A Walk in the Past

I wrote this very short article for a class. I had a word limit and I don't like word limits. Anyway, here goes.............






The Beloved Store

Allen’s Grocery Store. I used to love that little place. Years ago, the Cotton Mill was the largest place of employment when it was built in 1929 and a small community of employee housing surrounded the thriving factory. Thus, that area of town was nicknamed “Milltown.”


In the heart of Milltown sat one small, white grocery store that still stands there today. It was named after the owner, and I had the pleasure of attending church with him and his family. He passed away while I was five, but his wife lived next door.

I lived within walking distance of the quaint, cozy store. My mother allowed me to walk there after school or during summer break. My friends and I would gather up what change we could find and make the way through the streets of Milltown. One long street, turn to the left, walk a few steps, turn right on Wheeler Street.

Allen’s Grocery Store stood on the corner of two streets. Its big sign on the top, stood out above the roof in bold letters. The front porch had an old ice machine to the left and Mrs. Allen’s white house sat close to the right.

Our summers were always hot and humid, so a nice, cool Coke was what most everyone would have in his hand. The special kind of Coke that you could pop the top on the cold drink machine that sat by the door.

A musty, dirty smell from years of service greeted us when we walked in. We’d hurry to the back, get our drink and then head straight to the candy aisle to stare at what lay before us. We’d walk up and down the old, creaky wooden floor searching for just the right scrumptious candy. Pop Rocks, Reese’s, and Charms Blow Pops; we had our pick. There’s nothing like having the Pop Rocks sizzle and pop in the back of your throat, while pretending that you were going to explode, while the noise of Pac Man or Space Invaders whizzed in the background.

We’d make our selection and head out into the hot air. I’d stop by Mrs. Allen’s house if I saw her sitting on her porch swing on the front porch. She’d wave and always call me her special little friend. The sweet aroma of the magnolia tree in her front yard lingered with me all the way home.

Years passed and Mrs. Allen went to be with the Lord. Luckily the new owners kept the original name. Sadly, I would never allow my child to walk to the old store that I once loved. Old men on the front porch are now replaced with different people. The part of town that I once loved is no longer the same. I’ll always cherish the memories that I have of my favorite place nestled in the heart of Milltown.

One night with Hagus Jones

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent. hehe. I will not reveal the location of this area since someone involved is still alive.)

My good ole high school besties, Tammy, LaShonda, Dana, and I decided one night to go visit the house of Hagus Jones. Two of us are excited and ready to go. Surprisingly, Tammy is terrified. She claimed that she CAN NOT go near anything that gruesome. On different occasions, Tammy told us that when she went to a cemetary, she came back smelling like roses and she just does not want to experience that again. I, being the good friend that I am, joked and kidded with her about her being so scared. After all, I'm the one who is writing horror stories and I just wrote the story, "The Night With Hagus Jones." So what was there to be afraid of? Seriously. LaShonda was a little scared, but Dana and I were brave. "Oh, it's nothing! Let's just go do it!"

The backstory....(not for the easily scared) A long time ago, Hagus Jones became extremely tired of her husband, so one night she decided to chop and mutilate him into tiny bits. She scattered his body parts along different rivers. She was arrested and placed in a mental hospital, then later escaped. She waits for people under their carports and if she is hungry, she gnaws on her fingers. My husband and his friends grew up telling that story when they were kids. I just wrote a story about it and submitted it to a contest.

So here we ventured out to the house of Hagus Jones. Dana brought her video and digital camera. Tammy forgot her Depends she kept saying, while LaShonda sings old country songs in the backseat. Her beautiful voice alone should be enough to calm anyone's nerves.

I finally threatened Tammy that if she wets the seat from being scared, I'm kicking her out. I refused to turn around and take her to WalMart. But I should have, because Dana discovered that her video camera batteries had died.

Tension began to build as we get closer to the site of the Hagus Jones incident. Someone told us the name of the wrong road, so we were driving around in the country in the dark, already scared, and I almost ran over a poor raccoon. "AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" we all screamed and then burst out laughing. I wasn't sure who was more scared, the raccoon or us. Tammy commented, "Did you see how that raccoon stopped, looked at us, came foward, and then left? He gave us a warning!" We laughed again at her fear.
"No impending warning from a raccoon, all is well." I told her.

