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54 pages

English

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A selection of non-fiction short stories based on experiences in a 90-year life. 1. Save this patient or die - patient care under the gun.
2. "Here doggie, doggie." Calling the bear to join the picnic.
3. Roscoe finds his courage as the babies watch.
4. A baby in the street just for fun!
5. It's 8 for Space, and the last ship to go.
6. A visit to Chisum's Old Lincoln Town, where the past never dies.
7. A Cherokee bride, it's in the family tree.
8. A glimpse of Tucson town through a scarf.
9. A hat saves the day and helps an escape from war.
10. Sightless eyes find the murderer and prevent another.

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Short story

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Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
Date de parution	31 mars 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781645754398
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0175€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Stepping Stones
E. Jacquelyn Kirkis
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-03-31
Stepping Stones Stepping Stones Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgment Prologue Nuthin’ To Do The Momma Machine Count Eight for Space In Old Lincoln Town A Cherokee Bride What a Dog! A Short Story The Scarf Waders and the Bear Save This Patient or Die! My Lucky Hat and a Journey out of War Blind Rescue
About the Author
E. Jacquelyn Kirkis’s childhood dreams of becoming a nurse and then a physician were fulfilled, and over those years of service and creating a family, she traveled the world as a speaker and published author in her profession. Holding copyrights and a medical patent, her busy days were marked with the spontaneous writing of a short story which became the stepping stones for this book.
Dedication
To my children, the 1st three and all who have followed.
Copyright Information ©
E. Jacquelyn Kirkis (2020)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloguing-in-Publication data
Kirkis, E. Jacquelyn
Stepping Stones
Austin Macauley is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In this spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.
ISBN 9781645754381 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781645754374 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645754398 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
mail-usa@austinmacauley.com
+1 (646) 5125767
Acknowledgment
L. Claire Morgan—BA, MS Ed.
Editorial consultants.
Hannah E. Winchester—BA Fine Arts,
Vision Studios LLC—Tucson, Arizona.
Prologue
Holding copyrights and a medical patent of a major contribution to safe practices in medicine and nursing, the author often found the quiet times of busy days marked with the spontaneous notes of a short story. These stories were based on either experiences or local community happenings. Some were nonfiction based on actual experiences. A few of these short stories nonfiction and fiction have become the Stepping Stones in this book.
Short stories built from experiences and dreams while growing up and finding my place facing the horizon of living:
From the 1940s and 1950s, and on into 1976, a busy time called me each day. Having completed the years of childhood and reached into young womanhood, I sat on an afternoon in 1945 with nuthin’ to do.
College days were imminent and my family was scrambling to get me ready. The long held plans for my life of being a physician were the guides for my future. Even though I loved the studies of biology, and all other foundation sciences on which I would build my future, I also loved another side of study—that of writing. I liked to write stories about daily life, about funny happenings to people around me, about whatever came to mind. As I sat with time on my hands on this afternoon, a funny story came to mind. I am sure you will agree that little boys will find “something to do.”
Nuthin’ To Do
Boy! Was it hot! Not “warm” but H-O-T, H-O-T! You’d think that after the sun went to bed, the air would cool off. Not so in Phoenix, Arizona, tonight. The temperature today hit 118 o F in the shade. No one cared to find out what it was in the sunshine.
Frank, Teddy, and I were sitting on the stone corner block of Estes’ Used Car Lot. We often sat on that big stone block to watch the traffic go by.
It was eight thirty in the evening. Gee, was it hot!
There was nuthin’ going on. No one was around. Even the cars passing by on the avenue seemed to be sluggish. The streetlights, the bluish kind most big cities use, looked like tired moons. Everything looked pooped from the heat. Everyone and everything looked pooped from the heat.
The three of us didn’t have a thing to do. We were just sitting on the corner watching the cars go by, watching the people go by.
“You know somethin’?” Frank said. “I read the best joke to play on someone. Let’s try it.”
“Aw, it’s too hot to play a joke,” I replied. “I don’t want to ‘play’ or even move.”
