A Big Surprise for Easter, Part 2

After the boys left, Freddie began to cannibalize parts from broken radios he had in his garage.  He found a tube from one radio, a transformer from another, and a few radio dials from an old shortwave set he had made a couple years ago.  It only took him a day to complete the shortwave set.  He called Allan and told him the set was ready, and he would go with him to the tree Fort to hook it up.  When Allan had relayed the message to the other club members, they eagerly brought their money to him, and Allan paid Freddie the $15 owed to him.  The other four boys had met at the tree Fort by the time Allan and Freddie arrived.  Freddie set up the shortwave radio inside the floor of the tree fort.  Two dry-cell batteries were connected to supply the necessary power for operating the radio.  When the set was connected, it had a weak signal.  “Just as I thought,” said Freddie.  “I need to put up an antenna to boost the signal.”  A long copper wire was wrapped around an old Cyprus pole. When the pole was complete with a stand to hold it up, the antenna was secured to the top of the roof of the tree Fort.  When Freddie finally fine-tuned the shortwave set, a clear voice was heard coming from the direction of the Cypress Swamp.  The boys heard the voice of the little old Lady saying something about her capturing the Easter baskets and putting her final plan into action!  “I have the Easter baskets in the warehouse; I shrunk them down so they all fit in the building. When I get the information I’m seeking about the boys’ addresses, I’ll consider returning the Easter baskets to the neighborhood.  “Very good,” a man’s voice transmitted.  “Now contact me when you are ready.”  “Yes, Sir,” replied the little old Lady.  “Did you hear that, Freddie?” asked Butch.  “Sure, I heard it,” said Freddie, “so I guess I can go home now that the system works.”  When Freddie had left for home, Lester held one of the leaflets up towards the sun.  “What are you looking for?” asked Butch.  “I’m looking for clues in the words on this leaflet,” Lester replied.  He detected a faint watermark on the paper that could barely be seen when it was held up to the light.  “What do you see?” asked Allan.  “All of the leaflets have a watermark on them,” explained Lester, “which means the paper that was used to print these leaflets must have come from the same source … which probably means if we can find out where the little old lady gets her paper, we might find a printing press in the same building.” surmised Ronald in an excited voice.  “Then if we find the printing press, I bet you a dollar the Easter baskets are in the same building,” replied Ronald.  “Who would have access to that kind of information?” asked Ronald.  After thinking for a few minutes, Allan came up with the answer.  “I know who might be able to help us!” he said excitedly.  “Who?” Robert asked.  “Mr. Thompson – that’s who!”  “Who is Mr. Thompson?” asked Allan.  “He’s the mailman who delivers mail to everybody in town; so he would probably know who gets printing supplies,” explained Allan.  “You’re right!” said Butch.  “Where do you think we could find him now?”  “What time is it?” asked Robert.  “I don’t know,” answered Butch, “but there’s a big clock hanging on the wall over my Dad store said Butch with great enthusiasm in his voice. So off the boys went to Mr. Ward’s grocery store.” Hey Butch, “ask your dad what time the mailman delivers to him,” said Lester.  Butch disappeared for a few minutes and came back with the information.  “Dad usually gets his mail between nine and ten o’clock,” Butch reported.  The boys’ eyes all looked up at the clock at the same time. “It’s 9:30,” said Ronald.  “The mailman should be coming at any moment.” said Ronald for all to hear.

The boys drank soda pop while they waited for the mailman.  They had barely finished their drinks when the mailman came into view down the street. “Here comes Mr. Thompson!” shouted Allan.  It seemed like it took the mailman forever to get to Ward’s store.  He drove a three wheeled vehicle with blue and red stripes painted over a white background.  When he parked his vehicle in Ward’s parking lot and got out of the vehicle, the boys were surprised at how tall and thin he was.  Mr. Thompson had a stern look on his face.  His salt-and-pepper colored hair could be seen around the edges of a military hat that he wore tilted on his head.  He had on light-blue work clothes with the words” US mail” embroidered above his shirt pocket.  Carrying a mailbag over his shoulder, he walked straight into the store.  He delivered Mr. Ward’s mail and was beginning to leave when Lester approached him.”  Mr. Thompson, could we ask you a couple questions? It will only take a minute,” said Lester.  “Well, I’m running a little early today; I guess I could take a few moments. What can I do for you?”  Lester showed him one of the leaflets, and while Mr. Thompson was reading the leaflet, Lester signaled the other guys to come join him.  “What do you want to know about these leaflets?” Mr. Thompson asked.  “We were wondering if you could tell us where these leaflets were printed.” explained Lester.  “Right offhand, I would have to guess the answer to that question,” replied Mr. Thompson.  “But if I had to make a guess, it would probably be in one of those small warehouses across the street from Norwood Elementary School. That area was just rezoned for small business.”  The boys thanked Mr. Thompson for his time and the information.  “Let’s go home, get our bicycles, and meet in front of the school,” said Butch.  So off the boys went to get their bicycles.

