Karla Section Two

Below is the next excerpt from my novel "Reverse Skate." If you have not read before, please read the post "The Preface" first and then "Karla Section One" before reading below. The "o's" below are supposed to be bullets to separate each body memory, but I couldn't figure out how to put bullets here.Remember, this is unfinished, just an outline. I look forward to your comments and ideas.

WAVE #1
“Mommy, Baby Alive is eating real food!” o banana seats are so slippery and so cool! o a pair of red clackers hitting knuckles! o Slip ‘n Slide in the backyard o
Mrs. Beasley doll saying, “My, what a sweet child.” o Mystery Date Game o the scent of roses o a little girl blowing triple and quadruple bubbles with Bazooka Bubble Gum o “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” o a Pong ball bouncing back and forth on a screen. o the rough concrete hurting the bottom of bare feet. o screams in the middle of the night that no one hears o Carol Burnett’s Tarzan yell o Vietnam veterans returning home in airplanes o blood dripping onto the bed, left by a disposable razor o puka shell necklaces o “Goodnight, Johnboy!” o John Denver playing Annie’s Song on his guitar o Sarah Coventry jewelry o Bottle Caps candy o Wacky Pack collector cards o a mother and daughter in a close embrace o
the smell of buttery popcorn,
the rough carpet scratching her knees…

1975… Babysitting assignment… 14 years of age…

Searching through the TV channels, no program seemed worth watching once “Saturday Night Live” was over. Nothing could top Chevy Chase’s Gerald Ford impersonations. Carefully cupping her hand down to the very bottom of the bowl so that her mood ring would stay clean, Karla grabbed the remaining kernels of unpopped popcorn. She dipped the kernels and the tips of her fingers into the greasy butter and brought them to her mouth. Man, how much longer are they going to be out? Sleep would come very easily, but Karla vowed to never, ever fall asleep on a babysitting job. She had heard too many horror stories of babysitters falling asleep and terrible tragedies taking place: a toddler falling down a staircase, a fire started by an electric blanket, a baby drowning in a toilet. No, it was best to stay awake.
It was the weekend, no homework, and she had written just about as much to her best friend as she could come up with. Besides, she would see her tomorrow anyway. The channel numbers on the television set had had faded long ago. With a turn of the knob, the “800 Club” appeared on the screen. This was a Christian show, where a minister and his wife interviewed other ministers or people of faith. Tonight they were interviewing a police officer who had become a Christian after having shot and killed a robbery suspect years ago. The officer was in plain clothes for the interview, sipping occasionally from a coffee cup as he spoke. This was obviously a morning show, taped and replayed at night, while everyone on the show was probably now sound asleep at home in their comfortable beds. Man, I’m ready to get in my bed!

The officer talked about how God worked through him, to help him heal by meeting with the family of the young victim. After the interview sometimes there would be singing, but ALWAYS there would be a plea for money. Karla just knew that this was bogus, that the ministers were using these donations for their own purposes. Why couldn’t the people in the audience see that? She might be only 14, but it was just so obvious! She didn’t trust anyone. She wanted to yell, “Keep your money in your pockets!”
But one thing she always noticed about the “800 Club” and every other program like it on TV was that at the very end of the show, the minister would talk softly to the TV audience at home, inviting them to think about what it “really means” to be a Christian, what it “really means” to live a Christian life. And tonight, just like other nights in the past, Karla was mesmerized by the preacher’s pre-recorded words, “Tonight, you can invite Jesus into your heart. We are all sinners.”
Karla knew that she, most of all, was a sinner. She had been sinning for years. “Tonight you can begin a new life, a journey with Christ, your Lord and Savior. Beloved, all you have to do is kneel right now – I’m going to invite you to kneel right now, right where you are, whether you are in your kitchen, or living room…” The man had a syrupy smile. “That’s right. Just kneel and repeat these words after me, either out loud or to yourself; it doesn’t matter. He will forgive you!”
Oh, God, please forgive me! Karla wanted so much to believe he would.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Karla was ready to repeat the beaming preacher’s words:

