Reflecting on: Nothing Beats Sweet Family Gatherings, with Teena Stewart

This past weekend, Jeff and I made a last minute decision to drive up to Lynchburg, VA from Hickory, NC to attend our niece Brooke’s college graduation. We picked my mother up from assisted living in Lewisville. Our stay was short and sweet, just Saturday and part of Sunday morning. But we packed in the fun and memories. I am so glad we went. The days of us all gathering at my mother’s house are over. We have to find new ways and places to gather. This coming weekend we’ll hold a garage sale to help clear out her house and then we’ll put it on the market. An era is passing away.

 Being with family this weekend underscored more than ever the value of family, and, how fleeting time is. It slips by so quickly and in the moment we don’t see it passing away. It’s only when we compare the yesterdays with the todays, looking at old photos and how we’ve all grown and aged that we realize that life is so very temporary. I watched my mother struggle with remembering even the basic things. She sat through the graduation ceremony only to forget later she’d even attended. “When is graduation?” she asked as we gathered with family at the grad party afterwards. I gently reminded her she’d already attended.

More than ever I wanted to preserve family memories. As a writer/artist I am always working on one art project or another, but rarely do something for myself. Finally, I found a way to capture some of these precious moments and memories. You can find more about the heirloom mirror on my blog. 

As a historian, I hear you, Teena – don’t forget to take notes and grab all the memories you can–once the folks are gone, the stories go with them…thanks for sharing….Lisa

Teena Stewart is a published author of The Treasure Seeker and many other books. In addition she is a  ministry leader and successful artist.Teena Stewart is a published author of The Treasure Seeker and many other books. In addition she is a  ministry leader and successful artist.

Market Mondays: The Hunger Games

What makes this somewhat disturbing tale so popular? What can we writers and consumers learn from these books and accompanying films?

Welcome guest, Shellie Neumeier.

With a historic weekend opening, The Hunger Games thundered through America grossing $155 million. The book by Suzanne Collins hit the stands in September 2009 and has since sold over 23 million copies in America, alone. The book series is rumored to hit Hollywood’s production machine with four films (splitting Mocking Jay into two films).

Undoubtedly, The Hunger Games will leave a long lasting mark on this generation. In the winter of 2011, my youngest son, a fastidious sixth grader, had to read The Hunger Games as part of his literature course work. I’d read the trilogy and knew what my twelve year old was about to embark on. Like any other reader, he devoured the pages and reached for the second book. Without a doubt the series fills its pages with violence, young love—in good and not so good, oppression, the dark war between good and evil, and the message of hope.

Sound familiar? I hope it does. If you’ve ever read the saga King David left in the Bible, you’ll recognize similar themes. For those who cringe and claim it’s too much. I agree. It is much. But so is high school. Those themes—violence (ever hear the crack of a shoulder as it’s shoved against a locker door?), young love, the war of good and evil, and hope—they’re alive and well in your local high school. Teens rally against each other, against angry or dispassionate faculty, against government cut-backs that tell them they are the lessor of society. Teens identify with this trilogy because it holds a mirror to their current world and amplifies it. If Katniss can survive The Hunger Games, then they can make it to graduation day.

Does the movie bring the same justice to the story as the book does? In my opinion, Nina Jacobson did an amazing job of bringing this dystopian world to life. Casting brought new and familiar faces in such a way as to enamor our hearts to the creatures who readers had already envisioned. I can’t fathom the daunting task screenplay writers Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray had laid before them. If read aloud, The Hunger Games takes over eleven hours. The movie? A mere 142 minutes. While the highlights were well done and inclusive, I wonder…would those who have yet to read the book understand the impact the death of Katniss’ father had on this family? Would they catch the depth of Katniss and Gale’s relationship and the dire nature of their existence? Would they see the need to betray each other in order to better their lives and the lives of those they loved? Perhaps these points will be developed in later films, but for now, I recommend reading the book first as it will help you understand the movie better.

