Stories From The Journey

This page is all about stories from the journey:

The journey of life, the road one travels, the experiences, the insights learned, the wisdom gained, and the wonderful people met along the way.

It is sometimes about the detours, and the adventure one has during those unplanned, unexpected, but very eventful times.

Yes, Life is "The Journey".

This page is "Family-Friendly" and will feature stories and events of interest for families to share.

I am a traditional Native American Storyteller. But, I have found that everyone has a story.... In fact, many stories. These stories are parts of our life's journeys. They are important. They have value.

What are your stories?

Be sure to share your stories with your family, friends, and people you meet along your journeys of life.

Don't mess with Grandma

This funny story has been forwarded all over the world a few times. But it is till funny.

This is a true story... An elderly Florida lady did her shopping, and upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her voice, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!"

The four men didn't wait for a second invitation. They got out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into driver's seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then it dawned on her why....

A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the Police station.

The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn't stop laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed. Ahh, SENIOR MOMENTS!

Nice places to visit

Bess's Garden CLICK HERE: This page contains stories and funny writings that you may enjoy.
Tell Me A Podcast Story - CLICK HERE: A place to hear audio podcast stories. The art of storytelling is not lost, just waiting for an audience who will listen.
Tutters Treehouse: A fun, light hearted place to visit.
Maude and Poppy: Down home style of inspirational and humorous pieces.

Mothers Day Flowers

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's and Grandmothers! And all the Dad's and Granddad's, aunts and uncles, and others who serve in these roles too.

Wishes for all the mom's and grandmothers to have a wonderful day. We hope you know that you are loved and appreciated! We hope that this is demonstrated to you by family, friend or stranger. Just so you will know how special you are.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's

Mothers Day Message on Tutters Treehouse page: Here is a little webpage dedicated to mom's and other caring people. Hope you enjoy it when you get the time to visit.

Have a wonderful day!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Scene from Puyallup Fair, Puyallup, Washington State, USA.

Fairs are rich with sights and sound for children of all ages.

Do you have any special memories of attending the fair?

A Story from Childhood

A Child's Perspective of Rodeo's, Fairs, and Other Memorable Happenings

By Sue Charles
Copyright May 2006

As a young child, my experience with community events, fairs, and the like, was little, to none. Luxuries such as these were considered a waste of precious time and money. My parents worked hard to make ends meet and raise a family.

The community where I spent my growing up years, after age 5, was a timber and cattle town. It is now known as the birthplace of Les Schwab Tire Company. We were miles from anywhere: a small valley oasis in the middle of the desert of Central Oregon, a pretty town, made up of God-fearing, hard-working folks.

These things shaped our lives. I think everyone; by the age of 14 was a hard working, "productive member of society". Our community was (and may still be) known as the "Cowboy Capital" of Oregon. Most everyone wore, or at least owned a cowboy hat, and the typical attire was jeans and cowboy boots. Drug and alcohol abuse was unknown to the youth of our town, even in the 60's. Prescription "drugs" were rarely used except in extreme, life-saving situations. Looking back, it was an ideal place to grow up, offering a safe, protected life.

Rodeo's and round-ups were rather commonplace in our state. My first time at a Rodeo event was at the age of five, and was not soon forgotten. My parents saved up money to take all six of us to the Pendleton Round-up. This is a major event, drawing huge crowds. We lived near Pendleton at the time, just before we moved to Central Oregon where I spent the rest of my growing up years.

I have no personal remembrance of the incident. But this is the account as it was told.

At the Round-up, the calf-roping event caught my attention as the first calf was sent out into the dirt arena. Horse and rider sped after the calf. The rider roped the calf, leaped off the horse, grabbed the calf and threw it to the ground, wrapping and tying off three of the calf's legs so it could not get up. The crowd cheered. Immediately, I cried out in dismay, "Leave that baby calf alone!"

Part Two: A Story from Childhood

A Child's Perspective of Rodeo's, Fairs, and Other Memorable Happenings

By Sue Charles

I continued to yell and shout, appealing to those around me to stop the atrocity. The volume and intensity increased each time I demanded, "Don't hurt that baby calf! Leave it alone!"

I refused any attempts to hush and console me with explanations. I could see with my own eyes, the unmerited violence against the innocent creatures. Soon this yelling five-year-old "activist" was drawing more attention than the main event in the arena. Embarrassed parents made a quick exit with yelling child in tow, making a bee-line for the fair which, in theory would distract the sobbing child and make her forget about the plight of the calves.

