The Real Deal
A woman's world is changed by a single act of kindness.39 total reviews
Comment from MelB
Hi Rhonda, so great to see a post from you! It's a very good story. Great details and I like that she ended up with a much needed new cell phone at the end.
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Hi Rhonda, so great to see a post from you! It's a very good story. Great details and I like that she ended up with a much needed new cell phone at the end.
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Thank you for the wonderful review. I have been terribly busy at work, and that's why I haven't posted or reviewed much lately. Physically, I'm better, but I got behind with work.
I appreciate the review,
Rhonda
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You're welcome. It's so hard to balance everything, isn't it?
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Yes, and my mother really does have Alzheimer's. It's such a mess, and a terrible way to lose someone you love.
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I'm so sorry! My grandfather had that. It is an awful way to watch someone decline.
Comment from Alcreator Litt Dear
This Christmas story exalts the glory of celebration of Christmas and shares experiences how a single act of faith and positive attitude could change to incessant source of happiness; I like. DR ALCREATOR
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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This Christmas story exalts the glory of celebration of Christmas and shares experiences how a single act of faith and positive attitude could change to incessant source of happiness; I like. DR ALCREATOR
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Thank you so much. I was trying for a different perspective on the Christmas story. That, and it's raining and cold here. Haha.
Take care,
Rhonda
Comment from Sharon Haiste
This is a lovely entry for the 'Christmas Story' writing prompt.
Well told, engaging and believable.
Well done and good luck to you with the competition.
Sharon
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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This is a lovely entry for the 'Christmas Story' writing prompt.
Well told, engaging and believable.
Well done and good luck to you with the competition.
Sharon
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Thank you so much, Sharon. It was something to do on a cold rainy day.
Take care,
Rhonda
Comment from lyenochka
Loved the story, Rhonda! I enjoyed all the interesting details from the amount of anti-depressant to take to the car being an "Impala" which makes me think of reindeer. And what a lovely surprise to have her help someone who seemed to be an injured hobo but was Santa himself! Great story!
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Loved the story, Rhonda! I enjoyed all the interesting details from the amount of anti-depressant to take to the car being an "Impala" which makes me think of reindeer. And what a lovely surprise to have her help someone who seemed to be an injured hobo but was Santa himself! Great story!
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Thank you so much. It's a different view of a Christmas story, but sometimes it's fun to do something unusual.
Take care,
Rhonda
Comment from cflorian8
The warm spirit of Christmas is here again. I bet many people can identify with Suzette's feelings of depression. Let's face it, life gets difficult sometimes. I too lost lost a family member to the debilitating disease of dementia long before losing them to COPD shortly after Christmas 2011. Just like Suzette, I found that the best way to combat such sadness is to remember the good times I had with her over the years. The essay itself is an easy read and the picture does justice to your contest entry. I hope you win.
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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The warm spirit of Christmas is here again. I bet many people can identify with Suzette's feelings of depression. Let's face it, life gets difficult sometimes. I too lost lost a family member to the debilitating disease of dementia long before losing them to COPD shortly after Christmas 2011. Just like Suzette, I found that the best way to combat such sadness is to remember the good times I had with her over the years. The essay itself is an easy read and the picture does justice to your contest entry. I hope you win.
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Thank you so much. Your supportive words are as encouraging as the six stars!
I really am dealing with Dimentia with my mother, and she has become so mean hardly anyone can be around her. My poor step father is catching holy hell from her.
Thanks for sharing your story with me.
Take care,
Rhonda
Comment from D.F. Wood
This is a very good story. And I know exactly where Buckner Children's Home is located. WOW! I like it a lot.
Now, you wrote: Suzette squealed with joy as she turned on the phone to find a snow globe sparkling off the screen. Inside the virtual orb, was an image of the Buckner Children's home.
"Okay, I get it."
