Golden Keyes Parsons's Blog, page 2

November 18, 2015

Thanksgiving Celebrations During Wartime

HHH-badge Thanksgiving Celebrations During Wartime

This month on Heroes, Heroines, and History Golden has written an interesting historical blog about the different ways Thanksgiving has been celebrated in America during wartime.


“I hope as we gather this Thanksgiving season around our table of abundance we we will remember with gratitude all we have to be thankful for in this nation. Our freedom is not free. It has been bought with the blood of our men and women in the military.”


Click HERE to read the blog in full.


The post Thanksgiving Celebrations During Wartime appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 18, 2015 06:40

October 20, 2015

The B-17 Bomber in WWII

The Amazing B-17 Bomber in WWII

This week on the Heroes, Heroines, and History website, Golden has written a fascinating blog about the amazing B-17 Bombers in WWII. This blog was born out of research for a book still in the making.


Click HERE to read about this important era in American history.


The post The B-17 Bomber in WWII appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 20, 2015 18:07

September 11, 2015

Clearing Out The Clutter With Leah Lescher

CLEARING OUT THE CLUTTER IMG952215
Interview with Leah Lescher, Home Organizer

We are giving away free signed copies of Spiritual Spring Cleaning in hopes the study will aid in cleaning our spiritual houses. Leave a comment below during the month of September, 2015 to be entered into the drawing! We are picking a new winner every week.


I am delighted for today’s blog to welcome our niece, Leah Lescher, who cleans out clutter for a living! Leah works for a company who helps people down-size their households and move into smaller homes. She organizes an estate sale, then even helps them move into and decorate their new place. And, yes, she loves it. I think you will enjoy her insights.


1. First, tell us anything you’d like our readers to know about yourself and your family.


We live in Lucas, Texas. Steve, my husband, is a banker and I have 18 year old twins, Emma & Brooks, who are seniors at Lovejoy High School. I have degree in fashion merchandising from Oklahoma State University.


Spiritual Spring Cleaning 3d

2. Now, tell us a little bit about the business you are engaged in.


I work for Caring Transitions. We specialize in senior relocation, downsizing and estate sales. We are based out of Mckinney, Texas, and work throughout North Texas suburbs.


3. How did you get involved in doing this? And how long have you been doing it?


I started working for Caring Transitions 2 1/2 years ago. One of my good friends was working for the company at the time and said that they were hiring. Sounded like a lot of fun. So, I interviewed and got the job!


4. Did you have any special training, or do you simply have a knack for organizing?IMG_1988


My degree is in Merchandising, but I have a natural knack for organizing. It comes easy to me.


As Leah is a family member, I can attest to that. She has always had a knack for organizing and decorating.


5. What are some of the challenges? What do you like the most about what you do?


When we do estate sales, the houses range anywhere from a hoarding situation to immaculately clean and everything in-between. The biggest challenges are having enormous amounts of merchandise to organize in a short period of time and homes being really dirty. We clean everything! My favorite part of estate sale preparation is the satisfaction I get after a room is merchandised, and it looks great. I would say a “rags-to-riches” type of transformation.


IMG9519696. Take us through a typical assignment, from initially signing on the customer to moving them into their new residence.


The first step is deciding what the client wants to take to their new home and how much they can take. We then move them to their new home, and set up, so they can start living as soon as they walk through the door.


That sounds absolutely heavenly!


After they are settled, we start the estate sale preparation. We go through everything that is left in the old house. We have 3 areas in which we separate IMG951972all the remaining items. Those are trash, donation and sell. Once we have done that, we merchandise the house like it is a store. Everything is cleaned & neatly organized. We then have the estate sell, which is typically three days. The remaining items after the sale are usually donated. Every family is different.


The three areas sounds like a good organizing tip for our homes whether we are moving or not.


7. Has there ever been occasion when you simply threw up your hands and wanted to say, “I don’t think we can help this customer—it’s too much?”


All the time! I get overwhelmed every time a start a job, but it always comes together. I have to continually remind myself that at the start of most jobs.


8. Tell us some of the “treasures” that you’ve come across. Perhaps IMG_1204something the customer didn’t realize was of value.


That’s one of the perks of this job. I have found so many treasures. I’ve bought antique furniture, great items for my kitchen, wonderful flower pots for the yard, clothes, and jewelry. The list could go on and on.


9. Have you found spiritual corollaries between how one keeps their physical house and how one keeps their spiritual house? What are they?


