Calgal

A Miracle.

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place
in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it
carefully.

Three times,even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for
mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the
cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way blocks to Rexall's Drug
Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he
was too busy at this moment.

Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise.

Nothing.

She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster.

No good.

Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter.
That did it!

"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.
"I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he
said without waiting for a reply to his question.

"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the
same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick... and I want to buy a
miracle."

"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.

"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my
Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle
cost?"

"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you,"
the pharmacist said, softening a little.

"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the
rest. Just tell me how much it costs."

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked
the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"

"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. "I just know he's
really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy
can't pay for it, so I want to use my money".

"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all
the Money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.

"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents-the
exact price of a miracle for little brothers."
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her and
said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your
parents.

Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."

That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in
neuro-surgery. The operation was completed, and it wasn't long
until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking
about the chain of events that had led
them to this place. "That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real
miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...
one dollar and eleven cents ...... plus the faith of a little child.

Calgal

I went to a party, Mum (Why NOT to drink and drive)

I went to a party, and remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink , Mum, so I had sprite instead.
I felt proud of myself, the way you said I would.
That I didnt drink and drive, though some friends said I should.

I made a healthy choice, and your advice to me was right.
As the party finally ended, and the kids drove out of sight.
I got into my car, sure to get home in one piece.
I never knew what was coming Mum, something I expected least.

Now I'm lying on the pavement, and I hear the policeman say,
"The kid that caused this wreck was drunk". Mum, his voice seems far away.
My own blood all around me, as I try hard not to cry.
I hear the paramedic say "This girl is going to die".

I'm sure the guy had no idea, while he was flying high.
Because he chose to drink and drive, now I would have to die.
So why do people do it, Mum, knowing that it ruins lives?
And now the pain is cutting me, like a hundred stabbing knives.

Tell my sister not to be afraid, Mum, tell daddy to be brave.
And when I go to heaven, put "Daddys Girl" on my grave.
Someone should have taught him, that it's wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his parents had, I'd still be alive.

My breath is getting shorter, Mum, I'm getting really scared.
These are my final moments, and I'm so unprepared.
I wish that you could hold me Mum, as I lie here and die.
I wish I could say I love you, Mum, so I love you...........and goodbye.

CasG

Aedh Wishes For The Clothes Of Heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Alberta_Rose

That last line has been quoted before in a thread discussing why some people get so uptight on this forum when they are accused of having "rose-cloured spectacles" about what life is going to be like here, but I had not seen the whole thing before.

Thanks for that.

CasG

Beautiful isn't it ?