Birthday Flower




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" September 9, 2003 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart" You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription or a friend generously forwarded their copy to you. To subscribe send a blank e-mail to subscribe@write2theheart.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ We all know how much Ginger loves to celebrate birthdays. Well, a funny thing happened to her on the way to the party. ------------------------------------------------------------ Birthday Flower Attack By Ginger Boda ------------------------------------------------------------ I often tell our friends about all the wildlife around our homestead. I mean the snakes, and the bunnies, and squirrels, and skunks, and of course all the hawks and hummingbirds. All fine and dandy to observe through the chain length fence from our modest backyard patio, right? Well, it was a Friday night, mid July, and I came home from my swing shift as usual, about midnight. My husband, Mark, was asleep on the sofa, (no, he wasn't "in the doghouse" ... just dozed off watching TV). The following day (Saturday) was his birthday, so my youngest teen, Alisha, had baked a cake. I frosted it when I got home and placed Mark's presents on the kitchen table so he would be surprised in the morning. Alisha and Jason, my oldest, were also fast asleep. My middle son, Danny was staying at a friend's house. So, still very wide-awake, I decided to top off the "birthday decor'" with a few cut roses from our garden in the front yard. Mark had become quite the gardener and so I knew he would appreciate it. Anyway, I took his brand new rose pruners and headed out the front door at about 1:30 am. After finding a few blooms in our garden by the driveway, I ventured across the lawn to the other strip of bushes. Spotting a beauty of a red rose, I snipped it to add to the others in my hand. At that moment, I heard a sort of rustling noise in front of me, but in the darkness could only make out what appeared to be a huge cat. But it wasn't a cat. Almost instantly, there was a hissing sort of sound. There he was -- only three feet in front of me -- with his bushy tail spreading wide and spraying me! I yelled, "SKUNK!" I ran screaming across the yard, and as I turned at the front brick pillar and onto the walkway leading to our front door, ANOTHER one is waiting for me and shoots me a good one! This one is only two feet away from the point of impact and I'm still screaming (yes, my mouth is open) and running for the safety of the house Of course, birthday boy woke up from his slumber and my daughter came racing down the stairs. There I was -- pruners in one hand, roses in the other and crying, "SKUNKS! SKUNKS! I got tag teamed by two skunks!" Well, the smell accompanied me into the house, and so chaos set in immediately, along with some chuckles from my daughter, while she frantically called her friend for help and advise. Mark was half awake now, and trying to get his bearings and assess the situation. I threw down the roses and pruners in my hands and ran to the laundry area in our garage, stripped off my work clothes, threw them in the washer on hot, and stood there, stark naked, begging for "SOMEONE to get me a towel?" Mark threw me one, encouraging me to "Please stay put!" I finally got to the tub. Alisha, phone in hand, brought me cans and cans of tomato sauce to cover myself from head to toe -- tongue and nose too -- ugh!! I was cold, crying, and miserable. Mark was running around spraying the front of the house down with the hose to dissipate the stink. Soon the fans were going, the candles were lit, and the potpourri and Carpet Fresh mixed with the horrid stench! And the nightmare went on until nearly 5:30 am, when we began to sense some relief. By then, I had washed my clothes with Downey about four times and had showered off the tomato sauce, but not after snorting it up my nose several times! I also had to snort water up as well to get the sauce out, nearly drowning myself! Alisha told me later that she had to keep leaving the bathroom for fear of the nightmares she might have after seeing me choking and crying and sitting naked in the tub covered with red tomato sauce, which looked like blood! As sympathetic as she was, it was still somewhat of an episode out of "I Love Lucy" and she couldn't help laughing out loud. Finally, I was calmed down, and trying to get the horrid taste out of my mouth with toothpaste and baking soda and lemons and coffee and Listerine -- anything we could think of! Mark had hosed and sprayed and we were out on the back patio, when all of a sudden we thought, "Where is Jason?" So we went down the hall, opened his door, and the now familiar scent that had gotten trapped in his room hit us all over again! He had slept through the whole thing! Anyway, all is well and back to normal at the Boda homestead these days, and it is just a fleeting aroma in our minds, along with quite a few laughs of course. I have since been sent emails that have educated me on skunk attack prevention and cures. I have also been nicknamed, Peppy, Flower and Stinky. Needless to say, I will never again watch the movie, Bambi, with the same fondness for that sweet little character, FLOWER ... if you get my drift? Ginger Boda Rhymerbabe @ aol.com You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- My name is Ginger Boda. I live in Southern California with my husband Mark. We have three grown children; Jason, Danny and Alisha. I love to write stories that touch the heart, lift the spirit, and encourage the soul. And a good laugh is definitely something we all need, I believe, even if the laugh's on me! Contributing to various online publications, I recently wrote A Star Is Born, and Baby's Day Out for Write2theheart. -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- Letters From Our Readers -------------------------------------------------------------- I really appreciated the inner glow of beauty present in Annettee Budzban's story about attending model school. It was "radiant" with true inner beauty, right down to the comment on "model" behavior at the end. Great story! I also thoroughly enjoyed "tough guy." Pamela has a way of communicating memorable experience in memorable words. As Bullet grew to care about her feelings, the story warms the heart! Isn't there just something wonderful about gentle tough guys? Mary-Ellen Grisham "meg" meginrose @ empowering.com I just loved today's story by Pamela Jenkins -- Tough Guy. I am partial to stories about cats, being a cat lover all my life. It's always so heartbreaking not to know the background of an abandoned cat or dog, and why it acts the way it does. I'm almost glad we don't know the abuse some people inflict on pets. Pamela's story proves that with patience and love, a formerly neglected cat can eventually learn to trust again. The story brought tears to my eyes, and I am delighted that Bullet became an integral part of Pamela's family. More cat stories, please, Pamela! Maria Harden I enjoyed Pamela's story "Tough Guy." It shows us how animals are mans best friend. I, too, found great joy from my cats when I was growing up. They seemed to sense things no-one else knew. Thanks,Pamela, for sharing your thoughts. Annettee Pamela story was heart touching, she has a special place in her heart for animals........those kind of people of are special in my book! I always love to hear about her accounts of the special friends in her life. I always know I am in for a treat when I see a story by her! Thanks Pamela! Betty King www.betty.newsmoose.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Military Prayer Reminder --------------------------------------------------------------- As you read over this list of names, please take that moment to pray for these young people and their families: Chris Speir Tim Speir Alan Thaddeaus Howard Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ken Prieur Ryan Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being called to go overseas, send their names (first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder. --------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl's Corner David had brought home a fabulous trail mix. I found myself nibbling at it every time I walked into the kitchen. When I got up yesterday morning, I thought it would make a tasty breakfast. But it was gone. I couldn’t find it anywhere. He had taken it to work for his nibbles. When he saw my disappointment, he promised to bring home a bag tonight. Is the man a jewel or what? God Bless, Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors.