Category Archives: Uncle Joe Stories

“Uncle Joe and the Haunted House” — Revised and Re-Energized!

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Good Morning and Good Weekend.

Mary and I are just about to leave for the country for MeMaw’s 82nd Birthday Party.  Uncle Joe will be supervising the Fish Fry.  More about that in a future Blog. Stay tuned.

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions to the first Uncle Joe story.

“Uncle Joe and the Haunted House” has been reformatted, revised and re-energized!  Take a look and enjoy a read.  You are the first to see Joe’s new look.

Have a fantabulous weekend and talk with you all on Monday.

Grandpa Jim

gpajim@unclejoestories.com

Crepe Myrtles and Haunted Houses

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Good Morning.  I hope this Tuesday finds you well and being about your week.

The Lagerstroemia are blooming in Texas.  Commonly know as the Crepe Myrtle, Crepes are the official harbingers of summer in much of Texas.  A bush that can grow as high as a small tree, the crepe flowers look somewhat like northern lilacs but in favored shades of hot pink, red and white.  One of my favorites is the watermelon, which has light red flowers with dark black centers that give the impression of seeds.  Crepe Myrtles are incredibly hardy, drought resistant and easy to transplant.  I have a transplanted seedling in a pot by the front door.

Turning to our second topic, if I click on the Internet for haunted houses I am given the location of 10 nearby houses that have regular hours.  I encounter phrases like “complete darkness — game room,” “amusement park – terrifying,” “meat packing plant — getting scared,” and “old west — haunted.”  I am sure all these houses are safe, spooky and fun, and I am sure they are all busy.

A 2005 Gallup Poll showed that 37% of American believe in haunted houses.  One New York judge ruled that a seller has a fiduciary obligation to disclose that a house has a reputation for being haunted.  At least, 64 haunted house movies have been made between 1921 and 2011.  “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” was made the year I was born and it is a commendable film.  Literature is replete with haunted house stories.  People believe in them, judges rule in their favor, Hollywood films them, and authors write about them.

Clearly, there is popular support for haunted houses.  It seems that people generally want to know more about them and want to be involved with them.

I don’t know that Uncle Joe really wanted to know more about the haunted house in his story or really wanted to be more involved with that house.  As you can read, he did learn more about the house and he did get more involved with it.  Maybe that is something that all haunted houses really want.

I can’t help wondering if Uncle Joe is thinking about planting a Crepe Myrtle in the front yard of that old house?  Next time I’m down, I may just take that pot out front.  A lonely Lagerstroemia can always use a little company.

Enjoy your day,

Grandpa Jim

 

 

Summer in Texas

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The mid-day heat is upon us.  In this part of Texas, what I call “high summer” runs roughly between the Holidays, Memorial Day and Labor Day, June, July and August.  In other parts of the State, the really hot weather starts earlier and lasts longer.  By now, most everywhere is hot during the day.

In the Northern Hemisphere, June 20, 2012 is the official first day of summer.  It is not a particularly significant date on the heat calendar.  It is a wonderful date for the day with the most daylight.  On that day the sun has traveled to its northernmost extent, appears to stop, and heads back south.  The following days each bring a little less light.  This continues until December 21, 2013.  On that date, the day with the least daylight, the sun appears to stop again and heads back north.  The sun-stop days are the solstice days because on those days the sun appears to stop.  Solstice derives from the Latin words “sol” (sun) and “sistere” (to stand still or stop), which together in our favorite dead language (and it really isn’t) literally means “sun to stop.”  Now, that should get some notice.

We live on an amazing planet in a fascinating solar system surrounded by an astonishing universe.  There is always something new to learn and observe.

Thank you for visiting.  “Uncle Joe and the Haunted House” is enjoying the attention.  I hope you are enjoying the story.

Grandpa Jim

“Uncle Joe and the Haunted House” Has Arrived!

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I am very glad to wish you all a most wonderful weekend of discovery and fun.

The first Uncle Joe Story is posted under the tab entitled “Uncle Joe Stories.”  Take a peak.  Have a read.  Stay for a while.

I remember the night this story was first told.  Granddaughters Katelyn and Finley stayed over.  They camped out in the lower bedroom.  When I entered, so many stuffed animals and pillows were on the bed I could hardly see those little girls.  I sat down and we started talking.  I mentioned my Mom told me Jungle Jim stories before I slipped off to sleep.  Of course, the girls asked for a story.

Uncle Joe had told me about the Haunted House.  So, I thought, “Why not.”  I began.  At the end, the girls said the words every storyteller longs to hear, “Tell us again, please, tell the story one more time.”

After that, in the evenings when we were together, I would tell another Uncle Joe story.  Something Joe had said would somehow weave itself together and move us forward.  I would listen with the girls in wonder as the words emerged and the story unfolded.  The story was always there.  We were discovering it, watching it come to life.

My hope is that you will read this story and storytell Uncle Joe to someone close to you, and minds will open to the wonders of stories known and told and those yet to be discovered.

Have a fun-filled adventure,

Grandpa Jim