Wealth and Wisdom

Once upon a time ... except this story is mostly true ... 

So there was this sad young leader who wondered why everybody else was having fun and he wasn't.  He was rich, and most everybody else wasn't, and he'd thought being rich would be better, but for some reason, he just wasn't happy.

As he sat by the window, high up in his really fancy house, he watched everybody else smiling as they came and went about their day.  They'd greet each other cheerfully and talk about things they were doing.  Lots of times, they'd go off together to help each other on this project or that.  Sometimes they did really hard work, and still they smiled and were happy.

So one day, this teacher was talking to folks about how to be truly happy, and crowds gathered to hear him talk and ask questions.  The rich young leader decided he'd go hear what this teacher had to say; maybe he knew a secret.

Down the stairs and through the grand rooms and out through the huge doors he went.  Down the road to the spot where the teacher and all the gathered people were sitting and talking ... the rich young leader just barged into the middle of things and asked, "Teacher, what do I need to do to have a happy life like these folks have?"

The teacher looked right into his eyes, and after a moment, he told him, "You should go and sell everything you have and give it to people who need help, and then come follow along with us.  Then you'll have a happy life."  
        oooOooooooh, there was such a hush across the crowd as the words settled on them all.  The rich young leader didn't know what to say.  In his head, he saw all the fancy stuff he had and his treasure in boxes in the basement, and he just couldn't bring himself to give up his fancy life.  Without saying anything at all, he turned away sadly and went back home.

Out at the edge of the crowd, a really old fellow commented to his really old wife, "Wealth is like strawberries, sort of.  If you have more than you can eat, they just get mushy and make a mess in your house.  It's more fun if you give them away, and other people get to eat, too."  The really old wife smiled.  They'd learned a long time ago that giving is better than having, and that helping others was really the best part of a happy life.

A little girl overheard their conversation and remembered her friend who really likes strawberries, so she got up and went to gather some.  While she picked the strawberries, she ate some and saved some for her friend, and she smiled, thinking of how happy George and maybe Levi would be when she came with strawberries.
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So wealth is only a problem if wisdom fails.  Too much wealth is like too many strawberries in the kitchen; it's just stupid, especially if you can give them away to somebody who doesn't have any strawberries.

For my smart granddaughter who knows wisdom is important.  It's how you tell good from bad.

When Grampa was little

'Twas oh so many years ago
   in village down by the sea,
   that among the old rocks lived a little old crab
   by the name of Fiddle de Dee.
The whole of his heart for all of his days
   was to play in the sand and the sea.

He was an old crab and I a brave lad,
  and the years between us were many,
Yet our time there was grand,
   as we walked in the sand
   with Mum and others, or not any.

Dee was a fiddler; not a good one, it seems,
  eerk eearp was his best refrain.
Mum winced when he played
  and grimaced and swayed
  to the sound like the wreck of a train.

Then one day, through the mist and the haze,
   a pirate ship did appear.
It was pointy in front 
   and tall in the middle,
   and shaped rather round in the rear.

Dee swam to the ship,
   gave the lookout the slip,
   and climbed up the mast to the nest.
"Tis a good life for me,"
   said Fiddle de Dee,
   now a pirate, just like the rest.

Time passed, and more,
  and Dee missed the shore
  and the sand and the waves at his feet.
Still, a pirate was he, with a high perch to see.
It was nice, if you want to explore.

Then suddenly before
  came a glimpse of a shore.
Dee saw it first, and cried out,
"Land Ho!" (more like "land ho.",
  because crabs can't talk very loud.)

          "I shall not leave this land unexplored,"
            yelled Fiddle de Dee to the waves.
          So alone, o'r the side, 
            to swim with the tide,
            leapt he with a 'shout', so brave.

Dee reached the shore
  where we'd sat before,
  and he glared rolly-eyed at me.
"I haven't seen you since morning," I said,
  "and it's nearly quarter to three."
"Perhaps for chips and asparagus tips,
    you'd come share Mum's tea with me."

"But of course I shall.  I've got stories to tell,
   of all the wonders I saw."
"And I've conquered this land
   by my own hand,"
Dee proclaimed while waving his 'claw'.

So passed the day, and we laughed at the way
   it all seemed so wonderfully free.
Two friends could piddle
   and imagine and fiddle
   in the sand and the surf by the sea.

The end.

Oh, yes, the hidden lesson.  
Just because they're little and crabby doesn't mean they don't have some good stories to tell.

(For my imaginative granddaughter whom I admire so much for her courage.)

One Little Angel

Among all the angels, there was this one little one named Chrysanthea ... who patiently waited her turn, as you're supposed to do if you're polite ...

