Eleanor Lawrie, Author

Finally, here is the version I’ll use for my new SHELBY F SQUIRREL book, The Great FOREST CAPER.  Thanks to Birgie Ludlow for her wonderful computer and design work, and for her patience.

A little about the cover:

When I was more than halfway through the book, it hit me one day that I was echoing my friend’s story, “Stephen”. Sandra Sakofsky wrote it in 2009, telling of a group of animals, and a rat named Stephen leading them, in a well-planned sabotage of the machinery set to level the ground to clear it for a new subdivision. It’s in the book “A Rainbow of Poems  Stories” that Writers Forum published in 2014.

My SHELBY story, begun in 2016, proved how much her story had gone into my head and stayed there in my subconscious mind. Thence the acknowledgement on the cover. Some of the action is very similar to that in “Stephen”.

In this new story, SHELBY’S friends play a large part. So on the cover a few of them are represented, somewhat subtly. The reason for this is that throughout the unfolding of the plot, most of the time they are hiding, on sentry duty, and ready to fight, whenever a threat might appear.

That’s Charlie, the old farm horse, down in the right corner, who has cousins that have experienced the same kinds of things that are happening in the forest.  Peeking out from the large tree trunk is Billy the Goat, whose head-butting skills are put to the test . Perched above is the Wise Old Owl, SHELBY’S long-time mentor and friend, and sitting on the ‘R’ is Rosie. I know she looks like a bluebird here, but in the book she’s a robin. One of those things; call it poetic licence if you will. That’s the only way I can explain it.

Others in the plot include: Sultan the Rooster and his harem, the brown hens /  Billy’s two lady friends, Nanny and Capra / Molly and Polly Raccoon / Marvin F. Mouse /  and even the farm swans. New friends are the skunks, whose special talents come in very handy. And here again, Sandy’s story was the inspiration!!

Thanks, Sandy, for sharing your creativity, and for the years of friendship.

This lovely photo of my daughter’s beloved cat, Loki, who lived to be 19 years young, reminds me today that one should never stop taking time to ‘smell the roses’ along the path of life.

Visiting with my brother, who is six months into life at a retirement facility and requiring help with day-to-day existence because of Parkinson’s, has awakened this awareness yet again. It’s so easy to slip into lethargy, depression, hopelessness, and it’s terrible to watch someone dangerously close to that edge.

If a person has stayed a cock-eyed optimist through life, through thick and thin, there is a better chance of avoiding this black hole that threatens to swallow my brother.

Yesterday, we both had a rare taste of his ability /  lack of ability to function in the outside world. He needs a hand-hold to walk, or a walker. It’s difficult to figure out how to get up off the chair at Timmy’s, and it was good I could be there as a ‘spotter’. There isn’t anything to hold onto, no arms on the chair, and the table will probably tip if his weight depends on it for the push upward.

Visiting the washroom while out in public worried me.  That was avoided because he is able to last several hours, a talent I would like to re-acquire!! BUT in the event of needing to use the washroom, it would have presented very real problems. Unable to go in with him, hoping he wouldn’t fall while in there, slip on a possibly wet floor, not be able to get his pants back up, is a partial list.

Our trip to Shoppers Home Health was eye-opening as well. We looked at scooters, walkers (the 4-wheel kind with brakes, a seat and a basket), and tested canes. He needed to sit except to test a walker and a couple of canes. Being presented with these actual pieces of equipment will perhaps lead to a clearer idea of what possible independence can still exist for my brother.

The next phase of work to try and help will be to look for volunteer drivers, or visitors. It’s a tall order because talking about sports or the weather doesn’t interest my brother. He would rather get into science or math, inventions, building, electronics etc.  There isn’t any stimulating conversation where my brother lives, it seems that the whole population is beyond that, sad to say. The staff can’t possibly spend the amount of time needed to fill that gap. Both my sister and I live too far away to be there regularly.

What is glaringly obvious and the hardest part to swallow is that not having nurtured a cock-eyed optimist outlook through life has left my brother unable to cope.

So, friends, if nothing else, learn not to brood. Find a way to see the up sides of your day and your life. Remember to be thankful for everything,  no matter how insignificant. Train your brain to be positive!!  But that’s another subject……..

Here is part of Chapter 10: WATERLOO from SHELBY F. SQUIRREL and the GREAT FOREST CAPER: