Glimpses
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
These are samples of the six parts of Glimpses.
The Beginning...
PART TWO Ernestine When we would go to Dallas to visit my sister, I loved to play with the little girl who lived in back. Ernestine liked to play the same games I did. We would play hide-and-go-seek, tag, and Cowboys and Indians. The first time I asked her to play Cowboys and Indians I told her she would need a gun. "Okay," she said and ran into her house. She came out with a real gun. "It's not loaded," she assured me. "My Mama, said I could play with it." Since I was more familiar with the game, it wasn't long before I had her in my sights. "Drop that gun," I said in my best cowboy voice. "Ernestine, don't you be dropping no gun," her mother yelled out the window. "Maybe, we'd better play somethin' else," I said. "Let's play hide-and-go-seek," Ernestine said. "I'll be it. You go hide." Ernestine was a little bossy. I ran around to the side of the house and hid in the bushes at the front. She would never find me. The thought had hardly formed in my brain when I felt her soft hand touch my shoulder. "I found you! You're it!" We laughed and hugged each other. It was nice to have a friend. I wished that she lived near our farm and we could play together all the time. The sound of laughter came from the front yard. Someone had come to visit. "Let's go see who it is," I told Ernestine. We held hands as we ran around to the front yard. Some friends of my sisters had dropped by. Ernestine and I joined the adults to see why they were laughing. "Ginger, come here!" I saw my sister motioning to me. I left Ernestine and ran over to her. "Don't be bringing her around to the front yard," she said, indicating Ernestine. "Why?" I asked. "You don't bring them around to the front of the house." "What do you mean?" "Because she’s...." Her anger would not let her finish. It would be a few more years before I fully realized why my black friend, Ernestine, was not welcome in the front yard. I never understood it. RETROSPECTIVE We so quickly judge by what we see on the outside. Ernestine's true light was inside and had no color. And Then There Were Nine Ed and Lee had two years together before the children started to come. Their first born was a blond-haired, blue eyed baby girl who they called Elaine. Elaine would be an only child for two years. After that, Elaine was quickly joined by James, Ruth, Raymond, Billy, and Polly. I would come along five and one half years later. A long time had passed since Ed and Lee's beautiful September wedding. If they were overwhelmed by the hand life had dealt them, no one heard them complain about it. Ed had a fifth grade education and Lee had a seventh grade education. In their time that was adequate. The woman took care of the home and the man earned his living with his hands. They both had two things that can't be taught in school. They had common sense and both were resourceful people. These two factors carried them and their family through all of life's adversities. Danny My Great Hunter Danny's appearance was that of a lithe, black, panther. He had a sweet and gentle nature, but could instantly turn on you and bite and claw. His nature was that of an autistic child. He hunted everything from mice, lizards, frogs, and birds. I knew it was in his nature to hunt, but I hated it when he killed. One day, while I was working in our backyard, he brought me a Monarch Butterfly. He was holding it gently in his mouth and it was wet, but unhurt. I took it and placed it on a tree limb. I pet him and told him he was a good boy. When the butterfly's wings dried, it flew away. Danny is gone now, but I will never forget his sweet gift to me. Danny knew the butterfly was a thing of beauty and not to be killed. I think he wanted me to know that he knew the difference. Consider the wasps in life who sting, but never feel the pain they inflict. YESTERDAY I kissed your lips! And for a moment, We touched briefly! And for a moment, Your arms held me! And for a moment,
First...there was God.
He created us and our
eternal love affair began...
We saw His beauty and
His power. And, it both
frightened us and filled
us with a great love.
Time stood still, then turned backwards at last;
It was yesterday once again,
I ached with a remembered passion from the past.
Two people who had loved deeply an eternity ago,
Knew each other's needs again,
Thrilling memories returned again, still aglow.
Nothing existed in mind and body but ecstasy's moan.
Two hearts beat furiously again,
With a love of yesterday, but alas its gone.
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Book Details
About the Book
You can read one page of Glimpses or the entire book and I personally guarantee that you will be touched. While Glimpses is divided into six parts, each piece of writing is complete in itself and in no particular order because life is in no particular order.
We begin our journey at birth and continue onward at death. Throughout my own personal journey, I have traveled familiar paths and paths not known. As each day of my journey ended, I knew that I was one day further along in my quest and one day better off than the day before.
I have sifted through a lifetime of memories and photographs for the stories, thoughts, and poetry that make up Glimpses. I’ve left a tiny piece of my soul between the pages along with the laughter and the tears. All of the people I talk about in this book touched me. In doing so, I took away a tiny fragment of their being and made it part of mine. I promise you that each story I tell and person I describe will remind you of a similar story and person in your own life.
The time will come when everyone will look back in time and wonder if their presence has made a difference in the world. Unlike George Bailey in the movie "It’s A Wonderful Life," we don’t know how our lives touch others.
About the Author
I’m a life-long resident of Texas and reside with my friend, Ann, and two cats, Katherine and Gian, in Garland, a suburb of the City of Dallas. After graduation from high school in 1953, I entered the business world as a secretary. My career would span almost forty years, but never be satisfying. In 1990, I decided to follow my own star. I resigned my position as a secretary. I had been making up stories since childhood and decided to fulfill my lifetime dream of becoming a writer. With no income and only faith in my Creators to back me, I started to write. I consider myself a true success. In my life, I have never been alone, I have loved, and I am loved. We each choose what we absorb in life and what we throw away. We are not in a position to judge our own worth. We have no way of knowing the lives we touch. I love the treasures I have gathered in my world. In life that which can’t be loved and give love has no value.