The Wishing Stick & More...

By Steve Gray

Two unlikely characters meet up in what starts out as a formal set of interviews to uncover some local history. Janey chats with Bill at a local aged care facility to find out about some not too distant history. What she discovers is more akin to a rollicking ride of not just knowledge sharing but some deft wisdom is imparted as well. Janey puts things into action and creates her own wishing stick collection.

"The Wishing Stick & More reads well. The characters are three-dimensional and realistically motivated; the events that happen are realistic, amusing and interesting. The reader certainly wants to know what happens next!"

An excerpt from the editor's feedback...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Gray
• Release date: Apr 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005903565

Steve Gray

Steve Gray has been passing on hard won information on goal setting, leadership, art and business. He shares solid anecdotes, stories and ideas, often in street smart ways so the reader can get in and create effective results. If you want to make a solid start in leadership, goal setting or business here is a great way to do it.Lets explore who Steve Gray is...A Visual Artist, Public Speaker and Writer, Steve can't keep still for long. Now he has launched into some fiction writing!The Author of many articles on business focussing on Leadership - Innovation - Communication - Startups, via a business blog with hundreds of articles sharing TONS of street smart information.Websites... https://stevegray.biz - https://freeebusinesstips.com.au - https://stevegray.com.au/blog - https://artstuff.net.au

Book preview

The Wishing Stick and more…

Created January 2022 by Steve Gray copyright 2022

Edited by Deborah K. April 2022

Initiated by a school assignment, youth meets old age for a merry dance across various memories and wisdom. Things develop and formal chat sessions turn into much more, and become a collection of mischievous stories, fascinating connections and an array of some not so ordinary events.

"May the path before you provide

some delightful vistas,

intriguing deviations and above all else

a sense of purpose."

Jonathan Butkowski

Story 1 – The Wishing Stick

The screen door on the back of the house screeched as it was opened and closed again. It needed oil, but no one seemed to bother or care about the sound.

Janey walked in with her school backpack, a tattered canvas bag with bits and pieces hanging off it. It had some faded and battered charms, a ripped flap covering one of the side pockets. And wear and tear from the rigours of life a wayward teen can inflict on objects of vague importance – her backpack was no exception.

That day Janey had spent the afternoon pursuing a long-term school project. Now in their senior year, her class was tasked with a big project, and this year it was themed around history, preferably local history.

Janey’s mum, Sophie, put her onto the idea of chatting to some of the residents at the aged care facility where she worked, Serenity Gardens. After visiting a few times, Janey soon called it senility desert.

By then, the project had been going a few weeks, and Janey had selected her subject, Bill Stoddart. She’d watched some of the residents as they wandered about, did activities with them, and decided against old Mrs Crenshaw. She walked the corridors every day with her purse over her arm, telling everyone she was going shopping.

Bill would stand outside his room and bid hello to Mrs Crenshaw, Good day, Mrs Shaw, he would say with a wide grin, to which Mrs Crenshaw would tilt her head in acknowledgement and sometimes reply with, It’s CREN-shaw. Bill would then throw in a line or two, Right, yes, of course! How silly of me, Mrs C, CREN-shaw, and where are you off to on this bright sunny day?

Mrs Crenshaw might reply, I’m off to do my shopping, or You know full well I am heading to the shops, and I won’t stop and waste my time chatting to you! Bill would smile, lean back on the door frame, and have a chuckle. He knew she couldn’t get out to go shopping due to the password-protected front door – and neither could he.

The day Janey came across Bill. He was in a buoyant mood and gave old dame Crenshaw a charming chat. In fact, he followed her down the corridor for quite some way, throwing casual conversation back and forward. "I hear the strawberries are good this year, Mrs C. They should be at the grocers when you get there. Will you get some?

I figure you would be the type to go for strawberries and cream. You would then have to go to the dairy section of the supermarket next door for a pint of cream. What say ye, Gladys?

Gladys paused for a second, holding the rail that ran along the hallway. Oh, Mr Stoddart! Really! As if I would have time to prepare strawberries. I am so busy with things these days, and the shops are so far away…and it’s Mrs Crenshaw to you.

Bill would take a few more steps alongside her in silence and then peel away, doing a U-turn with a smile a mile wide. He loved to stir up Gladys. No one was sure how she managed to remember his name amongst all the others; her short-term memory was vague at the best of times.

That day, Bill saw Janey coming down the corridor and smiled briefly. He went to the doorway of his room, entered, and turned around. Something about Janey caught his eye. He then stood a few steps inside his room. Janey walked up to introduce herself, and Bill stepped out, staring just as she stopped.

Excuse me, miss. Do I know you? Bill’s memory flashed a reminder image from when he was a lad. Tina, an old flame of his, looked a lot like this teen girl standing in the corridor in front of him. Janey replied, I don’t think so, but perhaps Mum has mentioned me to you? I’m Janey, Sophie’s daughter; she works here.

Ah, said Bill, Yes, I guess that’s it. But no, I was mistaken, perhaps. You look a lot like someone I knew a long time ago, uncanny, really, but I digress. Please excuse me for holding you up. Oh, no, said Janey, I’m doing a school project and finding people to interview for a local history project. I must admit I did giggle when you did the U-turn on old woman Crenshaw, funny old thing.

Oh, yes. Mrs C. I usually have a chat one or four times a day – unless I miss her while I’m taking a nap or some such. She never fully remembers the day before, so she’s fair game. Some days I get a simple hello and others a fully blown chat about what’s going to be on special at the shops. Fascinating really, keeps me amused. You know, one day I did a full lap of the complex chatting to her; she can get up a good pace.

Janey smiled.

Bill was recalling Tina, her voice, her mannerisms, her scent.

Then Janey interrupted his reminiscing. I was wondering, perhaps, if I could interview you? Bill turned and smiled. Eh? Interview me? Oh no, I feel sure you will find more interesting people to chat with than me.

Janey smiled and said, Mum said you might be interesting. You are Billy Stoddart, I take it? Yes, that’s me, said Bill. The small golden scratched name plaque on the door gives that away.

Janey then spent time over the next few weeks getting to know Bill, bits about his history, antics, quirks, and life in general. It turned out that Bill was quite a novel character, as were other members of his family. There were even a few mysteries that one might never solve but be fascinated by.

On arriving home that first evening, Janey put her backpack on the kitchen table as her mother, Sophie, walked in, holding a towel and wiping her hands. How did you go today? Well, I saw old man Stoddart. Like you said, he’s a bit of a character, and today he was in a good mood. Ol’ Ma Crenshaw was doing laps, and it turns out that Bill chats to her every lap or so. I got a few details from him today, but I got the feeling there is plenty more to come.

Janey continued to chat to Bill over many weeks and heard the latest on Mrs Crenshaw’s shopping trips. She heard about his childhood, his grandfather and his family in general. She became engrossed in his stories. They sat together and enjoyed the dappled afternoon sun shining through a corner window in the dining area.

It turned out that Bill had saved his grandfather’s life in a freak accident as a five-year-old, and his grandfather gifted