She is stranger than I the little girl informed her mother.
Her name is Jaycee, and she is funny, and she likes me.
Her mother was thrilled that Samantha had a friend.
It had been a long time coming.
She had made it to third grade without any real friends.
Jaycee says this, Jayce does that. Jayce wants to…..
Jaycee, Jaycee, Jaycee……. and so, it went.
Samantha was incredibly happy with this classmate.
Conferences were held in October.
Samantha’s mother mentioned Jaycee to the teacher.
Expressing how glad she was that Samantha had a friend.
The teacher said they had no one in the class named Jaycee.
Samantha’s mother described her – blonde hair, blue eyes.
Pigtails, and she likes wearing a pink shirt with a unicorn.
The teacher showed Samantha a photo of her daughter the next day.
You look so cute in this photo! Samantha said to the chair next to her.
Jaycee had died in an automobile accident ten years before.
She had been eight and was in the third grade.
A RECIPE FOR FUN
Author: Dennis Howe
February 2001
Take ten
seasoned ball players and throw
in a large pinch of leather and aluminum.
Put the mix on a dirt field in the shape of a diamond
and add some green salad grass for color. To this, add
another ten seasoned ball players with a large pinch of leather
and aluminum. Raise the heat slowly to about 80 degrees, with a
few clouds for partial shade. No mud. Slight breeze, but no wind.
Add two pitchers of medium grit. Marinade some team spirit and
sportsmanship. Dice some Twinkies, sunflower seeds and chewing
gum. Sprinkle with water and soda pop to taste. With a yellow ball,
at game time, stir all these ingredients together with grounders,
foul balls, fly balls, base hits and home runs, and garnish with a
strike-out or two. Do not add sliding. Sugar, sweat, and verbal
spices can be chopped in at this point. Scoring is to taste and
recorded for future reference. Pour these flavored items
in to a large softball bowl, and then separate into
individual servings on Saturdays at Jaycee Park.
Finish with a handshake, pat on the
back, and a hearty..............
"see ya next week".