This job has made me realize how much excess we all have. We pack our homes with all these things that we think are going to make us happy. When in reality, they don’t. We actually need very little, and our clients feel so free once they move into their new home with just what they need. It’s very liberating. I hear that all the time. Our spiritual lives are the same. We can make it too complicated. A relationship with Jesus Christ, daily quiet time/devotional and communication with him in prayer. Put him first and everything else falls into place.


10. Do you have a website where readers can reach you?


Jeff & Donna Rea are the owners of this franchise. EstateMovePlanoTX.com


Thanks, Leah. It’s been so much fun to have you!


We are giving away free signed copies of Spiritual Spring Cleaning in hopes the study will aid in cleaning our spiritual houses. Leave a comment below during the month of September, 2015 to be entered into the drawing! We are picking a new winner every week.


1. Have you recently done any organization projects?


2. How do you feel after you finish decluttering an area?


3. Is it difficult or easy for you to get rid of your possessions?


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog below. You will receive my modern short story version of ‘Trapped: The Adulterous Woman’ in your thank you email.








To order a copy of “Spiritual Spring Cleaning” click HERE.


The post Clearing Out The Clutter With Leah Lescher appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 11, 2015 12:50

September 1, 2015

Spiritual Spring Cleaning – The Beginning

IMG_20150429_081609509 Spiritual Spring Cleaning
The Beginning

We are giving away free signed copies of Spiritual Spring Cleaning in hopes the study will aid in cleaning our spiritual houses. Leave a comment below during the month of September, 2015 to be entered into the drawing!


How did it all begin–parallels of spiritual spring cleaning and cleaning one’s physical house, which turned into an article, then into a book? My assistant asked me that question, and honestly I couldn’t remember at first. As I pondered her inquiry, I finally concluded it was from a visit I made to the dentist years ago. (Page 50 in the book.) As he examined my teeth, he said, “I’d wager that you don’t sweep dirt underneath the carpet.”


“Uh-uh.” Why do dentists always ask you questions when they’ve got their hands in your mouth? He went on to explain that the condition of one’s teeth simply reflects the care one takes in the upkeep of their home.


I started thinking then about the parallels between keeping house and maintaining a healthy spiritual life. Things like:



Discipline
Build-up
Hard issues
Indifference
Scheduling

 


I pitched the article to HomeLife which is a Southern Baptist family magazine, and they liked  it and published it several years ago. Then the concept eventually grew into the book. It’s also a seminar I do … we’ll talk about that aspect of it in another  blog.


MeadowbrookSpringFling 004However, the bigger issue here is not a cute little women’s Bible study. Oh, it’s cute, and it’s little and it’s a Bible study, but I believe times are desperate. Our culture is calling right wrong, and wrong right. Keeping our spiritual houses in order is imperative in these days. We cannot afford to be careless or slovenly or undisciplined. Our spouses need us. Our families need us. Our churches need us. Our communities need us. Let’s get our spiritual houses in order … and I pray this simple study will help steer you in that direction. It was a blessing to me as I wrote it. Perhaps it will be a blessing to you as well.


We are giving away free signed copies of Spiritual Spring Cleaning in hopes the study will aid in cleaning our spiritual houses. Leave a comment below during the month of September, 2015 to be entered into the drawing!


1. What is your biggest cleaning challenge … in your physical house? In your spiritual house?


2. Had you ever thought about the parallels between cleaning the two types of houses before?


3. Do you tend to let things stack up in your physical house and clean all at once? Or do you keep up with things as you go along? Will that work spiritually?


Scroll down and answer at least one question in the reply box below to put your name in for the giveaway of a FREE SIGNED COPY of SPIRITUAL SPRING CLEANING!


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog and newsletter below. You will receive my modern short story version of “Trapped: The Adulterous Woman” in your thank you email.








The post Spiritual Spring Cleaning – The Beginning appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 01, 2015 08:27

July 31, 2015

A Watch in Time – Chapter 12, Part 2

A WATCH IN TIME

A Full Length Short Story by Golden Keyes Parsons


2-7-06 022 Chapter Twelve – Part 2


Click here to start with Chapter One


(She gasped, and grabbed the hankie. “Where did you get this? You’ve never carried a handkerchief before. This is the same one you handed to me in 1946.”)


“I found it in the old bureau in the guest room. I just thought it was cool. You must have seen it and incorporated it into your dream.”