I don't get it. "Snow globe sparking OFF the screen"? Don't you mean ON the screen? I understand the background picture on the phone was the Buckner school, right? Sooo, I missed something. Was the phone a gift from the school?
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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This is a very good story. And I know exactly where Buckner Children's Home is located. WOW! I like it a lot.
Now, you wrote: Suzette squealed with joy as she turned on the phone to find a snow globe sparkling off the screen. Inside the virtual orb, was an image of the Buckner Children's home.
"Okay, I get it."
I don't get it. "Snow globe sparking OFF the screen"? Don't you mean ON the screen? I understand the background picture on the phone was the Buckner school, right? Sooo, I missed something. Was the phone a gift from the school?
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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No, it was from Santa, who was trying to get Suzette to come out of herself and help others to feel relief from her own depression. I'll go back and clarify. Thanks for pointing it out.
Rhonda
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Okay, I fixed it. Hope it sounds better now.
I forgot to comment on the fact you know where the Buckner Children's Home is. I used to teach at a High School close to it. I would pass it all the time and wonder if there was anything I could do. I never went in to see. Anyway, it's a small world, isn't it?
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Yes it is a small world. My wife's best friend's Mom, Barbara Hall, used to work at the Buckner Children's Home. I lived in nearby Mesquite. My wife is from Mesquite. I spent 19 years down there. I brought her to my home state of Michigan back in 2000. What a small world indeed.
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I lived in Mesquite about that time as well. I worked at Samuell High School Pleasant Grove until around 2000. Very small world.
Comment from Walu Feral
G'day Padna.
It's so good to see you posting.
"She lived an average life with average problems. She should have been happy, but(,) felt something was missing." (Sounds like me. Well, a kind average life lol.)
"and she worked as a kindergarten teacher in inner(-)city Dallas."
"her poodle, Buffy, depended on her." (Yuck! Poodles suck! A mate of mine had one named "Pierre" and I changed it to "LeCroc" to try and toughen the thing up. Didn't work.)
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"He was the strength of their small family, and she missed him so.
Suzette wished for her mother's support, but Alzheimer's had turned that relationship into a living nightmare." (Sheesh! That's sad stuff, Sis.)
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"He had on a red Santa suit that seemed, even at a distance, to be crumpled and torn." (I'm not guilty, Sir. The bugger was probably just drunk and stealing bikes again and got caught.)
"Slipping and sliding on rare ice-capped snow - it was Texas afterall,(after all,) she made her way to the groaning man."
""Do you know what one looks like?" (Hahahaha!)
"After work today, she would pay it a visit." (That's the sort of stuff I did as a younger bloke and it helped me cope with the past.)
"Merry Christmas, from Santa," a card said on the surface of a new cell-phone." (Crikey!)
Well, it sounds like her destiny is set. A very touching and powerful story of what faith and circumstance to do to help overcome life's tough obstacles.
A great contest entry, my friend and I wish you the best of luck in it.
The Kwalas say "Kumusta and Maayong Pasko (Hi and Merry Christmas) to you and yours and so do I.
Cheers Fez
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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G'day Padna.
It's so good to see you posting.
"She lived an average life with average problems. She should have been happy, but(,) felt something was missing." (Sounds like me. Well, a kind average life lol.)
"and she worked as a kindergarten teacher in inner(-)city Dallas."
"her poodle, Buffy, depended on her." (Yuck! Poodles suck! A mate of mine had one named "Pierre" and I changed it to "LeCroc" to try and toughen the thing up. Didn't work.)
***
"He was the strength of their small family, and she missed him so.
Suzette wished for her mother's support, but Alzheimer's had turned that relationship into a living nightmare." (Sheesh! That's sad stuff, Sis.)
***
"He had on a red Santa suit that seemed, even at a distance, to be crumpled and torn." (I'm not guilty, Sir. The bugger was probably just drunk and stealing bikes again and got caught.)
"Slipping and sliding on rare ice-capped snow - it was Texas afterall,(after all,) she made her way to the groaning man."
