Millie and Ami
()
About this ebook
Raymond Greiner
He lived in Vienna, WV until 1951, moved to Marion, Ohio until 1957, attending Harding High School in Marion, Ohio moving to Utica, NY for his senior year of high school, graduating from Utica Free Academy public school in 1958. Greiner served four years in the USMC, honorably discharged in 1961. He attended Utica College and Wayne State University, married in 1964 to Nancy McClellan and raised three children. He started a restaurant and developed a consulting service as an advisor to investors. Retired at age 60, he pursued writing; prior to writing years, he was a dedicated reader.
Read more from Raymond Greiner
As the Twig is Bent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrella's Gift Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEzra's Story; Saving Canis lupus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFinding Peace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQueenie; a Novella Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMillie and Ami Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAtsa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Hinterland Narrative Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Millie and Ami
Related ebooks
Millie and Ami Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo More Pain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfter the Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5They Rise On A Blood Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUpward Road: The autobiography of Poet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSaga of One Who Loved and Yearned to Be Loved: Memoirs of Mary Eichelberger Luther Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThat Certain Saturday: My Journey as a Caregiver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCountry Girl, City Girl Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Love. Pain. Piece Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBe Best Club Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWeaving My Way Through Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAutumn's Five Seasons: The Men Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMillie: Tales From The Bookcase Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmily's House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Spite Of: A Memoir of Family Secrets, Professional Struggles, and Personal Success Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBittersweet Seclusion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cowboy's Hunt Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSave the Blue Feather Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of Lynn: A Mother's Journey Through Love and Loss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMama 'N' 'Em Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFright House and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStep Lover Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Poems of Experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMilford Elementary: Gwendolyn Strong Small Town Mystery Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaring for Mary: One Caregiver’S Humorous Dialogues with a Demented Old Italian Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What's Wrong with the Girl Next Door? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrairie Gem: A Love Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Visit with Ms. Minnie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Relationships For You
Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit-Forming Programs to Live an Infinitely Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Codependence and the Power of Detachment: How to Set Boundaries and Make Your Life Your Own Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist: The Narcissism Series, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/58 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better (updated with two new chapters) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Millie and Ami
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Millie and Ami - Raymond Greiner
memory.
PTP
PTP Book Division
Path to Publication Group, Inc.
Arizona
Copyright © 2017 Raymond Greiner Printed in the United States of America All Rights Reserved
––––––––
No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Reviewers may quote passages for use in periodicals, newspapers, or broadcasts provided credit is given to Millie and Ami by Raymond Greiner and PTP Book Division, Path to Publication Group, Inc.
––––––––
PTP Book Division
Path to Publication Group, Inc.
16201 E. Keymar Dr.
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 www.pathtopublication.net
ISBN: 978-1546497981
Library of Congress Cataloging Number LCCN: 2017941891
Printed in the United States of America First Edition
Dedication
My daughter, Kimberly, gifted me a Great Pyrenees puppy this spring. Her name is Snowflake
and the cover photo could be her twin. I lost Kimberley to a terrible cancer in early May at age 46. This book is dedicated to her memory.
Table of Contents
––––––––
Chapter One
Lost and Found
Millie Carson, born in 1950 in the town of Mountain View, New Mexico in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a sub-range of the Rockies. During sunrise, these mountains display a reddish hue forming a spectacle of natural splendor.
Millie is nearing her tenth birthday and her life at this juncture is plagued with obstacles. Her left leg is underdeveloped and shorter than the right leg and her right hand has only a thumb and forefinger. Her parents Ralph and Bernice are consumed by alcohol abuse and Ralph works sporadically. Millie’s mother is incapable of working and suffers from severe psychological anxiety influenced by alcohol
consumption. Millie’s home environment lacks warmth and loving support. The family nutritional choices could not be worse, consisting of snacks, frozen dinners, and restaurant carry out food causing obesity, contributing to the woebegone condition. No physical abuse but Millie’s father rants about insufficient income and tries to encourage his wife to find a job. Her mental state disallows her to work but her husband is in denial regarding the severity of his wife’s condition. Even without kindred harmony Millie manages to enjoy each day. She has an old bicycle her neighbor Joseph gave her and he installed new tires, chain and brakes and also a spacer block on the left pedal to compensate for Millie’s underdeveloped leg. This gift allows Millie mobility. Joseph is elderly and the bicycle had been in storage since his son entered the army years ago. Millie loved her bicycle and kept it in her small room.