In fifteen minutes time, all the boys were assembled in front of Norwood Elementary School, standing next to their bicycles.  Lester said, “Let’s sit on the steps and see if we can come up with a plan before we ride our bicycles around that warehouse area.”  “Good idea,” agreed Ronald.  Analyzing the situation, Butch suggested, “I think the first thing we should do is look for a printing sign or a place that sells this kind of paper.”  He was pointing to a leaflet as he continued, “If we can locate the building, then maybe we can go inside and look around.”  “Do you mean break in?” asked Allan in a surprised voice.  “Of course not,” said Lester.  “We can send someone in to ask if they can make a logo for our T-shirts … as an excuse to get inside the building,” Lester said with a smirk on his face.  “The first thing I think we should do,” said Butch, “is to look in the dumpster behind each building in that rezoned area.”  “That’s a great idea,” said Allan.  “Let’s spread out and each of us do one dumpster,” suggested Allan.  Of course, this was a favorite thing for the boys to do, because there were all kinds of treasures to be found in small-business garbage. 

Riding their bicycles around, they found one dumpster full of scrap leather that was used to make watch bands.  Another dumpster yielded valuable pieces of scrap lumber for building all kinds of things, like birdhouses, forts, and other wood projects.  The trashed wood could also be used to burn in wood stoves for fuel in their house instead of chopping it from a wood pile.  Almost all the houses in the neighborhood were heated by wood stoves.  This was a convenient way to get wood already the right size to burn in a wood stove. The wood factory made all kinds of baby furniture that they sold up north, so there was an endless supply of scrap wood in the dumpsters at all times.  Another dumpster yielded paint cans – some more than half-full with different colors of paint.  So it was exciting for the boys to discover what new treasures could be found outside the factories.  Robert was the first to yell out, “I think I found something!”  So all the other boys rode their bicycles to where Robert was.  On arrival, they found Robert diving in a dumpster, going through a mound of paper.  “Take a look at this,” he said, bringing up a fistful of paper.  As he handed it to his friends, they noticed coffee stains all over the papers. The coffee stains made the watermarks on the paper clearly visible with the words “To study mankind” clearly marked below the letterhead as a company motto.

Robert climbed out of the dumpster and walked over to his bike that was leaning against the back of the can.  “Let’s ride around these buildings for a while and see if we can find one that has a printing press,” said Robert.  “We should be able to hear the machines running if we’re real quiet.” said Allan. Just when the boys were getting ready to leave on their bicycles, the back door of the building opened.  A short, muscular man was carrying a big bag of something over his shoulder.  He set the bag down on the ground and started yelling angrily at the boys.  “Get away from those dumpsters!”  The boys took off, racing their bicycles in different directions.  Butch and Lester were headed in the direction of the school when Lester shouted, “Let’s go back and see what the sign says on the building.”  As they rode around to the front of the building, they saw a little sign hanging from the building: “Not open for business.”  The boys all headed back to Norwood Elementary School.  Exhausted, they parked their bikes and sat on the front entrance steps.  “We’ve got to come up with a plan.” said Lester.  “Yeah,” said Butch in agreement. “Let’s do another surveillance run with our bicycles.” suggested Robert. “This time we could each take turns, riding around the building to see who goes in and out of the building.” said Butch.  “Or we could send one of us into the building to look around to see what is inside,” said Robert.  “Suppose we do both,” urged Lester.”  “That way, one of us can go inside and have a look around, while the rest of us sort of circle the wagons with our bicycles like they do in the cowboy and Indian movies.”  The plan was put into action with Lester volunteering to go inside the building while the rest of the boys would circle around until Lester came out.  They would all rendezvous again at Norwood Elementary School and share their observations.  Allan spoke first. “I circled the parking lot and the building three times, and I did not see anything unusual.”  The only one who saw something unusual was Robert.  He saw a delivery truck pull up and a delivery man unload several small boxes through the front door of the building.  “I believe he made several trips inside the building, because the back door of the delivery truck was left open while he was inside the building. And Lester, what did you see?” asked Robert. “Well, it was kind of spooky inside the building. There weren’t many lights on, and most of the building was sort of dark. Once my eyes got adjusted to the darkness, I could see several objects of interest. There was a small printing press, about 50 boxes stacked neatly on a shelf, and some kind of strange machine, like the one in the little old Lady’s house in the Cypress Swamp.” “What did the boxes say on them?” asked Butch.  “They had names and addresses on them like they were waiting to be delivered in the mail,” Lester replied. “Did you recognize any of the names in the neighborhood?” Butch asked.  “Funny you should ask that! I did recognize the addresses for Freddie, Ronald, and Mrs. Strawn. But before I could look around anymore, a man yelled at me, ‘We’re not open for business, so scram!’ – kind of strange.”  “Why is that strange?” asked Allan.  “Mrs. Strawn’s name was the only adult name you saw,” replied Butch.  “Why is that so unusual?” asked Ronald. “Well,” said Robert, “for starters, my dad owns that building!”  “Great!” said Lester.  “Then you might be able to get the renter’s name and phone number from your dad.”  “I’ll ask my Mom tonight,” said Robert.