Apparently that plan didn't work. As I continued to wail and lament about the plight of the calves, the family outing to the rodeo and fair came to a screeching halt.

In contrast with parents of today, no one blamed me for ruining the day, nor was I scolded or berated for wasting the hard-earned money that my parents had truly scrimped and saved for this special occasion. A guilt-trip would have been (and always is) counter-productive. Besides, the sheer agony of my concern for the calves was far worse than any verbal bashing or physical punishment could have been.

When I became older and (ranch) wiser, and understood that calf-roping and branding are a necessity of ranch and farm life, I did come to enjoy rodeos and fairs, and happily attended them whenever possible.

Part Three: A Story From Childhood

A Child's Perspective of Rodeo's, Fairs, and Other Memorable Happenings

By Sue Charles

My most memorable times as a child were spent with my aunt and uncle at White Salmon, Washington; also with my two sets of grandparents. I spent wonderful times each summer in these three places, providing treasured memories to me through the years.

There is something magical about being at grandma and grandpa's house, with such a sense of unconditional love, and so many wonderful things to see and do.

In my case, one set of grandparents had a ranch, which meant a couple hundred acres to roam and immense barns of hay and grain for endless hours of play.

We children loved the rooms of grain. We rolled and played in it, and filled the pockets of our jeans to overflowing with the morsels to munch on while we wandered over the ranch, doing nothing in particular on those delicious hot summer days. Our favorite grain of all was the wheat. We loved to eat the wheat. We learned to make wheat "gum" by chewing it to "mush" and not swallowing. It became a pleasant gummy substance that we could chew for hours.

Ahh, those were the days, my friend!

These are only a few of the wonderful events of my childhood and growing up years; treasured times of innocence and the simple life.

Author, Sue Charles is the Station Master of Good Politics Radio for Washington State and for Native Nations Good Politics Radio Internet Radio stations. She is the Executive Producer of Podcast programming "Inside Washington State", and "The Talking Stick" on Good Politics Radio.com.

Sue and her husband Ben are award-winning media professionals who are devoted to family, and to making a difference in people's lives and community. Sue and Ben own and operate their media production business, NW Native Media Productions. They are cultural historians and have been active in documenting Native culture and events for more than 25 years.

More pages you may enjoy

Mama Bear Baby Bear: This story of a Grandmother bear and her grandchild draws a parallel between life in the forest and modern day challenges that families face.
Buy the Book: Mother Bear Baby Bear: This book will be a special treasure for you or to give as a gift.
Native Storytelling: Learn about Native American Stories and Legends and Lessons in Life.
The Journey Enterprises: Authentic Native American Jewelry in silver, gold, platinum, and turquoise.
Native Nations GPR: News, Articles, Stories, Photos nd more relating to Native Nations of the Americas.

Stories: They give so much.

Stories help us learn about ourselves and each other. Stories relate happenings and express thoughts and feelings about events.

Stories and imagination transport us to another time and place. They let us walk in another's shoes for a time, and get a sense of how things are for someone else.

Stories can uplift or push down. They can open one's mind to new ideas and set one free, or they can control, manipulate and trap one in a place of desperation. In short, stories can be used for good or evil (just like anything else, come to think of it).

The stories on this page are presented to build up, encourage, and to provide some humor and insight on the journey through life.

What better way to share than through a story.

More pages you may enjoy visiting.... We did.

Zen Stories To Tell Your Neighbors: Stories help us learn about ourselves and each other. Stories relate happenings and express thoughts and feelings about events. This page is all of the above.
Candlelight Stories: This page offers audio stories, illustrated stories, movies, games, and contests, many of which serve educational purposes in school and at home.

One of our favorites is: The Heron and the Crane - A Russian Fairy Tale

This 1974 animation is by Russian animator, Yuri Norstein. It uses paint and cutouts for its characters. Norstein also used painted glass panels that he could move in order to give a feeling of depth to his scenes.
Short Story - "Oral Tradition, Fussing in the Key of G" - Read It, CLICK HERE: A cute story about a family:
"Gramma fusses about getting ready for Camp Meeting this year, even though she has it organized down to the last baked bean and roll of toilet paper." Use this link to read More...
Short Stories at East of the Web: A resource to a variety of short stories. These include read-on-line stories, one of which is listed above "Oral Tradition, Fussing in Key of G", and books you can purchase, such as Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman, a Memoir". We think you will enjoy.
Heartwarming-Stories from Make A Wish Foundation: Stories about "Wishes" that the foundation has granted to children and youth.