Papa and Me - a Ghost Story

When I was a little girl, I had a favorite great-uncle who used to come by for visits very often. We all called him Papa. He was a tall man with a ready smile, a hearty laugh and big hairy arms. He would take me for rides and play horsey with me. He was a character, often slightly inebriated, but harmless and always fun. I was never in any danger with him, and he would have protected me with his life.

Papa died, and my mother and great-grandmother thought that I was too young to understand what death was, so they didn't tell me. That lack of information is what set off the turns of events that made them believe that there was much more to the universe.

A few days after the funeral, my great-grandmother was in the kitchen when she heard a commotion in the living room; I was yelling about something. She put down her dishcloth and ran in to see what had me so worked up. When she came in, she said that I ran to her and told her that I had been telling Papa to get out of her chair and he wouldn't move. Her chair was one of those vinyl plush chair that let out an audible "whoosh" when you first sit down. In the midst of her telling that it wasn't possible, she looked at the chair and saw an imprint that looked like someone was sitting there. She told me that it was alright, and she left.

When my mother came home. my great-grandmother told her about it, and my mother asked me about my day and I told her all about Papa and his visits. She tried to tell me that Papa was gone, but I wouldn't  hear it. She told me that I shouldn't make up stories and that Papa would not be coming anymore. It was one of those arguments that little ones have with their parents, and it ended with me doing what little ones do when they're frustrated; I cried and told her that she was mean. She put me to bed still sniffling.


My mother finished up and went to bed. She liked to sleep in total darkness. As my mother relates it, she was sleep and felt the covers being tugged. Being half asleep, she said that she thought I'd gotten up, so she mumbled something about going back to bed. It was then that the covers were yanked off the bed and something grabbed her ankle. She looked down and saw two hairy arms in the darkness - and nothing else. She knew those arms anywhere; they were Papa's. She screamed, and when my great-grandmother came running and switched on the light, there was nothing there - nothing at all, just my mother and the covers on the floor. 

She apologized to me for not believing me. None of us, including me, ever saw Papa again. My mother was happy about that; can't say that I blame her.

Breast Cancer Affects Us All

On most years, on one Saturday morning in October, I put on my comfortable shoes, my pink sweatsuit and my t-shirt to walk in the Komen Race for the Cure. It is important for me to participate any way that I can because I have been affected by breast cancer. For the record, I have never had it, and hope to never have it. However, that has not stopped this disease from affecting me.

Two of the ladies in the picture have both had breast cancer. The one in the foreground with the beautiful fuzz growing back on her head was my friend Pat. I met Pat years ago at church and liked her from the beginning. She was this quiet, calm person. I did not know all of her story - not until we started working for the same agency. It was then that I found out that cancer was something that she had fought twice before and was now fighting for the third time. She had worked with it, raised a son with it, seen the birth of her grand-daughter with it and never stopped smiling. Even when she lost her hair, she had accumulated a collection of hats and scarves for going out.

One of our state-wide television stations wanted to feature Amazing Arkansas Women. I sent in the article that I had written for our local newspaper, and Pat was chosen. A large group of co-workers and family showed up to shoot the piece. We stayed and walked in the Race for the Cure. For months after that piece was done, Pat could be anywhere in the state and people recognized her. It was wonderful, and she beat the cancer again.

A couple of years after that, the cancer came back again, and we all rallied around her as always. By this time, the sister of her daughter-in-law had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and one of Pat's best friends had to be treated as well. We had many reasons to walk that year, and we did; she couldn't, so we walked for her too. What we didn't know was that she was still our Pat, still stoic and forever planning. By the time we knew about her Stage 4 cancer, she had already engaged hospice services.

A group of friends and family were with her day and night. Since I was one of the shorter people, I curled up and slept on a loveseat. It wasn't the most comfortable thing but I didn't care. I sat holding her mother's hand on the night Pat left us. The pain that she had felt in those days was over.  The strongest person I have ever known was strong until the end.

No, I've never had breast cancer, but it has affected me, and it always will. Every year, whether I am able to participate in the race, I celebrate the lives of each and every survivor - and of the people who faced it on their own terms and lived their lives on their own terms - people like Pat. You go girl!

"Kindling" My Imagination

It was a day that the great-grandmother and the mother of the little girl would never forget. How does a child just disappear from home without a trace?

The house sat on a quiet street in a small Mississippi town. The three bed residence was home to a great-grandmother, a mother and a 4 year old child. The great-grandmother was the little girl's daily caregiver while the mother worked. Since the child had a way of playing hide and seek, Sarah did not think it strange when she first called her great-grand-daughter and received no answer - until the third time that she called and still no answer. A chill went up her spine and she moved quickly through the house, looking in every room. She looked outside and opened the door and went outside, calling the child's name as she went. Her voice became shriller with every call, and her heart beat faster in her chest.

