My First Book
My Second Book
-
Recent Posts
- Some stuff on my fridge…2 pictures
- The Brown Mouse Bar and Grill…How They Met.
- Quote: Cher
- I like to change the stuff on my kitchen table around…so this is the new look…second photo is on the dish cabinet…I went rustic and used old crates and old tools. The flower pots came from the coolest garden shop in Chicago…”city escape.” And picture three…a few more of my kitchen plants.
- The Cat’s Lament…
Recent Comments
Archives
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
Categories
- #Me TOO
- 12 days of Chickmas
- 2015
- 2017
- 2018
- 2021 New Year's Day
- 903
- A different conversation
- A man a bookstore
- A Moment in Time
- a poem
- A pop in story
- A really long story about a lot of stuff and Mrs. Roosevelt
- A Strange Meeting
- A Tiny Story
- ADBUSTERS Magazine
- AI
- airplane
- Alice in Wonderland
- aliens
- All Good Things
- America
- American Writers Museum
- ANDERSON JAPANESE GARDENS
- Angel
- Anger
- Animals/Birds
- Annie
- ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE CITY…Book One
- Art
- Art Fair
- Artist Trading Card/ATC
- artists
- Artists 4 Peace
- Astronomy
- Astronomy A Picture a Day
- Attitudes
- Baby
- Baby shoes
- balcony
- beauty
- bees
- Before
- Big Bear Lake
- Big Wings
- bike
- birth
- birthday/s
- Bits and Pieces
- blog copyright
- Bonsai
- Books
- Bored Panda
- buildings
- Bumper stickers
- bumperstickers
- bunny poetry
- Buttons/with sayings
- cacti
- Canada
- cars
- cartoon
- Catmas
- cats
- celebration
- Chicago
- Chicago Botanic Garden
- Chicago Cultural Center
- Chicago suburbs
- chicken art
- chicken poetry
- chickens
- Chicklet cutouts
- chicklet wisdom
- Chicklets
- Chicklets Halloween
- Chicklets in Winter
- Chicklets Paris Party
- Chicklets valentine's Day
- Chicklets.Chickmas
- Chickmas
- Chickmas Eve
- Chocolate
- Choice
- Christmas
- Cirque Du Chicklet
- Cirque Du Soleil
- Cities
- clothing
- clouds
- collage
- college
- College loans
- Color
- Colorado
- Computers
- consumerism
- Conversation
- Conversations with Death
- Conversations with Death 2
- Conversations with Death…A Love Story…THE BOOK
- CRAZY
- Creation/creator
- creativity
- Culture
- Cuneo Muesum
- Dance
- Danny and a lot of other things
- Death
- definition
- Do you think?
- doors
- Dr. Who quotes
- dragons
- Dream
- Drugs
- Earth
- Easter
- Economy
- Edith
- education
- Emily
- Entertainment
- environment
- Equality
- Evanston
- fairies
- Fairy party
- Fairy tale
- fall
- family
- fantasy
- Farm
- Fashion
- Father's Day
- Female Superheroes
- Ferns
- Film
- Fire
- Fire escape
- fireworks
- First date…
- Fish
- Flight
- Florence
- Flowers
- food
- Found
- France
- Freedom
- fridge
- friends
- fun
- Fun facts
- furniture
- Future
- FYI
- Games
- Gangs
- garden
- Garfield Park Conservatory
- Gender/s
- Giraffe wisdom
- Girl Reporter
- Girlfriends
- Giverny
- Goddess
- Government
- graffiti
- graffiti/under the bridge
- Gypsy
- Halloween
- hands
- happiness
- hate
- Hawaii
- health
- Hearts
- Heaven
- Hero
- History
- Holland Michigan
- Home
- Hope
- hotel
- Houses
- How they met
- Humans
- humor
- Hunger
- Ideas
- Imagination
- In the beginning
- Infinity
- Insect
- Interview
- It was the night before Chickmas
- Italy
- Jack of Hearts
- Jasper Kingsley
- Jesse
- Jewelry
- Joe Smith
- Jordon T. Langley
- Journal Pages
- joy
- Judy & Danny
- Judy and Danny 2
- July 4th
- Just stuff
- Justice
- Keith Richards
- Kids
- Kindness
- Kitchen
- kittens
- KWANZAA
- Labor Day
- Lake County Fair
- Language
- Las Vegas
- laughter
- Laws
- Letter to Santa
- letters to soldiers
- Life
- Lights
- Loss
- Louise
- Love
- Lucifer
- Lucy
- LuLu's Pie Shoppe
- Lunch hour
- Madame Margo
- Magazine
- magic/magick
- Magnetic poetry
- Mail Art
- Mars
- mask
- Mason and Preston
- Media
- Medication (Over the Counter)
- Medicine
- Medusa
- Melody Farms
- men
- Message on a Windshield
- Michelangelo's David
- Michigan
- Miles and Lexi
- Military
- Milwaukee Art Museum
- Misc.