We arrived at the area of the house of Hagus Jones. Fear gripped my entire body when I looked at the ugly house. I pulled around and let the car face the road in case we needed to get out in a hurry. I was prepared.

The darkness in the night surrounded the place. A small white condemed house stood in the middle of the yard. No one would be safe going in there. The windows were broken and the curtains were still there. The house did not look welcoming. There were no sounds. Just silence. Everywhere. A street light stood in the way giving us what light we did have. The area to the side of the house is roped off saying, "DO NOT ENTER."

Dana got her things ready. "Eva, promise me that you won't run off and leave me."

"OH, Dana, I do promise. I'd never leave you out here all alone." I told her as I grip the steering wheel. I slowly backed up the car a little closer to the house, not too close, but a little closer.

Tammy stared at the house. "Eva, look! It has the broken windows and torn curtains JUST LIKE IN YOUR STORY!"

I screamed. "SHUT UP! I DON'T NEED TO HEAR THAT!" What if Hagus is in there! Oh, gosh, what have I done?

Dana and LaShonda bravely opened the car door and walked towards the house of Hagus Jones. Terror surrounded my every move. I looked over at Tammy and saw fear in her eyes, too. My heart was pounding and I'm sure that anything living could hear it. My nerves were on edge and I'm paralyzed with fear. I can not get out of the car at all. My trembling hands clutched the steering wheel as if I'm never letting go.

I noticed that LaShonda left her door opened a little. Tammy and I heard a thump from somewhere beside us, so I closed LaShonda's door. "What was she thinking? Something might get in here with us!" Tammy slowly agreed as I slamed the door shut.

I'm sitting there, scared out of my mind. "Who talked me into this?"
"Uh, Eva, it was your idea," Tammy said, staring at Dana and LaShonda. I turned up the radio hoping to scare off anything that wanted to come inside my car.

Suddenly Tammy's face turned white and her eyes were large as saucers. "What are they doing?" Fear resided in Tammy's voice.

"Dana! Dana! What's wrong? LaShonda! What's wrong?" Tammy's alarmed voice made shivers go down my arm.

"Wh..what is it?" I said, not looking in their direction.

"They are just standing there like they are frozen!" Tammy proceeds to get out of the car.

"Don't leave me in here by myself!" I yelled at her as she slammed the door.

"Eva, back the car a little closer," someone yelled. I backed a little further again, but I don't want to get too close.

"Eva, get over here. Get out of the car!" Dana yelled at me. "Just get out and come here."

Slowly I opened the car door. Heart pounding, fingers shaking, nerves rising. I'm so afraid!!! I opened the car door and stood there, never taking my hand off the side of the door.

"My camera's messing up. It won't take a picture right. Come look at this." Dana holds up her camera. I don't leave the comfort of my car door.

"You gotta see this. It's so freaky!" LaShonda walked towards the little house. "There's a bed in here!"

Everything got quiet. Now I'm hoping they decided that it's time to go.

All of a sudden out of no where, a scream pierced through the air. I can't breathe. Terror has totally taken over my senses. A woman's shrill scream came from behind the right side of the house! A chill collected in the middle of my neck and then ran down my entire spine.

LaShonda looked back at us as she took her hand down from opening the door to the house. Her eyes wide with the same fear. "What the heck was that? Did you hear that?"

"GET IN THE CAR! OH MY COW! GET IN THE CAR!" I yelled at them. I slammed the door and waited for someone to come in next. LaShonda literally dove in the backseat and Tammy followed next.

"GET IN THE CAR! GET IN THE CAR!" I yelled. Dana still stood there staring at her camera. I pounded the horn at least twenty times and yelled, "GET IN THE CAR! GET IN THE CAR!!"

Fight or flight took over. I chose flight. So I put the car in drive and started to drive away. Dana finally decided to come running. She jumped in the car while her leg was dragging the ground. She yelled, "HOLE! Hole!" The rocks are flying behind me as I ignored her yells to be careful. Thank God nothing was coming because I wasn't about to stop. I'm still screaming and so are they.

"What was that?" LaShonda finally said, still taking deep breaths.

"I didn't hear anything!" Dana kept saying. "I can't believe I almost got left!"

"It was LaShonda trying to punk me. I know that's what it was." Tammy said, laughing.

"It wasn't me! It was a woman yelling." LaShonda tried to tell Tammy.

"She is not a ventrilloquist, Tammy. It was something out there. It came from behind the house." I tell her, still shaking.