Dear Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and that I have done wrong in your sight. I sincerely repent and turn away from those sins and ask you to forgive me, not because I deserve it, but because Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Thank you, God, for making me your child.
Amen

Karla got up off the floor, feeling a bit shaky, whimpering like a puppy, the impression of the carpet stinging her knees. She faltered to the sofa and rested her head on a large, comfortable cushion. She heard “The Star Spangled Banner” playing in the background. She awoke to the “click” of a key in the door and white noise coming from the Zenith. Karla frantically tried to straighten her hair and to appear alert. Incredibly sad on the inside, Karla smiled at the parents of the two sleeping children entering the house. Maybe next time he’ll forgive me, she thought.

Abraham Lincoln:
Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.

~I will be away from the computer for a few days. Peace

and love to you all.~

My Favorite Homeschool Curriculums

Favorite Homeschool Curriculums

As some of you may know, we started out as VERY unconventional homeschoolers. I literally pulled the kids out of school on a Friday, not knowing what in the world I was going to do with them on Monday! I had been a lower elementary (1st-3rd grade) Montessori teacher for 12 years and had lots of Montessori materials from my Montessori tutoring service I had started, so we started that way, and some A Beka history and science books paid for and FOUGHT FOR when I pulled them out of a private, Christian school.

I found out through being at home with my children, that they learn best WITHOUT textbooks, workbooks, anything considered “fill in the blanks.”

My favorite curriculum we ever used was “Learning Adventures.” It took us 2 ½ years to go through the first book. I would have loved to have continued; but, unfortunately, I realized that by the time the author finished writing all five volumes, my 15 yr old dd would be about 21 yrs. old! So I immediately began investigating other ways to get my kids into learning in the most painless way possible!

Here are my list of favorites so far:

The Great Editing Adventure – in the past we tried Easy Grammar and Winston Grammar and others. My kids simply do not retain and apply rules. Great Editing Adventure shows them real-life situations (newspaper articles) in which we need grammar. When they get to a rule they don’t know, THAT’S when I teach it! This curriculum requires the use of a dictionary and thesaurus, as well!

Math U See – in the past we tried Saxon, Making Math Meaningful, Singapore, and lots of workbook type approaches. We had tried the old version of MUS in the past, which did not work well for us. The new edition is MUCH improved, but I tweaked it so that the girls don’t forget last week’s lesson. Monday – do pages A & D; Tuesday – do pages B & E; Wednesday – do pages C & F. If they do F with few errors, we go to the next lesson. If they need more review, I use the test as more practice. Otherwise, I do not use the tests at all.

Fallacy Detective – we did this orally for logic. Again, no fill in the blanks for us. Much too time consuming for what they retain.

Mind Benders by Critical Thinking Press – loved it on paper; can’t stand it on CD!

Reading Detective by Critical Thinking Press – very thorough reading comprehension. You can’t just look in the passage for the answer. Have to really think!

Primary Thinking Analogies, Ridgewood Analogies, Analogies by Educators Publishing Service– Why did they take analogies off the SAT? These are sooooo good!

Sequential Spelling – we tried Spelling Workout, Building Spelling Skills, Spelling Power, with NO success! Sequential Spelling has been a Godsend. It takes patience. I did not see results until around lesson 70 in the first book. My kids were horrible spellers before Sequential Spelling. I spiced it up by making sentences up using characters that we were reading about in our read alouds!

Vocabulary Cartoons – some people laugh at the title. We have tried Wordly Wise, again, another workbook program – not for my kids! My artistic 15 yr old illustrates each cartoon, writes the definition, and writes a sentence for it. If she can’t think of one, she copies the one provided. My 12 yr old who hates to draw simply writes definitions, etc. and writes her own sentence. It is AMAZING how these words continue to show up in our read alouds, their chapter books, and reading comprehension exercises!

