Chester the chipmunk was tired of being down in his burrow. See, just last month Chester had gotten brave and ventured out past the bushes and had been seen by a human, and chased by a dog!
Chester stretched, and yawned, and wondered. "Should I go out again? What if the dog or that child is still up there?" He held very still and listened. All Chester could hear was a clicking sound.
Click, click, and click. It was a steady sound, but still one he had never heard before. Chester was curious. What do you think Chester did? Yep, he slowly climbed his way out of the hole.
As he came to the top, he could see it was a cold day by the frost on the leaves blown up by the old oak tree. "Brrrrrr" he thought, as he backed down just enough so his nose and little black eyes could still see out, but his little body was still in the warm ground.
Chester's ears were searching for the sound. Then he heard it. Click, click, and click. It was coming from the other side of the bushes. "This time I will wait before I run out there again." he thought.
Good thing he waited, as soon, he saw boots. They were worn by a man who was making the clicking sound. Chester's eyes grew bigger as he watched the man hang something over the bushes.
It was green, like the bushes, but had little light bulbs on it. Chester watched as the man finished, and then walked away. Where was he going? What was this new green thing? Chester was curious.
He crept out of his hiding place and ran under the bush. It was safe there, and he could watch and see what was happening. The man was placing more of these green things on each bush, and now he was hanging them up in the trees.
Chester stayed under the bush all afternoon watching as the man worked in his yard. Then he heard it, the barking. When Chester turned his neck as far to the right as he could without turning around he could see the dog was on the front porch of the humans' home. This time the dog wasn't chasing him! He was barking at something else!
Chester watched as a big yellow bus pulled up in front of the house, and a boy and a girl got off. Before the children had a chance to talk to the man, the dog had bounded over to them, jumping and licking their faces.
Chester could hear something about school being out. "What is school?" Chester thought. The children appeared happy, so Chester was happy for them. Then he heard something about holidays. "What is a holiday?" he said to himself. Chester was curious. Chester watched as the children went inside the house and the man continued his work.
Chester must have gotten very comfortable there under the bush, as the next thing he knew, it was getting dark outside. Chester had never been outside in the night before.
The human family was inside the house; he could see them by the light coming through the windows. Chester wondered what they were doing. It looked like they had a tree inside their house! They did! "Why do they have a tree in their house?" he wondered.
Then the most beautiful thing happened! The tree in the house lit up, there were so many colors! He had never seen anything like that before! Chester's eyes widened to take it all in. "Wow!" was all that came out of Chester's little round mouth.
Then, just as quickly the lights came on outside! Chester looked up toward where the moon usually was, yes, it was still there! The chipmunk then realized that the bushes and trees, and even the humans' house were all glowing! "Oh!" he exclaimed as he saw that even the bush he was under was all different colors.
Chester was scared, but excited all at the same time. He ran around his little hideaway under the bush in little circles trying to figure out if he should stay and look, or go back home.
Instinct told him to go home, so he quickly darted back to his home under the oak tree. Once; down deep under ground, Chester circled his bed one, two, three times before he drifted off to sleep dreaming about all he had seen that day.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Clarksville's Chester the Chipmunk
When I was kid, I read everything I could get my hands on. The librarian knew me by name, and eventually let me in on helping her order books! Awesome! Once, I got to go to a book fair with her in Nashville to order some upcoming books! Oh that was a true treat! So, my dream to become a published author began.
It lay dormant for several years. I published some poems my senior year in a poetry book, but nothing since. I've got jounals with all sorts of partial ideas. I refer back to them, one day I hope to compile them into a book of sorts. Or maybe several books!
Last year I was graciously given the opportunity to write short stories for a local magazine, The Clarksville Family. This is where Chester began. I've been asked to post my Chester stories on here also, so folks out of town can read them. Thank you!
Okay here goes! :
Chester Takes A Chance
Chester the chipmunk was in a hurry. The weather was turning cooler and the leaves were falling which meant it was time to gather all the nuts and seeds he could find. The winter months weren't far away and he needed to have a good supply.
Chester was having a good morning. He had found lots of acorns. As he stuffed each nut into his cheeks they got bigger and bigger. When he couldn't hold another one he scurried over to his secret tunnel under the old oak tree.
Chester made his home deep underground. Using his paws he pushed his acorns out into a nest of leaves. Covering them up he scampered back out to look for more. He discovered some seeds and a few berries on the bushes near the edge of the forest. It didn't take him long to gather all the fruit from the inside.