The next day, the boys all got together at the tree Fort.

(Part Two of the novella by George F. Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)

To read the whole story, order your copy of A Big Surprise for Easter, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback.  Amazon search: Holiday Favorites by George F. Kohn.

A Big Surprise for Easter, Part 1

The whole town was talking about it!  The children were crying, their parents were upset and angry.  “It’s a travesty!” exclaimed Mrs. Townsend. “Why, I never heard of such a thing!” said Mrs. Webster.  The ladies garden club had called a special meeting to discuss the problems that had suddenly been thrust upon their community.  “It is our responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and to come up with a plan to resolve this problem.” said the president of the garden club.  Miss Crystal was a thin, elderly lady who was born and raised in the community when it was just a little town.  She was known as the town gossip, and she had a history of knowing everybody’s business.  She would sit in a rocking chair on her front porch and observe everybody that passed down the road in front of her house, either coming or going.  If anybody in the neighborhood saw or heard somebody, she would be the one to call.  She was like the town’s newspaper.  “I bet it’s those Craighead boys,” she said with a disgusted sound in her voice.  “They would steal anything that is not nailed down!” she continued.  “Now, now, let’s not jump to any conclusions,” replied Mrs. Strawn, who was probably the most loved person in the community.  “Let’s give them a chance,” she pleaded to the committee.” “It was true that whenever anything came up missing in the neighborhood, it was often traced back to the Craighead garage.  Of course, Richard and his brother Paul had no earthly idea who put the stolen property in their garage.  “I really don’t believe that the Craigheads would do such a thing,” said Mrs. Grant, who lived next door.  “Why, they haven’t missed a Sunday going to Church in almost a year now!” she replied with a confident sound in her voice.  “Well, facts are facts,” replied Miss Crystal.  “Somebody has stolen from this community on a large scale. It had to be several people to have done this hideous crime! I think we should have someone search the Craighead garage,” she said, looking around the room for approval from the other members.  “We can’t just accuse people without any proof,” continued Mrs. Strawn as she addressed the committee.  “Maybe Mr. Ward can put together something from his store to make everyone happy.” she continued with a smile on her face and encouragement in her voice.  “It would be almost impossible for Mr. Ward to fill such a large order in such a short time.” replied Mrs. Zay.  “We’ve got to come up with a plan,” said Mrs. Strawn in a gentle voice.  “Let’s take it one step at a time. How many baskets were stolen from the neighborhood?” Mrs. Strawn asked.  “In this neighborhood there are at least fifty kids of all ages who didn’t get an Easter basket.” replied Mrs. Humphrey.  The social committee worked late into the evening trying to develop a plan to solve the dilemma.

Meanwhile, the boys were back in their tree Fort for a special meeting concerning the stolen Easter baskets.  The mulberry tree was beginning to bud out as spring was just around the corner.  Allan was the first to speak.  “We have to scout around the neighborhood and see what the little old Lady is up to,” Allan replied.  So the boys walked all over the neighborhood looking for clues.  They ran into Harry, a little five-year-old holding a piece of paper in his hand.  “What you got there, Harry?” asked Robert.  “I don’t know,” said little Harry.  “I can’t read it.”  “Let me take a look at it,” said Butch.  “Butch took the leaflet from Harry’s hand and glanced over it.  “Where did you get this leaflet Harry?” said Butch in an excited voice.  “I found it on the ground,” Harry replied.  “Where was it?” asked Butch.  “They’re all over the neighborhood,” replied Harry.  “They fell from the sky,” he continued, pointing his finger up in the air.”  Sure enough, the ground was littered with leaflets just about everywhere the boys look.  Lester picked up one of the leaflets from the ground and began to read it out loud.  “If you want your Easter baskets back, tell me where to find those little varmints that broke into my house when I was not at home. Once I find out where them little varmints live, I’ll tell you where your Easter baskets are hidden. – Signed, the little old Lady.”  Of course, none of the neighborhood children knew whom the little old Lady was talking about, let alone where all the boys lived in the neighborhood!  “The little old lady must be scouting the neighborhood,” said Allan.  “Yeah,” said Ronald, “and I bet she flew all over the neighborhood on her Hal-lo-Ween, throwing  leaflets in the air, hoping someone would tell on us,” Ronald exclaimed.  “Grab a few more of those leaflets.” shouted Butch.  “Let’s go back to the tree Fort and see if we can come up with a plan.”

