This book is a collection of short autobiographical anecdotes written for the “tween.” Each is an entertaining true story of life as it happened to the author at that age but told in a way that engages the younger reader! The reader will be able to relate to the timeless content of each story, which might be about emotions we felt, finding what’s fair and unfair, dealing with embarrassments and hurts, and going through situations with family and friends, to name just a few. Don’t be surprised if the reader also begins to reflect on his or her own experiences in life, thus building on learning from personal memories!
Book excepts for Which Reminds Me of a Story
Dr. David Sinha (writing as Dr. Daniel Singh)
From The Sled Run and Jack the Indestructible
…A winter or two later along comes Jack. He was no more than 2½ or 3 years old and lived in the house directly behind us. His parents would bundle him up in his thick, puffy, light blue snow suit and send him out to play and naturally, he’d want to go down the sled run, too. We being big kids, we’d put him on our sleds and ride him down, which thoroughly delighted the tyke. If I were going down on my stomach, I’d have Jack lie down on my back and hold on, which he could do, but I would be sure to control my speed so he wouldn’t fall off (and no, I wasn’t mean and zoom up the moguls and get airborne, which would send Jack flying off me!).
One day, the little guy almost gave me a heart attack! Just he and I were at the top of the run, Jack a few feet away, in the corner of my eye. The snow had worn thin, exposing the incline’s minefield of iced, slippery rocks. I was arranging my sled, getting the pull-rope out of the way and just about ready to take the two of us down when Jack piped up saying, “I want to go.”
“Okay, Jack, gimme a sec…” I said as I did a final adjustment.
The very next second, however…
From The Slide
…One day, my brother and I went to the park and we brought along our five-year-old sister Melissa. We had the park all to ourselves, no one else around. Melissa went off to the nearby short slide and spring horses while my brother and I went to The Slide. It wasn’t too hot and this time Micah and I had an idea: the two of us would go down in tandem. To do so, we’d make a chain. The back person would sit close and put his legs into the lap of the front person, just like when riding a toboggan. Then, with a “1-2-3,” and grabbing the lip on each side of the slide, we’d push off and go down together.
So, we’re at the top. This would be daring and both of us were sure this tandem chain ride had never before been attempted in the annals of going down high slides. I was in front a few feet, and Micah took his position behind. He placed his legs around me and into my lap.
“You ready?” I asked.
“All set,” said my brother, “1-2-3-Go!” and we pushed off.
We’d only gone down a foot or two when it happened….
From Adventures in Food—The Locked Refrigerator
…We got all the groceries unpacked and put away, and this day Mom brought home something special: six full-size, individually wrapped, Hershey chocolate bars, one for each of the five kids and her! As a general rule, Mother didn’t eat much candy but every once in a while she would indulge herself. Before we children scattered off, she had an announcement.
“Alright, everyone, you each may have one of the Hershey bars, but I’m claiming this one for myself. There, see? I’m putting my name on it.” She used a marker and in big, bold letters, wrote “Mother” across it. She showed it to us plain as day and added, “This one’s mine. No one’s to eat it.” Aye-aye, Captain, we responded in one way or another and with it being a hot summer day and the house not having air conditioning, she placed the candy bars in the refrigerator. All was well for three days, and I had my candy bar in the meantime.
Then, on the fourth day….
From Church Cough
I was ten. It was Sunday and the whole family was going to services that morning. This was a big deal and the congregation in attendance would be much larger than usual.
I wasn’t feeling well. I had come down with a nasty cold the week before. I’d gotten over it mostly, but hard on its heels came a cough. And what a cough! This wasn’t your basic, garden variety, annoying-but-I-can-deal-with-it cough, the kind when the urge comes on occasionally and you can clear your throat or do a modest little “kaff, kaff.” No, this was one of those that appears only a few times in one’s entire life. With this kind of cough, even the strongest syrup in the world is powerless to make a dent. Yes, I was in the merciless grip of the monstrous BEAST OF THE COUGH WORLD. It had emerged from its hidden lair, hunted me down, and wrapped its massive claw around my throat…
From Tonsils
In the fall when I was eleven, I received some unexpected news after visiting the doctor. I was going to need something I’d never had before: surgery. The doctor had to perform a tonsillectomy.
[Later, after surgery]
At one point in the early evening, I got up. By this time I had changed into my pj’s and I wanted to stretch my legs and see where I was. I walked over to the floor’s nurses’ station—and there is where I saw something that made my eyes go saucer. On the counter, accompanied by the voices of an angelic choir and rays of light lancing down from heaven to illuminate it, was an exquisitely crafted three-layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! Looking like a picture right out of a fancy food magazine, it was simply a beautiful sight! Next to it was a tub of vanilla ice cream. Like the ancient Greek Sirens tempting Odysseus, from out of the ether I heard this consummate confection calling, “Have some of me, have some of me, Daniel….” My throat was on fire but could I pass up this luscious looking cake and ice cream? No! My mind overruled all objections from my throat. I couldn’t resist—the Cake-Sirens had lured me in!