Think Analogies on CD-Rom: Nothing could be simpler. We started with Level A, which is kindergarten thru 3rd grade level and worked up to a higher level. Think of this as the game of “Concentration” with a twist. Not only do they have to find the answer, but tell why that answer is the best!

Reading Comprehension books from EPS: We tried BJU Literature, Progeny Press, and more for literature and reading comprehension. My kids hated them. What we were basically doing was having them dissect stories or only read excerpts from some great works of literature. I want them to read the entire book and enjoy it! So it’s pretty painless to read a two-page passage and answer main idea, sequencing, and inferencing questions. Takes about 20 minutes. This leaves them time to read good, living books like “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Anne of Green Gables”, “Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe.”

Trail Guide to U.S. Geography by Geography Matters – I use this book quite differently. I don’t use the whole thing. Currently, each week, my girls have a state of the U.S. to map and answer research questions about. This requires that they use a globe, atlas, encyclopedia, and almanac. The girls are also required to put each state on their timeline on the date it entered the union. When we are done with this book, we will start again with Trail Guide to World History to do the countries, and then follow with Trail Guide to Bible History.

Truth Quest History – some of you will cringe at the way I use this curriculum! I simply read aloud books recommended. We do not do the Think Write sections. I read, and the girls put the people/ events on their timelines. K15 has a timeline book; K12 insists on continuing to use our loooong timeline, which is, quite literally longer than the length of our home. She wants it laid out in the parking lot of our church the night of her graduation party. Wish you could see her picture of the Bubonic Plague and of Leif the Lucky. I will post funny pics of these later on.

Institute for the Excellence in Writing – I cannot say enough good things about this curriculum. I am sad to announce that we will not be doing it anymore because of my job situation. I will be putting them in a writing class next year. On a brighter note, their teacher uses a lot of Andrew Pudewa’s ideas in the teaching of her class. I simply cannot fit this curriculum into my work schedule anymore. The Student Writing Intensive DVD’s were the best money I ever spent because Mr. Pudewa gives the lessons to the students directly on the DVD. K15 hates writing, but is doing a much better job of putting her thoughts down on paper now!

Rosetta Stone – my 12 yr old told me she wanted to learn French! I don’t know French, only Spanish! Rosetta Stone is a great way to learn conversational anything! Not much grammar, however.

Read alouds – each day I read two books aloud, have for the past seven years. One is a classic or a good book I have heard about. Currently, we are reading “Redwall.” The other book I read is always a historical fiction or biography suggested from Truth Quest. We are currently reading the biography of Susanna Wesley from the Sower Series.

Rainbow Science – I only wish we spent more time on science, my least favorite subject to teach. My favorite thing about this curriculum – you will laugh – is that the experiments actually work!!!! All but one of them have. Neither of my kids are going to major in science or mathematics, so we do it when we get to it; I am embarrassed to say. But I also like that the passages in Rainbow are short. They don’t have to read 16 pages at a time – 3 pages max at one sitting.

***Please note: Neither of my dc are headed for a 4-yr college right away. They will either start with our community college or trade school. At this time K15 is considering photography as her area of study. K12 wants to be a missionary.

No quote tonight. Sorry, folks!


~bye for now~

Housebreaking 101

I think Dusti is FINALLY starting to get the idea after 6 months!!! She is starting to go to the door and makes a “cluck cluck” sound, kind of like a chipmunk, when she wants to go out. Today, when I looked into her eyes, it was almost as if a light went on in her brain and she was saying to herself, “Ah, okay! I see now! After each of the 3, 256 times I have pottied outside in the past six months, I have received a treat!! Now, if I could just get her to stop going to the door every five minutes and expecting a Pupperoni for it!

Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet husband, R! He turned 15 today! LOL! I don't call this "reverse" skate for nothing!
On the left is K12, and on the right is K15, holding Dusti. R got an MP3Player for his birthday. K12 calls it "The Bean." I was going to go into Best Buy and ask if they had any beans in stock, until she told me, "No! No! That's not what it's called!" She named it that herself because it is in the shape of a Lima bean!!