One last note from me, a Christian mom determined to raise her children to know their Creator. This trilogy is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. It is gritty and hard, but therein lies life’s lessons. As Christians we are given the privilege (responsibility) to redeem that which may cause others to stumble. I can use The Hunger Games to springboard great discussion. Ask my children when they feel helpless. If they most identified with Katniss, Gale, Peeta, Cinna, or Haymitch. We can talk about when disobedience was acceptable in the Bible. Find examples of heroes that rage against the crowd to defend the weak. Dream about perfect societies and wonder where God would fit in. After all, isn’t redemption what this world is all about?

Resources:

Focus on the Family— Movie review: http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/hunger-games.aspx

Book review: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/protecting_your_family/book-reviews/h/hunger-games.aspx (Note: the book review from Focus ends with a wonderful discussion guide that can produce some interesting dinner conversation)

Children’s book Reviews: http://ccbreview.blogspot.com/

Redeemed Reader: http://www.redeemedreader.com/

Watch a movie trailer HERE.

End of the Line

As I sit here in the hallway just outside my condo (I locked myself out—my house and car keys are inside so I’m stranded), I can’t help but reflect on how far I’ve come since I first started blogging for Reflections in Hindsight. I began awhile ago upon seeing an admonition from our very own Lisa Lickel via the ACFW Midwest loop for anyone interested in contributing to this blog. I answered her call and offered to contribute, and soon I was posting once every other week.

Not long after that, I began posting every week when the gentleman I was co-posting with had to step back from the blog, so Thursdays became “my day” at Reflections. It worked well for a long time. I could probably go back and tell you exactly how long it’s been, but I haven’t any desire to try to figure out how to do that on my iPad via the WordPress App and risk losing an entire post (it’s happened before) in the process.

I’ve shared on a great many subjects during my time here, some of which still attract readers even though the posts have been live for months. Some of my top posts include my thoughts on witchcraft in YA books (above and beyond the level of Harry Potter, which I think is mostly harmless), a fun post entitled “WWJBD? What Would James Bond Do?“, and my personal favorite, An Obituary for Harold, a squirrel to whom I paid tribute a few days after I ran him over with my car.

All in all, it’s been a great run, but as I said in a previous post about how much I hate blogging, I just don’t have the time, energy, or the drive to continue to write anymore. Part of it stems from the fact that I don’t enjoy reading blogs very much, and I hate the idea that I have to blog in order to be a “successful” author as far as my books go. If I hate blogging, why am I doing it?

I apologize for my negative outlook on this subject. As this is my last post at Reflections, I want to leave on a positive note, something I have done for basically everything I’ve posted. I’m that type of person: the optimist who sees the glass as half full—usually.

So here’s my positive spin on all of this: in not blogging at Reflections, I will have more time to write books, work on Splickety Magazine (which you can buy here), and be a good father to my son (or possibly daughter), who we’re expecting to be born within the next few weeks. Posting at Reflections has been an obligation that I worried about fulfilling every week, and now I won’t have to worry anymore.

Thank you all for reading my posts throughout the last year or so. You’ve walked along with me on this journey, through the good times and the bad, through the well-planned posts and the not so well-planned posts. I am forever indebted to you for your support.

As I sign off for the last time as a regular contributor (that’s right, you may see me again at some point, it’s just that I won’t be the one driving the carriage) I have to make three final requests of you.

1. Please continue to read Reflections authors’ posts. As you well know, I’m not the only one here at this site. Never was. Please continue to support this site, and tell your friends about it. I owe so much to Lisa and the other contributors for what they’ve taught me, so please check them out often, if not every day.

2. Keep reading on Thursdays. My replacement is the very able, intelligent, creative Luther D. Powell, a young man with a bright future ahead of him. You can check him out on our author page soon. He will continue to bring the heat through his posts, a heat that has cooled in my recent posts. Give him more than a fair shot—I think you’ll be impressed.

3. Finally, keep your eyes open. I’ll be around. I’m at conferences, I’m not leaving Splickety Magazine any time soon (just started it—duh), and I’ll eventually have a book or 19 published that you all can and should read, and then buy more copies for your friends and family. When that day comes, I’ll appear on Reflections again, probably for an interview. Until then, support Splickety, and if you see me wandering the halls at some conference you happen to be attending, come up and say hello. I’m okay with faces but horrible with names, so please pardon me if you have to remind me who you are.

With that, thank-you again, and God bless you all.

-Ben

This is me preparing for my undoubtedly bright future.

