__________________________________________
{SFTH} *Confessions of a Former Smoker* 8/3/01
__________________________________________
If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to
spread the word to family and friends that we may bring
inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list
and this has been passed along to you, join us by sending
a blank email to: Thunder27@aol.com
__________________________________________________
Michael's long awaited book Straight From the Heart: "A
Celebration of Life," is finally here! Close to 200 pages
of true short stories filled with love and laughter await
you! Visit our web site to order the EBook, or to order
by credit card! You can also read some sample stories
from the book here!
http://storiesfrommyheart.com/michael_t__powers/
To order your autographed copy at no extra charge, send
a check or money order for $18 ($14.95 for the book and
$3.05 for shipping and handling) made out to
Michael T. Powers, and then send to:
Michael T. Powers
1918 Liberty Lane
Janesville, WI 53545
For two books add $4 for shipping and handling and for three
books add $5 for shipping and handling. If you want four or
more autographed copies of our book you only pay $5 for
shipping and handling.
Be sure to let us know who you would like it autographed for and
then allow about two weeks for us to sign it and send it on its
way to you.
__________________________________________________
I thought it was time to laugh again! Enjoy this humorous story
from W. Bruce Cameron as he makes a startling confession
from his childhood! Have a great weekend! Next e-mail heading
your way on Sunday night, along with an interview with Straight
From the Heart author: Judy Kiser!
Michael
__________________________________________________
Confessions of a Former Smoker
By W. Bruce Cameron
Somewhere in that unfortunate time frame where I was old
enough to try it and not old enough to realize I shouldn't, I decided
to smoke cigarettes. Naturally, I blame someone else for this: my
best friend Ricky, who snuck a pack out of his mother's dresser
drawer and showed it to me in his front yard, hidden under his
shirt like a stolen watch.
"Let's smoke 'em!" he suggested.
"Sure," I replied calmly, though so much fear was sluicing
through me I could barely remain upright. I'd already had the
following conversation with my father:
Father: If I catch you smoking, I'll kill you.
Me: But why?
Father: Because they're bad for you.
I didn't point out that, no matter how bad smoking might be
for my health, surely killing me was even worse. You didn't point
out stuff like that to my dad.
Ricky and I puffed our chests out and strutted around, looking for
a place where we could light up without being caught. It's
actually sort of difficult to strut when you're on a mission of
such cowardice, but there was no way either one of us were
going to smoke out in the open.
We eventually decided on the storm sewer which ran underneath
the highway behind my back yard. This was a cramped,
three-foot-high cement tunnel with an inch of foul water
running through it while cars rushed by overhead. I could not
imagine my father looking in such a place, but just in case he
might, we crabbed to the very center of the tube before striking
a match.
We gave each other squinty looks as we lit up. I sucked
manfully, the tip of my cigarette glowing red.
My lungs reacted by going to war. My cough felt like I'd been
hit in the chest with a baseball bat, and it was several seconds
before I could inhale again. "Pretty good," I choked to Ricky,
who appeared to be experiencing cardiac arrest.
Neither of us spoke as we hacked and gagged our way through
the ordeal. My eyes teared up and flushed and my throat felt
as though I'd been eating sidewalk. The air scraped like
sandpaper inside my chest. "Let's do another," I wheezed.
We lit the second ones from the embers of the first. Ricky
took another drag and shook his head. "Can't," he groaned.
"Chew it, then," I suggested. He gave me a questioning look.
"If you can't smoke it, you're supposed to chew it," I explained
with a sophisticated wave.
Ricky nodded and unrolled the paper, stuffing a pinch in
between cheek and gum. I continued to suck and choke,
nodding like I was having the time of my life. The smoke had
nowhere to go and collected around our heads in the sewer, so
that even the air had no air. Ricky's tongue looked like it was
coated with ants. A steady pounding began to build like an
approaching brass band--it took me awhile to figure out it was
my heart, which had climbed up between my ears. The tunnel
began rotating slowly to the left. I sneezed and it felt like my
nose filled with dirt.
"This is fun," I said.
Ricky's stomach gave up the fight and the sewer had a new odor
to deal with. I lit another cigarette. "You okay?" I croaked.
He turned his face to me. It was the same color as the slimy
water running beneath our folded legs. He spoke, but the cigarettes
had rendered one of us incapable of English, so I couldn't make
out what he was saying.
