Login
|
Join PoetrySoup
Home
Submit Poems
Login
Sign Up
Member Home
My Poems
My Quotes
My Profile & Settings
My Inboxes
My Outboxes
Soup Mail
Contest Results/Status
Contests
Poems
Poets
Famous Poems
Famous Poets
Dictionary
Types of Poems
Quotes
Short Stories
Articles
Forum
Blogs
Poem of the Day
New Poems
Resources
Syllable Counter
Anthology
Grammar Check
Greeting Card Maker
Classifieds
Member Area
Member Home
My Profile and Settings
My Poems
My Quotes
My Short Stories
My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder
Soup Social
Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us
Member Poems
Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Random
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread
Member Poets
Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest
Famous Poems
Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100
Famous Poets
Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War
Poetry Resources
Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter
Email Poem
Your IP Address: 18.118.0.240
Your Email Address:
Required
Email Address Not Valid.
To Email Address:
Email Address Not Valid.
Required
Subject
Required
Personal Note:
Poem Title:
Poem
This is the 1st Half - sorry, this is the only way to get my long pieces posted - 2nd HALF is posted Times were hard when I was young, and - tryin’ to help with bills - when I turned twelve I made a vow to find some part time work. Turned out Mr. Wilkenson had just put out the word that - startin’ June - the Whippy-Dip would need a soda jerk, But I was thinkin’ more along the lines o’ lookin’ into an opening I’d heard about at Leroy’s 66. Havin’ helped my daddy in his shop fer a couple years, weren’t that many simple things on cars I couldn’t fix! Knowin’ I was lookin’ - when the rumor got to Dad - thinkin’ I was qualified, he called about the job. Leroy told my father he'd ‘ve given me a try, but - just a couple days before - he’d hired his nephew, Bob. Weren’t no other jobs around. The Whippy-Dip was it. But I was tickled pink when Mr. Wilkenson said, “Son… All you had to do was tell me who your daddy is. Ain’t no finer man I know than good ol’ Gitter Dunn! “Gitter’s been there many times to help the folks ‘round here make it through the toughest times that some of them have faced. Like me, the folks whose lives he’s touched will argue fairly hard your dad’s the sort that - when he’s gone - can never be replaced! “Close to twenty years ago, the two of us were miners. Gitter was the ‘point man’…more or less a human mole! An unexpected detonation caused a massive cave-in, and nine of us were trapped beneath a thousand feet o’ coal. “All of us were positive we’d heard some fella holler -- ‘fire in the hole’ -- before the signal had been given… But thanks to Gitter’s expertise that nearly fateful day…he an’ me an’ seven other miners went on livin’! “Thinkin' we were gone for good, eight of us were positive weren’t no way the bunch of us was gettin’ out alive. Gitter - on the other hand - a genius with explosives - still possessed some dynamite, and took his final five, “Twisted in a fuse real good - buried them just so…then calmly led his group of nonbelievers in a prayer. Only one man’s lantern hadn’t failed, which meant - of course - that all of us were very close to - running out o’ air! “But once the smoke had fin’ly cleared, the breath of life returned…and all us other fellas’ kids -- and all us fellas’ wives -- Think the world of your old man…and see him as a hero…‘cause, ain’t no doubt about it, son…your daddy saved our lives! “And here’s another story where your daddy made an effort to help somebody make it through a really awful time. And, by the way…he did these things to help this couple out despite he didn’t know them…and he never took a dime! “Around eleven years ago, a twister came a callin’…an’ Merlin Willard’s house ‘n’ all his barns were torn to shreds! The only things it didn’t rip to ribbons were - their chimney - the clothesline poles - the cellar door…an’ two old scruffy sheds! “Really poor…the Willards - with no kin - and no insurance - and in their later eighties - were completely unprepared To cope with such destruction, but the town was not surprised when good ol’ Gitter - true to form - was quick to show he cared. “Promptly rounding up a group of willing volunteers, they gathered up some lumber and the products they would need To resurrect - along with what was left - a makeshift home…proving once again that he’s a very special breed. “Then - next Sunday service - once the plate had made the rounds - standing up, he asked the congregation how they felt. ‘How about we take these funds an’ give ‘em to the Willards, to aid them in recovering from the blow that they’ve been dealt?’ Now...I hope you'll read the 2nd HALF at "Mark Stellinga" on Soup, it's a great story...or listen to the audio version. Cheers, Mark
CAPTCHA Preview
Type the characters you see in the picture
Required