Zeke Barked And Barked!

 In the back of the Sitting Room everyone could hear Whitlee Jo say over and over "Marnee, Marnee, Marnee. He'p! Marnee Marnee He'p!" No one could figure out what she was trying to say except Marlee. Marlee said, "Whitlee wants to know if Marlee Ada got help because she was going to fall in the well. Remember? She was trying to get water up out of the well with a bucket and it was too heavy. She wanted to take a soak in an old tub like her ma used to do. I hope she didn't fall in."

Grandma Lu's face was very serious. "Yes, Marlee, that's exactly right. She was too little to bring up a heavy bucket of water, wasn't she? She was holding on to the rope as tight as she could but she could feel herself slipping. She was so scared she wasn't thinking right. She should have let go of the rope, shouldn't she?"

Marlee Ada's pa was out in the fields and so were her brothers, but Zeke was there wasn't he? Zeke knew immediately that Marlee Ada was in trouble and started barking his head off. He ran to the house and jumped up to the window and barked and barked, but no one was there. 

When no one came to the door he ran as fast as he could to the well and barked some more. His loud barking had gotten the attention of the neighbor children. They were on their way and so was Marlee Ada's pa and brothers.  They decided that something was wrong over at the Banister's so they ran through the fields to see if they could help.

When Marlee Ada's pa drove the team of horses into the yard he jumped down and ran as fast as he could to the well. He grabbed Marlee Ada and hugged her as tight as he could. He was so happy she didn't fall into the well. And Zeke got all kinds of hugs too because if it wasn't for Zeke's barking Marlee Ada might have gotten hurt really bad, wouldn't she?"

"When they got to the house Pa had a lot of questions like why was she trying to get water out of the well. After Marlee Ada told him about her ma taking a soak in an old tub he closed his eyes and said to himself, "Oh, how I miss you, Catherine. Our girl needs a ma. I sent for a woman that can hopefully care for our young ones and keep them safe. Hopefully she will  arrive soon. It has been months and it soon will be winter."

Nell Had To Jump Into The River

 "Great!" said Grandma Lu. "Can you tell us where I left off?" "Yes, Marlee said, I think Nell was about to jump in the dirty water and Marlee Ada was going to fall in the well." Grandma Lu grinned when most folks agreed with Marlee. "I think that about sums it up. I can't believe you remembered where I was; it's been several weeks now." 

"So Nell was scared to death, she was cold and wet. The river had big waves called rapids from the rain and the wind. Does anyone know what rapids are? Well they are often in the deepest part of the river and that causes the water to go really fast over and around the rocks. When the water splashes it gets air in the water and makes it looks kind of white. It is scary looking.  And guess what? Nell didn't know how to swim. She had no choice but to jump into the river. But just as she was going to let go of the wagon and jump into the cold muddy water, a horse and a man came swimming towards her. The man yelled, "Try to jump onto the horse's back! Wrap your hands tight in the horse's mane and sit as still as you can. I'll try and catch up with you."

"Oh she was so scared, but she knew she had to do it, so she jumped! And guess what? She landed on the horse and the man helped her to the shore. But as the horse and the man helped her to the shore she saw her friend and her wagon crashing down the cold muddy river. She could no longer see her, but she hoped against hope that she would soon be safe."

"The men and women that were already on shore rushed to help her wrapping her with blankets to help keep away the cold. They had made a circle of wagons that had been saved. The men had made small fires out of wood that would burn. So much of the wood was too wet to burn because of the terrible rain. Nell felt like she was in a dream; a bad dream."

"She automatically reached inside her now wet and muddy coat. She found it. The picture of her mother. She could barely make out her mother's face. She took the picture and sat as close to the fire as she could so the picture would dry. It was all that she had left of her mother. The sewing machine was gone, the quilts and all of the food and clean water were gone. She felt so alone and lost. Her tears dropped slowly onto the picture she held adding to her loneliness one tear at a time."