“You said the exact same words to me back then, ‘Seems you need this more than I do.’”


“Coincidence.” He rubbed the back of his neck.


David’s hand trembled. “Your hand is shaking. David, you are remembering something, aren’t you?”


“Uh-uh.” He folded his arms and paced back and forth. “I’m not remembering a thing, but …”


“But, what?”


“I … I had a dream last night that I was here in the house sometime in the 40’s, and it was a boarding house. There was a desk in the parlor with an old lady—”


“—with round glasses? And her name was Mrs. Kleine?”


David stared at her. “Hey, I’m not buying this. These have got to be things we’ve read about or been told, and now they’re surfacing as dreams.”


“Whatever.” Lily Kate sighed. “I don’t want to argue any longer. Put the album back in the trunk, please, and let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving.”


“Sounds good to me.”


album2David shut the lid of the trunk after placing the album back in its proper place. They closed and locked the door to the attic. The thud of their footsteps echoed through the stairwell sealing the final chapter to the mysteries of hazy recollections of the past.


Lily Kate let her dark hair down out of the clip. “Let me go freshen up.”


“You look fine.”


“Just some lipstick and a brush through my hair.”


“Okay, hurry. I’ll pull the car around front.”


Lily Kate brushed her hair and decided it looked fine hanging loose around her shoulders. She swiped on light pink lip gloss, and picked up her purse. The “ding-dong” of the front door bell hurried her down the hallway.


A handsome young Air Force lieutenant with his arm in a sling smiled at her. He held a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. Her heart leapt into her throat as she stared at the face she thought never to see again.


“Hi. Uh, ma’am, I don’t want to bother you. You appear to be on your way out.”


She motioned to David pulling to the front of the house. “Yes … uh… my brother and I were just going to grab a bite to eat.”


“I won’t delay you. Could I ask you a quick question?”


“I suppose so. Of course, what is it?”


“I know this is a long shot, but would you happen to know anything about someone named Lily Kate Monroe who lived at this address during World War I?”


“My name is Lily Kate Monroe.”


The lieutenant stared at her. “I … I don’t understand.”


Afraid to say what she was thinking, nevertheless the name precious to her slipped through her lips. “Clay?”


“Yes, ma’am. Well, it’s actually Clayton. How did you know?”


She stepped out on the porch and closed the front door behind her. “You … uh … you look like someone I once knew, and his name was Clay. How did you get that piece of paper?”AntiqueLadiesWatch2


“My mother was going through some family papers and found this in my great uncle’s footlocker. He was a fighter pilot in World War I, and was killed over France. I’m named after him. The locker was returned to the family along with …” He pulled the watch out of his pocket. “ … along with this watch and a packet of love letters from a girl named Katherine. Could she possibly be one of your ancestors?”


“Oh, I see.” Lily Kate smiled, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest. “Possibly” She took his arm, and guided him toward the car where David waited. “Say, could you go with us to dinner, and we’ll talk … talk about our families?”


“Sure, I’m always up for a good meal.”


She pointed to the sling. “What happened to your arm?”


“Not very glamorous, I’m afraid. I’m also a fighter pilot, and I …”


“ … stumbled getting out of the cockpit?”


He turned and stared down at Lily Kate. “How did you know that?”


“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but I will try.” A smile began to rise from the bottom of her soul that lifted the corners of her mouth. “I really will try.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Thank you for following along with Lily Kate and her adventure through time. All of the historical facts about Waco, Texas, during the various time periods Lily Kate visited are as historically accurate as I could determine. It was fun writing this story which first appeared in the Waco Today Magazine, a publication of the Waco Tribune Herald. Thanks for joining us!


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog and newsletter below. You will receive my modern short story version of ‘Trapped: The Adulterous Woman’ in your thank you email.








The post A Watch in Time – Chapter 12, Part 2 appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 31, 2015 08:52

July 24, 2015

A Watch in Time – Chapter 12, Part 1

A WATCH IN TIME

A Full Length Short Story by Golden Keyes Parsons


2-7-06 022 Chapter Twelve – Part 1


Click here to start with Chapter One


Afraid to open her eyes, Lily Kate put her hands in front of her face and looked through her fingers. A naked light bulb flickered overhead. She sat in front of a trunk, the album on the dusty wood floor at her feet. She heard rustling on the stair case. “David, is that you?”