When the boys arrived safely in the tree Fort, Butch handed out leaflets for them to read.  “Somewhere on this leaflet there is a hidden clue, a secret message or a secret code! We’ve got to find out what the little old Lady is up to.” said Butch.  “The first thing we have to find out,” said Lester, “is where the little old Lady hid the Easter baskets!”  After a moment, Ronald spoke up. “I don’t think she hid them anywhere,” he said.  “What do you mean?” asked Robert.  “I think she made them disappear, or she shrunk them the same way she did to Robert and Butch in the Cypress Swamp,” replied Allan.  “Good thinking!” said Butch.  “Then all we’d have to do is find out where in the swamp she hid them.”  “I’ve got an idea,” said Allan.  “Let’s go talk to Freddie – he knows all about radios, crystal sets, and radio frequencies.” “Yeah, and he’s a good friend of Gary,” replied Allan.”  “What does Gary have to do with solving our problem?” asked Lester.  “Well,” said Allan,” Gary’s father has one of the tallest radio towers ever made. I believe it’s over 150 feet tall!” he emphasized.”  “We all know that Mr. Chapin is a radio ham who talks to people all over the world when he broadcasts.  “How do we know that?” asked Butch.  “Because I’ve been to his house next to the garage where he operates his ham radio,” said Robert.  “Mr. Chapin has postcards pinned up all over his garage from people he’s contacted all over the world! And I’ve heard him broadcast when he’s looking for other people to respond to.”  “How do you know he’s broadcasting?” asked Butch.  “Because he always starts off with, ‘Seek you, seek you,’ and when he makes contact with someone, say in Japan, Mr. Chapin asks them to send him a postcard with their call letters so that he can pin it up and talk with them again someday.”  “Fantastic!” said Lester.  “Let’s go have a talk with Gary.”  

So, off the boys went to Gary’s house.  When Gary came to the door, Robert was spokesman for the group.  “Hey, Gary, I was telling my buddies about your father’s ham broadcasting abilities, and they would like to take a look at it, if it’s okay with you.”  “I don’t know,” said Gary.  “Dad’s at work, and he doesn’t like anybody in his garage if he’s not home to supervise.”  “We can understand that,” said Robert.  “My father is the same way. Do you think we could come back when he’s home, and watch him work at broadcasting?” asked Robert.  “What time does your dad get home?”  “He usually gets home around five o’clock and starts broadcasting after supper,” replied Gary.  “Why don’t you give him a call around six and talk to him yourself?”  “Great idea,” agreed Robert.  So the boys said goodbye to Gary and started walking down the street.  “Why don’t we go by and pay Freddie a friendly visit?” said Allan.  “Freddie!” exclaimed Lester.  “You mean the guy in our class at Norwood … who’s a little weird, doesn’t participate in sports, and stays by himself all the time?”  “Yeah, I know Freddie acts a little weird sometimes, but he’s really a nice guy and is super smart when it comes to making crystal sets and repairing radios,” said Robert.  Freddie’s parents lived by the lake, which was only two blocks away from Gary’s house.

The boys found Freddie working on a radio in the garage.  “Hello, Freddie, could we talk to you for a few minutes?” asked Allan.  “Sure,” said Freddie as he put down the burned-out tube he was replacing in a radio he was working on.  “What can I do for you?”  Lester had an idea.  “Freddie, could you build a shortwave radio set for us – one that can pick up conversations in our tree Fort?”  “Well, it depends on the distance,” replied Freddie.  “We want to monitor a weird transmission that’s coming from the Cypress Swamp,” said Lester.  “Sure, I could build you a small shortwave radio, but it would have to run on dry- cell batteries if you don’t have electricity to power the set.”  “That would be great!” exclaimed Butch.  “How much do you think it would cost to build for us?” Butch inquired.  Freddie took out a pencil and paper and began to write down some numbers on the pad.  “About $15,” Freddie replied. “Could you help set it up in our tree Fort?” asked Butch.  “I would have to look over the location first and see if you need an antenna to pick up a signal.” Freddie explained.  The boys still had a few dollars left over from the winnings of their Christmas tree contests, and if they all chipped in a few dollars, they would have enough to pay Freddie to make their shortwave set. The boys agreed on the price and asked Freddie how long it would take to make the set.  Freddie said he would call Allan when the set was finished, and they could pay him then.

