Post Number One - Ruthie's Remnants

 Treasures from the Past : 
   
"    Whirring Wheels"   by John Oxenham (1913)

Lord, when on my bed I lie,
Sleepless, unto Thee I'll cry;
When my brain works overmuch,
Stay the wheels with Thy soft touch.


Just a quiet thought of Thee,
And of Thy sweet charity,
Just a little prayer, and then
I will turn to sleep again.

"  MICKY MACK" - a short story for you to read to the children in your life...written by Ruth Jackel 2001

In a big, bustling city there stood an old terrace house.  Some of the roof tiles were broken, windows were cracked, and the front fence was falling down.  The house belonged to an elderly man who lived there by himself...His name was Micky Mack.
Micky Mack seldom smiled.  His neighbours tried talking to him as they walked by, but Micky Mack would just shuffle away slowly, muttering under his breath, "Why don't they leave me alone!"
Micky Mack had been happy once.  The years had gone by and he had started to get old and slow.  He was used to living all alone now.  He said he didn't need anyone...but deep down in his heart, Micky Mack was very lonely.  During the long, evening hours, he would sit close to his old wireless radio listening to olden day music...and often there were tears in his sad eyes.
One morning after eating his usual breakfast of oatmeal porridge and half a grapefruit, Micky Mack decided to have a little nap.  He flipped through the newspaper and yawned.  His eyes began to get heavy with sleep and before long he was snoring loudly, his mouth wide open.
Loud knocking woke Micky Mack with a start.  He got to his feet ever so slowly for his legs were very stiff from sitting.  He mumbled and grumbled as he made his way to the front door.  Opening the door just a little, Micky Mack blinked in the bright sunlight.  There on the doorstep were two girls.  Micky Mack frowned at them with his bushy eyebrows.
"What is it?" he grumped.
"Hello," said one of the girls smiling.  "Our school is having a big, family fun day...my name's Mary and this is Milly...We 're collecting things people don't want anymore.  Do you have any junk?  We're having a stall to raise money."
Micky Mack glared at them.  He wasn't used to having visitors, and he was annoyed at being disturbed.
"Money...stalls...junk!  No junk here!" he said gruffly, "Now be off with you!"
The girls were very frightened.  They dropped the papers they were carrying and ran away down the street.  Micky Mack jabbed his cane at the scattered leaflets.  Steadying himself, he bent over and picked up a bright , blue piece of paper.  Micky Mack held the paper very close to his eyes and began reading...
Cityside Primary School Family Fun Day
Saturday 20th April       9am - 1pm
Stalls   Games    Prizes
HELP OUR NEW ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND - YOUR UNWANTED GOODS GREATLY APPRECIATED FOR OUR GIANT AUCTION

"Hmmmph!"  said Micky Mack.  He slammed the door so hard the windows rattled.  Sitting back down in his armchair, he tried to go back to sleep.
Micky Mack fidgeted.  He twiddled his thumbs.  He tried reading his newspaper.  He tried not to think of the two girls he had frightened...but the more he thought, the worse he felt.  He began to remember the days when he was a boy.  What fun he had had with his friends on the park swings and how he loved to play pirates, games of chasey or Cowboys and Indians.
"Oh dear," Micky Mack looked a bit worried.  "I wish I hadn't been so rude.  I'm just a grumpy old man, that's what I am.  If they come back, I'll be friendly next time." 
For three days Micky Mack waited for a knock at his door again.  But...no-one came to see him.  He paced around his house and thought about what he might be able to do to make up for being so unkind.  He walked from room to room, thinking, thinking, thinking.  Suddenly Micky Mack's eyes began to sparkle...he had a brilliant idea!
In the rooms of his old house, Micky Mack looked at all the boxes and bags that had piled up over the years.  Some were empty...some were full...FULL OF JUNK!!  He did have junk to give away.  There were so many things he didn't need anymore.  From an old trunk, he pulled a faded, army uniform.  It smelt of mothballs and was a bit creased.  There were a few medals still pinned to the top pockets.  Micky Mack sighed, "The war's been over for fifty years...I'll never wear it again."
In an old shoebox he found a set of dainty teacups his great Aunt Agatha had given him years ago.  He had never used them.  Under a woolen blanket near the back door were lots of bags  full of old clothes, magazines, books and keepsakes.  
"I'll never use any of it,"he said.
It took Micky Mack six hours to sort through everything.  Finally he stood back, hands on hips, looking at the large pile he had collected.
"This ought to be enough,"he said.
Next morning a mysterious van came and parked in front of Micky Mack's house.  Two men loaded the boxes and bags on to the van.  Micky Mack watched them carefully, waving and pointing with his cane.  He wanted to make sure they didn't drop or break anything.  When they had finished loading, Micky Mack gave the men directions.  The van rumbled off leaving an old man with the hint of a smile crinkling the corners of his wrinkly face.
Two weeks later a large, brown envelope was delivered to Micky Mack's mailbox. 
"What can this be?" he wondered, his nobbly fingers fumbling with the envelope flap.  He pulled out a letter.  Micky Mack put on his spectacles and read aloud...

"Dear Mr. Mack,
                                  Thank you for your generosity in helping us raise money for our new adventure playground.  
                                   In appreciation we would like you to be our guest of honour at the grand opening of our playground on Saturday the 8th of July at 10am."


 The letter was signed by all the teachers and students from Cityside Primary School.
"well I'll be a tinker's jinker!" said Micky Mack...and he smiled, and smiled, and smiled.  Tears brimmed his eyes.  Old Micky Mack was starting to remember what it was like to feel happy again.  

When Saturday the 8th of July arrived, Micky Mack got up very early.  Everything had to be just right.
He brushed his false teeth so they sparkled like pearls.
He polished his bald head until it shone like a bowling bowl.
He dusted off his stripey, 'going out' suit.
He brushed his boots.
He looked at himself in the hall mirror...
"Not bad for an old fella," he laughed out loud. 
Putting on his best tweed cap, he grabbed his walking stick, and set off down the footpath...there was a new spring in his step.

As Micky Mack got nearer to the school he saw hundreds of brightly coloured flags.  Funny clowns bounced around acting out silly jokes.  There were lots of happy children playing on the new adventure playground.
Micky Mack had never seen anything like it before.  There was a swingset, a long pipe tunnel, honeycomb monkeybars, balancing beams, an enormous sandpit in the shape of a shell, a knotty jungle rope, a high slippery-dip slide...and a huge wooden ship fitted with a look-out mast and captain's wheel!  The children were having so much fun.
A small girl noticed Micky Mack standing over by the school gate.
"It's the old man, "she yelled out, "It's Mr. Mack!"
Children came running from all over the playground.  They crowed around wanting to meet Micky Mack.  He shook hands with some of them, and patted others on the head.  He met the teachers and talked to parents.  Micky Mack had a wonderful day. 

Not long after his great day out Micky Mack sat alone by the heater.  He smiled as he remembered and closed his eyes for a quick nap.
Loud knocking woke Micky Mack with a start.  He got out of his armchair as quickly as he could, eager to see who was visiting.  There on the doorstep was small crowd of people.  They carried hammers, saws, ladders, paint, brushes...all sorts of tools.  Mary and Milly stepped forward...
"Hello Mr. Mack.  Remember us?  We've brought our friends along to help you fix some of your broken things.  You helped us and now we want to help you."
Micky Mack felt his eyes become misty..."Well , I'll be a tinker's jinker!" he said.
Micky Mack and his new friends worked hard all day.  The broken roof tiles were replaced, new glass was fitted in the windows.  The front fence was repaired.  Even the mailbox was given a new slick of paint.  Micky Mack went to bed that night feeling very tired, but very happy too.

Micky Mack still lives by himself.  He still sits and listens to olden day music on his wireless radio in the evenings.  He still flips through his newspaper and yawns and before long he is snoring loudly...a big smile on his crinkled face.