A Stetson Hat Made Grandma Lu Feel Better

 Grandma Lu had to do her exercises of course, but she also had to do other things to make herself feel better. She had to look better. She looked in the mirror one morning and saw an old woman wearing a sling. Her hair looked terrible, not a place on her face that didn't look old and wrinkled. "The bloom has left the rose," she sighed. I always used to look nice. I wore nice clothes no matter if I only was going to the grocery store. Now look at me. Okay, today is a new day. I'm going to put on some pretty clothes and see if I can't find a nice hat to wear. I believe I'm going to go to Marleewood today. I can see it from my front door. People have decorated it so pretty. Just look at that."

As Grandma Lu was going through her hat boxes she found her old Stetson cowboy hat. "Oh those were the fun days." She turned it around and around in her hands and there was a County Liners pin she had put there over forty years ago. "I am going to wear this to Marleewood. Hopefully some children will be there. I think I am ready to finish telling the story of Nell and the wagon train. Maybe Grandma B will be there. I know Marlee wants to hear the end of the story."

Grandma Lu asked her husband to give her a ride to Marleewood. Even though it was close, she had to be careful not to hurt her arm. As she was walking down the sidewalk she could see the children at the door. "Oh, how I have missed my time here. I just can't wait to see everyone." She waved at them and grinned. This was like going home after a long long time.

There was much giggling and pointing as Grandma Lu came in the door. The children had never seen her wear her Stetson before. Marlee said, "Grandma Lu you look funny in that hat. You aren't a cowgirl. Where did you get that hat?"

Grandma Lu grinned as she made her way to the Sitting Room. "Well, do you want the story of the hat or of Nell going to Iowa with the wagon train?"

Grandma B came into the Sitting Room with a cup of coffee and grinned and said, "Oh, I remember that hat. I think most folks around here remember that hat and the County Liners. Good music and good fun. Those were the days. You sure did love to dance, didn't you? You and Carole used to go listen to Bill all the time. My friends and I still do when we can."

"Okay, enough about my hat, now who wants to hear the rest of the story about Nell and the wagon train and Marlee Ada waiting for a new ma?"

People had started to come in with their drinks and snacks and the room got quiet while Grandma Lu cleared her throat, tilted her head to one side and said, "It seems to me that Nell and Marlee Ada were both in trouble. Does anyone remember ?" Hands went up and heads nodded. Marlee was grinning and said, "I know!"
 

Grandma Lu Was Feeling Sorry For Herself

 Grandma Lu was fussing and fuming. Things just weren't going the way to suit her. She had fallen and broken her arm. Yes, it was her left arm, but you do use both arms all the time. It had been five weeks and things were better, but not back to normal. She was able to do some simple things. She could get herself ready for the day in the mornings. She could do some dusting and simple housework, but her husband had to do the majority of it and she just didn't like it. She couldn't work, she couldn't drive, and she couldn't write stories any more. She couldn't even put her hat on by herself. Yes, she was feeling a bit sorry for herself. 

Then one day she was looking on her tablet and saw a picture of a little boy that she knew; It was Jackson. "Mercy, look at that. He broke his little arm and he's smiling! Oh my goodness, he is smiling even though it's his birthday. Hmm.."

Grandma Lu got up and went out to the kitchen to see what there was for a snack. It seemed that since she was home all the time she was doing a lot of snacking. "Well, it's okay to snack. I have a broken arm after all," she thought as she went back to her favorite chair and munched away with her favorite chips and soft drink.

Grandma Lu's phone rang and noticed the caller ID was her daughter. "Well, I'll get some sympathy now. She will understand. I'm her mother after all." When she answered it she heard a story that made her sad. Her grandson had fallen off his mountain bike and perhaps had broken his elbow. He had to wear a sling too. It was not good news. Her daughter said, "Mom, look at your pictures. I sent you one." So of course, she did. There was a picture alright, but her grandson was smiling. Not just a smile but a big smile even though he was wearing a sling. Her daughter was going to take him to the doctor to make sure it was indeed broken. 