     After the boys left, Freddie began to cannibalize parts from broken radios he had in his garage.  He found a tube from one radio, a transformer from another, and a few radio dials from an old shortwave set he had made a couple years ago.  It only took him a day to complete the shortwave set.  He called Allan and told him the set was ready, and he would go with him to the tree Fort to hook it up.

(Part One of the novella by George F. Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)

To read the rest of the story, order your copy of A Big Surprise for Easter, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback.  Amazon search: Holiday Favorites by George F. Kohn.

Easter Memories

For many young children, waking up to find a big colored Easter egg basket on the kitchen table (or hidden somewhere) was a delight beyond words! The first thing you did was look for the basket with your name on it. In a large family there were several baskets, designed with a different color for each child. When you found your own personal basket, it was a thing of beauty. The wicker basket came in all different colors and sizes. There was usually a colorful cellophane wrapping that covered all the candy and goodies inside the basket. When the colorful wrapping was torn free from the basket, it exposed the contents inside the basket to praying hands and hungry mouths. The Easter egg basket always reminded me of a giant bird’s nest. The inside of the basket was covered with bright green cellophane that made it look like grass. Inside this green nest was a variety of objects of various sizes; they were hidden underneath and on top of the grass.

On the surface of the basket was usually found a large milk chocolate rabbit, like it was guarding the nest. Next to the rabbit was a smaller yellow marshmallow chicken. Throughout the nest there could be found chocolate Easter eggs wrapped in colorful foil. Surrounding all of these hidden objects throughout the grass were multiple layers of colorful jellybeans that matched every color of the rainbow. Candy corn, gumdrops, orange peanuts, and other delightful treats were discovered wrapped in various colors like a box of chocolates. Multiple colors of hard boiled Easter eggs were also found throughout the basket. All of the contents of the basket were for the child whose name was written on the tag. It usually took about a week for the owner of the basket to consume most of the contents and maybe share some of it with friends.

From a child's point of view, it must be a nightmare to wake up on Easter morning and find no trace of an Easter basket in the house or throughout the community! If you had grown up with this fun tradition, can you imagine your thoughts as a young child if it had failed to happen one year? Imagine your fears and disappointments! How on earth could anyone even think of the idea of stealing an Easter basket from a little child? Well it happened in one neighborhood! And guess who is going to solve the mystery!

(To read the mystery story by George, order A Big Surprise for Easter, a novella published for Kindle e-readers and paperback, available on Amazon.com.

Search: Holiday Favorites by George F. Kohn)

A Dedicated Valentine

Today is Valentine's Day, the day we express our love. 

A day of candy and flowers for that special person, or a prayer for someone we lost above.

Each person is different about expressing just how they feel.

Some people hide their emotions deep inside,

While others let them flow all out, as if it were no big deal.

Somewhere in the world two lovers are sharing a beautiful sunset on that perfect beach.

Tonight there will be someone who has lost a lover from their past, whom they will desperately try to reach.

We all have a Valentine's Day story with a loved one we shared in our life.

For some it was a first date, yet for others it was a husband or a wife.

I have been truly blessed to have a Valentine as wonderful as you.

I thank God every day for your love you have shown me throughout the years.

There is no doubt in my mind that you love me too.

This Valentine's Day is very special. I just want you to know how much I love you, and that you are 

my world and my life.

I know you cannot remember some things, but I hope you will always know that I sincerely love you, 

and I am glad you are my wife . 

    By Mike Kohn 

Dedicated to my loving wife, Linda.

    02/14/14

My Thoughts on Valentine's Day and Its Meaning

Depending on your age, Valentine's Day may be thought of as just another day in your life. However, if you are a young child in elementary school, it just might be the most important day of your life! What makes Valentine's Day so special to a young child is the combination of events that take place on this special day. First, there is the anticipation of waiting to see how many Valentines you will receive from your school classmates! It is very satisfying to each and every student to receive a Valentine from someone that cares about them. Second, it’s the thought that counts, and possibly no other reason weighs more heavily on a child's imagination than the thought of being remembered on a special occasion.

A Valentine’s Day card may represent many different images to a child's feelings. It may help to create a sense of belonging and self-awareness. A card may make each person feel important and special in the eyes of their peers. It may be the first time in their young life that a Valentine’s card represents the feeling of love, companionship, friendship, and their willingness to communicate such to other people without feeling embarrassed by trying to say it in their own words.

There are probably many reasons why Valentine's Day is so special in the life of children in elementary school, but perhaps the most  significant is that Valentine’s cards and gifts share a dream with all ages – a dream that asks the question, “What if?” and then answers it with a comment.

