A Mini Saga is a story told in exact 50 words.  Not 49 and not 51 but 50.  I’ve not been a writer most of my life and am now on the journey to eventually write a book or three.  To hone my skills I’m blogging, writing short stories and mini sagas.  I’m posting my first mini-saga here.  This one came easy for me. I suspect that others may not be so easy.

So here goes - let me know what you think.

The Vital Journey

The smell of disinfectant punctured the air he breathed as he lay there, waiting for the masked man, surrounded by shinny clean steel, tubing, buzzers and lights. He wondered without distress, would he live, would he survive? God said, “You’ll be fine, it’s about the kids”. And God was right!

If you haven’t checked out BookMooch.com yet you really should.  At BookMooch you put your used books in inventory and build points. Once you have enough inventory you can mooch books from others.  You only pay when you ship a book to someone that has mooched a book from you.  With 4th class shipping it usually runs about $2.

In the couple of years I’ve been a member I have mooched 30 books and sent 63 to other moochers.  I’ve gotten the most moochers by recycling my kids reading books when they age out of the category or style.  This makes Bookmooch a great please for parents to get reading books and recycle them.  Good for the kids, good for the environment.

Here is a sampling of the last five books I’ve mooched.

Trade your books at BookMooch.com Once you build up points you can donate points to listed charities as well. My favorite is the Youth Initiative High School. So put some old books to use, get something in return and maybe contribute to a charity.

My oldest daughter wrote this essay for High School this month.  I thought I’d share it as a story to inspire Dad’s and Mom’s that are trying to do the right thing by balancing listening, offering support and maybe a few little lectures and discussions of life skills.  Keep it up parents, It does work! You just might not see it working, but know that it is.  The greatest gift you can give your child is patience and support.

And am I lucky to have daughters that provide the occasion positive feedback.

If you find this useful, or inspiring please leave a comment at the bottom. It will only take just a minute.

Clear Blue

By Jackie Palmer

Wise, clear blue eyes look at my own shady gray-blue eyes promising encouragement and support.  “You will do fine, Honey!” My dad reassured me as we drove around a parking lot.  The day before, I had just got my learners permit and my dad had taken me out to learn how to drive.  It was my first time driving.  My dad looked at me as I tried to maneuver into a parking space.  His blue eyes full of sorrow and delight, sorry that I was no longer his little girl, but delighted that I was growing up. His large gentle hands laid relaxed on his knees, and his smile only noticeable by the slight lift of his peppered beard.

“Dad I really don’t think I am ready to drive,” I nervously whispered to him.

“Sweetie you will do fine!”

“You’re right Dad, just give me a second to calm down.”  After a while I was driving around the parking lot.

We drove together for two hours that day.  At the end he uttered the only thing I needed to hear, “Way to go Jackie!  You did great!”

We continued to drive almost every day until school had started back up.  When we drove, we did not just speak about how to park and what to do on the road.  During our drives we had some of the most serious conversations.

School, colleges, life, and so much more were chatted about during this time.  Once when we had just finished driving we were chatting about my friend who had recently moved away.

“Dad I really am going to miss Shannon.”

“I know Sweetie, but it is better for her family.  You will still be able to see her you know,” he told me with a gentle voice touching my shoulder with one of his big hands.  “She is going to your birthday party too.”

My birthday party soon came and once again my dad and I were in a car except this time I had my friends with me and I was not driving.  My dad had taken off work to drive us to Baltimore, Maryland to go to an anime convention.  My dad as cool as he is was not a big fan of anime but he went out of his way to make me happy.  He always tries to do what is best for me, whether I like it or not.

After the party, dad and I went back to our normal afternoon driving.  It was before school was about to start. I conversed with dad about the new school year.

“Dad I am worried I won’t be able to keep up in my honors classes,” I whined in a soft child like way.

“Don’t worry Honey you will do fine!” he once again reassured me with his calm confident voice and promising eyes.

“But Dad what if I don’t do well in Spanish?  I don’t think they will let me do Spanish 2 over again!” I roared in frustration.