- Miss Marple
- Moms'
- Monet's Garden
- Money
- Moon
- Moon shot
- Morning Star
- Mother's Day
- Motorcycle
- movie/s
- mugs
- Musee Rodin
- music
- Musing
- Mysteries
- Naive American Books
- Nature
- Neon
- New Creation Story
- New Mexico
- New Year
- New Year's Eve
- News
- Nightlife Sucks
- Note to self
- Notre Dame
- Old Chicago Public Library
- Once Upon a Time…
- Pagan
- pain
- Pajama party
- Paris
- passion
- Past
- Patriarchy
- PBS
- PBS Me
- Peace
- Peaches the cat
- Penny and Love Duck
- People
- perfection
- Philosophy
- Philosophy of life and other good stuff
- Photographs
- Pl
- Planets
- plants
- Play
- Poetry
- poetry by animals at The Coop
- Police
- Politics
- Politics/Herstory
- Polluters
- Polly Blue
- pottery
- POV (point of view)
- poverty
- Power
- Pride
- PTS
- Q
- Queen
- Questions
- Quote
- Race
- Random thoughts
- Rants & Raves
- reading
- Reality
- Reindeer
- Relationships
- religion
- Reptiles
- Research
- Revolution
- robots
- Robots
- Rome
- Rory short story
- rubber ducks
- Rubber Stamps
- Safety
- Samhain
- San Francisco
- Sandi and The Bookstore
- Santa
- sayings
- School
- Science
- Science Fiction
- scribbles
- Serenity
- SHE
- she said…
- Sheep
- SheepmasSheepmas
- Shelter cat
- Short Stories
- Siena
- sign
- sign/s
- Signs
- silly stuff
- skull
- Sleep
- SNL
- snowperson
- soap
- Solstice
- Song
- Sophie and Randolph
- SOUL PANCAKE
- Speak out..chickens
- Sphinx
- Spring
- Starting over…
- Stones
- Stories
- Stories
- Story Poems
- Strange day
- Stream of consciousness
- street art
- Stuffed Animals
- style
- suburbs
- summer
- sun
- Sunny Walker
- t-shirts
- tag art
- Tampa Bay
- Tank top wisdom
- Tao
- Tarot Cards
- tattoos
- tea canisters
- Technology
- TED
- television
- thank you
- Thanksgiving
- The "experts"
- The Book Lovers Emporium
- The Bookstore
- The Chat
- The Chickmas tree
- The Conversation
- The Cuneo Museum
- The I Can't Stop Reading Book Club
- the Librarian
- The Magical Apothecary
- The New Year Fairy…and Steve
- The Night Before Chickmas
- The right word
- The Target
- The Universe
- The Wedding
- The wedding (chicken)
- Things you don't want to know but should
- Thoughts
- Time
- Time travel
- Tiny people
- Today is…
- Toledo Blue
- Toy
- Tradition
- trees
- Trivia
- Truth
- TV
- Uncategorized
- under the bridge/grafitti
- Unicorns
- Valentine's Day
- Vampires
- vegetarianism
- Venice
- violence
- Violet and Ian
- Virgo
- Virus
- war
- Water fountain
- weather
- What I did…
- What if
- What if…
- whimsy
- Who would you rather be?
- Why?