In the story A Valentine Dream, Sharon sends George, one of her special classmates, a birthday card on his 13th birthday. On the card, Sharon writes a little postscript, “Remember, George – the secret of life is in your dreams!” Perhaps Valentine's Day is so special because it represents all of our dreams, whether we are young or old!

(To read the Valentine's story by George, order your copy of A Valentine Dream, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback, available on Amazon.com.
Search: Holiday Favorites by George F. Kohn)

A Valentine Dream, Part 2

In the morning, Sharon woke up from her strange dream.  In a way, she was delighted at being able to observe classmates in their own private sanctuary in the tree Fort.  “I wonder if it’s possible to visit other places in the dream world?” she thought to herself.  “I need to figure out how to remember my dreams. Maybe if I kept a diary of each dream the minute I woke up, I would learn how to remember them.”  Sharon had an old diary book that someone had given her for Christmas, tucked away in the closet.  She opened the diary book and began to write with her new ballpoint pen – the date, time, and a summary of her dream about looking into the tree Fort.

The next day at school, Sharon was excited to tell her best friend Joyce about her new experience with dreaming.  “I’m going to the library to see if I can learn more about dreams,” said Sharon with an excited tone in her voice.  Browsing in the library, Sharon was surprised – there were all kinds of books on dreaming.  Some were about how to learn while you’re dreaming; others explained psychoanalysis of dreams and meanings of dreams.  She checked out three of them and began to read each one at different times of the day.

Each day when Sharon and Joyce met on the playground, Sharon would explain some things she had read in the books.  Joyce was a little concerned about some of the weird stuff Sharon was telling her.  “I don’t know if I would get into all this stuff about dreams and what they mean. It sounds to me like devil worshipping or something to do with evil spirits. And besides, what good will it do for you in real life?”  “I don’t know,” said Sharon, “but I find it interesting to learn about something that I know absolutely nothing about. Don’t you find it interesting?” she asked.  “Have you ever wondered why you have nightmares? It says in one of the books I read that a good way to conquer your fears, especially in a dream, is to confront them.”  “What do you mean?” asked Joyce.  “Well, according to this book, if you’re afraid of water, and have reoccurring dreams about drowning at the beach, you need to confront your dream.”  “How do you do that?” asked Joyce.  “According to the dream book, when you experience such a fearful event in your dream, you simply take control of the dream.”  “And how do you do that?” asked Joyce.  “You confront your fear in the dream world by diving headfirst into the wave. By confronting the fear in your dream, the fear will go away and never bother you again!”  “Wow,” said Joyce, “that is powerful, heavy stuff!”

After further evaluation of the report on Sharon, progress was noted in the spacecraft.  “I believe we’re ready to begin Phase II in the dream interpretation exercise,” said the Star Commander.  We will teach Sharon how to use her dreams to her own advantage, so she will have a grasp on the future,” he said.

Sharon was fast asleep that night, dreaming about a new step in her clogging routine to perform in an upcoming contest.  She could see herself doing the dance steps as if she were looking at a movie screen.  “How strange,” she thought to herself in her dream, “that I can watch myself dancing while I’m asleep.”

The dream suddenly changed, and there was an image before her, dressed in strange clothing.  “Do not be afraid, Sharon. I am your mentor in this particular dream. Together we are going to discover the art of dreaming. I will show you a method to help you remember your dreams; once you perfect this method, you will be able to realize when you are dreaming. First of all, you must be aware that earthlings have not developed these skills to their highest potential, and therefore they are self-limiting in the cognitive realm of higher thinking. It is somewhat of a lost skill that was used many years ago by the ancient disciples of the forethought. These disciples would interpret the meaning of dreams for kings and other important people of power, as a way to guide them through wars and other important matters. You will use your new ability to understand dreams and to interpret the dreams’ true meanings, so that you will have a clearer understanding of the future.”  “What am I to do with this new knowledge?” she asked.  “You will become a mentor to your people as you get older,” said the image before her.  “There are several sequences that you must master before we go much further in this process. Are you ready to learn?”  “I’ll try,” replied Sharon.  “Good; let us begin. The first step is to remember your cue.”  “What is…”  “Do not interrupt; just listen and try to remember. Your cue is to watch your feet while you’re dreaming. The realization that you are watching your feet will be your cue that you are dreaming. Once you have mastered this technique, we will move on to more advanced methods of training. For now, just concentrate on the feet cue. When you realize you are dreaming on cue, you will be ready to advance to the next form of higher learning.”

When Sharon woke up that morning, she went to her diary first thing and began writing what she remembered in her dream.  “Watch my feet. Learn my cue. Remember the results.”  She placed a big star next to the date in the sequence of this dream.  From then on, every night before going to bed, Sharon would remind herself to remember her cue.  She practiced and practiced until she thought she would never be able to accomplish this simple step.  She would dream all sorts of weird things in her dreams, but could not remember or find her cue that she was dreaming.

