Grandma Lu's Computer Said 'No Signal'

 Grandma Lu was so happy. Marleewood was full of so many of her friends. And children! She looked all around the Sitting Room and knew every smiling face. The little ones were scrubbed clean. Some had teeth missing since the last time she saw them, some were brand new babies and some were old friends. Marleewood was home to Grandma Lu. It was comfortable for the most part. In the past there had been mysteries to solve, cats that had made her allergies to go through the roof, but mostly a place of friends, safety, but most of all laughter. Well and snacks of course. Oh she could remember so many holidays she had spent in this old place. Her mind started to wander a bit and she thought, "I wonder if they would like another story today. A story when I was about seven years old. It was going to be Mother's Day in two days. The teacher, Mrs. Hanson, had us make our mothers a gift; a homemade gift with a surprise inside. I can remember how excited I was. I could hardly wait until Sunday to give my mom her surprise."

The children and some of the grownups were still laughing about the baby mice crawling up inside Grandma Lu's little brother's overalls. When she asked them if they had time for another story they all said yes because it was still raining outside. They had been cooped up for some time and were ready to visit with each other and to listen to another one of Grandma Lu's stories.

"Okay, I have kept something for over seventy years in my old trunk. I will go into the Quiet Room to get it and be right back. When she walked in the Quiet Room she glanced at her computer. It said, No Signal. "Hmm, I wonder what's wrong with the computer. She didn't bother to look and got into her trunk. Wonder of wonder's it was pretty much on the top of a lot of photos she had saved. As she walked out the door the computer still said, No Signal. "I'm going to have to investigate that after the folks leave. I have to have internet in order to order things from Amazon and look things up on Google. She giggled to herself, "Not like the old days, Old Woman, that's for sure. In those days it was Penny's on special occasions and dictionaries and encyclopedias at the library or at school to look things up. We learned how to spell words and what they meant. My mother was a stickler about that. Oh the hours I spent writing down definitions of words. I wasn't a fan of that, but I sure learned how to spell words that I wouldn't have otherwise. Yes, she was a smart lady, that's for sure."

As Grandma Lu settled herself in her old rocking chair the children wanted to know what took her so long. She said, "Well, the computer isn't working. I will have to investigate after while to see what's wrong with it. Jaxson said, "What's investigate mean?"

Grandma Lu grinned at him and said, "Well, I just know because a long long time ago I learned that word in school. It means to study or examine something to find the answer. Sometimes I just say, 'figure it out'." Jaxson said, "Did the teacher teach you that word?" Grandma Lu said, "Just a minute, Jaxson. I will go get a dictionary and show you how I learned words; what they meant and how they were spelled and how to say them correctly when I was just a year older than you are."

When she came out carrying a five pound dictionary the children couldn't believe that that book was full of words. Even little Maddox looked surprised.

Nala had been hiding in the grass outside of Marleewood. She had seen all the action with Felix and the fire department and the two ladies that looked alike. Then she saw  Chief Marlee give the dog catcher the order to take him to the pound. She had watched Felix before and wondered how he kept getting away with his mischief. She knew better than to go into Marleewood because Grandma Lu always seemed to sneeze when cats were around. She was glad that her human didn't sneeze around her. She liked it there. She could be goofy and fun and nobody sent her to the pound! Well maybe it was because she had beautiful blue eyes that her human just couldn't resist. "Meow"

She did wonder if Felix was going to get bailed out though. "When will that cat ever learn?"