The Best Lunch You May Ever Have
Happy Easter
Not being an overly religious person I love this story, and I hope it brings a smile your way.
Potato Chips
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he
packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started
his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park, just
staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was
about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry,
so he offered him some chips. He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.
His smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root
beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but
before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and
gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was
surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that
made you so happy?”
He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You
know what? He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned
by the look of peace on his face and he asked, “Dad, what did you do today that made you
so happy?”
He replied “I ate potato chips in the park with God.” However, before his son responded,
he added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to
turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime!
Embrace all equally!
Have lunch with God…….bring chips, a soda, or maybe a beer.
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Big Backpack is Rocking
My big backpack has been hanging on the wall ready to travel, and getting a little dusty from lack of use. For over a month I have stared at it, and thought it was time for a short trip, but still I sat just looking at it, and thinking why go somewhere else when it is so lovely here.
Late last night I believe that backpack was seriously in need of travel, or we had an earthquake as it came crashing down off the wall where it was gathering dust. I still question the earthquake idea, because there are no reports of one here, but who ever heard of a backpack needing to travel. Whatever the cause may be. I decided we both needed to brush off the dust, and hit the road for a few days. Samana Santa (Easter Week) begins in a few days, and our little city will be invaded by the masses of party-till-dawn-people. I think that my big backpack knew it was the perfect time to get out of town. Now, I have to see where it wants to take me.
Check back to see where Donna and Big Backpack–Little World spend Samana Santa. You may even hear them laughing and singing “On The Road Again.” If you haven’t read Big Backpack–Little World maybe it’s time to pick up a copy, and hit the road also.
Happy Easter to one and all.
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It Happened
To everyone who bought my first ever written book “Big Backpack–Little World” I want to inform you that I finally did it.
I re-published with the much-needed corrections. To all those that suffered through the errors, I give you my undying love, and sympathy. Gracias, and I promise never to publish another book without proper editing.
How did this happen? Well, I think I was so impressed that I had actually written 80,000 words, and had paid two people to edit it, that it must be ready to publish. I will admit to being very naive, and anxious to see this baby in print. That is one of many places where I went wrong.
To anyone thinking of publishing, I offer a word of hard earned advice. EDIT, EDIT, EDIT. When your editor sends it back as a final, read your darling again– read it out loud– read it frontwards– read it backwards– have someone who doesn’t like you read it– read it on paper–re-read the damned thing again. Maybe, just maybe, it might be ready to publish. I hope so and wish you good luck.
If you or someone notices errors, I recommend re-publishing immediately before anyone else sees these nasty problems. It is much easier than I ever believed, and the time involved was certainly worth it. If you are interested please check out the new revised, cleaned up edition of Big Backpack–Little World.
WARNING: I am presently working on stories of my life in Alaska, way back in the 60s. It is a compilation of short stories, many of them are hunting, fishing, and living or camping in the wilderness. Now is when you say, “Oh, how exciting, I can’t wait until it is published.”
Happy writing to my fellow writers, and good reads to all the wonderful people that read our scribbles.
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Hemingway said
Hemingway was one of the all time greats, and I always try to follow his directions.
He said, “Write drunk, edit sober.”
Today I have decided to write!
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Another Happy Reader
I just received another lovely review on Amazon. If you’re an author you know how good, this feels. If you’re not an author, it is sort of like when you hear someone you don’t know talk about how well behaved your children are, or how attractive you are. Come on we all like to hear nice things about ourselves.
This review was written by a lady that I didn’t know, but through a writers group she heard about my book, and we became friends on Facebook while she was reading it. It was such fun because every now and then she would comment where she was in the book. She also told us that she read it every morning while working out on her treadmill. Upon completion of Big Backpack–Little World, this is what she wrote.
Drum roll please;
One would be hard-pressed to find a travelogue as entertaining, hair-raising, and inspiring as that of intrepid, English-as-a Second-Language teacher Donna Morang’s “Big Backpack – Little World.”