Five Ways to Welcome New Chicks

We welcomed two new daughters into our family in the last four years. Our sons married lovely women and we rejoiced to grow our small family. Of course, having raised two boys, I knew little about girls—women, despite, um, being one. The first Christmas shopping was absolutely traumatic. My husband and I thought “sweater” for the new girl. That one time guessing size and style was enough for me; the experience, plus a few other reminiscences from early in my marriage, helped me decide a few things about feathering this mother-in-law’s nest.

1. adapt

My sons cleave to their wives now, and that’s a good thing. But it means I have to share them with other families that, in my case, does not live near by, not to mention different job schedules. We can’t always have holidays together, or even get together as often as we used to. I can moan about it, or I can

2. discover

Other ways of communication and other ways to celebrate and even create new family traditions. Their schedules are different, with work hours, meetings and social activities that make it hard to telephone. I might not always get the hang of texting, or I can be annoyed if they don’t respond to my messages, but I can still write notes, and send brief e-mails to remind them I’m thinking about them and praying for them. We can make up a new special day to commemorate instead of the usual holidays. This is just one way we learn to

3. get along

Despite our different tastes in food or household management. I am delighted by the new recipes and food choices my sons are learning from their wives, and enjoy sharing dishes. It’s intriguing to see all those life lessons put into action. There are likes, dislikes, allergies and favorites to learn not only about food, but routines when we visit each others’ homes. There are times for me to be still and listen and there are times when I can

4. advise

If I am asked, or if I catch a disaster in the works. Teachable moments are different for adults, especially adults that I didn’t raise. I respect the backgrounds and disciplines of my sons’ wives. Not every task must be done the way I do it now. In fact, I have adapted my household and personal chores several times throughout my life. I need to give them room to grow, make mistakes, and gently share what works for me. This is my

5. promise

That I can fulfill from the day of my sons’ births, when I held before God and thanked Him and offered them for His service. I would do my best to raise them as God-fearing gentlemen who would someday leave me and make homes of their own. I promised to be a role model, not a perfect one for sure, but one who would teach them to love the Lord and rest on His grace, and become role models in return.

Splickety Magazine is Launched!

Hello all. Late last week we finalized our first issue of Splickety Magazine, your premier destination for high-quality, compelling flash fiction. You can check it out here:

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/324163

Right now it’s on sale, too. Not only can you get the electronic copy for free, but you can also get 25% off the print version if you order it before February 14th–just in time for Valentine’s Day. It normally retails for $5.50, but it’s on sale right now for $4.30. Buy a copy for a friend, a family member, or a loved one. Don’t forget to get a copy for yourself, too. Get it while it’s on sale!

If you’re interested in subscribing (we’ll put the magazine out quarterly, or so) message me at splickety.wwc@gmail.com and I’ll get you connected with our main office to set up a subscription for you.

And, as always, if you’re interested in submitting to Splickety, you can find our submission guidelines at the link below:

http://inthefray1.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/splickety-magazine-submission-guidelines/

Thanks for your support, and I hope you enjoy Splickety.

-Ben

My NaNoWriteMare

Clever title, isn’t it? That’s about the only thing I accomplished this November as far as writing is concerned. Alright, I’m being too hard on myself–it’s not quite as bad as the title suggests. I actually logged 22,200 words on the nose in november, but that’s 28k shorter than the standard NaNo goal of 50k, and about 40-50k shorter than my personal goal of 60-75k. Ah well, life goes on, right?

The best thing I can do is try to figure out where I “went wrong” in my endeavor. If you caught my last post two weeks ago (sorry about the blank Liam Neeson post that showed up Thanksgiving Day–that’s courtesy of WordPress being devilish and deleting all of my content) where I sort of did a mid-course analysis and tried to make corrections, then you know some of my flaws already. I played too many video games, I focused more at work at my day job (that’s a good thing, though) and I didn’t do enough pre-research on my initial NaNo project, which I eventually abandoned in favor of returning to my previous work-in-progress (WIP) which is about a chapter away from hitting the book’s final act.

