The Master

 

The Master

There once was a little fish named Lucas the Lion Fish.  Lucas lived in a very cold lake called Lake Nemo, not far from Bust your Butt Falls. 

He was a curious fish, some might even say rambunctious.  Lucas had big plans for his life and wanted them to start now.  

He was always swimming about looking for adventure.  His favorite time of year was summer because this is when the local children and visitors from all over the world would come to the lake to swim and dive off the rocks into his underwater wonderland.

He so loved the humans because he believed they were powerful people who made very important decisions about life.  

In his small fish mind he thought of them as “The Master’s of the Universe.”

One day Lucas was trying to explain to his mom, Hannah, why he needed to be human and all the things he could master.  

He was swimming in circles around Hannah and talking just as fast as he thought she could listen.

Unfortunately the only thing SHE was trying to master was her chores for the day so she told Lucas he was going to have to find someone else to share his stories with.  

Lucas swam away a little disheartened that his biggest fin; I mean fan did not have time to listen to all his great  “Master” thoughts but he also knew if he stayed too long he would be doing chores himself, so off he swam.

 As Lucas was swimming he came upon an old Catfish named Ezra.

  

Now Ezra was known for his wisdom, he had been in that lake for a very long time, some say for as long as the lake had been there.  

Some fish even believed that Ezra had magical powers.  Ezra noticed Lucas was not his usual energetic self and asked what was wrong.  

“I want to be the Master” Lucas told him.  “Can you make me human for just one day so I can do that?”   

“What would you do if you were the Master” Ezra asked.  

“Well I’d tell the sun how long to shine and the moon when to glow.  I’d tell the rain when to come and the seasons when to change. 

 I would make summer all year so the human’s would be here to swim and last of all, I would be a human boy! 

I would  name myself Josiah just for a day so all would know that I was the Master of the Lake!”

Well that would be quite a job said Ezra.  Being the Master is quite a responsibility, many fish count on you to make wise decisions that will affect everyone.

You have to have a lot of wisdom.  “What’s wisdom?” Lucas asked.  

Wisdom, Ezra told him, is the ability to make a decision that even though it may not look right at the time in the end it will be best for everyone.  You would have to love all the earth and all the humans more than yourself.

What if you told the sun to shine and the sun decided to be Master and she stayed shining too long and it dried up all the lakes?  

What if you told the rain to come and it didn’t stop in time and the lakes flooded the land?  

What if you told the moon to glow and he decided it should be night all the time so he could master the sky? 

Or what if the seasons stopped at Winter because he wanted to be master and then the children would never be able to swim in your lake?  What would you do then Lucas?

 

Well these were things Lucas had never thought of.  He had no idea how much being Master really meant, how much was at stake in the lives of the fish and humans.  

He told Ezra that maybe he would like to change his wish. 

What would your wish be now Lucas or should I call you Master ?  

I should like to be a little boy named Josiah who lives in the lake but, I will need hands to praise the Real Master of the Universe.  

I guess God has been doing a good job with all the decisions He’s been making without me being the master.  

I should like God to know how much I appreciate His wisdom for giving me a friend like you Ezra.

Now I’m not sure this story is true but some say if you are at Lake Nemo at just the right time and you look real hard you can see Lucas' small hands reaching out from the water to give God praise.

Written by Gena Duran

Dedicated to my grandchildren

Anthony Jacob Pavek

Lucas Andrew Pavek

Ezra James Duran

Josiah David Duran

Nehemiah Matthew Duran

Hannah Elizabeth Duran

Coming Soon:

Baby Pavek

Baby Gulic

I hope you enjoyed this short story, God willing I will have it illustrated and printed one day.

Act Your Age

I had an odd thought this morning so who better to tell than you 😊 I was thinking about people my age.   To be honest I was thinking about how crazy our world is right now. The threat of "big brother" taking over our destinies. The internet being censored, freedom of speech being taken away, ya know all the things we take for granted.

Now before you stop reading, this IS NOT a political jewel, it's a gena's jewel.  Just letting you follow my thoughts so you can travel with me. OK so from here I thought about when I was growing up. We didn't have computers or google or even answering machines. I thought about TV and how at 12:00 pm it automatically shut 

off. We didn't assume the world was coming to an end we just figured we should be in bed by now. Everything would resume in the morning. Ignorant bliss, there is a beauty to it, however, perhaps things got this crazy because of our ignorance.

Moving on... From here I thought what if the "powers that be" made us separate and live in age categories. My first thought of course is I would be devastated not to be with my family but then I got to thinking about people I know, mostly women, no offense men, who are my age. This brought me immediate comfort because most women I know my age are the strongest, faith filled, wisest, thrifty (not cheap) creative people I know. We have raised children without google, apps or dare I say cellphones.

I remember going to the beach on Long Island with a friend, a toddler and infant in tow. I would pack my 4 wheel drive jeep with car seats, diaper bags, a blow up pool and playpen. Let air out of the tires when I got to the beach so I didn't sink in the sand, set up the umbrella and catch a tan by myself. 

I'm not dissing electronics. I am beyond blessed to have 2 more grandbabies in the wombs of their mommies. Because of apps I can watch these sweet babies grow!

I was thinking how women I know could figure out how to put things together using common sense. Now it may not be put together right but it would work. I have hung many a picture on a straight pin. I know how to use duct tape and am not afraid of crazy glue in place of stitches. We are very resourceful and our camp would run efficiently. We would laugh at ourselves and have no need for therapist because we are all about sharing our strengths and weaknesses with each other.

I remember one time when I was working at a publishing company, I had 4 kids at home, 2 of them teenagers 😠 I was going through a  divorce and my salary had a very small base and the rest was commission. I sold advertising on the phone that had a 95% rejection level, good times. Anyway one day a very dear friend of mine I affectionately call Tote, also a single mom, was going through a rough time had a breaking point at work. The two of us went into the bathroom and cried together, hugged it out (we have learned the importance of a 1 min. hug thank you Beverly) and got back on the phones. There is a resilience in this generation of women. Perhaps from desperation I don't know but I thank God for the extra dose. We are women, because of our age, who don't understand computers but we survived!

True story, I have been using this website for years, many years, and just today I realized I could add fonts.  I rest my case.

It's not always easy cohabitating with the younger generation. They speak a language I don't understand. They twitter and tweet which immediately bring images to my mind of blue birds. They have chat rooms instead of local bars which is probably better since apparently chat rooms don't serve alcohol. They don't smoke pot they have prescriptions for medical marijuana. Both of these activities don't require any interaction with other people.  How awful would the camp be where you don't actually talk to each other or get hugs??

I remember when I first got a job at a Title Company and they  gave me a laptop. I didn't have a computer at home, honestly I don't think I even used a personal computer yet. When I got home my son Kenny (not my son by birth) was at my house. He saw me walking up the driveway and said "what are you doing with that? You don't even know how to work it!"  I said "I know, but don't I Iook great carrying it."

As always it's all about perspective, how we see a situation. 

Well Gems I, like the internet, have given you a lot of useless information but I hope I at least brought a smile to your face. No matter what your age I pray you are kind to one another. Help us old gals out with your technology and we'll throw you some common sense when needed.  Together, no matter our age, would be a much better camp than separate.