It's Been a Grand Year So Far

Seriously, it has. On May 20th (my dad's birthday in Heaven), my story about Willie (see pic above), a cat who adopted us, will be published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned from My Cat. This will be the third Chicken Soup for the Soul book I've been in this year, which for me is a record. Now here's what's so unbelievable to me: I'd always wanted to get a story, that's right, ONE story published in a Chicken Soup book. It was a bucket list thing. When my story about my dog Sitka was included in that 2016 title, My Very Good Very Bad Dog, I was ecstatic. My wish had come true. In a weird way, I felt like I could now die happy. I hadn't planned on submitting any more stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul; I was done. Or so I thought. What did I know?

Then, I got an email, a callout really, of upcoming titles encouraging me to submit to more books. Wow, I thought, they must really like me (kinda the way Sally Field said she felt at the Academy Awards). So, I looked at the list and saw a title that appealed to me, one called The Spirit of America. I instantly knew I had the perfect story for them.

I had been mentoring a woman from China with a Ph.D. who was in the U.S. for one year. She told me she wanted to learn about the real America and real Americans, not just what she read in books. Her English was excellent, and we got along famously. I decided that the best way for her to learn about America was for me to show it to her, and show it to her I did. Grace and I met once a week in my office to engage in a half-hour activity, like my teaching her about English idioms, which boggled her mind. For the second half hour, we'd plan an activity we'd do on the weekend. I showed her the kinds of activities Americans in my beachside town liked to do, places we liked to visit, foods we liked to eat, and what made Americans, well, Americans. The best day, and the one I wrote about, was taking her to our county fair. I will never forget that day, and if you'd like to know why, pick up a copy of The Spirit of America. Whenever I think about that day, I can't help but smile.


Fast forward nine years, and I find myself still writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul. Happily writing I should add, because every time I receive a callout from my Chicken Soup family, I see a new opportunity to share a beloved personal story. Getting back to the new cat book coming out on May 20th, this will be the 16th Chicken Soup for the Soul book I've been lucky enough to be in. And to think all I was trying to do with that first story was get into one book. To be able to say, I was a contributor to a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. I never imagined the Chicken Soup folks would honor me by including so many of my stories in their books. I am grateful and consider myself one lucky woman.


Till next time,


Jeffree

 

Jeffree vs the Jury System

        Don't faint, yeah, another post just a couple of days after the one about spring. I know, not my usual pattern. For some reason, it just kinda felt like I should get a few things off my chest. Not necessarily bad things, just stuff I've been holding in; I'm sure you've gone through it, too.

        So, I've had a few health issues that have been a real burden and have impacted my ability to live normally for several years. Never mind what, you really don't want to hear the details. The good part is that the doctor I've been seeing for a couple of years, who has given me every medication out there, none of which did a darn thing, told me there's a surgery that will fix the problem; at least, it will for 91% of patients.

        "Whattttt?" I almost screamed. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

        "Because insurance requires me to see if any of the meds would work because they're much less expensive than the cost of the surgery."

        'Of course,' I thought. 'Why in he-- are the insurance companies still managing our healthcare? America's healthcare system is still as broken as it ever was.'

        "Fine," I told my doctor. "How soon can you schedule the surgery?"

        Turns out they couldn't schedule me for over two months. I think I groaned. I took the date they offered me because two months out was better than living with this forever. I'd already been dealing with it for 10+ years, though it had only become really bad in the last two years. What's a few more months? A few weeks before the surgery date, I received a jury summons to report two days before my surgery. I felt a rage boil up inside. I was on the cusp of screaming so loud that people coulda heard me six blocks away. The next morning I called the jury office and tried very nicely to tell them I could not report for jury duty. 

        "Why not?" the uber efficient woman who answered the phone asked. "You have to report or you'll be arrested."

        "Gimme a break," I retorted. "I'm having surgery two days later, and if I get put on a jury, and it goes more than two days, I'm gonna play hookey on surgery day."

        "You can't do that!" she said. "You'll be arrested."

        "What are you gonna do, send the deputies into the operating room to arrest me?"

        She backed down. "Well, no." Silence. "When will you be able to report for jury duty?"

        "Not real sure," I answered a bit smugly. "I don't know how long it will take to recover."

        "Do you think if I postpone your jury date that you can report two months later?"

        Silence on my part. Finally, I thanked her because I recognized she was obviously making an effort. The funny part about all this is that I've never ever sat on a jury and I've really wanted to. I've been called for jury duty several times in three different states, and in every case, either the defense or the prosecution throws me off. 

        Long story short, I had my surgery, and it turned out to be 100% successful. Honestly, I didn't expect it to work, simply because nothing else has why should this be any different? Oh me of little faith. It didn't just work, it worked brilliantly. And life has returned to normal or whatever normal is.

        Till next time,

        Jeffree