After an hour I could no longer see any light at either end of the
tunnel. My body compensated by offering me a heightened sense
of hearing: I could make out the faraway sound of the world's
largest freight train, rushing toward us. Soon I had to shout to
be heard. "I can see why people have trouble quitting!" I yelled
in what surely stands as the most absurd declaration of my life.
By the time Ricky and I stumbled out of the tunnel we were
pale as two vampires, and I had become what I am today:
a non-smoker.
W. Bruce Cameron
bruce@wbrucecameron.com
Send Mr. Cameron an e-mail and let him know what you thought of his story!
The Cameron Column, A Free Internet Newsletter
Copyright W. Bruce Cameron 2001
To subscribe, send a message to majordomo@cwe.com with
the words "subscribe cameron" in lower case as the first line
in your message.
________________________________
Despite his claims to the contrary, W. Bruce is neither a member
of Mensa nor a Nobel Prize winner. In fact, he has never won any
awards or special recognition of any kind, though he is pleased to
announce that he was recently named a finalist in the Publisher's
Clearing House Sweepstakes.
After 15 years working for a small company called General Motors,
W. Bruce went on to found and destroy a number of small start-ups.
If a pilot can be judged by the number of crashes he has survived,
W. Bruce is an Ace.
He is married with three children, all of whom are teenagers. He
can't explain how any of this happened.
Meanwhile, and through it all, he has been writing. In 1995 he started
his on-line internet column, using "viral marketing," which is as
unpleasant as it sounds. In April1999 he became the humor
columnist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News, and his first
book was released in June 2001.
To get his book, visit his web site at: http://www.wbrucecameron.com
__________________________________________________
From the E-mail Box!
Dear Michael,
I just read your story about your little Batman. I'm fighting back
tears of my own. I am a grandmother now, but remember similar
experiences with my children. My little guy wanted to be a super
hero too. My daughter believed she was Wonder Woman for the
longest time. We didn't have the store bought costumes. We
made them out of old towels and such. Her magic power bracelets
were anything she could get around her little wrists, sometimes
just plastic rings from her baby brother's toy box. My son was
just as creative with his outfits. We'd never know what or who
would come flying out of his room, but we always played along.
What nice memories your story stirred up in me. Today,
as my daughter plays "super mommy" and her husband plays
"monster daddy" with their toddler, I feel privileged to be the
"mighty Grammy" whose arms can protect from "tickle jobs".
But, there is a price to pay in our game.......many, many kisses.
Thanks again!!
Rosie
**************
Dear Michael:
Thanks for the story on Ringing the Bells. Although I have never rang the
bells for the Salvation Army, I have worked on the kettle. My husband and I
are members of the Salvation Army here, so when you had this story in here
it really caught my eye.
In His Service
Marilyn
__________________________________________________
Thought For The Day:
"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities;
an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties."
--Reginald Mansell
Verse for the Day:
"If God is for us who can be against us?"
Romans 8:31
Kid's Thought For The Day:
"If the ponies you draw don't look like everyone else's, that's good."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"The most important thing that parents can teach their children
is how to get along without them." --Frank Clark
Coach's Thought For The Day
"If you have knowledge, let others light their candle at it"
--Margaret Fuller
Deep Thought For The Day:
"Did you ever try to get the trash men to take an old trash can
away? Can't be done."
_____________________________________________________
REQUESTS:
Here is a prayer request I received from a friend. Would you please
share it with your readers.
God Bless You, as you do His work.
Love In Christ,
Lisa
craiglaw@dixie-net.com
Hey, everyone. I have a prayer request. My nephew, Jayden Lyles, 3
years old, is in LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis. He has
contracted a rare disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome because of
exposure to E. coli. It causes the red blood cells to be destroyed and
the kidneys to fail. He has been sick since Tuesday. He went to the ER
in Oxford Saturday. The kept him until about midnight and sent him on
to Memphis because they couldn't figure out what was causing him to be
so sick and his kidneys were beginning to shut down. His kidneys are
still not functioning correctly. Later this p.m. he is supposed to have
surgery to prepare him for kidney dialysis. They are in hopes that the
dialysis treatment will clean all the bad stuff out of his kidneys and
that it will hopefully
allow them to begin working on their own again.
