Can You Give Me a Name?

August 4, 1965

Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. It's hot. Really hot. In the nineties. Aunt Love says it's supposed to be hot like this in August. I guess she should know. She's been around for a lot of Augusts. Wes, on the other hand, says it's never this hot on Jupiter - too far from the sun, he claims. Says if it wasn't for all the moons they have up there that there would be icicles everywhere. Green icicles. 

Seems snow is green on Jupiter. Sometimes Wes gets carried away with his Jupiter stories. Like as not, snow will be pink on Jupiter next week. But I love listening to his stories. One thing sure, he didn't disagree that it was hot down here on good old Earth. It's always especially hot in the press room, but the paper has to be printed and folded and delivered. Folks in Hollyhill want to know the news, what little there is each week in Hollyhill.

Do you like the dog? Did you ever see such eyes? I think they are at least four colors. Blue and brown and black and white. Amazing eyes. You remember I'm writing that story about Bailey the dog, and Lucinda the cat. Well, I might add another dog and if I do it might look like this guy. 

Tell me. If you were writing a story about a dog that looked like this one, what would you name him? It is a him. But we could maybe make it a her. That's the great thing about writing a story. You can change things and make things up. Now if I could just change the temperature to a little cooler. 

I took my notebook out under the oak tree out back and wrote the next scene. I'm finding out it takes a long time and a lot of words to write a book. 

All right two questions for you - 
What would you name the dog? 
And have you ever wanted to write a book?

Now here's the next scene of Bailey's Bug. (Remember, we left him hiding under the bed after Lucinda made him think about storms and thunder. And also, if you haven't read the first parts of the story, you can click on the link above to the page about Bailey's Bug. I have no idea what any of that means, but maybe you do.)

BAILEY'S BUG by Jocie Brooke

As Bailey cowered there in the dusky darkness, all the awful things Lucinda had told him might happen marched through his head.

     He wished he could believe none of it was true, that Lucinda was just trying to scare him into not going, but he had been out beyond the fence with Reid. He’d seen things.

     There was the time two dogs were fighting the park, all gnashing teeth and growls. Reid had held Bailey’s collar as if to keep him from joining the fight, but Bailey had wanted no part of it. He’d been relieved when someone had doused the dogs with water. That had made them forget their fight soon enough.

     Those kind of dogs were out there beyond the fence. Dogs ready to fight any other dog. Even Bailey whether Baily wanted to fight of not. Bailey shivered and thought about how fast he could run. Not very fast because he had a way of stumbling over his own feet. The faster he tried to go the more his feet got tangled up.

       And what about that time he was chasing the red toy, and a car making a terrible screeching, honking noise had bumped against him? It hadn’t hurt all that bad, but Bailey’s ears had rung for days. 

     It was not safe beyond the fence. Lucinda was right about that.

     Worst of all was that last warning? What would he eat? Bailey liked to eat. People put food in his dish. First Reid and sometimes Reid’s mother and now Mrs. Robinson. Somebody filled his dish every day. But if he left the Robinsons, he wouldn’t even have a dish until he found Reid. That might take days. 

     Just thinking about it made his stomach rumble and had Bailey trembling just like a real storm was shaking the windows of the house. But the hum didn’t get lost in his trembles. Instead it got louder until it was almost as if Reid were just on the other side of the bed’s dust ruffle, trying to coax Bailey out of hiding.

     Bailey jerked up and banged his head on the bedsprings, but he barely noticed as he crawled out from under the bed. Reid wasn’t there, but he was somewhere. Bailey could find him if he only had the courage.

     Courage. He’d never needed courage before. He didn’t know whether he had any or not. He wanted to have some. At least a little bit. But would a little bit be enough?

     He padded back into the living room and sat down in front of Lucinda’s window seat. He was ready to stay there as long as it took for her to open her eyes.

     Slowly one of her eyelids went up. “What now?” she asked.

     “I’m going.” He turned without waiting to hear what she might say and went to the door to wait for Mr. Robinson to let him out.

     Lucinda raised her head and whispered, “Best wait until after supper. It might be a very long time before your next meal.”

     “Even if it is, I’m going.” Bailey pulled up to his highest height. But he did decide to wait until after eating time. When Mrs. Robinson filled his dish, he ate every chunk of food and nosed around on the floor to make sure he hadn’t missed even the smallest crumb.

     Then Bailey went out in the yard. He would find a way through or over or under the fence. He would. That night!
 

 (to be continued next week.)

   

What Stories Have You Read that Make You Want to Write?

