SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Eight of the upcoming young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter eight of The Priest and the Peaches - an upcoming young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER EIGHT
The Floating Leg

As the leg kept floating, people began pushing back, creating an impromptu path leading to the casket. When the people closest to Teddy and Joanie separated, the mystery of the floating leg was revealed. Holding Pops' artificial leg high above his head was Dancer. His face was beet red from the cold. His shirt was torn from the breast pocket down to his belt buckle. He had a nasty scrape above his left eye, and the fingers on his right hand were covered in blood that had managed to spread to his shirt and trousers. He was quite a horrific sight. He was also quite angry as he said, “Look what I found out back. Can you believe it? It was out back against the dumpster. Good thing I went out there. Pops was supposed to be wearing this. They threw it away. They threw it in the garbage.”

“Oh my God,” Joanie said. “What happened to you? You're bleeding everywhere. What do you mean…out by the dumpster? I can't believe this. Oh my God, Teddy. Pops' leg was in the garbage.”

Teddy was stunned. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed and insecure. Up until this very moment, he had been trying to be the man in charge, and he thought he was wearing his new crown quite well. Looking at his bloodied brother with torn clothes and a bloody hand wrapped around his father's wooden leg was a bit much to mentally process. What am I supposed to do? I don't know what to do. Everyone expects me to take care of this. Pops could. The thoughts stopped and his mind went blank. An unnerving sense of loneliness embraced him. Teddy started to shake.

Joanie looked at her brother and his demeanor frightened her. “Teddy, what's wrong with you?”
He did not respond, so she raised her voice, “Teddy, do you hear me? Dancer has Pops' leg. TEDDY! Did you HEAR ME?”

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Seven of the upcoming young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter seven of The Priest and the Peaches - an upcoming young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER SEVEN
"Yimey’s New Year’s Eve Jamboree"

The Peaches never imagined that an impromptu and quite unconventional party was about to begin at Kelly's Funeral Home. A steady cast of characters was about to descend for a mixture of odd, unforeseen and even outlandish farewells ultimately defining the man Pops had been—a man his kids really did not know. These people were Pops' friends from all over the neighborhood, a man they loved as Yimey—not Pops. If there was a marquee outside, it might have read, “Yimey's New Year's Eve Jamboree, Admission free—BYOB.”

The five kids only knew their father as Pops. Yimey, the man, they did not know. Teddy had started to get a glimpse into their father’s inner world, but that insight was halted in its tracks. Joanie, her maternal instincts jump-started at the age of 13, concerned herself with Pops' behavior and stayed on him about eating properly, getting more sleep, being home more, and cutting back on the cigarettes. The one thing she truly hated was the drinking and she was relentless in voicing her feelings about it. Pops would tell her, “Joanie, stop. You're my daughter, not my mother. Get off my back.” She never did, and he loved her for it. But of course, he never paid attention.

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Six of the upcoming young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter six of The Priest and the Peaches - an upcoming young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER SIX
"God likes to laugh too"

Scratch started to laugh. He related how he and Teddy had been talking about Pops having a good laugh himself over his lost leg, and how the bony-faced receptionist had looked at them like they were nuts. Then Teddy started talking about how the leg had hit Scratch in the head before flipping into the front seat. Father Sullivan, laughing said, “Well, Scratch, at least it didn't kick you in the ass.”

Surprised at the priest’s colorful language, they all started laughing like crazy, even Joey, who knew all about that particular word. Intent on changing the subject, Father began, “Okay everyone, gather around and join hands.” Forming a circle, Father bowed his head as they all did the same. He began to pray, “Heavenly Father, these young people stand before you today somewhat confused and frightened…”

Beeker and Joey were still giggling. Father looked at them and said, “C'mon, boys. Stop laughing now. We're saying a prayer.”

Joey, a bit embarrassed, said, “You said ass.”

Joanie gasped, “JOEY, stop that right now.”

Father smiled, “No, Joanie. It's okay.” He put his hand on Joey's head and said to him, “Well now, Joey, I guess I did say that. We all just needed to laugh a little. That's why I said that. God understands. Believe it or not, God likes to laugh too.”

Wide-eyed, Beeker asked, “He does?”

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Five of the upcoming young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter five of The Priest and the Peaches - an upcoming young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER FIVE
Back to the hospital

The few moments of lightheartedness ended abruptly as they walked into the hospital and approached the information desk. A thin woman with a long, bony face looked up from behind the counter. “Yes, may I help you?”

