"Grippers" (how to get homeless without even trying # 9)

Episode # 9  The Home Visit  (click on the "Grippers tab and scroll down for the previous 8 episodes)

Their newly discovered sense of helplessness had Bob and Tracey drained and exhausted. They had $40.00 to their name, the electricity had been turned off, the inside of the house was hovering at about 90 degrees, the refrigerator was rapidly losing its coldness while the hot water heater was losing its hotness, the stove could not be used, and the anxious look on 12 year old Jake's face spoke volumes about their situation. Bob's family included a brother in North Carolina who was raising three young children on his own because his wife had passed away a year earlier from cancer and his mom and dad who had no other income except Social Security and had serious health issues. Up until six months earlier it had been Bob and Tracey who were helping them out.  Tracey was an only child and both her parents had passed away. The Sliders needed a break, a temporary reprieve, to help them gather their thoughts and breathe a bit. They received this from perfect strangers.

A man and woman from the St. Vincent De Paul Society at Sacred Heart Catholic Church came by to visit. Unpretentious, friendly, and not mentioning religion, they had managed to quickly put Tracey and her skeptical and defensive husband at ease. They managed to share some common ground about people and places in Pinellas Pines and even managed to have a few laughs together. The Vincentians were able to have the power restored by 6 p.m. and got a two week  extension on the water bill, guaranteeing payment if Bob and Tracey could not come up with the money. This technique helped Bob save face as he told them, "Don't worry, I'll have it covered by then. Thanks for backing me up. I really appreciate it."

The Vincentians left and Bob and Tracey began planning a huge yard sale for the coming weekend. Bob had posted signs in strategic locations around the neighborhood and by 7 a m. Saturday morning their front yard was filled with "stuff". They managed to take in over $1200.00. There was a trade-off however. Besides selling their sofa, two bicycles, two TV's and a computer desk plus a ton of lawn maintenance equipment, tools and clothes, and all sorts of housewares, someone had offered them $800.00 for Tracey's car, even with the blown fuel pump. They accepted the offer. They were able to pay the water bill, car insurance, the cable bill, phone bill and internet service and even took $150.00 and had their computer reformatted by their friend, Gary. They were good through June and into July. All Bob needed to do was to find some work so they could keep "above water".

Next time: Episode #10  Good News and Bad News

Phillip H. Tang's Books Review Blog review

Phillip H. Tang's Books Review Blog
February 4, 2010

Larry Peterson - Slippery Willie's Stupid Ugly Shoes
by Phillip H. Tang

Willie is a young boy with slippery feet. His feet were so slippery that even his shoes would slip off his feet. There were special shoes designed specifically for Willie, except there was only one problem: they were ugly.

Willie went to school with his new ugly shoes. All his classmates laughed at him. Even the principal and his teacher laughed at him. He was too embarrassed that he went home from school.

On his way home he noticed that the school building was laughing at him. Even dogs and cats and birds were laughing at him. He got home and even his mom was laughing at his ugly shoes. The whole world was laughing at him.

................Then he woke up and realized it was all a dream. When he went to school nobody laughed at him and actually thought his shoes were pretty neat.

First and foremost the illustrations are excellent. I love the paper and pencil sketches with pencil crayon coloring. It is very appropriate for a children's book.

I'm a big fan of alliteration. They are fun to read and flows very nicely off the tongue. This particular one was used very effectively:

Willie just slipped, slid and spun all over the place

The whole "it was all a dream" thing kind of bothers me. If the author wanted to show that Willie was imagining things he could have shown that the people were actually laughing about other things. Not a big deal.

Although this book is a picture book, or more accurately a book with pictures, you would still want an older audience of say 6-8 years old reading it. It is in paragraph format and at times goes on with a full wall of text before the next picture. It would be too difficult to read for the younger ages on their own and too long to keep the attention of the kids if being read to.

If interested, the book can be purchased from the author's website in many formats including hard cover, ebook, kindle, etc. at http://slipperywillie.blogspot.com/