Shinny Rocks (aka: Sea Glass)

SHINNY ROCKS (a.k.a. Sea Glass)

Joshua lived by the shores of Lake Erie. Every morning he walked with his friends along the shore and they searched for shinny rocks. The shinny rocks that they found were pieces of beautiful colored glass. The glass was made so smooth by the waters of the lake.

Joshua saved his rocks in an empty Skippy Butter jar that he had on his dresser. Every evening before going to bed Joshua separated the shinny rocks into piles. Some piles had the same color, and other piles were small shinny rocks, and others were bigger rocks. Before he went to sleep, Joshua placed the most beautiful shinny rocks in an old sock that his Grandpa gave to him. Each one was like a jewel, and so hard to find. Purple, orange, red, and black were the best but, blue and green were also special. The rocks in the sock were his favorites, and he would never give them away, or even trade them with his friends.

Many children who lived by the lakefront collected the shiny rocks, except for his neighbor, Francis. Francis couldn’t walk along the shore, because Francis was bound to a wheel chair. When Francis was born he had a disease and he was never able to walk like the other children. Every morning, Francis would sit on his porch, and watch the other children search for shinny rocks.

Francis had a pet goldfish. The goldfish was a beautiful orange color – just like a Halloween pumpkin. The goldfish was named Pumpkin. Each morning, Francis would take Pumpkin in the fish bowl and sit and watch the children searching the shore for shinny rocks. Francis really wanted to go down to the shore and search for the rocks with his friend.

Each morning when Joshua came back from the beach, he would stop to show Francis the rocks that Joshua collected. Francis was so happy to see, and touch the shiny rocks. The boys were such good friends.

One day when Joshua was walking back from the beach,  he saw that Francis was not sitting on the front porch. Joshua went to the rear of Francis’s house. Seated in his wheelchair under a big oak tree was Francis. Joshua walked over to say good morning. Joshua saw that Francis was crying. As Joshua got closer, he noticed that the fish bowl was empty. On Francis’s lap was Pumpkin the goldfish. Francis told Joshua that Pumpkin died last night. Joshua said that he was very sorry. Francis wanted to bury Pumpkin in the yard, and Joshua offered to help. Joshua went into his garage and got a small garden shovel. Joshua dug a small hole next to the trunk of a big oak tree. Joshua took Pumpkin from Francis and placed Pumpkin in the hole. Joshua put the soil on top of Pumpkin. Francis was crying so hard. Joshua told Francis that he had a big surprise and that he would return in a minute

Joshua went into his house, and returned in a few minutes to Francis. Joshua had his Grandpa’s sock in his hand. Joshua opened the sock and poured several of the very best of the jewel-like rocks on top of the grave. Joshua put a blue, orange, pink and peach rock on the soil. Francis stopped crying, and he smiled such a big smile. He never saw such beautiful shinny rocks. Joshua also smiled, and he held the hand of Francis.

The next day, Francis’ father decided to bring Francis down to the water’s edge to be with his friends. The wheelchair became stuck in the sand, and all the children helped carry the chair to the water’s edge. Joshua came over to Francis and when Francis was not looking, Joshua took a green rock out of his pocket, and secretly dropped the rock in front of the wheelchair. Francis noticed the rock and reached for it, and as he did he fell out of the chair onto the sand. Francis was so excited; he wasn’t even hurt by the fall.

Seeing how happy Francis was, Joshua once again secretly dropped another shinny rock a few feet away from Francis. Francis saw the rock and he crawled over to the rock.  He shouted for joy. All the children were watching. Francis’s Father was so happy for Francis. Joshua continued to secretly place his rocks further down the beach, and Francis excitedly crawled to collect his new found treasure. He never saw that it was Joshua who was placing the rocks for Francis to find.

On the beach was a very big tree trunk that had been swept to shore by a storm. Joshua placed a magnificent bright red shinny rock on the top of the trunk.  The rock was high up on the trunk. Francis saw the beautiful red rock. To get the rock, Francis had to grab onto the branches on the tree trunk and pull himself up to a standing position. He had to use all of his strength to pull himself up.  With all his might, he finally reached the shiny rock. Francis was fully standing for the first time in his life. His Father, and all the children cheered for Francis. Joshua cheered the loudest, and the longest. He truly loved his friend Francis.

The Elves Big Mistake

Joshua pulled the covers over his head, and put on his flashlight. Snug in his tent, from under his pillow, Joshua pulled a pile of Christmas wish lists. Joshua had 40 pages of wishes. Since last summer, Joshua had been adding things to his list, and now the wish lists had hundreds of toys, games and treats. Joshua knew he couldn’t have all the things he wanted, but he just couldn’t leave anything out.

Since Christmas was just one month away, Joshua asked his Father to mail the lists on his way to work.

When Joshua’s lists arrived at the North Pole workshop the Master Elve put the lists in the Santa Wish List Box. The next morning, each Elve took one of the pages to their workbench, and started to fill Joshua’s requests. They packaged trucks, game boys, skates, bikes, trains, hockey pucks, Karate suits, candies, gemstones, and many dozens of other treats on Joshua’s wish lists.