He pushed the door open and peered in. “Yep. What are you doing up here?”album2


“I … I, uh … I’m packing this album away … once and for all.” She scrambled to her feet, leaving the book on the floor, leery of touching it.


David stepped in and bending over, picked up the album.


“No! Don’t touch it!”


“Don’t be so jumpy, Sis. I’m not going to hurt it.” He leafed through the pages. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Her fingers trembling, Lily Kate re-fastened her hair in a plastic clip and sat down in a nearby rickety wooden chair. “More than I bargained for.”


“What d’ya mean?” He closed the album and placed it in the trunk. “Are you still insisting that you visited 1861 Waco, and watched me march off to the Civil War?”


file0001731376547Lily Kate stared at her brother. All the events she had experienced swirled through her mind. Had everything been a crazy hallucinating dream? Did David not recall any of it? She felt around the neckline of her tee shirt. No watch on a chain hanging there. She stood, and leaned over the trunk, searching the lining. Not there either. Goose bumps rose on her arms—her voice barely a whisper, “It was real. We were there, David. Not only during the Civil War, but at the opening of the Cotton Palace, and I met our ancestor.” She clutched his shoulders. “I found out why our heritage was such a mystery, and what mother meant when she said, ‘Watch,’ on her deathbed. The watch held the answer to the secret.”


“What watch? You’re not making any sense.”


She sighed, and returned to her seat, motioning to the chair beside her. “Sit down. I have quite a story to tell.” AntiqueLadiesWatch2She began the unbelievable account with finding the watch in the trunk which revealed clues to their ancestor, Ivy, a prostitute in Waco’s red light district of the day, The Reservation. How the woman brought the baby to the Monroes to be adopted.


How during World War I Lily Kate worked as a nurse at the Red Cross in Waco, met Ivy and was able to help the distraught woman understand God’s forgiveness; about falling in love with the dashing fighter pilot, Clay Cole, and her desire to remain in that century. But how she was catapulted to 1946 into the midst of the Baylor student revival—and surrendered her life to God.


“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait just a minute. You’re telling me that you were really in these different time periods and that I was with you?”


Lily Kate looked at David and shook her head slowly. “I know it sounds crazy, but I swear I was there. It was as real as you are sitting in front of me at this very moment.”


“Sis, no way this could be true. It’s impossible. You simply had an on-going dream that seemed real. I’ve been right here in the 21st century. Haven’t gone anywhere, except to class and rehearsals. Look, I’ll prove it.” He reached into the trunk, and pulled the album out again. “See. No magical vortex back in time.”


Lily Kate held her breath, but sure enough, nothing happened as her brother thumbed through the pages. He stopped at a nurseWW1picture of a young woman in a nurse’s uniform working at the Red Cross headquarters during World War I. He looked closer at it and pointed. “Dang! She looks just like you!”


“I’ve been trying to tell you—”


He shook his head. “—No way! No way!” He swore, and jumped up, sending the chair dancing backwards across the floor.

“You needn’t be angry with me. I can’t explain it.” A sob erupted from her throat, and she buried her face in her hands. “But I know I was there.”


“Aw, don’t cry, Sis. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He awkwardly draped an arm over her shoulders and squeezed. “Whatever happened is real to you, I guess.” He pulled a white handkerchief with a monogrammed “M” on it out of his jeans back pocket and handed to her. “Here, seems you need this more than I do.”


She gasped, and grabbed the hankie. “Where did you get this? You’ve never carried a handkerchief before. This is the same one you handed to me in 1946.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Join us next Friday for part 2 of chapter 12.


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog and newsletter below. You will receive my modern short story version of ‘Trapped: The Adulterous Woman’ in your thank you email.








The post A Watch in Time – Chapter 12, Part 1 appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 24, 2015 09:32

July 17, 2015

A Watch in Time – Chapter 11, Part 2

A WATCH IN TIME

A Full Length Short Story by Golden Keyes Parsons


2-7-06 022 Chapter Eleven – Part 2


Click here to start with Chapter One


(Mrs. Kleine quirked her eyebrows and waited…)


Lily Kate put her hands on the front of the desk leaned toward the woman. “Please. We have reason to believe that perhaps some of our family’s heirlooms were left in the attic. Would you be so kind as to let us go up and look around? We’d be forever grateful.”


The woman hesitated. “I don’t know … I don’t know if my husband would approve. He’s not here right now. He’ll be back tomorrow.”


