Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Would You Read On? hosted by Diana L. Flegal

Welcome to our Wednesday edition of Would You Read On?. We appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to stop by our blog. 


Non- fiction submission:

Where’s the Bull?

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NASB).

“Animal Control?”
“Yes, this is Austin at Animal Control.”
“My name is _________. I live at _______ Ave, in front of the Christian Church. A bull is running loose in our backyard! Please come quickly!”
“All right, ma’am, we’ll have someone there right away.”
“Hurry, please,” I choked through panicky tears. Then I called my husband.
“Honey, a bull from next door has broken through our fence! Can’t you do something? I called Animal Control, but they haven’t arrived yet.”
“I’ll be right there, sweetheart. Don’t panic.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I tried to pray through the sobs. We’d only been married a few months. Our recent move to a suburb of Santa Maria on the California coast excited us. The two and a half acres our church and parsonage sat on what felt like a ranch to us city kids. At first, we had thought it sweet that the Catholic priests at the rectory next door allowed 4-H’ers to keep their animal projects in their pasture. Now I wondered if crazy was a better word to describe their neighborliness.
My imagination running amuck, I envisioned the headline: “Twenty-year-old Minister’s Wife Mauled by Runaway Bull.” Although I’d never met a bull in person, I’d seen enough movies to know if you came anywhere near one, especially if you were wearing red, you’d better get right with God.
“Where’s the bull?” the Animal Control men asked when Hubby answered the doorbell. He bravely led them around to the backyard. They were ready with large sticks, to protect themselves in case the bull decided to charge, and to herd it back to its own yard. These men were heroes in my eyes. I was already planning the letter to the editor I would write in their honor.



Last weeks contributor was David Stearman. David's first novel, Hummingbird, will be released this June by Trestle Press. You can find and friend David on FB.

14 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

Adorable! I love it.

Patrick G. Whalen said...

Thank you for the short and sweet diversion. For all the trouble he caused, I hope the bull at least left some fertilizer for the garden :)

Story and Logic Media Group said...

“My name is _________. I live at _______ Ave.

The blanks stopped me.

If it were a manuscript I would read on. A published book? Maybe not.

Story and Logic Media Group said...

Thanks for updating your picture Diana! Now you look like you!!!

Diana Flegal said...

LOL Sharon, thanks re the new pic. Long overdue!
The blanks were so you all would not know the name of the contributing author until the reveal next week. Sorry for the pause. :-)

Story and Logic Media Group said...

Oh, non fiction. Okay.

Jennifer said...

I don't know. Being from the south and living in the country, I can't see why she's upset enough to cry. Just stay in until it's gone...

Cheryl said...

I'm not sure what I am supposed to feel in this submission. At first I thought maybe it was humorous, but then the tone felt more serious. I would like the writing to solidly tell me what type of book this is.

sally said...

I think this would work much better if the author played up her active imagination and city girl ignorance of country living more. I think she should start with that. Tell us that she and her husband were excited to move to the country and hint at their inexperience, then tell us about how she over-reacted to the bull. I'd understand and be sympathetic if I knew first where she was coming from. As is, she's seems a little silly to be afraid of a bull.

Lynn Donovan said...

I like the story! I'm a city girl too who has encountered a bull before and I understand her uncertainty! I'd read on, I expect it to be humorous laced with faithfulness.

Caroline said...

Yep, I'd check it out further. Like the premise (cause we had a "wild" bull! Fortunately, our sweetheart neighbors were VERY understanding. lol) Needs work, but what work of ours doesn't?

Sapphire said...

I agree with some of the other commenters that it's a humorous story (and I probably would keep reading), but some early mention of her being a city girl would make her reaction a lot more understandable. Nobody's afraid of livestock where I'm from. :-) :-) :-)

Elizabeth Rosian said...

Agree with most of the above comments, but would definitely read on anyway.

Jeanette Levellie said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone! Lots of others have beeen reading on since Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top released; it was #10 on Amazon in the Christian Humor/Family/Parenting category last week!