Judelaine

Mr. Butler and Miss Lilly

”Jack, leave Boots alone. Miss Lilly will get upset if you frighten her cat, and she’ll be ornery,” Mr. Butler grumbled to his dog. Jack ignored the grumble and barked loudly while racing up the walkway. When the cat yowled loudly, the door flew open! “You know better than to bring that beast here!” MissContinue reading “Mr. Butler and Miss Lilly”

Elocution Lessons

Excerpt from Nettles and Roses: A Mother Remembered. (Elocution hand positions pictured.) Before church service each Sabbath, the head elder, Brother Lane, gave announcements, and one Sabbath he announced that the church had a piano to give away. Before heading home, Mama told Brother Lane that she wanted the piano for her children. He didn’tContinue reading “Elocution Lessons”

UNCLE ZACK

A single pink rose rested on the table. This piece was written for a writing contest that required having a little black book and $20,000 incorporated into the story. Ben and Nan sat at the side of their uncle’s casket, Uncle Zack’s casket. They had arrived early for the visitation and now were the onlyContinue reading “UNCLE ZACK”

Heart Hugs

To Aboriginals, dreams and inner promptings are as real as the telephone or radio to us. Carl Jung called these connections synchronicities and suggested that they lie outside the normal confines of causality and physical law. They are not restricted by time or space and transcend the boundaries between matter and mind. – Physicist, DavidContinue reading “Heart Hugs”

The Valentine Box

I love Valentine’s Day. I love red hearts and lace doilies, heart shaped boxes of chocolate candy, sentimental messages in beautiful cards and silly messages in funny cards – – “Roses are pink. Your feet really stink.” I love large February snowflakes that can be heard and felt when they thud on my parka. IContinue reading “The Valentine Box”

Excerpt from Lost and Found and Found Again: A Math Mystery

We Encounter Hitalittle Bear Dog had been waiting for me at the door. He was talking to an old man who appeared to be able to understand dog talk. Bear said, “Here comes my friend.” And the old man answered, “I’ll open the door. It’s a little big for you and your buddy.” “Thanks,” BearContinue reading “Excerpt from Lost and Found and Found Again: A Math Mystery”

Coon Hunting

Besides being a trapper, my father was also a hunting guide, mainly guiding nighttime racoon hunts. This was a popular sport in Illinois during and after the Depression. Besides being a great way for men to get together at night to swap jokes, wade through bogs, and chase baying hounds, if a coon met itsContinue reading “Coon Hunting”

Mama’s Goat Barn

(Excerpt from the memoir Nettles and Roses) Mama’s goat barn before it was condemned. Oil painting by the author. In the summer of 1965 Mama placed a two-hundred-dollar silent bid on an abandoned house and the three acres on which it sat; the property abutted her land. Actually, the house had been a cozy cottageContinue reading “Mama’s Goat Barn”

Night Queen

Science says she’s nothing more than blood and bone and meat, molecules that know the rules, all kept alive by heat. But tell that to the ones that strive to see the morning light in their effort to survive the ruler of the night. Johnny Bock Paintings by Judelaine (oil paintings available at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JudelaineArt)

Outhouse Spelunking

Excerpt from the memoir titled Nettles and Roses Papa, with Charles’ help, dug a new hole for the outhouse when the contents of the previous hole had almost reached ground level. One day shortly before a new hole was dug, Ted and I found ourselves examining Mama’s new refillable ink pen. Ted was nine years oldContinue reading “Outhouse Spelunking”