“Oh, please. We won’t disturb anything. We’re looking for a family album that is probably in a trunk. That’s all we’re interested in right now.”


“There are several boxes and a couple of trunks up there that were left from the previous owners. Someone was supposed to come and retrieve them, but no one ever showed up that I know of.”


David stepped back and threw out his arms. “And here we are! Let us go see what is up there and … then we’ll be sure someone returns later with a truck to get it out of your way.”


Mrs. Kleine turned and took a key off the board. “I suppose it will be fine. It’s not really in my way. That stuff’s been up there for several years now.” She walked around the desk to the door, and pointed down the hall. “The stairs to the attic are in the kitchen … oh, I guess you all know where the attic is, don’t you?” She offered a terse smile, and handed the key to David.


David took it and waved as they hurried out the door. “Yes, thank you.”


The two fled into the kitchen and up the stairs. They unlocked the door at the top of the landing, clicked on the light and stepped into the dusty garret. Lily Kate swept a cobweb away from the rafter above her. “It smells the same.”


“Yeah, amazing, huh?” David looked around. “We could use a flashlight. I don’t know where to begin. You start looking. I’ll go ask Mrs. Kleine for one.” He clambered down the steps leaving Lily Kate in the gloomy light.


The attic was full of trash and treasures. Boxes piled helter-skelter. A dress form. A large wardrobe that she remembered they refinished in her time, and put in the guest bedroom. Guess no one ever came and picked up the stuff. Old chairs attic3hung from the rafters. Tables stacked upon one another. Several trunks. She squatted down, and opened a humpback trunk. It was full of old dolls. She slammed it shut as David beamed a light on her. “Find anything?”


“No, just old dolls in there.” She stood, and brushed the dust from her skirt. “We need to have an agreement.”


David lifted his eyebrows and cocked his head. “And would be … ?”


“When—if we find the album—let’s not touch it until we touch it precisely at the same moment, so we can … uh … can ‘go’ together.”


“Think that’ll work?”


“We can try.” Lily Kate pointed to some trunks by the window at the far end of the attic. “Why don’t you take the flashlight, and look through those? I’ll check out the ones on this end.”


David made his way through the relics, and propped the flashlight on a stool. The minutes ticked by as the pair sorted through the trunks.


Lily Kate opened the fourth trunk and gasped. The album lay on top of a stack of newspapers and books. “David. I found it.”


David tripped over a bucket as he hurried to peer into the open chest. The siblings stared into each other’s eyes.

“Are you ready?” Lily’s voice came out in a raspy whisper.


“You bet.”


“Here we go—on three. See you there.”


They held their hands above the album.


The pair chanted together, “One. Two Three.” Placing their hands on the book, they closed their eyes. In which century would they awaken?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Join us next Friday for part 1 of chapter 12.


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog and newsletter below. You will receive my modern short story version of ‘Trapped: The Adulterous Woman’ in your thank you email.








The post A Watch in Time – Chapter 11, Part 2 appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 17, 2015 07:00

July 10, 2015

A Watch in Time – Chapter 11, Part 1

A WATCH IN TIME

A Full Length Short Story by Golden Keyes Parsons


2-7-06 022 Chapter Eleven – Part 1


Click here to start with Chapter One


Two young women came out the front door of the house Lily Kate and David grew up in—the one with the “Rooms For Rent” sign now in the front yard. “Hi!” The typical Baylor greeting of the day indicated they must be college students.WacoHistoricHome


“Hi.” David smiled, and stood aside as the coeds came down the stairs of the porch.


Lily Kate grabbed his arm, and pulled him up the steps. “Stop your flirting. We’re not really, remember?”


“Can’t blame a guy for enjoying the moment.”


Lily Kate chuckled and and shook her head. They walked across the porch, and peered into the bay window to the dining room. A couple of young people were clearing the table.


“David, when did Gramma and Poppy buy the house?”


“It wouldn’t have been Gramma and Poppy. It would have been our great-grandparents.”


“But we owned the house during the Civil War.” Lily Kate walked to the porch swing and sat down. She closed her eyes, and rocked the swing into motion.


“Careful. Those things tump over pretty easy.” David paced in front of Lily Kate with his hands in his pockets. “C’mon, Sis. You’re the history buff. Think.”


She stopped the swing’s motion with the toe of her sandal. “I remember now. But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”


“Give it to me straight.”