Yeah, I thought I’d be able to amp up my writing by switching to my old project, but my word counts actually didn’t improve–they decreased, then began to increase in the past few days. I wrote like a tyrant my first week, which was actually only five days, and in that time I put out 9,050 words. The next week (a full seven days) I put out 6,433, then a miserable 1,998 the week of that blog post. That was my rock bottom. I climbed up to 2,270, then reached 2,453 during the last four days of November. In short, I’m on an upswing, and that’s going to have to be good enough for now since I failed to complete NaNo.

In other words, my word count from October through November very closely resembles the stock market crash in 2008.

Here’s my new goal, and I think it’s manageable: finish my current WIP by the end of December. By my count I should have about 20-25k left to write. I have done over 50k words in a month before, so cranking out the end of the story (with the momentum of the entire cast of characters and the plot fueling my writing) should be a fun challenge. I’d like to have it done by mid-December so I can have an edited draft ready for my wife to read by January 1st, as I promised a few months ago.

Here are the things that will probably distract me: writing/preaching a sermon in mid-December for the main service in my church; running my church’s youth group; trying to acquire the biggest client for my dad’s company in its history (sooooo awesome, by the way); trying to acquire other clients at work; an old friend visiting my wife and me for a month or two; video games; getting the first issue of Splickety out and selling it to local stores; marketing Splickety nationwide; making time to spend with my pregnant wife; chaplain site visits to our client location three times a month; critique group stuff; potentially attending two funerals; meeting with a young couple about officiating their wedding; volleyball on Monday nights; workouts on Tuesday nights; Mayhem on Friday nights; and probably a bunch of other things I can’t remember right now.

In other words, it’s exactly how I like it: stressful, packed, and short on time.

I guess we’ll see how it turns out.

-Ben

Advent

Advent is a time of waiting, of anticipation of the coming of the Christ child. We like our traditions, no matter what we believe about Jesus and Christmas.

I introduced the Jesse Tree to my new church this year. The congregation will be involved in Advent by making and presenting the week’s ornaments and verses each Sunday.

What is a Jesse Tree? For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the Jesse Tree is the story of Jesus’s family from Genesis through his birth. It’s a great way to make looking at less familiar Bible passages less scary for those who are a little nervous about reading it. December 2 this year, 2011, represents the fourth day in Advent. At our church, we’re looking at Noah and the ark.

Scripture: Genesis 6: 11-14; 7: 17-8: 3; 9: 8-13. The ornament is a boat with a rainbow and clouds over it.

Background:   There was so much sin in the world that God had to find a way to remove it. So he asked Noah to build the ark and to save his own family, as well as the animals, because Noah and his family remembered God. Then God sent rain and the world flooded, and God destroyed all the people and animals that were not on the ark. When the flood was over and Noah and his family were safely on dry ground, God made a covenant, or a promise, with Noah. God promised not to send another flood that would destroy the world. As a sign of this promise, God put a rainbow in the sky.

The readings of the Jesse Tree are written for the whole family. When my children were growing up, they looked forward to the morning ritual before school of getting the day’s ornament for the tree and reading the passage. I made them each a Jesse Tree of their own when they married.

You can find out more about the Jesse Tree, find patterns and current readings, on this web site: https://www.rca.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=1602

Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home

Saying good bye to a loved one leaving for war is a gut-wrenching proposition. But for those left behind, their deployment marks the beginning of our battle. And yet, it is possible to find God’s peace in the midst of fear and conquer the terror that lurks in the darkness of doubt. In Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home, parents, spouses and siblings recount their personal journey as God goes before His people during times of spiritual, physical and military warfare. Learn the secret to living a peace-filled life when a loved one leaves for battle. Fight fear; win the war at home.

Buy the book on Amazon here.

An interview with two contributors to Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home, April Gardner and Elaine Marie Cooper.

1. Tell us about how you got involved in this project and what you hope will result.

April: It was actually Elaine that alerted me to the project. I knew instantly that I needed to do my part, in this amazing book. Deployments are a regular part of my life. I’ve been there many times, and will be there again. Besides the Lord, it’s been the support of understanding friends that’s gotten me through. That’s what this devotional is–friends reaching out to touch the lives of those who are lonely, fearful, and in need.

