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{SFTH} *A Room Full of Treasures* 7/30/01
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Michael's long awaited book Straight From the Heart: "A
Celebration of Life," is finally here! Close to 200 pages
of true short stories filled with love and laughter await
you! Visit our web site to order the EBook, or to order
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Today's story by Pamela Jenkins reminded me so much of my
grandpa's house and the room that contained my Uncle's old stuff.
We would spend hours going through what he probably considered
junk, but that us kids thought of as treasures... Thank you for sharing
this story Pamela. It brought back a lot of good memories!
Michael
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A Room Full of Treasures
Pamela Jenkins
There was a special room in my grandparents' house. My
brother and I thought of it as a treasure room.
Sundays at my grandparents' home offered my mother
a chance to keep in touch with her family. My mother and
her sisters brought dishes of food and busied themselves in
the kitchen, talking and sharing as they cooked. My father
and the rest of the male members of the family gathered in
the living room or on the front porch in the shade of the elm
trees. They talked of fishing, camping and hunting, occasionally
sneaking into the kitchen to check on the progress of the food.
After listening to the adults talk for awhile, I would wander back
through the house to my uncle Dave's old room. It was still very
much the way Dave had left it when he moved out. His old high
school yearbook sat on a nightstand, and a few articles of
clothing hung in the closet.
Behind those carefully hung clothes was the most fascinating
room of the house.
It was a long closet, connecting to the bedroom next to it.
Ducking under the hangers loaded with shirts and jeans, I knelt
down on my hands and knees. I would crawl through the
darkness, over old shoes and boxes, to the closet door at
the other end.
That door opened into the furthest back room of the old house, a
forgotten bedroom, used only for storage now that all the children
were grown. The bedroom door itself no longer opened all the way
because the room was so full of old furniture and boxes of
discarded items. Whose room it had been originally, I never
knew. Over the years, it had become a catch-all for an
assortment of items no longer useful.
The bed was a mountainous stack made from four mattresses.
Clamoring to the top, I could peek, unseen, out the windows at
my cousins playing in the yard. I poured through stacks of old
school books and magazines, reading the same pages my
mother and grandmother had read in years past. Small, round
boxes held pearl-encrusted hats complete with veils. I giggled
as I tried them on, pretending to model them in front of the
old mirror on the dresser.
I loved browsing through the old shoe box full of
photographs. Was that pale, little girl with the huge eyes
really my aunt LaHoma? And which of my three uncles had
once been the tiny boy in a pair of cowboy boots and a
diaper? Sometimes the faces in the photos and the names
written on the backs meant nothing to me. I studied the
image of my great-grandmother. She seemed unfamiliar
to me dressed up, purse in hand, standing in front of a
house. My only memory of her had been when I was not
much more than a toddler, and she had offered me a lemon drop
from a crystal bowl.
My favorite item in the room was an old Prince Albert can.
It was a heavy can, full of old marbles collected by my uncles.
Prying the metal lid off the can was a struggle, but worth the
effort when the treasure inside was revealed. I would spill out
the marbles on the top mattress of the bed, and sort through
the beautiful aggies and cat's-eyes, popeyes and corkscrews.
My favorite was a brilliant red marble. I would look through the
lot until I found it.
Sometimes my brother, or one of my more adventurous
cousins, would crawl through the darkness and join me in my
"secret" room. After just a little while, though, they would
leave for more exciting games being played outdoors. They
didn't find the dusty, old relics as fascinating as I did.
A few times I visited the room and found things moved
around. Maybe Granny had been in there sorting through
things to adding to the collection. Perhaps another family
member had squeezed past the blocked door in search of
a long lost item. I'd look around each time I found the room
changed, until I located the Prince Albert can. My red marble
was always inside.
When the smell of frying chicken became too strong to
ignore, I crawled back through the closet and emerged,
dusty and hungry, to eat with the rest of the family. My
grandfather would quietly ask, "Did you find the red one?"
Each time I told him that, indeed, I had.
Years went by, and one day I realized that it had been
quite a while since I had made that crawl through the long
closet to my special place. I had been drafted into kitchen
duty with the rest of the women. I enjoyed their gossip and
stories more than before. There was always cleaning up to
take care of after meals, too.
I was married and living hundreds of miles away when
Granny decided that a move to a smaller home was in order.