“No, this is a good one. We don’t have to ‘do’ nuthin’ much. Want to hear it?” returned my pal.
The joke must have been pretty good because Frank’s face really lighted up when he talked about it.
“Okay, tell us about it, Frank,” chimed in Teddy who was always ready to play a prank.
Both Teddy and I scooted closer to Frank on the huge stone block.
“Well,” began Frank, “you get a doll…”
“A doll!” I howled. “No sir, I don’t play with dolls.”
“For cat’s sake, Louis, it’s just for the joke. Now listen.” Frank continued, “You put the doll in the street, kinda out from the curb. It looks like a baby, a real baby. Looks like it fell out of a car. It will be great to watch the cars stop and see what happens when they see it’s only a doll. What do you say? Pretty good, huh?”
“Sounds pretty good, and it’s somethin’ to do,” I added. “Where do we get a doll?” I laughed. “You got one, Frank?”
“Yeah, ha, ha! Get your dolly, Frank,” snickered Teddy.
“Sure, I know where we can get one. It looks really real. Quit your giggling, Teddy. The little girl next door to me has one. I know she will let us use it. Come on.” This last over his shoulder as he ran down the side street in the direction of his home.
Teddy and I followed.
Sure enough, he borrowed the doll and in no time at all we were back on the corner of Estes’ Used Car Lot.
Traffic was still slow. People were still few and far between on the sidewalks. The evening was hot. Still nuthin’ doin’.
Frank looked both ways on the avenue and both ways on the sidewalks before he quickly stepped out into the near traffic lane. He sprawled the doll on the pavement. It sure looked real! Frank just as quickly returned the few steps from the street to the corner block.
“Now watch,” he said as he smiled.
A blue sedan went by going the other direction. It didn’t stop. There were two people in the car, a man and a woman. The woman glanced at the crookedly sprawled “baby” in the street. She lifted her head for only a minute and then bent down again, her attention on something in the car. The three boys saw her lift her eyes as the car went by the doll but they thought she missed seeing it. The car went on down the street.
“Boy! Some goof,” shouted Ted after the blue car. “Can’t even stop for a baby in the street!”
We all laughed, and the three of us looked down the street for another car.
A steel-gray armored car was approaching. Through the front glass we could see two men, a driver, and a guard. The car was coming right down the lane where the doll lay.
“Say, look! They have seen the doll,” I whispered. “Quick, let’s hide on the other side of this rock.”
“Yeah! Hurry! This is gonna kill them,” added Frank as we scurried down behind the cornerstone.
The car came on toward the doll. The guard was looking right at the small twisted figure. The boys could see him rise in his seat for a better look out the windshield glass. The driver, too, was crouching up on the wheel to look. Both men could see the doll.
“They’re gonna stop. They’re gonna stop,” I said in hoarse tones. “Get ready.”
Sure enough, the car slowed to what seemed to be a stop. The guard leaned out the side window and then settled back laughing. He turned to the driver and told him that it was “only a doll.” They both laughed. The driver shifted gears and the big car accelerated down the street.
“Shucks,” pouted Teddy. He climbed up on the stone, pulled his knees up, and wrapped his arms around them. “All they did was laugh. Frank, this wasn’t such a good idea. Let’s get the doll and go home.”
“Aw, let’s wait for just one more car,” I said.
Hardly were the words out of my mouth when we saw the car. It was a fairly new convertible, a bright shiny yellow. A young man was at the wheel. He was heading his car right for the doll. There was something funny about his face. It seemed frozen.
“Come on,” called Teddy as he unwrapped himself and slipped down beside the block.
“Hey,” I said, “he’s gonna run over the doll if he doesn’t stop!”
As we watched, the car came on. It appeared the young man did not see the doll. He seemed unaware of the other cars, people, lights… He looked like he was dreaming.
The three of us were all set to run for the doll so he would stop.
The yellow convertible slowed. The young man turned his eyes to the crumpled baby doll. Then he did the craziest thing. He ran his car right over the doll! He ran over it and drove away real fast.
“Good night,” I breathed as we ran out from behind our shield.
“Good night. What did he do that for?”
“Yeah, what a creep!” Frank added as he went out and picked up the doll.
“Some joke… Oh well, let’s go home.”
“Okay,” we agreed to a man. “Boy! Nuthin’ to do.”
The three friends walked slowly down the darkening street. Over his shoulder, one carried a life-sized baby doll.
***
“But I tell you I killed a baby. I ran right over it.” The young man’s hands were shaking as he lit a cigarette. Exhaling smoke from his nostrils, in short jets, his extreme nervousness was very evident.
This was the central booking area of the detective bureau of Phoenix, Arizona. Across from this upset citizen sat Chief of Det