While she waited her turn, she enjoyed the night sky and all the stars.  She especially liked stars because they twinkled and they were bright and probably smart.

Then the day came ... Chrysanthea was called down from the sky to talk with the archangel Michael.  That was a little intimidating because he was pretty tall and famous, and he had been doing important stuff for a long time, so she was a little shy as she presented herself at his office.  The staff of angels welcomed her warmly and escorted her into where Michael was.  He smiled cheerfully when he saw her and introduced her around.

Chrysanthea, this is Arthur.  He will lead your group and show you what to do since this is your first time doing angel work.  Chrysanthea shook Arthur's hand and noticed he was big and pretty strong, but he smiled, too, so that was nice.

Introductions continued with Chrysanthea meeting Brindur and Zanthus, rounding out the team.  Arthur gathered them together to tell them what was ahead for them.

There's a precious young girl with a beautiful heart who was born in the Spring, and her name is Ruby.  She was born near the forest and not far from the river, and everyone was there to celebrate her arrival.  Her mom, of course, and her dad, and her grandparents, and they waited for hours and hours and hours, till she finally arrived and smiled at them all.  She was very small to start, like baby-size, but she grew a little every day.

Well, it turns out her Grammy, who loves her dearly, prays for her every day.  "Father, watch over my precious granddaughter.  Keep her safe and healthy and happy."  So Grammy's request got forwarded to Archangel Michael, and he put together a team of angels including Chrysanthea to watch over Ruby.

Grandmothers do that, it seems.  Grampa's grandmother prayed for him and Grammy all the time, and Ruby's great-grandmothers pray for her, and there's lots of stories over the years.

So the years go by, and with the other angels, Chrysanthea watches over Ruby, and defends her in difficult times, and now there's even more stories.

And because there's always a hidden meaning, for such a story, ...
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Precious Ruby, your Grammy prays for you every day, and so does your Grandpa.
And there's much more to the story, of course.  😍

Five Forest Faries

In the dark woods, a little ways back from the road, there were these five fairies, all named Charlotte.  At least that's what I heard.  There was thumb-sized Charlotte and pinky-sized Charlotte, and the rest were regular finger-sized fairies.  They were all really nice, especially pinky Charlotte.

It was winter, and it was cold, and the fairies played in the snow sometimes; but not on the ground.  They flew around chasing the snowflakes that fell from the sky, and they laughed and sparkled a lot.

It was almost Christmas when the fairies heard this little girl laughing.  They flew to the edge of the forest, and there was this little girl, laughing and running around and looking for clues of a heffalump in the neighborhood.  She had a bag with lots of clues, but the best clue was too big to fit in the bag.  It was a heffalump foot print right there on the road and it was huge!

The little girl ran home with her bag of clues to tell her mommy and daddy about the heffalump, and the fairies flew along behind her, but she didn't see them.  At the house, they hovered at the front window while the little girl ran inside and around the room squealing, "I found footprints from a heffalump!  And ... I found all these clues!"

Mom and Dad had never ever seen a heffalump in person, but they really enjoyed the story their little girl told, and they looked through all the clues together.  Outside the living room window, the five forest fairies hovered like little hummingbirds and giggled along with the little girl.

Thumb-sized Charlotte said wistfully, "She's really nice," as she enjoyed watching the little heffalump hunter; "and she'd be fun to play with, I'll bet."  Pinky Charlotte lit up with big eyes and a smile and exclaimed, "we should move near to where she lives so she could visit us.  We could be neighbors and friends!"  The regular-sized Charlottes all agreed and suggested they invite George the granoladon to move with them.  George and all the Charlottes were the very best of friends.

Well it turns out that the night before Christmas, George and all the Charlottes packed up their houses and frogs and moved next to where the little girl lived.  Then on Christmas morning ... they sprang out of a Christmas box!  "Surprise, surprise!  Merry, merry, merry merry Christmas!"  And with their tiny voices, they sang Silent Night and Away in a Manger for their new friend.

The five forest fairies stayed and watched over their little friend for all the years of her childhood, and even when she was older, she remembered the story of Christmas they had shared with her; peace on earth, good will to men. And women.  And children.  And granoladons.

A Dark and Stormy Night

It was indeed a dark and stormy night, because it's always that way if you're on a pirate ship. 

And, it's tough being a pirate.  

If you're going to be a pirate, you have to be in a boat and on the water, working all the time, and there's never a chance to play or just sit around and do stuff.  "Heave ho, avast me hearties!"  What in the world does that mean? Then you've got to weigh the anchor every time, like once wasn't enough.

