Wednesday, January 26, 2011

SEASONING WITH SALT AND PEPPER

Excerpt from Chapter 2...

My first encounter with the men my grandma called the hobos was from a branch on a lone pine tree that loomed over our garage like a giant octopus stretching in all directions.  I wasn't allowed to climb the pine tree, as it had sticky sap oozing from every branch.  My grandma would yell at me whenever I attempted to climb the tree.
"Tonia Kay, I better not catch you up in that pine tree."
But my grandpa finally gave in to my persistence and nailed an old piece of pinewood between two branches as my perch.  I would sit on my perch with the sparrows and blackbirds and listen to them sing.  What I really enjoyed, though, was waiting for the afternoon freight train.  The railroad tracks were so close to the pine tree that the ground beneath it would start to rumble and shake before I could even catch a glimpse of the train.  Then I would sit very still and wait for the whistle.  Once I heard the train whistle, I knew that at any second the clanking of the steel wheels would roll by on those skinny rails, squeaking and hissing, and then I would see...

3 comments:

  1. Oh Toni, I recognize the waiting for the train, here in Ventura we have one coming right by our ranch and the whistle is so loud... but I LOVE that sound....
    Okay, now I am curious, are you going to give us a little more? :)

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  2. Okay, Marja... this is the third time I have commented so I hope this one gets posted. I plan on posting an excerpt each month in this new year. I am also looking forward to interviewing you in July. It's going to be a firecracker extravaganza!

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  3. I like the verse you chose for your logo. I just published a new book. Letters to God on a Prodigal Son if you want to preview it.
    https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1077348al
    My husband would probably enjoy your book.I'll read some more. Anita

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