Elaine: I got involved in this project when I saw a posting on a blog that Edie Melson was looking for contributions to a devotional for families who had a loved one at war—any war. Edie wanted first person accounts that emphasized various aspects of dealing with the real-life difficulties of having a loved one on deployment and how, as Christians, our faith was able to sustain us. Since my own son had been deployed twice, I was able to draw on the personal angst of a Mom who knows her son is in danger, yet trusting that the God Who created him would be his shelter in war. What I hoped to impart was my own real life scenario: already dealing with the loss of my daughter to cancer, limited support of my family members, and struggling to maintain faith amidst my own battles on the home front. I hope that by sharing my own moments of both fear and faith, I can help others walking in my shoes.

2. Can you share a little summary of your contribution to the book?

April: When I heard about the project, my husband was in the middle of an eight month deployment in Baghdad. I knew instantly I needed to be a part of Fighting Fear, but it took months for the Lord to guide me in exactly what to write. It was over the holidays at a small town post office that God used an elderly woman and her generosity to sooth my ache. Needing to be a constant pillar of strength for my kids, I didn’t know how scared and lonely I was until that kind stranger gave me permission to cry. God’s strength and comfort comes in many forms and it’s those forms this book addresses.

Elaine: I couldn’t believe the title of my son’s e-mail: “In the Sandbox.”

My breathing quickened as I clicked to open it. There were the words that made my heart lurch and my soul cry out. My son was actually in Iraq on the ground.

He’s supposed to be in the Persian Gulf on his aircraft carrier, I thought. Tears were pouring down my cheeks. Why is he there, on the ground?

My son Ben explained in his note that he had been flown into the country from “the boat” to help coordinate flying missions. It was an honor and spoke highly of his character and leadership ability.

But that’s my son, I cried out to God. This isn’t fair.

I remembered telling my children for years that life was not always fair. Never had it seemed more unfair than three years prior to Ben’s deployment, when my only daughter was taken from us, the victim of a brain tumor. Before she had been diagnosed with this devastating cancer, the horror of 9-11 had occurred, prompting Ben to join the Navy and defend our nation. So while my husband and I fought our daughter’s cancer battle at home, Ben was sent to Florida to train to go to war in the Middle East. In May of 2006 he left for Iraq.

3. What was it like to write about this experience?

April: It was tough! But good for me. Writing it freshened the experience and its encouragement. It reminded me of God’s sovereignty and love.

Elaine: Writing about my experience was heartbreaking. Even now reading it, the tears begin to flow. I don’t know that the passage of time ever removes the deep, painful times from a mother’s heart. And knowing that in 2012 he could be deployed again only adds to the distress. Yet the God Who watched over my son in 2006 is still watching over him today—and tomorrow as well.

4. Have you connected with others and/or learned something in the process of this project?

April: I’ve been amazed at how eager and desperate people are for encouragement during deployments. Not only family members but friends, as well, who want to do something to help. Many have already told me they can’t wait for the release so they can buy the book for someone in need.

Elaine: Other than April and Edie, I have not connected with any of the other contributors as yet. I want to read the whole compilation of stories before reaching out to the others on a more personal basis as we share our struggles as fellow fighters of fear.

5. Anything else? Thanks for the opportunity to share about this much needed book. The war in the Middle East is now the longest war in American history. Our troops are weary. Their families are falling apart. Fighting Fear couldn’t have come at a better time.

What some are saying about the book:

Only those who’ve sent a loved one off to war can truly understand the fear, confusion, and battle that take place on the home front. In Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home When Your Soldier Leaves for Battle, author Edie Melson poignantly paints a picture of the internal war between fear and peace, weakness and strength, doubt and faith. With devotions from Edie’s own experiences, as well as contributions from others who’ve walked similar paths, this book is a must-read for every loved one left behind…holding down the fort at home.

Vonda Skelton, Speaker and author of Seeing Through the Lies: Unmasking the Myths Women Believe

 

As a combat veteran and now minister, I was captivated by the premise of this book. I can still remember the anxiety and fear that rushed through our family during my deployment. Many days, I prayed that the Spirit would comfort my wife, children, mother and friends as I
walked “through the valley of the shadow of death.” I was confident in my training, but never found the right truth from God’s Word to comfort
those who were praying for me…UNTIL NOW! Fighting Fear, Winning the War at Home is just the kind of tool that the Spirit can use to comfort those who are battling to stay strong during their own time of adversity.