She packed up the necessities, divided up what was still
useful for the dozens of children and grandchildren who
showed up to help her move, then held a yard sale to dispense
of the rest. The house was rented out and later sold.
Recently, I drove past my grandparents' old address. The
house was gone, along with the garage next to it. All that
was left were some empty lots with the old elm trees standing
alone.
I often wonder what became of the red marble in the old
Prince Albert can. Did anyone else appreciate the vintage
clothing, or the beautiful gold clock that no longer kept time?
Who finally took home the goose feather pillows?
Now I am left with happy memories. But how I would love
to go back, if only to spend an hour or two, in that room full
of treasures.
Pamela Jenkins
ramblinrabbit@juno.com
Send Pamela an e-mail and let her know what you thought of her story!
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Pamela Jenkins lives on a small farm in Oklahoma with Stanley,
her veterinarian husband of twenty years, and their four children.
She works as an office manager/receptionist in her husband's
veterinary clinic. They are avid supporters of 4-H and FFA
youth activities. She also shares her home with Schnauzers
Ty and Carly, and a marmalade cat named Tommyknocker.
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From the E-mail Box!
Congratulations on your new book. I wish you continued success.
Take care. Of all the people in life I know, your ability to write truly
does come "Straight From The Heart."
Francine Pucillo
FraniaP@aol.com
http://www.poetry-emotion.com
*************
Dear Michael,
Thank you for publishing Bob Perks' story, "Billy's Promise." It gave
me goose bumps - the good kind! It also tugged at my heartstrings.
Now I yearn to take a hot air balloon ride one of these days. What a
captivating storyteller he is!
Blessings,
Sandi Pound
*********
Dear Michael,
You gave me my first laugh today through your story of
Connor and his grandmother. Children are such a joy!
My son Praise is just 6 months and even at that age I
can't help but laugh at some of his actions. I look
forward to when he gets to Connor's age. I guess I
will have many stories to tell!
God bless you
Steve Popoola
Lagos, Nigeria
******************
Mr.Powers, I was deeply moved by your description of your
sister-in-laws graduation ceremony and the effect it had on you
personally! I am reminded of a song I like by Tim McGraw "I don't
know why they say grown men don't cry?" I could actually feel the
love you have for your sister-in-law and was touched by it and
could almost feel the tears welling in your eyes! Thanks for sharing
this with us!
Sincerely,
SHIRLEY (surlystrsd@yahoo.com)
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Thought For The Day:
"It is right to be contented with what we have, never with what
we are." --Sir James Mackintosh
Verse for the Day:
"I have learned to get along happily whether I have much or little."
Philippians 4:11
Kid's Thought For The Day:
"It's hard to like the piano if you are forced to take lessons."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"A family is a unit composed not only of children, but of men,
women, an occasional animal and the common cold."
--Ogden Nash
Coach's Thought For The Day
"Be sincere. Be simple in words, manners, and gestures.
Amuse as well as instruct. If you can make a man laugh, you
can make him think and make him like and believe you."
--Alfred Smith)
Deep Thought For The Day:
Big Bang Theory.....God spoke and "Bang!" It happened...
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REQUESTS:
It is very difficult for me to type this right now, but could you please
pray for my grandmother, that she might be able to pass away
peacefully. The doctors don't think she will come back from all
that has worn her down. To watch her suffer and hang on has
been agonizing and heart wrenching. Thank you.
Shelly Smith
SHEL1201@aol.com
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Prayers are requested for Maureen
See below.
Thanks!
Hi. I have been off work since Feb 23, suffering from anxiety/panic attacks.
I feel like my throat is closed in every day, and then I start to
hyperventilate, and my heart races (one nurse told me that it was like I had
just ran a marathon). Then, because my heart is racing so bad, it's not pumping
blood properly, and all of my extremities (arms and legs go pins and needles and
my face too, like I've just come from the dentist's office). It's real scary
stuff, but I do find peace with God, and I find peace from your emails (ezines,
I don't know, I am kinda computer Gillette). I'm on all kinds of drugs and
seeing psychiatrists and psychologists and your site just makes me feel good.
Thank you Maureen
Sent in by:
Jay Driskell
rondout@ix.netcom.com
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_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
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Video Imagery (Michael's Video Production Business.)
"I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video
we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds
my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best
Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful
job! They were so surprised and so touched---they really, really,
really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all.
My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too!
Thanks again!"
Kelli-- College Station, TX
Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies!
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