Beatrix Potter:
Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.

Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

Few songs bring tears to my eyes, but I get choked up every time I hear this one:

Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord -- Sonicflood

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

CHORUS: To see you high and lifted up

Shining in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

(Verse Repeat)

CHORUS Holy, holy, holy

Holy, holy, holy

Holy, holy, holy

I want to see You

In the picture of the heart above, see if you can find the name of Jesus, our Saviour, hidden in the heart!

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior, for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe. - Pledge to the Christian flag

PMS squared

To add to my awful PMS this weekend was
a scary sign at my local Sonic Drive-In:


"CLOSED"!

Alas, no Route 44 Diet Coke with regular
cherry juice that day! Come to find out,
their french fry fryer caught on fire (just
try saying that fast three times!!) They
will re-open in a few days. Thank you, Lord!!

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Karla - Section One

When you first met Karla in "The Preface," she was caught in an undertow off Galveston Island. No read as her mentor, Mrs. Cain, attempts to "save her life." Remember, this is fiction. Karla is not me. I will omit parts that I feel my be offensive to some.

***
“Give me your hand!”
“I’m trying!”
“Come on, Karla! Kick harder! You can do it!” the woman pleaded with the exhausted girl. “You’re almost here!”
Karla sank under the water and hit her head on her knee. Trying to compete with the thunderous crashes of the waves, the girl bawled, “Don’t leave me! Just don’t leave me!”
“I won’t leave you, Karla, if I have to die trying to save you! Now kick as hard as you can! Come on!”
This has to be a nightmare, Karla tried to convince herself. This woman,
Mrs. Cain, the object of her obsession for so long, the woman who could do no wrong in her eyes, was not getting any closer. “Save me! I’m going to drown! I’m going to drown!”
“Karla, have faith! I know you can do it! Remember what we talked about this morning! God will help you! Please!”
Karla continued to battle the strong Galveston undertow. Ironically named after a hurricane which hit this very beach in 1961, Karla was sucked under the water again, grasping at pieces of seaweed, trying to hold on to anything floating by. Her legs folded up under her, putting her in a kneeling position. Several waves washed over her as she experienced the following, a one-second presentation of smells, tastes, feelings, memories, and sounds. As she plunged underwater again, her mentor’s arms disappeared from sight, and her life review began, wave after wave.

Eleanor Roosevelt:
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.

~peace and love~

Just Throw It Out!

Today has been a totally crummy day, so I did something to make me feel better. I purged the refrigerator of all leftover containers. I threw away -- yes, threw in the trash -- every single leftover container in the frig, even the ones I paid good money for. I didn't even peek inside to see what shade of green was growing on each morsel of what could hardly be classified as food. I just couldn't take it anymore!!! Now there's nothing in the frig to eat, but what was in there wasn't edible anyway. So it's a wash. Who needs fly lady? Now I'm off to tackle the condiments!! And after that, who knows?

No man is sane who does not know how to be insane on proper occasions. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

What Not To Say To A Police Officer!

What Not To Say To A Police Officer!

1. I can't reach my license unless you hold my beer.

2. Sorry, Officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in.

3. Aren't you the guy from the Village People?

4. Hey, you must've been going about 125 mph to keep up with me. Good job!

5. Are you Andy or Barney?

6. I thought you had to be in relatively good physical condition to be a police officer.

7. You're not gonna check the trunk, are you?

8. I pay your salary!

9. Gee, Officer! That's terrific. The last officer only gave me a warning, too!

10. Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does.

11. I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there are no other cars around. That's how far ahead of me they are.

12. When the Officer says "Gee, Son....Your eyes look red, have you been drinking?" You probably shouldn't respond with, "Gee, Officer your eyes look glazed, have you been eating doughnuts?"

13. Gee, that gut sure doesn't inspire confidence.

14. So uh, you on the take or what?

15. Bad cop. No donut.

16. I was going to be a cop, but I decided to finish high school instead.

Under any conditions, anywhere, whatever you are doing, there is some ordinance under which you can be booked. ~ Robert D. Sprecht

~c'ya tomorrow~

More About Me

I have been unofficially tagged by my friend, T. Truth be told -- I BEGGED to be tagged!