After we almost run over a rabbit, we get out of the area. Dana showed me the picture she took. "You will not believe it. It's freaky! You gotta see this." I pulled over in a church parking lot, looked at it, then threw it back at her.
Everything was green in the picture. For some reason it was divided into 16 different parts. In the middle of the shot, there's a black hooded figure, looking straight ahead. The bottom pictures looked like blood splattered in all directions. (I didn't post that picture on here.)

I called my friend, Martha, to tell her and I proceed and say, "IT was chopped up into 16 different parts." I froze. Why did I just say that? We all went, "WHAT!" when I said that. So now we were all wondering if the husband was chopped into 16 parts!

I had to apologize to Dana over a hundred times for almost leaving her. Yes, it's like current river all over again, sorry! I got scared!! She thought that she dropped her cell phone at the place, but I told her she'd have to go get it herself.
"Eva, remember that you promised me that you woulnd't leave me?" Oh, why did she have to remind me. :)

Tammy looked at me. "Eva, now you can NEVER joke with me about being scared!"
"I know, Tammy. I'm the biggest chicken around. So I'll never make fun of you again."
Yep, I admit, I'm a chicken.

We finally calm down and go to WalMart to print out the pictures. What in the world could that shreik have been? It wasn't a howl, so it couldn't have been a coyote. We guessed the scream came from an "it."

We went to McDonald's laughing at ourselves the whole time. We all agreed that we had not had that much fun in way too long. I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather have had a ghostly adventure with than my three good friends. I love them so much! We were close in High School, then afteward didn't see each other for a long time, then we get back together and it's like we never had distance between us. Now that's FRIENDSHIP.


What I learned:
I'm a chicken.
Fight or flight - I go with flight.
Maybe I shouldn't write scary stories.
If you are ever with me on a dark night and I tell you to "GET IN THE CAR" and you don't, well, I will leave you standing there.
I'm blessed with great friends.
I don't like dark places with a terrifying history.
I have so missed acting stupid.
Tammy said that I was the comic relief in this situation, so I'm glad that I could help. :)

Scary hotel encounter coming soon. :) hehe

I LOVE LUCY!!

People have asked me many times, "How did you become a Lucy fan?" I smile because I love to answer this question. I also love to tell that I'm a Lucille Ball fan, not just an "I Love Lucy" fan.

Scene set: 19xx, living room, green carpet
Little Eva, looking bored, but watching television.
Enter Mom.

"I'm bored," said little Eva.
Mom changes the channel. "Here, watch this show. You'll love it!"
It's funny how I can see that scene from xx years ago.

I was hooked from that moment. My life had changed. I was mesmerized by that show. That funny lady on TV.

I know that I was 7 years old because that's when I began collecting. I would cut out little snipets about the show in the TV guide and glue it on notebook paper. The first scrapbook I ever made - tanish in color. I'd search through all kinds of magazines looking for anything I could find about Lucille Ball.

I have the original clippings from Vivian Vance's first announcement of dying. I believe those articles were from the National Enquirer. From there, I began collecting books about Lucille and the show. My favorite was the one by Bart Andrews.

I remember setting my clock to 3:30 or 4:30 because back in the day, the reruns would come on two different stations. And yes, I would tape them on a tape recorder.

When I was in 7th grade, I joined the band and played the saxophone of course. I couldn't wait to play "Glow Worm."

As I got older I could buy my own things. Before I knew it, I had to buy a curio cabinet that would hold my Lucy stuff. I have the original Hamilton collection plates and dolls, TV Guides, magazines, etc.



My favorite item out of all my collection would have to be Lucille Ball's shoes. I got those thanks to one of my awesome friends, Glen. We were at the 2000 Loving Lucy convention in Burbank. The auction was going on and I knew that it was the year that I would own something of her's. The guy brought out the beautiful black shoes and I began bidding. Well, someone decided to bid on those shoes, too! Glen knew how badly I wanted those shoes, so when I stopped at a certain price, he began bidding. And I won! That was the best day ever. I actually had a pair of Lucy's shoes. Shoes she wore. I never wanted to take those gorgeous shoes off my feet. To think, Lucy walked in these shoes!! Thanks, Glen.






When I got home, I searched and searched to see if I could find a picture of her in those shoes. Low and behold, I have an 8 x 10 of her dancing with George Burns and she's wearing the shoes! To top that, I have that episode, so I could watch her dance around in MY shoes. I got married in those shoes as I marched down the aisle to the "Lucy" theme song.