“Uh, yeah. We're looking for my father's leg.”

The woman's body froze and her eyes bulged out from behind her glasses. “Excuse me?” she asked.

Teddy started to wipe away some unexpected tears, and Scratch quickly intervened.

“I'm sorry, ma'am. His father died here the other night. Okay? He had an artificial leg and we think it was left here by mistake. We just want to get it so we can bring it to the funeral home.”

The lady breathed deeply and stared at the two young men as she processed what she had just heard. Then she replied, “Oh, I'm so sorry. Please, tell me the patient's name.”

Scratch answered, “Velemer Peach.”

“I beg your pardon.”

Scratch sighed, “Velemer. V-e-l-e-m-e-r. Peach. P-e-a-c-h. Okay?”

“Thank you.” She picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers. “Yes, this is the information desk. There is a Mr. Peach here and he is trying to locate an artificial leg that seems to have been misplaced.” There was a pause. “Yes, that's what I said. A leg. Could you come down here right away?” After another brief pause before she said, “Yes sir, I'll tell him.” She looked at Teddy and said, “Someone will be right over to see you.”

While they were waiting, Scratch said, “Hey, Teddy, do you think Pops is having fun with this leg thing?”

Teddy looked at him and slowly smiled. “Um, yeah, probably. No, definitely.”

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Four of the upcoming young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter four of The Priest and the Peaches - an upcoming young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER FOUR
"How could they lose his leg?"

By 1965, most families had acquired telephones but the old tried and true method of intra-building communication in the Bronx was far from passe. After all, the phone company charged message units for every call. You certainly were not going to use the phone to call upstairs, downstairs or across the street. No way. You simply used the send & receive system. To send a message, you yelled out the window. To receive a message, you listened for the return yell. It was as simple as that. This extremely effective system even had a playback feature. If you did not understand the yell, you yelled back—“What?” The message would promptly be re-yelled by the sender.

Joanie went into the kitchen, opened the window, gulped in a big burst of frigid air, and turned her head up to yell, “Denis! Denis!”

A few seconds went by and the response came, “Yeah, what is it?”

“They lost Pops' leg. Teddy wants you to go with him and find it.”

There was a pause. Then a reverberating laughter filled the icy air. Joanie yelled, “You know what Scratch you're a big JERK.” Then she slammed the window shut.

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Three of the upcoming young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter three of The Priest and the Peaches - an upcoming young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER THREE
"Now we're orphans, right?"

Teddy saw everyone at once and immediately started to cry. He did not even realize that it was Sarah who had gotten up and was standing there hugging him. His tears were contagious and within seconds the somber room was filled with crying young people. Sarah hugged Teddy for about 15 seconds then moved back and held his face in her hands. She wiped away his tears with her thumbs and stared into his eyes. “Teddy, listen to me,” she said. “They need you to be strong. Okay? They need you to be in charge. They're all scared, even Joanie. They think they’re all going to end up alone. So, right now, try to be strong.”

He took a breath and looked down at her. “Alone? That's ridiculous. Me and Joanie are here and you…”

“Look, you are all in this together and have to survive it together. They just need some reassurances from you that everything will be all right and that they are safe. Understand?”

The magnitude of the situation was starting to hit Teddy right between the eyes. At 18 years old, he was quickly feeling alone and overwhelmed. Looking at Joey and Beeker, he suddenly realized how young they were. Dancer was only in eighth grade. I'm only four years older than Dancer. Beeker and Joey…dang, this is messed up. Okay, be strong, whatever that means… Then he heard a small voice that had been calling his name, “Teddy…Teddy?”

He turned to his right and saw Joey. Teddy rubbed the palms of his hands across his eyes wiping them dry. “Yeah, Joey? What is it?”

Joey, still sitting on Joanie's lap, had his head pressed back into her chest. His wide-open eyes overwhelmed his little face. He seemed to be slightly rocking back and forth with the top of his head staying right under her chin. Sniffles punctuated every third or fourth tear. He was frightened, all right. No doubt about it. He did not understand. He wanted all this talk about Pops being dead to stop. It wasn’t funny. He wanted him to come home. It had to be a mistake. Why, Pops had even promised that, no matter what, he was going to let him watch the ball drop at Times Square at midnight. Well, tomorrow was New Year's Eve. Pops had promised. He was positive he would be coming home any minute. They were all stupid. “Are you bringing Pops home later?”