Accent: Texan except for when I am speaking Spanish with my friend
Booze of Choice: Sonic Route 44 Diet Coke with regular cherry juice!
Chores I Hate: cleaning the cat box ( I WON’T DO IT!) It’s easier to get rid of a cat or two.
Dog or Cat: Dog. Have I mentioned I don't like cats?
Essential Electronics: cash register
Favorite Cologne: Toujours Moi (but don’t ask me to pronounce it!)
Gold or Silver: gold, preferably with a gem or two
Hometown: born up north, raised down south
Insomnia: yes, but working on it!
Job Title(s): wife, mom, teacher, small business owner
Kids: 2 terrific girls!
Living Arrangements: out of the mobile home, FINALLY!
Most Admired Trait: great multi-tasker, dependable
Overnight Hospital Stays: 4
Phobia(s): cockroaches, elevators, just about anywhere above 4 ft off the ground
Quote: “My greatest fear is that there is no such thing as PMS and this is just my personality!”
Religion: Christian
Siblings: one handsome baby brother who is over 6 feet tall
Time(s) I wake up: as late as possible. I hate mornings!
Unusual Talent/Skill: I can play the Addams Family theme with my toe knuckles
Veggies I Refuse to eat: green peas, especially the frozen ones! The only thing worse than finding a pea in my food is finding a half a pea! BLECH!
Worst Habit: talking too much
Yummiest Food I Make: whole wheat crust pizza, grilled salmon
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius, but I don’t have any of its personality traits, and my horoscope has never come true. Go figure!
Now who to tag back?: Maybe Kim in Tx when she's feeling better?



It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated. ~ Alec Bourne

~later~

"I've Got The Retail Telephone Blues"

"It was my birthday, and all I got was
this stupid haircut." - Dusti



Here’s a photo of my new telephone system. If you call during my business hours, it allows me to put you on hold, listening to soothing music while I help a customer similar to the one below:

Me: Hello. (name of business)
Customer: Do you carry this?
Me: Yes, we carry this.
Customer: Do you carry that?
Me: Yes, we carry that.
Customer: Well, do you carry this and that?
Me: Yes, we carry this and that.
Customer: Good. Then I’d like to order one this, one that, and six this and thats.
Me: Okay, that will be (amount).
Customer: Wait. I should get a discount for the six this and thats.
Me: We give a 10% percent discount on each. We can no longer give a 30% discount on six of anything.
Customer: Well, that’s not right.
Me: But the publisher can. Would you like their toll free number?
Customer: No. Go ahead and give me one this, one that, and three this and thats.
Me: Okay. Here is the total, including shipping and tax.
Customer: Wait. Why am I being charged tax? This is for a school, but I pay for it out of my own pocket!
Me: If you order from the publisher, which is out-of-state, you won’t be charged tax; however, their shipping rate is higher. I would only be charging you $3.50; they would charge you $5.50. Would you like their toll free number?
Customer: No.
Me: Well, perhaps you would like to pick the items up here?
Customer: Are you kidding? The price of gas is almost $3.00 a gallon! Go ahead and give me the publisher’s number.
(Customer hangs up.)
(Five minutes later… keep in mind that the order has been torn up and thrown in the trash can by now)
Me: Hello (name of business)
Same customer: I’ve decided to order from you. The publisher won’t even give me a 10% on this or that. They would give me the 30% discount on six this and thats though; however, their shipping is $5.50 minimum! Do you take credit cards?
Me: Yes, ma’am. It’s a $2.00 charge for phone orders less than $50.00.
Customer: What in the world for?
Me: The credit card company charges me $2.00 per transaction plus a percentage of the sale for all sales where I don’t have the actual credit card in my hand to swipe.
Customer: Well, perhaps I could write you a check. Could you include a bill in the box?
Me: No, ma’am, I’m sorry. Once I receive your check, I can mail your package out immediately.
Customer: You can’t put a bill in the box?
Me: No, ma’m. I’m sorry; I can’t. I must receive payment first.
Customer: Well, how long will that take?
Me: Three to four days by regular mail; one to two days by Priority Mail, which is an extra $3.00.
Customer: Well, I think I’ll go ahead and call the publisher back. I need them quicker than that. I am not going to pay $3.00 more for Priority Mail! (are you following this?) What was that toll free number again?
(Customer hangs up)
(Five minutes later… again, entire order has been torn up and thrown away)
Me: Hello (name of business)
Same same customer: Well, their $5.50 did not include Priority Mail. They wanted to charge me an extra $3.00, which would total $8.50. They can’t even ship it, though, for a week. I will send you a check today. Your prices and customer service are much better than theirs! Thank you!