The next door neighbors heard her calls and joined in looking for the little girl. The family's pastor stopped by and helped by going door to door asking if anyone had seen the three year old. The great-grandmother did the thing that she dreaded doing: she picked up the phone and told the mother that she needed to come home because the baby was missing. The mother sped home as quickly as she could, and with tires squealing in the driveway, threw open the door and ran inside to face worried faces. She couldn't sit down. The mother needed information.

Just as the mother was about to abandon herself to total worry, she noticed what appeared to be a puff of air under a bed skirt in the bedroom at the back of the house. With all the doors open, the mother could see the end of the bed in that room, and it just seemed peculiar to her that any breeze would make that bedskirt move. She turned slowly and walked toward the bedroom, moving as quietly as possible. Lifting up the bedskirt, she was confronted by a pair of big eyes -and her brand new Kindle.

Holding out her hand to the child, she enticed her to come out from under the bed. Kindle in tow, they went into the other room, where the mother presented the quiet child to her great-grandmother. Because they were so happy to see her, she didn't get a spanking. She just got a good bath and a story read to her from one of the many e-books that the mother had loaded onto the Kindle.

Even children know that Kindle is a great way to read. My inner child would love a Kindle. How about yours? What do you say #SquareTrade?

The story is partially true - the little girl was me, and if Kindles had been around when I was that age, the whole thing would have definitely happened. - @contestgrl

I Am A Gas Gardener - and You Should Be Too

A while back, a friend of mine sent me a message about how she had earned a gas card playing a trivia game called gasgardentrivia. The site was called Gas Garden. Gardening for gas - what was that about? However, since two of my favorite things were involved - trivia and saving money on gas, I had to give a try. Besides, anyone who could come up with "gardening for gas" must be a pretty creative person.

I went to www.gasgarden.com  and was pleasantly surprised by the bright colors - and the colorful rows of gas cans "growing" in the garden. I immediately signed up, followed  www.twitter.com/gasgardentrivia on Twitter, and started playing. I got caught up in the number of games available for new signees, and competitive type that I am, I played every one. I was never bored, because variety was the name of the game. I played every game available in one sitting because I was having so much fun!

Here are the great things about gas gardening: You earn points for every successful completion of a game. Once you reach the set point levels, you can get your gas card, or bank your points as you garden for a bigger card. I chose to do that and am currently working towards my $10 gas card. The fan favorite - the "spot the difference" pictures are bright and bold and fun! I have seen nothing but positive comments from fellow "gardeners".

The best thing about Gas Garden is the head gardener herself, Gabbie Lauderdale. She is the brains behind the games and is a welcoming and active presence. She is very responsive to her users and cheers us on as we work in our gardens, inching ever closer to those cards. From personal experience, I can tell you that she is a pleasure to chat with.

Are there any negatives about Gas Garden? None, except you might need to use a magnifying glass on some of those pictures because Gabbie does a great job of inserting little changes.

As for me and my gardening, so far so good. She hasn't stumped me yet, and I've only had to use the magnifying glass once.

To start your own garden, look at my fave site links, click on Gas Garden and start gardening today!

Giveaway Addict: {Review} Rembrandt ~ Two Winners {Giveaway}

Giveaway Addict: {Review} Rembrandt ~ Two Winners {Giveaway}

www.rembrandtwhitening.com

You have a chance to win a tube of the New Rembrandt Intense Stain Toothpaste and Rembrandt Plus Peroxide Whitening Mouthwash from the Giveaway Addict and Rembrandt. Why not give it a try? Whiter teeth await.

Great Prize for a 30 Rock Fan

I'll admit it. Tina Fey is amazing, and she's one of the reasons that I became a fan of 30 Rock. When my friend, @abitnerdy, told me about a 30 Rock contest at @SFMovieBuzz, I was all for it! All I had to do was complete a sentence about a crazy boss. Well, I had a former boss with some issues that gave me a lot to work with.

We had these long, rambling meetings that drove us all nuts. We would do anything to get out of the meetings. One of our favorite things that we liked to do with this boss was put the pictures in the conference slightly askew. During the meeting, we would just glance at the pictures with a confused look on our faces. Once she saw the crooked pictures, she would lose her train of thought and end the meeting. She would have to fix those pictures.

Thank you @SFMovieBuzz. You rock! - and so does 30 Rock!!

Welcome!

Welcome to my first blog!

I've called it Cre8tive Tales - Ramblings on an Online Mind because I'm almost always online! I am a self described Twitter Addict who loves contests, shoes, trivia, music, reading, horror movies, and all sorts of things. If you've read my @theshoegrl or @contestgrl updates on Twitter, you already know that I ramble on about whatever subject strikes my fancy. Sometimes I'm serious and sometimes I'm not, but I'd like to think that somewhere during those posts is something for everyone.

I love talking to followers and have made some great friends online. I also am in school online (another reason for living online). Maybe I should have used the schoolgrl name? You never know - she might show up one day - if the names isn't already taken.

BTW, I am new to blogging, so expect changes (and oopsies)! Hope you enjoy it!