – Life Lessons – Historical Fiction – Inspirations of Heartland America

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Humorous Stories – Baseball Rules – American Tall Tales

From the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings

by D.J. Houston

Baseball Wisdom . . .

Timmy was pacing the front yard like a penned up billy goat with his teeth clenched, slamming a battered baseball back and forth with a stinging hand against his stitched-up catcher’s mitt while he muttered out loud to himself.

He was suffering his own walloping case of doubts about my having to go to school.

In the first place, it was his school. And the idea of his naïve, snot-nosed little sister attending that same school would never fit in with his master plan, if he had one. But it was the only school around, so he had no choice:

It was time to lay some ground rules.

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Family Wisdom – Funny Stories – Uncles, Brothers, Braids and Brains

Excerpts from the novel HAVENWOOD TALES Beginnings by Author D.J. Houston

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Irish Family Wisdom in Heartland America

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The rest of my family never fretted about my looks in the least.

Unabashedly partial to all things Irish (or even part Irish, like me), my daddy’s brothers, Arthur and Chester, held an opposite view, in fact.

And while humble, homespun Uncle Chester might offer, “You’re cute as a button, darlin’,” regardless of how much dirt I had on my face, and Uncle Arthur might declare with typical exuberance, “Tis a pure perfect lass I’m beholdin’ here!” most any time he saw me, they both insisted I had Mama’s “cheery smile” and “wise, hazel eyes like your Irish daddy.”

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