He knew if he wanted more he would have to go to the other side of the bushes. The problem was that they were out in the open which meant he would risk being seen.
"Maybe if I was real quick I could get those big juicy ones." Chester said as he stuffed his latest goodies into his nest. Then he remembered his mother warning him to not go outside the safety of the forest.
Making his way back toward the bushes, Chester argued with himself. "Should I, or shouldn't I?" he thought.
Slowly he crept between the bushes. He sat very still. He saw a dog and a boy playing with a ball not to far away. Even closer he saw a few birds picking some berries for themselves.
If they weren't scared, then he wasn't either! First he stuck his nose out, whiskers twitching; then every so slowly he eased his little body out in front of the bush. The birds kept eating berries and the boy and dog didn't even see him.
Chester happily scampered about selecting the biggest and juiciest berries he saw. Every so often he would look over his shoulder to see if anyone was paying attention.
Soon his tummy and his cheeks were getting full. He should head back. But there it was... the biggest blackberry he had ever seen. He wondered how he had missed it before. It was on the bush closest to the boy and dog.
With his ears laid back, Chester ran as fast as he could toward the bush. Quick as a wink, he grabbed that blackberry, stuffed it in his cheeks and was heading back when he heard the barking. The dog must have seen him.
Chester didn't dare turn around he just ran and ran. He didn't stop as he dove down into his hole under the oak tree. As he emptied out his cheeks he could hear the dog barking near the tip of his hole.
A small amount of dirt slid down the inside of his hole. The dog was trying to dig down into his house. Chester crawled deep down into his nest of leaves and hid. He was glad his tunnels went deep into the earth. He would be safe, but he was still scared.
He listened to the dog until he heard a child's voice. After what seemed like forever, it was quiet again. Chester decided he had enough nuts and berries to last him all winter. He had learned his lesson. He would stay in his hole for awhile. Or.... would he?
It lay dormant for several years. I published some poems my senior year in a poetry book, but nothing since. I've got jounals with all sorts of partial ideas. I refer back to them, one day I hope to compile them into a book of sorts. Or maybe several books!
Last year I was graciously given the opportunity to write short stories for a local magazine, The Clarksville Family. This is where Chester began. I've been asked to post my Chester stories on here also, so folks out of town can read them. Thank you!
Okay here goes! :
Chester Takes A Chance
Chester the chipmunk was in a hurry. The weather was turning cooler and the leaves were falling which meant it was time to gather all the nuts and seeds he could find. The winter months weren't far away and he needed to have a good supply.
Chester was having a good morning. He had found lots of acorns. As he stuffed each nut into his cheeks they got bigger and bigger. When he couldn't hold another one he scurried over to his secret tunnel under the old oak tree.
Chester made his home deep underground. Using his paws he pushed his acorns out into a nest of leaves. Covering them up he scampered back out to look for more. He discovered some seeds and a few berries on the bushes near the edge of the forest. It didn't take him long to gather all the fruit from the inside.
He knew if he wanted more he would have to go to the other side of the bushes. The problem was that they were out in the open which meant he would risk being seen.
"Maybe if I was real quick I could get those big juicy ones." Chester said as he stuffed his latest goodies into his nest. Then he remembered his mother warning him to not go outside the safety of the forest.
Making his way back toward the bushes, Chester argued with himself. "Should I, or shouldn't I?" he thought.
Slowly he crept between the bushes. He sat very still. He saw a dog and a boy playing with a ball not to far away. Even closer he saw a few birds picking some berries for themselves.
If they weren't scared, then he wasn't either! First he stuck his nose out, whiskers twitching; then every so slowly he eased his little body out in front of the bush. The birds kept eating berries and the boy and dog didn't even see him.
Chester happily scampered about selecting the biggest and juiciest berries he saw. Every so often he would look over his shoulder to see if anyone was paying attention.
Soon his tummy and his cheeks were getting full. He should head back. But there it was... the biggest blackberry he had ever seen. He wondered how he had missed it before. It was on the bush closest to the boy and dog.
With his ears laid back, Chester ran as fast as he could toward the bush. Quick as a wink, he grabbed that blackberry, stuffed it in his cheeks and was heading back when he heard the barking. The dog must have seen him.
Chester didn't dare turn around he just ran and ran. He didn't stop as he dove down into his hole under the oak tree. As he emptied out his cheeks he could hear the dog barking near the tip of his hole.