Kurt Hartley, Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran and Ordained Southern Baptist Minister

Distraction in Action

You’re sitting in that ideal setting that we mentioned last week. You’ve got your elixir, your nepenthe, your ambrosia in a steaming mug next to you (or in a chilled glass). The sounds of nature, or silence, or rock and roll surround you as your fingers tap the keyboard or write longhand. The computer screen is alive with color, but mostly just white and black text. You type word after glorious word, and the story unfolds before your very eyes like a flower blossoming in the springtime (or, if you write action/adventure, like a swelling explosion from a rocket-propelled grenade).

Everything is perfect, just the way you like it.

Then the phone rings. The dog next door starts barking. Your kids charge into the room and shout at the top of their lungs. The over beeps because your frozen pizza is cooked. Your next-door neighbor shoots his dog because it was barking too much. A meteor strikes the Earth in Africa and knocks your juice/coffee/soda/water all over your keyboard.

All is lost.

What happened? You got distracted.

“But–that’s not what happened! It wasn’t my fault!” you cry, furious that I would hazard to suggest that the African meteor was somehow your fault. “I couldn’t help being distracted.”

Sometimes, that’s exactly how it is. You don’t really have much of a choice–stuff will happen and it will distract you.

…

Sorry for the pause. I had to go get a frozen pizza out of the oven. Seriously, I actually got up and did that while I was typing this post. But it’s 11:47 at night and I’ve only eaten once today, so I have to take care of that. For me, that was an example of a necessary distraction.

As I was saying, there are some things you just can’t help. The neighbor’s dog barking, for example. Unless that neighbor really does find some way to shut Fido up (or if you’re cavalier enough to do it for him), you’re stuck with it. That doesn’t mean, of course, that you have to let it distract you. Put on some headphones, or put in some earplugs, or both, and get back to writing.

It’s not always so simple. You have kids. They neeeeeeed you every second of every day. Can’t get rid of them, can you? Sure, if they’re older, you can ship them off to school for eight hours, but if they’re babies (like the one I’m expecting in March), what do you do then? Since I don’t have kids that age (yet), I really don’t have a good answer except to say what I would TRY to do.

James Scott Bell has a dandy book called The Art of War for Writers (which I highly recommend). In it, he explains that he often “snatches time” when he writes. He explains that he makes sure he is still productive in spite of distractions by snatching time to write whenever he can. He mentions that he writes in some weird places at some weird times, primarily on a portable typing thingy–not hi-tech like an iPad, but something simpler called an AlphaSmart Neo, which he says runs on two AA batteries. He stresses that no matter how you do it, make sure that you ARE doing it.

So, when the kids are screaming, attend to them, and then sneak back to snatch a few words here and there until you find time to dedicate to writing. That’s my theory, anyway.

It will also help if you rid yourself of the distractions you can control. How much time, would you say, you spend online? On Facebook? Checking emails? Playing games? Playing video games? Watching TV? The list could go on forever, I’m sure, but my point is simple: make writing a priority, and you’ll find that many of those other things won’t matter quite as much in relation to your writing. Find a way to box them out, to isolate your writing time as your writing time.

This is all easier said than done, but you can do it. It takes time, practice, and discipline, all dirty words in our modern age of instantaneous gratification.

I’m going to leave you with a few different action steps today. Use the ones you can, ignore the others.

1. Identify things that distract you on a regular basis. This could be anything from jumping on Facebook every seven seconds, reading articles online, that incessant beeping from your cell phone because you haven’t opened your last text message yet–anything that you know will distract you.

2. Rid yourself of these things if you can. Turn off/unplug your internet connection, and switch off your cell phone’s sound. Put those earplugs in and block out Fido’s incessant barking, etc.

3. Create a plan of action for dealing with unforeseen distraction (like public rhyming). This should include dealing with said distraction, but more importantly carving a path to getting back into your writing groove.

4. Snatch that time. Get an AlphaSmart Neo, or a notebook and paper, and write. Or, get an iPad, and write on that thing. How you do it isn’t so important–actually doing it is what’s important.

5. Celebrate your victories. Before you know it, you’ll have a thousand more words on the page than you had ever dared hope for. That calls for a bit of celebration, right? Treat yourself to a movie, a TV show, or a snack/beverage that you wouldn’t normally enjoy, and enjoy a period of rest.