On Christmas Eve, all the Elves were busy packing Santa’s sleigh. Santa said goodbye to Mrs. Claus and his helpers. Santa climbed aboard his sled full of gifts for children all over the world. The reindeer were prancing and dancing and so excited to start their trip. Santa cried out –

“Up, Up and away –Hi Ho Silver! Excuse me. I mean HiHo, Rudolph!”

And with that the Reindeer flew higher, and higher, into the deep blue sky.

When Santa reached the Milky Way he stopped the sled in the middle of millions of stars. Santa was checking the packages so he could decide where to land first. All the Reindeer were so pleased to stop in the Milky Way because they loved to munch on the colorful and tasty stars. With every star eaten, the Reindeers glowed a glorious blue, orange, red, and yellow.

Santa chose one package, and it was addressed to Joshua Bowling Golden Asseo at 56 Woodlawn Drive, Orchard Park, New York,13411. Santa checked on another large box, and it too was addressed to Joshua Bowling Golden Asseo in Orchard Park, New York. A third box was also for Joshua. Santa started to throw presents all over the Milky Way, but all the presents were for the same boy. Santa was so upset. Santa saw that every gift in his sled was addressed to the same child, Joshua Bowling Golden Asseo.

It was too late to return to the North Pole. Somehow, the Elves had filled all the wish lists for Joshua, and none for any other children. Santa immediately decided to rush to the home of Joshua. Santa gathered all the presents back into the sled, and took off for Orchard Park, New York.

Orchard Park was covered with snow. Christmas lights made the town seem like a fairyland. Santa circled his sled above the Orchard Park home of Joshua. It was all aglow with hundreds of lights, and on the front lawn was a giant red sign saying,  “ We Love You Santa.” Santa landed his sled on the roof, and he carefully slid down the chimney.

The chimney led to the living room, which was decorated for Christmas. Santa went up the stairway, and luckily the first room he entered he saw a young boy. Santa walked over to the bed, and gently whispered into the boys ear, and said,

“Ho, ho, ho, it’s me, Santa. Are you Joshua Bowling Golden Asseo?”

Joshua was stunned. His eyes were popping out of his head. Joshua said;

“On no. Oh gosh. Is it really you? Are you really Santa Claus?”

Santa smiled, and said:

“Oh, it’s me alright, and Joshua I need your help.”

Joshua was so nervous. He really didn’t understand why Santa needed his help, so he asked.

“How can I help you Santa?”

Santa told Joshua that every gift in his sled was for Joshua. Joshua was speechless. His mouth dropped open, his tongue stuck out, but he couldn’t say a word.

Santa said that if Joshua received every gift in the sled, there would be no gifts for any other children. Santa told Joshua that the Elves had made a mistake, and they must have packaged every thing on Joshua’s wish lists.

Stunned. Joshua said;

“Everything I asked for? Everything?”

Santa said:

“I guess so, cause there are hundreds of presents in that sled. All for you. It’s not your fault, but I really have a big problem, Josh.”

Joshua saw that Santa was very worried. Joshua was thrilled to have all his presents, but he also was sad to think of all the children who wouldn’t have any gifts under their Christmas trees. Joshua was so confused so he asked Santa:

“Santa could you please help me make up my mind. I don’t know what to do?”

Santa smiled, and said:

“ I understand Joshua. I have an idea. I think that you should choose ten presents for yourself, and we will give the rest to other children.”

Joshua thought for a minute, and he said,

“Any presents I choose?”

Santa agreed that Joshua could choose any ten presents. Santa was very pleased, and he said to Joshua,

“Joshua I have another great idea. Oh, I’m so full of great ideas. I want you to come with me tonight and deliver the gifts. I’ll get you back home in time for Christmas morning.”

Joshua was so excited. He quickly grabbed his winter coat, hat, scarf, gloves and boots.

Santa had one more surprise in store for Joshua, and he said,

“Joshua I want all the children to know the gifts came from you.”

With that Santa took out a marker pen from his coat, and just on top of the place where Joshua’s address was written, Santa wrote the word, FROM. Now every present given to other children would say:     

 FROM

Joshua Goldeo
58 Pleasant Drive.
Orchard Park, New York 13411

Joshua was all smiles, and so was Santa. They quietly went downstairs, and out to the front lawn. Santa called to Rudolph and the Reindeers landed on the lawn. Joshua picked ten presents, and quietly brought them into the house, and put them near the Christmas tree. When Joshua returned, he and Santa climbed onto the sled, and with one crack of the whip, the Reindeer took off into the sky.

All night long, Santa and Joshua delivered gifts to homes all over the world.

When they finished delivering the last gift, Santa brought Joshua back to his home. Joshua went to his room, undressed and went into his bed He was very happy, but very tired. In a few minutes, his mother opened the bedroom door. She said,

“Joshua are you alright. What’s all the noise?”

