Of Peppermints and a Parade
Is this the cutest candy cane ever or what?
This was the highlight of the day in which we went to our local village parade. The girls were invited this morning to be on a float, but it never showed up. All the people to populate the float were there…but no float. Sigh. We walked behind the snowmobile club and its groomer for one round of town (it’s so small the parade goes around twice!). But we had no banner, no sign, no apparent reason to be walking in the parade. We looked weird. So we ditched to watch the second go round and collect a few candies.
Most floats throw candies to the spectators. In other years, leftover on-sale Halloween candy seemed to be the giveaway of choice, but this year peppermint was popular: round peppermints, regular candy canes, and mini candy canes. Very appropriate.
So it was home for hot chocolate with plenty of peppermints for dunking.
Update: The no-show float organizers sent my girls a lovely little gift certificate. It’s all good!
© Lizann Flatt, www.lizannflatt.com
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.
Can You Say “Big Shoes?”
I’m very grateful that the teacher whose class I just visited waited until AFTER my presentation to tell me that the “other” author they’ve had visit their class was….Robert Munsch!!!!!
That’s some intimidation factor!
© Lizann Flatt, www.lizannflatt.com
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.
Survived the Start of School
Happy 9/9/09 all!
Yesterday was the first day of school here. All three kids were excited. No one needed waking up. They had their outfits picked out days earlier. I knew what we’d have for breakfast. We got to the bus stop early. They were eagerly chatting about what their friends might have done all summer, what class would they be in, if any new kids would come to school.
I have to admit to feeling at loose ends all day. I kept wondering how it was all turning out for them. I felt like I was in a time warp because so much time went by and I hadn’t been interrupted for snack suggestions, to break up squabbles. At the end of the day I waited with some nervous trepidation for the three reactions. And then everyone pronounced the day a good one! Everyone was happy with their classes. Hurray!
Today? Had to wake up a couple. Nobody knew what they would wear. I scrounged for breakfast fodder. We had to rush to the bus.
Yes, the normal routine resumes….
© Lizann Flatt, www.lizannflatt.com
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.
Shopping for Excitement
Wherein I witness a scene worthy of being written into some story!
Yesterday I took my kids to a city, to a big mall, to do a bit of back-to-school shopping. This is a big deal because we live in the boonies. It was fun to be part of a huge crowd, the selection, the hustle bustle. But we got a bit more excitement than we’d bargained for.
After waiting for daughter 1 to try on some clothes, the four of us were waiting in the lineup to pay. And waiting. This was about the fifth line of the day and we were all getting a little weary. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see something go whizzing by. I feel a breeze as someone has just narrowly sprinted around me. Instinctively I check and all my kids are accounted for. And then over the tops of the clothing racks I can see the heads of two guys running full tilt through Big Department Store floor. They were taking different paths but going in the same direction.
The kids and I sort of looked at each other. We made up scenarios for why those guys were acting like that. (Late for an appointment? Pranksters? They just did something bad and were booting it outta there?) We haven’t moved one inch in line.
Not three minutes later we hear loud swearing and cursing. About 15 feet away two men and a woman are steering an unshaven older man through the store aisle. They have the man’s hands pinned behind his back. This odd parade has stopped because a kid and a stroller are blocking the aisle.
Cursing man shouts, “Effing security guards! You’ll hear from my lawyers!” and “Eff! My lawyers are going to deal with this!!”
Man that man could yell. Nothing wrong with his lungs. Anyway, the mother of the kid and the stroller twigs in to what’s going on and gathers her kids out of the way. The alleged shoplifter is lead away down the shopping aisle right beside us, hollering all the way.
My kids and I are kind of stunned for a second. Then wow! We just witnessed a takedown. They remark that little kids shouldn’t hear bad words like that. Conversation ensues about what might happen to the man now. Does he go to mall jail? Will the police come? and the like. Sure made the rest of the time in line pass quickly.
Of course, if you were going to write about it you’d need to add a lot more to elevate it above mere incident status. But so many jumping off points for creating a story…so many ways to add it into a story to develop a plot….
I think so, anyway.
© Lizann Flatt, www.lizannflatt.com
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.
No part of this blog may be used without written permission from the author.