The Writers Journal Kingscalendar is proud to Introduce the "Life in Maine U.S.A." Series of Short Stories, poetry, and Children's Stories from Martha Stevens-David. Although she has traveled the world, her life began and now continues in Maine.
Well, it all began last Friday with my yearly mammogram. I guess it's nature's payback for writing that "Bra" story. Anyway, I went for my yearly mammo at 8:45 on Friday and after arriving home later that morning, I received a call from the mammo place asking me to come in asap to have the exam redone because they "didn't like the looks" of my left breast. I wanted to tell them that I didn't like the looks of my breasts either
Another doctor said, "Well, really, what are you complaining about?" "Some woman would give anything to have what you've finally gotten." I looked at him in disbelief and then reconciled myself to the fact that men being men, they are born to think like that. I had to bite my tongue and clamp my lips shut as I slid off the cold exam table to keep from saying to him, "Well doc, how would you like it if you woke up one morning and found that your testicles were all swollen up and hanging down your legs like two grapefruits in a plastic bag!" I wanted to but I didn't!
Mommy came into the bathroom and she laughed too when she saw what had made Julia laugh. "Don't worry Julia," Mommy said. "Pretty soon, you will have two very white, new teeth." Julia smiled at herself again as she imagined how she would look with two big front teeth. "Mommy, will I look just like a rabbit?""No!" "No!" Julia, you will look very, very pretty." Mommy told her.
In Aroostook County, which is the largest county in the State of Maine and the largest county east of the Mississippi, there are plenty of things to do especially if you are the hunting, fishing and outdoors kind of person. The county is home to so many different kinds of wild animals to hunt, trap, fish and stalk that there are always an endless variety of stories or tall tales being told about these creatures and each person always tries to best his neighbor.
Having been picking potatoes since the age of two, when Mother first took me to the fields with her, I knew everything there was to know and a lot I didn't want to know about picking potatoes. It was excruciating, dirty, backbreaking work. The farmer, sitting on his tractor, would go down the rows pulling the potato digger along behind him. The digger, back then, was designed to cover two rows and when it was lowered, the front part of the machine, dug into the dirt beneath the grown potatoes. The metal racks would roll back over the rollers and carry the uprooted potato plants along with it, filling the ground with freshly dug potatoes, rocks, potato vines, dirt and bugs. The farmer would continue in this mode until the field was dug, it was lunchtime or the digger broke down.
Dad was an excellent woodsman, hunter and fisherman and many hunters or fisherman from the cities, who happened to be hunting or fishing in the greater Aroostook County area, would ask Dad to guide for them or show them where he caught all the biggest fish. And Dad, being the father of eight children, always looked for any chance he could to supplement his meager potato farmer's salary.
Life in Maine U.S.A. as told by Martha Stevens-David. Great Grammy Ida had one really bad fault as far as we were concerned. She didn't like kids, any kids. If she happened to be sitting in the kitchen when we came in, she'd turn in her old rocking chair and glare at us through the heat of the woodstove for a couple of minutes. Upon recognizing us, her false teeth would slip and click as she muttered to herself and then she'd rock back and forth in her chair until she'd gained enough momentum to get up.
I pulled myself up enough so that I could lean against the bed and then I felt a warm trickle sliding down my face! I brought my pajama sleeve up to my forehead and wiped it across my face and was shocked to see the blood on my sleeve. Then, I realized that my nose was pulsating and didn't feel at all right and as I gingerly touched my chin, it too didn't feel quite all that good! Leo sat down on the floor and kept apologizing about having pulled me out from under the bed and then I remembered why I been trapped under the bed in the first place. My Hair! I brought my hair up to where I normally pinned my bun and found that my bun wasn't so full any longer. So, I bent my head and looked under the bed and there, still swinging back and forth was a large clump of blond hair! I lifted my hand and found the fifty-cent sized bald spot that was waiting there. When I showed Leo my bald spot, all the color drained from his face and he looked sick. "Oh well honey, never mind, it will all grow back!" I consoled him.
See also Vengeance is Mine a short mystery novel published at Magic City over 4 days.
All works by Martha Stevens-David published at Magic City Morning Star News are her copyright property and may not be reproduced without her permission.
Copyright 2012 is held by the nominated authors on this article page.
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
R.P. BenDedek has been teaching English in China since 2003 and during 2012, he is working in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province (not far from Shanghai).