“Honey you will do fine in Spanish and your honors classes.  You just need to calm down and focus on making it through this year.  I am sure they will let you take Spanish 2 over again if you need to.  So Honey don’t worry,” he replied reassuringly while I had parked the car.

“Don’t call me Honey!  And thanks Dad for having confidence in me,” I softly told him.
We don’t drive as much now that school has started but when we do it is always fun.  I feel when I am with my dad I can tell him anything.  I feel this way because whenever I stare into his clear blue eyes and he stares into my shady blue-gray eyes, I know that he will not judge me for anything I think, believe, or state. He won’t judge me because he loves me. He is my Dad.

A friend on twitter sent me this prayer today and I wanted to share it with everyone.  These are words we can live by, regardless of whether you are trying to achieve self-actualization, achieve improved happiness or just survive the day.

Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself. I mean, do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage. I am glad you make a fresh beginning daily. There is no better means of attainment to the spiritual life than by continually beginning again, and never thinking that we have done enough…. Those who are fretted by their own failings will not correct them. All profitable corrections come from a calm and peaceful mind.

Nam Sod is a wonderful Thai appetizer to accompany a traditional Thai meal or as a snack alone.  It can be prepared mild to Thai Hot.  We prefer Thai hot in our family but you may want to have it a little less hot. This recipe assumes a medium to hot, level of heat. Thai hot is extreme and is beyond hot.

If you have access to ground pork or can grind your own then this recipe is an easy one to put together.

Make your Nam Sod ahead of time and refrigerate it for several hours so the flavor sets.

From what I gather, Nam Sod is traditionally prepared using pork but in the last ten years we have begun to see chicken versions offered in some of our favorite Thai restaurants. Feel free to substitute chicken for the pork in the recipe below.

If you search for Nam Sod recipes on the internet you will find them with a variety of other ingredients added, like mint leaves and shallots.  I have created this recipe based upon my families’ taste buds and our experiences trying several different versions.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients

2 lbs of lean, double ground pork or white chicken meat
1 cup tap water
2 to 4 oz of fresh ginger chopped fine
2 medium gloves of garlic
1 big red onion 2 tablespoons fish sauce (Squid Brand is preferred)
3 teaspoons of salt
Juice of 3 limes
1 bunch of cilantro
1 cup of plain dry roasted peanuts (no salt, no added flavor)
1 or more tablespoons of dry chili pepper flakes (pizza pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon of fresh green and red Thai peppers in fish sauce (optional)
Large cabbage leaves

Preparation

1. Trim the fat and double grind the pork.  Ask your butcher to grind the meat if you don’t have a grinder. We use lean fresh pork loin, which is leaner than pork butt. We also love using chicken breasts.

2. Place meat and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and add the water. Cook over low to medium heat (blanching the meat) until the meat is cooked thoroughly, stirring occasionally.  While cooking use a spatula to break the meat into little pieces.

3. Drain the meat well (press the extra water out) and discard the water.  Place pork in a large bowl and set it aside to cool.

4. Prepare the onion and garlic by chopping the garlic fine and pulsing it in a food processor for a few seconds.  Slice the onion in half and then slice the halfs into ~1/8 inch slices.  Pulse the onion 1 to 3 times in the food processor with the garlic pieces.  Add the onion and garlic mixture to the meat and stir in.

5. Chop the ginger into fine pieces. For a stronger flavor, slice the ginger into fine strips about 1 inch long.  Adjust the amount of ginger to suit your taste.

6. Combine the lime juice with two tablespoons of fish sauce and the remaining salt.  Add to the meat and stir.

7. Chop the Cilantro bunch into smaller pieces and stir into the meat.

8. Measure out pepper flakes and add to the meat. Adjust to taste.  Add the fresh Thai peppers prepared in fish sauce if you want a much hotter flavor.

9. Stir well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavor set.

10. Add lightly chopped peanuts right before serving.

Serve wrapped with Cabbage leaves for an amazing appetizer. You can garnish with some fresh cilantro if desired.

Makes 4 to 8 servings.