Papa S Back Road Short Stories

Papa's Back-Road Short Stories by Sam Cross Old highways and back roads seem less traveled, as many people would rather be on main highways to save travel time. Sam "Papa Smurf" Cross is different. This biker prefers to start his adventures in the old highways and back roads leading to old bait houses and old stores, where he might chance upon friendly strangers willing to share wonderful stories, stories he finds worthy of retelling. This treasure of compelling and inspiring stories of ordinary people whose simple acts of kindness brought happiness and hope to families and individuals who survived life's trials, even gaining a new lease on life, are immortalized in Papa's Back-Road Short Stories. A widower opens his life and home to a cat, who, in turn, shares his unconditional love to the widower and later to a cancer stricken girl in need of a friend in "Henry." A lasting friendship that follows after are retold in "Cindy and Henry," "Randy," and "Gunner." A person's worth is more than his or her appearance as the story of a homeless man living his life digging trash cans imparts in "Silver Star." God moves in mysterious ways and nobody would suspect that his help would come from unexpected people, like when two young troublemakers decide to help a widow in need during the time of the Great Depression, in an untitled humorous story that would never get old. Stories like this encourage positivity and belief in God much needed in these times of troubles and deserves a place in anyone's bookshelf.

Discover the true meaning of being brave in this tender and whimsical picture book from Daniel Bernstrom (One Day in the Eucalytus, Eucalyptus Tree) and Shane Evans (Chocolate Me!) that follows a grandfather and grandson who travel through time in a beloved 1952 Ford. A little boy who lives with his grandpa isn't reprimanded for being afraid to go to school one day. Instead, Big Papa takes him away in his time machine--a 1952 Ford--back to all of the times when he, himself, was scared of something life was handing him. Full of heartfelt moments and thrilling magical realism, Big Papa and the Time Machine speaks to the African American experience in a touching dialogue between two family members from different generations, and emerges as a voice that shares history and asks questions about one family's experience in 20th-century black America. "Wasn't you scared?" "Oh, I was scared," Big Papa said. "Sometimes you gotta walk with giants if you ever gonna know what you made of. That's called being brave."

A heady mix of paranormal tales from India to give the reader goose-bumps, handed down verbally from generation to generation. Supernatural sightings of female demons, disguised as lovely women, set out to lure unsuspecting young men to their death. Reincarnated spirits born again, ghostly apparitions of dead relatives, haunted houses, grave robbers and spooks arising from their tombs at the stroke of mid-night, local superstition and myths form part of the anecdotes. These collected stories, were always related to pass the time before going to bed in the days when there were no TVs or cyber activities to serve as distractions. The narrator often was the family patriarch and the audience were generally family members and any visiting guests. The selected settings for listening to the stories were ideal – either on house terraces or front yards of homes amidst the dark shadows of the palms and other trees lit only by starlight or moonlight. Silence reigned except for the occasional sounds of the hooting of resident owls from abandoned old houses adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Papa Is a Poet: is a picture book about the famous American poet Robert Frost, imagined through the eyes of his daughter Lesley. When Robert Frost was a child, his family thought he would grow up to be a baseball player. Instead, he became a poet. His life on a farm in New Hampshire inspired him to write "poetry that talked," and today he is famous for his vivid descriptions of the rural life he loved so much. There was a time, though, when Frost had to struggle to get his poetry published. Told from the point of view of Lesley, Robert Frost's oldest daughter, this is the story of how a lover of language found his voice.

It is 1944, and war is raging in Europe and Japan. Chuck is still in high school but his dream is to join the army and fight the Germans. One day, in the spring of 1944, he was walking on a lonely road and met someone that caused him to have another dream. This dream began when he met Betty Watson, the bank president's daughter. His good fortune began when, by a chance meeting, the Desoto she was driving had a flat tire. Her misfortune became Chuck's continuing desire to marry the girl of his dreams even though she was a few years older than he was. Although the two became good friends, Betty frequently reminded him that she had a boyfriend and that he was serving his country in the military. That information, although disheartening, did not keep Chuck from pursuing her. Betty and Chuck spent weeks together going places such as the bowling alley, the skating rink and the movies, while both insisted they were not dating. Chuck's older sister spilled the beans about the couple to his father who was not thrilled. His father suggested he date girls in school that were closer to his age but to no avail. Chuck had a one-track mind and that one track was Betty. In conversations between them Betty expressed doubt about a commitment from her soldier boyfriend and that was all the encouragement Chuck needed. After avoiding Chuck for several weeks, Betty confided in him that she was pregnant and her boyfriend, Bobby, was the father of the child. The announcement was a blow to him but Chuck was still not ready to give up on marrying her. However, when Betty's parents found out about her pregnancy, they shipped her off to California to have the baby and place it up for adoption. With one dream dimming the other was still very much alive. He graduated from high school and joined the army. Even though the war in Europe was winding down, the war in Japan was still very much alive. Chuck continued to write letters to Betty but at some point, her letters stopped. Chuck's interest in Betty had to be put on the back burner because of his military duties including guarding a brothel in Japan. After his discharge from the army Chuck attempted to rekindle their story but by that time Betty had married the father of her child. Even though he was still in love with Betty, he felt it was time for him to move on with his life. Where would he go from there?

When we were on a No Girls Allowed! holiday, my daddy's heart stopped beating and I had to find help all by myself. He was very badly broken. Not even the ambulance people could help him... This honest, sensitive and beautifully illustrated picture book is designed to help explain the concept of death to children aged 3+. Written in Alex's own words, it is based on the real-life conversations that Elke Barber had with her then three-year-old son, Alex, after the sudden death of his father. The book provides reassurance and understanding to readers through clear and honest answers to the difficult questions that can follow the death of a loved one, and carries the invaluable message that it is okay to be sad, but it is okay to be happy, too.

In 1980, Roy Hounsell and his wife try to establish themselves in Corfu. In 1991 they buy a tumble-down property in mountainous Zagoria in Northern mainland Greece. They struggle with the rebuilding, helped by the village priest, Papa Kostas, create a garden out of the jungle and join in with the villagers to become regarded as locals.