In follow-up to the first book, Which Reminds Me of a Story, this book, Since You Asked Here’s a Story, is a second collection of short autobiographical anecdotes written for the tween and early teen. Each is an entertaining true story of life as it happened to the author but told in a way and point of view that engages the younger reader! More importantly, the reader can identify with the timeless content of each story, which might be about maturing, lessons we learn, emotions we feel, meeting new challenges, recognizing one’s mistakes, dealing with changes in life, and going through situations with family and friends, to name just a few. Many of the stories were originally presented orally in the classroom; meaning, they were first related from time to time by Dr. Singh to his students. As with his students, don’t be surprised if the reader will also begin to reflect on his or her own experiences in life, thus building on learning from personal memories!
Excerpts from Since You Asked, Here’s a Story
From Science and Mystery:
It was about 10:30 p.m. Mother was in the kitchen, making my lunch for me to take to school the next day. She was putting together a sandwich when, out of the corner of her eye, she sensed a presence. It was yours truly, standing in my pj’s, stock-still at the open threshold that led to the kitchen. A vacant look was on my face. Mom said nothing at first, a little startled that I should be there.
Then, in a low, dull monotone, I said to her, “Mother, we’re drawing gorillas in school . . .”
Drawing gorillas? What a silly, completely off-the-wall statement! Somehow, Mom managed to suppress the temptation to laugh. She quickly and correctly deduced that I was sleepwalking . . .
From Daniel Van Winkle:
How long have you ever slept in one stretch? What I mean by “one stretch” is sleeping without getting up to use the bathroom or getting a drink or even just waking up for a while and staying in bed, waiting to fall asleep again. In other words, uninterrupted sleep. Nor does it count when you were a baby. Babies naturally need lots of sleep, so it has to be after. How long for you? Nine hours? Ten? Maybe even twelve hours?
. . . The afternoon hours ticked by. Five hours later, it was nudging up toward dinnertime. Daniel Van Winkle was still dead to the world. Mom and Dad had a decision to make. They conferred with each other in a whisper, “Should we wake him?” but decided, “No, he seems to be so sound asleep!” They let me sleep on . . .
From Big Brother, Little Sister, and Halloween
It was a Thursday when I got home from school. Melissa Joy was crying in the living room. She was very unhappy, and the tears were flowing hard. It surprised me to find her this way on this of all days—it was Halloween, one of the most anticipated days of the entire year for any kid!
“Why are you crying, Melissa Joy? What happened?” I asked as I put down my school things and took off my jacket.
Through her tears she said, “Mommy and Daddy said I can’t go trick-or-treating tonight!”
“What? How come?” She turned away without answering, her eyes welling up.
At that point, Mom came into the room. “We took her to the doctor today. She’s come down with the chickenpox . . .
From Forces of Nature
Early one evening in August, an angry storm was raging. Nature was dishing it up in spades—rain, lightning, thunder, the whole shooting match. I was alone, watching my brand-new large television in the TV room, when suddenly—BOOM-CRACK!—a sound so deafening, so unexpected, so startling I nearly jumped out of my chair! Holy mackerel, what was that?! I thought as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end!
. . . It was a late afternoon in the summer of 1962. Sirens all over town were wailing. Their shrill rising and falling would get louder and softer as the horns rotated atop their poles, becoming loudest when facing our direction. Something was happening, but what? Dad was attending a professional conference in Atlanta, Georgia, which left the four of us at home: Mother, Micah (8), Melissa Joy (4), and me. Mom went over to our small black-and-white television and turned it on. Every local channel had broken into regular programming to broadcast the same thing: tornadic weather was in the area!
From The Bike Race
My brother Micah and I were less than a year apart. I had been born a month early so the difference was just shy of a year. Growing up, we did so much together. We traveled the world, shared the same bedroom, and knew each other’s friends. And being close in age, we certainly played a lot together! We would engage in different sports like baseball, basketball, football, and many other activities. Micah was competitive. Most of the time, there was a healthy dose of competition between us, but there was this one time . . .
From The King
After about a block, I heard a strange, low hissing sound. What is that? I wondered.
I slowed my pace a bit. I heard it again. “Sssss!” Full stop. I glanced about. Nothing obvious. Huh, I thought.
Then came another “Sssss!” This time, louder.
Now I was able to zero-in on where the sound was coming from. From behind a tree to my right about fifteen feet away appeared . . .