Seedy




	Write 2 the Heart Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" March 31, 2005 Cheryl Speir, Editor moderator @ write2theheart.com Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart." All new subscribers will receive a free downloadable copy of the e- cookbook, "Write 2 the Heart of the Chocolate Lover." *Advertisement* Tired of high cable bills? Consider Dish Network. Right now you can get free installation and free equipment when you sign up for one year of programming. You can get more programming than what is offered by most cable companies for much less. Compare what you now have with the Dish Network programming packages at: http://cognigen.net/dish/?cbspeir With great time and effort, Bonnie and her mother had picked out the perfect melon. When it didn’t make it home, Bonnie braced herself for the impending storm. A Somewhat Seedy Affair Bonnie Jarvis-Lowe Mother was a woman on a mission as she skirted ahead of me into the supermarket. She didn’t have to hurry, but that is a trait she has and she passed on to me. We have this crazy inclination to continually put ourselves in a hurry up and wait mode. Summer was here and we were home from Nova Scotia to visit our Newfoundland families. My parents were living in St. John’s, NL, and the Dominion grocery store was close to where they lived in Pleasantville, so they always shopped ‘at the Dominion’. They still do, but they live in Mount Pearl now. As usual she was ahead of me and in all fairness should have had signal lights on her shopping cart. Boy, could she go! Then I spied a whole bin of fabulous, huge watermelons and ran to catch Mother and inquire if she had noticed them. "No, where are they?" she asked, as she whirled the cart around and headed back to the produce section. "Oh, they are magnificent!" she said, "Do you want one?" To my never-ending regret I answered, "Yes, I love them on a hot day. I like to eat it outside and spit the seeds!" Mother gave me one of those "When are you going to grow up?" looks, which I ignored as always. "Well, we’ll get one!" she told me. One thing to be said for my mother is that she will go to the outer limits for her children and grandchildren. Anything she can manage to give, if she finds out you want it, or like it, will be yours if Mother is aware of it. But this watermelon deal was no simple procedure, because Mother decided she had to have the biggest and best melon. I mumbled that it did not have to be really big. Then she pointed to the sign hanging above the bin that stated "Watermelons, $2.99 each.” So, that being the case, she wanted the most for her money. I knew immediately what that meant! I instinctively knew that the melon she wanted was at the bottom of this bin of six hundred pounds of other melons! I started removing melons for Mothers’ inspection, placing them in an empty grocery cart. Each melon was rejected for a myriad of reasons. Then, sure enough, half an hour later, from the bottom of the bin, I pulled out one of the last melons, and it got Mothers’ stamp of approval. She never explained what the standard was for the best melon, but she had the one she wanted. I placed the precious, and perfect, melon into her cart, and she sprinted off, pleased with her selection. I started to reload watermelons into the bin, wondering why I ever mentioned them. All the things on her list were bought, and we headed home. I teased her about her purchase and told her I would spit seeds all over the kitchen. That brought another of those famous ‘looks!’ This time the ‘look’ was accompanied by a huge sigh! About an hour later we were startled by a loud shriek from the kitchen. We ran to see the cause of this wailing. In the kitchen, surrounded by empty grocery bags, was Mother. She was positively hysterical! She was chanting "My big watermelon, where is my watermelon? It’s gone. Where is my watermelon?" We searched the car and the house, but found no watermelon. By this time Mother was furious! Now this is the very same woman who chased me all around Robins’ Cove in Twillingate when I was six years old. I remembered her fast running, her long hair blowing in the wind, as she tried to catch me and punish me, because she thought I had stolen a piece of gum from the store. She turned to me and said, "Get into the car. We’re going back to the store. They are not getting away with this. They stole my watermelon! I’ll tell them just what I think of them!" This was serious stuff. She was so angry I pictured a scene of epic proportions as she attacked the grocery boy. What to do, what to do? I was scared stiff and my heart was pounding. I was in a frightful state, fearing her wrath when we got to the store. We arrived at the ‘Temple of Doom’ and Mother was out of the car before it came to a complete stop. She headed for the grocery pick-up area. "Oh, there you are Ma’am," a young man said, "I had put your watermelon in a box because it’s so big, and I forgot to put it into your car. If I knew where you lived I would have brought it to you! So here it is. And a beautiful watermelon it is too!" My jaw locked on ‘OPEN’, sweat was stinging my eyes, and my hands were fist tight. I was not getting out of that car. Then the shock came! In her kindest voice this infuriated woman of twenty minutes ago responded, "That’s Ok my dear, we all make mistakes. No problem, at least I have it now!" Where did the wrath go? The young man placed the box full of watermelon into the car. Then he and my mother stared fondly into the box, admiring the contents. "It is splendid isn’t it?" Mother said, "Thank you very much, and enjoy your day!" Then she hopped into the car. I was utterly speechless. Finally, not being able to stand it anymore, I had to ask her how come her attitude changed so much in so short a period of time? "In cases like this you have to be prepared," she explained, giving me the ‘Lessons in Life’ lecture. "You know I would never argue over a $2.99 watermelon. I could have bought another one for heavens’ sake. Whatever is wrong with you? There is no need to be upset!" She glanced at me and smiled. I felt like I had just stolen a piece of Bubblegum! Bonnie Jarvis-Lowe lowe @ superweb.ca I am a retired Registered Nurse. Photography and writing are passions of mine. Retiring in 2000,at the age of 51, and returning to Newfoundland, Canada my home province, allowed me the time to explore these areas and my own creativity at a deeper level. To share my work gives me a great sense of satisfaction. I missed my nursing career very much, and living in Nova Scotia with a policeman husband, a member of Canada’s' famous Mounties gave me a full life. But restlessness began when I became 50 years old and I knew it was time for a change. We both retired and returned and are living in a new house in the small town of Shoal Harbour, Newfoundland, on the land where my husband grew up. We love it! You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator @ write2theheart.com. Military Prayer Reminder As you read over this list of names, please take a moment to pray for these young people and their families: Tim Speir Alan Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ryan Larry Miele Daniel Amy John Joanne Gary Boardwine Hadassah Chanz Wackerly Robert Henderson David Habighurst Tonia Melissa Bair Matthew Nutter Nick Nation Seth Jarrell Matt Hall Chris Speir 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. Letters From Readers Just to let you know. Josh on the Military Prayer list is safe and back home in Arkansas. Thank you for your prayers. He met the Lord in Iraq and has come back a changed young man. Praise God. Thank you again. TK Hi Cheryl. My son just called from his Air base in California, to let me know he got his orders to go to Iraq in May or June. He's a cop in the Air Force and so far he's done tours of duty in Japan, Guam, and in the Middle East in both Kuwait and Qatar. Now it will be Iraq. I'm writing to add him to the Write 2 the Heart military prayer list. Would you do that for me please? His name is Matt Hall. Thanks very much. Pete *Advertisement* Imagine my surprise and dismay to open my e-mail program only to find over 1500 e-mails. (That is not a typo!) All of them were spam and each had a virus attached. I knew I had to do something to get a handle on this or I would be constantly swamped with spam and worried about accidentally opening a virus, trojan or a worm. I purchased MailWasher Pro. I can check and delete e-mail before I download it to my computer. It tells me if the e-mail is from a friend, a known spammer or has a possible virus. I love bouncing e-mails back to spammers telling them they have the wrong address! Try it free for 30 days at: http://entier.ecosm.com/link/?wybyoww Copyright © 2005, 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.