Schoolmates shunned Millie, and a few intimidated her because of her disabilities and obesity. Nothing is more painful for a young girl than lack of peer acceptance. Uncaring parents, combined with social rejection caused Millie confusion and despair forming isolation. Mountain View was a small town, surrounded by low rolling hills and Millie began venturing beyond town limits to explore nearby roads. It was summer, school was out and the cool mountain air invigorated Millie. As she pedaled up a slight grade toward a wooded section near the top of a hill, a small cemetery appeared and an elderly man was pulling weeds from around tombstones. An old bicycle was leaning against one of the tombstones with a wooden box attached behind
the seat. A small dog with only one front leg barked a greeting and came running toward Millie with its tail wagging and the man called out, Hello, that’s Brandy, she loves people. I’m Frank, good morning. Did you ride up from town?
Millie responded, Good morning. Yes, I’m taking a ride. I enjoy these winding roads. Are you the caretaker of this cemetery?
Yes, a volunteer position, my parents and grandparents are interred here and several from my formative years. It’s a spiritual place, quiet with beautiful surroundings. Do you go to school in Mountain View?
Yes, I will be in the fifth grade in the fall. My fourth grade teacher was Mrs. McCarthy; she’s the best teacher I ever had.
Frank paused and then said, I’m Frank McCarthy, and your teacher is my wife Evelyn. Isn’t that a coincidence?
Millie’s eyes sparkled, "I never enjoyed learning so much, each day is fun. I wish she taught fifth grade too. I will have a new teacher and I’ll really miss Mrs. McCarthy.
How did Brandy lose her leg?
"I found her in the woods near here, heard her whining and when I located her, she had her left front leg caught in a trap and had nearly chewed it off, attempting to escape. She was near death from dehydration and lack of food. She’s a brave and tough little girl. I took her home and cared for her and she recovered. I was an army medic in WWII and Korea and amputated what remained of her leg. She healed well and she can run almost as fast as if she
had four legs, she has learned to balance herself placing her remaining foot near the point of center. I am very attached to her; she’s with me every second of the day."
Millie said, She’s so cute, and such personality. She’s good company for you. I love dogs, cats and all animals. I hope to have my own dog someday.
Frank said, I’m sure you will. You are invited to visit us anytime. We live near the edge town in the two story brown house just beyond the water tower and Evelyn would be delighted to have you visit. She’s busy all summer tending her vegetable garden and flowers. Please visit when you can.
Millie patted Brandy on her head and told Frank she would stop by then headed down the winding road toward town.
When Frank returned home Evelyn was hoeing weeds and he described his encounter with Millie.
Oh my, yes, she’s pure delight,
Evelyn said. The smartest student in my class, such a quick mind and she loves to read. Although, I know her home life is horrid, both parents are alcoholics. The father works intermittently and her mother has mental issues. I only met them once, they seldom come to parent teacher discussions. I worry about Millie.
I recognized her quickness as we talked. She sure enjoyed Brandy,
Frank said.
The next afternoon Millie visited Frank and Evelyn. They were sitting on their porch and greeted her.
Hello, Millie,
Evelyn said, so glad you came by. Frank told me you met at the cemetery yesterday and how much you enjoyed Brandy. She’s the best dog we’ve ever had, a treasure.
So nice to see you, Mrs. McCarthy, I had fun talking with Frank and Brandy—thought about it all night.
asked.
Are you enjoying your summer?
Evelyn
"My home life is not good. My parents get
drunk every day and sometimes we run out of food because they spend their money on alcohol. It discourages me, but where can I go? It’s the only place I have."
Millie, you are welcome to share meals with us when you are low on food. I’m a vegetarian cook and we only eat fruits and vegetables and have an abundance of food. We would enjoy sharing meals with you anytime. We were unable to have our own children.
I would like that. I need a better support system. My parents don’t care for me very well. I think they lack compassion in their hearts.
Millie stayed and talked with Frank and Evelyn for a while. She felt a sense of bonding and recognized contrast to her parents.
Several days passed and Millie did not return to visit, causing Frank and Evelyn to worry. They were sitting in the living room when the phone rang. Evelyn answered, Hello.
"Mrs. McCarthy, this is Sergeant Grant at the Mountain View police department. I am calling for Millie Carson. Millie’s father was killed when his car
went off the road and over the hillside. She is in custody of the child welfare agency. A State Police officer went to Millie’s home to inform her mother of her husband’s death and upon receiving this news, she had a nervous breakdown and has been hospitalized. Millie is presently here at the police station until the child welfare agency decides on a proper course of