""Do you know what one looks like?" (Hahahaha!)
"After work today, she would pay it a visit." (That's the sort of stuff I did as a younger bloke and it helped me cope with the past.)
"Merry Christmas, from Santa," a card said on the surface of a new cell-phone." (Crikey!)
Well, it sounds like her destiny is set. A very touching and powerful story of what faith and circumstance to do to help overcome life's tough obstacles.
A great contest entry, my friend and I wish you the best of luck in it.
The Kwalas say "Kumusta and Maayong Pasko (Hi and Merry Christmas) to you and yours and so do I.
Cheers Fez
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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I always look forward to your helpful and fun reviews. You should post a series of reviews you've done as a novel. It would be a smash hit....
Kumusta and Maayong Pasko to them and you as well.
Cowgirl
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Hahahaha! Sounds good to me.
Always welcome, padna.
Comment from Dean Kuch
"Still, she reminded herself, it was just a week before Christmas and she had no one besides the dog to share the holidays with.. ... Hey! Are you saying there's something wrong with spending a holiday with just your dog? I do it all the time and I couldn't be happier. Besides, dogs don't talk nearly as much as people do. So, you can concentrate better on all those TV Christmas specials they have on that day.
Suzette pulled her Chevy Impala onto the shoulder of the road and got out. She grabbed her purse, as everyone in an inner city knows not to leave such a valuable item unguarded in a car. ... Even we simple country folk know better than to do that, Rhonda. We weren't born on Mars ya know, LOL.
So, it really was Santa Claus Suzette met on that sidewalk in the city. And because she'd shown kindness and a caring heart, he rewarded her with not only a brand new cell phone but a new course in her life as well.
Nice goin', Rhonda.
It was an excellent, heartwarming story.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
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reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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"Still, she reminded herself, it was just a week before Christmas and she had no one besides the dog to share the holidays with.. ... Hey! Are you saying there's something wrong with spending a holiday with just your dog? I do it all the time and I couldn't be happier. Besides, dogs don't talk nearly as much as people do. So, you can concentrate better on all those TV Christmas specials they have on that day.
Suzette pulled her Chevy Impala onto the shoulder of the road and got out. She grabbed her purse, as everyone in an inner city knows not to leave such a valuable item unguarded in a car. ... Even we simple country folk know better than to do that, Rhonda. We weren't born on Mars ya know, LOL.
So, it really was Santa Claus Suzette met on that sidewalk in the city. And because she'd shown kindness and a caring heart, he rewarded her with not only a brand new cell phone but a new course in her life as well.
Nice goin', Rhonda.
It was an excellent, heartwarming story.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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Why thank you, Dean.
I actually did have a poodle named Buffy who became my sister after my own left home (I'm the baby). Buffy and I had quite a life until she died at 8 years old. She was almost human. Better than one in many ways.
Funny about the purse. I live in the country and people leave their keys in the car/truck all the time. They don't lock their doors, and trust just about everyone. Not me, I was raised in the city. haha.
Thank you for the review, and the lovely Santa picture. Looks just like he did in the story.
Merry Christmas,
Rhonda
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You're more than welcome, Rhonda.
~Dean :)
Comment from Mike Stevens
An excellent Christmas tale, Rhonda--only I'm confused, the Santa I knew didn't smell like sugar cookies and Christmas trees, he smelled like Lucky Strikes and Mad Dog 20/20--what was up with that?
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The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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An excellent Christmas tale, Rhonda--only I'm confused, the Santa I knew didn't smell like sugar cookies and Christmas trees, he smelled like Lucky Strikes and Mad Dog 20/20--what was up with that?
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 16-Dec-2017
reply by the author on 16-Dec-2017
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So did mine. Lol! Paul Shannon did more than strum a guitar beneath the Christmas tree.
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Hey, I say 'strum whatever you like, it's all good!'
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;)
