A Chanukah Tale

By Phyllis Kathryn Barson

THE BOOK WEAVES A SEMIBIOGRAPHICAL TALE OF A SEVEN YEAR OLD, JEWISH BOY,MATTHEW SOLOMON, AND THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND CHANUKAH. MATTHEW'S OLDER BROTHER'S URGENT HEART SURGERY COMPLICATES HIS CELEBRATION OF CHANUKAH. AND THE EIGHT GLORIUS GIFTS. IT TAKES A WISE AND LOVING GRANDFATHER TO TEACH HIM THE TRUE MEANING OF CHANUKAH.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781477290118

Phyllis Kathryn Barson

SHE BRINGS BACK THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS AS WELL AS THE PLEASURES AND HUMOR OF GROWING UP

Book preview

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2016 Phyllis Kathryn Barson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 7/26/2016

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9010-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9011-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012921320

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 1

L et it not be denied. Just like the mail that will be delivered whether there is r ain ,sleet or snow, an ambulance driver will deliver patients to hosp ital emergency rooms without a thought or care of any danger. Oh, how those ambulance drivers must envision themselves as race car drivers headed for the finishing line. Such are the thoughts of Dr. Matthew Solomon as he peers through the glass doors of the hospital emergency room entrance. It is the Christmas season and the red light blinking on the top of the ambulance, competes with the multiple colored lights draped over the neighborhood houses and store fronts.

The wailing siren stops suddenly, but it is soon replaced by the fractured singing of the patient that is being unloaded from the back of the ambulance.

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better be goooood or whatever, such are the sounds coming from the dirty and disheveled patient lying on the stretcher. The blood frozen on his head looked like ground meat taken from a freezer.

Another drunken celebrant of this holiday season, I bet we could light those words on fire, Matthew thinks as he watches the drunken patient being admitted.

Looking over at the reception desk, Matthew is once again reminded of the holiday season. Ice sickles, Christmas holly, bright and sparkling bulbs and miniature angels are draped over the desk top. But wait a minute, to Dr. Matthew’s surprise he sees a Menorah sitting on the very top of the reception counter and a sign that says Happy Chanukah.

Happy Chanukah, my tribe has been remembered

Throwing his head back and shutting his eyes, a little twinge of pleasure comes over him. The pleasure of childhood Chanukah fills his mind, but the pleasure and reality soon is interrupted by the nurse reminding Dr. Solomon that he still has patients to see.

As they open the door to emergency room one, the nurse utters.

This is a ten year old male with a facial laceration, his parents have signed his consent and he is ready for you.

Am I going to die? The young boy asks.

Not today, but the next time you get into a snowball fight, just duck.

While injecting the local anesthetic into the wound, Matthew notices the young boy grimace and tears pool in his eye.

I bet that hurts about as bad as that snowball that your so called friends hit you with? I see you still have some snow melting in your eyes.

Slowly the young boy regains his composure and says. It really was a big snowball!

With relief on his face, the young boy then smiles. The doctor thinks that is snow in my eyes, I guess he doesn’t think I’m a baby. Boy, did I fool him.

Silly talk about, school, friends, basketball and what Santa will bring for Christmas goes back and forth between Dr. Solomon and the boy. In the mean time Dr. Solomon finishes the suturing.

You’re done?The young boy asks incredulously.

You were a great patient. And you can tell your friends that I said so.

As Dr. Solomon finishes writing on the chart, the nurse escorts the parents into the room.

We will give this young man a tetanus toxoid. You can see his family doctor in four or five days to look at the wound and if all is well, his family doctor can take out the stitches. Come to think about it, that wound is pretty ragged and the family doctor may want to leave the stitches in longer, but have him see your family doctor any ways in four days. Your son was a champ.

Matthew wastes no time as he gets up, opens the door and heads to emergency room 2. The nurse and family look up as Dr. Solomon enters the room. The nurse immediately gives Dr. Matthew a history of the patient.

"This is a six month