Joshua was nervous, and he didn’t want to get into trouble. He said,

“ Everythings okay Mom. I’m sleeping.”

Joshua’s mother noticed that the bedroom floor was wet, and that Joshua’s boots were covered with snow.

“Joshua were you outside tonight? Tell me the truth. The floor is wet, and your boots have snow on them.”

Joshua couldn’t lie to his mother, and he said,

“ I’m sorry Mom. I did go out to see if the reindeer ate any of the carrots, or cookies that we put on the lawn.”

With that Joshua went to the window to show his Mom where the carrots were, and as he got to the window he saw Santa and his reindeer rising in the dawn sky. Santa was waving to Joshua. Joshua’s Mom walked over to Joshua and both looked at the sun rising.

The End……………….

Shinny Rocks (a.k.a. Sea Glass)

Joshua lived by the shores of Lake Erie. Every morning he walked with his friends along the shore and they searched for shinny rocks. The shinny rocks that they found were pieces of beautiful colored glass. The glass was made so smooth by the waters of the lake.

Joshua saved his rocks in an empty Skippy Butter jar that he had on his dresser. Every evening before going to bed Joshua separated the shinny rocks into piles. Some piles had the same color, and other piles were small shinny rocks, and others were bigger rocks. Before he went to sleep, Joshua placed the most beautiful shinny rocks in an old sock that his Grandpa gave to him. Each one was like a jewel, and so hard to find. Purple, orange, red, and black were the best but, blue and green were also special. The rocks in the sock were his favorites, and he would never give them away, or even trade them with his friends.

Many children who lived by the lakefront collected the shiny rocks, except for his neighbor, Francis. Francis couldn’t walk along the shore, because Francis was bound to a wheel chair. When Francis was born he had a disease and he was never able to walk like the other children. Every morning, Francis would sit on his porch, and watch the other children search for shinny rocks.

Francis had a pet goldfish. The goldfish was a beautiful orange color – just like a Halloween pumpkin. The goldfish was named Pumpkin. Each morning, Francis would take Pumpkin in the fish bowl and sit and watch the children searching the shore for shinny rocks. Francis really wanted to go down to the shore and search for the rocks with his friends.

Each morning when Joshua came back from the beach, he would stop to show Francis the rocks that Joshua collected. Francis was so happy to see, and touch the shiny rocks. The boys were such good friends.

One day when Joshua was walking back from the beach, he saw that Francis was not sitting on the front porch. Joshua went to the rear of Francis’s house. Seated in his wheelchair under a big oak tree was Francis. Joshua walked over to say good morning. Joshua saw that Francis was crying. As Joshua got closer, he noticed that the fish bowl was empty. On Francis’s lap was Pumpkin the goldfish. Francis told Joshua that Pumpkin died last night. Joshua said that he was very sorry. Francis wanted to bury Pumpkin in the yard, and Joshua offered to help. Joshua went into his garage and got a small garden shovel. Joshua dug a small hole next to the trunk of a big oak tree. Joshua took Pumpkin from Francis and placed Pumpkin in the hole. Joshua put the soil on top of
Pumpkin. Francis was crying so hard. Joshua told Francis that he had a big surprise and that he would return in a minute

Joshua went into his house, and returned in a few minutes to Francis. Joshua had his Grandpa’s sock in his hand. Joshua opened the sock and poured several of the very best of the jewel-like rocks on top of the grave. Joshua put his best : blue, orange, pink and peach on the soil. Francis stopped crying, and he smiled such a big smile. He never saw such beautiful shinny rocks. Joshua also smiled, and he held the hand of Francis.

The next day, Francis’ father decided to bring Francis down to the water’s edge to be with his friends. The wheelchair became stuck in the sand, and all the children helped carry the chair to the water’s edge. Joshua came over to Francis and when Francis was not looking, Joshua took a green rock out of his pocket, and secretly dropped the rock in front of the wheelchair. Soon Francis noticed the rock and reached for it, and as he did he fell out of the chair onto the sand. Francis was so excited; he wasn’t even hurt by the fall.

Seeing how happy Francis was, Joshua once again secretly dropped another shinny rock a few feet away from Francis. Francis saw the rock and he crawled over to the rock. He shouted for joy. All the children were watching. Francis’s Father was so happy for Francis. Joshua continued to secretly place his rocks further down the beach, and Francis excitedly crawled to collect his new found treasure. He never saw that it was Joshua who was placing the rocks for Francis to find.

On the beach was a very big tree trunk that had been swept to shore by a storm. Joshua placed a magnificent bright red shinny rock on the top of the trunk. The rock was high up on the trunk. Francis saw the beautiful red rock. To get the rock, Francis had to grab onto the branches on the tree trunk and pull himself up to a standing position. He had to use all of his strength to pull himself up. With all his might, he finally reached the shiny rock. Francis was fully standing for the first time in his life. His Father, and all the children cheered for Francis. Joshua cheered the loudest, and the longest. He truly loved his friend Francis.