One night, a dream was different from the others.  Somehow she was performing a dance, and she began to jump higher and higher in the air.  She thought in her dream, “This is impossible – I can’t really jump this high! I must be dreaming,” she thought.  It took several more months of practice before Sharon finally found her cue in her dream.  From then on, she could tell when she was in a dream state.

 “Sir, we’re getting a strong signal from Sharon’s synapse response in her dream state. It appears that she is able to master Phase II, and is aware when she is dreaming.”  “Very good,” barked the star commander.  “Now we will execute the training in Phase III.”

(Part Two of story by George F. Kohn, author of

Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)

To read the rest of the story, order your copy of A Valentine Dream, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback.

A Valentine Dream

Every year, on or before February 14^th, the school had a special party for each class.  This special day, called Valentine’s Day, was a time to express kind feelings to other students in the classroom, the teacher, and the student body in the school.  It was a time when young people acknowledged anyone they especially cared about.

At Norwood Elementary School, for this special day of the year in the classroom, there was much preparation by the students, their homeroom mother, and members of the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association.)  One of the first projects was the making of a Valentine box for each classroom.  The box was usually plain old cardboard, about the size of a student desktop.  The homeroom teacher usually asked for a volunteer to make the box, or it became the responsibility of the homeroom mother.  The box was usually decorated with crêpe paper of different shades of colors in red and white.  The creative ability of the person or persons decorating the Valentine box typically determined how much time and effort went into making the best one in the school.  The box was usually decorated with various sizes of Valentines made by individual students.  Some of the children were very creative in making their Valentines with fringes and layers of other Valentines on top of each other.  Creative, cutout shapes of decorations were placed all over the Valentine box.

There was usually a contest held for the best Valentine box in the school.  Each class was allowed to visit other classrooms, and vote on their favorite box.  The boxes were full of students’ Valentine cards with their classmates’ names written on them.  Most students also signed their own name on the Valentines they put in the box, but sometimes they wanted to remain anonymous and make the person guess who the card was from.  At the end of the day, the Valentine box in each class was opened, and the Valentines were passed out to the recipients.  Usually the most popular boy or girl in each classroom received the most Valentines.  However, the homeroom teacher would make certain that each student in the class received two or more Valentines. 

The homeroom mother usually furnished cake, ice cream, and Valentine candy for the class party.  It was a happy time for students to enjoy the food and express their feelings toward one another.  It was not uncommon for a birthday party to be announced by some member in the classroom.  The party was usually held at their home, and the whole procedure was repeated all over again for that special person.

One of those special occasions was planned for Sharon’s birthday.  Sharon was a patrol girl and one of the most popular girls in the school.  She was one of those typical tomboy girls who excelled in sports, acrobatics, and just about anything she participated in.  Not only was Sharon very pretty, but she had a charming personality and positive attitude.  Sharon had multiple talents in the academic world, and she seemed to catch on to everything very quickly.  But there was one thing about Sharon that she kept a secret from most people.  She was very competitive and could not stand to lose at anything.  Sharon took great delight in outrunning boys in a foot race, beating them at their own skill games, and just plain being smarter than boys in the classroom.  Her athletic body gave her the ability to walk on her hands, do back-bend, one-handed cart wheels, and even do the splits!  If that weren’t talent enough, she was the best jacks player in school and one of the best marble shooters.  It was almost impossible to beat her in double-Dutch jump roping, dodge ball, 7-up, or hopscotch.  The boys all liked Sharon very much, mainly because they didn’t want to compete with her at anything.  

So it was probably a given that most of Sharon’s classmates would come to her birthday party.  The party was going to be held at Sharon’s house located on a horse ranch on the outskirts of town.  It was customary to bring a small present or gift to the birthday person.  Lester, Butch, Robert, Allan, and Ronald were all being driven to the party by Mrs. Strawn, and were all bearing gifts.  Letting the boys out at the front gate, she told her son Robert to call when they were ready to be picked up.  Sharon greeted them at the door, and invited them in.  

The party was held in the living room in front of a gigantic fireplace.  On top of the fireplace mantle was an assortment of trophies, medals, and ribbons.  Most of the trophies were for barrel racing and clogging contests.  There were also several medals for academic achievement in science and math.  After Butch had read the information on the trophies, he asked Sharon, “What’s clogging?”  Sharon blushed as she answered, “Clogging is a form of folk dancing.”  Within the next few minutes, Judy, Marlene, Linda, and Joyce had arrived, along with George and Bruce.  Mary and Diane arrived just as the party was getting ready to start.  The chocolate birthday cake was cut and served with ice cream topped with whipped cream.  Everyone played short games of spin the bottle, seven minutes in heaven, and post office.