Donna has explored Mexico, Vietnam, and much of Central America and Southeast Asia – sometimes with a teaching job awaiting her; sometimes hoping to find one after she arrives. She is a one-woman Peace Corps, making friends and improving economic opportunities for people of all ages and economic status.
An admirable ambassador who sees the best in each person she meets, she is as comfortable teaching English on the beach to fishermen for free as she is polishing the language skills of new employees of a Vietnam airline who are about to transfer to Seattle.
Reading this review, you might think that our heroine is a twenty-something adventurer, just out of college, but no: Believe it or not, Donna is a grandmother! I found her story a thoroughly engaging read and was delighted by the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter – even on the Kindle version. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever dreamed of wandering the world, or who just wants to read about someone who has done so.
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A Christmas Story
You may have already read this sweet story as it circulates yearly. I read it for the “first time” every year, and it always brings tears to my eyes. My Christmas wish is that you will be wrapped in a thick blanket of Christmas joy and that 2012 will be a wonderful adventure for you and your family.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
donna
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I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Claus,” she jeered. “Even dummies know that!”
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her “world-famous” cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.
Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. “No Santa Claus?” she snorted ….”Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”
“Go? Go where, Grandma?” I asked. I hadn’t even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. “Where” turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. “Take this money,” she said, “and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of Kerby’s.
I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.
For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.
I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.
I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn’t have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn’t have a cough; he didn’t have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!
I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.
“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. “Yes, ma’am,” I replied shyly. “It’s for Bobby.”
The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn’t get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, “To Bobby, From Santa Claus” on it.
Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker’s house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa’s helpers.
Grandma parked down the street from Bobby’s house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. “All right, Santa Claus,” she whispered, “get going.”
I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded on his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.
Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
Fifty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker’s bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were — ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.
I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.
May you always have LOVE to share,
HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care…
And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus
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Famous Author Reviews My Book
I feel like I’m walking with the stars. I may not be a New York Times best seller, but when Carol Davis Luce gives Big Backpack–Little World a five star review, it is beyond my dreams.
Carol Davis Luce is the amazing author of six best-selling suspense novels, and one of the authors of Indie Chick Anthology. I was shocked to learn she had read my book, and I hope you will check out her nail-biting, thrillers on Amazon. Be ready to sit-up all night with the lights on. She writes some very intriguing books.
With shaking hands, and pounding heart full of gratitude, this is Ms. Luce’s review.
To say I thoroughly enjoyed Donna Morang’s, BIG BACKPACK–LITTLE WORLD, would be an understatement. How often can one live vicariously through the fabulous adventures (with all the five senses fully engaged) of a cool granny globe hopping. What I found so fascinating was her love of people and their love for her. It showed in the cocoon of protection they wrapped around her without stifling this gutsy traveler/teacher’s wanderlust. She had my mouth watering with descriptions of local food and drink (I could taste the cilantro in the tacos and feel the warmth of the tequila going down my throat). I laughed aloud at the strange and humorous situations she got herself into and out of. And cringed at the tense, scary and dangerous ones. The vivid and detailed descriptions of the towns, cities, and landscapes came alive before my eyes. I was there! Totally! If any book can make me want to strap on a big backpack and head out to see the world, it’s this book. This author is truly gifted in storytelling. If I did go on that journey, I’d want to tag along with Donna Morang.
Carol Davis Luce has made me feel like an author, not just someone who wrote about her crazy life. Now when I enter a country, and they ask for occupation, I will proudly write, Author.
Inspiring Idea
There are many reasons why a person buys and reads a book, but sometimes it is surprising what can happen to our books after we have written them.
I have written a book full of travel stories, but one of my readers is now using it as an exercise book.
| Candace George Thompson | 9:12am Nov 26 |
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Guest Blog
Stephanie Dagg at http://www.booksarecool.com wrote:
I recently reviewed Donna’s terrific book Big Backpack – Little Word and am thrilled to bits that she agreed to do a guest post for me. I described her book as “a travel memoir that grabs you by the scruff of your neck and gives you a good shake!” So, over to Donna.
