Anna Adams

Posted By admin on February 9, 2012

I'll get that!

Some neighborhood children came to our door the other day. The beloved was downstairs, and I was up, so he got the door. The kindren spun him a tale that began with “Our grandma is really, really sick in another country across the sea…”

The beloved isn’t easily fooled, and this was no exception. They said she had no insurance and she couldn’t pay for her medical care, and they were taking a collection for her. You can see that the story sported a few holes, and the beloved saw it, too, but somehow, he was moved to give them a dollar. Actually, he was moved to ask me if I had a dollar I could give them. I thought it was a fine strike for fiction, though I was a touch worried what might happen when they were spending bucks their parents didn’t know they had.

I found out what happened today.

The doorbell rang again, and the mom and the two ringleaders amongst the little family were waiting when I opened the door. Well, actually, the cat went to open the door first, so I hoisted him to my shoulder, and then I opened it, to keep him from running away. He could roll over a small child and never notice he’d hit a bump on the porch! Anyway, the mom was holding a dollar. She made the children explain. They were so embarrassed I almost cried for them. (And the story had to do with wanting books from the school book fair. How can a writer be angry about that?) Anyway, the mom assured me both grandparents were well, and I assured her that we’d sort of guessed that, but… Well, I still can’t explain why we handed over that dollar, but it was a good story. The mom made the children apologize again, and added, “And tell her how beautiful her cat is.”

Cause Kitty is absolutely as charming as kiddies with excellent stories!

I really felt bad for them, but mostly, I’m sorry I didn’t suggest they write their own stories next time. Those children don’t need a book fair! They could create their own!

Categories: Just Living
Tags: Just Living