A small amount of dirt slid down the inside of his hole. The dog was trying to dig down into his house. Chester crawled deep down into his nest of leaves and hid. He was glad his tunnels went deep into the earth. He would be safe, but he was still scared.
He listened to the dog until he heard a child's voice. After what seemed like forever, it was quiet again. Chester decided he had enough nuts and berries to last him all winter. He had learned his lesson. He would stay in his hole for awhile. Or.... would he?
Etiquette Training at the Symphony
In the life of our boys, they never know when their mother will spring some sort of "grown up/learning experience" upon them.
Since our oldest son is 11 and our youngest 9, I figured they were old enough to behave themselves at a two hour music program put on by our local university. So, last night.. off we went.
We had to be there at 6:30 so that we could attend the discussion before the presentation. Which meant, hurry up with the homework, choke down your dinner, and lets go! You aren't wearing that are you? Uhuh. Some battles are not worth it. Besides, it was a community event and there were lots of college students in jeans who behaved worse than anything the boys dreamed up. I was able to overhear one highschool/college kid saying to a professor about not dressing as he should, " I was born in the 80's, our generation is more laid back." Which then lead into another discussion I wasn't privy to, besides that my sweetie was beside me snorting about the kid born in the 80's! ha!
The Gateway Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Gregory Wolynec, performed Mozart's "Gran Partita" serenade was played in full. Which means all seven movements were played over a 45 minute time frame. We were also treated to Serenade in Eb, Op.7 by Richard Strauss.
Oh it was beautiful! There were obo's, clarinets, horns, bassoons, flutes, basically it was a wind instrument event.
First order of business was to explain the "etiquette" of such an event. When to clap, when to be still, (stop laughing!), when one was allowed to move about the auditorium. Just because I'm anal.. I explained no loud talking, whisteling..ect.
With those rules swirling around their little heads, I ended with, "Remember enjoy yourself!"
Wow. Only a Mom!
Overall they were awesome. Our oldest is really into music, so he enjoyed himself. Our youngest? He shifted, asked why they didn't play something faster...(I believe he takes after his father). Oh yes! He fell asleep. He lasted through the Strauss piece, and the discussion, but not the Mozart piece.
Since we got in around 9:20 I popped in a classical music CD for them to listen to as they drifted off into dreamland. I truly hope exposing these type of environments to the kids will help mold them into well rounded leaders in the future.
Born in the 80's! Ha! Our boys were born in the late 90's and they had better be dressed the way they are supposed to for such an event!
Since our oldest son is 11 and our youngest 9, I figured they were old enough to behave themselves at a two hour music program put on by our local university. So, last night.. off we went.
We had to be there at 6:30 so that we could attend the discussion before the presentation. Which meant, hurry up with the homework, choke down your dinner, and lets go! You aren't wearing that are you? Uhuh. Some battles are not worth it. Besides, it was a community event and there were lots of college students in jeans who behaved worse than anything the boys dreamed up. I was able to overhear one highschool/college kid saying to a professor about not dressing as he should, " I was born in the 80's, our generation is more laid back." Which then lead into another discussion I wasn't privy to, besides that my sweetie was beside me snorting about the kid born in the 80's! ha!
The Gateway Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Gregory Wolynec, performed Mozart's "Gran Partita" serenade was played in full. Which means all seven movements were played over a 45 minute time frame. We were also treated to Serenade in Eb, Op.7 by Richard Strauss.
Oh it was beautiful! There were obo's, clarinets, horns, bassoons, flutes, basically it was a wind instrument event.
First order of business was to explain the "etiquette" of such an event. When to clap, when to be still, (stop laughing!), when one was allowed to move about the auditorium. Just because I'm anal.. I explained no loud talking, whisteling..ect.
With those rules swirling around their little heads, I ended with, "Remember enjoy yourself!"
Wow. Only a Mom!
Overall they were awesome. Our oldest is really into music, so he enjoyed himself. Our youngest? He shifted, asked why they didn't play something faster...(I believe he takes after his father). Oh yes! He fell asleep. He lasted through the Strauss piece, and the discussion, but not the Mozart piece.
Since we got in around 9:20 I popped in a classical music CD for them to listen to as they drifted off into dreamland. I truly hope exposing these type of environments to the kids will help mold them into well rounded leaders in the future.
Born in the 80's! Ha! Our boys were born in the late 90's and they had better be dressed the way they are supposed to for such an event!
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