I've made so many good friends from going to the conventions in Burbank and Jamestown. Even though I haven't seen them in over 10 years, we still keep in close contact. Mike, Glen, Eve, Breck, Terra, Liz, Sherry, Melanie, Patrick, Lynne, Laura, Cathy, and so many more I've not met personally, but have "met" online.

I'm proud to say that I've turned my love of Lucy into something good. My friend, Martha, and I do a Lucy/Ethel skit for nursing homes or churches.

My top 3 episodes:
The Dancing Star
Lucy Is Envious
Tennessee Bound
I could keep going, but need to narrow to the top 3. There's so many more! Aye ai ai.

Lucille Ball movies:
"A Girl, A Guy, and a Gob"
"Dance, Girl, Dance"
"Mame"

I'm a Lucille Ban fan and proud of it!

How Stephen King Ruined My Life

Stephen did. Really. Ok, so I'm exaggerating.....a little. Thanks to him, I have a fear of hotels and other things. I've also learned a lot from him, too.

After reading, "The Shining" and watching the movie, I can no longer walk down long hallways without picturing those bloody little girls. They are waiting. Mimicking me. Taunting me.

Stephen is good. To be that awesome of a writer, where certain words can change you.

So here I go. Down the long hallway. At least I'm not riding my tricycle type thing.
I walk with my head down, looking at my feet. Steve usually laughing at me, because he knows. So he starts whispering my name all freaky sounding. Thanks, I say, add to my terror. As I pass each room, I wonder, "Did something happen in there?" OH, I hope not. Thanks, I want to tell Stephen.

I check my room number to make sure that it's not "1408" or any other number that might equal to 13. Thanks, Stephen King. You and hotels. I check my room to make sure there's no one hiding in the closet or under the bed or no freaky lady laying in the bathtub or in the corner or nothing written in red on the mirror or.......Get a hold of yourself, girl, it's not real! Or is it.....

Every little noise in the hotel seems to tease me. I hear pops, noises. Ugh. Will this night ever end? Thank goodness my radio does not come on playing, "Close to You."


Oh, Stephen, did you realize that I can't walk past a sewage drain without thinking of Pennywise the Clown? Thanks. I hurry past.

And if I were to ever get inside an old 1950's type car and the music plays oldies, I will make sure that I'm not eating a chocolate Ding Dong. I'm outta here. Thanks, Stephen.

Can I ever look at a growling dog without thinking that he may be another Cujo? I think twice when I hear a dog growling behind me.

Oh, and don't ever make fun of another person. She may get angry and burn the school down. Never tick off anyone named Carrie.

Everytime the flu season rolls around, I wonder: is this it? Hopefully no superflu will ever wipe out most of us to where we dream of an old lady in a cornfield or a black crow who sits on power lines. Please, I will never walk through the Holland Tunnel.

I hope no one ever comes up to me and says, "I'm your biggest fan."

Vampires, forget it. Corn fields.....I will never go there.

Well, Stephen, you did it. Your talented writing has provoked the fear in me. I love it and it scares me at the same time. But that's what you wanted right? Well, sir, you have succeeded. I hope that one day I can follow in your footsteps. :)

The Bad Appendix and Twisted Stuff

A stormy Friday night -

"OWWWWWW! My stomache!" Those are words you don't like to hear when you are ready to go out for dinner.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Jacob grabbed his side. "My stomache hurts. OWWW!"

I looked back at him in the backseat. "We need to go home if you are hurting like that."

"I'm fine. Let's just go eat. I'm okay. It quit hurting."

We decided to walk around this new store that just opened trying to decide what to do. We wanted to make sure that Jacob was okay before going into a restaurant. We were walking around the aisles when we heard it again, "OWWW! My stomache." He kept saying that he didn't feel like he was going to throw up, it just hurt.

Steve, my husband, drove to a pharmacy to get Jacob some Mylanta hoping it would help. After the Mylanta, Jacob calmed down, so we went to Shogun's.

He stopped complaining while we were eating. He seemed more concerned about the heavy rain and thunder going on behind him. He laughed and cut up with Steve while we waited on our food.

I have to say, it's fun watching him scoot back from the table when the "fire" blazes. He never forgot his first time of seeing the fire. It scared him so badly that he pushed his high chair back from the table, then fell on the floor. That would scar anybody.