I hope this helps.

-Ben

An Obituary for Harold

Harold Poofenstein

Harold Poofenstein, a gray squirrel, lived his life perpetually scampering just out of risk’s grasp.

When Poofenstein leaped from one branch to another in the tall tree he called his home, risk chased his poofy gray tail, ever anxious to see him slip and fall to his doom. Risk found Poofenstein in an open field when he dodged the talons of a hungry hawk while gathering food. Risk even failed to do Poofenstein in while he barreled through the back yard of an NRA family, whose children almost never ceased firing their BB guns at anything that moved.

But on Tuesday the 4th of October, risk finally caught up with Poofenstein, this time in the form of a bright red 2002 Ford Escape.

Fresh off his lunch break, Poofenstein approached the street from the west side with confidence and abandon, just as he approached life itself, friends say.

“Harold was a maniac sometimes,” said Mitch Featherby, a black crow and one of Harold’s closest friends. “I mean, we used to party behind grocery stores and restaurants, looking through their dumpsters for tantalizing morsels late at night, but that was nothing compared to Harold’s antics in busy city streets.”

A red Ford Escape, like this one, struck and killed Poofenstein near the intersection of Green Bay and Mill Road in Glendale, Wisconsin on October 4th.

Witnesses say that near the intersection of Mill Road and Green Bay Road in the city of Glendale, Wisconsin, Poofenstein sprinted into the street as the Ford Escape approached.

“He did that sort of thing all the time,” Featherby said. “I’m pretty crazy myself sometimes, but hey, I’ve got wings. Harold just didn’t know his limits. That’s what I admired about him the most.”

“He just ran out there. Didn’t stop to look both ways. Didn’t listen for cars,” said witness Donovan McFluffy, a cottontail rabbit. “The sound of the impact was one of the most sickening things I’ve ever heard. And that’s saying something, because I’ve got forty-seven kids back at home with Mrs. McFluffy.”

At approximately 11:55am, the southbound Ford Escape struck Poofenstein while traveling at approximately 40-45 miles per hour, somewhere between five and ten miles over the speed limit.

“He almost made it across,” said McFluffy. “I thought he had it there for a moment, but he never cleared the driver’s side tire.”

“Sure, the driver was probably speeding,” said Grip Serpentino, a garter snake who also witnessed the accident. “But that squirrel was pretty dumb for just running out there. I’m not saying he deserved what he got, but consequences have actions, you know?”

Poofenstein’s family wants answers.

“How is it that my son can get hit by a truck that size and no one in Glendale so much as lifts a paw to see that justice is served?” said Joyce Poofenstein, Harold’s mother. “I know it was a human driving, but still. It was a hit and run. Period.”

“Someone should do something about these drivers,” said Dirk Poofenstein, Harold’s father. “The city of Glendale ought to lower speed limits, or put more police out to enforce them, or something. How many more squirrels have to die before someone takes action?”

Reflections in Hindsight attempted to contact Glendale’s Department of Human/Animal Relations, but never received a call back. We later learned that Glendale does not have a Department of Human/Animal Affairs.

“Well, they should have one,” said Mrs. Poofenstein. “These kinds of tragedies can’t keep happening to the animal community with no recognition from the human race.”

Poofenstein was almost two years old when he died, a mature age for any squirrel.

“So what if he still lived at home with his parents, never really did well with the lady squirrels, and routinely raided public restroom trashcans for discarded food?” said Featherby. “Harold was an inspiration to all who knew him. He flirted with danger every waking moment of his existence. He went out there, grabbed the world by its nuts, and took no prisoners. He died as he lived: a leader, a hero, and now a legend. He was my friend.”

The World's Nuts

Poofenstein is survived by his parents, Joyce, 3, and Dirk, 4, several cousins and extended family, and a host of friends who will always remember him for his daring escapades.

Public memorial services will be held by the bubblers in the southeast corner of Kletsch Park in Glendale on Friday, October 14th, 2011. The family asks that all donations in Poofenstein’s name be given to the Wisconsin Humane Society or to the City of Glendale Glendale Parks and Recreation Department.