Little Johnny Jumpup had skipped school and run off to be a pirate and see the world, but all he saw was water, everywhere.  Plus, the pirates were mean and they stole stuff, so that part wasn't good at all.  "I just want a beach with palm trees and coconuts," Johnny muttered to himself, and decided, "a pirate's life is not for me." 

🎵 Yo, heave ho, this life is not for me! 🎶

So began his adventure on that dark and stormy night.  Little Johnny hopped into a dinghy (that's a really small boat) with his pack and with his friend, Monkey Mo.  He untied the ropes holding the dingy, and 'whoosh', they were racing away on the ocean, and the waves were huge.  The wind blew spray in Johnny's face and Monkey Mo clung tightly to the boat's mast to keep from bouncing out into the water.

Through the night and under the stars, they raced along with the wind and waves, and sometimes dolphins would jump and laugh in the water beside them.

Then finally, it's morning, and they manage to land at the very exact same spot little Johnny had started from; right in front of his mom and dad's house, and just in time for school. 😅 Whew!

Johnny and Monkey Mo settle into life with the family.  They go to school together, and eventually college.  Monkey Mo plays soccer and gets good grades; he eventually gets a degree in business.

Johnny went on to have a fun life and family. He and his wife Jane are both school teachers, and they have eleven children and twenty-seven grandchildren.  They should probably retire and just play with the kids and take vacations together at the beach with palm trees and coconuts.

Monkey Mo went with big business and eventually began managing a hedge fund on Wall Street.  He regretted that choice after he figured out that it was the same as being a mean pirate, so he resigned and moved back to the little town where Jane and Johnny live.  They welcomed him to the family, and he told stories to the grandkids about how stupid pirates are, and they all lived happily ever after.

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Okay, not every story has a hidden meaning, I guess.  Sometimes, stories are just for fun.  😉 Stupid pirates.

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For Ruby and her vivid imagination.
Love, Grandpa

The Truth About Bigfoot, Finally!

There are lots of scary stories about bigfoot, but this one is better than all of them.  So, ...

Once upon a time, in the deep, dark woods, Bitty Bella Bigfoot walked cheerfully along the path, whistling a pretty song.  She'd skip and dance a step or two, here and there, because the leaves made pretty noises when she did that.






Suddenly, there were these voices!  Bitty Bella Bigfoot hid behind a big tree because she heard strange voices she didn't recognize, right there in the woods.  On every other day when she danced in the woods, there was nobody there except sometimes George the granoladon, and he was a friend of hers.  They both liked strawberries, and he liked to hear her whistle pretty songs.  

Well, there she was, hiding behind a tree and being really quiet ... and here come these children dancing and smiling and laughing along the path through the forest.  But then they just stop!  And they look around and they ask, "What happened to the music?  How come the music stopped?"

"What music are they talking about," Bitty Bella wonders.  Then she remembers ... she was whistling!  

Shy and a little nervous, Bitty Bella steps out from behind the tree and smiles.  Then she whistles a little, and the children are so happy, "Oh, it was you that was whistling!  We heard you so many times and wondered where it was coming from, but we never found you until today."  So they laughed and hugged and danced, and Bitty Bella whistled her wonderful songs for them while they all danced together.

They became the best of friends, of course, and they enjoyed each other so much.  They were all really different, but they had things in common that they loved like music and dancing and the noise that leaves make when you dance in them.  They talked about other stuff, but mostly about the things they shared.  Friends are nice to have.

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Remember how we said there is a hidden meaning in 'once upon a time' stories?

What do you think it was?

     ~ Be a good friend?

     ~ Being different doesn't matter?

                 Yes, that's what's hidden

                   in Bitty Bella's story.  

She'd be happy we understand.

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For Ruby, my dancing granddaughter.  😍

Love, Grandpa

The tale of tiny Tina Tumbleweed ~ and how she saved everybody!

Once upon a time ...

You know what it means when a story starts like that, right.  "Once upon a time" means it's just a story, but there's a meaning hidden inside the story. 😉

Okay, so once upon a time in the little village called Tinkertown, there lived a young girl named Tina.  She lived with her dad and mom, Teo and Tillie Tumbleweed. Everybody in the town was little bitty, like maybe dandelion tall, so the town itself was only maybe as tall as a blueberry bush.

Tina was tiny, but she grew up to be really good at running and jumping.  She was so fast that even the older boys couldn't keep up.  They'd be being cool and typical boys, thinking they are faster than girls, but when it came to running a race, she would leave them in the dust.  She'd smile every time.  She was especially fast at turning corners, too, and no one could keep up with her running around trees and things.  

Tinkertown was nestled on the edge of a deep, dark, forest where the trees are just huge, like bigger around than the town is.  It gave them lots of shade in the afternoons and fun places to explore for the kids.