After Jacob chewed his last bite, he yelled, "I have to go to the bathroom bad!" Steve took him, but they came back quickly. Poor Jacob had thrown up everything from the whole day. He and I went outside to wait for Steve to pay and he asked, "What's a varmit? I think that's what I just did." He's so funny.

When we got home, Jacob played with his army men. He told me that he hurt just a little. I called my friend and asked about appendicitis but she told me that a virus is going around.

Jacob seemed fine, but I was still concerned with the right side pain. But you never know. You always seem to hear, "There's a virus going around."

Jacob slept fine all through the night. In the morning, I heard him crying in his sleep. I woke him up and being, Jacob, he wanted to eat. Two chocolate donuts. His favorite. Once again, I asked him where he hurt and he pointed to the same place. The lower right side.

Steve said, "Take him to the doctor now!" Off we go.........

After the doctor examined him, she looked at me and said, "I'd advise you to take him to the ER immediately." Ugh. ER. Appendix. My baby. Why?

I never EVER wanted to go back to that hospital after the way they treated my mom last year. Last July a year ago. Ugh.

Fear engulfed me. My mind raced the whole way to the hospital. I was shaking and started to panic. I had nausea. I took deep breaths and prayed. "I can do this. I can do this for Jacob." I kept saying in my mind. The drive to the hospital was long and gloomy.

First thing they did to the poor guy was give an IV. Oh, me. The terror in his little eyes. The screams and pleading of, "My stomache doesn't hurt anymore, I promise!" It's more than a Mom can handle. Steve and I calmed him the best we could. Once the morphine set in, the boy was comical. The nurse told Jacob that he'd tell the truth about anything. He told off on himself and Steve for sneaking food when I take a shower. Goodness. Laughter. Calming down. I pushed away my issues to focus on my child.

The CT scan was next. He liked that because he told me that it looked like the medical ship in Star Wars. I pointed to the guy standing there, "But that's not a medical droid." Jacob laughed. The guy snarled at me and said, "I'm a Star Trek fan." I almost said, "Yeah, I can tell."

After the scan, we go back to the room to wait some more. Within 15 minutes, they said, "His appendix is swollen and we need to operate." Jacob started crying and screamed, "But I don't want a shot!" I said, "How soon?" "One hour." ONE HOUR????????? All of a sudden I had a stabbing pain in my appendix. No joke. I wasn't even thinking of myself, but I guess it was sympathy pains. I always thought that was a joke! That's the first time that ever happened to me and I hope it never does again. Steve kept telling me that sympathy pains are real. But why do they hurt?!

I sent out texts to some prayer warrior friends, then I put it on FaceBook for everyone to pray.

The time had come. Breathe deeply.

We prayed with him and I assured him that I would be there when he woke up. I don't dare let him see the tear in my eye.

I'm walking behind him as they wheel him down the hall. I see his little head laying there so still. I almost ran to the bed and screamed, "No! Don't take him! Don't do this!" Sorry, but the thought crossed my mind.

We stayed with him in the operating room as long as we could. After he had the "feel good" stuff, he was fine and no longer scared. They put us in a room across the hall and told us that they'd call. They called us when the doctor started, halfway through, and when he's finished. The nurse said, "He found some weird tissue." Strange. Weird tissue?

Relief swept over me when I saw the doctor and he assured us that everything went well. The appendix was swollen, and the weird tissue was "twisted." Twisted tissue. Sounds like a rock band? So the twisted tissue caused other tissue to die. The doctor removed it and sent it off. Then he tells us that Jacob's gall bladder is already hardening. Aye ai ai. Poor kid!

The doctor took pictures of Jacob's insides and it's gross. Gross is the only word to say.

Joy swept over me when I finally saw him. I hugged him tightly. They made us spend the night for observations. I didn't care at that moment, I just cared that all was well with him.

Jacob did great during the night and the next day. Now he's recovering nicely and taking advantage of his situation, like any kid would. I shower him with hugs and kisses as we watch Disney channel all day long. My Jacob. Back at home. Life is good.

My First Blogginess

This is the first sentence of my very first blog. WOOHOO! I'm blogging. Welcome and keep checking back and hopefully I will entertain you with a good read? Maybe? Well, let me know!

You are reading my words for the first time. Pretty cool, eh?
I guess I need something empowering to say........
It sure is hot!
I love chocolate!~