Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

Hi, Patrice!

Sorry to be late for todays' chat.  I was preoccupied with a story for Wendell!

1.  Have you been watching the Olympics?

No.  We don't have TV.  And I have some gripes with the Olympics.  Why no women's ski jumping until just this year?  Why have they dropped Greco-Roman wrestling from the Summer Olympics?  I am becoming cynical and beginning to think that it is less about sport and more about TV viewing audiences.

2.  Does the grey winter affect your mood?

Not too much.  I do OK.  We live in a very narrow and high-walled canyon, so our house sees its last sunshine at about Halloween, and we get back our first little kiss of sunshine about now.  Chuck called me just yesterday to tell me that there was a sunbeam on our living room floor!  It was only there for 10 minutes, but it will be there longer tomorrow.

3.  When was the last time you held a baby?

Wow, it's been years.  The last baby I held belonged to an adult student in my ESL program.  The baby was fussy and distracting her mother, so I took her for a little while.

4.  Do you do a thorough spring cleaning every year?  

No.  I do heavy cleaning all year long, a little at a time around the house.

5.  A bedtime story for Wendell:

OK, Wendell.  This is not my own story, but you will like it.  It's about a horse named Charlie.  Charlie was a hard-working horse.  He and his farmer worked hard all year.  Charlie loved to work and to be with his farmer.  He really loved going to town, pulling the farmer's wagon.  There was a baker in the town.  She was a sweet, pretty lady and she made apple tarts every afternoon at her bakery.  Every day at 5:00, she would ring her bell, and people would come to buy her apple tarts.  When Charlie was in the town at 5:00, she would give him a tart of his own.  It was yummy!

But, one day, the farmer patted him and said, "Charlie, you are a wonderful work-horse, but you are getting old.  It's time for you to relax and rest!  No more work for you."  He put Charlie in a pasture, and there Charlie stayed.  Charlie was so sad!  He was bored!  He got sadder ad sadder every day.  Then, one afternoon, he heard the baker's bell at 5:00.  He couldn't stand it any more!  He kicked at his fence and broke it.  He jumped out of the pasture and he galloped all the way to town.  He came to the bakery to get his apple tart from the pretty baker.  All the people in the town were happy to see him.

He went home again to the pasture.  But, every day at 5:00, he jumped out of the pasture and ran to town for his tart.  For some reason, the old farmer never fixed his fence.  Do you think the farmer knew Charlie's secret?