My brother and his family are from Indianapolis, Indiana. They are a
long way from home. What was supposed to have been a great vacation and
family reunion has turned into this nightmare.
Please pray for Jayden, that God will lay his hand on Jayden's little
body and heal it. Please pray for Travis and Michelle, that God will
give them the strength to stay strong during this time. And finally,
please pray for Alexis, their 17 month old daughter. Alexis is staying
with my brother and sister-in-law, Kelly and Marcia. This is her first
trip to Mississippi and the first time she has met any of us. She
hasn't seen her Mom and Dad since Saturday. I'm sure she's wondering
where they have gone. Please pray for all of them.
Thanks.
Tracey L. Mooneyham
***********
Dear Michael,
I'm asking again for prayers for my sister-in-law Maggie. The
surgery went OK and she started chemo but things are not
looking good. She was in the hospital for dehydration among
other things. The doctors have found at least two new tumors
causing an intestinal blockage and she's too weak to do any
more surgery. As soon as she's strong enough, they'll release
her to come home with hospice care. The whole family needs
all the strength we can find to help her and each other. Thanks.
Mary
honasbdmj@prodigy.net
************
hello Michael,
I just want to let you know you're doing a great job at comforting all the
hearts and souls that read your inspiring messages everyday...it really does
go straight to our hearts...I've visited your website and love it...I'd just
like you to please put up a prayer request for me and my family...we're
going thru a sever financial crisis and my parents are taking it rather
rough...its causing angry arguments as our disappointments turn into
frustrations and we are just all feeling the helplessness of this miserable
situation...we really need the money to put my sis thru high school and for
my university although I am trying so hard for scholarships...just pray for
us because our own faith in God is severely tested...I have always been friends
with God all thru my life and it is hurting me so bad to feel betrayed
thinking He doesn't care anymore about our hurt...I need to be reassured that
He still cares so that I can be strong for my family...please put up this
prayer request because we really need the prayers,
S.D (E. Africa)
smap@africaonline.co.ke
_____________________________________________________
_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
_________________________________________________________
The copyrights to the stories that appear in SFTH are owned by the
authors and are used with their permission. We refuse to run stories
without the author's permission and contact info listed after the story.
We also refuse to publish stories listed as "author unknown."
(All of which violates Copyright law and the rights of the authors.)
This e-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut
and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have
contacted and been given permission by the individual writer.
Thank you so much for honoring the rights of those writers who
graciously share their stories with us!
_________________________________________________________
Video Imagery (Michael's Video Production Business.)
"I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video
we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds
my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best
Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful
job! They were so surprised and so touched---they really, really,
really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all.
My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too!
Thanks again!"
Kelli-- College Station, TX
Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies!
Check out the web page for Michael's video production business!
http://members.aol.com/Videoimg/index.html
AOL Users click here: Video Imagery
_________________________________________________________
Would you like to see your story in Straight From the Heart?
Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here:
http://storiesfrommyheart.com/writer_s_guidelines/
AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines
_________________________________________________
Purchase your copy of Michael T. Powers' new book! For
a sneak preview, visit:
http://www.storiesfrommyheart.com/order_our_book_
AOL Users Click below:
Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life
______________________________________________________
SUBSCRIBE:
"I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!"
To become a Straight From the Heart Member send an e-mail with
"Subscribe" in the subject line to:
Thunder27@AOL.com
Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some
of the best stories on the Internet!
___________________________________________________
UNSUBSCRIBE:
All you have to do is send an e-mail with "Unsubscribe" in the
subject line to: Thunder27@AOL.com
Give it a day or two to be processed...
___________________________________________________
Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm
AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws
___________________________________________________
A number of people have written to us asking what an EBook
is, sinceour book is being offered in both print and EBook
versions. An EBook is a book that can be downloaded
and read right on your computer. The advantage of ordering
the EBook is that is costs less, $8.95 (No other charges),
as compared to $14.95 + shipping and handling for the print
book. Plus you can download the EBook and begin reading
the stories in a few minutes! EBooks are read via Acrobat
Reader, which is software that most of you already have on
your computer. And if for some reason you don't, it can be
downloaded free of charge at the web site. So for those of
you who don't want to wait for the print book to be delivered,
check out this web site to order the EBook version of
Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life."
http://www.booklocker.com/bookpages/michaeltpowers01.html
