GPS: Great Poems and Stories

By CAROLYN CROOP

A collection of short stories and poetry featuring the poem, "Insignificant" and the story, "Remember the Music".  In this story, Elaina, a young, rebellious woman, only loses the ability to hear music. Her world is turned upside down. It is only then that she discovers her true value.

 The po

• Language: English
• Publisher: CAROLYN CROOP
• Release date: May 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735073125

CAROLYN CROOP

Carolyn grew up in Upstate New York. She was on the swim team at the YMCA and won the bronze medal in diving at a Western New York competition. In high school, she was on the swim team, track team and soccer team, as well as playing flute in the band. Her first job during high school was at the local community library Carolyn began writing poetry at age twenty-one for two years and set it aside to focus on motherhood and her prior career at Eastman Kodak Company. As a single mother who raised three children with the help of family and friends, Carolyn is the proud mother of Timothy, Lisa and Michelle. In 2014, Carolyn restarted her writing journey. Becoming an author had been her dream since childhood. Writing is her passion. Carolyn has now completed writing fifty short stories and over two hundred poems. She published some of that work in her first book, MAPS: Mystery, Adventure, Poetry, Suspense, in February 2017. It is the same month that she became a grandmother with the birth of her granddaughter, Piper. In December, 2018, her second granddaughter, Harper, was born. In May, 2019, Carolyn published her second book, "ATLAS: Poems That Map The Way To Your Heart," and by July, 2019, Skye entered the world, being her third granddaughter. Carolyn's first grandson, Rocky, was born in March of 2020.

Book preview

Remember the Music

Chapter 1

The day the music disappeared from my life was the day I began to listen. It was as if someone had a control panel for all the sound I heard and set the music button on the off position. I could hear everything around me except for the music. Beforehand, I was not the easiest girl to get along with. I was kind and outgoing to strangers, friends and acquaintances, but to those closest to me, I was nearly demonlike. Allow me to explain in an effort not to defend myself, but to spread the word that music is a gift we mustn’t take for granted. It is a creation for the soul to consume, enjoy, learn and grow by.

Those were the written words of my favorite author - my mother. I found them weeks after she passed away. My brother and I were her only relatives - that is, the only relatives who cared about her enough to attend her funeral. Therefore, we were also the ones to tend to the business of the aftermath of her death.

As my brother, Sebastian, perused her house inside and out in an effort to determine our next course of action, I rummaged through her paperwork. I found hundreds of pages of her unpublished writings. My name, by the way, is Penny. My mother, Elaina, had twenty one published books along with stories in numerous magazines. Up until then, I had no idea she had that much left to publish. Her published work was all fictional. The writings I discovered that day were all true. They shed light on the most amazing woman I never had the privilege to really know.

In the weeks and months to follow, I sorted out my mother’s writings and pieced together a chapter of her life that I previously had no idea about. For nearly a year she lived without the sound of singing and musical instruments. As she said, music had been removed from her life. If she was shopping, she could not hear the music playing on the overhead speakers. If someone sang a song in front of her, she could only see the lips moving. I know how unbelievable it seems. It was as if a witch cast a spell on her. My mother, however, was a believer in God and insisted He had been the one in charge of taking music from her.

I have no previous experience at being an author. I only dream of being as talented as my mother. Though, I will write her story.

Chapter 2

The year was 1990. Elaina had just passed all of her final exams in her last year of college. She had attended a local university, and she was soon to be receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing. Todd was Elaina’s fiance. He asked her to marry him two months before, in March. It was one week after she had an interview and made an agreement to be hired at the city’s only Fortune 500 company as the lead writer for their employee newsletter.

Todd was a good man with good intentions, and Elaina was elated to be putting together plans for their future. She wanted nothing more than to be a wife, mother and writer. Elaina had desires to build a life that she never had. She had grown up in a foster care home until returning to her parents’ care in her teenage years. Elaina’s parents were strong believers in God and never missed Sunday church. She was extremely rebellious and ran away from home several times. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher, were unable to control her and made arrangements for her to live with a family who were members of their church. Elaina’s four siblings remained at home.

Elaina’s youth was filled typically with respectable people. Elaina was fairly headstrong and wanted things her way. She was notoriously goal oriented and slightly narrow minded because she focused mostly on herself and the few plans she set for her future. She never put anyone’s needs before hers. Elaina continuously strived towards her goals and she grew to be a perfectionist. Trying to be perfect about everything affected the people around her because when something was flawed, she lashed out. Not everyone got to know Elaina well enough to know this about her.

Chapter 3

After her graduation from the university, Elaina began her prearranged job of writing for the company. She was well liked at work and made a big impression on the management team she worked with. Her job consisted of interviewing employees and other business professionals, and then writing articles relating to business matters within the company. Her writing skills were top notch. She wrote in a manner that captured readers’ attention throughout an entire article.

When Elaina was away from the office, she spent most of her time with Todd. The two of them usually got along like best friends, although they had their occasional quarrels. Many times their arguments began with Elaina’s unfounded jealousy or small problems that she enlarged.

Both Todd and Elaina were good-looking people. Todd was initially attracted to Elaina’s beauty. They met at the university during Elaina’s freshman year. Although they did not have any mutual classes together, Todd would occasionally see Elaina in the hallway and admired her. Eventually, he approached her and began a conversation which led to a date.

Todd dropped out of college before his first year was done. He tried his best, but failed most of his classes. While attending the university, Todd also worked in an auto repair shop as a mechanic where he excelled. He decided that college was not for him and decided to make a career out of his work fixing cars.

The month was January of 1991. Elaina and Todd were in the beginning phases of arranging their wedding. They had delayed the planning for months while Elaina worked on her new career. They were to be married in October. Both Todd and Elaina were excited to work on their wedding plans, however; Elaina made the ordeal unpleasant. She wanted the best of everything and wouldn’t compromise when an idea was presented to her that she didn’t like.

Your mother is being impossible, said Elaina to Todd.

She simply wants the wedding guests’ children to be invited too, Todd responded.

Elaina said, Children at our wedding will make too much noise and mess up the entire celebration. They’ll ruin everything. I made it clear to you that we aren’t inviting children. Now your mother is butting in and telling us how to run the show. That’s not going to happen, Todd. I won’t allow it.

Todd felt caught in the middle of conflict between his mother, Mrs. Webster, and his fiance, Elaina. He wanted