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Heart! ~ If you are not a subscriber and this has been passed on to you, join us by sending a blank e-mail to four_ears @ msn.com (remove spaces) with "subscribe" in the subject line. And get the love direct! Tour our web site: http://www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001 ________________________________________________________ "Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said." -- Unknown ________________________________________________________ Folks, we have a great neighbor of Texas who was gracious enough to share his story with us. Please give a Texas-sized HOWDY to a new contributor from New Mexico, Mark Davis. Thank you, Mark! ________________________________________________________ BACKSCRATCHER When my wife and I separated and eventually divorced, she took a good deal of our assets with her. Sure, I bemoaned the loss of the television, VCR, microwave, an assortment of CDs. But the biggest loss to me was her nails. Yes, you heard right. Her fingernails. They were not salon-styled nails. Just pink, unpolished nails that she shaped into ovals with one of those ordinary, brown emory boards. She filed them short enough for bouncing on the keyboard at work. And kept them long enough for me. The first time my wife ran her nails up and down my arms I swore I heard angels sing. Or maybe it was a barbershop quartet. Whatever it was, heaven had swallowed me whole, I was sure of it. She did this thing where she used this circular motion with her fingertips to bring goosebumps to the surface, and then she'd scratch them away. She administered this exquisite torture to all parts of my body. Lordy, Lordy, I'd say with my legs spasming from delight. Now I knew what a dog felt like when its tummy was scratched. Now me, I trim my nails with my teeth. Yep, I'm a bonafide nail- biter. My inborn curse from watching my mother do the same to her nails like they were a midday snack. So when I tried to return the favor to my wife by scratching her back, she yelled like I'd poured acid on her. "This is what it feels like when you try to scratch my back," she said. She took her knuckles and rubbed me raw. I think she was exaggerating. Still, I felt bad. "You've got stubby nubs, not fingernails," she said. Stubby nubs. Ouch. So when I went to a flea market one Sunday afternoon, I shelled out a couple of bucks for a plastic backscratcher. My wife was a happy camper with my little investment after that. You better believe that was one thing she did not inherit in the divorce-generated windfall. I tell my kids, find someone with nails. Right up there on the checklist of prerequisites for the ideal mate - following stable mind and zest for life - one must have nails. Long enough for those lazy afternoon sessions. "Daddy, please scratch my back." Christopher was the only kid in our family who constantly asked to have his back scratched. I always complied with my green plastic backscratcher. It's one of those few intimate moments I can share with my son as we talk about his school, friends, and other things important to his world. "I like the way Mom scratches my back," Christopher said, not meaning to hurt my feelings. "Yeah, I can see why, son." I used the backscratcher myself many times. It was okay. But nothing in this world compares to the love someone puts into scratching your back. Nothing at all. Mark Davis ruidosodavis @ hotmail.com Copyright © 2002 by Mark Davis. All rights reserved. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About the author: Hailing from Ruidoso, New Mexico, Mark Davis is a single father of three awesome kids who challenge the depths of his love daily. _________________________________________________________ KIDS NEED LETTERS Within the next two weeks I will be visiting The Baptist Children's Home (Orphanage) in Baxley, Georgia. They have about fifty children in their care. I am trying to start a program called "e-Doptions". It will allow the children to receive snail- mail letters from those living outside the orphanage. People will write to a specific child, giving them words of encouragement on a monthly basis. This would mean so much to these kids. It is hoped that this will give these children a feeling of being part of something other than just being part of an orphanage. To help please email your name and address, or visit The Sad Orphan Foundation web page at: http://www.geocities.com/thesadorphanfoundation Thank you. -- Roger Dean Kiser, Sr. trampolineone @ webtv.net _________________________________________________________ FROM OUR FRIENDLY E-MAIL CARRIER In regards to "Boating in Fish Lines" by Diane Dean White (http://geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/061802.htm) loved this story. i felt as if i was right in that boat with you. it was humorous and heartwarming. i could just picture the guys that were fishin and grumpin!!!!i could also feel exactly how you felt in the boat, embarrassed, confused and wanting to be any place but there. thanks for sharing, brought back some childhood memories and emotions. made my heart smile. palma fasulo _________________________________________________________ ON THE HOMEFRONT I would imagine everyone is like us, still recuperating after celebrating Independence Day! My in-laws celebrated their 53rd anniversary on the same day. Happy Anniversary! The day before Stephen and I celebrated the 15th anniversary of our first date. Thanks to his match-making sister, Karen, it was love at first sight over pizza! Yesterday our six-year-old, Ethan, lost his second tooth and was compensated nicely by the Tooth Fairy. And life goes on as we continue to count our blessings... _________________________________________________________ LOVE, JENNIFER I. OLIVER AND FAMILY four_ears @ msn.com "To live that in thy last long sleep, Smiles my be thine wile all around thee weep." - Nellie L. Wallace, June 24, 1873 _________________________________________________________ This E-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but first ask the writer for permission before forwarding. Thank you for doing the decent thing! Ü ________________________________________________________ SUBMIT STORY, QUOTE, OR FAMILY LOVE MOMENT: http://www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/submission.htm FEEDBACK: four_ears @ msn.com ________________________________________________________ |
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