(I am wondering if you are still hanging on on the other line. Have you gone to sleep listening to the soothing music? Or are you just meditating? Either way, you are much more relaxed than I. No wonder I own T-Shirts that read “Stressed Out!” and “I’m in one of my moods!!!)

Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness. --Seneca

~blessings~

What's in a name?

Okay, so the name of my blog is Reverse Skate. I thought about naming it "Antipodal Glide," "Contradictory Slip," or " Diametric Slide." Do you know what "reverse skate" means? Here's an excerpt from my book where Karla talks about "reverse skate." Unfortunately, when you read a blog, the last post posted is at the top, so if you haven't been here before, please start down at my previous post entitled "The Preface."

Excerpt:
But even more than skating, Karla loved the atmosphere of the rink, the lights, the loud music playing. She had grown up skating to “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees. She loved the smell of the popcorn and the spicy Frito pies that gave everyone a stomachache by 9:00 o’clock. She loved the chorus of pinball machines against the back wall and the ugly, floral carpet by the snack bar that looked like it had never been cleaned. Even if she had been fast enough for the races, she would never have raced. Competition was not Karla’s thing. She lacked confidence in almost every skill she had.


While ironing a blouse, Karla wondered if tonight would by like all the other skate nights, most of the boys and girls skating separate of one another, the “cool” people either in the center of the rink or in the bathroom [omitted for content]. About halfway through the session, the Hokey Pokey was played. This was about the only extra thing Karla participated in. Several times during the evening, the deejay would blow his whistle and call “reverse skate,” where everyone was expected to skate in a clockwise direction. Karla hated this; it didn’t feel natural. She sometimes wondered what they would do to her if she just continued skating in a counter-clockwise direction. My whole life has been spent in reverse skate, she thought.

Now, remember, Karla is not me, but this one thing we share - I feel like I have spent my entire life in reverse skate, a salmon swimming upstream, if you will. It is very uncomfortable, discouraging and exhausting, as well.But knowing that Jesus has poured out his love to me has gotten me through it. And you will see that he did thee same for Karla -- and the best part is that he did the same for you, too!!!

But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. --C.S. Lewis

~Peace to you~

Person of the Week, Month or Year #1

The Bus Driver

Three cheers for the bus driver, the bus driver, the bus driver!
Three cheers for the bus driver who drove us today!
God bless her (she needs it!) God bless her (she needs it!)
Three cheers for the bus driver who drove us today!

Today's post is dedicated to my friend, E. E drives a school bus and witnesses to about 100 children each day. The bus driver's day is not easy. Yesterday, I went to drop my kids off at the bus barn so that E could take them to their dance class. Every single bus driver I saw coming in from their bus run was carrying a water bottle and ringing wet with sweat, and this is only April!!!!

The Preface

Hey! Welcome back! Glad you returned! Some of you have asked me about the name of my blog. If you looked at my profile -- I don't know; do people really read those things? -- you know that I am in the process of writing a novel. Reverse Skate is the title of my probably-never-to-be-published novel.