“I remember they almost lost the house during the depression, but they held onto it until right before World War II. Then when all the men enlisted, they couldn’t make the mortgage, and the bank moved in and foreclosed on it.”


“Do you know who bought it?”


She shook her head.


“ I wonder if any of the family’s possessions are still around—in the attic perhaps? Like the album?”


“That’s probably a long shot, but let’s give it a try.” Lily Kate stood and sent the swing wobbling from side to side.


They hesitated at the front door, then opened the screen and walked in. To their right over the archway was a sign declaring “Office” where the parlor used to be. A woman with her hair twisted in a bun at the neck sat behind a large desk, her back to them. She was dressed in a drab gray calico print dress with a high neck. A black rotary phone lay almost buried underneath file folders and papers, and a desk plaque proclaimed “Edna Kleine.” Keys hung from brass hooks on a board suspended on the wall behind the desk.secretary


“Ahem. Excuse me.” Lily Kate approached the desk as the woman swirled around in a wooden office chair.


“You again.”


“I beg your pardon?”


The woman stood and folded her arms. “How many times do I have to tell you all that we’re not interested in selling the house? I know it belonged to your family, and I’m sure it’s painful for you to see it in the ownership of another person, but that’s the way it is. I’m sorry.”


“Oh, I see.” Lily Kate stepped back.


“Well, that’s fine, Mrs. … uh …” David glanced at her name plaque. “ … Mrs. Kleine. We understand. But that’s not why we are here.”


“I don’t have any vacant rooms. Maybe next fall, but not right now.”


“That’s not why we are here either.”


Mrs. Kleine quirked her eyebrows and waited…


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Join us next Friday for part 2 of chapter 11.


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog and newsletter below. You will receive my modern short story version of ‘Trapped: The Adulterous Woman’ in your thank you email.








The post A Watch in Time – Chapter 11, Part 1 appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 10, 2015 07:00

July 3, 2015

A Watch in Time – Chapter 10, Part 2

A WATCH IN TIME

A Full Length Short Story by Golden Keyes Parsons


2-7-06 022 Chapter Ten – Part 2


Click here to start with Chapter One


 (“That’s quite a story.” David stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets.)


Lily Kate stood as well. “Where are you living?”


“In the dorm.”


Lily Kate nodded in the direction of a covey of girls chatting on the other side of the tent. “I gather I am too, since Claire, that pretty redhead over there, keeps calling me ‘roomie.’” Claire waved at her. “Why do you suppose we’re not living at home?”


“I don’t know, but I think we should go over to the house and see if we can find the album to get back to our century.”


“Do you have a car?”


David frowned, and shook his head. “No.”


“We’re not that far. We can walk.”


David raised the side tent flap as they ducked under and headed toward their house, or what they remembered as their house. He motioned toward the neckline of her sweater. “Where’s the watch?”


“That’s the second thing I needed to tell you.” Lily Kate took her brother’s arm as they walked. “I gave it to someone.”


“You what?”


“I gave it to a soldier I met—a pilot stationed at Rich Field. He went overseas, and I gave him the watch to remember me by.”


They walked for a few moments in silence. “This sounds like it was serious.”


“It was. I … love … loved him.”


They stopped, and Lily Kate pulled David’s handkerchief from his pocket again. She dabbed at the gathering tears. “But, of course, I’ll never see him again.” Her voice broke. “I think he must have gotten sh … shot down over Europe during the war.”


“What was his name?”


“Clay Cole. Lieutenant Clayton Burl Cole.” She started to stuff the handkerchief back in his suit pocket.


“Keep it. Seems you need it more than I do tonight.”


Lily Kate smiled and put it in her purse. “Seems I do.”


“That must really hurt to know that you loved someone, and you’ll never see him again. Did he know about … about who you really were?”


“No, I had decided to stay in that time period. I enjoyed nursing. I fell in love. It was an accident that I came back. I suppose it was simply not meant to be.”


“I’m sorry, Lily Kate. I truly am.”


“Thanks, Little Brother. I think I needed to experience this revival, the Lord. I feel like we are in one of those domed scenes with snow that falls when you shake it. Except that the scene changes at each shaking, and we are where we need to be for a particular reason at the appointed time.”


David laughed nervously and patted her hand. “You’re getting philosophical on me now.”


“Sorry. I just have a very real sense of being guided along this path.”WacoHistoricHome


They turned the corner and saw their house down the street. Interior lights cast a soft glow into the spring evening with a weak porch light struggling to dispel the darkness. As they got closer, a tilted “Rooms For Rent” sign, partially hidden by the shrubbery, came into view.