Well, in those same woods there lived this wooluf. He had big eyes and big ears and bad breath because he didn't brush his teeth much.  The wooluf prowled around the woods looking for something to eat pretty much every day, so eventually he found his way to Tinkertown.  As he looked from behind a big tree, he noticed all the people in the town were small, maybe just the right size for a meal, and he decided then and there he would try to catch one.  The wooluf's name was Wolfred, by the way.

So Wolfred the wooluf snuck out from the woods ... up to the edge of Tinkertown … where people filled the streets and the voices of street vendors floated in the air, "Radishes for sale, and grapes and strawberries, too."  Wolfred the wooluf stood up to get a better look ... and an old lady saw him and screamed oh so loud, "Eeeek!  It's a wooluf, it's a wooluf, eeeeeeeeek!"  

Suddenly, the town was in confusion with little people running everywhere, yelling to each other, "Run, run away fast!"

Tina saw it and at first, she was afraid and turned to run.  She knew she was the fastest, and if anybody could get away, she could, but before she had run the first step, she remembered her mom and dad and everybody else.  Maybe they could use some help.  Despite her fear, she thought, well I'm fast enough, and if anybody could distract the wooluf away from the village, I bet I could.  And with that thought, her decision was made.

She ran quickly to where the wooluf could see her and hollered, "Hey, hungry wooluf, eat me!  I betcha you can't," and she laughed at him.  Now she definitely had Wolfred the wooluf's attention.  He stopped and stared at her, trying to understand why his lunch would laugh at him like that.

He took a step toward her, but Tina danced aside and laughed again.  He took another step, and she dashed out to the edge of town and toward the woods.  "I can certainly catch her in the woods," thought Wolfred, "because that's my territory."  So off they went at an impressive speed.  Tiny Tina ran so fast that her little feet were a blur over the ground, and the wooluf was huge and just lumbered along behind her, not nearly as fast as she could do at her best.

Tiny Tina slowed down on purpose to let Wolfred catch up until she could feel his snorty nose-breath on the back of her ears, then she made a sudden turn around a tree, WHOOSH!,  and she did it so much quicker than Wolfred could.  He stumbled and tumbled and landed on his tail (ouch!), and he lost sight of Tina for a moment, but then he saw her way far ahead and set out after her again.  His tongue is hanging out the side of his mouth, and he's breathing hard and running really hard, trying to catch up.

Tiny Tina has a plan, and it's just ahead!  The thicket!  The thicket is bushes and brambles and briars that don't bother Tina at all because she's little and can run right under their little branches, but it's a problem for a big wooluf because he's so tall.  Tina lets Wolfred catch up until he's just inches behind her, and then she ducks into the thicket, and all the wooluf gets is a mouthful of thorny branches. "Aaaaaouch!"  Still running hard, Wolfred gets a face full of leaves and twigs with every step, and he keeps tripping over and over from all the brambles around his feet.  Not willing to be left behind in the race, the wooluf presses ahead, but he can hardly see through all the branches and leaves hitting and poking him in the face. (bonk, ouch! slap, ouch! boink, splat, poke, OUCH!)

"Almost, almost ...," Tina thinks as she sees her escape path just ahead.  She slows down to let Wolfred get closer ..., closer ..., now!  And suddenly, she makes a spectacularly quick turn right in front of this grandpa of all big trees; it's el magnifico huge, and Wolfred, who can't turn nearly fast enough, runs face-first into the tree!  BABABAAAMMMMMMM!  "My nose, my nose, ouch my nose," Wolfred wails in pain, "and my head, now I've got a big bump on my head, and my tooth is loose, I think, and I have an owie on my chin."  Wolfred sits on the ground, whining and complaining, but he's definitely done with running.  He finally gets up and limps off into the forest, never to be heard from again.

Success!  Tina smiles and skips all the way back home.

At Tinkertown, Tina is met by a crowd of family and friends, precious people she loves, and they congratulate her and thank her for saving everybody. When evening comes, they celebrate together and laugh a lot.  It is such fun that they do the celebration over and over each year afterwards.

And every year at the celebration, they tell the tale of tiny Tina Tumbleweed and how she saved the village of Tinkertown from the big, bad wooluf.  Every year, the story gets better, the people get tinier, and the wooluf gets bigger and badder because that's what happens when you tell tall tales over and over again.

Remember how we said there was a hidden meaning?
What do you think it was?

     ~ Be a good friend?

     ~ Do what's right?

     ~ Help those who need it?

         Yes, every one of those are hidden in Tina's story.  

She'd be happy we heard her message.         

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For Ruby Marie, my good-hearted and helpful granddaughter.

Grampa