When all of the formalities and games were over, it was time for Sharon to open her birthday presents.  Her mother and father gave her a new English riding saddle for her favorite horse, Shania.  George had taken a few pictures of her riding on her barrel horse at the county fair.  Once, Sharon had shared a secret with Judy on the playground that she was very fond of George.  One time when they were watching the boys playing a game of scrub softball, George hit a home run!  “He’s the one for me,” Sharon said with a big smile on her face and a gleam in her eye.”  George was one of the best athletes in the school, and like Sharon, he was very competitive at everything.

When Sharon opened George’s present, it was a beautiful white silk scarf!  Printed on it was a big red rose tree with dozens of roses.  The card read, “The Rose of Sharon.”  That happened to be the name of the particular rose tree painted on the silk scarf.  From then on, Sharon and George were seen together almost everywhere.  

The last present opened was from Butch.  He thought to himself, “I hope Sharon likes my present. I think she is the prettiest girl in the school, and she’s too good for George.”  Butch’s mind wandered on, “George brags about everything he does, and is so popular, you would think he’d give some of us other guys a chance to be popular with the girls.”  When Sharon opened the present from Butch, her eyes lit up, opening wide with excitement!  She held the necklace up for everyone to see.  It was a silver necklace with a gold medallion hanging from the chain.  Lester turned to Robert and said, “That’s the necklace …”  “I know,” said Robert, “and so do all the other guys in the club.”  “Oh, Butch,” Sharon said.  “It’s absolutely beautiful!”  Sharon then went over and kissed Butch on the cheek.

That night, almost everybody in the tree Fort club thought about that necklace.  Butch had told Lester that the necklace gave off tiny vibrations on his neck and gave him strange dreams at night.  “I don’t know if I would have given that necklace away,” said Lester.  “Why not?” asked Butch.  “I hardly ever wear it.”  The boys discussed the necklace, and many felt that Butch was smitten by Sharon, and he would do anything to get on her good side.  The boys were right – Sharon and Butch became close friends.  Almost every day after school, they would do their homework together in the school library until Sharon’s mother came to pick her up in their candy-red Cadillac.  Several times, Butch was seen carrying Sharon’s books to the car for her.  Sharon loved the necklace so much that she wouldn’t take it off.  She told Joyce that she even slept with the necklace around her neck at night.

About a month later when Sharon was talking to Judy, the subject of the necklace came up.  Sharon said, “I love the necklace very much, but sometimes it gives off vibrations that keep me awake at night.”  Judy asked,” What do you mean?”  “Oh, nothing,” said Sharon.  “It’s just that sometimes I have really strange dreams at night,” she went on.  Sure enough, that night, Sharon went to sleep as usual and began to dream.  She saw herself floating in the air, looking inside the tree Fort.  She could see and hear the boys talking about her birthday party.

Meanwhile, an alien spacecraft circled the Earth.  “Sir,” reported the CQ on duty for the night, “we have just received a signal from the tracking device on Earth.”  “Is everything going as planned, Officer?” asked the Star Commander.  “The signal is working loud and clear, but we do have a problem, Sir.”  “What kind of problem?”  “Well Sir, the tracking device is transmitting strong signals, but they are coming from a different location, and from a different gender than before.”  “You mean we’re getting a signal from a female specimen?” he asked.  “It appears so, Sir.”  “See if you can trace the signal and find the location of the person who is in possession of the necklace. When you have that information, I want a detailed report on my desk about her, the location, and how she got possession of the necklace. And CQ, make that pronto!”

The Star Commander was at his desk, reading the details of the report.  “Name: Sharon.  Gender: Female.  Location: Horse farm.  Education: Sixth-grade honor student at Norwood Elementary School.  History: A superb species of the female race.  Age: 12 years on Earth.  Characteristics: Unusual athletic abilities, above-average cognitive skills, advanced recall memory, and high IQ.  Conclusion: Great candidate for tracking and analyzing brain synapse used in decoding messages.  Recommendations: Based on intelligence gathered, it is the opinion of the committee that we continue constant monitoring of this earthling, and measure susceptibility to subliminal training in her dreams.”  The Star Commander pushed the intercom button.  “CQ, I want an immediate chronological study on everything that this young woman does. I want to know where she goes, whom she sees, and everything about her friends. In short, I want her monitored every second! Is that understood?”  “Yes Sir,” agreed the CQ.  “How long would you like this surveillance to continue, Sir?”  “Until I tell you to stop!”

(Part One of story by George F. Kohn, author of

Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)