Reverse Skate is the story of an 18-yr-old girl named Karla Forrester, who lives on Galveston Island. It is set in the 1970's. Karla lives in a non-Christian home but wants to know Jesus. It's the story of a girl battling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and her attempts to appear normal to all people, while hiding secrets from even those closest to her. And it's the story of how she comes to know Jesus, who loved her even before the day she was conceived.

In the future I will include an excerpt from the book where Karla talks about "reverse skate" and what the term means to her. Tonight, however, I am posting the preface to the book. Please remember that I am not Karla; Karla is not me!!! This is fiction!!! I will give you an opportunity in the future to read more of the story (if you so desire) by sending me an e-mail and requesting the next chapter. This book could be offensive to some. If you are offended or become upset by reading books including violence, child abuse or neglect, curse words, etc. you may not want to request to read Karla's entire story (which will not be posted here on my blog).

***************************
Reverse Skate

First day of June, 1979… Galveston Island… 18 years old…

Karla arrived at the beach around one o’clock in the afternoon. The party was already in full swing, I Will Survive playing in the background. Karla, an 18-yr-old senior, had grown up during the 1970’s, in Galveston, Texas. Every waking hour not spent doing schoolwork or something absolutely necessary was spent in front of the television set. Karla knew ever commercial jingle and TV theme song by heart.

All her hard work, getting through high school, that was what she was supposed to be celebrating today. It was Senior Day at the beach, an annual event held after commencement. The seniors and their chaperones would drive to the beach and spend a weekday enjoying the surf before vacationers from all parts of the country arrived on the weekend. Soon all schools in the area would have let out, and the shores would be crowded.

But Karla was not in a happy, celebrating mood. Yes, this morning, she had made an amazing life-change, but Stacy was not here with her. This morning had taken its toll on her emotionally. She almost hadn’t come, but Mrs. Cain had insisted. “You will regret not being with your friends today. You will regret it for the rest of your life,” she said. “You may never see some of them again.”

She is the one shining light on today, thought Karla. At least Mrs. Cain is here. Mrs. Cain was Karla’s mentor, actually an obsession of hers for over a year. Karla looked to her constantly for advice and guidance. Karla had kept lots of secrets from Mrs. Cain in the past, and for that, she was very sorry. From now on, no more secrets.

Remembering Mrs. Cain’s words from yesterday, “Karla, you have your whole life ahead of you. I want you to start living it – with Him,” Karla slowly approached the water.

Karla was afraid of the beach. Every since she had seen the movie “Jaws”, she was terrified of the ocean. But everyone else was going swimming. Donna, Karla’s best friend, was yelling at her to come in. Karla was not a strong swimmer and was petrified of sharks, but the group was not far out, only about waist-level. They were standing up. What Karla did not know was that her friends were actually standing on a sandbar.

Karla took her purple float and waded in, ankle-deep, then, waist-deep. The water was still quite cool. No excuse. Get in. I cannot look afraid, thought Karla. The water was now up to her chest. She did not like the way the bottom felt, the seaweed wrapping around her legs. The sharp, broken shells in the sand had cut her feet upon entering the water. She got on top of the float to avoid the seaweed. God only knows what creatures are swimming around me. She began to paddle towards her friends. Suddenly, a large wave knocked Karla off her float. When she turned around to grab the float, she realized that she was actually in deep water, and she was caught in the undertow, much like the drain in a kitchen sink. No one seemed to notice as she began the fight for her life.

~to be continued tomorrow~

Welcome to Reverse Skate!

DUSTI - born October 18, 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUSTI!!!!

I have a confession to make - I have absolutely no idea what I am doing! My friend, T, will have to pull me along somehow. Notice that I have no picture on my profile yet (however, you can see my left hand and neckline in the photo above!), no cute hearts parachuting from the top of the page , no countdowns. I purchased my first digital camera today, and it is ALL MINE! I am NOT SHARING!

Some of you will ask, "Why the name 'Reverse Skate'?" I wll share that with you next time, so stay tuned!

Jesus, take the wheel!!!!