Stephanie has asked me to be a guest on her blog, and now I feel like I’m walking down the runway to accept an Academy Award. It is such a great honor to be here among readers and writers. I promise I won’t bore you with thanking everyone from my children to the pink-haired girl in Spain, but I do want to thank Stephanie for this opportunity.
Big Backpack—Little World tells my stories of teaching and traveling as an older, single woman. It is the stories of meeting new people, seeing countries I never dreamed I’d visit, having fun, and discovering an amazing life as an ESL teacher. It doesn’t tell you about the other doors that opened because of my traveling.
Twelve years ago if someone told me to write a book, I would have known they were crazy. Today, my book is real. I see it on my Kindle. I see the paper copy. It sits on my desk, and I view it daily, hourly, gazing at the most incredibly beautiful thing in the world. Writing this book was like packing-up everything I owned and moving to a foreign country, except it was scarier. I was no longer traveling solo. I was now traveling with everyone who picked-up my book. I was showing everyone my personal story, my soul, and it was frightening. Those that have read Big Backpack—Little World can verify I’m not afraid of many things, but this thing had me shaking.
I had kept good journals, and the first several months of writing was incredible. It was fun revisiting countries, remembering people I’d met along the way, laughing at the crazy things I’d seen and done. Then one day, I knew I needed someone other than a friend to read my manuscript. At that time, I don’t think it could qualify as a manuscript, more like a bunch of writing.
So entered my first editor, who gave me the encouragement to continue. Then she became ill, and I had to find and pay for someone new to begin the ordeal again. My next editor, whacked and chopped my writing into a manuscript. I have to say none of this was fun. I re-wrote so many times I could hardly stand the sight of one more page of red slashes. It was rather like being back in grade-school with the teacher telling you that you could do better. She was usually right, but it still wasn’t fun.
My biggest problem with my editors were they wanted my book to be a soul-searching, gut-wrenching, in search of and finding myself. They wanted me to express the loneliness, or the hardship of being alone in a strange country. This was impossible for me, because I wasn’t searching for myself or a new love. I went on this journey for fun, and I found open arms around the world. I wanted my readers to know that at any age, it is possible to pack-up and leave their country, friends, family and happily go off into the vast unknown.
Writing your own stories, or poems can open a new adventure into your life. It can grab you, shake you, and awaken you to all this wonderful life has to offer. It doesn’t have to be for the world to view, do it for yourself, and see what you find.
Happy writing, my new friends. Thanks, Stephanie!
You can jog on over to my blog and read the incredible review Stephanie wrote about Big Backpack—Little World.
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What Happens?
What happens when someone does a better job of describing your book than you did?
My simple solution is to post it here and everywhere. I want to spread her words far and near. I want the New York Times to read what she wrote about Big Backpack–Little World.
Reviewed by Stephanie D. for Readers Favorite
“Big Backpack – Little World” by Donna Morang is a travel memoir that grabs you by the scruff of your neck and gives you a good shake! From start to finish, it’s energetic, fascinating and enjoyable. You’re swept along with the author, who became an EFL teacher in her fifties at the suggestion of her daughters, from country to country, from good experience to bad experience and back again. You get to see all aspects of life in each place she visits. The author taught in many countries including Mexico, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Colombia. Other countries she applied to work in wouldn’t accept her for various reasons, such as Sudan, where she was considered too old to teach!
The author has an amazing eye for details. She depicts the colors, the smells, and the heat or cold of the place. She makes friends with people from all walks of life – pink-haired punks, prostitutes, young people, drug barons, old people. As she says: “It is just not in my nature to distrust people”. She takes her companions at face value and wins a lot of respect for this. She also remarks that “once I decide to do something, I usually jump in and give it one hundred percent”. She has done this with both her teaching and her writing. I thought I’d lived a fairly interesting life as an expat several times over, but Donna’s wide and varied experiences overshadow most people’s, I think. This is a book you can’t book down. It’s well laid out with nice illustrations. It’s definitely worth a read.