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Two of the upcoming young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter two of The Priest and the Peaches - an upcoming young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER TWO
"Before"

“What's wrong with me? What's WRONG with me? I'll tell you what's wrong with me—that mean old lady in the other room. That's what's wrong with me. And nobody cares, nobody, not Pops, not you, not anyone. She’s so mean to me. I hate her. I swear—I hate her. And now I'm going to hell because I hate my own grandmother.”

Teddy fumbled around inside himself trying to find something to say. His 15-year-old wisdom was still in the early developmental stages so all he could come up with was, “Hate her? Going to hell? That's ridiculous. I don't think…”

She cut him off and began to ramble, “Ridiculous! I'll tell you what's ridiculous. The fact that you and Pops don't have any idea what’s going on around here. That's ridiculous. She's gone crazy. Half of the time she thinks I'm Mom and calls me Elizabeth. Then she's nice. Then, all of a sudden, I'm Joanie and I'm scrubbing the woodwork again and, then I'm not doing it right and have to do it over. Sure Teddy, you are absolutely right. You don't think. The ceiling could fall down and you wouldn't think. Pops is never home. She hates him and is always saying mean things to him. So he stays away. LUCKY him. She tells the boys how rotten he is and tells them that he killed their mother…”

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter One of "The Priest and the Peaches"

A sneak peek of chapter one of The Priest and the Peaches by Larry Peterson

Look for the ebook on January 1, 2012:
Kindle ($2.99)
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER ONE
"If only I had—"

Pops said nothing. Besides pain and fear, there was a resolute sadness etched into his face. It frightened Teddy, although he did not understand it. Their eyes locked, blue on blue, father and son, sharing what would turn out to be their final moment together. Teddy thought he noticed a solitary tear drip from Pops' eye and slowly roll down onto the pillow. Still, he remained by the door. He broke the silence saying, “Okay Pops, I gotta get home. See you tomorrow.” As he turned and headed to the elevator, Pops raised his hand and held up his thumb and pinky finger, but Teddy did not notice.

Walking away from the hospital, Teddy briefly stopped, turned and looked up at the third floor. He located the window of Pops' room and stared at it. Whispering, “I love you, Pops,” he began to cry. He knew he should go back, but he didn't. That decision would transpose into a lifelong, heartbreaking memory transfixed around the words—if only I had… Sometimes, you just don't get a second chance.

Ever Wonder about a "Partridge in a Pear Tree, and so on"?

A bit of Christmas History

Did you ever wonder (like me)---What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

Well now, here is one version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" 

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history "folklore" for today....  maybe it is true, maybe not---for me, well, It is the Christmas season so it works for me----

Merry Christmas

Pretty Opinionated review

Pretty Opinionated
November 30, 2011

Book Review: Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes
by Nicole

Title: Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes
Author: Larry Peterson
Publisher: TB Press

Image is often everything to a kid. Jacob was concerned about what others thought of him when he was only about 4 years old, and it just gets harder as he gets older. I try to tell him that it doesn’t matter what others think of him, that he should just be himself, but I don’t really remember that whole logic working on me when I was his age. Willie, the main character in Larry Peterson’s Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes has a big problem. Well, two, actually. First, his feet are so slippery that he can’t keep any shoes on them. Poor Willie couldn’t climb trees or play with his friends without sliding all over the place. Fortunately, there is a solution. Unfortunately, that solution is the other problem. Since Willie’s feet are so slippery, he needs a very special pair of shoes, and they’re not exactly normal-looking sneakers.

Willie absolutely does not want to wear the shoes. He thinks everyone will make fun of him. In fact, he gets so worked up about it that he dreams everyone in town is laughing at him. They laugh so hard that catastrophe strikes- cars crash, planes fall out of the sky, and mayhem ensues. All because of his stupid, ugly shoes. Of course, in reality, his shoes are not nearly as bad as he thinks they are, and all of this friends end up thinking they’re super cool. Willie has a great day at school, and at the end of the day he takes off his shoes and lets himself slip around, because even though the shoes help him have a “normal” day, he still needs to be himself sometimes, slippery feet and all.

Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes is a funny and entertaining book for kids of all ages. The lessons are obvious, but presented in a way to which children can relate. The story teaches children that everyone is different, but those differences do not define who they are. It also teaches them that sometimes we make a bigger deal about things in our heads than they are in real life. I do this all the time. I always think of the worst case scenario and get all worked up about something, when in reality, it turns out to not be a big deal. It’s kind of too late for me (although I am working on my issues), but since Jake is just like me, I’m really trying to head off the problem before it gets out of control with him. Since he is a big reader, books like Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes really help.