Welcome to My Chair: TALES OADVENTURE FROM GRUMPY'S LIVING ROOM BOOK ONE

By Lee Holland

If you need a little adventure and derring-do, join Grumpy and Sarah (and sometimes her little sister, Hannah) in Grumpy's big, magical chair. Together in the chair, they explore the magic and mystery of a little girl's imagination combined with the experience of an old man's childhood. Welcome to My Chair i

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliant Books Literary
• Release date: Aug 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889453208

Lee Holland

Lee Holland, known to his family as Grumpy, resides with his wife, Rosie in Van Buren, along with his adult children and four grandchildren. With a degree in history and the imagination of a youngster, he has been accused of being 76 years of age, going on eight. Lee created delightful historical   fiction stories in A Chair in Time, featuring his granddaughters Sarah and Hannah. The girls work their way through interesting twists and turns as each story unfolds. Among the many characters in the adventures, Hannahand Sarah get to unknowingly meet their great, great grandparents. The adventures will be well worth your time. A Chair in Time is a continuation of Lee's first book, Welcome to my Chair.

Book preview

Welcome_to_My_Chair_Bk1_FC.jpg

All rights reserved. 

Copyright © 2023 Lee Holland 

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. 

Brilliant Books Literary 

137 Forest Park Lane Thomasville 

North Carolina 27360 USA 

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. 

ISBN: 979-8-88945-319-2 

eISBN: 979-8-88945-320-8 

Printed in the United States of America 

Foreword 

I have completely enjoyed watching the creation, evolution, living, and writing of this book. I loved each story as I got to see the journey unfold. I had the honor of witnessing my girls travel on many magical journeys that no movie or TV program could possibly provide. My dad just has an amazing ability to bring stories to life, whether he is reading them or telling them or living them. 

Now don’t get me wrong, he has the name Grumpy for a reason. He can be the most bull-headed, cantankerous man around, but watching him use his imagination to take my children (as well as cousins and nephews) where no reality can go is simply amazing. If all children had a playmate/mentor like Grumpy, the world would be a creative, big-thinking, problem-solving place. There would be no obstacle too great, no mission impossible. Welcome to My Chair: Tales of Adventure from Grumpy’s Living Room—what an exciting invitation to a one-of-a-kind journey; one that you have now been given the opportunity to share. Not everyone can have a Grumpy to hold his hand and share an unforgettable experience with, but through the words of this book, you are allowed to see life through a lens of innocence and freedom that adults tend to lose. So I am willing to share my good fortune; welcome to my creative and imaginative dad, Grumpy, as well to my creative, imaginative children, Sarah and Hannah, and the adventures they share. 

And just be glad you are holding a souvenir that brings joy and laughter and warm fuzzies anytime you want to relive it. I will be left with a broken-down, old, threadbare chair that won’t match anything. So know that you are coming out on the upper end of the deal. Enjoy the story, relax, and let your imagination soar. 

Amber Bryant 

The New Arrival 

A grumpy old man sat all alone, 

In his lumpy old chair at his empty old home. 

His kids were all gone, no one was there 

He groused about the news in his big, 

empty chair. 

One day, his daughter brought 

home a surprise 

A small little package that wiggled inside. 

It cooed, and it burped, but he did not care 

All he said was, Welcome to my chair. 

There was a time not too long ago that a grumpy old man lived in a big house with his sweet and lovely wife. Also, in this house were more cats than should be legal and a big puppy that could chew up a bowling ball. Why was this man so grumpy and gruff? It was because his kids had grown up and left his big house, and he felt all alone. He loved his wife and his children, but there was something missing in his life. One day when he came home from work, there was a new chair sitting where his old chair used to be in his big, empty house. The chair was big and roomy and very comfortable. Even though he was a big, strong man, he did not like the new chair because it was too big and too soft. The old man never said anything, but sat in the chair every evening and made the best of the situation. 

One day, his daughter came to visit him and brought someone with her. The grumpy old man was sitting in his big chair, and his daughter handed him her new baby daughter.  

She said, Grumpy, here is your granddaughter, Sarah. 

Grumpy looked into Sarah’s beautiful eyes and simply said, Welcome to my chair. 

Whenever he could he would hold and rock Sarah, and he would sing songs to her. He would recite nursery rhymes to her. He would feed her. He would share his snacks and sweets with her. He would hold and love Sarah anytime he was able. 

As Sarah grew, that chair became a lot more than just a chair. In that chair, Sarah and Grumpy would play dress up, read books, watch movies and cartoons, play Barbie, color and draw, work puzzles, and become best friends. Grumpy would often watch Sarah play and learn and would smile contently now that his life was no longer empty. 

Sarah continued to grow and grow. One day when Grumpy came home from work, Sarah was sitting all alone in his big chair. When she saw him, she scooted over to let him sit down as she had done many times, but all of a sudden, the chair was not quite as big as it once was, and Grumpy did not fit in as easily this time. Sarah said, Grumpy, you’re squishing me! 

As Grumpy picked her up and put her in his lap he said, Sarah, one or both of us is getting too big to fit into this chair at the same time.  

Despite the chair shrinking, the old man told his wife, Grammy, that as long as Sarah wanted to share his chair, she would always be welcome. Somehow, Sarah and Grumpy were able to arrange themselves in the chair and were still able to play and enjoy each other’s closeness. Often, they would just pile up in that chair like a couple of puppies and sleep. 

Swim for Your Life 

Every day to Sarah was a brand-new world 

She fluttered around like a flag unfurled. 

A box or a chair was all that was required 

The magic and pretend really 

had to be admired. 

The chair would become 

whatever she wanted 

With Grumpy’s help, the  

chair’s magic expanded. 

Big sharks and those coral reefs 

could be awfully mean 

They had the ability to sink pink submarines. 

One quiet summer day, Sarah told her mother, I need to see my Grumpy! I have to see Grumpy! After gathering up a few of her toys, Sarah got in the car for the short ride to Grumpy’s house. Sarah always looked forward to playing with her Grumpy because when she was with him, anything was possible. She could become a princess, a doctor, a ballet dancer, or just a cook making pancakes. Whatever she wanted to be, Grumpy was only too happy to assist and play along. It was almost as if he was her fairy godfather. 

Entering the house, Sarah said, Hi, Grumpy! I came over to see you. 

Grumpy’s reply was, Hello, little darling. I missed you. 

Sarah piled her toys in the chair with Grumpy. Then, she either had to move the toys or crawl over them before she climbed up into his lap. No sooner had his strong arms encircled her and she felt the warmth radiating from his body than she forgot all about the toys and playing. She just nestled deeper into his arms and enjoyed being where she was at that moment, which was just as well because change was in the air. 

As they nestled in that big chair, a transformation was taking place! The room began to tremble. A low rumble could be heard coming from far beneath the floor. Water began to bubble up through the carpet. What had once been the living room carpet became a flowing, moving body of water. Where once had been the nap of the carpet became waves. With a shudder and a creak, where there had once been walls, was now blue emptiness. All that could be seen was a far-off horizon. What had, just a few short moments before, been a cozy room was now a churning, choppy, empty ocean. Empty, except for one lone, solitary feature. There in the middle of the rough ocean floated that big chair with Sarah and Grumpy. As they bobbed around, wondering what was going to happen next, something did develop. In a flash, that large chair morphed into, of all things, a submarine. A pink submarine that was large enough for two people. Captain Sarah would drive the boat and First Mate