Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
Happy New Year

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

PICTURES FOR WEDNESDAY

We have pictures instead of words for this Wednesday.  Go over to Elephant Child's blog to read the details.  Here is my story and the photo I selected that was taken by Bill. These were offered for WORDS FOR WEDNESDAY by Margaret Adamson and Sue Fulton.

 
It was an exciting day when we bought the old school house at an auction for $600. There were only a few bidders because not many wanted such a monstrosity. Could it ever be restored? Nevertheless, Ron started work immediately.

Day in and day out he would talk of the progress he was making and tell of the valuable items he was finding. He would clean those items up and bring them home for me to sell on eBay.

Ron would also tell of the man who would visit from time-to-time to observe the work. The man, standing at a distance, would not speak but he would nod. The rough old man seemed to be very interested in the success of the restoration. He would show joy and nod "yes" if he thought things were going well or he would nod his head "no" and storm off if he believed Ron was doing something wrong.

We never saw this old man around town. Inquiries were made but nobody seemed to know who he was. The man was tall and heavyset He wore overalls and a floppy straw hat. His attire was as strange as his actions and attitude.

As Ron's work progressed, I decided to research the history of the old school house. There were actually elderly residents in the town who had attended school there in the mid 1900's. The few who still had their mental faculties about them were able to recall happy moments playing and learning in the once sturdy building.

I was very joyful one day upon coming across an old woman who had a very good memory. She loved talking about the school because her husband Morris had been the caretaker/janitor for the school all his life. Morris took great pride in the upkeep of the school and loved the children who attended. He had died years before but his wife missed him every day. Morris was a tall, heavyset man who always wore overalls and a floppy straw hat.

THIS STORY IS BASED ON TRUE EVENTS

32 comments:

  1. This is a great story.

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    1. It was actually an old house we bought and I made a fortune selling old items on eBay. Ron did talk about the annoying man and I learned a man who fit the description had lived their all his life, born and raised. His sister lived their too until they put her in a nursing home and Morris was left there, refusing to leave his home. This was where he died. All the grandchildren loved the story and always claimed to have seen Morris in the night. Thanks for commenting Jamie.

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  2. It is a touching but imaginative story. The day I believe in ghosts is the day I actually see one.

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    1. I never saw Morris but Ron did describe the person exactly.

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    2. I believe that Ron believes he saw Morris. Look, I love a good ghost story, too. I'm just not going to believe in ghosts until I see one for myself.

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  3. A really wonderful story indeed, thanks for sharing and greetings!

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    1. Thank you for reading and commenting.

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  4. I love this....I was waiting for it to be a ghost story the minute I read that 'he didn't speak'.

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    1. I was pretty sure everyone would know it was a ghost.

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  5. Doesn't everyone believe in ghosts?


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  6. very interesting!

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  7. That was great. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you Winifred for reading and for this nice comment.

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  8. This is wonderful. I hope though, that if ever I am condemned to haunt anywhere, it won't be a workplace...

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    1. The "workplace" is what haunts my dreams. More like nightmares.

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  9. A lovely story, Annie...thanks for sharing it with us. I'm glad the image brought this story to the surface. :)

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    1. Thank you Lee. It was fun to recall.

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  10. I enjoyed your story very much!

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    1. I enjoyed the photo prompts you offered. Was happy to have my story memory surface:-)

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  11. I loved this story and could relate. I bought an old property in Florida that had a school on it at the turn of the century. Didn't have any cool visitors like you did though I would have loved it. Did find a lot of old broken toys though.

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    1. An old Hartz Mountain dog toy was found in the rubble and I sold it on eBay for $75! I hope Morris didn't mind:-)

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  12. I like the addition of the photo. It makes it harder and easier. The photo stimulates ideas but also puts up boundaries for the story.

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    1. I always like to have a photo provided along with the words.

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  13. I loved talking with my elder neighbors at my old home, one a descendant of Pilgrims who still had their furniture!
    Cool story

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    1. Now I am the "elder neighbor". LOL

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  14. I thought this was a lovely story.
    Thank you.

    All the best Jan

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  15. Great story. I believe their spirit checks up on us now and again. God works in mysterious ways.

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  16. The stories posted at EC's blog are amazing. Our participants are growing and the use of words and/or pictures are all great.

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