June 30, 1965

Jocie Brooke reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky on the last day of June. I hate June to end so soon. That means just one more full month before school starts again. Ugh! But Dad says I shouldn't be looking ahead, but enjoying each day that the Lord gives me. The present is like a gift. You know, present - gift. Anyway, each day is a gift to open. And one of the best things about summer is getting to read!!! I love books, don't you?

Not long ago, I read The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. I think I told you that a couple of weeks ago. Have you read it? It's a story about two dogs and a cat and it's a movie too. Walt Disney made it into a movie about a year ago. They might have shown it on television on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, but we're always at church during that time. We might get to watch the show when it snows in the winter and they call off night church, but that's the only time. Of course, it won't be in color. We don't have a color television set. 

Besides, church is more important than television. But I wish that show was on Monday nights. That's okay though. I can read the books. And I loved The Incredible Journey. In fact, I liked it so much that it's made me want to write a story like it. A dog and a cat on an incredible journey. Where could they be going and why? It won't be like the story in the book. It will be my very own story. 

If you were writing a story about a dog and cat, what would you name them? Cat and Zeb? Zeb is a great dog, but I don't think I'm going to let him be in my story. This will have to be a different type of dog than Zeb. And Cat, well if I had Cat in my story, everything would go haywire. That might not be so bad. Things need to go haywire in a story. If nothing happens, nobody would want to read it. But my story cat will have to have a name better than Cat. Yeah, I know Cat has another name. Redspot. But Cat is so independent that he just seems to want to be called Cat. Like he's the only one of his kind in the world. 

He was on Zella's desk when I got to the office last week. She wasn't even chasing him off. She pretended not to know he was there. You know what? I think Zella likes him. But one thing sure, she won't like the cat I write into my story. He's going to be one interesting cat. But wonder what I'll name him.

Did you read The Incredible Journey or see the movie when it came out in 1963? Do you remember the cat's and dogs' names? I loved Bodger and Luath. Then there was Tao. My names will be more like something you'd hear here in Hollyhill. But then those names might be something you'd hear in Canada. The author based the animals on pets she'd had there. 

I love books and stories, don't you? What's one of your favorite stories?

Barefoot Days are Almost Here Again

Photo Courtesy of Anita Peppers

May 26, 1965
Jocie Brooke reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. A very excited Jocie Brooke because in three days - three short days!! - school's out for the summer. Yay!! It's not that I don't like school. At least most of the time, but in May, I hate school! 

Nobody should have to spend all of May in a classroom looking out at the sun instead of being in said sun. I mean, it's time to take off your shoes and feel dandelions between your toes. Maybe find a 4-leaf clover so luck will come your way.

Dad says that's silly. He says a Christian doesn't depend on lucky charms. A Christian should depend on the Lord and on his fellow Christians for his or her good fortune. But it's still sort of neat finding a 4-leaf clover. Or it would be if I could ever find one. Tabitha, my sister, she can step out in the grass, look down and see a lucky clover without moving another step. Right where I was just searching. I think she's half leprechaun. Don't tell Dad I said that. He'll be giving me a lecture about how it's okay to pretend, but a person shouldn't get carried away with silly stuff. 

But I like making up silly stuff, don't you? Wait, I'll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell anybody. I'm going to write a book! Not just a little five page story, but a book with chapters and everything. Do you think you'd like to read it? I might write it on here - if it turns out to be any good. You know, it's easier to think about doing something rather than actually doing it. Right now, I'm just thinking about it. But I can't wait to actually get started. I'm going to let a dog be the main character. I think a dog makes a great character. A dog did in The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. That story was so much fun. My book will be something like that, but I'm not sure how much. I've got to think up a lot of things before I can get it written. 

One good thing, I'll be able to write barefoot. I love to lose my shoes when it's summertime, but in our yard, that's not always a good idea. Or sometimes even in the house where you're liable to step on one of Stephen's metal cars or a stray block. Outside, it's not all clover and dandelions either. We have a few locust trees. Remember, they're dad's favorite because of the sweet smelling flowers. The flowers are okay, but the little thorns on their branches are no fun at all when they step on one. Bits of those branches are always falling off to lay little traps in the grass for unsuspecting feet. But the blooms do smell fantastic. Worth getting a few stuck feet from time to time. I'm just glad we don't have chickens. You go barefoot out at Miss Sally's and sometimes you get squishy chicken poop up between your toes. Now that's no fun at all.

Did you go barefoot when you were a kid? Did you have to always wash your feet before you went to bed? Every night?