- Wild Woman Sisterhood
- Wings
- Winter
- Wishes
- Witch
- Women
- women and men
- Wordpress
- words
- Work
- Writers
- Writing
- yard
- Yule
- Zodiac
Meta
- 12 days of Chickmas
- America
- Animal
- Animals
- a poem
- art
- A Short story
- A Story poem
- Astronomy Picture of the Day
- A TED Talk
- A very short story
- beauty
- bird
- Birds
- book
- books
- Bored Panda
- Button
- carnation
- Cat
- cats
- Chicago
- Chicago Botanic Garden
- chicken art
- Chicklet
- Chicklets
- Chickmas
- CHRISTMAS
- Collage
- death
- Dog
- Emily
- environment
- face
- Film
- flower
- flowers
- Food
- Garfield Park Conservatory
- graffiti
- Halloween
- How they met
- Jack of Hearts
- journal page
- Kids
- Las Vegas
- Life
- love
- Mail Art
- Music
- Nature
- Paris
- philosophy
- poem
- poetry
- Politics
- quote
- rose
- rubber stamp
- rubber stamps
- Short story
- street art
- TED talk
- The Conversation
- thoughts
- Today is...
- Valentine's Day
- violence
- Virus
- war
- watercolor pencil
- Weather
- winter
- Women
- Yard
The Brown Mouse Bar and Grill…How They Met.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” he said, tray under his arm, note pad in his hand.
“I’ve never been her before.”
He nodded. “What’ll you have?”
“A vegetarian salad and lemonade. Warm cherry pie for dessert with vanilla bean ice cream”
“Perfect.”
“And I want to see the Brown Mouse, this place is named for.”
“The Brown Mouse?”
“Yes. I want to see the Mouse.”
“There is no mouse.”
“There has to be a mouse, if the place is named after one.”
“That’s not true.”
“It should be.”
“I might be able to catch a mouse for you, or buy one, if you want to come back in a day or two.”
“If you’re naming a place, The Brown Mouse, you need to have a Brown Mouse so people can see it.”
“I’ll be back with your lemonade in a minute,” he said, walking away.
“Madam?” said a man in a pristine white half apron. The kind you see in Paris, wrapped around his waist.
“Ouí?”
“You wish to see the Mouse?”
“If it’s possible.”
“May I sit?”
“Please,” she said, pointing to the chair.
“I’m afraid to say the Mouse is no longer with us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
He nodded. “He was a nice Mouse. My father told me the story about how he and my grandfather came to this shop. It was empty, and had been for more than a year. They worked hard and made enough money to buy the building, the shop and the apartment above. When they started cleaning, they saw the Brown Mouse. They worked long hours and the mouse would watch them, sometimes coming out of his mouse house. They fed him cheese from their lunches, and bread. They put a dish of water out for him. Eventually, the mouse became used to seeing them and came out more often. One day he even sat on my fathers shoe.” he said, smiling. “They loved the mouse and named their restaurant after him.”
“What a wonderful story. Thank you so much for telling me.”
“I have a secret,” he whispered, looking around.
She leaned in close to him and watched him put his hand into his shirt pocket. He pulled out a sleepy brown mouse. “An ancestor of the original,” he said. He has nice nest in the back and we care for him. His siblings are at our homes,” he laughed, handing the mouse to her.
She kissed the mouse and her eyes were sparkling with tears. “He’s so beautiful.”
The man nodded. “He brings us luck. There has been a mouse on the property for forty years.”
“I work for the Health Department,” she said, petting the mouse.
The man paled and scooted backward.
“I’m happy to see all is in order in your lovely Bar and Grill. I’m looking forward to my lunch. I’m sure your kitchen is spotless and I may have a look after I eat, but I know I will be pleasantly surprised.”
She handed the mouse back to the man and he slipped him back into his pocket. He took her hand and kissed it. “A pleasure,” he said.
She smiled. “The pleasure is mine, I assure you. A man with a gentle heart is a beautiful thing to see. I’m sure the mouse house is away from the food area.”
“It is.”
“The lemonade is delicious.”
“It’s a special recipe and the ice cubes have a flavor of their own.”
The waiter put her salad in front of her, smiled and left. The man rose and bowed. “Madam.”
“Kind sir,” she said, and picked up her fork.
Quote: Cher
If you’re black in this country,
if you’re a woman in this country,
if you are any minority in this country at all,
what could possibly possess you to vote Republican?
–Cher, actress and Singer
Started this book last night…
Enjoying it very much. Highlights all the fabulous women of the times, the rebels and the fabulous. Great photographs.