“Ah-h-h.” Lily Kate felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. They stood on the sidewalk and stared at the beautiful house, in much need of repair. The steps were crumbling. The shutters hung crooked, and the whole house needed painting. “It’s a boarding house. Did our family not own the house during the ‘40s? If we no longer own it, the album’s not going to be here, and we’re stuck in 1946.” A flood of panic rushed through her. “How are we going to get back home?”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Join us next Friday for part 1 of chapter 11.


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog and newsletter below. You will receive my modern short story version of ‘Trapped: The Adulterous Woman’ in your thank you email.








The post A Watch in Time – Chapter 10, Part 2 appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 03, 2015 07:00

June 26, 2015

A Watch in Time – Chapter 10, Part 1

A WATCH IN TIME

A Full Length Short Story by Golden Keyes Parsons


2-7-06 022 Chapter Ten – Part 1


Click here to start with Chapter One


David smothered Lily Kate in a bear hug leaving her breathless. Something between a sob and a giggle erupted as she buried her head in her brother’s chest. Stepping back she brushed the tears from her eyes, then touched his cheek. “You’re clean shaven. I haven’t seen you without facial hair for a long time—in this century or the last.” She couldn’t help grinning.


David’s glance darted over the crowd. “Shhh. Someone might hear you.”


“Then it really is you.” She flicked her wrist. “Even if they did, how would they know what we were talking about?” She pulled his handkerchief out of his jacket pocket—a white freshly ironed cotton handkerchief with an “M” embroidered on it. Not something in vogue in their time. “You look pretty spiffy in a suit.”


Straightening his tie he winced. “Yeah, but this thing is driving me crazy. Can you believe the guys in 1946 wear suits to class?”


Lily Kate pulled David down in a chair beside her. “Fill me in. How long have you been here? Obviously we are OldMainstudents at Baylor. What classification are you—am I? How’d you get here? What do we do now?”


“Slow down. I don’t have answers to our dilemma any more than you do.” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “I’ve been here only a few days. Evidently I’m a freshman and you’re a junior. And I’m on the committee that has been planning this student revival.”


“You?”


“Yeah, that’s a kick in the pants, isn’t it?”


Lily Kate folded his handkerchief, and replaced it in his pocket. “Maybe not. This whole youth movement thing seems to be the real deal.”


“So, are you going off the deep end here and getting ‘religion’?”


She shook her head. “No, but I … I genuinely felt something, and I wanted to respond. I did respond. I walked down to the front and …”


“I know. I saw you.”


“It was real, David. It is real. I accepted Jesus, and I feel as if a ton of bricks has been lifted off my shoulders.”


“Okay, that’s fine, whatever. I believe you, but right now we need to figure out how to get back to our own time.”


“Yes.” Lily Kate paused. “But first I want to tell you about a couple of things.” She fidgeted with her purse. “A couple of important things.”


“Go on.”


“On my last ‘trip’ I met my mother. I was a nurse during World War I, and I was working at the Red Cross. Ivy—that was her name—Ivy worked there too.”


“I thought she was a prostitute.”


“She was, but the law closed The Reservation down and all those poor women were desperate for jobs. I don’t know how she existed on her pittance of a salary.”


“Did you tell her who you were?”


“She guessed—recognized the watch, and then my name. Although at that time I was going by ‘Katherine.’ But she put two and two together. My father was actually one of our relatives, and she truly did love him. She never told him about the baby, uh … me, Katherine. Whoever. I’m so confused I don’t know who I am anymore, however, in some strange way, I feel I know more about who I am than ever—understand what has been sowed into our family heritage.” Lily Kate drew a deep breath. “Ivy died while I was there, but I believe I helped her find forgiveness. She had already sought God’s forgiveness, but she needed to forgive herself.”


“That’s quite a story.” David stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Join us next Friday for part 2 of chapter 10.


If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog and newsletter below. You will receive my modern short story version of ‘Trapped: The Adulterous Woman’ in your thank you email.










The post A Watch in Time – Chapter 10, Part 1 appeared first on Golden Keyes Parsons.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on June 26, 2015 07:00

Golden Keyes Parsons's Blog

Golden Keyes Parsons
Golden Keyes Parsons isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.
Follow Golden Keyes Parsons's blog with rss.