The next day she heard a little bell ringing on her tablet. There in her pictures folder was her dear grandson in a blue cast. He was still smiling.

While she was looking at her grandson's picture another one popped up. It was Joshua. He had decided to jump on his mama's bed for some fun and cut his head. He had to go to the hospital to have five staples, but he was smiling too!

"Well land sakes, am I the only one that's not smiling? Well, we will just see who's smiling around here. After all I am older than those boys. I should be setting a good example for them, but it looks like they are setting a good example for me."

As Grandma Lu sat in her rocking chair she thought, "I wonder if I can make a new recipe that I saw on the computer. It looked really good. I think I just might try it. It would take both arms to make. Stuffed large shells sound wonderful. I'm going to see if I have all the things to make it. This will be good exercise for my arm. She looked in her refrigerator and found all the ingredients that her new recipe called for. "Okay, here goes," she mumbled as she started supper for her husband for the first time since her fall.

Well Grandma Lu broke some shells, spilled some salsa, and generally made a big mess, but all she needed help with was putting it in and taking it out of the oven. Her doctor had told her not to lift anything. Her husband helped her and said supper was delicious and wanted leftovers the next day. Oh how happy that made her feel. "I feel so much better about myself. I think I might be able to write a story again. I am going to do more exercises and quit feeling so sorry for myself. I have to be very careful though so I don't hurt my arm again.  I think I will call Grandma B and tell her about my good supper."

 The doctor had given her new exercises that he said would make her arm get better faster. Ouch they hurt, but she knew she had to do them to get better. She had things to do! She wanted to go to Marleewood and see the children and her friends. She had stories to write but she couldn't reach the keyboard yet. "Err, I have to get this arm better even if it hurts. If Jackson, and Sam can smile even though they have broken bones and Joshua was smiling even though he had to have a bad cut stapled shut, well then so can I."

Marlee Gets Mail!

Marleewood had been pretty quiet since Grandma Lu had fallen and broken her arm. People still came in to visit and have a snack though. Some folks had brought fall decorations to make the outside look nice. Marlee and Grandma B were in the back kitchen one day and Marlee said, Grandma, how is Grandma Lu's arm? Did you give her the card I made her and the Band-aids? She should be all better by now." Grandma B chuckled and said, "Yes, I gave her the card and the Band-aids. It will take a while longer. How about if you send her a kiss? I'll take your picture and send it to her."

Marlee giggled and said, "Okay, this will make her better then we can go to lunch with JoAnn and Grandma Lu again. When do you think that she can write some more stories? I can't hardly remember that last story. Oh wait, now I do. I think Marlee Ada was going to fall in the well and Nell was going to fall off the raft into the river. Wow, that was exciting. How soon will she write another story? It's getting cold outside, I like it when you read me those stories. Or better yet, when can she come back to Marleewood?"

Grandma B said, "Well, I talked to her this morning and she said that she is doing exercises and that she should be able to type on the computer pretty soon. It will be fun to read them again, won't it? You have so much to tell her too. You have been on vacation with your mama and daddy. You can show her some pictures when we get together again. Why don't we get in the Ranger and go get the mail. It's a beautiful day out today."

When Grandma B pulled out the mail she smiled a really big smile. "Oh, Marlee, look. You have some mail. It's from Grandma Lu. Let's see what she has to say. She wrote you a short letter. I'll read it to you. Oh she said thank you for the Band-aids. She says her arm is getting better and she thinks pretty soon she can go out for lunch again. That will be such fun won't it? Ok, let's go back to the house and you can read it some more."

When they got back to the house, Grandma B said, "Oh, the phone is ringing. Just a minute let me see who it is. "Well, hi, Grandma Lu. Oh that's wonderful. Really? Oh Marlee will be so happy. No I won't tell her yet. Let your arm get a little better. We just can't wait. Look in your pictures. Marlee sent you a picture. Okay, my dear. Talk to you later. I'll be watching.....